MELEK NUSSR ED DEEN.SHEAKH SAYD CHIEF OF THE ABABDE TRIBE.

Published by Longman & Co. April 6th. 1835.

After we had well lathered our hands in the usual Turkish manner, the round white metal table was brought in, and we all squatted down on the floor, with due decorum, around it. We had first soup, and afterwards twenty dishes of meat, one following the other, and the dinner finished with a pillof of rice. We used wooden spoons for the soup, diving into the dish promiscuously; the meat we ate with our fingers, using always the thumb and two forefingers of the right hand; each person keeping as well as he could to his own angle of the dish. Holding a piece of bread in his hand, he fished out the pieces of meat, with a due proportion of gravy. The dishes were all small, and some of them very recherchés; but, as usual, it was mutton, mutton, nothing but mutton, though disguised in a great variety of forms, with herbs, beans, and sauces from Cairo. The hands of the Bey had the precedence in plunging into each dish, and the paws of the others briskly followed those of their leader. Having tasted one or two choice morsels, his Excellency nodded his head, and that plate vanished. A number of hungry attendants who were to dine upon the remains of the feast, waited in a string, and handed the dishes back and forward, from one to the other, with the greatest rapidity. Very little was said during the repast; indeed, whoever is so foolish as to converse on such an occasion runs a great hazard of faring indifferently. As it was, I had rather a scanty supper; for perceiving it was bon ton to eat of every dish, and not knowing how many might follow, I did not duly profit by the precious moments. Old Nazr ed Deen, who, as I have stated, is reported to breakfast with such a voracious appetite, seemed by no means satisfied, although I observed that he made the best use of his time. The whole affair was finished in twenty minutes. Some of the dishes were not one minute on the table. The Bey, with his fugacious nod, reminded me of the physician at the island, who was so considerate for Sancho Panza’s digestive powers. I ought not to omit mentioning, that the Bey, as a special act of politeness to myself, selected often the most delicate morsels from the best dishes, with his own besmeared fingers, and placed them before me. I did not quite relish such a greasy gratification, but was obliged to swallow the compliment. Several slaves stood around the table with gullahs of cool water,—the only beverage permitted; others had large fans to keep away the flies. After we had performed our very necessary ablutions, smoked a pipe, and taken coffee, the Bey dismissed his court and attendants, and we had a long tête-à-tête upon various subjects. Although evidently a brave man, he finds the difficulties of his situation trying and embarrassing. Having no trusty friend or confidant near him, he seemed glad of an opportunity of disburdening his grievances before a stranger, to whom there would be no disgrace or humiliation in expressing his fears and difficulties. “I have few or no friends here,” said he, “and many enemies. It is difficult to satisfy the demands of the Pasha, and not oppress the people. The Government at Alexandria are never content with the amount of the revenue; and yet are enraged if any complaints reach them, although they are the consequence of their own exorbitant demands; but I hope God will give me good luck, and enable me to keep my place to the satisfaction of my master.” We conversed about the province; his manner of managing the Arabs, with the statistics of the country; the affairs of the Pasha (to whom he seems very much attached, and hopes to see him master of St. Petersburgh, or at all events, of the recent acquisitions of that power from the Ottoman empire); the war with the Sultan; the conquest of these provinces; his own military exploits and valour; and the antiquities which are the object of my journey. Understanding that my artist was an Italian, he displayed his knowledge of that language, which extended only to two words, buono e morte, by taking hold repeatedly of Mr. B.’s arm, and at the same time that he repeated these words, he accompanied them with such a powerful grasp, as almost made poor Signor B. scream for pain.—“Anima del’ caina (del cane),” he said to me, in the Neapolitan dialect, “buono o cattivo mi pare che mi vuol la morte.” Afterwards, the conversation turning upon animals, he showed me the skin of a pet lion, that he had killed because it had destroyed a sheep. I happened to appear pleased with it, when he instantly made me accept it. He then sent for a beautiful little monkey, of the grey capuchin kind, with which he also presented me. I took it into my special protection, and christened it with the name uppermost in my thoughts, namely, Meroe; and many a weary mile, till my return to Thebes, did it beguile me with its mischievous gambols on my camel. When I rose to take leave, the Bey said he would accompany me to my tent, and then offered me a fine large panther’s skin, on which he had been sitting. He did not give me these, as the Turks in general make presents, with the expectation of receiving others more valuable; for I told him, on receiving the first, that I had not contemplated making this journey when I left Europe, and had therefore nothing with me to offer him. He replied, “All Turks are not the same; there are good and bad of every nation: these are trifles; tell me how I can be of real service to you; and the only return I wish is, that you think well of me when you go to your own country.” He privately inquired of my dragoman if we were in want of candles, sugar, coffee, of another tent, or any thing else. Although we wanted nothing, we duly appreciated his kind intention. The style in which he came to my tent, and went to and from his harem every day, will give some idea of the state kept up in these provincial governments. He was preceded by his guards, armed with guns; then by four cowhasses, beating their massive silver-headed sticks on the ground,—a substitute for music: the Bey himself then followed, on foot or on his charger, having behind him six other guards, with guns, and a crowd of perhaps twenty servants. I was at a loss what return to make for his liberality: he had really shown himself such a fine fellow, that it was painful to be behind him in generosity. Having no suitable articles to spare, such as a gun, pistols, or a watch, the most proper gifts to a Turk of his rank, I could only beg his acceptance of a few trifles,—a new patent powder-flask and belt, a bag of English shot, a good English penknife, and a silver watch-guard. I gave him, also, a little stock of medicines, with directions how to use them; these he valued very highly, being aware on how slender a thread his life hangs in such a baneful climate as this.

