Passing now once again through Palestine and Syria I retained the tent which I had used in the Desert, and found that it added very much to my comfort in travelling. Instead of turning out a family from some wretched dwelling1, and depriving them of a repose3 which I was sure not to find for myself, I now, when evening came, pitched my tent upon some smiling spot within a few hundred yards of the village to which I looked for my supplies, that is, for milk and bread if I had it not with me, and sometimes also for eggs. The worst of it is, that the needful viands4 are not to be obtained by coin, but only by intimidation5. I at first tried the usual agent, money. Dthemetri, with one or two of my Arabs, went into the village near which I was encamped and tried to buy the required provisions, offering liberal payment, but he came back empty-handed. I sent him again, but this time he held different language. He required to see the elders of the place, and threatening dreadful vengeance6, directed them upon their responsibility to take care that my tent should be immediately and abundantly supplied. He was obeyed at once, and the provisions refused to me as a purchaser soon arrived, trebled or quadrupled, when demanded by way of a forced contribution. I quickly found (I think it required two experiments to convince me) that this peremptory7 method was the only one which could be adopted with success. It never failed. Of course, however, when the provisions have been actually obtained you can, if you choose, give money exceeding the value of the provisions to SOMEBODY. An English, a thoroughbred English, traveller will always do this (though it is contrary to the custom of the country) for the quiet (false quiet though it be) of his own conscience, but so to order the matter that the poor fellows who have been forced to contribute should be the persons to receive the value of their supplies, is not possible. For a traveller to attempt anything so grossly just as that would be too outrageous8. The truth is, that the usage of the East, in old times, required the people of the village, at their own cost, to supply the wants of travellers, and the ancient custom is now adhered to, not in favour of travellers generally, but in favour of those who are deemed sufficiently9 powerful to enforce its observance. If the villagers therefore find a man waiving10 this right to oppress them, and offering coin for that which he is entitled to take without payment, they suppose at once that he is actuated by fear (fear of THEM, poor fellows!), and it is so delightful11 to them to act upon this flattering assumption, that they will forego the advantage of a good price for their provisions rather than the rare luxury of refusing for once in their lives to part with their own possessions.
The practice of intimidation thus rendered necessary is utterly12 hateful to an Englishman. He finds himself forced to conquer his daily bread by the pompous13 threats of the dragoman, his very subsistence, as well as his dignity and personal safety, being made to depend upon his servant’s assuming a tone of authority which does not at all belong to him. Besides, he can scarcely fail to see that as he passes through the country he becomes the innocent cause of much extra injustice14, many supernumerary wrongs. This he feels to be especially the case when he travels with relays. To be the owner of a horse or a mule15 within reach of an Asiatic potentate16, is to lead the life of the hare and the rabbit, hunted down and ferreted out. Too often it happens that the works of the field are stopped in the daytime, that the inmates17 of the cottage are roused from their midnight sleep, by the sudden coming of a Government officer, and the poor husbandman, driven by threats and rewarded by curses, if he would not lose sight for ever of his captured beasts, must quit all and follow them. This is done that the Englishman may travel. He would make his way more harmless if he could, but horses or mules18 he MUST have, and these are his ways and means.
The town of Nablus is beautiful; it lies in a valley hemmed19 in with olive groves20, and its buildings are interspersed21 with frequent palm-trees. It is said to occupy the site of the ancient Sychem. I know not whether it was there indeed that the father of the Jews was accustomed to feed his flocks, but the valley is green and smiling, and is held at this day by a race more brave and beautiful than Jacob’s unhappy descendants.
Nablus is the very furnace of Mahometan bigotry22; and I believe that only a few months before the time of my going there it would have been quite unsafe for a man, unless strongly guarded, to show himself to the people of the town in a Frank costume; but since their last insurrection the Mahometans of the place had been so far subdued23 by the severity of Ibrahim Pasha, that they dared not now offer the slightest insult to an European. It was quite plain, however, that the effort with which the men of the old school refrained from expressing their opinion of a hat and a coat was horribly painful to them. As I walked through the streets and bazaars24 a dead silence prevailed; every man suspended his employment, and gazed on me with a fixed25, glassy look, which seemed to say, “God is good, but how marvellous and inscrutable are His ways that thus He permits this white-faced dog of a Christian26 to hunt through the paths of the faithful.”
The insurrection of these people had been more formidable than any other that Ibrahim Pasha had to contend with. He was only able to crush them at last by the assistance of a fellow renowned27 for his resources in the way of stratagem28 and cunning, as well as for his knowledge of the country. This personage was no other than Aboo Goosh (“the father of lies” 39), who was taken out of prison for the purpose. The “father of lies” enabled Ibrahim to hem2 in the insurrection and extinguish it. He was rewarded with the Governorship of Jerusalem, which he held when I was there. I recollect29, by-the-bye, that he tried one of his stratagems30 upon me. I did not go to see him, as I ought in courtesy to have done, during my stay at Jerusalem; but I happened to be the owner of a rather handsome amber31 tchibouque piece, which the Governor heard of, and by some means contrived32 to see. He sent to me, and dressed up a statement that he would give me a price immensely exceeding the sum which I had given for it. He did not add my tchibouque to the rest of his trophies33.
There was a small number of Greek Christians34 resident in Nablus, and over these the Mussulmans held a high hand, not even permitting them to speak to each other in the open streets; but if the Moslems thus set themselves above the poor Christians of the place, I, or rather my servants, soon took the ascendant over THEM. I recollect that just as we were starting from the place, and at a time when a number of people had gathered together in the main street to see our preparations, Mysseri, being provoked at some piece of perverseness35 on the part of a true believer, coolly thrashed him with his horsewhip before the assembled crowd of fanatics36. I was much annoyed at the time, for I thought that the people would probably rise against us. They turned rather pale, but stood still.
The day of my arrival at Nablus was a fete — the new-year’s day of the Mussulmans. 40 Most of the people were amusing themselves in the beautiful lawns and shady groves without the city. The men (except myself) were all remotely apart from the other sex. The women in groups were diverting themselves and their children with swings. They were so handsome, that they could not keep up their yashmaks. I believe that they had never before looked upon a man in the European dress, and when they now saw in me that strange phenomenon, and saw, too, how they could please the creature by showing him a glimpse of beauty, they seemed to think it was better fun to do this than to go on playing with swings. It was always, however, with a sort of zoological expression of countenance37 that they looked on the horrible monster from Europe, and whenever one of them gave me to see for one sweet instant the blushing of her unveiled face, it was with the same kind of air as that with which a young, timid girl will edge her way up to an elephant and tremblingly give him a nut from the tips of her rosy38 fingers.
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1
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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viands
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| n.食品，食物 | |
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intimidation
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| n.恐吓，威胁 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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waiving
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的现在分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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potentate
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| n.统治者；君主 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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bigotry
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| n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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bazaars
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| （东方国家的）市场( bazaar的名词复数 )； 义卖； 义卖市场； （出售花哨商品等的）小商品市场 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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stratagems
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| n.诡计，计谋( stratagem的名词复数 )；花招 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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33
trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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34
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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35
perverseness
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| n. 乖张, 倔强, 顽固 | |
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36
fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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37
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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