The sun was beginning to fall in the heavens when we reached the actual margin10 of the Dead Sea. We had seen the glitter of its still waters for a long time previously11, shining under the sun as though it were not real. We have often heard, and some of us have seen, how effects of light and shade together will produce so vivid an appearance of water where there is no water, as to deceive the most experienced. But the reverse was the case here. There was the lake, and there it had been before our eyes for the last two hours; and yet it looked, then and now, as though it were an image of a lake, and not real water. I had long since made up my mind to bathe in it, feeling well convinced that I could do so without harm to myself, and I had been endeavouring to persuade Smith to accompany me; but he positively12 refused. He would bathe, he said, neither in the Dead Sea nor in the river Jordan. He did not like bathing, and preferred to do his washing in his own room. Of course I had nothing further to say, and begged that, under these circumstances, he would take charge of my purse and pistols while I was in the water. This he agreed to do; but even in this he was strange and almost uncivil. I was to bathe from the farthest point of a little island, into which there was a rough causeway from the land made of stones and broken pieces of wood, and I exhorted13 him to go with me thither14; but he insisted on remaining with his horse on the mainland at some little distance from the island. He did not feel inclined to go down to the water’s edge, he said.
I confess that at this moment I almost suspected that he was going to play me foul15, and I hesitated. He saw in an instant what was passing through my mind. “You had better take your pistol and money with you; they will be quite safe on your clothes.” But to have kept the things now would have shown suspicion too plainly, and as I could not bring myself to do that, I gave them up. I have sometimes thought that I was a fool to do so.
I went away by myself to the end of the island, and then I did bathe. It is impossible to conceive anything more desolate16 than the appearance of the place. The land shelves very gradually away to the water, and the whole margin, to the breadth of some twenty or thirty feet, is strewn with the débris of rushes, bits of timber, and old white withered17 reeds. Whence these bits of timber have come it seems difficult to say. The appearance is as though the water had receded19 and left them there. I have heard it said that there is no vegetation near the Dead Sea; but such is not the case, for these rushes do grow on the bank. I found it difficult enough to get into the water, for the ground shelves down very slowly, and is rough with stones and large pieces of half-rotten wood; moreover, when I was in nearly up to my hips20 the water knocked me down; indeed, it did so when I had gone as far as my knees, but I recovered myself; and by perseverance21 did proceed somewhat farther. It must not be imagined that this knocking down was effected by the movement of the water. There is no such movement. Everything is perfectly22 still, and the fluid seems hardly to be displaced by the entrance of the body; but the effect is that one’s feet are tripped up, and that one falls prostrate23 on to the surface. The water is so strong and buoyant, that, when above a few feet in depth has to be encountered, the strength and weight of the bather are not sufficient to keep down his feet and legs. I then essayed to swim; but I could not do this in the ordinary way, as I was unable to keep enough of my body below the surface; so that my head and face seemed to be propelled down upon it.
I turned round and floated, but the glare of the sun was so powerful that I could not remain long in that position. However, I had bathed in the Dead Sea, and was so far satisfied.
Anything more abominable24 to the palate than this water, if it be water, I never had inside my mouth. I expected it to be extremely salt, and no doubt, if it were analysed, such would be the result; but there is a flavour in it which kills the salt. No attempt can be made at describing this taste. It may be imagined that I did not drink heartily25, merely taking up a drop or two with my tongue from the palm of my hand; but it seemed to me as though I had been drenched26 with it. Even brandy would not relieve me from it. And then my whole body was in a mess, and I felt as though I had been rubbed with pitch. Looking at my limbs, I saw no sign on them of the fluid. They seemed to dry from this as they usually do from any other water; but still the feeling remained. However, I was to ride from hence to a spot on the banks of Jordan, which I should reach in an hour, and at which I would wash; so I clothed myself, and prepared for my departure.
Seated in my position in the island I was unable to see what was going on among the remainder of the party, and therefore could not tell whether my pistols and money was safe. I dressed, therefore, rather hurriedly, and on getting again to the shore, found that Mr. John Smith had not levanted. He was seated on his horse at some distance from Joseph and the Arabs, and had no appearance of being in league with those, no doubt, worthy27 guides. I certainly had suspected a ruse28, and now was angry with myself that I had done so; and yet, in London, one would not trust one’s money to a stranger whom one had met twenty-four hours since in a coffee-room! Why, then, do it with a stranger whom one chanced to meet in a desert?
“Thanks,” I said, as he handed me my belongings29. “I wish I could have induced you to come in also. The Dead Sea is now at your elbow, and, therefore, you think nothing of it; but in ten or fifteen years’ time, you would be glad to be able to tell your children that you had bathed in it.”
“I shall never have any children to care for such tidings,” he replied.
