Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846Richardson, James
History
Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846
Richardson, James
Sahara -- Description and travel
Wrote letters to Mr. Alsager, Colonel Warrington, and others. People
grumbling about their letters being too high charged. Formerly letters
went free to Tripoli. The Turkish post-office and policy never fail to
make things worse. Treating some Moors with coffee and loaf-sugar, one
asked me if there were blood in sugar, for so he had heard from some
Europeans in Tripoli. I told him in loaf sugar. "What, the blood of
pigs?" one cried. "How do I know?" I rejoined; "if the refiner has no
bullock's blood, why not use that of pigs?" This frightened them all out
of their senses. They will not eat loaf-sugar again in a hurry. A most
ludicrous anecdote of the old Bashaw of Tripoli here occurs to me. Old
Yousef one day sent for Colonel Warrington, with a message that the
Consul's presence was very particularly required. The Consul, putting on
his best Consular uniform, and taking with him his Vice-Consul, his
Chancellor, and his Dragoman, immediately waited upon His Highness. The
Consul found His Highness sitting in full Divan, surrounded with all his
high functionaries. Approaching the Bashaw, the Consul was begged to take
a seat. His Highness then opened business, and, drawing a very long and
solemn face, requested to know, "If the Christians were carrying away all
the bones from the country?" assuring the Consul that such he heard was
the case from his people, adding, that even the graveyards were ransacked
for bones. The Consul, nothing blinking, or disquieted, congratulated His
Highness upon bringing such an important subject before his notice, and
observed, "It is very improper for the Christians to be ransacking the
tombs for old bones to ship off for Europe." "Improper!" exclaimed the
Bashaw, "why the man who does so ought to be beheaded!" "Yes, yes,"
replied the Consul, coaxingly, "he ought, your Highness; I quite agree
with you." The Bashaw then got a little more calm, and begged of the
Consul, as a favour, to tell him what the Christians did with all these
old bones. The Consul, now assuming a magnificent air, deigned to reply,
"Now, your Highness, you must be cool. You drink coffee?" "Yes." "You put
sugar in it?" "Yes" (impatiently). "You use white sugar?" "Yes, yes,"
said the Bashaw, half amazed, half trembling, wondering what would come
next. "Then," cried the Consul triumphantly, "I beg most submissively to
inform your Highness, hoping that your Highness will not be angry, but
thank me for the information, that the old bones are used to make white
sugar with." Hereupon was an awful explosion of _Allahs!_--beginning with
His Highness the Bashaw, and going round the whole assembled Divan, in
such serious and perplexed conclave now met. Then followed _harams!_--in
the midst of which Colonel Warrington graciously and elegantly backed
himself out of the Divan, smiling and bowing, bowing and smiling, to the
utter horror of all present. Next day His Highness made a proclamation
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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