with white wands ushered us forward, and, finally, a
military commander introduced us to his Highness
the Bek, a youth of 18 or 19, perhaps, dressed in a
gold brocade and Cashmere turban. I apologized
for not presenting myself in courtly apparel, since I
had parted company with my tarantass, whereupon he
asked us to stay longer. How long had we remained
at Kitab, Karshi, and Bokhara ? I told him the
number of days in each, whereupon he asked why I
stayed 3 or 4 days in other towns, and only 2 with
him ? * T h e reason was not far to seek, and I told
him that we were already behind our time, that we
had a long and difficult journey before us, and we
begged in consequence that we might not be detained.
He consented that our journey should be sped. I
then requested to be allowed to see the prison, and
also to ascend to the top of the fortress or some high
place, my object, as before, being to get a bird’s-eye
view of this wonderful town of “ 100,000 inhabitants.”
T o my surprise the Bek consented, after which I
invited him to ask me questions. He had none to put,
he said, but was willing to listen for an hour if it would
please me. This was an unexpected turn of the
tables, and I racked my brain for things that would
give him some idea of the grandeur of England, but in
v a in ; for he seemed to have no bump of wonder, or of
inquisitiveness, and I gave up trying to enlighten the
youth.
On leaving I examined some antiquated cannons
lying about in the court, some old matchlocks and
muskets hanging near the entrance, and also the
* Resembling on the surface the language of Jeremiah (xiv. 8):
“ Why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring
man that turneth aside to tarry for a night ? ’ ’
musical instruments of the band. Later in the day I
secured a wooden pipe, 16 inches long, with an expanding
end, like a clarionet, called surnoi* In
addition to the surnoi and other instruments previously
mentioned, there is used also in Central Asia the
kornoi, a large brass trumpet, 6 or 7 feet long, giving
a deep base note. Drums, too, of different sizes are
used, made of small earthenware vessels, covered with
skins, fastened on by a network of little straps, and
played with two sticks. The soldiers appeared
amused at my examination of their instruments, and I
left them thinking that I was to be conducted to
the top of the fortress.
Instead o f this they took me outside the wall to a
high place indeed, but whence I could not see the
whole of the town, and I was beginning to regret,
when my attention was called to an object the surroundings
of which far outweighed my disappointment.
“ That is the gallows,” said they, “ where we hang the
Turkomans— about 30 or 40 in the course of the year.”
I had the curiosity to ask what they did with the
bodies, and their reply struck me at once as noteworthy.
“ Oh ! ” said they, “ we pitch them in a
ditch, or their friends come and take them away.”
How exactly, I thought, like the case of John the
* It has 7 holes on the upper side and 2 below (one stopped). In
the small opening is a brass mouthpiece. Into this fits a brass pipe,
called a nil, with a mouthpiece of reed, and close to the mouthpiece a
horn disc, serving as a support to the lips of the player. When not
played on, the farther end of the pipe is stopped with a metal rod, and
two small wooden discs cover the mouthpiece. Attached to the instrument
(which may be seen in the ethnographical department of the
British Museum) is a copper chain, and hanging therefrom 8 reed
mouthpieces. For the mouthpieces, I suppose, would be used in some
cases a yXmo-a-oKo^ov, which also served as a “ purse” or cashbox
(John xii. 6 ; xiii. 29).