The river Jordan, for some miles above the point at which it joins the Dead Sea, runs through very steep banks,—banks which are almost precipitous,—and is, as it were, guarded by the thick trees and bushes which grow upon its sides. This is so much the case, that one may ride, as we did, for a considerable distance along the margin, and not be able even to approach the water. I had a fancy for bathing in some spot of my own selection, instead of going to the open shore frequented by all the pilgrims; but I was baffled in this. When I did force my way down to the river side, I found that the water ran so rapidly, and that the bushes and boughs30 of trees grew so far over and into the stream, as to make it impossible for me to bathe. I could not have got in without my clothes, and having got in, I could not have got out again. I was, therefore obliged to put up with the open muddy shore to which the bathers descend31, and at which we may presume that Joshua passed when he came over as one of the twelve spies to spy out the land. And even here I could not go full into the stream as I would fain have done, lest I should be carried down, and so have assisted to whiten the shores of the Dead Sea with my bones. As to getting over to the Moabitish side of the river, that was plainly impossible; and, indeed, it seemed to be the prevailing32 opinion that the passage of the river was not practicable without going up as far as Samaria. And yet we know that there, or thereabouts, the Israelites did cross it.
I jumped from my horse the moment I got to the place, and once more gave my purse and pistols to my friend. “You are going to bathe again?” he said. “Certainly,” said I; “you don’t suppose that I would come to Jordan and not wash there, even if I were not foul with the foulness33 of the Dead Sea!” “You’ll kill yourself, in your present state of heat;” he said, remonstrating34 just as one’s mother or wife might do. But even had it been my mother or wife I could not have attended to such remonstrance35 then; and before he had done looking at me with those big eyes of his, my coat and waistcoat and cravat36 were on the ground, and I was at work at my braces37; whereupon he turned from me slowly, and strolled away into the wood. On this occasion I had no base fears about my money.
And then I did bathe,—very uncomfortably. The shore was muddy with the feet of the pilgrims, and the river so rapid that I hardly dared to get beyond the mud. I did manage to take a plunge38 in, head-foremost, but I was forced to wade39 out through the dirt and slush, so that I found it difficult to make my feet and legs clean enough for my shoes and stockings; and then, moreover, the flies plagued me most unmercifully. I should have thought that the filthy41 flavour from the Dead Sea would have saved me from that nuisance; but the mosquitoes thereabouts are probably used to it. Finding this process of bathing to be so difficult, I inquired as to the practice of the pilgrims. I found that with them, bathing in Jordan has come to be much the same as baptism has with us. It does not mean immersion42. No doubt they do take off their shoes and stockings; but they do not strip, and go bodily into the water.
As soon as I was dressed I found that Smith was again at my side with purse and pistols. We then went up a little above the wood, and sat down together on the long sandy grass. It was now quite evening, so that the short Syrian twilight43 had commenced, and the sun was no longer hot in the heavens. It would be night as we rode on to the tents at Jericho; but there was no difficulty as to the way, and therefore we did not hurry the horses, who were feeding on the grass. We sat down together on a spot from which we could see the stream,—close together, so that when I stretched myself out in my weariness, as I did before we started, my head rested on his legs. Ah, me! one does not take such liberties with new friends in England. It was a place which led one on to some special thoughts. The mountains of Moab were before us, very plain in their outline.
“Moab is my wash-pot, and over Edom will I cast out my shoe!” There they were before us, very visible to the eye, and we began naturally to ask questions of each other. Why was Moab the wash-pot, and Edom thus cursed with indignity44? Why had the right bank of the river been selected for such great purposes, whereas the left was thus condemned45? Was there, at that time, any special fertility in this land of promise which has since departed from it? We are told of a bunch of grapes which took two men to carry it; but now there is not a vine in the whole country side. Now-a-days the sandy plain round Jericho is as dry and arid46 as are any of the valleys of Moab. The Jordan was running beneath our feet,—the Jordan in which the leprous king had washed, though the bright rivers of his own Damascus were so much nearer to his hand. It was but a humble47 stream to which he was sent; but the spot probably was higher up, above the Sea of Galilee, where the river is narrow. But another also had come down to this river, perhaps to this very spot on its shores, and submitted Himself to its waters;—as to whom, perhaps, it will be better that I should not speak much in this light story.
The Dead Sea was on our right, still glittering in the distance, and behind us lay the plains of Jericho and the wretched collection of huts which still bears the name of the ancient city. Beyond that, but still seemingly within easy distance of us, were the mountains of the wilderness48. The wilderness! In truth, the spot was one which did lead to many thoughts.
We talked of these things, as to many of which I found that my friend was much more free in his doubts and questionings than myself; and then our words came back to ourselves, the natural centre of all men’s thoughts and words. “From what you say,” I said, “I gather that you have had enough of this land?”
“Quite enough,” he said. “Why seek such spots as these, if they only dispel49 the associations and veneration50 of one’s childhood?”
“But with me such associations and veneration are riveted51 the stronger by seeing the places, and putting my hand upon the spots. I do not speak of that fictitious52 marble slab53 up there; but here, among the sandhills by this river, and at the Mount of Olives over which we passed, I do believe.”
He paused a moment, and then replied: “To me it is all nothing,—absolutely nothing. But then do we not know that our thoughts are formed, and our beliefs modelled, not on the outward signs or intrinsic evidences of things,—as would be the case were we always rational,—but by the inner workings of the mind itself? At the present turn of my life I can believe in nothing that is gracious.”
“Ah, you mean that you are unhappy. You have come to grief in some of your doings or belongings, and therefore find that all things are bitter to the taste. I have had my palate out of order too; but the proper appreciation54 of flavours has come back to me. Bah,—how noisome55 was that Dead Sea water!”
