Nor Has
His Ardour For Propagandism Been Thoroughly Gratified.
He commenced his
travels with an intention of winning the crown of glory without delay, by
murdering the British Resident at Aden [39]:
Struck, however, with the
order and justice of our rule, he changed his intentions and offered El
Islam to the officer, who received it so urbanely, that the simple Eastern
repenting having intended to cut the Kafir's throat, began to pray
fervently for his conversion. Since that time he has made it a point of
duty to attempt every infidel: I never heard, however, that he succeeded
with a soul.
The Shaykh's first visit did not end well. He informed me that the old
Usmanlis conquered Stamboul in the days of Umar. I imprudently objected to
the date, and he revenged himself for the injury done to his fame by the
favourite ecclesiastical process of privily damning me for a heretic, and
a worse than heathen. Moreover he had sent me a kind of ritual which I had
perused in an hour and returned to him: this prepossessed the Shaykh
strongly against me, lightly "skimming" books being a form of idleness as
yet unknown to the ponderous East. Our days at Harar were monotonous
enough. In the morning we looked to the mules, drove out the cats--as
great a nuisance here as at Aden--and ate for breakfast lumps of boiled
beef with peppered holcus-scones. We were kindly looked upon by one
Sultan, a sick and decrepid Eunuch, who having served five Amirs, was
allowed to remain in the palace. To appearance he was mad: he wore upon
his poll a motley scratch wig, half white and half black, like Day and
Night in masquerades. But his conduct was sane. At dawn he sent us bad
plantains, wheaten crusts, and cups of unpalatable coffee-tea [40], and,
assisted by a crone more decrepid than himself, prepared for me his water-
pipe, a gourd fitted with two reeds and a tile of baked clay by way of
bowl: now he "knagged" at the slave girls, who were slow to work, then
burst into a fury because some visitor ate Kat without offering it to him,
or crossed the royal threshold in sandal or slipper. The other inmates of
the house were Galla slave-girls, a great nuisance, especially one
Berille, an unlovely maid, whose shrill voice and shameless manners were a
sad scandal to pilgrims and pious Moslems.
About 8 A.M. the Somal sent us gifts of citrons, plantains, sugar-cane,
limes, wheaten bread, and stewed fowls. At the same time the house became
full of visitors, Harari and others, most of them pretexting inquiries
after old Sultan's health. Noon was generally followed by a little
solitude, the people retiring to dinner and siesta: we were then again
provided with bread and beef from the Amir's kitchen. In the afternoon the
house again filled, and the visitors dispersed only for supper. Before
sunset we were careful to visit the mules tethered in the court-yard;
being half starved they often attempted to desert.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 162 of 249
Words from 83309 to 83825
of 128411
