1824.] Sketch of a Journey through 

 For (lie Monthhj Magazine. 



SKETCH of a JOURNEY thvoUfjh NUBIA 



and NORTH ETHIOPIA ; from the 



JOURNAL of JOSIiPH SSENKOVVSKY, 

 a RUSSIAN TRAVELLER. 



{Continued from 'p. 313.^ 

 rBIHE Nubian iiiglits are beautiful, 

 i Alter u boislerous day, darkened 

 liy a dciise fog ftiui clouds of sand, the 

 sun sets delightfully. The brigiit sjjlen- 

 dour ol his rays, the dark clouds above 

 him, ar.d t'lc cicar blue sky, form vary- 

 ing scenes of ll>e most majestic beauty 

 on the horizon. The sun produces 

 coloi:rs in the air, such as are seen no 

 where else ; the sand in the desert seems 

 to burn in the brigiitest rose-coloured 

 lire; the hills seem to rise higher, and 

 more majestically. As soon as the sun 

 is set, it is perfectly dark, and the cold 

 is intense ; the wind ceases, the clouds 

 disappear, the sky clears up, and the 

 horizon is cldthod in new beauties. I 

 shall never forget one of those delightful 

 iiighis which I- s[>eni wi Slteich-abd-ed- 

 dain, and where the following event 

 caused the most pleasing emotion in 

 me. Some years ago this place was 

 inhabiied by a Sheich, who, by dint of 

 fasting, piety, M'itchcraft, and strange 

 <lressing, ha<l acquired uncommou cele- 

 brity among his neighbours. Such 

 hypocrites are always considered by the 

 common people as saints leagued with 

 heaven. After their death they immedi- 

 ately enter the paradise, where, as a 

 reward of their virtues, sixty palaces, 

 each containing sixty beautiful and 

 modest virgins, are placed at their dis- 

 posal. If one of them should ever ap- 

 pear in the sky at night-time, tiie whole 

 world would be illuminated by a light 

 similar to that of the sun. The Sheich 

 of whom I am now speaking, was, after 

 his death, buried in his hut, over which 

 the natives built an awning, covered 

 with mats of palm-Icaves, and now 

 assemble near it to prayer. A white 

 tlag, the symbol of the dead man, (lies 

 above it, and a clay lamp isjireads its 

 faint light within. Allr.ictcd by the 

 beauty of the night, we wandered be- 

 tween the Lyliian hills, and the Nile, 

 through Wudi-el-Arab, when we were 

 attracted by this light. We went up 

 to it, and, fatigued by our walk, s;it 

 down on the mats. Soon after, two 

 handsome youths entered the hut, the 

 youngest of whom threw himself to the 

 ground, praying in the Eastern fashion. 

 Among bis tears and sobs I distinguished 

 the words, Father, mother, niercy,A'aiwi- 

 Me/cam. The other, seated at some 

 G 



Nubia and North Ethiopia. 411 



d'sianoc, seemed to be plunged in deep 

 reflection, casting from time to time his 

 eyes on his brother, till he also began to 

 weep. Our curiosity was greatly ex- 

 cited, especially as tlie young men did 

 not observe us, in the shade where we 

 sat. I at last called out to the eldest, 

 whose sorrow seemed more moderate. 

 The sudden call seemed at first to 

 frighten them : yet, on perceiving us, 

 he approached, although rather timidly 

 on perceiving our Turkish dress. I 

 learnt from him that they were the sons 

 of the Sheich buried here, and ha<l 

 come over from the opposite bank of 

 the river, in order to water the garden 

 near the hut, which their father had 

 cultivated with his own hands for twenty 

 years, and had left to them as asi inheri- 

 tance. It was planted with barley and 

 Turkish beans, and contained eight 

 palm-trees. This small estate was 

 scarcely suflicient for the maintenance 

 of their motiier ; nevertheless, they were 

 to pay a duty of fifteen jjiastres to the 

 pacha. The Kaim-Mekam of the vil- 

 lage, a cruel Arnaut, did every thing 

 to compel the mother to pay this sum, 

 and at last threw the sons into prison. 

 They had been there for a fortnight, 

 during which time the mother had triecl 

 in vain to raise money. After this two 

 days more were granted to the mother, 

 after which he threatened to bestow a 

 hundred blows with the karbalch (a 

 w!dp, lightly twisted, of the skin of the 

 hippO|)otamus,) on each of the sons. 

 But, as the money was not forthcoming, 

 the cruel Turk executed his threat, and 

 declared that they should each of them 

 have eighty blows more upon the soles 

 of their feet on the next day, if the 

 money were not procured. The mother 

 could no longer hold out against the 

 sull'ering of her ofi'spring. By her 

 tears and entreaties, and the intermis- 

 sion of the Sheich of the village, siie at 

 last succeeded in being imprisoned 

 instead of her children, and the Kairn- 

 Blekam granted her one month farther 

 delay, after which he threatened the 

 mother with the severest punishment. 

 " What do you intend to do now?" 1 

 inquired. "We shall endeavour to sell 

 the produce of our trees an<l garden of 

 this year," he replied. "And what 

 will you do with yourselves?" " We," 

 continued the youth, " shall go to 

 Essuan, begging on the road, and there 

 we shall try to find em|)loyment on- 

 board the ships." Such is the method 

 of the Turks for ccilecting their taxes ! 

 During this narrative, the younger bro- 

 ther, 