“Long draughts!” I answered, thinking to console him. “Draughts have not been long which can have been swallowed in your years. Your disease may be acute, but it cannot yet have become chronic57. A man always thinks at the moment of each misfortune that that special misery58 will last his lifetime; but God is too good for that. I do not know what ails59 you; but this day twelvemonth will see you again as sound as a roach.”
We then sat silent for a while, during which I was puffing60 at a cigar. Smith, among his accomplishments61, did not reckon that of smoking,—which was a grief to me; for a man enjoys the tobacco doubly when another is enjoying it with him.
“No, you do not know what ails me,” he said at last, “and, therefore, cannot judge.”
“Perhaps not, my dear fellow. But my experience tells me that early wounds are generally capable of cure; and, therefore, I surmise62 that yours may be so. The heart at your time of life is not worn out, and has strength and soundness left wherewith to throw off its maladies. I hope it may be so with you.”
“God knows. I do not mean to say that there are none more to be pitied than I am; but at the present moment, I am not—not light-hearted.”
“I wish I could ease your burden, my dear fellow.”
“It is most preposterous63 in me thus to force myself upon you, and then trouble you with my cares. But I had been alone so long, and I was so weary of it!”
“By Jove, and so had I. Make no apology. And let me tell you this,—though perhaps you will not credit me,—that I would sooner laugh with a comrade than cry with him is true enough; but, if occasion demands, I can do the latter also.”
He then put out his hand to me, and I pressed it in token of my friendship. My own hand was hot and rough with the heat and sand; but his was soft and cool almost as a woman’s. I thoroughly64 hate an effeminate man; but, in spite of a certain womanly softness about this fellow, I could not hate him. “Yes,” I continued, “though somewhat unused to the melting mood, I also sometimes give forth65 my medicinal gums. I don’t want to ask you any questions, and, as a rule, I hate to be told secrets, but if I can be of any service to you in any matter I will do my best. I don’t say this with reference to the present moment, but think of it before we part.”
I looked round at him and saw that he was in tears. “I know that you will think that I am a weak fool,” he said, pressing his handkerchief to his eyes.
“By no means. There are moments in a man’s life when it becomes him to weep like a woman; but the older he grows the more seldom those moments come to him. As far as I can see of men, they never cry at that which disgraces them.”
“It is left for women to do that,” he answered.
“Oh, women! A woman cries for everything and for nothing. It is the sharpest arrow she has in her quiver,—the best card in her hand. When a woman cries, what can you do but give her all she asks for?”
“Do you—dislike women?”
“No, by Jove! I am never really happy unless one is near me, or more than one. A man, as a rule, has an amount of energy within him which he cannot turn to profit on himself alone. It is good for him to have a woman by him that he may work for her, and thus have exercise for his limbs and faculties66. I am very fond of women. But I always like those best who are most helpless.”
We were silent again for a while, and it was during this time that I found myself lying with my head in his lap. I had slept, but it could have been but for a few minutes, and when I woke I found his hand upon my brow. As I started up he said that the flies had been annoying me, and that he had not chosen to waken me as I seemed weary. “It has been that double bathing,” I said, apologetically; for I always feel ashamed when I am detected sleeping in the day. “In hot weather the water does make one drowsy67. By Jove, it’s getting dark; we had better have the horses.”
“Stay half a moment,” he said, speaking very softly, and laying his hand upon my arm, “I will not detain you a minute.”
“There is no hurry in life,” I said.
“You promised me just now you would assist me.”
“If it be in my power, I will.”
“Before we part at Alexandria I will endeavour to tell you the story of my troubles, and then if you can aid me—” It struck me as he paused that I had made a rash promise, but nevertheless I must stand by it now—with one or two provisoes. The chances were that the young man was short of money, or else that he had got into a scrape about a girl. In either case I might give him some slight assistance; but, then, it behoved me to make him understand that I would not consent to become a participator in mischief68. I was too old to get my head willingly into a scrape, and this I must endeavour to make him understand.
“I will, if it be in my power,” I said. “I will ask no questions now; but if your trouble be about some lady—”
“It is not,” said he.
“Well; so be it. Of all troubles those are the most troublesome. If you are short of cash—”
“No, I am not short of cash.”
“You are not. That’s well too; for want of money is a sore trouble also.” And then I paused before I came to the point. “I do not suspect anything bad of you, Smith. Had I done so, I should not have spoken as I have done. And if there be nothing bad—”
“There is nothing disgraceful,” he said.
“That is just what I mean; and in that case I will do anything for you that may be within my power. Now let us look for Joseph and the mucherry-boy, for it is time that we were at Jericho.”
I cannot describe at length the whole of our journey from thence to our tents at Jericho, nor back to Jerusalem, nor even from Jerusalem to Jaffa. At Jericho we did sleep in tents, paying so much per night, according to the tariff. We wandered out at night, and drank coffee with a family of Arabs in the desert, sitting in a ring round their coffee-kettle. And we saw a Turkish soldier punished with the bastinado,—a sight which did not do me any good, and which made Smith very sick. Indeed after the first blow he walked away. Jericho is a remarkable70 spot in that pilgrim week, and I wish I had space to describe it. But I have not, for I must hurry on, back to Jerusalem and thence to Jaffa. I had much to tell also of those Bedouins; how they were essentially71 true to us, but teased us almost to frenzy72 by their continual begging. They begged for our food and our drink, for our cigars and our gunpowder73, for the clothes off our backs, and the handkerchiefs out of our pockets. As to gunpowder I had none to give them, for my charges were all made up in cartridges74; and I learned that the guns behind their backs were a mere7 pretence75, for they had not a grain of powder among them.
