CHAPTER XVI.MY RECEPTION IN BERBER.A Wedding—My Reception by the Military Governor—Achmet—The Bridegroom—A Guard—I am an American Bey—Kèff—The Bey’s Visit—The Civil Governor—About the Navy—The Priest’s Visit—Riding in State—The Dongolese Stallion—A Merchant’s House—The Town—Dinner at the Governor’s—The Pains of Royalty—A Salute to the American Flag—Departure.
A Wedding—My Reception by the Military Governor—Achmet—The Bridegroom—A Guard—I am an American Bey—Kèff—The Bey’s Visit—The Civil Governor—About the Navy—The Priest’s Visit—Riding in State—The Dongolese Stallion—A Merchant’s House—The Town—Dinner at the Governor’s—The Pains of Royalty—A Salute to the American Flag—Departure.
I was sitting at my tent-door at dusk, after a luxurious dinner of fowls and melons, when we suddenly heard a great sound of drums and Arab singing, with repeated discharges of musketry. The people told us that a marriage was being celebrated, and proposed that I should go and take part in the festivities. I therefore partly resumed my Frank dress, and told Achmet that he must no longer represent me as a Turk, since, in the conquered countries of Soudân the ruling race is even more unpopular than the Franks. “Well, master,” said he; “but I must at least make you an American Bey, because some rank is necessary in these countries.” He took a lantern, and we set out, in the direction of the noises.
As we passed the mosque, a priest informed us that the wedding was at the Governor’s house, and that the bridegroom was the son of a former Governor’swekeel, or deputy. Thedrums guided us to a spacious court-yard, at the door of which stood guards in festive dresses. The court was lighted by a large open brazier of charcoal, fastened on the end of a high pole, and by various colored lanterns. Long benches were ranged across the central space, facing the Governor’s mansion, and upon them sat many of the inhabitants of the town, listening to the music. The Arnaout soldiers, in their picturesque dresses, were squatted around the walls, their yataghans and long guns gleaming in the moonlight. The musicians sat on a raised platform, beside the steps leading to the door. There were half a dozen drums, some Arab flutes, and a chorus of strong-lunged singers, who chanted a wild, barbaric epithalamium, in perfect time and accord. The people all saluted us respectfully, and invited us to enter. The Albanian guards ushered us into a lofty room, roofed with palm-logs, which were carefully chosen for their size and straightness. A broad, cushioned divan ran around two sides of the apartment. Here sat the military Governor, with his principal officers, while richly-dressed soldiers stood in waiting. An immense glass lantern gave light to this striking picture.
The Governor, who was called Yagheshir Bey (although he held the lower rank of aSanjak), was an Albanian, and commander of the Egyptian troops in Berber and Shendy. He received me with great kindness, and made room for me beside him on the divan. He was a tall, stately man, about fifty years of age; his face was remarkably handsome, with a mild, benevolent expression, and he had the manners of a finished gentleman. On my left hand was one of his officers, also a tall, fur-capped Albanian. I presented both of the dignitaries with cigars, for which they seemed to have a greatrelish. Coffee soon appeared, served by negro slaves, in rich blue dresses, and then the Bey’s shebook, with a mouth-piece studded with diamonds, was filled for me. The slaves presently returned, with large glass cups filled with delicious sherbet, which they offered upon gold-fringed napkins. Achmet, being seated on the other side of the Governor, was mistaken by the attendants for the American Bey, notwithstanding his dark complexion, and served first. I could not but admire the courtly ease of his manners, which belonged rather to the born son of a Pasha than to the poor orphan-boy of Luxor, indebted only to his honesty, quick sense, and the kindness of an English lady, for a better fate than that of the common Fellahs of Egypt. Yet with all the respect which he knew so well how to command, his devotion to me, as a servant, was unchanged, and he was as unremitting in his attentions as if soul and body had been given him expressly for my use.
The Bey, learning that I was bound for Khartoum, sent a soldier for the shekh of the harbor, whom he commanded, in my presence, to procure a boat for me, and see that it was ready to sail the next day. The only boats in this region are rough, open crafts, but the shekh promised to erect a tent of palm-mats on the poop, to serve as a cabin. Soon after he left the bridegroom appeared, led by an attendant, as he was totally blind. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, and in his air there was a charming mixture of the bridegroom’s dignity and the boy’s bashfulness. He was simply, but very tastefully dressed, in a blue embroidered jacket, white silk shirt, white shawl fringed with gold, full white trowsers and red slippers. He was led to the Governor, kissed his hand and begged him to ask me if he might not be allowed to havedinner prepared for me. The officers asked me whether I knew of any remedy for his blindness, but as I found that the sight had been destroyed by cataract, I told them there was no help for him nearer than Cairo. The ceremonies were all over, and the bride, after the entire consummation of the nuptials, had gone to her father’s house, to remain four days.
