"Come!" I said, "your house is on fire! Be quick, or it will be burned down, and your camels and oxen be suffocated!"
The proprietor bounded out of the room. He was followed by the harem; the ladies, in the confusion, did not think of covering their faces, and were very scantily attired. They ran to a well in the yard and brought some pitchers of water. The proprietor by this time had climbed to the roof of his house. It was a windy night. The gusts were a source of considerable inconvenience, to the water-bearers; their hands being occupied with the pitchers, they could not arrange their garments. The latter fluttered above the ladies' heads, to the great discomfort of the proprietor, who, much enraged at his house being on fire, was equally annoyed at his wives' legs being exposed to the view of an unbeliever.
To relieve his mind, I clambered on to the roof. From this position the ladies' limbs could no longer be seen. After pouring several buckets of water on the charred rafters, we managed to extinguish the flames.
CHAPTER XXI.
Sileh Zela—Its position—The old citadel—The soil in the neighbourhood—A battalion of infantry—The Caimacan—The audience-chamber—The Cadi—The battalion going to Samsoun—The local authorities—The Colonel—England would be neutral—What, desert her friend of the Crimea?—An ally in Austria—Andrassy—An old Imaum—Propensity for fighting—A Christian Bishop—The most bellicose members of society—Yakoob Khan of Kashgar—The Russians and the Chinese—The Khivans, Bokharians, and Turkomans—A rising of the Poles—The ancient city—A secret passage—My tea and sugar—Osman has a sweet tooth—My lord's liberality praised—Osman to kneel on his own coat—Tartars—Lazy husbands—A plain planted with tobacco—Mountains covered with vines—Many-coloured sand-hills—A wonderful phenomenon—Bazar—Pacha Williams—Teesdale—Kars—Is Pacha Williams still alive?
It was a bright moonlight night. Not thinking it likely that we should obtain any more sleep, I determined to start at once, and take advantage of the weather. Desiring Radford and Osman, who had been aroused by the reports of my revolver, to saddle the horses, we set off in the direction of Sileh Zela, a town which contains 3000 houses, and a barracks which will hold at a pinch 1500 soldiers.
Sileh Zela stands in the centre of a natural basin, the hills which form its sides being at a distance of six or seven miles from the town. A small rising ground near the principal street is occupied by the ruins of an old citadel. A stream runs through the heart of the city. The soil in the neighbourhood is very rich; corn abounds throughout the district. The inhabitants do not seem to have suffered from the famine which a few years ago so depopulated the Angora district.
Half a battalion of infantry, about 400 strong, was drilling in a plain immediately in front of the town. The inhabitants had turned out, men and women, to witness the instruction of the troops. The white dresses of the ladies, contrasting with the blue uniforms, red caps, and the many-coloured dresses of the inhabitants, formed a bright and vivid picture. It was a glorious day. The sun poured down its rays with a force much more suggestive of July than January. The drill was just over as we neared the town. We rode into Sileh at the head of the regiment, the band, which consisted of about twenty musicians, performing a wild and discordant march. Halting at the house of the Caimacan, I dismounted and proceeded to pay him a visit. He was in the audience-chamber, surrounded by clerks, who were on their knees, and submitting different documents for his approval.
The great man himself was squatted on a divan; the members of the town council were by his side. The Cadi, whose head was enveloped in a gigantic yellow turban, was engaged in smoking a long chibouk. A crowd of men were in the anteroom, some with petitions in their hands, others apparently prisoners, judging by the guards who stood beside them.
It was evidently a busy day. The Caimacan, not taking any notice of my arrival, continued attaching his seal to the different papers.