We slept one night in Jerusalem, and started early on the following morning. Smith came to my hotel so that we might be ready together for the move. We still carried with us Joseph and the mucherry-boy; but for our Bedouins, who had duly received their forty shillings a piece, we had no further use. On our road down to Jerusalem we had much chat together, but only one adventure. Those pilgrims, of whom I have spoken, journey to Jerusalem in the greatest number by the route which we were now taking from it, and they come in long droves, reaching Jaffa in crowds by the French and Austrian steamers from Smyrna, Damascus, and Constantinople. As their number confers security in that somewhat insecure country, many travellers from the west of Europe make arrangements to travel with them. On our way down we met the last of these caravans76 for the year, and we were passing it for more than two hours. On this occasion I rode first, and Smith was immediately behind me; but of a sudden I observed him to wheel his horse round, and to clamber downwards78 among bushes and stones towards a river that ran below us. “Hallo, Smith,” I cried, “you will destroy your horse, and yourself too.” But he would not answer me, and all I could do was to draw up in the path and wait. My confusion was made the worse, as at that moment a long string of pilgrims was passing by. “Good morning, sir,” said an old man to me in good English. I looked up as I answered him, and saw a grey-haired gentleman, of very solemn and sad aspect. He might be seventy years of age, and I could see that he was attended by three or four servants. I shall never forget the severe and sorrowful expression of his eyes, over which his heavy eyebrows79 hung low. “Are there many English in Jerusalem?” he asked. “A good many,” I replied; “there always are at Easter.” “Can you tell me anything of any of them?” he asked. “Not a word,” said I, for I knew no one; “but our consul80 can.” And then we bowed to each other and he passed on.
I got off my horse and scrambled81 down on foot after Smith. I found him gathering82 berries and bushes as though his very soul were mad with botany; but as I had seen nothing of this in him before, I asked what strange freak had taken him.
“You were talking to that old man,” he said.
“Well, yes, I was.”
“That is the relation of whom I have spoken to you.”
“The d— he is!”
“And I would avoid him, if it be possible.”
I then learned that the old gentleman was his uncle. He had no living father or mother, and he now supposed that his relative was going to Jerusalem in quest of him. “If so,” said I, “you will undoubtedly83 give him leg bail84, unless the Austrian boat is more than ordinarily late. It is as much as we shall do to catch it, and you may be half over Africa, or far gone on your way to India, before he can be on your track again.”
“I will tell you all about it at Alexandria,” he replied; and then he scrambled up again with his horse, and we went on. That night we slept at the Armenian convent at Ramlath, or Ramath. This place is supposed to stand on the site of Arimathea, and is marked as such in many of the maps. The monks85 at this time of the year are very busy, as the pilgrims all stay here for one night on their routes backwards86 and forwards, and the place on such occasions is terribly crowded. On the night of our visit it was nearly empty, as a caravan had left it that morning; and thus we were indulged with separate cells, a point on which my companion seemed to lay considerable stress.
On the following day, at about noon, we entered Jaffa, and put up at an inn there which is kept by a Pole. The boat from Beyrout, which touches at Jaffa on its way to Alexandria, was not yet in, nor even sighted; we were therefore amply in time. “Shall we sail to-night?” I asked of the agent. “Yes, in all probability,” he replied. “If the signal be seen before three we shall do so. If not, then not;” and so I returned to the hotel.
Smith had involuntarily shown signs of fatigue87 during the journey, but yet he had borne up well against it. I had never felt called on to grant any extra indulgence as to time because the work was too much for him. But now he was a good deal knocked up, and I was a little frightened fearing that I had over-driven him under the heat of the sun. I was alarmed lest he should have fever, and proposed to send for the Jaffa doctor. But this he utterly88 refused. He would shut himself for an hour or two in his room, he said, and by that time he trusted the boat would be in sight. It was clear to me that he was very anxious on the subject, fearing that his uncle would be back upon his heels before he had started.
I ordered a serious breakfast for myself, for with me, on such occasions, my appetite demands more immediate77 attention than my limbs. I also acknowledge that I become fatigued89, and can lay myself at length during such idle days and sleep from hour to hour; but the desire to do so never comes till I have well eaten and drunken. A bottle of French wine, three or four cutlets of goats’ flesh, an omelet made out of the freshest eggs, and an enormous dish of oranges, was the banquet set before me; and though I might have found fault with it in Paris or London, I thought that it did well enough in Jaffa. My poor friend could not join me, but had a cup of coffee in his room. “At any rate take a little brandy in it,” I said to him, as I stood over his bed. “I could not swallow it,” said he, looking at me with almost beseeching90 eyes. “Beshrew the fellow,” I said to myself as I left him, carefully closing the door, so that the sound should not shake him; “he is little better than a woman, and yet I have become as fond of him as though he were my brother.”