The Bey, finding that I was not a merchant, asked Achmet what rank I held, and the latter answered that in my own country it was something between a Bey and a Pasha. Before we left, three soldiers were sent down to the river, and, as I afterwards learned, remained all night, standing with whips over the poor sailors who were employed in removing the cargo from the hold of the vessel, which the shekh of the harbor had selected for me. The raïs was threatened with a hundred lashes, unless he had every thing ready by the next day. On leaving, I gave amedjidto the servants, as a gratuity is expected on such occasions. The Bey sent me one of his Arnaouts to carry the lantern, and insisted on stationing a guard near my tent. Two soldiers came soon afterwards, who sat upon my camp-chests and smoked my tobacco until morning. Many of the soldiers were slaves, who received only fifteen piastres a month, beside their rations. The Arnaouts were paid one hundred and twenty-five piastres, and thirty-five piastres additional, provided they furnished their own equipments. As I pulled off my turban and threw myself on my mattress, I involuntarily contrasted my position with that of the previous evening. Then, I slept in the midst of a cluster of Arab huts, a simple Howadji, among camel-drivers. Now, I was an American Bey, in my tent overlooking the Nile, watched by a guard of honor sent me by the commanderof the military forces in Berber and Shendy. All honor to Ethiopian hospitality! For here was at last the true Ethiopia, beyond the confines of Nubia; beyond the ancient Capital of Queen Candace; beyond, not only the first and second, but the eleventh cataract of the Nile, and not far distant from “the steep of utmost Axumè.”
The morning brought with it no less pleasant experiences. Seated at the door of my tent, indolently smoking, lulled by the murmuring of the Nile and cheered by the brightness of the green sea that bathed his western shore, I enjoyed the first completekèffsince leaving Egypt. The temperature was like that of an American June, and my pulse beat so full and warm, my whole body was so filled with a sense of health, of strength in repose, of pure physical satisfaction, that I could not be otherwise than happy. My pleasure was disturbed by an old Arab, who came up with two beautiful goats, which I supposed he wanted to sell, but when Achmet returned from the bazaar, I found that they were a present from the Bey.
As I was sitting at breakfast, an hour later, I heard Achmet talking loudly with some one on the outside of the tent, and called to him to know what was the matter. He stated that an officer had just arrived to announce the Bey’s approach, but that he had ordered him to go back and say that I was at breakfast, and the Bey must not come for half an hour. “You have done a very rude thing,” I said; for I felt annoyed that the Bey should receive such a message, as coming from me. “Don’t be alarmed, master,” he coolly replied; “the Bey is now certain that you are of higher rank than he.” Fortunately, I had a handsome tent, the best of tobacco, and pure Mocha coffee, so that I could comply with the requisites of Easternhospitality in a manner worthy of my supposed rank. The tent was put in order, and I arranged a divan on one side, made of my carpet, mattress, and capote. The two lantern-poles, bound together, formed a mast, which I planted at the door, and then run up the American flag. The preparations were scarcely completed before the Bey appeared, galloping up on a superb, jet-black stallion, with half a dozen officers in attendance. As he dismounted, I advanced to receive him. According to Arab etiquette, the highest in rank enters first, and true to Achmet’s prediction, the Bey, after taking my hand, requested me to precede him. I declined, out of courtesy to him, and after a polite controversy on the subject, he passed his arm affectionately around my waist, and we went in side by side. Achmet had excellent coffee and sherbet in readiness, but the Bey preferred my cigars to the shebook. As he sat beside me on the divan, I thought I had rarely seen a nobler countenance. He had an unusually clear, large hazel eye, a long but not prominent nose, and the lines of fifty years had softened and subdued an expression which may have been fierce and fearless in his younger days. He was from a village near Parga, in Albania, and was delighted when I told him that not long previous, I had sailed past the shores of his native land.
