BERTRANDON IN PALESTINE.
[Sidenote: 1880.]
When the children met him the next week, Uncle Fritz said that as they had gone so far east in their two afternoons, they would do well to look over some of the accounts of the Crusaders’ expeditions.
The boys were well pleased at this suggestion. Some of them knew Froissart, and all of them had read “Ivanhoe,” and “The Talisman,” and “Count Robert of Paris.”
So Uncle Fritz sent again for the “Travels in Palestine,” in the same volume of Bohn’s Antiquarian Library, and Bedford first, and Esther afterward, read the extracts he had marked for them from
BERTRANDON DE LA BROCQUIÈRE.
[Sidenote: 1432-33.]
To animate and inflame the hearts of such noble men as may be desirous of seeing the world, and by the order and command of the most high, most powerful, and my most redoubted lord, Philip, by the grace of God Duke of Burgundy, Lorraine, Brabant, and Limbourg, Count of Flanders, Artois, and Burgundy, Palatine of Hainault, Holland, Zealand, and Namur, Marquis of the Holy Empire, lord of Friesland, Salines, and Mechlin, I, Bertrandon de la Brocquière, a native of the duchy of Guienne, lord of Vieux-Chateau, counsellor and first esquire-carver to my aforesaid most redoubted lord, after bringing to my recollection every event, in addition to what I had made an abridgment of in a small book by way of memorandums, have fairly written out this account of my short travels, in order that if any king or Christian prince should wish to make the conquest of Jerusalem, and lead thither an army overland, or if any gentleman should be desirous of travelling thither, they may be made acquainted with all the towns, cities, regions, countries, rivers, mountains, and passes, in the different districts, as well as the lords to whom they belong, from the duchy of Burgundy to Jerusalem.
The route hence to the holy city of Rome is too well known for me to stop and describe it. I shall pass lightly over this article, and not say much until I come to Syria.... Gaza, situated in a fine country near the sea, and at the entrance of the desert, is a strong town, although uninclosed. It is pretended that it formerly belonged to the famous Samson. His palace is still shown, and also the columns of that which he pulled down; but I dare not affirm that these are the same. Pilgrims are harshly treated there; and we also should have suffered had it not been for the governor, a man about sixty years of age, and a Circassian, who heard our complaints and did us justice.
Thrice were we obliged to appear before him; once, on account of the swords we wore, and the two other times for quarrels which the Saracen moucres sought to have with us. Many of us wished to purchase asses; for the camel has a very rough movement, which is extremely fatiguing to those unaccustomed to it. An ass is sold at Gaza for two ducats; but the moucres not only wanted to prevent our buying any, but to force us to hire asses from them, at the price of five ducats, to St. Catherine’s. This conduct was represented to the governor. For myself, who had hitherto ridden on a camel, and had no intention of changing, I desired they would tell me how I could ride a camel and an ass at the same time. The governor decided in our favor, and ordered that we should not be forced to hire any asses from the moucres against our inclinations.
We here laid in fresh provisions necessary for the continuance of our journey; but, on the eve of our departure, four of my companions fell sick, and returned to Jerusalem. I set off with the five others, and we came to a village situated at the entrance of the desert, and the only one to be met with between Gaza and St. Catherine’s. We thus travelled two days in the desert, absolutely without seeing anything deserving to be related. Only one morning I saw, before sunrise, an animal running on four legs, about three feet long, but scarcely a palm in height. The Arabians fled at the sight of it, and the animal hastened to hide itself in a bush hard by. Sir Andrew and Pierre de Vandrei dismounted, and pursued it sword in hand, when it began to cry like a cat on the approach of a dog. Pierre de Vandrei struck it on the back with the point of his sword, but did it no harm, from its being covered with scales like a sturgeon. It sprang at Sir Andrew, who, with a blow from his sword, cut the neck partly through, and flung it on its back with its feet in the air, and killed it. The head resembled that of a large hare; the feet were like the hands of a young child, with a pretty long tail, like that of the large green lizard. Our Arabs and interpreter told us it was very dangerous.