I went out at three, but up to that time the boat had not been signalled. “And we shall not get out to-night?” “No, not to-night,” said the agent. “And what time to-morrow?” “If she comes in this evening, you will start by daylight. But they so manage her departure from Beyrout, that she seldom is here in the evening.” “It will be noon to-morrow then?” “Yes,” the man said, “noon to-morrow.” I calculated, however, that the old gentleman could not possibly be on our track by that time. He would not have reached Jerusalem till late in the day on which we saw him, and it would take him some time to obtain tidings of his nephew. But it might be possible that messengers sent by him should reach Jaffa by four or five on the day after his arrival. That would be this very day which we were now wasting at Jaffa. Having thus made my calculations, I returned to Smith to give him such consolation91 as it might be in my power to afford.
He seemed to be dreadfully afflicted92 by all this. “He will have traced me to Jerusalem, and then again away; and will follow me immediately.”
“That is all very well,” I said; “but let even a young man do the best he can, and he will not get from Jerusalem to Jaffa in less than twelve hours. Your uncle is not a young man, and could not possibly do the journey under two days.”
“But he will send. He will not mind what money he spends.”
“And if he does send, take off your hat to his messengers, and bid them carry your complaints back. You are not a felon93 whom he can arrest.”
“No, he cannot arrest me; but, ah! you do not understand;” and then he sat up on the bed, and seemed as though he were going to wring94 his hands in despair.
I waited for some half hour in his room, thinking that he would tell me this story of his. If he required that I should give him my aid in the presence either of his uncle or of his uncle’s myrmidons, I must at any rate know what was likely to be the dispute between them. But as he said nothing I suggested that he should stroll out with me among the orange-groves95 by which the town is surrounded. In answer to this he looked up piteously into my face as though begging me to be merciful to him. “You are strong,” said he, “and cannot understand what it is to feel fatigue as I do.” And yet he had declared on commencing his journey that he would not be found to complain? Nor had he complained by a single word till after that encounter with his uncle. Nay, he had borne up well till this news had reached us of the boat being late. I felt convinced that if the boat were at this moment lying in the harbour all that appearance of excessive weakness would soon vanish. What it was that he feared I could not guess; but it was manifest to me that some great terror almost overwhelmed him.
“My idea is,” said I, and I suppose that I spoke69 with something less of good-nature in my tone than I had assumed for the last day or two, “that no man should, under any circumstances, be so afraid of another man, as to tremble at his presence,—either at his presence or his expected presence.”
“Ah, now you are angry with me; now you despise me!”
“Neither the one nor the other. But if I may take the liberty of a friend with you, I should advise you to combat this feeling of horror. If you do not, it will unman you. After all, what can your uncle do to you? He cannot rob you of your heart and soul. He cannot touch your inner self.”
“You do not know,” he said.
“Ah but, Smith, I do know that. Whatever may be this quarrel between you and him, you should not tremble at the thought of him; unless indeed—”
“Unless what?”
“Unless you had done aught that should make you tremble before every honest man.” I own I had begun to have my doubts of him, and to fear that he had absolutely disgraced himself. Even in such case I,—I individually,—did not wish to be severe on him; but I should be annoyed to find that I had opened my heart to a swindler or a practised knave96.
“I will tell you all to-morrow,” said he; “but I have been guilty of nothing of that sort.”
In the evening he did come out, and sat with me as I smoked my cigar. The boat, he was told, would almost undoubtedly come in by daybreak on the following morning, and be off at nine; whereas it was very improbable that any arrival from Jerusalem would be so early as that. “Beside,” I reminded him, “your uncle will hardly hurry down to Jaffa, because he will have no reason to think but what you have already started. There are no telegraphs here, you know.”
In the evening he was still very sad, though the paroxysm of his terror seemed to have passed away. I would not bother him, as he had himself chosen the following morning for the telling of his story. So I sat and smoked, and talked to him about our past journey, and by degrees the power of speech came back to him, and I again felt that I loved him! Yes, loved him! I have not taken many such fancies into my head, at so short a notice; but I did love him, as though he were a younger brother. I felt a delight in serving him, and though I was almost old enough to be his father, I ministered to him as though he had been an old man, or a woman.
On the following morning we were stirring at daybreak, and found that the vessel97 was in sight. She would be in the roads off the town in two hours’ time, they said, and would start at eleven or twelve. And then we walked round by the gate of the town, and sauntered a quarter of a mile or so along the way that leads towards Jerusalem. I could see that his eye was anxiously turned down the road, but he said nothing. We saw no cloud of dust, and then we returned to breakfast.
“The steamer has come to anchor,” said our dirty Polish host to us in execrable English. “And we may be off on board,” said Smith. “Not yet,” he said; “they must put their cargo98 out first.” I saw, however, that Smith was uneasy, and I made up my mind to go off to the vessel at once. When they should see an English portmanteau making an offer to come up the gangway, the Austrian sailors would not stop it. So I called for the bill, and ordered that the things should be taken down to the wretched broken heap of rotten timber which they called a quay99. Smith had not told me his story, but no doubt he would as soon as he was on board.
