After enjoying a good dinner, we mounted our horses, and proceeded along the summit of the mountains leading to Brumanah. The greater part of the villages in this district had been burnt by order of Ibrahim, after the first affair of Ornagacuan, and it was out of my power to prevent it. Brumanah was in ruins also; it had been destroyed by a party of Albanians during the insurrection. We were well received by the wife of the Emir of the place, whose name I do not recollect; she was mother to the wife of the Emir Bechir Cassim. We had a tolerable dinner served on a low table; and were afterwards invited into the ladies’ apartment, where were seated the Princess and her two daughters, smoking their pipes, dressed out in all their finery. The three ladies wore horns on their heads, studded with jewels, about two feet and a half long, over which were hung veils, the horn richly ornamented. The old lady had lost her beauty, but not her dignity. The husband of the eldest daughter was a prisoner in Nubia; and when she heard I was going off Alexandria, she implored me to obtain his release; she was a determined smoker, and frequently handed me her pipe. The second daughter was unmarried and handsome, and also treated me occasionally with a whiff, which is considered a high compliment on the mountains. After a good deal of conversation, through the medium of an interpreter, we were served with coffee; the ladies then retired, and we followed their example; but as usual, were kept awake the greater part of the night by our numerous bed-fellows, who appeared more inveterate in this château than we had ever found them before. After breakfast we mounted our horses, and made the best of our way to Beyrout.
The Turks now considering themselves pretty secure in Lebanon, took no pains to gain the good will of the inhabitants; on the contrary, they soon made them feel that they had gained nothing by the change of masters. Before leaving Beyrout for Alexandria, I wrote to Lord Ponsonby the following letter on the subject:—
“My Lord,
“H.M.S. Powerful, Beyrout,
Nov. 14, 1840.
“Things are going on here just as bad as possible. I do not mean as to military affairs, for I know nothing about them, except that the troops are divided between Beyrout, Sidon, Tyre, and Acre; but the Pacha is disgusting everybody. The troops of the Grand Prince are left sometimes without provisions, or any thing else, for days. I send you the last letter I had from him. The appointments to the different places are made without judgment; and I verily believe, if the war lasts, Ibrahim Pacha will get a party in his favour. I understand Izzet openly says when Ibrahim is put down, the next thing to do is to disarm the mountaineers. This, I suspect, will be no easy matter; and I see no prospect of any good coming out of all this to the Sultan; he ought at once to give them the same government they have at Samos.
“I before mentioned to your Lordship that Sidon, Beyrout, and Tripoli should be added to the government of the Grand Prince; and as the mountaineers have land in the Bekaa, if that and Anti-Lebanon could be also added to their government, they would be quite content, and be the best supporters the Sultan could have. If Mehemet Ali was to offer it, even now, and they could depend upon him, I verily believe he would be supported.
“The Turks in Beyrout treat the mountaineers very ill, and they are beginning to find they will not be a bit better off than they were. At present I have great influence over them, and can make them do just what I like, but I am unfortunately going to Alexandria, where I do not believe anything can be done without troops, and there will be no one here to look after their interests. My son is come out to join me; he is Major in the 46th. I have some idea of sending him to the Emir, but he ought to have Turkish rank; he has great talent, great application, and knows a little Arabic, and will soon know more. If you could get him Turkish rank, as Major-General, he would be most useful. There is another thing that ought to be done immediately, viz., to send one who could be trusted, with a sum of money, say 5000l., to distribute amongst the mountaineers whose houses have been burnt. I was yesterday at Bechfaya; there is a town near it entirely destroyed, and the inhabitants without shelter or provisions, and the winter coming on; they cannot go into the plain to cultivate their lands, and there will certainly be a famine if magazines are not formed to provide against it.
“The garrison of Jaffa marched into Acre the other day, and 500 irregular horse are come in from Marash; I believe if Ibrahim was attacked with vigour, we should get all the Egyptian army; after another fortnight nothing more can be done, because the rains will set in. Should anything turn up at Alexandria I shall not fail to keep your Lordship informed. It is generally believed here that the French squadron are gone to Toulon, in that case we shall probably go to Malta; they are, I dare say, about something,—at least it looks like it,—or they may have determined on war, and are concentrating their squadron, which will be stronger than ours, till the arrival of the Britannia and Howe. The Admiral, for the present, talks of going to Marmorice Bay, and the ships from home are ordered to rendezvous there.
“Believe me, &c.,