At the end of the second day’s journey I was seized with such a burning fever that it was impossible for me to proceed. My four companions, distressed at this accident, made me mount an ass, and recommended me to one of our Arabs, whom they charged to reconduct me, if possible, to Gaza. This man took a great deal of care of me, which is unusual in respect to Christians. He faithfully kept me company, and led me in the evening to pass the night in one of their camps, which might consist of fourscore and some tents, pitched in the form of a street. These tents consist of two poles stuck in the ground by the bigger end, at a certain distance from each other, and on them is placed another pole cross-way, and over this last is laid a thick coverlid of woollen, or coarse hair. On my arrival, four or five Arabs, who were acquainted with my companion, came to meet us. They dismounted me from my ass, and laid me on a mattrass which I had with me, and then, treating me according to their method, kneaded and pinched me so much with their hands, that from fatigue and lassitude I slept, and reposed for six hours. During this time no one did me the least harm, nor took anything from me. It would, however, have been very easy for them to do so; and I must have been a tempting prey, for I had with me two hundred ducats, and two camels laden with provision and wine.
I set out on my return to Gaza before day; but when I came thither, I found neither my four companions who had remained behind nor Sir Sanson de Lalaing: the whole five had returned to Jerusalem, carrying with them the interpreter. Fortunately I met with a Sicilian Jew, to whom I could make myself understood; and he sent me an old Samaritan, who, by some medicines which he gave me, appeased the great heat I endured. Two days after, finding myself a little better, I set off in company with a Moor, who conducted me by a river on the seaside. We passed near Ascalon, and thence traversed an agreeable and fertile country to Ramlé, where I regained the road to Jerusalem. On the first day’s journey I met on the road the governor of that town, returning from a pilgrimage, with a company of fifty horsemen, and one hundred camels, mounted principally by women and children, who had attended him to his place of devotion. I passed the night with them, and the morrow, on my return to Jerusalem, took up my lodgings with the Cordeliers, at the Church of Mount Sion, where I again met my five comrades. On my arrival I went to bed, that my disorder might be properly treated; but I was not cured, or in a state to depart, until the 19th of August. During my convalescence I recollected that I had frequently heard it said that it was impossible for a Christian to return overland from Jerusalem to France. I dare not, even now, when I have performed this journey, assert that it is safe. I thought, nevertheless, that nothing was impossible for a man to undertake who has a constitution strong enough to support fatigue, and has money and health. It is not, however, through vain boasting that I say this; but with the aid of God and his glorious Mother, who never fail to assist those who pray to them heartily, I resolved to attempt the journey. I kept my project secret for some time, without even hinting it to my companions. I was also desirous, before I undertook it, to perform other pilgrimages, especially those to Nazareth and Mount Tabor. I went, in consequence, to make Nanchardin, principal interpreter to the sultan, acquainted with my intentions, who supplied me with a sufficient interpreter for my journey. I thought of making my first pilgrimage to Mount Tabor, and everything was prepared for it; but when I was on the point of setting out, the head of the convent where I lodged dissuaded me, and opposed my intentions most strongly. The interpreter, on his side, refused to go, saying that in the present circumstances I should not find any person to attend me; for that the road lay through the territories of towns which were at war with each other, and that very lately a Venetian and his interpreter had been assassinated there. I confined myself, therefore, to the second pilgrimage, in which Sir Sanson de Lalaing and Humbert wished to accompany me.
The principal monk at Jerusalem was so friendly as to accompany us as far as Jaffa, with a Cordelier friar of the Convent of Beaune. They there quitted us, and we engaged a bark from the Moors, which carried us to the port of Acre. This is a handsome port, deep and well inclosed. The town itself appears to have been large and strong, but at present there do not exist more than three hundred houses, situated at one of its extremities, and at some distance from the sea.
