To beguile the way, the Bedouin horsemen performed sham fights. Throwing off the keffiyas, which covered their heads, they let their long hair fly in the wind, which gave them a very wild appearance; then, resting their lances, and setting up a war-whoop, they would select an opponent and ride furiously at him. He would avoid the attack, get the upper hand by a short turn, and then become the assailant: and this I believe to be generally the way in which Arabs fight. When they had tired themselves, two bards, who were of the party, recited pieces of poetry; which, though not understood by us, evidently had a great effect on the Bedouins.
Having passed some wells, close by the ruins of a village, called Jarryat Theap,[49] we halted at Menghiazy, a ruined village, at the edge of the Beláz, a mountainous chain, and just where a forest of turpentine trees begins. We found an encampment of Bedouins, whose shaykh, named Mnyf, was introduced to us as a brave chieftain: and here we passed the night.
The following morning we resumed our journey. The Beláz seems to consist of two parallel chains of low mountains, with deep valleys between them, separated here and there by a transverse chain. We had surmounted the first chain, and, through the Menkûra, or ravine, were descending into the valley, when we were gratified with the sight of an entire tribe of Arabs on their march in search of pasture. This is one of the most pleasing spectacles that we met with in the Desert. The line of march might consist of one thousand camels, some of which were winding down the slope of the opposite mountain, and the rest filing in different directions along the valley, loaded with tents, women, and utensils: whilst the whole valley was absolutely covered with the young or unloaded camels, which followed their respective masters.
These Bedouins were called the Sebàh, and were tributaries of Mahannah’s. The men were very meagre, and unlike any race of beings I had ever seen; and their dress was as ragged as that of gipsies. They wore their hair long, and in curls. The women rode in a species of saddle, shaped like the scull of a ram with the horns on, which I have described before. To the horns were appended gaudy ornaments in coloured worsted. The faces of the women were tatooed. Most of the mares were without saddles, and were ridden with nothing but a hair rope put on as a halter. They stared in astonishment at our cavalcade, and, when they had learned who Lady Hester was, they necessarily thought it still more wonderful.
Her ladyship chose this moment for resting herself, and a small tent was fixed for her on a rising ground that commanded a view of the whole valley, where she reposed for about an hour. Having quitted the Beláz mountain, we entered an open country, and, at a considerable distance before us, we beheld two conical mounts with flattened tops close to each other, at the foot of which we encamped.
It was Lady Hester’s custom, as soon as the bustle of encamping was over, and things were a little quiet, to go to the tent which was set apart for meals, conversation, &c.; where, when we were together, she would summon to her those of the Arabs with whom she wished to converse. Hitherto, Nasar had always obeyed this summons with great alacrity: but to-day, in answer, he sent back word “that Lady Hester might be the daughter of a vizir, but he, too, was the son of a prince, and was not disposed at that moment to quit his tent: if she wanted him, she, or her interpreter, might come to him.” It was in vain to be angry where anger could avail nothing. The Bedouins now began to buz about that Nasar was very moody; that they hoped this boded no mischief; that it would be a sad thing if he should order us back; and a hundred expressions calculated to breed alarm among us. As far as regarded the servants, it had its effect: but that was not Nasar’s object. Either as a frolic, or as an experiment to ascertain whether, by false alarms, Lady Hester would be induced to offer him an increased price to secure her safety, his aim was against her; but he failed altogether; for she showed no symptom of fear: and, although she could not make the reply which would have been so natural in a European’s mouth, but which in a Mahometan’s, by whom respect to females is not held as a duty, has no sense, namely, that his rudeness towards a woman was inexcusable; still she treated him with complete indifference all that evening; and orders were given that all persons should be on the alert against anything that might happen in the night. Nasar, however, remained quiet, but prepared another stratagem for the ensuing encampment, which did not leave us quite so tranquil.
We departed early in the morning, over an undulating country, stony and with scanty herbage. After three hours, we arrived at Gebel el Abiad, or the White Mountain, but at the south-west extremity, where the chain, from lofty mountains, had dwindled into hills only. As we entered upon them, we found some wells, and a neat burying-ground, with ruins of a building. This place is called Wady el Jar. Three hours more brought us to the edge of the hills on the other side, where it was resolved to encamp for the night. Fearing the cottage destined for Lady Hester at Palmyra had not been emptied of its tenants, or would not be ready for her, I resolved to ride on to that place immediately, accompanied by Hassan, my former guide, and another Bedouin, an officer of Mahannah’s, whose duty it would be to put everything in order: but, as it was now four o’clock in the afternoon, and we had a plain of five leagues to pass, having already come seven, no time was to be lost; and, without baiting our horses, we started. I have, in my former journey, described this plain, called the Mezah, as destitute of vegetation, barren, and frightful. Upon it there was a solitary tree only, about five miles from the spot where we quitted our party: this, and the stems of a few bulbous plants, were the only objects on it.
I was mounted on the white horse which the pasha of Acre had given to Lady Hester, and which she subsequently presented to me. He was a noble animal, and had been much admired by the Bedouins. There was now an occasion of trying him, and of comparing his strength with that of the mare on which the Bedouin was mounted: which poor animal seemed entirely skin and bone, with her hoofs grown to an enormous length, so that the point of them turned up.
We had not passed half the plain when night came on, and my companions began to quicken their pace. I was obliged to follow. By degrees they got into a gallop and pressed onward. I kept up with them for some time, until I found that my horse grew sluggish. The night was so dark that sometimes I thought I had lost sight of them, and I feared they would outride me, and leave me to find my way on a plain where there was a certainty of going astray. I hallooed to them, but they would not pull up, and I found that I had no resource but in the use of my stirrups, whose sharp corners I drove repeatedly into my horse’s sides: yet I am certain, had I been alone, no force of blows could have compelled him to go on: it was only the noise of the horses before him, or the sight of them, which induced him to proceed. In the Valley of the Tombs they pulled up, and there told me they could not pay attention to my calls: for our safety depended on our swiftness over those dreary wilds, where we might have been stopped and plundered. We arrived at last at the ruins, and, traversing them to the Temple, went strait to the house where I had lodged before.
Immediately the shaykh was sent for, and I informed him of Lady Hester’s approach. On the following morning, the cottages, being three in number, at the north-west angle of the Temple, built against the seven pillars still standing, were cleared out, swept, and left with their bare walls. They were very rudely constructed of unshapen stones, cemented by mud: the floors were of yellow clay, and the walls within of the same. A flight of steps went up to the first story, where was an airy room that looked over the ruins, and this I set apart for Lady Hester’s chamber. I sat and smoked my pipe throughout the morning, in company with the shaykh, explaining to him what things we should stand in need of; but I observed that there was a vast bustle through the village of men, women, and girls, running in all directions; and it was not until afterwards that I learned what all this meant.