Oriental Encounters | Page 6

'Be silent, hearest thou? Men wish to sleep.'
'Said I not well, O brother?' said the monitor to me, as he got back to bed.
'By Allah, well,' was my reply. The jealous one was silent after that. But there were other
noises. Some men still lingered in the guest-room playing cards. The host, devoted to
things European, had a musical-box--it was happily before the day of
gramophones--which the card-players kept going all night long. I had a touch of fever.
There were insects. Sleep was hopeless. I rose while it was yet night, went out without
paying, since the host was nowhere to be seen, and, in some danger from the fierce
attacks of pariah dogs, found out the vault in which my horse was stabled. Ten minutes
later I was clear of the village, riding along a mountain side but dimly visible beneath the
stars. The path descended to a deep ravine, and rose again, up, up, interminably. At
length, upon the summit of a ridge, I felt the dawn. The mountain tops were whitened like
the crests of waves, while all the clefts and hollows remained full of night. Behind me, in
the east, there was a long white streak making the mountain outlines bleak and keen. The
stars looked strange; a fresh breeze fanned my cheek and rustled in the grass and shrubs.
Before me, on an isolated bluff, appeared my destination, a large village, square-built like
a fortress. Its buildings presently took on a wild-rose blush, which deepened to the red of
fire--a splendid sight against a dark blue sky, still full of stars. A window flashed up there.
The sun had risen.
Some English people, when informed of my intention to buy a man out of the Turkish
Army had pronounced it madness. I did not know the people of the land as they did. I
should be pillaged, brought to destitution, perhaps murdered. They, who had lived in the
country twenty, thirty years, were better qualified to judge than I was. For peace and
quiet I pretended acquiescence, and my purpose thus acquired a taste of stealth. It was
with the feelings of a kind of truant that I had set out at length without a word to anyone,
and with the same adventurous feelings that I now drew near to Karameyn. Two soldiers,
basking in the sunshine on a dust-heap, sprang up at my approach. One was the man I
sought, the rogue Rashîd. They led me to their captain's house--a modest dwelling,
consisting of a single room, with hardly any furniture. A score of soldiers followed after
us.
The Captain--Hasan Agha--an old man, with face scarred and heavy white moustache,
was in full uniform, and, as I entered, was engaged in putting on a pair of cotton gloves.
He was one of the old 'alaïli,' Turkish officers--those whose whole knowledge of their
business was derived from service in a regiment or 'alaï,' instead of from instruction at a
military school; and his manner towards the men had nothing of the martinet. He
addressed them as 'my children,' with affection; and they, though quite respectful,
conversed freely in his presence. Hasan Agha paid me many compliments, and repeatedly
inquired after my health. He would not hear about my business till I had had breakfast.
Luncheon had been arranged for me, he said, but that could not be ready for some hours.
Would I be so kind as to excuse a makeshift? Even as he spoke, a soldier entered with a
tray on which were slabs of Arab bread, a pitcher of sour milk, and heaps of grapes.
Another soldier began pounding coffee, while yet another blew upon the charcoal in a
brazier. I refused to eat unless my host ate with me, which he did only after much polite

resistance. After the meal, we sat and talked, the soldiers joining in the conversation.
They told me of old wars and deeds of valour. Hasan Agha was, it seemed, a famous
fighter; and the men did all they could to make him tell me of his battles. They brought
an old man in out of the town to see me because he had fought in the Crimean war, and
knew the English. Before it grew too hot, they took me out to see the barracks and a
ramshackle old fieldpiece which they seemed to idolise. Then followed luncheon with its
long array of Arab dishes, of which the soldiers had their share eventually. Rashîd
assured me afterwards that all the food on this occasion had been 'borrowed.' That was in
Abdul Hamid's golden days. After luncheon, there was coffee with more compliments;
and then at last we got to business.
A public writer was brought in. He wrote out a receipt for me, and