With regard to our pilgrimage, we could not accomplish it. Some Venetian merchants whom we consulted dissuaded us, and from that time we gave it up. They told us, at the same time, that a galley from Narbonne was expected at Baruth; and my comrades being desirous to take that opportunity of returning to France, we consequently followed the road to that town.... It is two days’ journey from Baruth to Damascus. The Mohammedans have established a particular custom for Christians all through Syria, in not permitting them to enter the towns on horseback. None that are known to be such dare do it; and in consequence, our moucre made Sir Sanson and myself dismount before we entered any town. Scarcely had we arrived in Damascus than about a dozen Saracens came round to look at us. I wore a broad beaver hat, which is unusual in that country; and one of them gave me a blow with a staff, which knocked it off my head on the ground. I own that my first movement was to lift my fist at him, but the moucre, throwing himself between us, pushed me aside, and very fortunately for me he did so; for in an instant we were surrounded by thirty or forty persons, and if I had given a blow I know not what would have become of us. I mention this circumstance to show that the inhabitants of Damascus are a wicked race, and consequently care should be taken to avoid any quarrels with them. It is the same in other Mohammedan countries. I know by experience that you must not joke with them, nor at the same time seem afraid; nor appear poor, for then they will despise you; nor rich, for they are very avaricious, as all who have disembarked at Jaffa know to their cost. Damascus may contain, as I have heard, one hundred thousand souls. The town is rich, commercial, and after Cairo the most considerable of all in the possession of the sultan. To the north, south, and east is an extensive plain; to the west rises a mountain, at the foot of which the suburbs are built. A river runs through it, which is divided into several canals. The town only is inclosed by a handsome wall, for the suburbs are larger than the town.
I have nowhere seen such extensive gardens, better fruits, nor greater plenty of water. This is said to be so abundant that there is scarcely a house without a fountain. The governor is only inferior to the sultan in all Syria and Egypt; but as at different times some governors have revolted, the sultans have taken precautions to restrain them within proper bounds.
Damascus has a strong castle on the side toward the mountain, with wide and deep ditches, over which the sultan appoints a captain of his own friends, who never suffers the governor to enter it. It was, in 1400, destroyed and reduced to ashes by Tamerlane. Vestiges of this disaster now remain, and toward the gate of St. Paul there is a whole quarter that has never been rebuilt. There is a khan in the town appropriated as a deposit and place of safety to merchants and their goods. It is called Kahn Berkot, from its having originally been the residence of a person of that name. For my part, I believe that Berkot was a Frenchman, and what inclines me to this opinion is, that on a stone of the house are carved fleur-de-lis, which appear as ancient as the walls. Whatever may have been his origin, he was a very gallant man, and to this day enjoys a high reputation in that country. Never during his lifetime, and while he was in power, could the Persians or Tartars gain the smallest portion of land in Syria. The moment he learned that one of their armies was advancing he instantly marched to meet it, as far as the river, beyond Aleppo, that separates Syria from Persia.... The people of Damascus are persuaded that, had he lived, Tamerlane would never have carried his arms thither. Tamerlane, however, did honor to his memory, for when he took the town and ordered it to be set on fire, he commanded the house of Berkot to be spared, and appointed a guard to prevent its being hurt by the fire, so that it subsists to this day. The Christians are hated at Damascus. Every evening the merchants are shut up in their houses by persons appointed for this purpose, who, on the morrow, come to open their gates when it may please them.
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I was shown the place without the walls of Damascus where St. Paul had a vision, was struck blind, and thrown from his horse. He caused himself to be conducted to Damascus, where he was baptized, but the place of his baptism is now a mosque. I saw also the stone from which St. George mounted his horse when he went to combat the dragon. It is two feet square, and they say, that when formerly the Saracens attempted to carry it away, in spite of all the strength they employed, they could not succeed.
