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Read Ebook: Travels of Lady Hester Stanhope Volume 2 (of 3) by Stanhope Hester Lady Meryon Charles Lewis Editor

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THE SECOND VOLUME.

Damascus--Ramaz?n--Visit to the Jews--House of the Hayms, brothers of him of Acre--Visit to the Pasha--Compliment of Hadj Mohammed to Lady Hester--Curiosity of the women to see her Ladyship--Their dress--Inefficacy of personal restraints upon women--Fanaticism of the inhabitants of Damascus--Lepers--Amusements of Ramaz?n--Patients attended by the Author--Sulym?n Bey--His malady--His cure--Rural f?te--Sister of Ahmed Bey--Chief families in Damascus--Visits to the sick--The Merge, or place of amusement--Women at prayer 1

Lady Hester's intended journey to Palmyra--Objections to it--Hanah Fakhah--Difficulties of a journey to Palmyra--Illness of Mr. B. on his road from Aleppo to Damascus--The Author goes to his assistance--Osman Aga--Mas?d Aga--Village of Yabr?d--Author's reception by Osman Aga--Carahburgh--Character of Mas?d Aga--Use of Narkyly--Aspect of the Desert--Hamlet of Hassiah--D?rra bread--City of Hems--River Orontes--City of Hamah--M?sa Kobl?n--Visit from him--Arrival of Mr. Barker and Mr. B.--Description of Hamah--Clogs--Waterwheels--Coolness and heat produced by the same means--Costume of the female peasants--Doors of houses--Air--Panoramic prospect--Manufactures--Christians of Hamah--Inundations--Messrs. B. and Barker go to B?albec--Description of Hems--Pyramidal sepulchre--Tomb of Khaled--Citadel--Lake of Hems--Orontes river--Cara--March of troops--Yabr?d--Springs of Ras el ayn--M?l?la--Grottoes and Sarcophagi--Michael Ras?ti--Account of M. Lascaris and of Madame Lascaris--Nebk--Dress of M. Lascaris--His character--Return of the Author to Damascus 31

Precautions against riots--Emir Nasar visits Lady Hester--He dissuades her from going to Palmyra with an escort--Description of Nasar--How entertained--Lady Hester quits Damascus--Reports of her wealth--She takes Monsieur and Madame Lascaris with her--Her interview with the Emir Mahannah--She arrives at Hamah--Departure of Mr. B. and Mr. Barker from Damascus--The Messieurs Bertrand dismissed--Bills of exchange--The Author sets out for Hamah--Mode of travelling--A Caravansery--Gabriel, the poet--Kosair--Kelyfy--Nebk--Turkish adventurer--Khan of Nebk--Mode of washing in the East--Carah--Hassiah--Hamah--The Author lodges with Monsieur and Madame Lascaris--Opportunity for entering the Desert--M. Lascaris resolves to accompany the Author--Bedouin costume--First departure from Hamah 68

The author enters the Desert--Hostile tribes of Bedouins--Beni Khaled Arabs--Their tents, manners, &c.--Arabian hospitality--Tels or Conical mounds--Aspect of the Desert--Want of Water--Hadidyn Arabs--Mountains of Gebel el Abyad--Bedouin horsemen--Bedouin encampment--Mahannah, the Emir--Bedouin repasts--Character of Mahannah--Nature of his authority--His revenue--Means used by the Bedouins to obtain gifts--March of a Bedouin tribe--Contrivance for mounting camels--Gentleness of the camel--Snow--Search for Water--Detention of the author by Mahannah--He is suffered to depart for Palmyra--Encounter with robbers--Plain of Mezah--Disappointment at the distant sight of Palmyra--Arrival there 92

Reflections on the ruins of Palmyra--Wood and Dawkins's plates--Fountain of Ephca--Castle--Tombs--Cottage selected for Lady Hester--Visit to a curious cave--Justinian's wall--Climate and diseases--Salt marshes--Causes of fevers--Air and climate of Palmyra--Gardens, corn-fields, and trees--Sulphureous waters--Dress of the men; and of the women--Departure from Palmyra--Lady Hester sends Giorgio to look for the Author--Fall of snow--The party lose themselves, and sleep in the snow--Encampment of Beni Omar Bedouins--Hassan's unfeeling conduct--Pride of the Bedouins to ride on horseback--Encampment of Ali Bussal--False notions of the hospitality of Bedouins--Partridges of the Desert--Emir of the Melhem--M. Lascaris's scheme of traffic--Arrival of Madame Lascaris--Attack of the Seb?h--Wounded Bedouin--Giorgio goes to Palmyra--The Author returns to Hamah--Ruins of a triumphal arch--Snow-storm--A night in a cavern--Ruined village--Selamyah--Ruined mosque--Hardships endured by Bedouins--Miscellaneous observations on their character and manners 132

