Mohammed Had Aroused A Donkey-Man Of His
Acquaintance, Who Was In Attendance, With A Youth His Son, And Two
Donkeys.
To the boy was entrusted the care of the lanthorn, without
which no person is allowed to traverse the streets after nightfall,
and mounting, we set forward.
The streets of Boulak are narrow, but the houses appear to be lofty
and substantially built. We were challenged by the soldiers at the
gates, but allowed to pass without farther inquiry. The ride round
the walls at night was dreary enough, over broken ground, occupied
by bandogs barking at us as we passed. We met occasionally groups of
people coming from the fair, who gave us the welcome intelligence that
the gates were still open, and, pushing on, we came at length to the
entrance, an archway of some magnitude. Upon turning an angle of this
wall, we suddenly emerged upon a very singular scene. The tomb of
the saint, in whose honour the moolid was held, was surrounded by
devotees, engaged in the performance of some religious rite. Around,
and in front, throughout the neighbouring streets, gleamed a strong
illumination, produced by an assemblage of lamps and lanthorns
of various kinds. Some of the shops boasted handsome cut-glass
chandeliers, or Argand lamps, evidently of European manufacture;
others were content with a circular frame, perforated with holes,
in which all sorts of glass vessels, wine-glasses, tumblers,
mustard-pots, &c., were placed, filled with oil, and having several
wicks.
The articles displayed for sale at the fair were, as far as we could
judge from the hasty glances we cast as we passed along, good of
their kind, and of some value; the confectioners' shops made a gay
appearance with their variously-coloured sweetmeats, piled up in
tempting heaps, and we saw enough of embroidery and gold to form a
very favourable idea of the taste and splendour of the native dress.
We were, of course, objects of great surprise and curiosity; the
sudden appearance of two European ladies, the only women present, at
eleven o'clock at night, riding on donkeys through the fair, could not
fail to create a sensation. Our boy with the lanthorn walked first,
followed by the janissary, who, flourishing his silver stick, made
room for us through the crowd. Had we not been accompanied by this
respectable official, we should scarcely have dared to venture in such
a place, and at such a period. Mohammed and the donkey-man attended
at the side of Miss E. and myself, and though some of the people could
not help laughing at the oddity of our appearance, we met with no
sort of insult or hinderance, but made our way through without the
slightest difficulty, much more easily, in fact, than two Arabs in
their native costume, even if attended by a policeman, would have
traversed a fair in England.
The scene was altogether very singular, and we thought ourselves
fortunate in having had an opportunity of witnessing a native fair
under such novel circumstances.
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