The
Poisoned Coffee.
Some
years before Mahmud Ali had assumed the government, and the Arabs had the
ability and power to tyrannize over the Jews, a very rich Jew of Constantinople
emigrated hither. The Mahomedans ardently desired to find some pretext against
this rich man, in order to extort money from him, according to their fashion.
One day a Mahomedan, accompanied by a Bedouin, leading two camels loaded with
charcoal, entered the courtyard of the Jew, and said that, as no doubt he was in
want of coal, he would spare him the trouble to go to market for it, and brought
therefore to his house two heavily loaded camels with this necessary article.
But the Jew, fearing some evil, made some excuses—was very grateful for the
kindness of the other, yet averred that he could not make any use of it, as he
was well supplied already. But all subterfuges were in vain, and the Mahomedan
forced him fairly to take the coal; and when the other asked after the price, he
answered, “Never mind, give what you think the article is worth. Yet, as thou
camest but lately in our holy city, it is no more than becoming that thou
shouldst invite us, as faithful fellowcitizens, into thy house, and entertain
us with pipes and coffee,* until the camels be unloaded by the servants.”
“Let it be so,” answered the rich man; and, opening the door of
his saloon, he told them to enter. Coffee and pipes were brought in; they drank
and smoked, spoke of indifferent things, when suddenly the Bedouin sunk down as
dead, and gave no signs of animation. The Mahomedan jumped up from his seat in a
great rage, and addressed the Jew with a loud voice—“Murderer! what hast
thou done ? Thy coffee is poisoned! Shall we tolerate the Jews among us, that
they may lay plots against our lives? This murder shall be washed out by the
blood of all the Jews.” The other protested his innocence, trembling, with
tears in his eyes, saying, “Have I not drunk myself of this coffee? How, then,
can it be poisoned?” “Then must the Bedouin’s cup have contained
poison,” was the furious reply of the other. The Jew adduced all sorts of
proofs of his entire innocence. At length the Mahomedan was moved, and said,
“My friend, I indeed pity thee and all the Jews of the city; but I can think
of only one remedy by which thou and thy people can be saved. Have thy
court-yard immediately locked up, so that no one from without will be able to
enter. I will employ all possible means to suppress this affair and keep it a
profound secret; and this evening I will send thee two confidential persons, who
shall fetch away the corpse and bury it in all secrecy; and in this way thou and
thy brothers will be saved. But to effect this a large sum of money is
necessary, which I am sure thou wilt readily and willingly furnish on the
spot.” The trembling Jew esteemed himself happy that the matter could be
settled with money, and gave immediately the sum which the Mahomedan had
demanded, large as it was, with great willingness and with the utmost unconcern.
The other went away, and the corpse was left lying in the saloon. After sunset
two Bedouins arrived with a large sack, in which they thrust the corpse, took it
on their shoulders in profound silence, and walked away greatly terrified. But
scarcely were they a few steps distant from the house of the rich man, when the
dead Arab jumped out of the sack; and the Jew now learned for the first time
that the whole affair was a gross deception, contrived merely to extort from him
the large sum he paid for his ransom.
*
The oriental custom of entertaining strangers.
Jews and Muslims in Palestine |
