I Pretended That The
Thermometer Was A Surgical Instrument, Which Being Put Into The Blood Of
An Open Wound Served To Shew Whether The Wound Was Dangerous Or Not.
It
is not more from the behaviour of the Turkmans towards myself, that I
formed my opinion of their character, than from their conduct towards
each other.
They are constantly upon their guard against robbers and
thieves of their own tribe; they cheat each other in the most trifling
affairs, and like most of the Aleppo merchants, make use of the most
awful oaths and imprecations to conceal their falsehood. If they have
one good quality it is their tolerance in religious matters, which
proves, on the other hand, how little they care about them.
[p.642] The men marry at fourteen or fifteen, the girls at thirteen.
Excepting Hayder Aga, and some of his brothers, there are very few who
have more than one wife. They celebrate their marriage feasts with great
pomp. The young men play upon those occasions at a running game much
resembling the “jeu de barre,” known on the continent of Europe. Their
music then consists in drums and trumpets, only, for the Turkmans, are
not so fond of music as the Aleppines and the Arabs, nor did I ever meet
among them with any of the story-tellers, who are so frequent amongst
the Arabs of the desert. Whenever a son reaches the marriageable age,
his father gives him, even before his marriage, a couple of camels and a
horse to defray, by the profits of trade, his private expenses.
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