I was in the act of squabbling with the Pole over the last demand for piastres, when we heard a noise in the gateway100 of the inn, and I saw Smith’s countenance101 become pale. It was an Englishman’s voice asking if there were any strangers there; so I went into the courtyard, closing the door behind me, and turning the key upon the landlord and Smith. “Smith,” said I to myself, “will keep the Pole quiet if he have any wit left.”
The man who had asked the question had the air of an upper English servant, and I thought that I recognised one of those whom I had seen with the old gentleman on the road; but the matter was soon put at rest by the appearance of that gentleman himself. He walked up into the courtyard, looked hard at me from under those bushy eyebrows, just raised his hat, and then—said, “I believe I am speaking to Mr. Jones.”
“Yes,” said I, “I am Mr. Jones. Can I have the honour of serving you?”
There was something peculiarly unpleasant about this man’s face. At the present moment I examined it closely, and could understand the great aversion which his nephew felt towards him. He looked like a gentleman and like a man of talent, nor was there anything of meanness in his face; neither was he ill-looking, in the usual acceptation of the word; but one could see that he was solemn, austere102, and overbearing; that he would be incapable103 of any light enjoyment104, and unforgiving towards all offences. I took him to be a man who, being old himself, could never remember that he had been young, and who, therefore, hated the levities105 of youth. To me such a character is specially106 odious107; for I would fain, if it be possible, be young even to my grave. Smith, if he were clever, might escape from the window of the room, which opened out upon a terrace, and still get down to the steamer. I would keep the old man in play for some time; and, even though I lost my passage, would be true to my friend. There lay our joint108 luggage at my feet in the yard. If Smith would venture away without his portion of it, all might yet be right.
“My name, sir, is Sir William Weston,” he began. I had heard of the name before, and knew him to be a man of wealth, and family, and note. I took off my hat, and said that I had much honour in meeting Sir William Weston.
“And I presume you know the object with which I am now here,” he continued.
“Not exactly,” said I. “Nor do I understand how I possibly should know it, seeing that, up to this moment, I did not even know your name, and have heard nothing concerning either your movements or your affairs.”
“Sir,” said he, “I have hitherto believed that I might at any rate expect from you the truth.”
“Sir,” said I, “I am bold to think that you will not dare to tell me, either now, or at any other time, that you have received, or expect to receive, from me anything that is not true.”
He then stood still, looking at me for a moment or two, and I beg to assert that I looked as fully40 at him. There was, at any rate, no cause why I should tremble before him. I was not his nephew, nor was I responsible for his nephew’s doings towards him. Two of his servants were behind him, and on my side there stood a boy and girl belonging to the inn. They, however, could not understand a word of English. I saw that he was hesitating, but at last he spoke out. I confess, now, that his words, when they were spoken, did, at the first moment, make me tremble.
“I have to charge you,” said he, “with eloping with my niece, and I demand of you to inform me where she is. You are perfectly aware that I am her guardian109 by law.”
I did tremble;—not that I cared much for Sir William’s guardianship110, but I saw before me so terrible an embarrassment111! And then I felt so thoroughly abashed112 in that I had allowed myself to be so deceived! It all came back upon me in a moment, and covered me with a shame that even made me blush. I had travelled through the desert with a woman for days, and had not discovered her, though she had given me a thousand signs. All those signs I remembered now, and I blushed painfully. When her hand was on my forehead I still thought that she was a man! I declare that at this moment I felt a stronger disinclination to face my late companion than I did to encounter her angry uncle.
“Your niece!” I said, speaking with a sheepish bewilderment which should have convinced him at once of my innocence113. She had asked me, too, whether I was a married man, and I had denied it. How was I to escape from such a mess of misfortunes? I declare that I began to forget her troubles in my own.
“Yes, my niece,—Miss Julia Weston. The disgrace which you have brought upon me must be wiped out; but my first duty is to save that unfortunate young woman from further misery.”
“If it be as you say,” I exclaimed, “by the honour of a gentleman—”
“I care nothing for the honour of a gentleman till I see it proved. Be good enough to inform me, sir, whether Miss Weston is in this house.”
For a moment I hesitated; but I saw at once that I should make myself responsible for certain mischief, of which I was at any rate hitherto in truth innocent, if I allowed myself to become a party to concealing114 a young lady. Up to this period I could at any rate defend myself, whether my defence were believed or not believed. I still had a hope that the charming Julia might have escaped through the window, and a feeling that if she had done so I was not responsible. When I turned the lock I turned it on Smith.
For a moment I hesitated, and then walked slowly across the yard and opened the door. “Sir William,” I said, as I did so, “I travelled here with a companion dressed as a man; and I believed him to be what he seemed till this minute.”
“Sir!” said Sir William, with a look of scorn in his face which gave me the lie in my teeth as plainly as any words could do. And then he entered the room. The Pole was standing115 in one corner, apparently116 amazed at what was going on, and Smith,—I may as well call her Miss Weston at once, for the baronet’s statement was true,—was sitting on a sort of divan117 in the corner of the chamber118 hiding her face in her hands. She had made no attempt at an escape, and a full explanation was therefore indispensable. For myself I own that I felt ashamed of my part in the play,—ashamed even of my own innocency119. Had I been less innocent I should certainly have contrived120 to appear much less guilty. Had it occurred to me on the banks of the Jordan that Smith was a lady, I should not have travelled with her in her gentleman’s habiliments from Jerusalem to Jaffa. Had she consented to remain under my protection, she must have done so without a masquerade.