Pl. 2.

On stone by W. Walton from a Drawing by L. Bandoni. Printed by C. Hullmandel.
SHEAKH BESHER.
The present Melek of Shendy.		SON OF A BISHAREEN SHEAKH.

Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

March 1. This morning the Bey sent us a couple of fine sheep, and, before we were dressed, a cowhass called to summon me to his divan. He showed us his stables, in which were six horses, of the true Dongolah breed, black and brown, of whom the black were the finest, but all of them had rather upright pasterns, and four white legs: sometimes the white extends over the thighs, and occasionally over the belly. They are not light, slender horses like some of the best race of Arabs, being more remarkable for their strength: their appearance reminded me very much of the Egyptian horses, as represented on the walls of Thebes. They would make magnificent cavalry horses; but if they were brought on a race course, I think their appearance would induce few to back them, except, perhaps, for a three-mile heat; certainly not for the St. Leger. The breed is rare now, and valuable. Even here a good Dongolah horse fetches from 50l. to 150l. After dinner he went to his harem to sleep, and then returned to the government-house. He then sent for me again, and kept me with him until ten at night. Dinner and supper were served in the same style as on the preceding day.

March 2. This morning the Bey sent for me as before, and kept me till after dinner, when I started for Shendy in his own boat, which he had the goodness to lend me. He invited me to make a longer stay, but I had no time to lose. These three days, however, have not been altogether mis-spent, as I have obtained some important information. I complained to the Bey yesterday, that, on account of the prejudices of the people, we were unable to draw any of the costumes of the country. The Bey very coolly declared, that whoever dared to refuse, he would cut off his head! Though this summary order was coolly received in the divan, we did not hesitate to avail ourselves of it, and immediately set to work, and drew the portraits of all the dignitaries of consequence at his court. I have already referred the reader to the portraits of Melek Nazr ed Deen, Sheakh Beshir, and Sheakh Seyd. Some of them were very reluctant, in spite of all our persuasion, particularly one native prince called Mousa. (See coloured plate, [XVI.]) His likeness, taken by Signor B., is admirable, the colour correct, and his figure is the finest specimen of manly beauty I have seen in this country. His breast, as will be observed in the plate, has somewhat of a projection, a peculiarity I have often observed in Upper Nubia. It is considered a great deformity, and those who have it often submit to a most painful operation for its removal. Mousa, when my artist had finished his portrait, begged the Bey to treat him as a man, and not show him like a beast. He is the son of a melek, but now serves as a groom. He is famous for his courage and dexterity in the use of the sabre. To use their own exaggerated Oriental language, he is capable of killing 100 men in battle. In our tent, yesterday, we took the figure and costume of a Bishareen boy, about eighteen, whose father, a powerful sheakh, had attempted to excite a revolt against the Pasha. Not being successful, he fled, and his son was detained in prison until the father paid a fine of 250 camels. By way of a jest, though a barbarous one, which I should not have allowed had I known of it, the Bey and his officers told the poor boy that we were to cut off his head, being Turks deputed from Cairo for that special purpose. He sat down on the ground in the attitude represented, with his head turned on one side, and remained motionless, in the same position, nearly three quarters of an hour. We remarked that we had never had a subject who sat so patiently. When we had finished, we told him he might get up, making him, at the same time, a small present; when, with a look of bewildered delight, he told us how differently he expected to have been treated, and that he had been awaiting every moment the stroke of the sabre.