[From Buck Whaley's Memoirs]

CHAPTER III.

Departure from Jerusalem-Attacked by Arabs-Napolosa ¹-Its Governor -Its Various Names and Revolutions-Origin of the Samaritans-Difficulties in Leaving Napolosa-Character of the Arabs-Arrival at St. John of Acre-Caiffa.

HE only, who has encountered dangers and difficulties, and groaned under the pressure of hunger and fatigue, may be said to know the inestimable blessings of personal security, ease and comfort. This, and the like reflections, filled my mind for a considerable time after I had turned my back to Jerusalem. The idea of having now accomplished what appeared to most of my friends insuperable, gave an unusual flow to my spirits, which was still encreased by the cheerfulness and vivacity of my friend and fellow traveller, Mr. M_² whose sympathizing soul participated my felicity.

The day was remarkably warm, the country around us delightful and the road good, and we travelled at our ease, without interruption till we got within six miles of Napolosa. It was about two in the afternoon, and not supposing we had anything to fear at this hour, M--2 and I had advanced with our two Arabian chiefs ; leaving servants and conductors, six in number, behind together with our baggage.

We had not proceeded half a mile farther, when we were saluted by twenty Arabs, who appeared much better armed than they usually are. We did not suspect them for any hostile intentions towards us ; but in less than ten minutes after they had passed us, we had reason to alter our opinion of them. For on hearing Pauolo suddenly set up his Persian warwhoop, we looked about, and to our astonishment saw, at the distance of half a mile, some of the Arabs leading our two camels away, while others were beating our guides most unmercifully. Pauolo, armed with a blunderbuss and a case of pistols, wisely contented himself with acting on the defensive till we came up.

We made all possible haste to his assistance. Our two Arabs, who were better mounted than M--1 or myself, arrived first, and rushed into the middle of the band, desiring us on no account to fire, or advance nearer to the robbers, who, when they saw us approaching, sent ten of their gang to surround us.

This they did so effectually, as to leave us no way of escaping. They still continued advancing till they were within four yards of us ; when the Chief ordered us to lay down our arms, menacing instant death to every individual of us, in case of refusal or hesitation. Thus situated, opposition on our part would bespeak the highest degree of temerity. For, though we might, in case of a rencounter, kill and wound many of them, and even make our escape from the field ; yet, from the great superiority of their number to ours, we must have fallen a sacrifice to them in the end. Therefore, with hearts burning with stifled indignation, we submitted to our fate and obeyed the imperious command.

The advanced party still kept us closely hemmed. I had three guns levelled at my breast and M--³ as many ; all the rest of our party, except our two chiefs, were severely bastinadoed. At length, our chiefs, after some altercation with the captain of the robbers, prevailed on him to restore us one of our camels ; and fortunately for us, the robber chose for himself the one that was heavier laden, which carried only our provisions and kitchen utensils.

Having thus escaped without personal injury, or the loss of our valuables, we proceeded to Napolosa ⁴ as fast as we could, in hopes that the Governor would send a party of soldiers after the robbers, and take them before they got at too great a distance.

This city, now called Napolosa,l was the ancient and celebrated city of Sichem, which is particularly noticed in Holy Writ. It was here [Simeon] and Levi, sons of Jacob, massacred in one night all the male inhabitants of the city, with Emer their King and Sichem his son, at a time when they were all suffering under a severe indisposition, from circumcision. This they did to be revenged on Sichem for having violated their sister Dinah. Some centuries after, this city was totally destroyed by Abimelech the natural son of Gideon. It was afterwards rebuilt by Jeroboam, and called Mamorta,⁵ afterwards Naples, and since Napolosa. It is situated in the Province of Samaria, which took its name from the Assyrian colonies [? colonists] which Sennacherib, a king of the Chaldeans [? Assyrians] sent thither to keep the Jews in subjection.

These tribes were afterwards called Samaritans, which signifies guardians; and the Jews, ignorant of the true meaning of the word, when they wished to calumniate

Jesus Christ, called him Samaritan, not knowing that it implied " guardian " or " keeper." Our Saviour replied, that he did not deny he was a Samaritan and the true keeper of the faithful.

The gallop we had given our mules had so tired them, that we did not reach the town in less than two hours. We immediately waited on the Governor, told him our disaster, and sued for redress. He seemed struck with astonishment; changed colour several times, and instantly ordered all the Shaiks and Chiefs of the different tribes to be called together ; and addressed them in our presence, in a short, but energetic speech, pointing out the enormity of the crime; emphatically observing that we were Englishmen, the best of the Christian race, the only men of that persuasion who kept their word, and did not worship images.. He said that we were the friends of the Grand Signior, and that our king wished well to the Turks. He concluded by assuring the Shaiks that total destruction awaited their town if our goods were [not] found and restored before sunset; adding that the Bashaw of St. John of Acre would be glad of this pretext to send an army of twenty thousand men to pillage and lay waste the town and neighbourhood.

