CHAPTER VII.
History of Ascalon—Ruins—Encampments—Forced labour of peasants—Excavations—Fragments of Columns—Discovery of a mutilated statue—Apprehensions of Signor Damiani—Lady Hester orders the statue to be destroyed—Excavations abandoned—Lady Hester’s narrative of the motives and results of the researches—Auditing accounts—Mohammed Aga a fatalist—Return to Jaffa—Derwish Mustafa Aga and Lady Hester’s black female slave—Patients—Mohammed Bey; his story—Return of Lady Hester’s servant Ibrahim from England—Khurby, or the Ruins—Remains near that spot—Return to Acre—Altercation with muleteers—Excavations at Sayda—Reflexions on researches for hidden treasures.
History of Ascalon—Ruins—Encampments—Forced labour of peasants—Excavations—Fragments of Columns—Discovery of a mutilated statue—Apprehensions of Signor Damiani—Lady Hester orders the statue to be destroyed—Excavations abandoned—Lady Hester’s narrative of the motives and results of the researches—Auditing accounts—Mohammed Aga a fatalist—Return to Jaffa—Derwish Mustafa Aga and Lady Hester’s black female slave—Patients—Mohammed Bey; his story—Return of Lady Hester’s servant Ibrahim from England—Khurby, or the Ruins—Remains near that spot—Return to Acre—Altercation with muleteers—Excavations at Sayda—Reflexions on researches for hidden treasures.
The antiquity of the city of Ascalon is clear from the sacred writings; for we read of it in the book of Joshua,[50]the book of Kings,[51]and elsewhere; so that as early as nineteen hundred years before Christ it was known as one of the chief places of Palestine. It became afterwards a part of the Assyrian, then of the Persian, monarchy; and was subdued, together with all Syria, by Alexander the Great. After his death, it fell to the lot of Ptolemy Lagus, king of Egypt;and by Antiochus the Great it was incorporated with the empire of Syria. In Strabo[52]it is said that “Ascalon is a city not spacious, and built in such a sunk situation as to seem to be in a hole.†William of Tyre informs us that “it resisted our arms for fifty years and more, after Jerusalem had fallen; until, in the year of our Lord 1194, on the 12th of August, after a bloody siege, it was surrendered to king Baldwin by its Saracen inhabitants.â€
Herod, king of the Jews, respected Ascalon as the native place of his family; and, from this circumstance, and from the splendid baths and peristyles which he built there, he obtained the appellation of Herod the Ascalonite. William of Tyre informs us that “this city, from the inaptitude of the sea-coast, neither has nor ever had a harbour or safe anchorage for shipping.â€[53]Abulfeda, quoting from El Azýz, and speaking from his own knowledge, says: “Ascalon is a city on the sea-shore, in which there are vestiges of antiquity:†and again,—“It adjoins the sea on a bank; it is one of the most illustrious places of the plain on the sea-shore, and has no port.†What was the fate of the city from this time I have no documents to show, excepting that it is probable it fell gradually to decay, until the time when it was visitedby d’Arvieux, a Frenchman, who gives us the following account of these ruins in 1659. “We departed from Gaza, about eight in the morning. We kept the shore as far as the ancient city of Ascalon. It is situated on the sea, in a country level and very fertile. The prodigious thickness of the walls and towers, which are all fallen, and which have filled the ditches, show it to have been formerly one of the strongest places in Palestine. It is at present as ruinous as Cæsarea or St. Jean d’Acre. There are only a few spaces of wall still existing towards the sea, in which are embedded (endossés) several columns of granite, or, as the vulgar fancy, cast stone. This city has no port, nor any houses sufficiently entire to be habitable, so that it is wholly abandoned.... We found nothing remarkable in it but an old well half filled up, and constructed in the style of Joseph’s well in the castle at Cairo: and, towards the middle of the city, seven or eight pillars of marble still standing upon their pedestals, which appeared to be the remains of a temple. We quitted the sea-shore, in leaving this desolated city, and took the road to Rama, over a most beautiful and highly cultivated country.†I may add that, so late as thirty years ago, there was enough of the great mosque standing to afford a dwelling to a shaykh of Barbary.
The city of Ascalon, as we found it, differed little from the account of d’Arvieux, excepting that nomarble columns, or portions of an edifice, were now standing; and those which formerly strewed the ground had, for the most part, been carried away.
Palmyra is an instance how long structures will remain when left to the slow effects of time and natural decay. It is to the hand of man that they generally owe their greatest dismemberment: and, thus Ascalon was stripped of all that was useful in it to rebuild Jaffa and Acre. Its neighbourhood to the sea-shore afforded great facilities of conveyance: and blocks ready cut, columns ready shaped, and slabs of marble that required but to be laid, would not be spared when so near at hand. Hence rose the seraglio of Gezzà r, the mosque, and the public baths; where granite, prophyry, and marble, are huddled together in rich but bungling confusion. When that which lay on the surface had been carried off, they proceeded to dig, and their labour was rewarded by the discovery of materials equally useful, although less easy to come at.
According to a rough calculation, from the time required to make the circuit of the walls of Ascalon on horseback, its circumference is two miles. The shape is somewhat triangular, and the side towards the sea is a little longer than the others. The assertion of Strabo, that the city is built as if in a hole, and Abulfeda’s account that it stands on a bank, may be reconciled on an actual view of the spot. For, when approaching it from the east, hillocks of drifted sand, accumulated round the walls, have obtained anelevation almost equal to them, so that the ground within the walls is lower than that without. But, towards the sea, the plain closes abruptly in a precipice of some height; so that, viewed from that quarter, Ascalon may even be said to stand high. The coast runs nearly north-east and south-west. The wall on the sea-side rises almost from the water’s edge, and is intended to prop the crumbling precipice. It was probably raised on an emergency; for it is composed of rude masonry, where shafts of granite columns are stuck in, so as to represent at a distance the cannon of a ship or the artillery of a fortress. At certain distances on the walls were towers, which, by the parts that still remain, appear to have been of good masonry. The walls themselves are five or six feet thick.[54]
Ascalon is mentioned by Strabo as famous for its onions, and it enjoys at this day a reputation for the same root, which is considered by the neighbouring peasants as a delicious article of food.
