soon spread out our baggage to dry, and gladly availed ourselves of
the delay this operation occasioned to walk over the ruins ■ of the
town.
Our camel-drivers, however, who had been hired by the journey,
were not so well satisfied with this detention, and were urgent in
persuading us to advance: but a trifling bakshees* soon quieted
their remonstrances, and they made up their minds very contentedly
to the arrangement. We now began to measure a short base by
latitudes, in order to fix a few points with more accuracy; and it
was necessary to make use of the summit of a neighbouring hill for
one extremity of the base. This spot was the place of residence of
a most devout and highly-reverenced Marabut, the admiration and
the terror of the people of Lebida; and as we were proceeding to
ascend the hill, our steps were arrested by the voice of the Tchaous
whom the Bashaw had commissioned to attend us. As soon as he
came up, he began very gravely to assure us, that the holy enthusiast
would by no means allow us to encroach upon his domains with
impunity ; and proceeded to state that he would most certainly kill •
every person of our party who should dare to ascend, and afterwards
sacrifice him (the Tchaous) himself, for having allowed us to intrude
upon his retirement. I t may be imagined that none of us had any
particular wish to offend the holy personage in question; but the
hill which he occupied was unluckily the most convenient which
could be selected for our purpose; and we did not think it quite
* Bakshees, or Baksheesh, is the Arab term for a gratuity or pecuniary consideration.
necessary to give up our base on the grounds of so ridiculous an
objection. The attempt was accordingly made, and the base properly
measured, without either of the dreadful results which had
been anticipated ; and the parties, on descending, received the
serious congratulations of the Arabs on having had, what they called,
so unexpected and providential an escape.
This formidable personage is the Maràbut mentioned by Della
Celia as having threatened to eat him alive ; and the Doctor was
assured, by a black slave who stood near him, that he was perfectly
capable of fulfilling his extraordinary threat *.
So much has been written on the subject of these knavish fanatics,
that we shall not here attempt any description of them : every book
of travels in Mahometan countries contains more or less notice of the
wondrous feats which are attributed to them, and of the no less
remarkable credulity of those whom they impose uponf. We may,
however, observe that the country between Lebida and Mesurata,
and more especially the neighbourhood of the last-mentioned place,
is much infested by these artful and unblushing pretenders to piety
and supernatural powers.
* Il mio abito Europeo attirò subito lo sguardo del Marabotto, il quale fattosi manzi,
con aria truce, accompagnò il suo gesto minaccioso con parole eh’ io non intesi : ma un
Nero che aveva accanto, avendole fedelmente tradutte, portavano eh’ egli voleva, mangiarmi
vivo. I l traduttore aggiungeva che il Marabotto ne era capace, perchè questo
complimento era stato talvolta fatto da questa gente a qualche Ebreo !—(Viaggio da
Tripoli, &c., p. 45).
t In the work of C apt. Lyon, in particular, a good deal of curious matter connected
with Maràbùts will be found.