54

RIDE THROUGH THE CITY.

its way to Bagdad. As the sun sank, the evening breeze, which had been playing across the snowy heights of Lebanon, and over the distant sea, came rushing down upon the gardens, which were all in a rustle with waving orange and pomegranate blossoms, mingled with jasmine flowers and rose leaves. Truly Damascus might well be regarded as the earthly paradise of the true believers!

At night I was conducted by my host to a large apartment, which had formerly been the reception-room, but was now rarely made use of. It was both spacious and splendid, paved with variegated marbles, and with a fountain in the midst, lulled by the murmur of which I gradually dropped asleep.

Next day was one of much bustle and preparation at the consulate, Mr. Farren having settled to take a ride through the city, accompanied by his lady, a guest, and myself, and attended by the usual number of kavasses and servants. I have before observed, that being the first consul ever appointed, the inhabitants in general had displayed much opposition; and even now, although he had made many acquaintances in the upper ranks of society, the mass of the people still regarded him with a certain distrust. This was no doubt partly owing to his resolution not to give way upon the point of national costume, but to maintain, together with the dignity of his office, that of the European hat, coat, &c. so repugnant to the prejudices, as well as contemptible to the taste, of the magnificent Moslems. The whole party were therefore dressed rigorously à l'Anglaise, and looked the more strange and conspicuous by contrast with the attendant janissaries, who preceded them in gorgeous oriental dresses, and glittering with richly ornamented arms.

Issuing from the consulate, we passed along the narrow paved road bordered with mud walls, overtopped by orange and figtrees, which leads from Salahiyeh into the city. On penetrating its streets, there was nothing at all answering to preconceived ideas of oriental splendour. They presented, for the most part,

only dead walls of dried mud, perforated by a few gloomy looking portals and iron-barred unglazed windows. Whatever magnificence there might be, seemed carefully concealed from view. It was not until we entered the bazaars that we could form the slightest idea of the immense populousness and commercial prosperity of the capital of Syria. A bazaar, in oriental language, means that part of a city exclusively devoted to business. The bazaars of Damascus are covered in, to exclude the rays of the sun, and lined with shops open to the street, in which the shopkeepers not only display their articles for sale, but also carry on their craft. Although, perhaps, even more crowded than those of any other oriental city, this does not form their most striking feature, which is rather the immense variety of character and costume, in a place where no European innovations have taken place, as at Cairo and Constantinople; at once rivetting the stranger's attention, and turning an ordinary street thoroughfare into a succession of splendid pictures.

First came the Turks themselves, not wearing the red Fez cap, and clipped costume, now coming so generally into use in these degenerate days, but with their grave brows overshadowed by turbans of prodigious amplitude and grandeur, with long majestic beards, and robes descending almost to their very heels, most graceful in outline, and costly in material, and infinitely varied in colour. All the different tribes of the Lebanon had their different representatives, each wearing a dress perfectly distinct from the others. There were the Aleppinnes and northern Syrians, in their fur-lined jackets; Armenians, who being mostly "Rayahs," or native Christians, and prohibited from using the same brightly contrasted colours as the Turks, had adopted and were generally robed in a sober garb of blue; while the Jews as usual, even when rich, in order to disarm envy, were sordid in outward appearance, and for the most part dressed themselves in black. Among the crowd might occasionally be seen natives of Persia, in the tightly fitting dress,

with long sleeves, and the bell-shaped conical cap of black wool, somewhat resembling the figures on the Nineveh marbles. Arab sheiks, the heads of the Nomad tribes of the adjacent desert, were also there; and the common Bedouin, with his wild look, and his desert freedom of mien, also conducted his camel through the press of the more civilized crowd.

The bazaars were, as usual, divided into avenues, appropriated to different branches of trade. The manufactures of Damascus are less celebrated than of old; the famous "blades" with which such wonderful exploits were performed, are now no longer fabricated; yet, the stuffs, and silks, and horse-trappings, make a splendid show, and are highly prized through the surrounding country. Nothing seems more remarkable than the number of sweetmeat shops, the piles of candy, the delicate cates, and the delicious "kaklakoom," as it is pronounced; a word that, rolled upon the tongue, seemed aptly to designate the thing it indicates. The cook-shops, at which the savoury "kabobs" and other Arab dishes are served, are very numerous, and there are coffee shops at every corner. Some of the coffee houses are built upon the margin of the river Barrada, among groves of trees, and are the favourite resort of the orientals, who delight in the lulling sounds of running water and the rustling of foliage, almost as much as they do in coffee and tobacco.

