The Mistress Of
My Lodgings, An Old Infirm Woman, By Birth An Egyptian, Who During My
Stay Took Up Her
Quarters in an upper story, from which she could speak
to me without being seen, as it opened into my
Own room below, used to
converse with me for half an hour every evening; and my cicerone, or
Mezowar, paid me occasional visits, in order, as I strongly suspected,
to seize upon part of my baggage in case of my death. Yahya Effendi left
the town in the month of March, with the army of Tousoun Pasha, which
marched against the Wababys.
About the beginning of April, the returning warmth of the spring put a
stop to my illness; but it was nearly a fortnight before I could venture
to walk out, and every breeze made me dread a return of the fever. The
bad climate of the town, its detestable water, and the great number of
diseases now prevalent, made me extremely desirous to leave Medina. My
original intention was, to remain here, at most, one month, then to take
some Bedouin guides, and with them to cross the Desert to Akaba, at the
extremity of the Red Sea, in a straight direction, from whence I might
easily have found my way to Cairo. In this route I wished to visit
Hedjer, on the Syrian Hadj road, where I expected to find some remains
of the remotest antiquity, that had not been described by any other
traveller, while the interior of the country might have offered many
other objects of research and curiosity. It was, however, utterly
impossible for me to perform this journey in my convalescent state; nor
had I any hopes of recovering, in
[p.320] two months, strength sufficient for a journey of such fatigue.
To wait so long, continually exposed to suffer again from the climate,
was highly unadvisable; and I panted for a change of air, being
convinced that, without it, my fever would soon return. With these
feelings I abandoned the long-projected design of my journey, and now
determined on going to Yembo, on the sea-coast, and from thence to
embark for Egypt; a decision in some degree rendered necessary by the
state of my purse, which a long stay at Medina had greatly reduced. When
I found myself strong enough to mount a camel, I looked out for some
conveyance to Yembo, and contracted with a Bedouin, who, together with
his companions, forming a small caravan, started for that place on the
1st of April, within six days of three months after my arrival at
Medina, eight weeks of which time I had been confined to my couch. My
remarks on Medina are but scanty; with good health, I should have added
to them: but as this town is totally unknown to Europeans, they may
contain some acceptable information. The plan of the town was made by me
during the first days of my stay; and I can vouch for the correctness of
its outlines; but I had not the same leisure to trace it in all its
details, as I had that of Mekka.
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