This was no sooner done than the eyes of the spectators, which had hitherto been actively employed, were relieved for a short time by their organs of speech, exerted in ill-suppressed whispers. From their gestures, and a word or two which we caught en passant, we could perceive that very few of the Arabs assembled believed a single word of our statement, (so far, at least, as the motives for the expedition were concerned;) for they could not at all imagine why persons should be commissioned to make researches of such a nature as those which they had just heard proposed, where money was not in fact the real object of inquiry.
His excellency the Bey, though he received the statement graciously, and offered his assistance very freely in facilitating the operations of the mission, was scarcely himself convinced of the sanity of a government which could concern itself with science and research, particularly if no considerable pecuniary equivalent was likely to result to His Majesty’s treasury for the expenses incurred by its expeditions[2].
We had brought with us several papers for Bey Halīl from the Bashaw, all of which, when presented (with the exception of one), he put into the hands of his secretary Hashi, his excellency not being himself quite au fait at deciphering the contents of his letters. The paper retained was the teskeré from the Bashaw (already mentioned) for five hundred dollars; and it is probable that the frequent arrival of similar orders had rendered their appearance so familiar to Bey Halil, that he was able to distinguish them without the assistance of his secretary, though he could not read a word of other matter.
A slight change of countenance, when he first cast his eyes upon the teskeré, was, however, the only visible effect which it produced on the exterior of the Bey of Bengazi; and his good breeding did not allow him to manifest in any other way that our visit was not in all respects perfectly agreeable to him. We may add, that the sum was punctually paid to us, after some little (possibly unavoidable) delay, by the hands of secretary Hashi; and the credit of his excellency was in no other way diminished, than by the discharge of the five hundred dollars at several times, instead of being made at one payment. Had we known at Tripoly so much of the Bey’s private history, as we have already stated above, this teskeré might have been spared him; for we should certainly not have been induced to accept any order upon him, however trifling, could we have supposed that its payment might be inconvenient.
Soon after we left the coast of Africa, Bey Halil was removed from the government of Bengazi, and it is probable that he had reason to rejoice at his dismissal; for had he remained there much longer than he did, the continued demands for money and cargoes, so unmercifully made upon him by his Highness, could scarcely have failed to ruin him. In addition to these, he had sustained a considerable loss in the capture of one of the vessels which he had freighted, by the Greeks, as we were informed, at Bengazi; and also in the destruction of the jewels and wardrobe of his wife, which the Bashaw had ordered to be burnt (it was said) after the death of that unfortunate princess.
In compliance, we presume, with the practice of the court of Tripoly, tea was served to us with the sherbet, instead of coffee, at the interviews we had with Bey Halil; as we have already mentioned it to have been in that with the Shekh of Mesurata.
In the course of our first visit, we took occasion to mention to his excellency the careless manner in which Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah had fulfilled the injunctions of the Bashaw; and to enumerate a few of the impositions, the unnecessary delays, and privations, to which we had in consequence been subjected; acquainting him at the same with the loss of property which we had sustained, from the thievish disposition of the Dúbbah’s people. We hoped by this complaint to get back a pocket compass, and some other articles which we could ill spare, which had been stolen from our tents on the journey across the Syrtis. Bey Halil was, however, either unwilling or unable to assist us in the matter; and after shrugging up his shoulders in dignified silence (as if he had expected nothing less), he summed up the whole of his displeasure in the single exclamation of—Arab! By which he seemed to imply, that, as one of that race, the Shekh could not be other than a rogue[3].
Unsatisfactory as this administration of justice may appear, it did not seem probable that we should obtain any other; and having one means of punishment, at least, in our own hands (that of mulcting the Shekh, whom we had not fully paid, to the amount of the property stolen), we did not press the subject any further with his excellency; and after having made known to him our intention of remaining during the rainy season in Bengazi, and of proceeding afterwards to the eastward, we concluded by requesting his assistance and protection, in furtherance of the remaining objects of the mission, and took our leave under the most decided and friendly assurances of having everything arranged as we could wish.
As soon as this visit of ceremony was over, we began to employ our time, which, on account of the heavy rains, was necessarily passed in doors, in putting together the materials which we had collected on our route, in making some arrangements for improving the condition of our horses, of which they stood much in need, and in preparing provisions and other necessaries which were required for our journey to the eastward. In these pursuits we were materially assisted by the vice-consul and his brother, Mr. Giacomo Rossoni, to both of whom our thanks are particularly due, as well on these as on many other occasions. Our time, though we passed it as agreeably as we could, nevertheless often hung very heavy on our hands; and we soon found that Bengazi was a residence which we should quit with very little regret. There is not a single place of public resort or amusement in any part of this gloomy abode: its inhabitants idle or sleep away the greater part of their time, without appearing to entertain the slightest desire of improving their comfortless and miserable condition, or of enlivening the monotony of their pursuits. Turkish towns are not in general remarkable for gaiety, and we did not expect to find theatres or assembly-rooms; but there is usually a good deal of amusement to be derived from occasional visits to the coffee-shops and bazaars, and not unfrequently some useful information. These resources, however, were not afforded us at Bengazi; for there is nothing of the kind there that we felt an inclination to visit a second time. Strangers who arrive there may indeed find a shelter from the weather, in a place well known to Mahometans as the Fundook, a temporary place of reception and partial accommodation. We once, and once only, took occasion to visit this place; and on entering it through the aperture of a broken door, we found ourselves in a long arched room, in which there was scarcely sufficient light to show us where to place our feet, a precaution which was nevertheless highly essential. Here we perceived the remains of a charcoal fire, which had been kindled on the well-smoked capital of a marble column, and a greasy Arab stretched close to it on the ground, snoring amid the folds of his barracan. The building itself was of some antiquity, though not apparently older than the worst time of the lower empire, the roof being supported upon small columns of execrable taste, and the other parts of the building in no better style. The exterior had undergone some repair from time to time, but no attention whatever had been paid to the chamber within, not even that of removing the dirt and filth which was collected there; and the consequence was, that the level of the floor reached two-thirds of the way up the columns. We need scarcely add, that whatever attractions this place may have had for an Arab, it had little allurement for us; and we should have laid ourselves down, without the least hesitation, to pass a rainy night in the street, rather than subject ourselves to the punishment of taking shelter for an hour under its roof.
The house in which we had taken up our abode was the property of the Shekh el Belad, a very worthy person, much respected by all who knew him: he soon made us acquainted with the principal people of the town, from whom we collected what little information they could afford us, respecting the country, and the several objects of our mission[4]. We were informed that Bengazi contained about two thousand inhabitants, a large proportion of which were Jews and negro slaves; but the number of persons residing in the town is continually varying, owing to the circumstance of many persons removing to the country, whenever the weather permits, where they establish themselves in tents, or in huts made of palm-branches and dhurra-stalks[5]. The Jews of Bengazi are a persecuted race, but uniformly steady in their pursuit after riches: as is usually the case in Mahometan countries, they are (with the few exceptions we shall presently mention) the principal merchants and tradesmen of the place; and their well-directed and unremitted industry alone enables them to meet the heavy exactions which are made upon their purses and property by the adherents to the religion of the Prophet. Their houses are generally cleaner and better furnished than those of most of the Mahometans, and we never entered any of them without finding the whole family employed in some useful occupation.