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

A Prctended Dervish in Turkestan.
half of whom were Afghans, who, in
spite of the most frightful misery, had
undertaken, with their families, a pilgrimage to the tombs of the Shiite
saints. In proportion as Vambery
approached civilization, he let fall little
by little the veil of his incognito, and
let it be understood that in Meshed he
should find powerful protectors, and
financial resources which would enable
him to recompense the services of his
companions. The doubtful light which
surrounded him furnished minexhaustible matter for conjecture, and gave
rise to some lively discussions, which
very much amused Vamb4ry. At
last, twelve days after leaving Herat,
the dome of the mosque, and the
tomb of Iman-Riza, gilded by the first
rays of the sun, announced the approach to Meshed. The sight caused
the European deep emotion, his dangerous exploring expedition was finished, and he had no further need of disguise. In passing the gates of the
city he forgot the Turcoman, the
desert, the Tebbad, to think of the
happiness of seeing friendly faces, and
of speaking at his ease of Europe.
He passed successively through Meshed, Tehleran, and Constantinople,
where he bade adieu to Oriental life;
then through Pesth, where he left his
Turcoman companion, the faithful
Ishak, who had followed him even to
Europe, and the 9th of June, 1864,
he arrived in London.
Singular force of habit. Vamb6ry
had so identified himself with the
character of a learned effendi, he
was so impregnated with Asiatic manners and customs, that this son of
Germany found himself ill at ease in
England. "It cost me," says he," incredible difficulty to accustom myself
to my new life, so different from that
which I had led at Bokhara some
months previous. Everything in
London seemed strange and novel;
one would have said that the remembrances of my youth were a
dream; only my travels had left upon
my mind a deep impression. Is it astonishing that sometimes in Regent
street or in the saloons of the
English aristocracy I felt myself
as embarrassed as a child, and
that often I forgot everything around
me to dream of the profound solitudes
of central Asia, of the tents of the
Kirghiz and the Turcomen?"
Vamb6ry's book paints in vivid
colors the real condition of central
Asia; it contains curious and characteristic details regarding the three
khanats of Turkestan (Khiva, Bokhara, and Khokand), on the particular manners of each people, the commerce and industry of the cities. We
follow there the slow but continuous
progress of the Russian government,
whose ambition is excited by the
riches of these fertile provinces. It
advances with persevering obstinacy
toward the conquest of Turkestan,
the only country which is wanting
to-day to the immense Asiatic kingdom dreamed of, four centuries ago,
by Ivan Vasilievitch. Since that
period the czars have never lost an
opportunity to extend their influence
in the Orient. Russia maintains with
the khanats regular and active commercial relations; her exportations
into central Asia were valued in
1850 at twenty-five millions of francs,
and her importations from thence at
not less than thirty-three millions.
England, whose possessions in India
approach Turkestan, has not taken so
deep root there, she understands less
the tastes, and submits less to the exigencies, of the Tartar populations. At
the same time, the protection which
she gives the Afghans, the declared
enemies of the Khivites and Bokhariots, gives her a part to play in the
events which are preparing, and which
the taking of Tashkend by Russian
troops will perhaps precipitate.
Central Asia is destined to be absorbed by one or other of the rival
powers which every day embrace her
more closely. Will she be Russian or
English? that is the only form the
question takes to-day.
Persia and Turkey, tottering themselves, cannot protect her. The grand
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