I waited, however, some time, and then wrote an
account of the affair and sent it to Damascus to the Wali. The Wali,
who at that time was not ill-disposed towards Richard, behaved like a
gentleman. He expressed regret at the incident, and sent soldiers up to
burn and sack the home of Hasan and his family, but I interceded and got
them off with only a few weeks' imprisonment. The father of the youth
Hasan, accompanied by about fifty of the principal people, came up to
beg my pardon the morning after the insult. I, however, received them
coldly, and merely said the affair had passed out of my hands. But I
begged them off all the same.
There was a sequel to this story, which I may as well mention here.
The following summer, when we were at Bludan, Hasan and I became great
friends. One day, after doctoring him for weak eyes, I said, "What
made you want to hurt me, O Hasan, last summer?" He replied, "I don't
know; the devil entered my heart. I was jealous to see you always
with the Shaykhs and never noticing us. But since I have got to know
you I could kill myself for it." He had an excellent heart, but was
apt to be carried off his head by the troubles of the times. I may
mention that I reported the matter to the Consul-General, who had also
received the story in another form; to wit, that I had seen a poor
Arab beggar sitting at my gate, and because he did not rise and salute
me I had drawn a revolver and shot him dead.
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