The uncle stood still and looked at his niece. He probably understood how thoroughly stern and disagreeable was his own face, and considered that he could punish the crime of his relative in no severer way than by looking at her. In this I think he was right. But at last there was a necessity for speaking. “Unfortunate young woman!” he said, and then paused.
“We had better get rid of the landlord,” I said, “before we come to any explanation.” And I motioned to the man to leave the room. This he did very unwillingly121, but at last he was gone.
“I fear that it is needless to care on her account who may hear the story of her shame,” said Sir William. I looked at Miss Weston, but she still sat hiding her face. However, if she did not defend herself, it was necessary that I should defend both her and me.
“I do not know how far I may be at liberty to speak with reference to the private matters of yourself or of your—your niece, Sir William Weston. I would not willingly interfere—”
“Sir,” said he, “your interference has already taken place. Will you have the goodness to explain to me what are your intentions with regard to that lady?”
My intentions! Heaven help me! My intentions, of course, were to leave her in her uncle’s hands. Indeed, I could hardly be said to have formed any intention since I had learned that I had been honoured by a lady’s presence. At this moment I deeply regretted that I had thoughtlessly stated to her that I was an unmarried man. In doing so I had had no object. But at that time “Smith” had been quite a stranger to me, and I had not thought it necessary to declare my own private concerns. Since that I had talked so little of myself that the fact of my family at home had not been mentioned. “Will you have the goodness to explain what are your intentions with regard to that lady?” said the baronet.
“Oh, Uncle William!” exclaimed Miss Weston, now at length raising her head from her hands.
“Hold your peace, madam,” said he. “When called upon to speak, you will find your words with difficulty enough. Sir, I am waiting for an answer from you.”
“But, uncle, he is nothing to me;—the gentleman is nothing to me!”
“By the heavens above us, he shall be something, or I will know the reason why! What! he has gone off with you; he has travelled through the country with you, hiding you from your only natural friend; he has been your companion for weeks—”
“Six days, sir,” said I.
“Sir!” said the baronet, again giving me the lie. “And now,” he continued, addressing his niece, “you tell me that he is nothing to you. He shall give me his promise that he will make you his wife at the consulate122 at Alexandria, or I will destroy him. I know who he is.”
“If you know who I am,” said I, “you must know—”
But he would not listen to me. “And as for you, madam, unless he makes me that promise—” And then he paused in his threat, and, turning round, looked me in the face. I saw that she also was looking at me, though not openly as he did; and some flattering devil that was at work round my heart, would have persuaded that she also would have heard a certain answer given without dismay,—would even have received comfort in her agony from such an answer. But the reader knows how completely that answer was out of my power.
“I have not the slightest ground for supposing,” said I, “that the lady would accede123 to such an arrangement,—if it were possible. My acquaintance with her has been altogether confined to—. To tell the truth, I have not been in Miss Weston’s confidence, and have only taken her for that which she has seemed to be.”
“Sir!” said the baronet, again looking at me as though he would wither18 me on the spot for my falsehood.
“It is true!” said Julia, getting up from her seat, and appealing with clasped hands to her uncle—“as true as Heaven.”
“Madam!” said he, “do you both take me for a fool?”
“That you should take me for one,” said I, “would be very natural. The facts are as we state to you. Miss Weston,—as I now learn that she is,—did me the honour of calling at my hotel, having heard—” And then it seemed to me as though I were attempting to screen myself by telling the story against her, so I was again silent. Never in my life had I been in a position of such extraordinary difficulty. The duty which I owed to Julia as a woman, and to Sir William as a guardian, and to myself as the father of a family, all clashed with each other. I was anxious to be generous, honest, and prudent124, but it was impossible; so I made up my mind to say nothing further.
“Mr. Jones,” said the baronet, “I have explained to you the only arrangement which under the present circumstances I can permit to pass without open exposure and condign125 punishment. That you are a gentleman by birth, education, and position I am aware,”—whereupon I raised my hat, and then he continued: “That lady has three hundred a year of her own—”
“And attractions, personal and mental, which are worth ten times the money,” said I, and I bowed to my fair friend, who looked at me the while with sad beseeching eyes. I confess that the mistress of my bosom126, had she known my thoughts at that one moment, might have had cause for anger.
“Very well,” continued he. “Then the proposal which I name, cannot, I imagine, but be satisfactory. If you will make to her and to me the only amends127 which it is in your power as a gentleman to afford, I will forgive all. Tell me that you will make her your wife on your arrival in Egypt.”
I would have given anything not to have looked at Miss Weston at this moment, but I could not help it. I did turn my face half round to her before I answered, and then felt that I had been cruel in doing so. “Sir William,” said I, “I have at home already a wife and family of my own.”
“There is something, sir,” I replied, “in the unprecedented129 circumstances of this meeting, and in your position with regard to that lady, which, joined to your advanced age, will enable me to regard that useless insult as unspoken. I am a married man. There is the signature of my wife’s last letter,” and I handed him one which I had received as I was leaving Jerusalem.
