Part 31 (1/2)

It is now more than twelve months since I arrived in this place, during all which time I have had opportunity enough perfectly to observe and discover the genius of the factory among whom my lot is fallen; and upon the result of all my experience of them I am obliged to give them this just commendation, that they are a society highly meriting that excellent character which is given of them in England, and which (besides the general vogue) your lords.h.i.+p has some time received from a most faithful and judicious hand, the excellent bishop Frampton. As he undoubtedly was the great improver of the rare temper of this society, so he may well be esteemed best able to give them their true and deserved character. I need only add, that such they still continue as that incomparable instructor left them; that is, pious, sober, benevolent, devout in the offices of religion, in conversation innocently cheerful, given to no pleasures but such as are honest and manly, to no communications but such as the nicest ears need not be offended at, exhibiting in all their actions those best and truest signs of a Christian spirit, a sincere and cheerful friends.h.i.+p among themselves, a generous charity toward others, and a profound reverence for the liturgy and const.i.tution of the Church of England. It is our first employment, every morning, to solemnize the daily service of the church, at which I am sure to have always a devout, a regular, and full congregation. In a word, I can say no more (and less I am sure I ought not) than this, that in all my experience in the world I have never known a society of young gentlemen, whether in the city or country, (I had almost said the University, too,) so well disposed, in all points, as this.

Your lords.h.i.+p will conclude that, in consequence of all this, my present station cannot but be very agreeable; and though, in leaving England, I was separated from the greatest blessings to me in the world, your lords.h.i.+p's kindness and that of my friends at Richmond, yet I must own I have found here as much recompense as could be made for such a separation.

Among other satisfactions, one great one, which I have had since my arrival, was a voyage to the Holy Land, in company with fourteen others of our factory. We went by way of the coast; and, having visited several places consecrated by the life and death of our blessed Lord, we returned by way of Damascus. If there be any thing, either in these places which I have visited, or elsewhere in these countries, touching which I may be capable of giving your lords.h.i.+p any satisfaction by my poor observations, I should esteem it my great happiness, and my coming thus far would seem completely recompensed.

I entreat your lords.h.i.+p's blessing, as being your lords.h.i.+p's most dutiful, humble servant,

HENRY MAUNDRELL.

_Aleppo._

There being several gentlemen of our nation (fourteen in number) determined for a visit to the Holy Land at the approaching Easter, I resolved, though but newly come to Aleppo, to make one in the same design, considering that, as it was my purpose to undertake this pilgrimage some time or other before my return to England, so I could never do it either with less prejudice to my cure[526], or with greater pleasure to myself, than at this juncture, having so large a part of my congregation abroad at the same time, and in my company.

Pursuant to this resolution, we set out from Aleppo, Friday, February 26th, 1696 (i. e. Feb. 1697), at three in the afternoon, intending to make only a short step that evening, in order to prove how well we were provided with necessaries for our journey. Our quarters, this first night, we took up at the Honey-khan, a place of but indifferent accommodation, about one hour and a half west of Aleppo.

It must here be noted that, in travelling this country, a man does not meet with a market-town and inns every night, as in England. The best reception you can find here is either under your own tent, if the season permit; or else in certain public lodgments, founded in charity for the use of travellers. These are called by the Turks khani; and are seated sometimes in the towns and villages, sometimes at convenient distances upon the open road. They are built in fas.h.i.+on of a cloister, encompa.s.sing a court of thirty or forty yards square, more or less, according to the measure of the founder's ability or charity. At these places all comers are free to take shelter, paying only a small fee to the khan-keeper (khanji), and very often without that acknowledgment; but must expect nothing here but bare walls. As for other accommodations of meat, drink, bed, fire, provender, with these it must be every one's care to furnish himself.

_Feb. 27._-From the Honey-khan we parted very early the next morning, and, proceeding westerly as the day before, arrived in one hour and a half at Oo-rem (Ur-im), an old village affording nothing remarkable but the ruins of a small church. From Oo-rem we came, in half an hour, to Kaffre; and in three quarters more to Essoyn (Es-an). At this last place we entered into the plains of Kefteen (Kaftin), proceeding in which, we came, in one hour, to another village called Legene; and in half an hour more, to Hozano; and in a good hour more, to Kefteen. Our whole stage this day was about five hours; our course a little southerly of the west.