Hamah--Inclemency of the weather--Preparations made by Lady Hester for her journey to Palmyra--Conical cisterns--Nazyf Pasha--Abdallah Pasha--Muly Ismael--The governor of Hamah--Appearance of the Plague in Syria--Motives of Lady Hester Stanhope for visiting Palmyra--Price paid to the Bedouins for a safe conduct--Pilfering; particularly by their chief Nasar--Order of march--Sham fights--Tribe of the Seb?h--Arabs on their march--Rude behaviour of Nasar--Gebel el Abiad, or the White Mountain--The Author rides forward to Palmyra--Alarm at Lady Hester's encampment--Her entry into Palmyra--Inspection of the ruins--A wedding--Dress of the women--Fayd?n Bedouins made prisoners--The escape of two of them causes Lady Hester to leave the place 166

Departure from Palmyra--Suspicions of Nasar--Encampment in a beautiful valley--Tribe of the Seb?h and their Shaykh Mnyf--Assembly of Bedouins at Lady Hester Stanhope's tent--The women--Traits of Bedouin character--Tribe of the Beni Omar--Affray between the Bedouins--Their war-cry--Aqueducts--Salam?ah--Clotted cream and sour milk--Meat of the Desert--Castle of Shumam?s--Medical assistance required by Bedouins--Entry of Lady Hester into Hamah-- Sum paid to Nasar for escort--Salubrity of the air of the Desert--State of Lady Hester's health--Professional aid of the Author in requisition--Yahyah Bey--Rigid abstinence of a Syrian Christian--The bastinado--Pilgrimage to the tomb of a shaykh--Treatment of horses in spring--Precautions against plague--Custom of supporting great personages under the arm--Schoolmasters--Doctors and their patients 203

Departure from Hamah--Encampment on the bank of the Orontes--Transformation of aquatic to winged animals--Vale of the Orontes--Cal?t el Medyk--Bridge and village of Shogre--Topal Ali makes himself independent of the Pasha of Aleppo--Singular application of a Jewess--Poverty of the inhabitants of Shogre--Visit to Topal Ali--Gebel el Ker?d--Beautiful Scenery--Tribe of Ans?ry--Lady Hester stays behind among them--Latakia 231

Residence at Latakia--Remains of Antiquity--Port--Gardens--Sycamore--Birdlime tree--Vegetables and fruit--Tobacco--Salt tanks--Sponge fishery--Hanah K?by--Fanaticism of the Turks of Latakia--A Barbary Shaykh--The Plague--Habits of the Mahometans accordant with common sense--Epidemic illness--Impalement of a Malefactor--Ravages of the Plague--Mr. Barker, British Consul at Aleppo, comes to spend some time near Latakia--Hard fate of a Christian--Experiment on a fruit diet--Imprudence of smoking in the streets during Ramaz?n--Amusements--Sporting--Departure of Mr. B. for England--Civility of the Greek Patriarch--Illness of Lady Hester, and of the Author--She supposes her disease to be the Plague--Illness of servants--Scarcity of provisions--Departure for Sayda--Turkish Lugger--Tripoli--Aspect of Mount Lebanon--Arrival at Sayda--Seamanship of the Turks 252

Mode of Life of Lady Hester Stanhope--Imaginary treasures of Gezz?r Pasha--Road to the Convent of Mar Elias--Description of the Convent--Village of Abra--Interior of a cottage--Poverty of the people--Change in the character of Lady Hester--Abra purchased by a Greek Patriarch--Revenues--Tenure of land--Occupations of the peasantry--Herdsmen--Village overseer--Notions of propriety in the behaviour of females--Dread of the plague--Precautions against the infection suggested by Lady Hester to the Emir Besh?r--Visit of the Shaykh Besh?r to Abra--Good breeding of the Turks--Greek monasteries--The patriarch Macarius--M. Boutin--Han?fy, a female slave sent to Lady Hester--Specification of her qualities--Discovery of an ancient sepulchre--Paintings in it copied by Mr. Bankes, and by the Author--Various forms of sepulchres 304