Having seen Damascus, Sir Sanson and myself returned to Baruth, where we found Sir Andrew, Pierre de Vaudrei, Geoffroi de Toisi, and Jean de la Roe, who had come thither, as Jacques Cœur had told us. The galley arrived from Alexandria two or three days afterward, and during this short interval we witnessed a feast celebrated by the Moors in their ancient manner. It began in the evening at sunset. Numerous companies, scattered here and there, were singing and uttering loud cries. While this was passing, the cannons of the castle were fired, and the people of the town launched into the air, very high and to a great distance, a kind of fire, larger than the largest lantern that I ever saw lighted. They told me they sometimes made use of such at sea to set fire to the sails of an enemy’s vessel. It seems to me that as it is an easy thing to be made, and of little expense, it may be equally well employed to burn a camp or a thatched village, or in an engagement with cavalry to frighten the horses. Curious to know its composition, I sent the servant of my host to the person who made this fire, and requested him to teach me the method. He returned for answer that he dared not, for that he should run great danger were it known; but, as there is nothing that a Moor will not do for money, I offered him a ducat, which quieted his fears; and he taught me all he knew, and even gave me the moulds in wood, with the other ingredients, which I have brought to France.
The evening before the embarkation, I took Sir Andrew de Toulongeon aside, and, having made him promise that he would not make any opposition to what I was about to reveal to him, I informed him of my design to return home overland. In consequence of his promise he did not attempt to hinder me, but represented all the dangers I should have to encounter, and the risk I should run of being forced to deny my faith in Jesus Christ. I must own that his representations were well founded, and of all the perils he had menaced me with there was not one I did not experience, except denying my religion. He engaged his companions to talk with me also on this subject, but what they urged was vain. I suffered them to set sail and remained at Baruth.... I was lodged at the house of a Venetian merchant, named Paul Barberico, and as I had not entirely renounced my two pilgrimages to Nazareth and Mount Tabor, in spite of the obstacles which it had been said I should meet with, I consulted him on this double journey. He procured for me a moucre, who undertook to conduct me, and bound himself before him to carry me safe and sound as far as Damascus, and to bring him back from thence a certificate of having performed his engagement, signed by me. This man made me dress myself like a Saracen. The Franks, for their security in travelling, have obtained permission from the sultan to wear this dress when on a journey. I departed with my moucre from Baruth on the morrow after the galley had sailed, and we followed the road to Seyde that lies between the sea and the mountains. These frequently run so far into the sea that travellers are forced to go on the sands, and at other times they are three quarters of a league distant. After an hour’s ride I came to a small wood of lofty pines, which the people of the country preserve with care. It is even forbidden to cut down any of them, but I am ignorant of the reason for such a regulation. Further on was a tolerably deep river, which my moucre said came from the valley of Noah, but the water was not good to drink. It had a stone bridge over it, and hard by was a kahn, where we passed the night.
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The mountain near Sur forms a crescent, the two horns advancing as far as the sea; a league farther we came to a pass, which forced us to travel over a bank, on the summit of which is a tower. Travellers going to Acre have no other road than this, and the tower has been erected for their security. From this defile to Acre the mountains are low, and many habitations are visible, inhabited, for the greater part, by Arabs. Near the town I met a great lord of the country, called Fancardin; he was encamped on the open plain, carrying his tents with him.... From Nazareth I went to Mount Tabor, the place where the transfiguration of our Lord and many other miracles took place. These pasturages attract the Arabs, who come thither with their beasts, and I was forced to engage four additional men as an escort, two of whom were Arabs. The ascent of the mountain is rugged, because there is no road: I performed it on the back of a mule, but it took me two hours.... To the east of Mount Tabor, and at the foot of it, we saw the Tiberiade, beyond which the Jordan flows. To the westward is an extensive plain, very agreeable from its gardens, filled with date-palm trees, and small tufts of trees planted like vines, on which grows the cotton. At sunrise these last have a singular effect, and, seeing their green leaves covered with cotton, the traveller would suppose it had snowed on them.
I descended into this plain to dinner, for I had brought with me chickens and wine. My guides conducted me to the house of a man, who, when he saw my wine, took me for a person of consequence, and received me well. He brought me a porringer of milk, another of honey, and a branch loaded with dates. They were the first I had ever seen.