Within the ruins, all was desolation. Fragments of pillars lay scattered about, and elevations here and there showed how many more might lie concealed beneath the surface of the soil.
Early on the first of April,[55]Lady Hester, Derwish Mustafa Aga, and Mohammed Aga, accompanied by the interpreters and myself, rode over the ruins, seeking for the indications given in the Italian document. The mosque was immediately recognized by themahreb, or niche, looking towards which the imám stands to direct, as fugleman, the kneeling and prostrations of Mahometans in prayer. This was still standing, but, in other respects, no more than a stone or two of the foundations remained above ground. Although there was little doubt that this was the spot meant, still it was difficult to know at which side or end, in a building fifty-five paces long and forty-three in breadth, to begin. At the north-west corner of the ruins was a santon’s tomb, covered with a small building. Here dwelt a shaykh,[56]the only inhabitant of the place; and, seeing his solitary reign thus molested by horsemen, tents, soldiers, andcorvéesof peasants, he very soon became acquainted with the motive, and readily mixed with the spectators. He was consulted as to what he knew of the building. He said that formerly a Barbaresque had visited the shrine, and had lived with him eleven months, always lurking about, doing he knew not what: but that, in conversation, he had assigned to twodifferent spots hidden treasures, both within the circuit of the mosque. It was finally resolved to begin on the south side.
The tents were then fixed in the following manner. On the east side, close to the mosque, were planted Signor Catafago’s, Mâlem Musa’s, M. Beaudin’s and my own, each as large as an English marquee: and, close to them, asewán, or open tent, for meals. The meals were to be served three times a day, consisting of two services at noon and sunset, and of a light breakfast at sunrise. No where in Syria did I fare better than here. At the south side of the mosque, on an eminence or mound, was fixed a large tent of observation, in which Mohammed Aga, when present, sat. But the tents of Mohammed Aga and the Zäym were without the city walls, close by the Eastern gate, in a sandy bottom. And here, too, were the tents of the cavalry, the kitchens, the water-carriers, the horses, &c.; presenting a scene of showy gaiety almost as lively as a race-course. All the tents were either green or blue: and the principal ones were conspicuous for flamings swords, flowers, stars, and other ornaments, worked upon them. Couriers were coming and going every day from and to Jaffa.
It has been said that to the north of the ruins there was a small village, called El Jura, two hundred yards from the walls. Here two cottages were swept out, matted, and carpeted for Lady Hester and her female attendants: for to have encamped inthe midst of the men would, by Mahometans, so far as related to women, have been thought improper, and her ladyship now required the strictest decorum of behaviour in her women, and on all occasions consonant to Mahometan usages: so that, not even Mrs. Fry, her English maid, was suffered to open the door of the courtyard of the cottage without veiling her face. Between the village and the ruins was fixed a tent, and here Lady Hester sat in the day-time, and received visits from the agas, the mâlems, &c. At two she generally mounted her ass, and rode to see the workmen. On these occasions they would shout, and renew their digging with fresh activity.
I have mentioned that, for this purpose, the neighbouring peasantry had been put in requisition. These poor men were pressed by government, and received no pay, but they were treated well; for two meals were served up to them in the day-time, and no severity was used towards them. They generally came about one hundred a day, many, where they could, alleging causes of exemption, and worked until about an hour before sunset. Signor Catafago, Signor Damiani, M. Beaudin, Giorgio, the governor, and myself, superintended them, with overseers immediately among them: and it was no small exertion to sit or walk six or eight hours, sometimes in the rain, and sometimes under a burning sun. The peasants, who laboured and perspired, suffered less. It would seem impossible to an Englishman that they could have worked hard, when told that these men drank nothing but water.
The very day of our arrival, a gang was immediately set to work: and I shall now proceed to detail, day by day, what the excavations brought to light. As a beginning, nothing more was done than just to remove the surface of the ground.
April 2nd. After digging down three or four feet, some foundations were laid open, running east and west. On removing the earth between them nothing was found but mould and loose stones, with two or three human bones. Three fragments of marble shafts of pillars were bared and a Corinthian capital. There were appearances showing that the ground had been disturbed at some former period, particularly in the south-east corner, where there was a ditch of a very recent date, which (it was whispered by the peasants) had been made by Mohammed Aga himself. Two small earthen phials, about three inches long, some fragments of vases, and a bottle of lapis specularis, or talc, were dug up: shards of pottery were found here and there, but none of them of fine workmanship.
On the 3rd day, the excavations were continued along the south wall. The men worked with great animation. The idea of discovering immense heaps of gold seemed to have an effect upon them, although they could not hope for a share in it. On this day there was a great fall of rain and hail, and the weather was so tempestuous as much to impede the labourers. A pipe and tabor were therefore brought, to the tune of which they worked, sung, and danced. Cross foundationswere met with, running east and west, seeming to have served for the support of rows of pedestals. About fifteen feet from the centre of the south wall were discovered several large fragments of granite columns, which lay one on another in such a manner as to render it probable that they were placed there.
