DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11636#0393
360 TRAVELS IN UPPER
two mcdinas* was enough to satisfy them. The
old ones perceiving that these trifling presents were
bestowed more willingly on the young, took care to
employ them as their solicitors, in order to awaken
our interest and our benevolence. They laughed
outright when they found that this attention had
good success, and above all when they remarked
that the young girls became the objects of some
tender glances. Whilst my companions were hold-
ing a pretty lively conversation with the youthful
Arabs, I was surrounded by a group of old women
horribly ugly ; they had, to appearance, judged-
me to be more generous than the others; they
obliged me to remain in the midst of them, and
would not permit me to proceed. I had a thou-
sand difficulties to make my escape, and I congra-
tulated m\ self sincerely on getting out of this circle
of importunate old women, whose decrepit and
blackish figures were rendered still more hideous
by several black compartments which they had
formed on the chin by pricking the skin of it.
There were in these gardens turtle-doves,
thrushes, blackbirds, and upon the date-trees
some large beaks -|~. I saw here also two birds of
prey, of the species formerly described as a species
* The medina in Turkey, parat, is a piece in which there
is a small portion of silver, and is worth rather more than a
halfpenny.
f Gros bee. BufFon, Hist. Nat. des Ois. et pi. enlum. No.
99,—Loxia CQCCothaustes, Lin.
of
two mcdinas* was enough to satisfy them. The
old ones perceiving that these trifling presents were
bestowed more willingly on the young, took care to
employ them as their solicitors, in order to awaken
our interest and our benevolence. They laughed
outright when they found that this attention had
good success, and above all when they remarked
that the young girls became the objects of some
tender glances. Whilst my companions were hold-
ing a pretty lively conversation with the youthful
Arabs, I was surrounded by a group of old women
horribly ugly ; they had, to appearance, judged-
me to be more generous than the others; they
obliged me to remain in the midst of them, and
would not permit me to proceed. I had a thou-
sand difficulties to make my escape, and I congra-
tulated m\ self sincerely on getting out of this circle
of importunate old women, whose decrepit and
blackish figures were rendered still more hideous
by several black compartments which they had
formed on the chin by pricking the skin of it.
There were in these gardens turtle-doves,
thrushes, blackbirds, and upon the date-trees
some large beaks -|~. I saw here also two birds of
prey, of the species formerly described as a species
* The medina in Turkey, parat, is a piece in which there
is a small portion of silver, and is worth rather more than a
halfpenny.
f Gros bee. BufFon, Hist. Nat. des Ois. et pi. enlum. No.
99,—Loxia CQCCothaustes, Lin.
of