This speech had the desired effect; for one of the Shaiks advanced and informed the Governor that the people who robbed us belonged to him; and pledged his beard that he would have our effects restored in a few hours, at the same time swearing by Mahomet, that if they did not he would destroy every man, woman, and child in the village. After this he ordered several of his followers to prepare themselves, and almost in an instant appeared on horseback, at the head of a little troop, well armed with lances and pistols.

As we were in great haste, we proposed to leave some of our conductors behind, to wait for the camel, while we went on in the cool of the evening. But the Governor advised us by no means to attempt it; observing, that these people were so much afraid of our complaining to Jedzar Bashaw of Acre, that in order to prevent it, they would follow us, and put every man of us to death.

This information alarmed us very much ; so that we now wished, from our hearts, that we had tacitly submitted to the trifling loss we had sustained, rather than by seeking redress to excite the malignity of our enemies. But if the Governor's remonstrance had alarmed us, what must be our consternation, when, at our return to our lodging, we were informed by our host, that the people of the town, who had heard of our being robbed, and [of] the vast treasure contained in the hampers we had lost, now, finding that all were to be restored to' us, felt so much disappointed and chagrined at the loss of such a booty, that they had vowed vengeance against ' us, and sworn that they would waylay us, and that nothing but our lives and property should satisfy them.

We were still more alarmed at this intelligence on recollecting that in the year 1785 a Dutch gentleman and his suite had been cut to pieces in this very neighbourhood, after being robbed of every species of property he had then on him, which was of immense value : and we were given to understand, that in the general opinion of those plunderers, our treasure fell little short of the unfortunate Dutch gentleman's.

We expressed our apprehensions to the Governor, assuring him that we had no treasure ; but at the same time declared, that in case of a second attack, we should prove to our enemies, that no Arab regarded less his life than we did, and that we were determined to sell ours at the dearest rate.

He replied that he entertained no doubt of the courage of the English, who, next to the Arabs, were the most warlike and courageous nation : and he highly commended the recent instance of our cool and steady conduct, in forbearing to fire on the robbers : for had we acted otherwise, and they could reach the town before us, it would be impossible to protect us from the fury of their numerous and powerful tribe.

We were obliged to remain here till about noon the following day, when the Shaik returned successful from his expedition, having brought with him our camel and all our effects : even the provisions were returned untouched, as they found a ham among them, of which the Arabs are, by their doctrine, strictly forbidden to eat.⁶ Strange ! and unaccountable, that any doctrine or precept should influence the conduct of vile wretches who, deemed it no crime to plunder us, or even to take away our lives, if they could have done it with impunity.

Nothing remained now to be done but to deliberate and determine on what should appear to us the best mode of making our escape from this diabolical country. We endeavoured to convince the Governor as well as the Arabs, that so far from possessing a treasure, we had no more money about us than what was barely sufficient to take us to St. John of Acre ; and yet little as it was, that we would part with it only with our lives. To shew that this was our determination, we loaded our arms afresh, and also thought it prudent to conceal from our enemies the time we had fixed for our departure : to which end, we openly declared our intention of setting out at six the next morning, but privately made our arrangements so as to depart by midnight; which we could do unobserved, as it fortunately happened our lodging was close to the Gate of the town.

The Governor gave us two of his men to accompany us ; and pledged his life that they would defend us to the last drop of their blood. We therefore set out at twelve from this inhospitable and dangerous town, expecting that by this plan we should give them the slip. We sent Pauolo before us to reconnoitre, and having met with no interruption we were in a few minutes beyond the precincts of Napolosa.

The night, for the first two hours, was remarkably serene, and we made the most of our time, riding at the rate of about four miles an hour. Our Napolosa men rode in front ; next came M--⁸ and I, and our servants and guides followed us with our baggage. But at halfpast two the night in a moment became so dark that we could scarcely see each other : fortunately one of our guides rode a grey mule, and this circumstance enabled me to distinguish and keep close to him. Immediately the rain began to pour in such torrents that we were soon wet to the skin. In addition to our distress and perplexity we found that we had lost our way and one of our guides. The loss or absence of our guide at this critical moment was not only severely felt, but also created in our minds the strongest suspicions of treachery on his part, and that he had thus absconded for the purpose of joining his accomplices and putting in execution some premeditated plan for our destruction.