On the 4th day the work was continued nearly in the same direction. At three in the afternoon, the workmen struck upon a mutilated statue. I was immediately called, and felt exultation at the sight of a relic of antiquity, which I thought might give celebrity to our labours. The soil around it being removed, it was drawn up by ropes, without damage. There were at the same spot some imperfect remains of the pedestal on which it had stood. The depth of the mould and rubbish which lay over the statue was six or eight feet.
On examination, it proved to be a marble statue of colossal dimensions and of good execution. It was headless, and had lost an arm and a leg; but was not otherwise disfigured. It seemed to have represented a deified king:[57]for the shoulders were ornamentedwith the insignia of the thunderbolt, and the breast with the Medusa’s head. There was every reason to believe that, in the changes of masters which Ascalon had undergone, the place in which we were now digging had originally been a heathen temple, afterwards a church, and then a mosque. The statue probably belonged to the age of the successors of Alexander, or it might be that of Herod himself. At the depth where the statue lay was a marble pavement and also a tympanum of a porch of the Corinthian order. To the East, close to the South wall, was found the trunk of another statue. As the mould was cleared away, a modius was discovered, which probably had surmounted the head of one of the two statues. It was chipped off at the top, and evidently, at the bottom, had been forcibly separated from the head to which it had belonged: it was nine and a half inches long. The statue, from the acromion to the heel, was six feet nine inches.
STATUE FOUND AT ASCALON.
STATUE FOUND AT ASCALON.
On the fifth day the outline of the foundations of the entire building was made out. It was amusing at this time to find how many wise men, some calling themselves astrologers, and some fortune-tellers, started up on all sides to foretel Lady Hester’s success. This was fortunate: for the workmen had begun to relax in their labours, and their overseers sneered at the business. Mohammed Aga found his own purposes answered in the number of marble slabs that were discovered. These he shipped, in a coasting boat, for Jaffa. On the outside of the West foundation, three subterraneous places were opened, which at first, it was thought, would lead to the object we were in search of. But they proved to be cisterns or reservoirs for rain water, with no appearance of antiquity about them; and, both in the round mouth upwards, and in the conduit which led the water into them, resembled those in use throughout Syria at the present day.
In the mean time, Signor Catafago and myself were much amused by the exceeding apprehension of Signor Damiani, lest he should be poisoned. The governor generally dined with us: but Damiani would neither eat nor drink in our tent. He affected an air of mystery in every thing, and soberly advised her ladyship, if she wished to succeed, to sacrifice a cock of a particular colour, and at a particular hour of the day, to ensure success. Derwish Mustafa was too phlegmatic to be acted upon by any hopes orfears. He expected the issue (in appearance at least) with as much indifference, or, I might say with more, than he did the uncovering of a dish at dinner: for here his philosophy sometimes forsook him, and he occasionally showed undue joy. News of Ali Pasha’s death reached us this day; but the Turks did not mourn outwardly; yet, where they were not called upon to do so, there were sometimes touches of feeling to be observed, rare in more formal exhibitions of sorrow.
This and the following day produced nothing new. In riding over to Megdel, to visit Signor Damiani, who lived in a dirty cottage there, I observed that the place had a market which was well attended.
On the following day, which was the eighth from the commencement of our labours, the cisterns were emptied. Digging in the line of the West wall, two stone troughs of considerable length were discovered about four feet under the surface, and upon them lay, cross-wise, four gray granite columns, closely packed to each other, as if done methodically. This discovery revived the people’s hopes; for it was supposed that huge masses of granite could not have fallen in such a position accidentally, and would not be laboriously placed so, unless to conceal something. The removing was deferred until the morrow, the men requiring ropes to do it, because horses are never put into harness in Syria. Near the North East angle was also found a marble pavement, and by it seemedto have been another door. Under the pavement ran a continuation of the same canal which conducted water to the cisterns.
I had by this time made a pen sketch of the statue, and had represented to Lady Hester that her labours, if productive of no golden treasures, had brought to light one more valuable in the eyes of the lovers of the fine arts, and that future travellers would come to visit the ruins of Ascalon, rendered memorable by the enterprise of a woman, who, though digging for gold, yet rescued the remains of antiquity from oblivion. What was my astonishment, when she answered—“This may be all true; but it is my intention to break the statue, and have it thrown into the sea, precisely in order that such a report may not get abroad, and I lose with the Porte all the merit of my disinterestedness.â€
When I heard what her intentions were, I made use of every argument in my power to dissuade her from it; telling her that the apparent vandalism of such an act could never be wiped away in the eyes of virtuosi, and would be the less excusable, as I was not aware that the Turks had either claimed the statue or had forbidden its preservation. It was true, that, whilst sketching it, the people had expressed their surmises at what I could find to admire in a broken image; and I heard some of them conjecture that it might be a deity of the Franks, as it had been of the Romans and Greeks. But no idle notions, I insisted,ought to have weight on her mind; and I begged hard that, if she could not with decency carry it away, she would at least leave it for others to look at. She replied, “Malicious people may say I came to search for antiquities for my country, and not for treasures for the Porte: so, go this instant; take with you half a dozen stout fellows, and break it in a thousand pieces!†Her resolution was not a thing of the moment: she had reflected on it two days; and knowing her unalterable determination on such occasions, I went and did as she desired. When Mohammed Aga saw what had been done, he could not conceal his vexation: for it is probable that Lady Hester had read what was passing in his mind, and had thus prevented many an insinuation against her. Indeed, reports were afterwards circulated that the chest of the statue was found full of gold—half of which was given to the pasha, and the other half kept by Lady Hester. In England, where her motives were unknown, people naturally have decried her conduct, although it is plain that her strict integrity ought to prove her justification.
