The following day we endeavoured to hire horses and camels to pursue our journey to Acre, as it was not Lady Hester Stanhope’s intention to re-enter Jaffa: but the people becoming every hour more and more persuaded of her importance, and, according to their mode of reasoning, consequently of her wealth, were quite unreasonable in their demands. There was, therefore, no immediate prospect of our departure. We heard likewise that Mr. Pearce, who had quitted us at Jaffa in good health, was ill in bed at the monastery there; and her ladyship immediately requested me to ride over and see him. Mr. B. took his janissary, Hadj Mohammed, and accompanied me, anxious as he was about the health of Mr. Pearce, and more especially as he knew him to be in a manner alone, not considering that he could derive any assistance from the monks of the monastery.
The road, as I have before said, is level, spacious, and through a fertile country, and Ramlah is little more than two leagues and a half from Jaffa; so we could travel in the English fashion, galloping or trotting, and therefore were not long in reaching the monastery. We found Mr. Pearce convalescent. He had laboured under a remittent fever, which continued some days: he had been bled, and some doses of Peruvian bark completed the cure.
We had not been in the monastery long when there came a kowàss,[33] one of those officials who wait about the palaces of governors to go on messages, and are known by a cane with a long silver head, which they carry in their hand, as the emblem of their office. He brought with him an elegant Cashmere shawl, which he presented to Mr. B. from his master, the governor. Mr. B. declined accepting presents from a man who was a stranger to him; which refusal, we heard afterwards, irritated him exceedingly. We took our final leave of Mr. Pearce, and reached Ramlah before night.
The following day I called on the aga of Ramlah, to try what could be done with the horse and camel-owners by means of his influence, in order to reduce their price to something reasonable. His dwelling was an old dilapidated stone house, which appeared as if it had been once large and handsome; but, as the place of governor of small towns is generally for a term, no one cares to expend his money on repairs which he shall not profit by. The motsellem received me with much civility; and the result of our conversation was that he promised to do all that lay in his power to assist us in procuring means of conveyance at a reasonable rate. As yet, new to the Turks, we were ignorant that promises with them mean nothing, if their own interest is not concerned in the performance of them.
In the course of the afternoon, it was necessary to send to Jaffa upon some business, and one of the two janissaries who had hitherto accompanied us since our leaving Jaffa was desired to make himself ready. He had beheld the preference that was deservedly given to Mohammed, his companion, and perhaps sought for an occasion to get dismissed. He said that he was fatigued; that he was a guard, and not a messenger; in a word he refused to go: upon which Lady Hester desired him to be paid, and he left her service. Hadj Mohammed was sent to Jaffa, and returned the following morning.
It was on the 7th of June that we departed from Ramlah. There were ten camels, eight mules, and six horses, for luggage and mounting. Relying on the promises of the motsellem, we supposed the makayris (so muleteers are called) and the camel-drivers were already come to a reasonable agreement, and we questioned them no more on the subject. The baggage was loaded, when their spokesman told us that we knew, he supposed, that the prices were as had been originally demanded. Provoked beyond measure at the conduct of the aga, we declared that we would remain a month in the place sooner than be so imposed upon, and ordered the baggage to be unloaded immediately. When they found that we were determined, they softened their language.
Nothing is more amusing to a bystander than to observe a European quarrelling with an Arab. He raves and sputters, heaps abuse and threats in a language unknown to the object of his passion, and then desires his dragoman to repeat it, word for word. The dragoman knows the revengeful nature of the Arabs, even between Mahometans among themselves, and more especially against Christians from whom they will not brook a hard word of any kind; he considers that when his present employers have quitted the country he shall be left at their mercy without protectors in it; nay, perhaps he is in league with these very men whom he is employed to vituperate; and lastly, he is generally aware of this great truth that he who bawls is seldom on the right side; the dragoman, therefore, repeats, in a moderate tone, about half of what he has been desired to interpret, and, omitting the harsh language, substitutes, instead of it, some clever reasoning of his own, which brings the whole by measure to about the quantity of words that the enraged man has uttered, and leaves him in the idea that he has terribly frightened the Arab, when no such effect has been produced. In a word, no person need flatter himself that what he says is, or ever can be, faithfully repeated by a dragoman of the country.
The price was then settled; for ten camels, 150 piasters, six horses, 120, and eight mules, 136: and we set off for the first stage, which was to be at a village on the seashore, where there is the sepulchre of a certain Mahometan shaykh, in great repute, called Aly Ebn Aâlym, who gives the name to the village, which is likewise called Mharrem (the consecrated spot). Our march was slow, but the beauty of the country prevented it from seeming tedious. We crossed the river El Awjy, a considerable stream, which rises at no great distance inland, and must therefore be supplied by other streams, unless we suppose its source to be very copious. The soil appeared sandy but very fertile, and was highly cultivated. It had a rural aspect, spreading in gentle undulations to the East for four or five leagues.[34]
We reached Mharrem before sunset, and pitched the tents on the downs close to the village, to the West, and upon the edge of the cliff which overhangs the sea. Whilst they were planting, we went with a janissary to look at the village. We found it to consist of about twenty or thirty huts of mud, with a patch of ground enclosed in the front of each by a small hedge of prickly acacia. To our application for chickens, eggs, honey, milk, and wood for firing, the general answer was by an interrogation: “And, pray, how are we to come by them?” for the sight of the janissary was sufficient to intimidate the peasants, and make them suspect that, if they produced what they had, it would be taken at half price, or for nothing. We were therefore likely to go without our supper. But, when they learned soon afterwards from the servants that we were Franks, and paid liberally for what we bought, they were no longer shy of dealing with us. The shaykh, a dark handsome man of about twenty-five years, lent us, however, no assistance; for he found that we had no buyûrdy upon him.
We were scarcely settled, when there came a stranger on horseback, bearing a letter from a gentleman of Acre, of the name of Catafago, inviting Lady Hester to take up her abode at his house during her stay in that city. We made the stranger welcome. He was the brother-in-law of Mr. Catafago, and was charged to conduct us to Acre.