2n« S. N» 101., Dec. 5. '67.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



457 



the Leopard, guess whether the great novelist did 

 not catch a hint from the traveller, 



" One day, after we had rode about four miles fix)m a 

 caravansera at which we had changed our cattle, I found 

 that a most execrably bad horse had fallen to my lot : he 

 was stiff, feeble, and foundered ; in cousequence of which 

 lie stumbled very much, and I every minute expected he 

 wouI<l fall and roll over me. I therefore proposed to the 

 guide to exchange with me ; a favour he had hitherto 

 never refused, and for which I was the more anxious, as 

 the beast he rode was of the very best kind. To my utter 

 astonishment he peremptorily refused : and as this had 

 been a day of unusual taciturnity on his part, I attributed 

 bis refusal to peevishness and ill-temper, and was resolved 

 not to let the matter rest there. I therefore desired the 

 interpreter to inform him, that, as he had at Aleppo agreed 

 to change horses with mo as often as I pleased, I should 

 consider our agreement infringed upon if he did not 

 comply, and would write to the Consul at Aleppo to that 

 effect. As soon as this was conveyed to him, he seemed 

 strongly agitated by anger ; yet endeavoured to conceal 

 his emotions under affected contempt and derision, which 

 produced from him one of the most singular grins that ever 

 yet marred the human physiognomy. At last he broke 

 forth : ' You will write to Aleppo, will you ? Foolish 

 Frank! they will not believe you! By Mahomet, it 

 would be well done to hear the complaint of a wandering 

 Frank against Hassan Artaz — Hassan the faithful and 

 the just, who for ten years and more has been the mes- 

 senger of an Emperor, and the friend and confidant of 

 Cadis, Bashaws, and Viceroys, and never yet was called so 

 much as liar! Who, think you, poor misguided one, would 

 believe that I broke my promise ? ' — ♦ Why do you not 

 then,' said I, ' perform it by changing horses, when you 

 are convinced in j'our conscience (if you have any) that 

 it was part of your agreement ? ' — ' Once for all I tell 

 you,' interrupted he, ' I will not give up this horse. 

 There is not,' said he, gasconadingly, ' a Mussulman that 

 ever wore a beard, not to talk of a wretched Fi-ank, that 

 should get this horse from under me ; I would not yield 

 him to the Commander of the Faithful this minute, were 

 he in your place ; I would not, I tell you, Frank — and I 

 have my own reasons for it.' — 'I dare say you have,' 

 returned I, ' love of ease, and fear of your bones.' At 

 hearing this he grew quite outrageous, — called Mahomet 

 and Alia to witness he did not know what it was to fear 

 anytliing, — declared he was convinced some infernal 

 .spirit had that day got possession of me, — and indeed 

 seemed well disposed to go to loggerheads. At length 

 observing that I looked at him with sneering contemptu- 

 ous defiance, he rode up alongside of rae, — I thought it 

 Avas to strike, and prepared to defend mj'self. I was, 

 however, mistaken; he snatched the reins out of my 

 hand, and caught hold of them, collected close at the 

 horse's Jaw ; then fell flogging my horse and spurring his 

 own, till he got them both into full speed; nor did he 

 stop then, but continued to belabour mine with his whip, 

 and to spur his own, driving headlong over every im- 

 pediment which came in our way, till I really thought he 

 Lad run mad, or designed to kill" me. Several times I was 

 on the point of striking him with my whip, in order to 

 knock him off his horse j but as often patience providen- 

 tially came in to my assistance, and whispered to me to 

 forbear arid see it out. Meantime I considered mj'self as 

 being in some danger ; and yet such was the power he had 

 over the cattle, that I found it impossible to stop him : 

 go resigning the event to the direction of Providence, I 

 suffered him without a further effort to proceed ; I call- 

 ing him every opprobrious name I could think of in 

 lingua Franca; and he grinning, and calling me Dumus, 



Jihash, Burbl (i. e. hog, ass, mule) in rapid and impetuous 



vehemence of tone and utterance. He continued this for 

 a length of, 1 dare say, some miles, over an uncultivated 

 tract, here and there intersected with channels formed by 

 rills of water in the periodical rains; thickly set with low 

 furze, ferns, and other dwarf bushes, and broken up and 

 down into little bills. His horse carried him clear over 

 all : and though mine was every minute stumbling and 

 nearly down, 3'et with a dexterity inexpressible, and a 

 vigour altogether amazing, he kept him up by the bridle, 

 and I may say carried him gallantlj' over everything. 

 I was astonished very much at all this, and towards 

 the end as much pleased as astonished ; which he per- 

 ceiving, cried out frequently and triumphantly, ' 0, la 

 Frangi ! Heli ! Heli ! Frangi ! ' and at last, drawing in 

 the horses, stopping short, and looking me full in the face, 

 exclaimed in lingua Franca, 'Que dice, Frangi — que 

 dice ? ' For some time I was incapable of making him 

 any answer, but continued surveying him from head to 

 foot as the most extraordinary savage I ever beheld; 

 while he stroked his whiskers with great self-complacency 

 and composure, and nodded his head every now and then 

 as much as to say. Ay, &j, it is so ! look at me ! am not I 

 a very capital fellow? — * A capital fellow indeed you are,' 

 said I, * but I wish I was well out of your confounded 

 clutches.' We alighted on the brow of a small hill, whence 

 was to be seen a full and uninterrupted prospect of the 

 country all round. The interpreter coming up, he called 

 to him, and desired him to explain to me carefullv the 

 meaning of what he was about to say ; which I will give 

 you as nearly as I can in his own words, as they were 

 translated by the linguist : — ' You see those mountains 

 yonder,' said he, pointing to the east; ' these are in the 

 province of Kurdistan, inhabited bj' a vile race of rob- 

 bers called Jesides, who pay homage to a god of their 

 own called Jesid (Jesus), and worship the devil from 

 fear. They live by plunder, and often descend from their 

 mountains," cross the Tigris, wliicli runs between them 

 and us, and plunder and ravage this country' in bands of 

 great number and formidable strength, carrying away 

 into slavery all they can catch, and killing all who re- 

 sist them. This country therefore, for some distance 

 round us, is very dangerous to travellers, whose only 

 safety is in flight. Now it was our misfortune this 

 morning to get a very bad horse, for which, please Alia 

 (stroking his whiskers) some one shall receive the basti- 

 nado. Should we meet with a band of these Curds, 

 what could we do but fly ? And if you, Frangi, rode this 

 horse, and I that, we could never escape ; for I doubt you 

 could not keep him up from falling under me, as I did 

 under you : I should therefore come down and be taken — 

 you would lose your guide and miss your way, and all of 

 us be undone. Besides,' continued he, ' there are many 

 villages here where people live, who, if they only sus- 

 pected you were a Frank, would follow and sacrifice you, 

 if they could, to Mahomet, and where of course you must 

 run for it.' — As soon as the interpreter had explained this 

 to me, ' Well,' continued the Tartar, ' what does he say- 

 now to it?' Then turning to me and tossing up his 

 head, ' Que dice, Frangi ? '— ' Why I say,' returned I, 

 '•that you have spoken good sense and sound reason, and 

 I am obliged to vou.° This, when interpreted fully, 

 operated most pleasmgly upon him ; his features relaxed 

 into a broad look of satisfaction, and he said, ' I will do 

 everj-thing I can to make you easy and contented ; and 

 when I am obstinate, don't resist — for be assured I 

 have reason for it ; and above all things, avoid laughing 

 in my presence.' " 



From an Armenian, with whom he resided at 

 Bagdad, he got the following illustration of the 

 Arabian Nights. The Armenian, who talked 



