Here the conversation rested, and we fell asleep. In a few hours he awoke us, and we set forward: after some pause, he began in the following manner, which was interpreted to me, as he spoke, by my servant:
“Surely God made laughter for the derision and shame of mankind, and gave it to the Franks and the monkies; for the one ha, ha, ha’s, and the other he, he, he’s, and both are malicious, mischievous, and good for nothing but to fret and tantalize all that come across them.”
Here he paused, as waiting for something to be said: however, I remained silent. At length, he continued: “Not but that, with all their laughter, they have the wisdom to take special care of themselves; for half a dozen monkies will he, he, he, and empty a whole orchard of its fruit in the reckoning of a hundred; and a Frank will ha, ha, ha, and eat you up pillaws, and poultry like a wolf, and drink up wine with the same moderation that a camel drinks up water.”
I thought I should have choked with smothered laughter: I would not however interrupt him, and so contrived to keep it to myself: he proceeded to apothegmatise:
“But with all their he, he, he’s, and ha, ha, ha’s, it sometimes turns out that they are caught: the monkey is seized in a trap, and caged or knocked in the head, and the Frank is put in jail, and bastinadoed or hanged; and then the tune is changed, and it is Oh, ho, ho!” Here he began to mimic crying so admirably, and at the same time so ridiculously, that I burst out laughing again.
“Observe, Jimmel,” said he hastily, “observe! you can’t refrain! But by our holy Prophet,” said he seriously, “it may end as I said: so look to yourself, and avoid laughter in caravanseras, or we part; for there are places, and that was one of them last night, where suspicion would ruin you. And if you lost your life, what should I say for myself on my return to Aleppo? Eh, what should I say for myself? Ha, ha ha! would not do. No, no, they would not believe it, and I should lose my character.”
“Why, don’t you laugh yourself?” said I.
“Very seldom, or rather never,” returned he; “at least I would not in time of danger. No, no, none but Christians and monkies make a practice of laughing—Turks and Tartars are wiser.” I promised, him, that I would in future take more care; and, by way of appeasing him with a little flattery, said, that he played his part so admirably, it was impossible to resist the impulse. But he answered, with a grave face, that his action in that case was of too serious a nature to be made a subject of merriment—and advised me to believe it so.