Fallow Years, 18441849 '203 



throws (not mine for I can't throw a bit) nearly succeeding. The river whenever we 

 looked down upon it during our journey seemed totally unnavigable, seething among 

 jutting rocks that were thickly set in its bed. At Wadi Haifa to our joy, we found 

 our boat all right and Bob lording it with undisputed sway. He had actually ordei-ed 

 the Captain to be flogged for some offence, and the men obeyed Bob and flogged the 

 Captain accordingly. Such a difference between the Berbers and the Egyptians. You 

 can not strike a Berber but may flog as many Egyptians and beat them with sticks as 

 much as you like, they are thoroughly slavish. 



The voyage back, though March, became unpleasant from the Khamsin wind. It 

 was uneventful except in the usual Nile experiences, at Cairo we hired a house in one of 

 the quarters of the town with a big wooden key and lived there a week, conforming of 

 course to the native ways of being in-doors by a specified and not late hour. Finally we 

 separated Barclay returned straight to England, Boulton by the short desert to Syria 

 and I not being particularly well, by steamer to Beyrout. The awakening in the early 

 morning when sailing along the shores of Syria and seeing the Holy Land for the first 

 time, is one of the living pictures in my memory. Here my memory fails me. I was 

 somehow in quarantine at Akka and made great friends with the Pasha there. On the 

 other hand I fancy I went straight to Beyrout. Such a change from Egypt. The 

 people seemed so much less sedate and disagreeably go-ahead, and the verdure and hill 

 slopes were so great a novelty to the eye. I lived rather stylishly, bought 2 good horses 

 and a pony and jobbed a native groom, Ali remaining as my personal servant. Furnished 

 with introductions from my Akka friend, I stayed a night with the great Druse chief in 

 his stronghold, who feted me with distinction believing evidently that I was a much 

 greater personage than I was, which rendered the stay embarrassing. I went to 

 Damascus and boarded in the house of the English Doctor (Thompson) thence as the heat 

 was increasing I moved to Salahieh, when I took a house and set up an establishment 

 in which figured my two Soudan monkeys and a pet ichneumon. I lived a very oriental 

 life and became a fairly fluent talker in common Arabic, though nothing of a scholar ; in 

 fact, I am ashamed to say, I never read it or even deciphered it fluently. It was before 

 I went to Salahieh and while still in Dr Thompson's house that faithful Ali was seized 

 with dysentery. After an evening of parched skin and low delirium he died with my 

 money belt, that was under his charge still round his body. We had the washers in 

 and all the Moslem ceremonial duly attended to and I followed him to his grave, standing 

 of course far off so as not to pollute. It was a great and serious loss. I was sincerely 

 attached to him and condoned willingly heaps of small faults in regard to his great 

 merits. One cold night in the desert when he and I were both chilled through, he 

 pushed over me his rug. I did not know it till morning. I got many rides from 

 Salahieh and spent many pleasant afternoon hours in Arab caffees sitting by the flowing 

 waters. Colonel Churchill lived with much display near by, with his Syrian wife and 

 I had a pleasant stay there. Finally, when the summer heats had passed I went to 

 Lebanon and stayed a week with the Sheikh of Aden, a right good fellow. The first 

 morning I counted 97 flea bites on the right lower arm and up a little way above the 

 elbow. There were Druse rows going on while I was there and we had to stand a brief 

 attack, shots being fired and the house temporarily barricaded. Going thence to Tripoli 

 I saw the most beautiful view on which my eyes have ever rested. It was of the 



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