Plague at Abra--Terror occasioned by it--Peasants forsake the village--Alarm of Lady Hester--Imaginary virtues of bezoar and serpent stone--Funerals--Embarrassment of the Author--Illness of his servant--Increase of the contagion--Medical Treatment--Arrival of the Kite sloop of war--Number of victims of the plague--Pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Haneh--Prickly heat--Lady Hester goes to reside at Meshm?shy--Costume of the Dr?zes--Maronite monastery--Camel's flesh eaten--Bridge of Geser Behannyn--Journey of the Author to Bteddyn--Sons of the Emir Besh?r--Wedding at Abra--Moorish Conjuror--Return of Giorgio--Vineyards--Wines--Dibs--Raisins--Olive Harvest--Figs--Country between Abra and Meshm?shy 358

TRAVELS

LADY HESTER STANHOPE.

??? ????? ?? ???????? ????????? ???? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ?????????, ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ??? ????????? ????? ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ????? ???????? ?? ?? ????. ??? ???? ??? ????? ????????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ???????? ??? ??????????.

Damascus--Ramaz?n--Visit to the Jews--House of the Hayms, brothers of him of Acre--Visit to the Pasha--Compliment of Hadj Mohammed to Lady Hester--Curiosity of the women to see her Ladyship--Their dress--Inefficacy of personal restraints upon women--Fanaticism of the inhabitants of Damascus--Lepers--Amusements of Ramaz?n--Patients attended by the Author--Sulym?n Bey--His malady--His cure--Rural f?te--Sister of Ahmed Bey--Chief families in Damascus--Visits to the sick--The Merge, or place of amusement--Women at prayer.

Damascus is a city of the highest antiquity, and is repeatedly spoken of in the Holy Scriptures. In the time of the Syro-Macedonian dynasties, and of the Romans, it was the capital of Coele-Syria. Under the Saracen Caliphs, it was the residence of the Ommiades, beginning forty years after the death of the Prophet; and it is still the second, if not the principal city of Syria, and the capital of a pashalik.

Its name, among the natives, is El Sham, and Demeshk el Sham, demeshk being the word from which we derive Damascus, the signification of which I do not know, and el Sham being the name of the province, as Yemen is the name of another facing it. Ali bey, p. 265, makes its population to amount to 400,000 souls, which is probably too much by half; and we have a right to doubt his accuracy, since the shortness of his stay must have rendered it impossible for him to obtain accurate estimates. He reckons 20,000 Catholics, 5,000 Greek schismatics, and 1,000 Jews. Damascus has many noble mosques and fine public edifices. Of the mosques we entered none; yet a person could, as he sat in the Melon coffeehouse, look into the court of the principal one, of which Abulfeda seems to speak, p. 172, saying that it was built by Walyd, son of Abd el Malek, and was called Beny Omyah: although it has not externally any appearances of Saracen architecture. Ali bey, in his character of a Mahometan, entered it, and he describes the mosque as having "three naves of forty-four columns, each nave being four hundred feet long: and in the middle of the central nave four enormous pillars, supporting a large stone cupola." He adds that, the mosque stands in a large court, surrounded with arcades, supported by square pillars, over which are galleries, and that in the mosque is the sepulchre of John the Baptist, whose head, as well as that of Hoseyn ebn Ali, was exposed here. In the suburbs there is a mosque of dervises remarkable for numerous cupolas. It is said to have as many as a dozen schools in it, supported by large revenues, arising from endowments and contributions. I regret not to have taken drawings of the ironwork of the windows of the ancient mosques, which, from the taste and delicacy of their forms, were well worth the trouble.

Of the khans, that which is called Khan Har?n is the most remarkable. It is built in layers of black and white stone, like a chess-board; and within are commodious magazines for the merchants.

The patriarch of the Greek Church, a prelate superior in rank, although not in power and influence to the archbishop of Constantinople, resided here. His title is patriarch of Antioch. He had under him forty-two archbishops and bishops.

Damascus owes half of its pleasantness to the fountains which abound in every part of the city, and in almost every house. These fountains are supplied by running streams, which traverse the city, and which are branches of a small river, called the Barada.

