The Dúbbah was the first who began to relent; he had probably been reflecting upon our threat of reporting his conduct, and he very well knew what an unfavourable footing he would stand upon with the Bashaw, if he ventured so decidedly to disobey the injunctions he had received from him when he was directed to conduct us to Bengazi. He now came out of his tent, and going first to one of his party and then to another, pretended that he was using all the means in his power to induce them to relinquish their demands, and to bring their camels to be loaded as usual; whereas one single word from him would, at any time of the dispute, have been sufficient to put an end to it altogether.
This farce was kept up, however, with all due solemnity; and as an opening was now made towards accommodation, we left Shekh Mahommed to manage matters in his own way, without letting him know we saw through his manœuvres. It must be allowed, at the same time, that the acting on both sides was excellent: some pretended they were weighing the Dúbbah’s arguments very gravely, while others made a show of not listening to them at all, and walked away towards their camels as if to drive them away, the old Shekh following closely, and holding them by the baracan, while he went through all the manual of pantomimic persuasion. At last he made his appearance in our servants’ tent, and told them very gravely that he had succeeded in appeasing the malcontents, who had now agreed to drop their demands, and to bring their camels to be loaded. He then went through a long string of arguments which he had been obliged to use to induce them to make these concessions, but all of which had proved unavailing; and he promised at last (he majestically asserted) laying his hand at the same time on his breast, to be answerable for the money himself! Nothing, however, would do, till he fortunately bethought himself of offering in pledge the new gold-lace crimson burnoose, which His Highness the Bashaw had presented him with on his departure from Tripoly! All eyes, he observed, were fixed on it, as he drew this precious object out of the bag; and when he unfolded the eloquent garment, and displayed all the logic contained in its rich folds, they had not a word more left to say on the subject, but consented immediately to receive it in pawn, and to abide by whatever he should decide.
It is scarcely possible for those who have had no dealings with Arabs, to imagine all the trouble and exertions which they will give themselves in getting up a performance of this nature; the whole piece too is in general so naturally acted, that if the spectators had no cause for suspicion, they would seldom perceive that the acting was overdone, which is almost invariably the case in some part or other of the play. We had been much accustomed to scenes of the kind, but till the time when the Dúbbah began to interfere, we never suspected that the parties were not in earnest, although it was clear that they acted in concert. The good-humour with which an Arab will bear his disappointment, when nothing after all is gained by his stratagem, is another very prominent feature in his character. He never appears to regret the trouble he has taken; though it may have cost him whole days to plan his manœuvre, and a great deal of personal exertion to put it in execution. He bears no ill will to the persons who may have detected him; but will relate the whole thing as an excellent plot, immediately after its failure, and commend the penetration of those who have baffled his best efforts to deceive them.
It was not worth our while to undeceive the old Shekh, by letting him know that we saw through the whole of this manœuvre, and he continued to give himself great credit for the mode in which he had terminated it; he really believed that he had greatly ingratiated himself with our party by having pawned the new gold laced burnoose above mentioned to extricate us from our hazardous situation, and took every opportunity of making some pompous allusion to the liberal part which he had acted. The camel-drivers returned to their duty as usual, and we continued our journey to Muktahr, where we arrived on the same day at sunset, just as if nothing had happened.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]A great quantity of broken pottery was found at this place, and red earthen jars were observed protruding through the sides of the cliff where it had fallen away; the floor and two sides of a chamber, coated with excellent cement, were also remarked in the side of the cliff near the sea; the other parts had fallen away with the rock, and were scattered in ruin on the beach, which was thickly strewed with remains of the fortress.
[2]We have already stated, on the authority of Pliny, that the Philænean Altars were of sand; and as they must be looked for in this neighbourhood, we have supposed them to have been erected in the sandy tract which we shall shortly mention in our progress eastward from Bengerwàd. For had they been raised on a spot where other materials could have been easily obtained, it is not probable that any so unstable as sand would have been used for the commemoration of so noble an action as that which occasioned their erection.
[3]Ειτ᾽ αλλος τοπος Χαραξ καλουμενος—ω εμπορειω εχρωντο Καρχηδονιοι κομιζοντες οινον, αντιφορτιζομενοι δε οπον και σιλφιον παρα των εκ Κυρηνης λαθρα παρακομιζοντων·—Lib. xvii. p. 688.
[4]For, after mentioning Charax, Strabo adds—ειθ᾽ ὁι φιλαινων βομοι, και μετα τουτους Αυτομαλα φρουριον, φυλακην εχον, ιδρυμενον κατα τον μυχον του κολπου παντος· Here we find the fortress of Automala placed in the innermost recess of the gulf, which is much farther to the eastward than the point to which we are at present arrived.
[5]Page 79, Italian edition.