death together.” | She began with great eameftnefs to fay,
“ She could not tell who killed Mahomet Towaih, for fhe
only heard it in Converfation from her huiband, who was
there, after he had come home.” I then, word for word,
put thofe queftions to h er that I had done to her huiband,
and had precifely the fame anfwers. The only difference
was, that fhe believed a party o f theAbabde w ould pafs Chig-
gre foon; hut feeing me rife to go away, fhe burft out into a
flood o f tears, and tore her hair in the moil violent excels
o f palflon; fhrieking out, to have m ercy upon her, and pref-
fing the little child to her breaft as i f to take lea v e 'o f it,
then laying it down before me, in great agony and bitter-
nefs o f heart, fhe again fhrieked out, “ I f you are a Turk,
make it a flave, b u t do not k ill my child, and fpare my hu£
band.”
T h o u g h I underflood Arabic well, I did not, till that
day, know it had fuch powers, or that it .contained expref-
fions at once fo forcible and fo Ample. I found m y fe lf fo
much moved, and my tears came fo •fail, that it was in
vain to endeavour to carry on a farce .under fuch tragical
appearances, “ W oman, faid I, I am not a Turk, nor do I
make flav.es, or k i l l children, f t is .your Arabs that force
me to this ; it was you that attacked me lafl night, it was you
that murdered Mahomet Towaih, one o f your own religion,
and bufied in his duty. I am a flranger, feeking my own
fafety, but you are all murderers and thieves.”— “ It is true,
fays fhe, they are all murderers and liars, and my huiband,
not knowing, may have lied too. Only let me hear what
■he told you, and f w ill tell you whether it is truth or not.”
■Day was now advancing apace, and no refolution taken,
cwhilft our prefent fltuation was a very unfafe one. We
4 «carried
carried the three prifoners bound, and fet George, the
Greek, centinal over them. I then called the people together.
I staged fairly, in a council held among ourfelves, the
horror o f flaughtering the women and child, o r even leav
in g them to flarve with hunger b y k illin g their camels,
from whom they got their only fuftenance; for, though w e
fliould not ftain our hands with their blood, it was the fame
thing to leave them to perifh t that we were ftrangers, and
h ad fallen upon them by accident, but they were in their
own country. On the contrary, fuppofe we only flew the
man, any o f the women might mount a camel, and, travellin
g with diligence, might inform the Bifhareen, w ho wou ld
fend a party and cut us o ff at the next well, where we muft
pafs, and where it would be impoffible to efcape them. I
mu ft fay, there was a confiderable majority for fparing the
w omen and child, and not one but who w illin g ly decreed
th e death o f the man, who had corifeffed he was endeavourin
g 1 to fteat our camels, and that he intended to carry them
10 his party at the Nile ■; in which cafe the lofs o f all our
lives was certain, as we Ihould have been ftarved to death,
.or murdered by the Arabs.
THE'very recital o f this attempt fo enraged Hagi Ifmael
tha t he defired he might have the preference in cutting off
his head. The Barbarins, too, were angry for the lofs o f
their bracelets. Indeed every one’s opinion was, that the
Arab ihould die, and efpecially fince the account o f their behaviour
to Mahomet Towaih, whofe death I, for my own
part, cannot fay I thought myfelf under any obligation to
revenge. “ Since you are differing in your opinions, and
V o l . IV. 4 » there