I noticed also the manner of manufacturing cotton, in which men and women were employed. Here my guides wanted to extort more money from me, and insisted on making a fresh bargain to reconduct me to Nazareth. It was well I had not my sword with me, for I confess I should have drawn it, and it would have been madness in me and in all who shall imitate me. The result of the quarrel was, that I was obliged to give them twelve drachms of their money, equivalent to half a ducat. The moment they had received them, the whole four left me, so that I was obliged to return alone with my moucre. We had not proceeded far on our road when we saw two Arabs, armed in their manner, and mounted on beautiful horses, coming towards us. The moucre was much frightened; but, fortunately, they passed us without saying a word. He owned that, had they suspected I was a Christian, they would have killed us both without mercy, or, at the least, have stripped us naked.
Each of them bore a long and thin pole, shod at the ends with iron; one of them was pointed, the other round, but having many sharp blades a span long. Their buckler was round, according to their custom, convex at the centre, whence came a thick point of iron; and from that point to the bottom it was ornamented with a long silken fringe. They were dressed in robes, the sleeves of which, a foot and a half wide, hung down their arms; and instead of a cap they had a round hat, terminated in a point of rough crimson wool, which, instead of having the linen cloth twisted about it, like other Moors, fell down on each side of it, the whole of its breadth.
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I met, near Damascus, a very black Moor, who had ridden a camel from Cairo in eight days, though it is usually sixteen days’ journey. His camel had run away from him; but with the aid of my moucre, we recovered it. These couriers have a singular saddle, on which they sit cross-legged; but the rapidity of the camel is so great that, to prevent any bad effects from the air, they have their heads and bodies bandaged. This courier was the bearer of an order from the sultan. A galley and two galliots of the prince of Tarentum had captured, before Tripoli in Syria, a vessel from the Moors; and the sultan, by way of reprisal, had sent to arrest all the Catalonians and Genoese who might be found in Damascus and throughout Syria.
This news which my moucre told me did not alarm me; I entered the town boldly with other Saracens, because, dressed like them, I thought I had nothing to fear. This expedition had taken up seven days. On the morrow of my arrival I saw the caravan return from Mecca. It was said to be composed of three thousand camels; and, in fact, it was two days and as many nights before they all entered the town. This event was, according to custom, a great festival. The governor of Damascus, attended by the principal persons of the town, went to meet the caravan, out of respect to the Alcoran, which it bore. This is the book of law which Mohammed left to his followers. It was enveloped in a silken covering, painted over with Moorish inscriptions; and the camel that bore it was, in like manner, decorated all over with silk. Four musicians, and a great number of drums and trumpets, preceded the camel, and made a loud noise. In front and around were about thirty men, some bearing cross-bows, others drawn swords, others small harquebuses,[7] which they fired off every now and then. Behind this camel followed eight old men, mounted on the swiftest camels, and near them were led their horses, magnificently caparisoned, and ornamented with rich saddles, according to the custom of the country. After them came a Turkish lady, a relation of the grand seignior, in a litter borne by two camels with rich housings.
The caravan was composed of Moors, Turks, Barbaresques, Tartars, Persians, and other sectaries of the false prophet, Mohammed. These people pretend that, having once made a pilgrimage to Mecca, they cannot be damned. Of this I was assured by a renegado slave, a Bulgarian by birth, who belonged to the lady I have mentioned. He was called Hayauldoula, which signifies, in the Turkish language, “Servant of God,” and pretended to have been three times at Mecca. I formed an acquaintance with him, because he spoke a little Italian, and often kept me company in the night as well as in the day. In our conversations I frequently questioned him about Mohammed, and where his body was interred. He told me he was at Mecca; that the shrine containing the body was in a circular chapel, open at the top, and that it was through this opening the pilgrims saw the shrine; that among them were some who, having seen it, had their eyes thrust out, because, they said, after what they had just seen, the world could no longer offer them anything worth looking at. There were, in fact, in this caravan two persons, the one of sixteen and the other of twenty-two or twenty-three years old, who had thus made themselves blind.