In passing through the city we were not gratified by the discovery of any very noticeable edifices. The mosques are almost innumerable, but all built on nearly the same pattern; the only one remarkable, being that said formerly to have been a Christian church. The great court of the building abuts upon the bazaar, and we could catch here and there a glimpse of the interior, which but rendered us the more desirous of obtaining an indulgence, from which all Christians, as it may well be supposed, are jealously debarred-that of a minute and leisurely inspection. We passed also the castle, a massive building, then occupied by the Egyptian commandant with his troops. Owing

CHANGE OF COSTUME.

57

to the excited state of the city, every one was on the alert, and every possible precaution taken to guard against a sudden outbreak of the populace. Having traversed the city, we emerged, by another gate, into the suburbs, and passing through an extensive cemetery, took a circuitous way back to the consulate. Our passage had not been signalized by any actual insult, but there was that in the sullen physiognomy of the Moslems which told us that our immunity from outrage was owing to force alone.

For several days I continued to explore the city, and to lounge about its bazaars. Here I once more met with my American friend and the rest of our company, who had all of them been "down" with the fever, so rife while the heats of the summer continue. During my rambles I never met with any annoyance, but as the European dress rendered me disagreeably conspicuous, I took into my head the sudden fancy of assuming the costume of the country; a project which, with the assistance of my friend C, I accordingly proceeded to carry into execution. Eschewing the gorgeous and expensive dress of the Turk, I determined to adopt the more sober style of a “Rayah,” or Christian. A turban of white muslin, edged with gold, wound artistically by the skill of my servant round a red cap, formed a complete protection against the sun; and heavy as it seemed, was, as I was assured, only half the weight of those often mounted by others. Over a loose shirt, composed of silk and muslin, and " very spacious breeches" of thin calico, was worn a long silk robe girt around the waist with a shawl; while a grave long gown of blue cloth, with ample sleeves, completed the entire suit, which was considered neat and becoming. As my face was burned the colour of brickdust, and, to save trouble, I had suffered my mustachios to grow to a respectable size, the transformation was so complete, that my own mother, had she met me in the street, would have passed me by without recognition. Instead of boots I wore two pairs of slippers, one pair all of soft yellow

58

CHANGE OF COSTUME.

leather, fitted tightly round the foot; the other of red, more stoutly built, and with soles to them, but no heels, were worn over the former, and intended to be thrown off and left at the door, when calling to pay a visit. Having donned this garb, and taken my pipe in hand, I plunged into the midst of the crowd. My feelings were indescribably odd. The luxurious looseness of my dress, so different from the tight garments that I was accustomed to, and the feeling of almost impenetrable disguise, produced a totally different set of sensations, amounting almost to a doubt of my personal identity. When we arrived at the house of a friend of C——, and kicking off my red shoes at the entry, I shuffled into the reception-room, and jumping up on the divan, squatted down cross-legged like a veritable Moslem (an operation impossible in tights), and the black slave handed me coffee and a pipe, and I began to smoke dozily away like the others, the feeling of illusion became altogether bewildering.

The first practical result of this change of costume was but little encouraging. In pushing carelessly through a file of Egyptian cavalry, which was straggling rather than marching across an open square, I was saluted with a hearty curse from the nearest horseman, accompanied by a smart blow across the shoulders with the flat of his sabre, an indignity he would never have dared to offer to a Frank; but the comfort of it in shuffling about the city, and the perfect incognito which it permitted, induced me to retain it in spite of my choler at this untoward commencement.

I have already observed that Mr. Farren had succeeded in gaining several acquaintances among the higher classes; and while the mass of the people looked with dislike upon the hated giaours who insulted their prejudices by wearing the offensive hat and coat, some of these-as extremes meet-took a secret delight in showing their emancipation from the prejudices of their forefathers. This gave rise to an adventure, to which, having