Although the house assigned to Lady Hester Stanhope was a good one, she had probably determined to find it bad, in order to shift to a better quarter of the city; for it is customary, in Turkish cities, to lodge Europeans, of what rank soever they may be, among the Christians; as their habits of life and their religious observances are more easily followed there than among the Turks, who, in their own quarter, would suffer with impatience any violation of their own notions of decency or religion, which Europeans, without intending it, are constantly committing. So it is, that the Mahometans look on the Christian quarter in the most contemptuous light, never going thither but when called to it by urgent business.

Lady Hester knew all this; and was determined, by a strong measure, at once to give herself a title to consequence beyond any other European who had before visited Damascus. Accordingly, the dragoman was despatched to state how impossible it was for her to remain in the house assigned to her. It was attempted to overrule her objections, but in vain; and, towards the close of the day, the pasha gave orders that the dragoman should be conducted from house to house with permission to choose, until one was found suitable. Lady Hester instructed M. Bertrand as to what she should like, but raised objections to every one that was proposed, until one, in which a Capugi Bashi, coming on some business from the Porte, had resided, met with her approbation.

The fatigue of moving being over, the Christian whose house Lady Hester had quitted was to be satisfied, and his expectations were raised to an inconceivable pitch, grounded upon her supposed riches and greatness. Some idea may be formed from one article of his bill, which was no more than a tumbler of lemonade, "Sherbet for the queen on her arrival, 15 piasters." His visionary prospects, however, were soon annihilated, and he was desired to content himself with a fair price for two nights spent in his house, being told that he should recollect how little claim, according to the practice of Turkish grandees, he had to any thing at all.

The house to which we were now removed was situate in the best quarter of Damascus, not far from the palace, and near the bazars. It opened through a narrow passage into an oblong marble paved court. In the middle of the court was a large basin, shaded by two very lofty lemon trees, into which two brazen serpents poured a constant supply of fresh water. At one end of the court was a saloon with a tesselated marble pavement; at the other an alcove or recess for a div?n or sofa, with a small apartment on each side. A double staircase led up to a considerable height on the outside of the left wall of the court; at one end, to two rooms, which Lady Hester occupied for sleeping and dressing-rooms, and at the other to a large saloon, which was destined to receive visitors. There were consequently but six rooms in all, yet was this considered a spacious house; for the Orientals sleep in the same room where they sit, their beds being removed in the day-time to large recesses formed in the walls for that purpose, and hidden by a curtain.

Curiosity, it may be supposed, was much excited by Lady Hester's arrival. There are two monasteries at Damascus, one of monks of the order of St. Francis, the other of Capuchins. The society of these monks is generally sought after by Europeans; and, in the expectation of the distinguished reception they fancied they should receive, the superior of each monastery came to offer his services to her ladyship: but she would not see them. They were told that, as the quarter of the town she lived in was entirely Turkish, and as the sight of priests in this neighbourhood would be looked upon as an infringement of the rules observed by them, of seldom or never coming thither, they were requested not to repeat their visit: but she received with civility Mr. Chaboceau, a French doctor, seventy years of age, very deaf; for his privileges were more extended, as all quarters of the city are alike open to medical practitioners. This gentleman has or had a son living in England, at Uxbridge.

These measures, purposely made public among the servants, and repeated by the master of the house to his friends in the city, were construed into demonstrations of her esteem for the Turks, and contributed not a little to her popularity.

In the mean time, after resting herself a day or two, she prepared to ride out. No sooner were the horses brought to the door, than a crowd of women and children assembled; the gravity of the male part of the Turkish population seldom yielding so far to curiosity, as to allow them to join in a mob. When she came out, as she stood upon the horse-block, a smile on the people around served at once to prepossess them in her favour. She was accompanied by no one, but her young interpreter, Giorgio, and Mohammed, her Janissary, thus throwing herself entirely on the discretion of the inhabitants. Her first excursion naturally gave us some uneasiness; but it was without foundation. A grave, yet pleasing look, an unembarrassed, yet commanding, demeanour met the ideas of the Turks, whose manners are of this cast. We were, however, somewhat diverted by the different reports which were spread respecting her among them. It was generally supposed, from her fair complexion, that she painted white: and it was confidently affirmed, as her appearance was so little European, that, although by birth an Englishwoman, she was of Ottoman descent, and had Mahometan blood in her veins.

