"Stop! One at a time," I remarked.
"Yes, you dog!" said Osman to his fellow-countryman. "How dare you speak? He did not lead the horse, Effendi, he drove the animal before him, and the horse lay down in the river. Everything is spoiled! Oh! you refuse of a diseased sheep,"—this to the culprit. "And the Effendi's cartridges, he will not be able to replace them; and my brother, what will he say about his tobacco? he will be angry—he may beat me! I knew your mother, your grandmother, and great-grandmother—they were all most improper characters—and you, you hound, you are the worst of the family!" As he said these words, Osman began to flog the delinquent most unmercifully.
I was obliged to interfere, taking my servant by the collar, I ordered him to desist, and at once to load the baggage animal.
This accident delayed us considerably on the road. Some time after sunset, on looking at my watch, I found that we had only placed an eight hours' march between ourselves and Angora. We were on a large plain, which was surrounded by hills; our path wound round the slopes of the adjacent height, presently the village of Asra Yuzgat appeared in sight. It is built on the side of a hill. We were soon riding on the tops of the houses, and had to be very careful lest our horses should suddenly come upon an open chimney. Some of the roofs had fallen in. The moon shining on the white rafters gave a ghastly appearance to the scene.
The people in this part of Anatolia have a very economical way of building their habitations. The man who is old enough to take unto himself a helpmate, and who is about to leave his father's roof, marks a piece of ground, generally of an oblong shape and on the side of a hill. He next digs out the earth to the depth of about seven feet. Then, hewing down some trees, he cuts six posts, each about ten feet high, and drives them three feet into the ground, three posts being on one side of the oblong and three on the other. Cross-beams are fastened to the tops of these uprights, and branches of trees plastered down with clay cover all. A few planks, with a hole made in them to serve as a doorway, enclose the outer side of the building, and a broad heavy plank closes the entrance, hinges being replaced by strips of cowhide. A wooden railing divides the room into two parts; one of them is tenanted by the sheep, oxen, camels, and cows of the proprietor, the other by himself and family. No partition-wall separates the cattle from their master; and the smell which arises at night from the confined air and from the ammonia in the building is excessively disagreeable to a European. In cold weather a hole in the roof, which serves as a ventilator, is stopped by a large stone. Fuel, often made from cow's dung, first dried and then mixed with chopped straw, is thrown on the fire. The inmates, sometimes consisting of twelve or more people, lie huddled together on the floor. This last in the poorer houses is covered by rugs made of camel's hair, and in the wealthier establishments by thick Persian carpets.
The barking of the dogs, which swarmed around us, speedily awoke the inhabitants, and a middle-aged Turk, clad in a thick brown mantle, approaching me, said that he was the Caimacan or governor, and that he hoped I would stay at his house that night.
It appeared that my friend the Bey at Angora had written to him about my journey, and had said that I should reach Asra Yuzgat at sunset. The Caimacan knew nothing of our accident on the road: as we had not arrived by one hour after nightfall, he had gone to bed.
His house was not a large one. It consisted of two rooms, a kitchen and a reception-room. The latter apartment was used for all purposes. The owner remarked that he was going on a shooting expedition the following morning; he proposed that I should join his party. There were, according to him, a great many partridges and hares in the neighbourhood. However, my cartridges had been probably all of them spoiled in the river, so I was obliged to decline the invitation.
I was rather tired, and wished to go to bed. On expressing a wish to this effect, a mattress was produced, and put down in one corner, and a second the other side of the room for the Caimacan. Three or four servants were present. No one seemed to have any intention to retire. I took off my clothes, lay down on the mattress, and drew over myself a marvellous thing in the way of yorgans, a silk counterpane of as many colours as Joseph's coat, and lined with feathers.
"Are you warm?" said the Caimacan.