On the 9th, when the granite pillars were removed, a work of no trifling magnitude, considering the means by which it was effected,[58]the troughs were foundempty. The disappointment was very great: and, the more so, as the excavation of the four following days produced nothing but two granite columns at the North West angle, six or eight feet below the surface, a white marble pedestal, some bones of animals, and two earthenware lamps. A small excavation was likewise made in one of the towers of the East wall of the city. With respect to the area of the mosque, almost all of it had been turned up. The North foundation wall had been traced throughout its whole length; and, in that direction, the shafts of two small marble pillars, about six feet in length, and with rude capitals, had been the only reward. Other masses had been broken up, to see if they had concealed anything. But, when every research was fruitless, the closing hand was, by Lady Hester’s consent, put to our labours on the 14th of April, being a fortnight from the commencement. The conclusion that her ladyship came to was, that when Gezzà r Pasha embellished the city of Acre, by digging for marble and other materials in the ruins of Ascalon, he was fortunate enough to discover the treasure. That Gezzà r enriched his coffers by wealth so got was generally affirmed: and it is probable that his pretended mania for building was no more than a cloak to conceal this real motive for excavating. Thus ended this most interesting experiment; which failed in its primary object, but had the desirable effect of establishing Lady Hester’s popularity throughout Syria, and of confirmingthe belief, already grown up, that she was a person of some consideration, even in the eyes of the Sublime Porte.
I am enabled to subjoin Lady Hester’s own account of these excavations, which she sent to Lord Bathurst, then Secretary of State.
Lady Hester Stanhope to the Right Hon. the Earl Bathurst, &c.My Lord,A curious document, once in the hands of the church, fell by accident into mine. It was an indication to considerable treasures in Syria. Having made this known to the Porte, a confidential person belonging to the sultan’s household was sent from Constantinople to investigate the business. I proceeded with him to Ascalon: but the mosque, in which the treasure was said to be hidden, was no longer standing. One wall only remained of a magnificent structure, which had been mosque, church, and temple at different periods. After having traced out the South West and North foundation walls, and after digging for several days within them, we came to the under-ground fabric we were looking for: but, alas! it had been rifled. It was, as nearly as one could calculate, capable of containing three millions of pieces of gold—the sum mentioned in the document. Whilst excavating this once magnificent building—for such it must have been by the number of fine columns and fine pavements we discovered under ground—we found a superb colossal statue without a head, which belonged to the heathens. It was eighteen feet below the surface. Knowing how much it would be prized by English travellers, I ordered it to be broken into a thousand pieces, that malicious people might not say I came to look for statues for my countrymen and not for treasures for the Porte.This business has taken up a good deal of my time for these three months past. I have had a thousand honours paid me, which it is not worth while to enter upon. The authenticity of the paper I do not doubt; but, as many centuries have elapsed since the Christians hid treasure there, it is not very surprising that it should have been removed. Had it escaped observation, in the same way the statue did the eyes of the Turks, when this spot was converted into a mosque, it would have been a fine thing for the Turkish government.I have the honour, &c.H. L. Stanhope.
Lady Hester Stanhope to the Right Hon. the Earl Bathurst, &c.
My Lord,
A curious document, once in the hands of the church, fell by accident into mine. It was an indication to considerable treasures in Syria. Having made this known to the Porte, a confidential person belonging to the sultan’s household was sent from Constantinople to investigate the business. I proceeded with him to Ascalon: but the mosque, in which the treasure was said to be hidden, was no longer standing. One wall only remained of a magnificent structure, which had been mosque, church, and temple at different periods. After having traced out the South West and North foundation walls, and after digging for several days within them, we came to the under-ground fabric we were looking for: but, alas! it had been rifled. It was, as nearly as one could calculate, capable of containing three millions of pieces of gold—the sum mentioned in the document. Whilst excavating this once magnificent building—for such it must have been by the number of fine columns and fine pavements we discovered under ground—we found a superb colossal statue without a head, which belonged to the heathens. It was eighteen feet below the surface. Knowing how much it would be prized by English travellers, I ordered it to be broken into a thousand pieces, that malicious people might not say I came to look for statues for my countrymen and not for treasures for the Porte.
This business has taken up a good deal of my time for these three months past. I have had a thousand honours paid me, which it is not worth while to enter upon. The authenticity of the paper I do not doubt; but, as many centuries have elapsed since the Christians hid treasure there, it is not very surprising that it should have been removed. Had it escaped observation, in the same way the statue did the eyes of the Turks, when this spot was converted into a mosque, it would have been a fine thing for the Turkish government.
I have the honour, &c.
H. L. Stanhope.
During these fourteen days many circumstances took place which were not mentioned, in order that no interruption should take place in the narrative. It happened that the time of auditing the accounts of the district over which Mohammed Aga was governor occurred during this period; and the katibs, or under-secretaries, of the pasha were sent for that purpose. They and the katib of Mohammed Aga were for two days closely at work. When they had concluded, and all was found right, the two secretaries were dismissed, with a present from Mohammed Aga, between them, of 700 piasters, and their servants with 100. It is certainly matter of surprise with how few books they manage very extensive concerns; such as must be those of the civil and military command of a district vested in the same person; and it is equally a cause of astonishment to an Englishman to hear gentlemen put the question one to another, at the close of apecuniary arrangement, of “Well, how much did the governor give you, and what did your servants get?â€
On the 12th, Signor Catafago left us, upon pretext of business at Damascus.
It was said, in a former page, that Mohammed Aga was a fatalist: a conversation, which took place in the presence of Mâlem Mûsa, the dragoman, and myself, will prove it. I had attended professionally on him and one or two of his people; and I observed to him, “One of your Excellency’s servants has the itch; it would be well if you kept him at a distance from your person.†“Oh, my good sir,†he replied, “I take no precautions against this sort of thing; it were a matter of indifference to me if I even wore the shirt just pulled off his back. Who created that disorder, if you please?—was it not God? and, if so, it is of very little consequence what precautions I take; for, if God intends me to have it, &c., &c.†At this time, there were so many of his people infected with it, that I avoided feeling any one’s pulse until I had first closely inspected his fingers.