But the coarse violent contradiction which Sir William had given me was nothing compared with the reproach conveyed in Miss Weston’s countenance. She looked at me as though all her anger were now turned against me. And yet, methought, there was more of sorrow than of resentment130 in her countenance. But what cause was there for either? Why should I be reproached, even by her look? She did not remember at the moment that when I answered her chance question as to my domestic affairs, I had answered it as to a man who was a stranger to me, and not as to a beautiful woman, with whom I was about to pass certain days in close and intimate society. To her, at the moment, it seemed as though I had cruelly deceived her. In truth, the one person really deceived had been myself.
And here I must explain, on behalf of the lady, that when she first joined me she had no other view than that of seeing the banks of the Jordan in that guise131 which she had chosen to assume, in order to escape from the solemnity and austerity of a disagreeable relative. She had been very foolish, and that was all. I take it that she had first left her uncle at Constantinople, but on this point I never got certain information. Afterwards, while we were travelling together, the idea had come upon her, that she might go on as far as Alexandria with me. And then I know nothing further of the lady’s intentions, but I am certain that her wishes were good and pure. Her uncle had been intolerable to her, and she had fled from him. Such had been her offence, and no more.
“And you, sir,” said I— But here Julia Weston interrupted me.
“Uncle, you altogether wrong this gentleman,” she said. “He has been kind to me beyond my power of words to express; but, till told by you, he knew nothing of my secret. Nor would he have known it,” she added, looking down upon the ground. As to that latter assertion, I was at liberty to believe as much as I pleased.
The Pole now came to the door, informing us that any who wished to start by the packet must go on board, and therefore, as the unreasonable133 old gentleman perceived, it was necessary that we should all make our arrangements. I cannot say that they were such as enable me to look back on them with satisfaction. He did seem now at last to believe that I had been an unconscious agent in his niece’s stratagem134, but he hardly on that account became civil to me. “It was absolutely necessary,” he said, “that he and that unfortunate young woman,” as he would call her, “should depart at once,—by this ship now going.” To this proposition of course I made no opposition135. “And you, Mr. Jones,” he continued, “will at once perceive that you, as a gentleman, should allow us to proceed on our journey without the honour of your company.”
This was very dreadful, but what could I say; or, indeed, what could I do? My most earnest desire in the matter was to save Miss Weston from annoyance136; and under existing circumstances my presence on board could not but be a burden to her. And then, if I went,—if I did go, in opposition to the wishes of the baronet, could I trust my own prudence137? It was better for all parties that I should remain.
“Sir William,” said I, after a minute’s consideration, “if you will apologise to me for the gross insults you have offered me, it shall be as you say.”
“Mr. Jones,” said Sir William, “I do apologise for the words which I used to you while I was labouring under a very natural misconception of the circumstances.” I do not know that I was much the better for the apology, but at the moment I regarded it sufficient.
Their things were then hurried down to the strand138, and I accompanied them to the ruined quay. I took off my hat to Sir William as he was first let down into the boat. He descended139 first, so that he might receive his niece,—for all Jaffa now knew that it was a lady,—and then I gave her my hand for the last time. “God bless you, Miss Weston,” I said, pressing it closely. “God bless you, Mr. Jones,” she replied. And from that day to this I have neither spoken to her nor seen her.
I waited a fortnight at Jaffa for the French boat, eating cutlets of goat’s flesh, and wandering among the orange groves. I certainly look back on that fortnight as the most miserable140 period of my life. I had been deceived, and had failed to discover the deceit, even though the deceiver had perhaps wished that I should do so. For that blindness I have never forgiven myself.
The End
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1
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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2
jade
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| n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠 | |
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barb
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| n.（鱼钩等的）倒钩，倒刺 | |
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slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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tariff
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| n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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17
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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18
wither
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| vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡 | |
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19
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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26
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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foulness
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| n. 纠缠, 卑鄙 | |
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remonstrating
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的现在分词 )；告诫 | |
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remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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braces
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| n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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immersion
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| n.沉浸；专心 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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48
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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49
dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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50
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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51
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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52
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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54
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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55
noisome
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| adj.有害的，可厌的 | |
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draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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57
chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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58
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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59
ails
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| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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60
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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61
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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62
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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63
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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64
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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65
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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66
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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67
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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68
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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69
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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71
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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72
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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73
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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74
cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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76
caravans
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| （可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队） | |
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77
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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78
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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79
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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80
consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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81
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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82
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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83
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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84
bail
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| v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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86
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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88
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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89
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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90
beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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felon
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| n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的 | |
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wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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95
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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99
quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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100
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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101
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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102
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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103
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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104
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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105
levities
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| n.欠考虑( levity的名词复数 )；不慎重；轻率；轻浮 | |
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106
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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107
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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108
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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109
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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110
guardianship
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| n. 监护, 保护, 守护 | |
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111
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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112
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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114
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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115
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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116
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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117
divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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118
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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119
innocency
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| 无罪，洁白 | |
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120
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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121
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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122
consulate
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| n.领事馆 | |
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123
accede
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| v.应允，同意 | |
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124
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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125
condign
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| adj.应得的，相当的 | |
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126
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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127
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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128
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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129
unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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130
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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131
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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132
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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133
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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134
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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135
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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136
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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137
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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138
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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139
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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140
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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