The Buildings, Raised By Refraction, Rose High, And
Apparently From The Bosom Of The Deep.
After hearing the worst accounts of
it, I was pleasantly disappointed by the spectacle of white-washed houses
and minarets, peering above a long low line of brown wall, flanked with
round towers.
As we slowly threaded the intricate coral reefs of the port, a bark came
scudding up to us; it tacked, and the crew proceeded to give news in
roaring tones. Friendship between the Amir of Harar and the governor of
Zayla had been broken; the road through the Eesa Somal had been closed by
the murder of Masud, a favourite slave and adopted son of Sharmarkay; all
strangers had been expelled the city for some misconduct by the Harar
chief; moreover, small-pox was raging there with such violence that the
Galla peasantry would allow neither ingress nor egress. [21] I had the
pleasure of reflecting for some time, dear L., upon the amount of
responsibility incurred by using the phrase "I will;" and the only
consolation that suggested itself was the stale assurance that
"Things at the worst most surely mend."
No craft larger than a canoe can ride near Zayla. After bumping once or
twice against the coral reefs, it was considered advisable for our good
ship, the Sahalat, to cast anchor. My companions caused me to dress, put
me with my pipe and other necessaries into a cock-boat, and, wading
through the water, shoved it to shore. Lastly, at Bab el Sahil, the
Seaward or Northern Gate, they proceeded to array themselves in the
bravery of clean Tobes and long daggers strapped round the waist; each man
also slung his targe to his left arm, and in his right hand grasped lance
and javelin. At the gate we were received by a tall black spearman with a
"Ho there! to the governor;" and a crowd of idlers gathered to inspect the
strangers. Marshalled by the warder, we traversed the dusty roads--streets
they could not be called--of the old Arab town, ran the gauntlet of a
gaping mob, and finally entering a mat door, found ourselves in the
presence of the governor.
I had met Sharmarkay at Aden, where he received from the authorities
strong injunctions concerning my personal safety: the character of a
Moslem merchant, however, requiring us to appear strangers, an
introduction by our master of ceremonies, the Hammal, followed my
entrance. Sharmarkay was living in an apartment by no means splendid,
preferring an Arish or kind of cow-house,--as the Anglo-Indian Nabobs do
the bungalow
"with mat half hung,
The walls of plaster and the floors of * * * *,"
--to all his substantial double-storied houses. The ground was wet and
comfortless; a part of the reed walls was lined with cots bearing
mattresses and silk-covered pillows, a cross between a divan and a couch:
the only ornaments were a few weapons, and a necklace of gaudy beads
suspended near the door. I was placed upon the principal seat:
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