The race of peasants in the villages near Ascalon is ugly, with skins of a dirty brown. I saw not one pretty nor even one engaging woman; a rare occurrence in those parts, where the human form has generally some one feature to boast of, and where all the females strove to be pleasing in their manner of speaking.
Lady Hester lodged in a cottage in a village twoor three hundred yards from the ruins. To get to it there was a path, of course little trodden until our coming: to return home from it after dark was always at the hazard of broken shins.
There being nothing farther to detain us at Ascalon, on the 15th we returned to Jaffa. An unlucky accident happened through the negligence of Mbárak, who, being caffegi, or coffee-server, laid a complaint against a peasant for stealing a silver coffee-cup stand, or zerf, which was missing. The peasant was bastinadoed at Mejdel; when, on our arrival at Ebna, the cup was found. I made Lady Hester acquainted with the circumstance, and reprimanded Mbárak severely. A sum of money was sent to the poor peasant to recompense him for the injustice that had been done him; but the soles of his feet were not to be healed by money. Oh! ye men in authority, be not too hasty in awarding stripes!
I bought a few coins at Mejdel, but of no value: none were found during the excavations. Silver or gold coins of Ascalon are so rare that it is said one of either of these two metals would be worth from ten to fifteen guineas.
When we returned to Jaffa, Lady Hester wished to enjoy a little quiet; and a cottage belonging to Signor Damiani, and situate in a garden half a league from the town, was made comfortable for her as far as time and its ruinous condition would allow. I lodged as before in the monastery.
One thing had troubled Lady Hester very much during the whole journey, which may be mentioned as showing the system, pursued universally throughout the Turkish empire, of making it impossible for Christians, however favoured, to enjoy tranquilly the concession of any right or immunity ordinarily belonging to Mahometans only. One of these was to have black slaves, whom Christians are not allowed to buy, but which Lady Hester had been privileged to do. Derwish Mustafa Aga had not been many days acquainted with Lady Hester, when he heard of her possessing a black slave, and her ladyship told him how much pains she had bestowed in having her instructed in the principles of her religion; adding, that he might question her, if he would, to see if she had profited by the lessons she had received. The Zaym did so, and expressed himself so satisfied with her progress, that he thought it a pity (he said) she should be left among Christian servants, who would contaminate her mind and expose her to the temptation of wine, &c. The fact was, that the old man found her young and beautiful, though black, and, according to the usages of his country, would have very willingly made her his concubine. He, therefore, often renewed the subject: and, half joking half seriously, would say to Lady Hester that she was aware that the first duty of a Mussulman was to get a true believer out of the hands of infidels; and that, when the business was over, he should require her ather hands. Then he would say, “Tell me her price, that you may not be a loser by her;†and would continually be making many similar speeches. Lady Hester used to remark upon this subject: “This man puts me in an awkward predicament:—what can I do? He will make me give her to him at last, for, when he says that he will buy her of me, that means nothing; I can’t take money of him. To give her to a man like Mûly Ismael, who has wives and a harým, might be harmless; but to this man, who I know will make use of her for his own purposes on the road, it is a disgrace, and I cannot do it.†Nor did she; but it will be seen how, to the last, he tenaciously persisted in demanding her; and, in her stead, obtained one of less beauty and value indeed, but still recommendable for both.
Among the merchants of Jaffa, I had a few patients, and in visiting their houses I saw somewhat of the domestic society of the place. One of these was a blind Turk, whose conversation I found very interesting. He had been converted to Islamism from Christianity, and passed for a learned man. Not thinking that his apostacy from the religion of Christ ought to make me decline his visits, we often saw each other; although some people in England, for whom I have a great respect, and to whom I mentioned the subject, were of opinion that I ought to have done so.
One day, whilst I was sitting in my room at theconvent, Mâlem Mûsa and M. Beaudin being with me, a young man, about twenty-two years old, entered, and, giving me the salutation, used between friends when they meet, of a kiss on each cheek, set himself down in the highest place, with the air of a man who knew that he had a right to it. He was handsome and of a pleasing countenance. It is customary in the East not to ask the business of a person who presents himself as a stranger, until he has been welcomed by some refreshment. Conformable to this usage, I bade the servant bring coffee and pipes, and stared with some degree of inquisitiveness, trying to guess, in my own mind, who he could be. Mâlem Mûsa, I have said, was a man acquainted with the world, and he saw at once that the stranger was unfortunate: thinking, therefore, to relieve the young man’s chagrin, he began a long story on the fickleness of fortune. The youth, encouraged by his apparent sympathy, by degrees took courage and told his tale. He said his name was Mohammed Bey, son of Daher Tabû, and nephew of a pasha; that he had been motsellem of Killes, near Aleppo, but had been driven from his home by the persecution of Gelal-ed-Dyn, pasha of Aleppo. The account he gave us of his misfortunes was as follows.
