The young taleb showed great consequence and presented me with the original. He observed that a metegal of gold is of the value of 33½ Tunisian piastres. I said, "Will you come to my house and I will show you an Arabic book (the Bible) containing the religion of the Jews and Christians?"
The Taleb: "I, I enter the house of an infidel! God preserve me!"
"Oh!" I observed, "you are afraid of me and my books—my books will bite you." Hereupon all the people present burst into a loud laugh, and the taleb looked quite crest-fallen.
Many people blind with one eye, and some with two eyes, come to me to be cured, but I can do nothing for them. One poor old man comes every morning. I wash his eyes with a solution of the Goulard powders. He, though nearly seventy years of age, still lives in the hopes of recovering his sight. How faithful a companion of the unfortunate is hope! The Touaricks use mustard for bad fingers and hands. They also cut and carve their backs for blood-letting, and the marks remain for years upon years. I saw one of them whose back was scarred and scarified all over.
This morning visited my turjeman at his house. The house is a mezzonina, having no ground-floor apartments; the parlour, or grand room, or hall, was surrounded, to my surprise, with small apartments, in which three or four sheep were fattening, as people fatten pigs. The sheep is with the Ghadamsee people what the pig is with the Irish, their dii penates. There was also another story above this, the sleeping-room; and then on the terrace, or flat roof, are other little rooms. All the apartments were exceedingly small, but their situation high. Stone stairs lead from one room to another. The turjeman told me all the houses were built in the same manner, but some larger. Indeed some houses are four stories high, besides the terrace. The lower rooms are mostly used as magazines. As soon as I ascended the staircase, the wife of the turjeman pretended to take fright, and hid herself in a private apartment. At another time when I called, and her husband was absent, she came out to see me, and collected all the women in two or three neighbours' houses to see The Christian. It is the husband the woman of Africa is frightened at, and not the stranger. The tyranny of men over the sex of feebler bodily frame is co-extensive with the population of the world. It is the same in Paris, in London, Calcutta, and The Desert. But the principle of women-seeing in Ghadames and all North Africa is simply this: "If the woman is poor, or the husband poor, she may be seen; if rich, she cannot be seen." A pretty woman will, however, always try to let you see her face if she can.
There is a very good-natured black dervish always about the streets, but clean and well-dressed. Ordinarily amongst these saints filth and piety go hand in hand. They abhor the proverb of cleanliness being next to godliness. The poor fellow is very fond of me, is running in and out of my house all day long. I always shake hands with him when I meet him. The Moors approve my conduct and say: "Ah, Yâkob, he's a saint." Once the cunning fellow, when he noticed a lot of half-caste women anxious to see me, took hold of my head and turned me completely round to show my face to them. He has some sense, good simpleton, and is without malice; consequently a great favourite with the people. A pity all madmen were not like this poor dervish. Yet how many would be as harmless and beloved as he if they were not confined, and caged, and chained, in civilized and Christian madhouses! The dog knows I'm a kafer, and said to my camel-driver, the day of my arrival, "Why did you bring the Christian to our holy city?" chiding him.
This afternoon we went to see the Touaricks "play with camels"—يلعبوا مع الجمل—that is, perform a sort of camel-race. Strange coincidence of civilized and barbarian life! This was the Epsom and Ascot of The Desert. But I was never more disappointed. All that the Touaricks did with their camels was, they dressed them out most fantastically with various coloured leather harness, that is to say, the withers, neck, and head; they reined them up tightly like blood-horses; and then rode them a full trot in couples. This was the whole of the grand play with camels. Some, however, would not fall into this trot of couples, and grumbled terrifically. The Touaricks who rode these restive camels were saluted by the spectators with loud laughter, the effect of which was painted sullenly in their faces. I never saw men look so couldn't help it like. One of them was a young Touarick who had been saucy to me. I was not displeased to see him in this triste position. The camels were the genuine Maharee, of course; the Touaricks have no other camels. The men were dressed out also in their gayest barbaric finery. A tent was dressed up, around which squatted a group of Desert jockies, with their fierce spears bristling above in the sun before them, like the lords of creation. Even a banner floated gaily in the bright sun from the tent top. A great concourse of Ghadamsee spectators were present, one of whom swore to me that a Maharee once passed from Ghadames to Tripoli in one day, but that the rider died instantly from exhaustion, on his arrival. Another Maharee outstripped the wind, but as it was a strong cold wind, the animal died when it got into hot atmosphere, to which the tempest was driving.
Had a long conversation with a Touarick about a journey to Timbuctoo. I offered him five hundred dollars to escort me; but, to deposit the money in the hands of the Governor of Ghadames, or a respectable merchant, till my and his safe return. Said I would take nothing with me but medicines, and a little provision, and go in formâ pauperis, as a dervish or doctor. All the Ghadamsee people present approved this way of going, and admired its wisdom, as removing all temptation to attack me, or to steal anything from me when I had nothing to steal. But the Touarick could not come up to the scratch, and was frightened to take upon himself the responsibility, observing, "You are a Christian; the people of Timbuctoo will kill you unless you confess Mahomet to be the prophet of God."
Dined this evening with the Rais. His Excellency said: "Formerly, when Ghadames was governed by the Moorish Bashaws, the people paid little or nothing. There are but three or four rich persons now here, the rest are poor, or have only a few mahboubs to carry on a petty trade." At night, the streets are enveloped in pitch darkness, whether the moon be up or not. I endeavoured to persuade the Rais to make the people light up the town with a few lamps, having oil enough in them to last till midnight. "Good," he observed, "but the people say it was always so, and it must be so still. What can I do?" There are no coffee-houses in Ghadames; people drink coffee inside their houses. I threatened the merchants to set up Said as a kahwagee, (coffee-house keeper). They laughed, and said, "None will buy." For conversation people collect in groups round shops, in the Souk, or in little squares near the mosques, where there are many stone benches for reclining on, or in some quiet dark nook and corner, where, when you expect to find no one, you fall foul of a retired circle of gossips, squatting down in utter darkness. These Saharan streets are veritable catacombs.
1st September.—This morning, wonderful! It broke with a few drops of rain; to me most pleasant, and welcomed as falling pearls of nectar. At noon the sky became as dry and inflamed as ever. Went to the Spring early to bathe. Found it surrounded with women, nearly all half-castes and female slaves. They pretended to be in a great fright, as all were washing and dabbling in the water. I came away. A man said, "The Christian must not go to the well in the morning, but only in the evening." There seems to be a tacit understanding, that from day-break to a couple of hours afterwards, the women shall have possession of the well, for purification purposes, according to the rites of religion.