The plains of Kefteen are of a vast compa.s.s, extending to the southward beyond the reach of the eye, and in most places very fruitful and well cultivated. At our first descent into them, at Essoyn, we counted twenty-four villages, or places at a distance resembling villages, within our view from one station. The soil is of a reddish colour, very loose and hollow, and you see hardly a stone in it; whereas, on its west side, there runs along, for many miles together, a high ridge of hills, discovering nothing but vast naked rocks, without the least sign of mould or any useful production, which yields an appearance as if nature had, as it were, in kindness to the husbandman, purged the whole plain of these stones, and piled them all up together in that one mountain.

Kefteen itself is a large, plentiful village, on the west side of the plain; and the adjacent villages, abounding with corn, give the inhabitants great advantages for breeding pigeons, insomuch that you find here more dove-cots than other houses. We saw at this place, over the door of a bagnio, a marble stone, carved with the sign of the cross, and the ???a ?at??, &c., with a date not legible. It was probably the portal of some church in ancient times; for I was a.s.sured by the inhabitants of the village that there are many ruins of churches and convents still to be seen in the neighbouring rocky mountains.

_Sunday, Feb. 28._-Having a long stage to go this day, we left Kefteen very early; and continuing still in the same fruitful plain, abounding in corn, olives, and vines, we came in three quarters of an hour to Harbanoose ('Arba.n.u.s), a small village situated at the extremity of the plain, where, after crossing a small ascent, we came into a very rich valley called Rooge. It runs to the south farther than one can discern; but in breadth, from east to west, it extends not above an hour's riding, and is walled in (as it were) on both sides, with high, rocky mountains. Having travelled in this valley near four hours, we came to a large water called the lake (or rather, according to the oriental style, the sea) of Rooge. Through the skirt of this lake we were obliged to pa.s.s, and found it no small trouble to get our horses, and much more our loaded mules, through the water and mire; but all the sea was so dried up, and the road so perfectly amended at our return, that we could not then discern so much as where the place was which had given us so great trouble. From this lake we arrived, in one hour, at Te-ne-ree, a place where we paid our first caphar.

These caphars are certain duties which travellers are obliged to pay, at several pa.s.ses upon the road, to officers, who attend in their appointed stations to receive them. They were at first levied by Christians, to yield a recompense to the country for maintaining the ways in good repair, and scouring them from Arabs and robbers. The Turks keep up so gainful an usage still, pretending the same causes for it; but, under that pretence, they take occasion to exact from pa.s.sengers, especially Franks, arbitrary and unreasonable sums, and, instead of being a safeguard, prove the greatest rogues and robbers themselves.

At a long hour beyond this caphar our road led us over the mountains on the west side of the valley of Rooge. We were near an hour in crossing them, after which we descended into another valley, running parallel to the former, and parted from it only by the last ridge of hills. At the first descent into this valley is a village called Bell-Maez[527], from which we came, in two hours, to Shoggle (Jisr Shogher). Our course was, for the most part of this day, west-south-west. Our stage, in all, ten hours.

Shoggle is a pretty large, but exceedingly filthy town, situated on the river Orontes, over which you pa.s.s by a bridge of thirteen small arches to come at the town. The river hereabouts is of a good breadth; and yet so rapid that it turns great wheels, made for lifting up the water, by its natural swiftness, without any force added to it by confining its stream. Its waters are turbid and very unwholesome, and its fish worse, as we found by experience, there being no person of all our company, that had eaten of them over night, but found himself much indisposed the next morning. We lodged here in a very handsome khan, far exceeding what is usually seen in this sort of buildings. It was founded by the second Kuper-li, and endowed with a competent revenue for supplying every traveller that takes up his quarters in it with a competent portion of bread, and broth, and flesh, which is always ready for those that demand it, as very few people of the country fail to do. There is annexed to the khan, on the west side, another quadrangle, containing apartments for a certain number of alms-men, the charitable donation of the same Kuper-li. The khan we found, at our arrival, crowded with a great number of Turkish hadgees, or pilgrims, bound for Mecca; but, nevertheless, we met with a peaceable reception amongst them, though our faces were set to a different place.