The Turkish feast of Ramaz?n was now celebrating, during which Mahometans are accustomed to fast from sunrise to sunset for the space of a whole moon. Little business, excepting what is unavoidable, is transacted all this time. The day is beguiled as much as possible in sleep, by which the cravings of appetite and the desire for drink are considerably deadened. The first half of the night is devoted to feasting and visits.

Lady Hester was anxious to be presented to the pasha as soon as possible, and an early evening was fixed on. Previous to it, she signified to the Jews, brothers of him of Acre, her intention to visit them. They filled at the court of Damascus, as has been said, the post of ser?fs, which word signifies bankers or money-changers, but embraces a more comprehensive meaning. The wealth of this family was enormous, and the house they lived in was not inferior to any one in the city: its exterior, however, was mean in appearance, and gave no idea of the magnificence within. All the houses in Damascus are built of clay, beat up with chopped straw, and made into a composition, which, when dried in the sun, becomes very tenacious. Houses so built have, externally, a mean appearance; and as the Jews throughout Turkey are odious to the natives, they are compelled, from policy, to give to the quarter in which they reside a dirtiness of appearance that shall not rouse the over-sensitive jealousy of their masters. Accordingly, on entering the Jews' quarter at Damascus, the organs of smell and sight are much incommoded, and any thing but architectural beauty or cleanliness is found in it. Haym's street-door opened, and we went down two or three steps into a stone entry about fifteen or twenty feet square, to the left of which was a dirty alcove, with a carpet on the floor, and cushions against the wall, and opposite to it a small filthy room. A staircase led from this court to two rooms above, of the same description. Any stranger, but particularly a Turk, enters thus far, and, whether he comes for the business of a moment or for a few days, it is here the master of the house sees him, and it is here that his meals are brought to him.

Opposite to the front door was another which opened by a crooked entry into the first grand court of the house, so that nobody from the strangers' court could see into this, even if the door was ajar. Here began to be displayed the wealth of the proprietor. The court was spacious, and in the centre was a large basin, into which water spouted and gave coolness to the surrounding apartments, which were numerous. A large one on the left was covered with a rich Persian carpet, and the cushions of the sofas, which ran round the three sides, were of Damascus satins. On the right was a smaller one, more magnificent, but on the same plan. We entered only those two in the first court.

A passage led into a second court, the pavement of which was inlaid with marble mosaic, and in the centre was a basin with a fountain. Round it were numerous apartments; and these were destined for the har?m; nor should I have enjoyed the privilege of seeing them had I not accompanied her ladyship, who, as a female, was necessarily conducted to them. Nothing could equal the magnificence of these rooms, two of which, at the extremity, were peculiarly beautiful, and between them was an alcove, which is inseparable from the houses of the Levantines, and which is no other than a saloon with three sides to it, the fourth side, fronting the court, being entirely open to the air, with an arch thrown over it. All these apartments had the walls painted and gilded in arabesque, and none of the ceilings were plain, but painted in stars, in lozenges, or in some diagram or device.

But the interview with the Pasha himself was the ceremony most talked of. I did not accompany her ladyship on this occasion, owing to a temporary indisposition. Sayd Suliman Pasha had spent his life at the court of Sultan Selim and his predecessors, and was considered as a finished gentleman Turk. It must indeed have been a formidable undertaking to a woman, when, after being led through antechambers by the light of flaring candles, which threw their gleam on the arms of numerous soldiers and attendants, who waited in still and fearful silence, she was ushered into a long saloon, through two rows of the pasha's suite, where at the upper end sat--and he alone was sitting--on a crimson sofa, in a most starched attitude, the small but dignified man. He rose not to receive her, and by a motion of his hand signified to her to sit. M. Bertrand, the dragoman, stood by her side, and by the side of the pasha stood the Jew Raf?el. M. Bertrand trembled so much that his tongue faltered when he interpreted the pasha's first salutations, nor was he for some time sufficiently collected to repeat with precision what was said to him. Lady Hester was not at all disconcerted. Her interpreter, Giorgio, whom she had ordered to attend her to observe if her answers were correctly translated, was prevented from entering the presence-chamber because he wore arms: it being as ill-bred to pay visits of ceremony in Turkey with arms on, as in England to wear boots on a similar occasion. After a reasonable time, Lady Hester retired, having first begged the pasha to accept of a handsome snuff-box. In return a beautiful Arabian horse was led to her door after the visit was over; and the bearers of the presents received from the respective parties money of about a quarter the value of the gifts.