He had no sooner taken his leave than the Civil Governor,ad interim, Mustapha Kashif, arrived, attended by his chief secretary, Mahmoud Effendi. Mustapha was an Anatolian, small in stature, and quite withered and wasted by the torrid climate of Berber. His skin had a dark unhealthy hue, and his eyes a filmy glare, which I attributed to other causes than the diseased liver of which he complained. He immediatelyasked for arakee, and when I told him that it was bad for the liver, said it was the only thing which did him good. Mahmoud Effendi, who was a good-humored Turk, made himself quite at home. I showed them my sketches, with which they were greatly diverted. A remark of the Governor gratified me exceedingly, as it showed that all the attention I received was paid me, not on account of my supposed rank, but from the fact of my being the first American who had ever visited the place. “I have been in this country twenty-four years,” said he, “and in all that time only some French and two or three German and English travellers have passed through. You are the first I have seen fromYenkee-Doonea. [This sounds very much like Yankee-Doodledom, but is in reality the Turkish for “New World.”] You must not go home with an unfavorable account of us.” He had once, when in Alexandria, visited an American man-of-war, which, it appeared, had left a strong impression upon his mind. After mentioning the circumstance, he asked me how many vessels there were in our Navy. I had mastered the Arabic language sufficiently to know the necessity of exaggeration, and answered, without hesitation, that there were one hundred. “Oh no!” said Mustapha, turning to Mahmoud, the Secretary: “His Excellency is entirely too modest. I know very well that there aresix hundredvessels in the American Navy!” I had fallen far below the proper mark; but Achmet tried to straighten the matter by saying that I meant one hundred ships-of-the-line, and did not include the frigates, sloops-of-war, brigs, and corvettes.
Before the Governor had finished his visit, there was a stir outside of the tent, and presently the Chief Mollah—the high-priestof the mosque of Berber—made his appearance. He was a tall, dark-skinned Arab of between fifty and sixty years of age, and wore a long robe of the color sacred to Mahomet, with a turban of the same, under which the ends of a scarf of white gauze, embroidered with Arabic characters in gold, hung on both sides of his face. His manner was quiet and dignified, to a degree which I never saw excelled by any Christian divine. He refused the pipe, but took coffee and sherbet, holding the former two or three times alternately to each eye, while he murmured a form of prayer. He was very much delighted with my sketches, and I was beginning to feel interested in his remarks, when the Governor’s servant appeared, leading a splendid chestnut stallion, with a bridle of scarlet silk cord, and trappings of cloth of the same royal color. He was brought in order that I might take a ride through the city. “But,” said I to Achmet, “I cannot go until this priest has left.” “You forget your high rank, O master!” said the cunning dragoman; “go without fear, and I will take charge of the priest.” Without more ado, I took a hasty leave of the mollah, and swung myself into the saddle. The animal shot off like a bolt from a cross-bow, leaving the Governor to follow in my wake, on his favorite gray ass. On reaching the mosque, I waited for him, and we entered the bazaars together. He insisted on my preceding him, and at his command all the merchants rose and remained standing until we passed. All eyes were of course fixed upon me, and I had some difficulty in preserving a serious and dignified countenance, as I thought of my cracked nose and Abyssinian complexion. Two of the Governor’s slaves attended me, and one of them, who had a remarkably insolent and scornful expression,was the only person who did not seem impressed by my presence. The fellow’s face was disagreeable to me; he was the death’s-head at my banquet.
The stallion was a noble beast, so full of blood and fire that it was worth a month’s journey through the Desert to bestride him. He was small, and his limbs were scarcely long enough for the breadth of his chest and the fulness of his flanks. He had, however, the slender head and brilliant eye of the Arab breed, and his powerful neck expressed a fine disdain of other horses. He was of the best Dongolese stock, but resembled in many points the famed Anatolian breed of Asia Minor. He pranced and caracoled impatiently as I forced him to accommodate his pace to that of the ignoble ass. “Let him run!” said the Governor, as we reached a broad open square near the outskirts of the city. I slackened the rein, and he dashed away with a swiftness that almost stopped my breath. I am but an ordinary rider, but owing to the Turkish saddle, had no difficulty in keeping a firm seat and controlling the powerful steed. We visited the mud fortress of Berber, which is a square structure, with a bastion at each corner, having embrasures for three cannon, and the Governor gave me to understand that they made a mighty sound, every time they were fired. He then took me to the house of a French merchant, with a name something like D’Arfou. The merchant was absent in Cairo, but a black slave gave us admittance. We took seats in a cool portico, admired the Frenchman’s handsome gray donkey and his choice cows, looked out the windows upon his garden, planted with fig, orange, banana and pomegranate trees, and were finally served with coffee, presented in heavy silverserfs. A slave then appeared,bringing his child, a pretty boy of two years old, born of an Abyssinian mother. He refused to be taken into the Governor’s arms, and contemplated me, his Frank relative, with much more satisfaction. M. D’Arfou’s house—although the walls were mud, the floors gravel and the roof palm-logs—was cool, roomy and pleasant; and for that region, where one cannot easily have marble pavements and jasper fountains, was even luxurious.