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The distance from Mecca to Damascus is forty days’ journey across the desert. The heat is excessive; and many of the caravan were suffocated. According to the renegade slave, the annual caravan to Medina should be composed of seven hundred thousand persons; and when this number is incomplete, God sends his angels to make it up. As I was incessantly hearing Mohammed spoken of, I wished to know something about him; and for this purpose, I addressed myself to a priest in Damascus, attached to the Venetian consul, who often said mass in his house, confessed the merchants of that nation, and, when necessary, regulated their affairs. Having confessed myself to him, and settled my worldly concerns, I asked him if he were acquainted with the doctrines of Mohammed. He said he was, and knew all the Alcoran. I then besought him, in the best manner I could, that he would put down in writing all he knew of him, that I might present it to my lord the Duke of Burgundy. He did so with pleasure; and I have brought with me his work.
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In regard to the pilgrims that go to Mecca, the grand Turk has a custom peculiar to himself,--at least, I am ignorant if the other Mohammedan powers do the same,--which is, that when the caravan leaves his states he chooses for it a chief, whom they are bound to obey as implicitly as himself. The chief of this caravan was called Hoyarbarach; he was a native of Bursa, and one of its principal inhabitants. I caused myself to be presented to him, by mine host and another person, as a man that wanted to go to that town to see a brother. They entreated him to receive me into his company, and to afford me his security. He asked if I understood Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, the vulgar tongue, or Greek. When they replied that I did not, he answered, “Well, what can he pretend to do?” However, representations were made to him that, on account of the war, I dared not go thither by sea; and that, if he would condescend to admit me, I would do as well as I could. He then consented; and, having placed his two hands on his head and touched his beard, he told me, in the Turkish language, that I might join his slaves, but he insisted that I should be dressed just like them.
I went, after this interview, with one of my friends, to the market, called the Bazaar, and bought two long white robes that reached to my ankles, a complete turban, a linen girdle, a fustian pair of drawers to tuck the ends of my robe in; two small bags, the one for my own use, the other to hang on my horse’s head while feeding him with barley and straw; a leathern spoon, and salt; a carpet to sleep on; and, lastly, a paletot of a white skin, which I lined with a linen cloth, and which was of service to me in the nights. I purchased also a white tarquais (a sort of quiver) complete, to which hung a sword and knives; but as to the tarquais and sword, I could only buy them privately; for if those who have the administration of justice had known of it, the seller and myself would have run great risks. The Damascus blades are the handsomest and best of all Syria, and it is curious to observe their manner of burnishing them. This operation is performed before tempering, and they have, for this purpose, a small piece of wood, in which is fixed an iron, which they rub up and down the blade, and thus clear off all inequalities, as a plane does to wood. They then temper and polish it. This polish is so highly finished, that, when any one wants to arrange his turban, he uses his sword for a looking-glass. As to its temper, it is perfect; and I have nowhere seen swords that cut so excellently. There are made at Damascus, and in the adjoining country, mirrors of steel that magnify objects like burning glasses. I have seen some that, when exposed to the sun, have reflected the heat so strongly as to set fire to a plank fifteen or sixteen feet distant.
I bought a small horse that turned out very well. Before my departure I had him shod at Damascus, and thence, as far as Bursa, which is near fifty days’ journey, so well do they shoe their horses, that I had nothing to do with his feet, excepting one of the fore ones, which was pricked by a nail, and made him lame for three weeks.
