He Was A Tall, Bony, And Broad-Shouldered Mountaineer, About
Forty Years Old, With The Large Bombe Brow, The Fierce Eyes, Thin Lips,
Lean Jaws, And Peaky Chin Of His Race.
His mustachios were enormously
long and tapering, and the rest of his face, like his head, was close
shaven.
His Fustan[FN#23] was none of the cleanest; nor was the red
cap, which he wore rakishly pulled over his frowning forehead, quite
free from stains. Not permitted to carry the favourite pistols, he
contented himself with sticking his right hand in the empty belt, and
stalking about the house with a most military mien. Yet he was as
little of a bully as carpet knight, that same Ali Agha; his body showed
many a grisly scar, and one of his shin bones had been broken by a
Turkish bullet, when he was playing tricks on the Albanian hills,-an
accident inducing a limp, which he attempted to conceal by a heavy
swagger. When he spoke, his voice was affectedly gruff; he had a sad
knack of sneering, and I never saw him thoroughly sober.
Our acquaintance began with a kind of storm, which blew over, and left
fine weather. I was showing Haji Wali my pistols with Damascene barrels
when Ali Agha entered the room. He sat down before me with a grin,
which said intelligibly enough, "What business have you with
weapons?"-snatched the arm out of my hand, and began to inspect it as a
connoisseur. Not admiring this procedure, I wrenched it away from him,
and, addressing myself to Haji Wali, proceeded quietly with my
dissertation. The captain of Irregulars and I then looked at each
other. He cocked his cap on one side, in token of excited pugnacity. I
twirled my moustachios to display a kindred emotion. Had he been armed,
and in Al-Hijaz,
[p.133]we should have fought it out at once, for the Arnauts are
"terribili colla pistola," as the Italians say, meaning that upon the
least provocation they pull out a horse-pistol, and fire it in the face
of friend or foe. Of course, the only way under these circumstances is
to anticipate them; but even this desperate prevention seldom saves a
stranger, as whenever there is danger, these men go about in pairs. I
never met with a more reckless brood. Upon the line of march Albanian
troops are not allowed ammunition; for otherwise there would be half a
dozen duels a day. When they quarrel over their cups, it is the fashion
for each man to draw a pistol, and to place it against his opponent's
breast. The weapons being kept accurately clean, seldom miss fire, and
if one combatant draw trigger before the other, he would immediately be
shot down by the bystanders.[FN#24] In Egypt these men,-who are used as
Irregulars, and are often quartered upon the hapless villagers, when
unable or unwilling to pay taxes,-were the terror of the population. On
many occasions they have quarrelled with foreigners, and insulted
European women. In Al-Hijaz their recklessness awes even the Badawin.
The townspeople say of them that, "tripe-sellers, and bath-servants, at
Stambul, they become Pharaohs (tyrants, ruffians,) in Arabia." At
Jeddah the Arnauts have amused themselves with firing at the English
Consul, Mr. Ogilvie, when he walked upon his terrace. And this
man-shooting appears a favourite sport with them: at Cairo numerous
stories illustrate the sang froid with which they used to knock over
the camel-drivers, if any one dared to ride past their barracks. The
Albanians vaunt their skill in using weapons, and their pretensions
impose upon Arabs as well as Egyptians; yet I have never found them
wonderful with any arm
[p.134](the pistol alone excepted); and our officers, who have visited
their native hills, speak of them as tolerable but by no means
first-rate rifle shots.
The captain of Irregulars being unhappily debarred the pleasure of
shooting me, after looking fierce for a time, rose, and walked
majestically out of the room. A day or two afterwards, he called upon
me civilly enough, sat down, drank a cup of coffee, smoked a pipe, and
began to converse. But as he knew about a hundred Arabic words, and I
as many Turkish, our conversation was carried on under difficulties.
Presently he asked me in a whisper for "'Araki."[FN#25] I replied that
there was none in the house, which induced a sneer and an ejaculation
sounding like "Himar," (ass,) the slang synonym amongst fast Moslems
for water-drinker. After rising to depart, he seized me waggishly, with
an eye to a trial of strength. Thinking that an Indian doctor and a
temperance man would not be very dangerous, he exposed himself to what
is professionally termed a "cross-buttock," and had his "nut" come in
contact with the stone floor instead of my bed, he might not have drunk
for many a day. The fall had a good effect upon his temper. He jumped
up,
[p.135]patted my head, called for another pipe, and sat down to show me
his wounds, and to boast of his exploits. I could not help remarking a
ring of English gold, with a bezel of bloodstone, sitting strangely
upon his coarse, sun-stained hand. He declared that it had been
snatched by him from a Konsul (Consul) at Jeddah, and he volubly
related, in a mixture of Albanian, Turkish, and Arabic, the history of
his acquisition. He begged me to supply him with a little poison that
"would not lie," for the purpose of quieting a troublesome enemy, and
he carefully stowed away in his pouch five grains of calomel, which I
gave him for that laudable purpose. Before taking leave he pressed me
strongly to go and drink with him; I refused to do so during the day,
but, wishing to see how these men sacrifice to Bacchus, promised
compliance that night. About nine o'clock, when the Caravanserai was
quiet, I took a pipe, and a tobacco-pouch,[FN#26] stuck my dagger in my
belt, and slipped into Ali Agha's room.
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