A Pretended Dervish in Turkestan. Part IV [pp. 390-403]

A Pretended Dervish in'Tarkestan.
cursed Europeans, who, no doubt, owe
their arts and sciences to the demon.
Now, Allah be praised! I am in
Bokhara, and I don't want to be
troubled with thinking about them."
The emir was then absent; the
minister who directed the inquest,
seeing that his emissaries were completely foiled, resolved to make the
stranger appear before a tribunal
composed of oulemas, where his
orthodoxy would be scrupulously
examined. He had, in fact, to sustain a running fire of embarrassing
questions which would be sure some
day to pierce his incognito. Fortunately, he perceived the snare ill time,
and changing his character, took himself the part of questioner. Urged by
a pious zeal, he consulted the learned
doctors on the most minute cases of
conscience, wished to know the differences, often imperceptible, between
the Farz and the Sunnet, precepts of
obligation, and the Tadjib and the
Mlustahab, simple religious counsels.
This artifice had complete success;
many an obscure text furnished material for an animated discussion, in
which Yamberv never lost an occasion
of making a pompous eulogium of the
Bokharist oulemas, and loudly proclaiming their superiority. Then the
judges, gained to his cause, told the
minister that he had committed a grave
mistake. Hadji Reschid was a very
distinguished mollah, well prepared to
receive the divine inspiration, precious
heritage of the saints.
VambCry, free henceforth from all
fear, could study at leisure the chara(cter and aptitudes of the people of
Bokhara. This city, which is, according to him, the Rome of Islam, since
Mecca and Medina represent Jerusalem, is not a little proud of its religious supremacy. Though it recognizes the spiritual authority of the
Sultan, it does not, like Khiva, blindly
submit to it, and it hardly pardons the
emperor for permitting himself to be
corrupted by the detestable influence
of Europeans. Our traveller, in his
supposed quality of Turk, was fre
quently obliged to defend Constantinople from the reproaches addressed to
him: "Why," demanded, for example,
the fervent Bokharists,-" why does
not the sultan put to death all the
Europeans who live in his states?
why does he not ordain every year
a holy war against the unbelievers?"
Or again: "Why do not the Turks
wear the turban and the long robe
which the law prescribes? Is not
this a frightful sin? and also, why have
they not the long beard and short
moustache which the Prophet wore?"
The emir Mozaffar ed Din watches
carefully over the maintenance of the
sacred doctrines. Every city has its
Reis, or guardian of religion, who,
whip in hand, runs through the streets
and public squares, interrogating every
one he meets upon the precepts of
Islam. Woe to the unhappy passenger
taken in the flagrant crime of ignorance: if it-were a gray-headed old
man he is also, all business ceasing,
sent for a fortnight to the benches of
the school. A discipline equally rigorous, obliges every one to go to the
mosques at the hour of prayer.
Finally, the espionage of the Reis does
not stop at the threshold of the private
dwelling, and in the privacy of his
family a Bokharist takes care not to
omit the least rite, or even to pronounce the name of the emir without
adding the sacramental formula, " May
Allah give him a hundred and twenty
years of life!" It needs not to say
that all joy and gaiety are banished
from social life, except the momentary
animation of the bazaar. Bokhara
presents a sad and monotonous aspect.
During the day, every one fears perpetually to find himself in the presence
of a spy; in the evening, two hours
after sunset, the streets are deserted;
no one ventures to visit a friend, the
sick may perish for want of help, for
Mozaffar ed Din forbids any one to go
out under the most severe penalties.
Nevertheless, this prince is generally beloved by his subjects: he is
strictly faithful to the policy of his
predecessors, but they cannot reproach
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