This Gelal-ed-dyn had been sent on a mission from the Porte, commissioned to punish the rebels at Aleppo. He passed the night, on his way thither, at Killes, and was magnificently entertained by MohammedBey, whom in return he honoured with great apparent civility; and professed so much satisfaction with his treatment that he invited the bey to accompany him on his expedition. The bey went. During the whole of the siege of Geser Shogr, which preceded the attack on Aleppo, he manifested an unusual liking to him. Topal Ali and Sayd Aga having fled from Geser Shogr, Gelal-ed-dyn marched for Aleppo, where by artifice he succeeded in prevailing on the chiefs of the rebels to trust their persons within his camp, and then massacred them. The bey told us he was witness to the massacre, and that he stood by, his knees trembling and his teeth chattering, in an indescribable way, whilst the pasha’s only remark was: “Well, now it’s over, what do you think of all this?â€
In the evening of the same day, the kekhyah sent for him, and he immediately repaired to his tent. “I want,†said the kekhyah, “thirty-three purses of you.†The youth was astounded, and cried “where am I to find such a sum?â€â€”“You best know,†replied the kekhyah; and he was led from the tent to prison, where he was chained. Here he found himself in company with several others in a similar situation. The prison doors were opened in the night, and, soon after, two or three reports of guns gave the signal of the death of more victims of the pasha’s sanguinary cruelty. This uncomfortable scene was renewed for several nights. At last the bey’s turn came. Hewas conducted by some Albanian soldiers into a room, where he was again told he must find the sum of money demanded of him. Upon declaring it to be impossible, he was put to the torture by means of a rope, twisted tight round his head, and pressing on two phalangeal bones placed on his temples. Overcome by extreme pain, he promised to do all they asked, though he knew not how. He returned again to prison, and time was given him to raise among his friends what he could. Half the sum required was finally paid, and he was set at liberty.
He fled from Aleppo to Antioch, from Antioch to Hamah; thence to Damascus, Acre, and Jaffa. “Here, gentlemen,†he continued, “I am come to throw myself at the feet of the English lady, and ask succour at her hand.†He then exhibited his sherwals, (brogues) and the other parts of his dress torn and dirty, as proofs of his situation. He said that Mûly Ismael had given him 200 piasters; Bekyr Aga of Antioch 500; and that Kengy Ahmed Aga had, since his arrival at Jaffa, taken care that he should not want for a meal.
By this little history, it will be seen that the pride, which forbids an Englishman well-born to demand charity, however great his distress, is unknown to the Turks; but what we wondered at was that he could submit to beg from a Christian. Lady Hester gave him ten guineas, which sum enabled him to embark for Egypt, where he hoped, at the court of MohammedAli Pasha, to find some honourable employment. Throughout his story there was occasionally an appearance of falsehood. But, whether true or false, it serves as a picture of the measures of arbitrary governments; since no man who wishes to be believed invents occurrences that have not a similitude to truth, and to the usages of the people of whom he is speaking.
Lady Hester was much surprised one day to find that a man, who had sent in to say he wished to be admitted to her presence, should prove to be that same Ibrahim who went from Egypt to England with two horses as a present from her to H.R.H. the Duke of York. He had saved a considerable sum of money whilst there, arising from the generosity of the Duke and of several other distinguished persons. This money he had converted into cutlery previous to his return to Egypt; but, arriving at Malta when the plague was raging, he got into difficulties, was detained a long time in Sicily, where he lost his merchandize, and was reduced, by the time he reached Jaffa, to a penniless state. He related many amusing stories of what he had seen in England, by which it appeared that he had been much caressed by the great; but his astonishment at the novel and wonderful sight which a metropolis like London would be supposed to excite in the eyes of an untutored Mahometan did not appear to have been remarkable. Two things, however, had struck him as scarcely credible; he never saw a flea, and very few people told lies.
Whilst Lady Hester sojourned in the gardens of Jaffa, Mâlem Musa could not resist the temptation of performing the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, now that his vicinity to that place afforded him the opportunity. We do not in Europe feel the same ardour with those in the Levant to pay this meritorious debt. I believe that Mâlem Musa would have wept like a child, could he not have gone. As my servant, Giovanni, had never been there, he was allowed to accompany him.
There was another place mentioned in the MS. given to Lady Hester, where a second great treasure was said to be concealed, viz. in the ruins of Awgy, and it was resolved that I should go alone, and examine it. Upon the edge of a river, still known by the name of Awgy, and at the distance of an hour and a half from Jaffa, bearing north-east and by east, once stood this city. Its site is called El Khurby orThe Ruins; and, when I visited it, a peasant was ploughing over it. Loose stones, thickly scattered on the surface, marked the spot: an indication the more certain, as the surrounding country was of a fine mould, and stoneless. To the right of the ruin was a hillock called Tel Abu Zytûn. The river Awgy empties itself into the sea three miles north of Jaffa. Its source is about a mile and a half from the foot of the mountains in ten or a dozen springs: these, uniting, form at once a river from twenty-five to thirty feet broad. It is augmented on the left side by the river Messalelah, (which is much swollen in the rainyseason), and perhaps on the right bank by other streams. There was a village just above the Messalelah on the right bank, called Shaykh Gemás. Over the Awgy, distant one hour from Jaffa, were the remains of a long bridge with the centre arch broken down, which arch seemed to have been built subsequent to the two ends. At the extremity of the bridge were several ruined buildings that appeared either to have been water-mills, or portions of a castle, they being surrounded by a moat. Close by was a hamlet of wretched cottages. Ascending the stream, three quarters of an hour higher up, was the village of Mlebbes; and three quarters of an hour farther, Kalât Ras el ayn, (or the Fountain Head Castle) close to the sources of the river. The castle was in tolerable preservation, and worthy of being visited: it appeared to be of Saracen construction, from having a mosque in the centre: it was of a square form, with a tower at each angle, and had two rows of long narrow apertures for bow-shots and musketry: it was now used for folding cattle. The mosque was so full of fleas, that above a hundred leaped upon me the first step I set in it. I was consequently unable to look for inscriptions, commemorative of its date. The country, hereabouts, is of a red soil, and very rich. Near the Awgy, I saw abundance of colocynth plants, and of what I thought to be stramonium. The Messalelah had also the ruins of a bridge, making a line from the bridge of the Awgy to Jaffa. There were many proofs that thisdistrict was once highly populous; but, with respect to Lady Hester’s particular object, no one indication was left, and I ventured to assure her that her attempts at a search on these ruins would necessarily be fruitless.