We mounted again, and the Governor took me through the city, to its southern extremity. It is more than a mile in length, and contains about twenty thousand inhabitants. The houses are all of mud, which, though unsightly in appearance, is there as good as granite, and the streets are broad, clean, and unmolested by dogs. I was well pleased with the appearance of the place. The inhabitants are mostly Nubians, of the different tribes between Berber and Dongola, mixed with a few Ababdehs, Bishàrees, and other Desert Arabs. Though scantily dressed, they seemed contented, if not with their masters, at least with their condition. Among the crowd that gathered to see us, I recognized Eesa, arrayed in a new, snow-white garment, and looking like a bronze Ganymede. He gazed at me wistfully, as if uncertain whether he should dare to speak, but I hailed him at once with: “Salaamàt, ya Eesa!” and he replied proudly and joyfully. After our tour was over, the Governor took me to his house, which, after that of the Pasha, was the finest one in the place. His reception-room was cool, with a broad divan, upon which we stretched ourselves at ease, sharing the single pillow between us. The attendants were dressing in an adjoining room, and presently appeared in all the splendor of snow-white turbans and trowsers.I was presented with a pipe, and as a great treat, a bottle of the mastic cordial of Scio was brought. The Governor insisted on my drinking three small glasses of it, three being the fortunate number. At this juncture Achmet appeared, to my great relief, for my whole stock of Arabic was exhausted.
We were about to leave, but the Governor declared that it was impossible. It would be disgraceful to him, should we not take dinner in his house, and in order that we might not be delayed, he ordered it to be served at once. I was willing enough to make use of this opportunity of partaking of an Arab dinner. First, a slave appeared, and gave each of us a napkin, which we spread over our knees. He was followed by another, who bore a brass ewer, and a pitcher from which he poured water over our hands. A small stand upholding a large circular piece of tin, was then placed before us. A covered dish stood in the centre, and a rampart of thin wheaten cakes, resembling Mexican tortillas, adorned the circumference. The cover was removed, disclosing a thick soup, with balls of dough and meat. We took the ebony spoons, and now behold the Governor, Achmet and I dipping fraternally into the same bowl, and politely stirring the choice lumps into each other’s spoons. Mustapha was in the most hilarious humor, but his four dark attendants stood before us as solemn as Death. I thought then, and still think, that they hated him cordially. The soup was followed by a dish ofkibâbs, or small pieces of meat, fried in grease. These we picked out with our fingers, and then, tearing the wheat cakes into slices, sopped up the sauce. About ten different compounds of meat and vegetables followed, each unlike any thing I ever tasted before, but all quite palatable. The only articles I was able to detect in thewhole dinner, were mutton-cutlets, egg-plants and sour milk. Each dish was brought on separately, and we all three ate therefrom, either with spoons or fingers. When the repast was finished, water was brought again, and we washed our hands and quietly awaited the pipes and coffee. When we arose to leave, Achmet was about to give the customary medjid to the servants, but the Governor prevented him. Nevertheless, he found an opportunity as I was mounting, to slip it into the hand of the scornful slave, who took it without relaxing the scowl upon his features. I pranced back to my tent upon the chestnut stallion, from which I parted with more regret than from its owner.
By this time, every thing was in readiness for my departure. The sailors, who had worked all night with the whips of the Albanian soldiers hung over their backs (unknown to me, or I should not have permitted it), had brought the vessel to the bank below my tent, and the Bey had sent me his promised letter to the Governor of Shendy. The pleasures of royalty were now over, and I had to deal with some of its pains. All the officers and servants who had been employed for my benefit expected backsheesh, and every beggar in the place came to taste the bounty of the foreign king. When Achmet went to the bazaars to purchase a few necessaries, he overheard the people saying to one another, “That is the interpreter of the strange king,” and many of them rose and remained standing until he had passed. Ali, who had spent the whole day apparently in hunting for chickens and pigeons, but Eblis knew for what in reality, was assailed on all sides with inquiries: “Who is this that has come among us? What high rank does he possess, that he receives such honor?”Ali, who had known me merely as a Howadji, was somewhat perplexed how to explain the matter, but got out of his difficulty by declaring that I was the son of the great king of all the Franks.
I shall not soon forget that noble old Albanian, Yagheshir Bey. Achmet, who paid him a parting visit, and was received with the greatest kindness, conceived a strong affection for him. The Bey, on learning that I was ready to leave, sent word to me that he would bring a company of his Arnaouts down to the bank of the Nile, and salute my flag. “It is the first time that flag has been seen here,” said he to Achmet, “and I must have it properly honored.” And truly enough, when we were all embarked, and I had given the stars and stripes to the Ethiopian winds, a company of about fifty soldiers ranged themselves along the high bank, and saluted the flag with a dozen rattling volleys.
As I sailed away I returned the salute with my pistols, and the soldiers fired a parting volley after me for good luck on the voyage, but so recklessly that I heard the sharp whistle of the bullets quite close to the vessel. I felt more grateful to the Bey for this courtesy than for his kindness to myself. But Berber was soon left behind; for the wind was fair, and bore me southward, deeper into Africa.