On her return home from this visit, her janissary, Hadj Mohammed el Ludk?ny, whilst standing before her to receive her orders for the morrow, said, "Your ladyship's reception was very grand;" and upon her replying, "Yes, but this is all vanity," he remarked, "Oh! khanum" , "you carry the splendour of royalty on your forehead, with the humility of a dervise at your heart."

Lady Hester scarcely found time to write to her friends an account of her adventures; but we may extract from a letter, already published in a periodical work, a few anecdotes, as related in her own words.

Damascus, September 30th, 1812.

My dear General,

The only letters I have received since the shipwreck are those which you directed to the care of Colonel Misset; I was quite happy to hear from you again, and that you were well, though so very busy; indeed, I fear it would not be a compliment for me to write half I have to say, even had I time.

If I was once to begin to give you my history since I left Acre, I should fill all my paper with the honours which have been paid me. The pasha here has given me two horses, but neither fit for you; another, which was presented me by the Emir Besh?r, or Prince of the Druses, would have just done; but I found he was so vicious , that I gave him to my janissary, who is the best rider I have seen since I left Egypt.

I must now speak to you of the Druses, that extraordinary and mysterious people who inhabit the Mount Lebanon. I hope, if I ever see you again, to be able to reach Mr. North in my account of them. I will only now mention a fact, which I can state as positive, having been eyewitness to it--it is that they eat raw meat. I purchased of a Druse an immense sheep, the tail weighing eleven pounds, and desired it to be taken to a village, where I ordered the people to assemble to eat. When I arrived the sheep was alive; the moment it was killed it was skinned, and brought in raw upon a sort of dish made of matting, and in less than half an hour it was all devoured. The women eat of it as well as the men: the pieces of raw fat they swallowed were really frightful.

Nothing ever equalled the honours paid me by these men; the prince is a mild, amiable man, but the governor has proved a Lucifer, and I am the first traveller he ever allowed to walk over his palace, which has been the scene of several massacres. The two days I spent with him I enjoyed very much; and you will be surprised at it when I tell you, that he judged it necessary to make one of his chief officers taste out of my cup before I drank, for fear of poison; but I am used to that; yet this man upon his knees before me looked more solemn than usual.

Believe me, my dear General,

Ever most sincerely yours,

H. L. S.

Captain Hope came to the coast to see after me, and gave me your kind message. He is a very worthy young man, and has been more kind to me than I could have thought it possible for a man, who was a stranger to me at Rhodes, could have been. A thousand thanks for the medicine-chest.

I have just heard that all the women belonging to the sultan have died of the plague, also his two children, and that 400 persons die a day at Constantinople. All the foreign ministers are shut up in palaces near the mouth of the Black Sea.

To his Excellency, Lieut-General Oakes, &c., &c., &c. Malta.

From the time of our arrival, the applications to me for medical advice had been beyond measure numerous. Some were no more than excuses to get into the courtyard, in the expectation of seeing Lady Hester; many were from persons labouring under chronic and incurable maladies; and some, which afforded me extensive opportunities of seeing the interior of the houses in the city, were from those who were lying ill with acute diseases, which required my visits to their bedsides. However, the janissary, who officiated as porter, had much ado to keep the mob from the doors, and preserve good-humour among them; and the pertinacity of the women to gain admittance was truly laughable. This janissary was, from a long residence in his youth at Damascus, acquainted with the names of all the principal families of the place. When, therefore, the har?m of any great man --when such a har?m applied, Mohammed would signify it to me, and ask if they could not be admitted, to obtain a sight of her ladyship. On one occasion, thirteen in a body thus gained an entrance, and overwhelmed me with a volubility of questions truly comic.

The dress of the Damascus women, when out of doors, consists of a long white sheet, and over the face a muslin handkerchief, through which they can see very well without a possibility of having their features distinguished by others. If men are not present, this handkerchief is often thrown up over the top of the head; and some, fairer than others, if desirous of practising a little coquetry, and of letting their features be seen, will suffer the gentlemen to come upon them as if unawares, and then in haste throw down the handkerchief.

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