Under these circumstances, she had nothing to do but to return to Acre. Before quitting Jaffa, the governor attempted to effect a reconciliation with her; but she always treated his advances with neglect. How justly Lady Hester appreciated this man’s character will be seen from what took place shortly after.
Sulymán Pasha and Mohammed Aga Abu Nabûd had been bred up together, and, no sooner was Sulymán raised to the pashalik of Acre, than he advanced his friend by degrees to power, until he made him governor of Jaffa, a post of considerable importance, and which at some former period had been designated as a separate pashalik, although latterly merged in that of Acre and Sayda. Sulymán Pasha was desirous that Abu Nabûd should attain yet greater honours, and it was thought by many, now that Ali Pasha was no more, that he looked to him as his successor. Accordingly, as a preparatory step, he wrote to the Porte to ask for him the dignity ofTwo Tails. At this very time Abu Nabûd had secretly written to the Grand Vizir, and, after pointing out the incapacity of Sulymán Pasha on account of his advanced age and bad health, had offered to raise a much more considerable revenue than Sulymán Pashanow remitted, if he were made pasha in his place. The Porte had known from many years’ experience the fidelity of the old pasha, and, feeling satisfied that a person so treacherous towards his benefactor was little to be relied on, enclosed Abu Nabûd’s communication under cover to him, with the simple observation of—“This is the man for whom you ask the title of pasha of two tails.â€
Sulymán Pasha, enraged at such duplicity, despatched Abdallah Bey with a body of troops to Jaffa. Abu Nabûd happened just then to be absent on a circuit, and the news soon reached him that he was shut out from the city. Suspecting, probably, that his machinations were discovered, he had the sagacity not to trust himself to require an explanation or attempt to recover the place, and fled to Egypt. It was surmised that this traitor was the first who suggested to Mahomet Ali the feasibility of conquering Syria, afterwards effected through the intrigues of the Emir Beshýr, a greater Machiavelian than either.
It may be supposed that Lady Hester felt some disappointment in the unsuccessful results of her researches, which tended to vex her. The tone of one of her letters, written whilst here, sufficiently indicates a feeling of fallen greatness, and a sense of her loneliness, which fresh schemes from time to time made her forget.
Lady Hester Stanhope to——.Jaffa, April 25th, 1815.My dear ——You must not think that I am ungrateful, or that the interest I felt in your concerns is in the least diminished, although I am less anxious about you, knowing you to be in the midst of friends who love you. I received your kind letter written at different periods, just as I was about to leave Mount Lebanon for Balbeck. I returned to my convent the end of January, having made a long tour. Upon the very night of my arrival there, the great person mentioned in the enclosed paper paid me a visit, indeed took up his abode in my comfortable mansion for some time. Then I proceeded to Acre, to pay my respects to the pasha, and my guest from the Porte accompanied me to Ascalon. Therefore you see that from last October I have never had a quiet moment I could call my own; and besides, occasions either by sea or land are scarce and unsafe in the winter season, and, intending to send a person to England when all my business was over, I have deferred answering most of my letters to profit by this conveyance.I have at last decided upon sending for James to take me away from this country; for I know so little of the state of the Continent, and feel in my own mind so doubtful of its remaining quiet, or, if it does, that I shall like it as formerly, that, before I break up a comfortable establishment to form another at random, I wish to have the opinion of one who knows my taste, and whom I can depend upon.If Lord Mulgrave ever mentions me, pray remember me kindly to him: for I really believe he had a friendship for Mr. Pitt, though artful Canning formerly used to take great pains to make me believe it was all affected; but, since he hasturned out himself a perfect political chameleon, one may be permitted to mistrust a few of his opinions. How unhappy it makes me to hear that the dear duke of —— is over head and ears in debt. With such a fine family just coming into the world, it must hurt him very much, not to be in a situation to give them all those advantages which they are born to.The Pasha of Acre and all the leading people in this country continue to be vastly kind to me, even more so than before, if possible; and I am upon the whole as comfortable as ahermitcan be.Believe me,Yours sincerely and affectionately,H. L. S.
Lady Hester Stanhope to——.
Jaffa, April 25th, 1815.
My dear ——
You must not think that I am ungrateful, or that the interest I felt in your concerns is in the least diminished, although I am less anxious about you, knowing you to be in the midst of friends who love you. I received your kind letter written at different periods, just as I was about to leave Mount Lebanon for Balbeck. I returned to my convent the end of January, having made a long tour. Upon the very night of my arrival there, the great person mentioned in the enclosed paper paid me a visit, indeed took up his abode in my comfortable mansion for some time. Then I proceeded to Acre, to pay my respects to the pasha, and my guest from the Porte accompanied me to Ascalon. Therefore you see that from last October I have never had a quiet moment I could call my own; and besides, occasions either by sea or land are scarce and unsafe in the winter season, and, intending to send a person to England when all my business was over, I have deferred answering most of my letters to profit by this conveyance.
I have at last decided upon sending for James to take me away from this country; for I know so little of the state of the Continent, and feel in my own mind so doubtful of its remaining quiet, or, if it does, that I shall like it as formerly, that, before I break up a comfortable establishment to form another at random, I wish to have the opinion of one who knows my taste, and whom I can depend upon.