My passion, in a short time overcame my fears ; and riding up to the guide who spoke Italian I desired him to tell the Napolosa guard that as his companion had so shamefully deserted, I was convinced they meant to betray us. That should we be stopped, I was determined to risk my life in the contest : but that before the rencounter, I should certainly have the pleasure of blowing his brains out.

The poor fellow declared his innocence, and that he would answer for his companion. He swore that he would sooner lose his head than betray us, and only wished for an opportunity of shewing me his steadiness and bravery in my defence in case of an attack. This somewhat pacified me ; but I by no means wished him such an opportunity of testifying his fidelity.

The darkness seemed still to increase, and for some time we remained in a dreadful sort of suspense. The dread of losing our way, if we still continued our dreary march, was succeeded by apprehensions no less terrifying, for our safety, in case we attempted to halt. In this hopeless situation, what could equal our joy on hearing, at some distance, the barking of dogs, which naturally led us to conclude that we were not far from some house or village.

It was unanimously agreed, that we should endeavour to direct our course towards the place from whence the cheering signal was heard ; and in order to induce a repetition of it, I desired Pauolo to sing one of his war songs. His melancholy ditty had the desired effect ; and the dogs thus continuing their harmonious accompaniment, directed our steps to a small village, where we were glad to rest our weary limbs for a couple of hours.

We took shelter in a most miserable hut. The landlord informed us, that, about a league farther on, there was an encampment of a wandering savage tribe, who, had we fallen into their hands, would have plundered us of everything ; and not only taken our mules, but stript us quite naked. In our way to Jerusalem we narrowly escaped those very plunderers, through the vigilance of the honest soldier of Ibrahim, who having previously informed himself of every danger incidental to the journey, took us by another road to avoid them ; and the same precaution was now, on our part, absolutely necessary.

In less than half an hour after our arrival at this place we were joined by our lost guide. His disappearing from us was merely accidental ; he and his horse having fallen into a pond or pit full of water, out of which he with much difficulty extricated himself, and hearing the barking of dogs, was almost instinctively led to follow our steps to the village.

We remained in the house of this friendly Arab till six in the morning, when we again mounted, and pursued our journey. I gave him three plasters for our two hours lodging, during which we were obliged to sleep in our wet cloaths, and were assailed on all sides by a species of Arabian vermin, resembling those on European sheep, and full as large.

By nine we were in the district of Nazareth, where the people, owing to Ibrahim's good government, seem to regulate their conduct on the principles of true honour and integrity. Here we dismissed our Napolosa men, and at twelve arrived at Nazareth ; but so exhausted with fatigue and anxiety, that we found ourselves quite incapable of proceeding on our journey, and therefore yielded to the solicitations of the Friars, to spend the remainder of the day with them, and to set off early the next morning for St. John of Acre, whither the Procurator, who had some business to transact with the Bashaw, Jedzar, promised to accompany us.

In the evening the Governor ⁹ paid us a visit, and favoured us with his company for upwards of two hours, during which, the conversation turned on various subjects, on each of which he delivered his sentiments with perspicuity and judgment.

He promised me his assistance in getting the finest Arabian horse he knew, in respect of pedigree : but that his price was enormous, being set at no less than ten thousand piasters. He himself would willingly give eight, but his friend would not part [with] him for less than ten. I took the address of the man who possessed this valuable horse, who proved to be the Governor of Caiffa, where I resolved to go immediately after my arrival at Acre.

The conversation then turned from the horses to their masters. Jedzar Bashaw was the principal subject. Ibrahim informed us that this man had more authority in this country than the Grand Signior had in Constantinople. Indeed, from his account, I may venture to say, that in ancient or modern history we do not meet with a more despotic prince, or one who has so unfeelingly exercised every species of tyranny, cruelty and injustice over his fellow creatures.

Ibrahim pays the Governor of St. John, in annual taxes, the enormous sum of fifteen thousand purses or one million sterling. He spoke to us in the most open and unreserved manner, respecting the character of his countrymen ; a sketch of which may not appear wholly uninteresting to my readers.

The Arabs in general are by no means so ferocious or barbarous as they are represented to us. There are many very estimable characters among them. The Bedouins, or Arabs of Arabia Deserta, have no fixed habitation they live under tents, which they carry from one place to another, according to the wants of their flocks, which consist of sheep and goats. They pride themselves so much on their nobility, that they hold the exercise of all mechanical arts in the utmost contempt, and prefer predatory excursions on horseback. In summer they live on the heights, in order to be able to discover the travellers, whom they intend to rob. In winter they direct their course towards the south as far as Cesarea. Their tents are made of goat's hair, woven together and died in black.