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The men of fortune carry with them, when they ride, a small drum, which they use in battle, or in skirmishes, to rally their men. It is fastened to the pommel of their saddles, and they beat on it with a piece of flat leather. I also purchased one, with spurs and vermilion-colored boots, which came up to my knees, according to the custom of the country. As a mark of my gratitude to Hoyarbarach I went to offer him a pot of green ginger, but he refused it, and it was by dint of prayers and entreaties that I prevailed on him to accept it. I had no other pledge for my security than what I have mentioned, but I found him full of frankness and good-will--more, perhaps, than I should have found in many Christians. God, who had protected me in the accomplishment of this journey, brought me acquainted with a Jew of Caiffa, who spoke the Tartar and Italian languages, and I requested him to assist me in putting down in writing the names of everything I might have occasion to want for myself and my horse while on the road. On our arrival, the first day’s journey, at Ballec I drew out my paper to know how to ask for barley and chopped straw, which I wanted to give my horse. Ten or twelve Turks near me, observing my action, burst into laughter, and coming nearer to examine my paper seemed as much surprised at our writing as we are with theirs. They took a liking to me, and made every effort to teach me to speak Turkish. They were never weary of making me often repeat the same thing, and pronounced it so many different ways that I could not fail to retain it; so, when we separated, I knew how to call for everything necessary for myself and horse. During the stay of the caravan at Damascus, I made a pilgrimage, about sixteen miles distant, to our Lady of Serdenay. To arrive there we traversed a mountain a full quarter of a mile in length, to which the gardens of Damascus extend. We then descended into a delightful valley, full of vineyards and gardens, with a handsome fountain of excellent water. Here, on a rock, has been erected a small castle, with a church of green monks, having a portrait of the Virgin painted on wood, whose head has been carried thither miraculously, but in what manner I am ignorant. It is added that it always sweats and that this sweat is an oil. All I can say is, that when I went thither I was shown at the end of the church, behind the great altar, a niche formed in the wall, where I saw the image, which was a flat thing, and might be about one foot and a half high by one foot wide. I cannot say whether it is of wood or stone, for it was entirely covered with clothes. The front was closed with an iron trellis, and underneath was the vase containing the oil. A woman accosted me, and with a silver spoon moved aside the clothes, and wanted to anoint me with the sign of the cross on the forehead, the temples, and breast. I believe this was a mere trick to get money, nevertheless I do not mean to say that Our Lady may not have more power than this image.
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I returned to Damascus, and, on the evening of the departure of the caravan, settled my affairs and my conscience as if I had been at the point of death; for suddenly I found myself in great trouble. I have before mentioned the messenger whom the sultan had sent with orders to arrest all the Genoese and Catalonian merchants found within his dominions. By virtue of this order my host, who was a Genoese, was arrested, his effects seized, and a Moor placed in his house to take care of him. I endeavored to save all I could for him; and that the Moor might not notice it, I made him drunk. I was arrested in my turn, and carried before one of their cadies, who are considered as somewhat like our bishops, and have the office of administering justice. This cadi turned me over to another cadi, who sent me to prison with the merchants, although he knew I was not one; but this disagreeable affair had been brought on me by an interpreter, who wanted to extort money from me, as he had before attempted on my first journey hither. Had it not been for Antoine Mourrourzin, the Venetian consul, I must have paid a sum of money; but I remained in prison; and, in the mean time, the caravan set off. The consul, to obtain my liberty, was forced to make intercession, conjointly with the governor of Damascus, alleging that I had been arrested without cause, which the interpreter well knew.
The governor sent for a Genoese, named Gentil Imperial, a merchant employed by the sultan to purchase slaves for him at Caiffa. He asked me who I was, and my business at Damascus. On my replying that I was a Frenchman returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he said they had done wrong to detain me, and that I might depart when I pleased.
I accordingly set off, accompanied by a moucre, whom I had first charged to carry my Turkish dress out of the town, because a Christian is not permitted to wear a white turban there. At a short distance a mountain rises, on which I was shown a house said to have been that of Cain! During the first day we travelled over mountains, but the road was good. On the second day we entered a fine country, which continued cheerful until we came to Balbeck. My moucre there quitted me, as I had overtaken the caravan. It was encamped near a river, on account of the great heat of these parts; the nights are nevertheless very cold, which will scarcely be believed, and the dews exceedingly heavy. I waited on Hoyarbarach, who confirmed the permission he had granted me to accompany him, and recommended me not to quit the caravan.
