Reader, that even the length, the
jar, and the confusion of this description is adequate to its subject,
or that any "word-painting" of mine can convey a just idea of the scene.
This was the day appointed for our visiting the martyrs of Ohod. After
praying the dawn prayers as directed at the Harim, we mounted our
donkeys; and, armed with pistols and knives, we set out from the city.
Our party was large. Sa'ad the Demon had offered to accompany us, and
the bustle around kept him in the best of humours; Omar Effendi was
also there, quiet-looking and humble as usual, leading his ass to avoid
the trouble of dismounting every second minute.[FN#7] I had the boy
[p.420]Mohammed and my "slave," and Shaykh Hamid was attended by half a
dozen relations. To avoid the crush of the Barr al-Manakhah, we made a
detour Westwards, over the bridge and down the course of the
torrent-bed "Al-Sayh." We then passed along the Southern wall of the
castle, traversed its Eastern outwork, and issued from the Bab
al-Shami. During the greater part of the time we were struggling
through a living tide; and among dromedaries and chargers a donkey is
by no means a pleasant monture.