Their principal chiefs are called Emirs : next in rank are the Shaiks, whose authority extends over a smaller number of Arabs. These people, though living chiefly by plunder, are neither cruel or wicked : on the contrary they are known to exercise the most generous acts of hospitality and benevolence to those who fall in their way, and whose distress seems to claim their protection.

They follow the religion of Mahomet ; are, or at least affect to be, more devout than the Turks, and are much more superstitious. If an Arab kills another Arab, all friendship is at an end between the two families and their posterity, until the injury be expiated by the blood of one of the offending family, or a reconciliation obtained by the payment of a large sum of money.

They respect their beards almost to adoration : the wives kiss those of their husbands, and the men mutually kiss each other's beards in token of friendship and esteem. They are passionately fond of horses, and manifest their pride and ostentation in keeping the finest and dearest.

The Bedouins, as well as the Turks, are not allowed to wear green in any part of their apparel. They have in general very forbidding countenances ; and in all my journey through this part of Arabia, I did not meet with even one handsome woman.

We felt ourselves much obliged to Ibrahim for his kind and instructive conversation, and took our leave, with professions of friendship, gratitude and esteem. The good Friars of the Convent kept us company till evening, and persuaded me to accept of several valuable presents, with some very curious antiques and Grecian and Egyptian medals.

The following day we were very early on the road, accompanied by the reverend father and our guides. We had a most agreeable ride, and arrived at St. John of Acre by four in the afternoon. We took up our lodgings at the Chan, which is a very large square building, of four stories, divided into numerous apartments. The first story is used as warehouses ; and the second is occupied by Europeans, most of whom are French.

The next day, we waited on the Governor, who received us with all that kind of politeness and pompous ceremony peculiar to Asiatic grandees. After a short audience we withdrew, and took a nearer view of the city. It was formerly called Ptolemais, from the name of Ptolemy, king of Egypt, who is supposed to have been its founder. It was then one of the most considerable towns of all the East : nothing now remains but a few houses, and some very curious ruins. I took a sketch of the one that most attracted my attention : it is of Gothic architecture and appears to have been once a temple. At a distance you discover Mount Carmel, the Convent of the Carmelites on the opposite side, and the village of Caiffa near the sea-shore.

Caiffa,¹⁰ which the Turks and Arabs know by the name of Kaffas, being only three leagues distant from hence, and the time which our captain had granted us not being expired, I determined to go there the next day in order to get a view of the fine horse so much extolled by Ibrahim. In short I was determined, if possible, to purchase this admirable quadruped, not only for my own gratification ; but chiefly with a view of improving our breed of horses in Ireland.

On our arrival at Caiffa I sent Pauolo to the "'Governor, to know if I would be permitted to see the horse he meant to dispose of; to which he returned me a very polite answer, assuring me I should have an opportunity of seeing and examining him as often as I pleased, before I had finally determined on being the purchaser.

I was accordingly conducted [to] the place where this rare animal stood ; and truly nothing but the pencil of Apelles could do him justice. His price was ten thousand piasters ; and it would be a kind of insult to offer less, to this inflexible Turk. I therefore gave him a letter of exchange on Smyrna, and sent the horse to Acre with orders to [have] him put on board my vessel there.

Caiffa is situated to the north of Mount Carmel, and was once a celebrated place. The grottos cut in the solid rock where the Prophets Elisha and Elias used to live, are still shewn. This mountain is likewise distinguished for the many petrifications of melons and other fruits, as well as oysters, which have been found on it.

Footnotes

1 Neapolis, modern Nablus.
2 Hugh Moore.
3 Moore.
4 See p. 225 ante, n.
5 The native name in the time of Josephus was Mabortha. Pliny uses the form Mamortha.
6 This story was told by Mr. Hugh Moore, after his return to Ireland, to the Bishop of Dromore, who related it shortly afterwards to his correspondent, Dr. Michael Lort, Greek Professor at Trinity College, Cambridge. The latter, when replying to the Bishop's letter, writes under, date June 16, 1790: " The bacon anecdote is quite new to me, I did not know before it could occasionally prove so good an amulet: but somebody tells me there is something similar to it in Bruce; and if this should be one of the many incidents in those Travels whose authenticity is questioned, Mr. Whaley's authority may be brought to support it." Nichol's Illus-trations of Literature, vii. 510. See ibid. p. 509.
8 Moore.
9 Ibrahim Calousse.
10 Hâifa.