Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 65, No. 399, January 1849Various
History
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 65, No. 399, January 1849
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
having spoiled his subordinates by over-indulgence, not one of
them stirred to his assistance. Mr Werne picked him up, found him
in an epileptic fit, and learned, with no great pleasure, Feizulla
being his cabin-mate, that the thirsty skipper was subject to such
attacks. He foresaw a comfortless voyage on board the narrow bark,
and with such queer companions; but the daily increasing interest of
the scenery and surrounding objects again distracted his thoughts
from considerations of personal ease. He had greater difficulty
in reconciling himself to the negligence and indolence of his
associates. So long as food was abundant and work scanty, all went
well enough; but when liquor ran low, and the flesh-pots of Egypt
were empty, grumbling began, and the thoughts of the majority were
fixed upon a speedy return. Their chiefs set them a poor example.
Soliman Kaschef lay in bed till an hour after sunrise, and the
signal to sail could not be given till he awoke; and Feizulla, when
his and Mr Werne's stock of brandy was out, passed one half his
time in distilling spirits from stale dates, and the other moiety
in getting intoxicated on the turbid extract thus obtained. Then
the officers had female slaves on board; and there was a licensed
jester, Abu Haschis, who supplied the expedition with buffoonery
and ribaldry; and the most odious practices prevailed amongst the
crews; for further details concerning all which matters we refer the
curious to Mr Werne himself. A more singularly composed expedition
was perhaps never fitted out, nor one less adapted effectually to
perform the services required of it. Cleanliness and sobriety, so
incumbent upon men cooped up in small craft, in a climate teeming
with pestilence and vermin, were little regarded; and subordination
and vigilance, essential to safety amidst the perils of an unknown
navigation, and in the close vicinity of hostile savages, were
utterly neglected,--at first to the great uneasiness of Mr Werne.
But after a while, seeing no chance of amendment, and having no
power to rebuke or correct deficiencies, he repeated the eternal
_Allah Kerim!_ (God is merciful) of his fatalist shipmates, and
slept soundly, when the musquitos permitted, under the good guard of
Providence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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