If Lord Mulgrave ever mentions me, pray remember me kindly to him: for I really believe he had a friendship for Mr. Pitt, though artful Canning formerly used to take great pains to make me believe it was all affected; but, since he hasturned out himself a perfect political chameleon, one may be permitted to mistrust a few of his opinions. How unhappy it makes me to hear that the dear duke of —— is over head and ears in debt. With such a fine family just coming into the world, it must hurt him very much, not to be in a situation to give them all those advantages which they are born to.
The Pasha of Acre and all the leading people in this country continue to be vastly kind to me, even more so than before, if possible; and I am upon the whole as comfortable as ahermitcan be.
Believe me,
Yours sincerely and affectionately,
H. L. S.
On or about the 1st of May, we reached Acre, having, on our route back, enjoyed very fine weather. The same honours were paid Lady Hester on her return as when going.
The night we arrived at Um Khaled I had well nigh embroiled myself with Derwish Mustafa Aga in the following manner. A servant happening to be very impertinent, I had recourse to the usual remedy for this in Turkey, which was laying my stick about his shoulders. The man was one Ayd, a muleteer, who, it will be recollected, was dismissed from Lady Hester’s service on a former occasion, and who had been afterwards taken back for the purpose of this journey. Upon being beaten, he flew to the tent of the Zaym, claiming protection. I desired the Zaym’s servants to send him out, which they refused to do, saying that no gäûr (or infidel) should touch those whom Moslems protected. The Zaym took the partof his servants, and kept Ayd in his tent the whole evening; which assumption of so extraordinary a right led to a warm discussion between him and Lady Hester, who took my side in the dispute.
From Acre, Mâlem Musa was allowed to depart for Hamah, with a present from Lady Hester of 1000 piasters. His way home was through the district of Suffad to Damascus. Hadj Mohammed, the Akám Bashi, was handsomely rewarded for his extreme care and attention with 300 piasters. The captain of the Hawárys and the officers divided about 1000 more among them.
When the time came to quit Acre, I was curious to observe whether the subtraction of the numerous suite and the loss of tents, palanquins, and other emblems of greatness, would affect Lady Hester’s looks or spirits. But neither was there to be observed mortification nor melancholy, and she rode out of the city gates with as much serenity as any human countenance could put on. Being now reduced to eight or ten persons, we encamped in a field close by the Nakûra; and, on the following morning, resumed our march for Tyre. From Tyre we departed the next day for Abra. Wishing to arrive somewhat early at Abra, I rode on alone, and overtook the baggage mules, stopping at a place short of that where our people had been desired to unload, and I commanded them to go onwards. Some expressions, which escaped one of the muleteers, of the great hardship of loadingand unloading so frequently, led me to think that they would stop here if I left them. I therefore desired them to proceed before me, when one of them refused, and, letting his cords slip, threw down his load. Upon this, wishing to punish him in a way not uncommon there, I drew a sort of small yatagan from my girdle, and in stooping from my horse, to cut the breast-band of the mule’s harness, so that his saddle might for the time become useless, and he be left alone on the road until a saddler should repair it, I drew the knife with such force, that it came home, and ran into my own horse’s neck to a great depth just under the vertebræ, by the mane. The horse shook his ears—the other muleteers were frightened—and at last went on. Farther on I halted them, and, leaving them there, rode on to Abra. The wound of my horse bled freely, but he showed no symptoms of weakness; it was, however, some weeks before it healed entirely.
Lady Hester arrived on the following day. When she was refreshed from the fatigue of so long a journey, the Zaym proceeded, under her direction, to excavate near the river Ewely, close to Sayda. Two hundred yards above the present modern bridge are the remains of an ancient one, which, as hid from the view of travellers, who pass the usual road, is never mentioned by them. Hereabouts, the manuscript signified that there were treasures, and here, by corvées of peasants, the digging was renewed, but with much less alacrity than at Ascalon, and with no better success.After a few days it was therefore abandoned; and, Lady Hester having written the despatches which occupied her a short time, and having presented the Zaym with a black slave and a Cashmere shawl, which, added to the presents, he had received at Jaffa and at Acre, made up something considerable, he departed with his suite for Constantinople.
Thus ended this very extraordinary affair, which, however, I should not have ventured to introduce into my narrative at such length, or accompanied with so many comments, had I not thought that it related closely to a subject always treated much too lightly by travellers. There is every reason to suppose that hidden treasures in plate, coins, or jewels, are frequently found under old buildings, in gardens, and in the open country. But, whether they are or are not, this is certain, that no European traveller in Turkey is seen wandering among ancient ruins, without being suspected by the natives to be in search of such deposits; for it is imagined that he bears with him private marks or indications written at the time of concealment, and which have been since handed down from generation to generation as family papers, until a fit moment presented itself for going in search of them. It is therefore necessary he should be apprised that, although he may one day be angry and another laugh at this unjust suspicion of the motives of his researches, still he will never alter their belief; and a true relation of the manner in which the Turks of allranks lent a willing hand to such researches in our case puts this past doubt. In a word, it is the part of a prudent traveller to take this notion into account in all his dealings with the natives, that he may understand much of their conduct, which will otherwise be seemingly mysterious.
Lady Hester, in providing for the expenses which the Ascalon affair brought on her, had, as we have seen, recourse to Mr. Barker for a loan of money. As she had throughout proposed to herself no advantage but the celebrity which it would bring on her own and, as she thought, the English name, and had acted with the cognizance of our minister at Constantinople, she fancied that she had a claim on the English government for her expenses: she accordingly sent to our Ambassador at Constantinople a succinct account of her proceedings, and, in showing that all which had been done was for the credit of her country, she asserted her right to be reimbursed.
She, however, was unsuccessful in her application, and the expenses weighed heavily on her means. Yet hitherto she never had been in debt, and by great care and economy contrived still to keep out of it.