30 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST. 



( when in my native country it is deep winter ), I saw two men- 

 coming up the river, armed cap-a-pie. They passed by without 

 saluting me with their Selam, which surprised me, and 

 they went straight to the boat, inquiring for my com-- 

 panion. They then loaded me with abuse, asking who 

 had brought us from Constantinople to cure the wounds 

 of the Agha at Hit, and adding that they v/ould punish 

 me immediately for having done so, if it were not for the 

 Khater ( favor ) and for their regard for their friend, the 

 Sheikh Dendal, and they finished, by assuring me that we 

 must not expect to escape from the grasp of their bre- 

 thren, as one hundred and fifty Agelis were hunting after 

 us. 



After this menace, they left the boat and crossed the 

 river, at the same spot where my friend had crossed on 

 horseback, with as much ease as if they had been walking, 

 on land, carrying their clothes and their weapons on their 

 heads. When I lost sight of them, the owner of the boat 

 came up to me, asking whether I understood what they 

 had said to me. " But too well,'' replied I ; then I asked 

 him, what was now the best to be done ? He advised me, 

 first of all, to put off my new richly decorated and gold 

 embroidered cloak ( Aba ), and to take his old worn-out 

 striped one. He concealed mine, and led me to a neigh- 

 bouring field, covered with high Indian corn ( maize ), and 

 desired me to sit dov/n and remain quiet, until he should 

 come to me. I followed his advice, and after an hour had 

 elapsed he came back, with a smiling and contented 

 countenance, telling me that the man of Quoise, to whom 

 I had given my purse, and who remained the previous 

 evening on the opposite bank, had arrived, and reported 

 that all the stolen luggage had been restored to my com- 

 panion, and that he had administered some medicine to 

 the sick sheikh ; so that we might now safely go over the 

 river to fetch him, and then continue our journey. He 

 added that the sheikh, although dropsical, and dangerous- 

 ly ill, after some consoling words from my companion, 

 entertained hopes of being again restored to health, and 