_March 1._-From Shoggle our road led us at first westerly, in order to our crossing the mountain on that side the valley. We arrived at the foot of the ascent in half an hour; but met with such rugged and foul ways in the mountains, that it took us upwards of two hours to get clear of them, after which we descended into a third valley, resembling the other two which we had pa.s.sed before. At the first entrance into it is a village called Be-da-me, giving the same name also to the valley. Having travelled about two hours in this valley, we entered into a woody, mountainous country, which ends the pashalick of Aleppo and begins that of Tripoli. Our road here was very rocky and uneven; but yet the variety which it afforded made some amends for that inconvenience. Sometimes it led us under the cool shade of thick trees; sometimes through narrow valleys, watered with fresh, murmuring torrents; and then, for a good while together, upon the brink of a precipice; and in all places it treated us with the prospect of plants and flowers of divers kinds, as myrtles, oleanders, cyclamens, anemones, tulips, marygolds, and several other sorts of aromatic herbs. Having spent about two hours in this manner, we descended into a low valley, at the bottom of which is a fissure into the earth of a great depth, but withal so narrow that it is not discernible to the eye till you arrive just upon it, though to the ear a notice of it is given at a great distance, by reason of the noise of a stream running down into it from the hills. We could not guess it to be less than thirty yards deep; but it is so narrow that a small arch, not four yards over, lands you on its other side. They call it the Sheikh's Wife, a name given it from a woman of that quality, who fell into it, and, I need not add, perished. The depth of the channel and the noise of the water are so extraordinary, that one cannot pa.s.s over it without something of horror. The sides of this fissure are firm and solid rock, perpendicular and smooth, only seeming to lie in a wavy form all down, as it were to comply with the motion of the water, from which observation we were led to conjecture that the stream, by a long and perpetual current, had, as it were, sawn its own channel down into this unusual deepness, to which effect the water being penned up in so narrow a pa.s.sage, and its hurling down stones along with it by its rapidity, may have not a little contributed[528].

From hence, continuing our course through a road resembling that before described, we arrived, in one hour, at a small, even piece of ground, called Hadjar-il-Sultan, or the Sultan's Stone; and here we took up our quarters this night, under our tents. Our road, this day, pointed for the most part south-west; and the whole of our stage was about seven hours and a half.

_March 2._-We were glad to part very early this morning from our campagnia lodging, the weather being yet too moist and cold for such discipline. Continuing our journey through woods and mountains, as the day before, we arrived, in about one hour, at the caphar of Crusia (Krusiyeh), which is demanded near a khan of that name. A khan they call it, though it is, in truth, nothing else but a cold, comfortless ruin, on the top of a hill by the way-side.

From hence, in about another hour, we arrived at the foot of a mountain called Occaby (Akabi), or, as the word denotes, Difficult; and indeed we found its ascent fully answerable to its name. The moisture and slipperiness of the way at this time, added to the steepness of it, greatly increased our labour in ascending it, insomuch that we were a full hour in gaining the top of the hill. Here we found no more woods or hills; but a fine country, well cultivated and planted with silk gardens, through which, leaving on the right hand a village called Citte Galle, inhabited solely by Maronites, we came in one hour to Bellulca.

Here we repaired to a place which is both the khan of the village and the aga's house; and resolving, by reason of the rains, which fell very plentifully, to make this our lodging, we went to visit the aga, with a small present in our hands, in order to procure ourselves a civil reception. But we found little recompense from his Turkish grat.i.tude; for, after all our respect to him, it was not without much importunity that we obtained permission to have the use of a dry part of the house, the place where we were at first lodged lying open to the wind and the beating in of the rain. Our whole stage, this day, was not much above four hours; our course about south-west.

Being informed that there were several Christian inhabitants in this place, we went to visit their church, which we found so poor and pitiful a structure, that here Christianity seemed to be brought to its humblest state, and Christ to be laid again in a manger. It was only a room of about four or five yards square, walled with dirt, having nothing but the uneven ground for its pavement; and for its ceiling, only some rude staves laid across it, and covered with bushes to keep out the weather.

