DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5504#0069
In 1817 and 1818. 157
tra they accompanied by songs as barbarous as its harmony.
They afterwards formed dances, and seemed to delight more
especially in exercising, and marching and countermarching,
like European soldiers. Pipes and sorbet were brought; and
we conversed for a considerable time surrounded by upwards
of fifty mamelouks, the greater part of whom had escaped from
the last massacre at Cairo. Mehemet spoke to me of his
troops, and dwelt much on the confidence with which he was
inspired by the courage of the inhabitants of Nabolos, or Nap-
louse, the ancient Sichem : this part of the mountains of Syria
furnishes the greater proportion of his guard. Extraordinary
anecdotes, which evince the most ferocious intrepidity, are
related of this tribe of Arabs, who are the sworn enemies of the
tribe of Abou Goch, the ancient Jeremiah. There is blood,
according to their phrase, between the two countries; and of
this confirmed hatred lone individuals are the daily victims.
How often, in this fine climate, have I regretted the fogs
and clouded sky of France! How often have my eyes been
sorrowfully turned towards the west! When, after having seen
in each of the countenances I met the expression of hatred, I
returned to the convent of Jaffa, the mild and affectionate be-
nevolence of the European monks comforted my heart, made
it expand, and recalled to it its dearest affections.
In my chamber a young swallow was my companion; it
settled every evening on a peg in the ceiling; and each morn-
ing, at sun-rise, I gave my little friend his liberty. It is not
improbable that he came from France; and he may have
quitted a roof which sheltered the objects of my tender soli-
citude.
A sudden indisposition on the eve of my departure from
Jaffa, was the more distressing to me, because it seemed to me
to be the forerunner of a severe fit of illness. I submitted to
a Turkish remedy ; and a mixture of coffee and punch, made
very warm, fortunately enabled me to get on horseback the
following morning, although I was not as yet fully assured
that 1 should have sufficient strength to prosecute my journey.
In Syria not any medical aid, nor succour of any description,
is to be had; and the sick must submit to the award of nature,
either to recover or to die, without the intervention of man.
Having determined to repair to Damietta by crossing Pales-
tine and the Desert, I did not allow myself to be discouraged
by the various difficulties attendant on such a journey. The
aga gave me a man on whom the fullest dependence could be
placed, and of this man, Abou Douad, I shall have occasion to
speak in the sequel. He had spent some years in France; and
the consequence was, that when he spoke French I could not
Voyages and Tuavels, No. 5, J'ol. I. 3 P
tra they accompanied by songs as barbarous as its harmony.
They afterwards formed dances, and seemed to delight more
especially in exercising, and marching and countermarching,
like European soldiers. Pipes and sorbet were brought; and
we conversed for a considerable time surrounded by upwards
of fifty mamelouks, the greater part of whom had escaped from
the last massacre at Cairo. Mehemet spoke to me of his
troops, and dwelt much on the confidence with which he was
inspired by the courage of the inhabitants of Nabolos, or Nap-
louse, the ancient Sichem : this part of the mountains of Syria
furnishes the greater proportion of his guard. Extraordinary
anecdotes, which evince the most ferocious intrepidity, are
related of this tribe of Arabs, who are the sworn enemies of the
tribe of Abou Goch, the ancient Jeremiah. There is blood,
according to their phrase, between the two countries; and of
this confirmed hatred lone individuals are the daily victims.
How often, in this fine climate, have I regretted the fogs
and clouded sky of France! How often have my eyes been
sorrowfully turned towards the west! When, after having seen
in each of the countenances I met the expression of hatred, I
returned to the convent of Jaffa, the mild and affectionate be-
nevolence of the European monks comforted my heart, made
it expand, and recalled to it its dearest affections.
In my chamber a young swallow was my companion; it
settled every evening on a peg in the ceiling; and each morn-
ing, at sun-rise, I gave my little friend his liberty. It is not
improbable that he came from France; and he may have
quitted a roof which sheltered the objects of my tender soli-
citude.
A sudden indisposition on the eve of my departure from
Jaffa, was the more distressing to me, because it seemed to me
to be the forerunner of a severe fit of illness. I submitted to
a Turkish remedy ; and a mixture of coffee and punch, made
very warm, fortunately enabled me to get on horseback the
following morning, although I was not as yet fully assured
that 1 should have sufficient strength to prosecute my journey.
In Syria not any medical aid, nor succour of any description,
is to be had; and the sick must submit to the award of nature,
either to recover or to die, without the intervention of man.
Having determined to repair to Damietta by crossing Pales-
tine and the Desert, I did not allow myself to be discouraged
by the various difficulties attendant on such a journey. The
aga gave me a man on whom the fullest dependence could be
placed, and of this man, Abou Douad, I shall have occasion to
speak in the sequel. He had spent some years in France; and
the consequence was, that when he spoke French I could not
Voyages and Tuavels, No. 5, J'ol. I. 3 P