[P.76] That As He Understood I Wished To Pass The Last Days Of Ramadhan At Mekka, (A Suggestion Originating With Bosari,) I Had Better Join The Party Of The Kadhy, Who Was Going There To The Feast, And Who Would Be Very Glad Of My Company.

This was precisely such a circumstance as I wished for.

The departure of the Kadhy was fixed for the 7th of September, and I hired two asses, the usual mode of conveyance in this country, in order to follow him.

As it was my intention to proceed afterwards to Medina, where Tousoun Pasha, the son of Mohammed Aly, was governor, I begged Bosari to ask the Pasha for a firman or passport, authorising me to travel through all the Hedjaz, together with a letter of recommendation to his son. In reply, Bosari told me that the Pasha did not like to interfere personally in my travels; that I might act as I pleased, on my own responsibility; and that my knowledge of the language rendered a passport unnecessary. This was equivalent to telling me, "Do what you please; I shall neither obstruct nor facilitate your projects," which, indeed, was as much, at present, as I could well expect or desire.

On the 6th of September I took my leave of the Pasha, who told me at parting, that if ever my travels should carry me to India, I might assure the English people there that he was much attached to the interests of the India trade. Early on the 7th the Kadhy sent me word that he should not set out till evening, would travel during the night, and hoped to meet me at Djebel Kora, midway to Mekka. I therefore left Tayf alone, as I had entered it, after a residence of ten days. At parting, Bosari assured me of his inviolable attachment to my interest; and I blessed my good stars, when I left the precincts of the town, and the residence of a Turkish court, in which I found it more difficult to avoid danger, than among the wild Bedouins of Nubia.

During my stay at Tayf, I had five or six interviews with the

[p.77] Pasha; and the following extracts from my journal will show the general result of what passed between us on those different occasions: -

Q. Sheikh Ibrahim, I hope you are well. A. Perfectly well, and most happy to have the honour of seeing you again. Q. You have travelled much since I saw you at Cairo. How far did you advance into the negro country?

To this question I replied, by giving a short account of my journey in Nubia.

Q. Tell me, how are the Mamelouks at Dongola?

I related what the reader will find in my Nubian Travels.

Q. I understand that you treated with two of the Mamelouk Beys at Ibrim; was it so?

The word treated (if the dragoman rightly translated the Turkish word), startled me very much; for the Pasha, while he was in Egypt, had heard that, on my journey towards Dongola, I had met two Mamelouk Beys at Derr; and as he still suspected that the English secretly favoured the Mamelouk interest, he probably thought that I had been the bearer of some message to them from government. I therefore assured him that my meeting with the two Beys was quite accidental that the unpleasant reception which I experienced at Mahass was on their account; and that I entertained fears of their designs against my life. With this explanation the Pasha seemed satisfied.

Q. Let us only settle matters here with the Wahabys, and I shall soon be able to get rid of the Mamelouks. How many soldiers do you think are necessary for subduing the country as far as Senaar? A. Five hundred men, good troops, might reach that point, but could not keep possession of the country; and the expenses would scarcely be repaid by the booty. Q. What do those countries afford?

[p.78] A. Camels and slaves; and, towards Senaar, gold, brought from Abyssinia; but all this is the property of individuals. The chiefs or kings in those countries do not possess any riches. Q. In what state are the roads from Egypt to Senaar? A. I described the road between Asouan and Shendy, and from Souakin to the same place. Q. How did you pass your time among the Blacks? A. I related some laughable stories, with which he seemed greatly amused. Q. And now, Sheikh Ibrahim, where do you mean to go? A. I wish to perform the Hadj, return to Cairo, and then proceed to visit Persia. - (I did not think it advisable to mention my design of returning into the interior of Africa.) Q. May God render the way smooth before you! but I think it folly and madness to travel so much. What, let me ask, is the result of your last journey? A. Men's lives are predestined; we all obey our fate. For myself, I enjoy great pleasure in exploring new and unknown countries, and becoming acquainted with different races of people. I am induced to undertake journies by the private satisfaction that travelling affords, and I care little about personal fatigue. Q. Have you heard of the news from Europe? A. Only some vague reports at Djidda.

The Pasha then gave me an account of the events which ended in Bonaparte's banishment to Elba, after the entrance of the allies into Paris. Bonaparte, he said, behaved like a coward; he ought to have sought for death, rather than expose himself in a cage to the laughter of the universe. The Europeans, he said, are as treacherous as the Osmanlys; all Bonaparte's confidants abandoned him - all his generals, who owed to him their fortunes.

He was eager in his inquiries about the political relations between Great Britain and Russia, and whether it was not likely that war might break out between them, on account of the hostile

[p.79] intentions of the latter towards the Porte.

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