| On stone by J. Hamerton from a Drawing by L. Bandoni. | Printed by C. Hullmandel. |
INTERIOR OF A DONGOLAH COTTAGE.
Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.
“She was, at the same time, the gayest of the gay, and also acquainted with all the learning of her tribe. Her father and other travellers had related to her the history and customs of other countries, and from them she had learnt the traditions and wars of her native land. Every passage of the Koran was familiar to her; and it was whispered she had devoted herself secretly to the study of astrology (el ahlem el felek), and the more hidden sciences of the Arabians. At midnight she was often seen alone, gazing at the heavens; and for this reason the nomage she received for her beauty and understanding was blended with a certain feeling almost approaching to fear. Too beautiful, pure, and learned to be of this world, she was considered by the ignorant peasants more as an angel of light (melik e’ nour), than a frail inhabitant of earth.
“At the death of her father, after she had accompanied his remains to the grave, and for some time had lamented his loss, Amnah, weary of the constraint to which her sex subjected her, and anxious to visit those scenes which she had so often heard described, left her native village. The morning after her departure, at the entrance of a small town, she observed an old man covered with vermin. ‘My father,’ said she, ‘let me free you from those tormentors;’ and she began killing the animals, until suddenly the man fell dead at her feet. ‘It is the will of God!’ she exclaimed, and immediately dressed herself in his clothes, and pursued her journey.
“Thus disguised, and safe by the power of magic from detection, she procured a dromedary swift as the wind, and visited the different regions she had heard described; sometimes joining one caravan, and sometimes another. The immense treasures on her person were little diminished by this expense; when, one day, the people of the caravan with which she travelled perceived a cloud of sand approaching them, and shortly afterwards distinguished a troop of horsemen at full gallop. Amnah and her companions urged on their camels, but, finally, finding flight useless, they endeavoured to hide themselves in a large well, which the heat of the summer had dried up. But the horsemen had seen them enter, and, delighted to have their prey secured, they offered to the young leader of their band his choice, whether he would have for his portion the first or the last of the persons whom they should find in the well.
“Their chief, named Mustapha, was only twenty-one years of age, but renowned for his skill in the use of the matchlock, the sabre, and the lance. His shield, of the hide of the hippopotamus, was almost useless; for with his sabre he parried the blows of his enemies; with a slanting cut of his Damascus blade, which his father, who had travelled far towards the north, had brought him, he separated the limbs of his foes, and even severed the iron chain. At the shake of his lance all fled before him; and never was a matchlock in more skilful hands. In form, he was the perfection of manly beauty and vigour, and his mind was richly endowed, displaying a judgment beyond his years, and greater presence of mind in danger than the oldest warrior. The Koran he knew by heart, and his chief delight was in listening to the traditions of his country. Young and generous, he could never repress his indignation at the recital of the evil deeds of the tyrants who had reigned over the land: his eyes kindled with enthusiasm, and his cheeks glowed with pleasure and emulation when they told him of the valorous exploits of his ancestors, their generosity and hospitality. Like the rest of his race, much of his time was spent in excursions against the tribes with whom they were at war.
“Perceiving where the caravan had taken refuge, Mustapha, having the first choice allowed to him, said, ‘I will take for my share the captive at the extremity of the well: he who has most to lose will have fled the farthest.’ His companions cast lots for their portions. Some had young women, others young active male slaves; all with some treasure. None were apparently so unfortunate as Mustapha, who found at the extremity of the well Amnah disguised as an old man, miserably clad, the picture of poverty. His companions, with the freedom of friends, rallied him on the wisdom of his choice, in the following lines, which one of them sang, and the others joined in chorus[41]:—
‘Our chief, what wisdom he has shown!
God has blessed him with great judgment.