On the morrow morning, at eleven o’clock, I gave my horse water, with oats and straw, according to the custom of our countries. This time the Turks said nothing to me; but at six o’clock in the evening, when, having given him water, I was about fastening the bag, that he might eat, they opposed it and took off the bag; for they will not suffer their horses to eat but during the night, and will not allow one to begin eating before the rest, unless when they are at grass. The captain of the caravan had with him a mameluke of the sultan, who was a Circassian, and going to Caramania in search of a brother. This man, seeing me alone and ignorant of the language of the country, charitably wished to serve me as a companion, and took me with him; but, as he had no tent, we were often obliged to pass the nights under trees in gardens. It was then that I was obliged to learn to sleep on the ground, to drink nothing but water, and to sit cross-legged. This posture was at first painful, but it was still more so to accustom myself to sit on my horse with such very short stirrups, and I suffered so much that, when I had dismounted, I could not remount without assistance; but after a little time this manner seemed even more convenient than ours.
That same evening, I supped with the mameluke; but we had only bread, cheese, and milk. I had, when eating, a table-cloth, like the rich men of the country. These cloths are four feet in diameter, and round, having strings attached to them, so that they may be drawn up like a purse. When they are used they are spread out; and when the meal is over, they are drawn up with all that remains within them, without their losing a crumb of bread or a raisin. But I observed that, whether their repast had been good or bad, they never failed to return thanks aloud to God.
Balbeck is a good town, well inclosed with walls, and tolerably commercial. In the centre is a castle, built with very large stones. At present it contains a mosque, in which, it is said, there is a human skull with eyes so enormous that a man may pass his head through their openings. I cannot affirm this for fact, as none but Saracens may enter the mosque.... As my companion, the mameluke, and myself had no tent, we fixed our quarters in a garden. There we were joined by two Turcomans of Satalia, returning from Mecca, who supped with us. These men, seeing me well clothed and well mounted, having a handsome sword and well-furnished tarquais, proposed to the mameluke, as he afterwards owned when we separated, to make away with me, considering that I was but a Christian and unworthy of being in their company. He answered that, since I had eaten bread and salt with them, it would be a great crime; that it was forbidden by law; and that, after all, God had created the Christians as well as the Saracens. They, however, persisted in their design; and as I testified a desire of seeing Aleppo, the most considerable town in Syria after Damascus, they pressed me to join them. I was ignorant of their intention, and accepted their offer; but I am now convinced they only wanted to cut my throat. The mameluke forbade them to come any more near us, and by this means saved my life.
We set out from Balbeck two hours before day, and our caravan consisted of from four to five hundred persons, with six or seven hundred camels and mules; for it had great quantities of spicery. I will describe the order of its march. The caravan has a very large drum; and the moment the chief orders the departure, three loud strokes are beaten. Every one then makes himself ready, and when prepared, joins the file without uttering a word. Ten of our people would, in such cases, make more noise than a thousand of theirs.
Thus they march in silence, unless it be at night, or that any one should sing a song celebrating the heroic deeds of their ancestors. At the break of day, two or three, placed at a great distance from each other, cry out and answer one another, as is done from the towers of the mosques at the usual hours. In short, a little before and after sunrise, devout people make their customary prayers and oblations. To perform these oblations, if they be near a rivulet, they dismount, and with feet naked, they wash their whole bodies. Should there be no rivulet near, at the usual time for these ceremonies, they pass their hands over their bodies. The last among them washes, and then turns to the south, when all raise two fingers in the air, prostrate themselves, and kiss the ground thrice; they then rise up and say their prayers. Persons of rank, to avoid failing in their performance, always carry, when they travel, leathern bottles full of water, which are suspended under the bellies of camels or horses, and are generally very handsome.
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The Turks bear well fatigue and a hard life; they are not incommoded, as I have witnessed, during the whole journey, by sleeping on the ground like animals. They are of a gay, cheerful humor, and willingly sing songs of the heroic deeds of their ancestors. Any one, therefore, who wishes to live with them must not be grave or melancholy, but always have a smiling countenance. They are also men of probity, and charitable toward each other. I have often observed, that should a poor person pass by when they are eating, they would invite him to partake of their meal, which is a thing we never do.