On the east side was an altar, built of the same materials with the wall; only it was paved at the top with potsherds and slates, to give it the face of a table. In the middle of the altar stood a small cross, composed of two laths nailed together in the middle, on each side of which ensign were fastened to the wall two or three old prints, representing our blessed Lord and the blessed Virgin, &c., the venerable presents of some itinerant friars that had pa.s.sed this way. On the south side was a piece of plank supported by a post, which we understood was the reading desk, just by which was a little hole commodiously broke through the wall to give light to the reader. A very mean habitation this for the G.o.d of heaven! but yet held in great esteem and reverence by the poor people, who not only come with all devotion hither themselves, but also deposit here whatever is most valuable to them, in order to derive upon it a blessing. When we were there, the whole room was hung about with bags of silkworms' eggs, to the end that, by remaining in so holy a place, they might attract a benediction, and a virtue of increasing.

_March 3._-The next morning flattered us with the hopes of a fair day, after the great rains which had fallen for near eight hours together. We therefore ventured to leave Bellulca, with no great thanks to it for our entertainment. But we had not gone far, before we began to wish that we had kept our former accommodation, bad as it was, for the rains began to break out afresh with greater fury than before; nor had we more comfort under foot, the road being very deep and full of sloughs. However, we resolved to go forward, in hopes of a better time, and in four hours (very long ones in such uncomfortable circ.u.mstances) we arrived at Sholfatia, a poor village situate upon a small river which we were obliged to pa.s.s. A river we might call it now, it being swollen so high by the late rains that it was impa.s.sable, though at other times it be but a small brook, and in the summer perfectly dry.

Here, instead of mending our condition, as we expected, we began to drink more deeply of the bitter cup of pilgrims, being brought to such a strait that we knew not which way to turn ourselves. For (as I said) the stream was not fordable, so that there was no going forward; and, as for facing about and returning to the place from whence we came, that was a thing we were very averse to, well knowing, by that morning's experience, the badness of the road, and likewise having reason to expect but a cold welcome at our journey's end. As for lodging in the village, that was a thing not to be endured; for the houses were all filled with dirt and nastiness, being inhabited promiscuously by the villagers and their cattle. As for lying in the campagnia, the rain was so vehement, we could not do that without an evident danger both to ourselves and horses.

But whilst we were at this nonplus, not knowing which course to take, the rain abated, and so we resolved to pitch in the open field, though thoroughly soaked with the wet, esteeming this however the least evil.

Accordingly, we betook ourselves to a small ascent by the water-side, intending there, under our tents, to wait the falling of the stream.

We had not enjoyed this cessation of rain long, when it began to pour down afresh, with terrible lightning and thunder. And now our care was renewed, and we knew not well which to be most concerned for; whether ourselves, who enjoyed the miserable comfort of a dropping tent over us, or for our servants and horses, which had nothing but their own clothes to protect them. At last, there being a small Sheikh's house, or burying-place hard by, we comforted ourselves with hopes that we might take sanctuary there. The only difficulty was how to get admission into so reverenced a place, the Turks being generally men of greater zeal than mercy. To negotiate this affair, we sent a Turk (whom we had taken with us for such occasions) into the village, ordering him to try first by fair means to gain admittance, and, if that failed, to threaten that we would enter by force. But the religion of this place was of that kind which supersedes instead of improving humanity. The people absolutely denied us the small charity we demanded, and sent us word they would die upon our swords before they would yield to have their faith defiled; adding, farther, that it was their faith to be true to Hamet and Aly, but to hate and renounce Omar and Abu Beker, and that this principle they were resolved to stand by. We told them we had as bad an opinion of Omar and Abu Beker as they could have; that we desired only a little shelter from the present rain, and had no intention to defile their faith. And thus, with good words, we brought them to consent that we might secure our baggage in the Sheikh's house; but, as for ourselves and arms, it was our irreversible sentence to be excluded out of hallowed walls. We were glad, however, to get the merciless doors open upon any terms, not doubting but we should be able to make our advantage of it afterwards, according to our desire, which we actually did; for when it grew dark, and the villagers were gone to sleep, we all got into the places of refuge, and there pa.s.sed a melancholy night among the tombs; thus escaping, however, the greater evil of the rain, which fell all night in great abundance.