Just fifty-three years after the journey to the tomb of the Syrian king--more particularly on the fifteenth day of May, fourteen hundred and forty-eight--a man entered one of the stalls of a market in Constantinople--to-day the market would be called a bazaar--and presented a letter to the proprietor1.
The Israelite thus honored delayed opening the linen2 envelope while he surveyed the messenger. The liberty, it must be remarked, was not a usual preliminary in the great city, the cosmopolitanism3 of which had been long established; that is to say, a face, a figure, or a mode, to gain a second look from one of its denizens4, had then, as it has now, to be grossly outlandish. In this instance the owner of the stall indulged a positive stare. He had seen, he thought, representatives of all known nationalities, but never one like the present visitor--never one so pinkish in complexion5, and so very bias-eyed--never one who wrapped and re-wrapped himself in a single shawl so entirely6, making it answer all the other vestments habitual7 to men. The latter peculiarity8 was more conspicuous9 in consequence of a sack of brown silk hanging loosely from the shoulder, with leaves and flowers done in dazzling embroidery10 down the front and around the edges. And then the slippers11 were of silk not less rich with embroidery, while over the bare head a sunshade of bamboo and paper brilliantly painted was carried.
Too well bred to persist in the stare or attempt to satisfy his curiosity by a direct question, the proprietor opened the letter, and began reading it. His neighbors less considerate ran together, and formed a crowd around the stranger, who nevertheless bore the inspection12 composedly, apparently13 unconscious of anything to make him such a cynosure14.
The paper which the removal of the envelope gave to the stall-keeper's hand excited him the more. The delicacy15 of its texture16, its softness to the touch, its semi-transparency, were unlike anything he had ever seen; it was not only foreign, but very foreign.
The lettering, however, was in Greek plainly done. He noticed first the date; then, his curiosity becoming uncontrollable, and the missive being of but one sheet, his eyes dropped to the place of signature. There was no name there--only a seal--an impression on a surface of yellow wax of the drooping17 figure of a man bound to a cross.
At sight of the seal his eyes opened wider. He drew a long breath to quiet a rising feeling, half astonishment18, half awe19. Retreating to a bench near by, he seated himself, and presently became unmindful of the messenger, of the crowd, of everything, indeed, except the letter and the matters of which it treated.
The demand of the reader for a sight of the paper which could produce such an effect upon a person who was not more than an ordinary dealer20 in an Eastern market may by this time have become imperious; wherefore it is at once submitted in free translation. Only the date is modernized21.
"ISLAND IN THE OVER-SEA. FAR EAST. May 15, A.D. 1447.
"Uel, Son of Jahdai.
"Peace to thee and all thine!
"If thou hast kept faithfully the heirlooms of thy progenitors22, somewhere in thy house there is now a duplication of the seal which thou wilt23 find hereto attached; only that one is done in gold. The reference is to prove to thee a matter I am pleased to assert, knowing it will at least put thee upon inquiry--I knew thy father, thy grandfather, and his father, and others of thy family further back than it is wise for me to declare; and I loved them, for they were a virtuous24 and goodly race, studious to do the will of the Lord God of Israel, and acknowledging no other; therein manifesting the chiefest of human excellences25. To which, as more directly personal to thyself, I will add that qualities of men, like qualities in plants, are transmissible, and go they unmixed through many generations, they make a kind. Therefore, at this great distance, and though I have never looked into thy face, or touched thy hand, or heard thy voice, I know thee, and give thee trust confidently. The son of thy father cannot tell the world what he has of me here, or that there is a creature like unto me living, or that he has to do with me in the least; and as the father would gladly undertake my requests, even those I now reveal unto thee, not less willingly will his son undertake them. Refusal would be the first step toward betrayal.
"With this preface, O Son of Jahdai, I write without fear, and freely; imparting, first, that it is now fifty years since I set foot upon the shores of this Island, which, for want of a name likely to be known to thee, I have located and described as 'In the Over-Sea. Far East.' Its people are by nature kindly26 disposed to strangers, and live simply and affectionately. Though they never heard of the Nazarene whom the world persists in calling the Christ, it is truth to say they better illustrate27 his teachings, especially in their dealings with each other, than the so-called Christians28 amongst whom thy lot is cast. Withal, however, I have become weary, the fault being more in myself than in them. Desire for change is the universal law. Only God is the same yesterday, to-day, and to-morrow eternally. So I am resolved to seek once more the land of our fathers and Jerusalem, for which I yet have tears. In her perfection, she was more than beautiful; in her ruin, she is more than sacred.
"In the execution of my design, know thou next, O Son of Jahdai, that I despatch30 my servant, Syama, intrusting him to deliver this letter. When it is put into thy hand, note the day, and see if it be not exactly one year from this 15 May, the time I have given him to make the journey, which is more by sea than land. Thou mayst then know I am following him, though with stoppages of uncertain duration; it being necessary for me to cross from India to Mecca; thence to Kash-Cush, and down the Nile to Cairo. Nevertheless I hope to greet thee in person within six months after Syama hath given thee this report.
"The sending a courier thus in advance is with a design of which I think it of next importance to inform thee.
"It is my purpose to resume residence in Constantinople; for that, I must have a house. Syama, amongst other duties in my behalf, is charged to purchase and furnish one, and have it ready to receive me when I arrive. The day is long passed since a Khan had attractions for me. Much more agreeable is it to think my own door will open instantly at my knock. In this affair thou canst be of service which shall be both remembered and gratefully recompensed. He hath no experience in the matter of property in thy city; thou hast; it is but natural, therefore, if I pray thou bring it into practice by assisting him in the selection, in perfecting the title, and in all else the project may require doing; remembering only that the tenement31 be plain and comfortable, not rich; for, alas32! the time is not yet when the children of Israel may live conspicuously33 in the eye of the Christian29 world.
"Thou wilt find Syama shrewd and of good judgment34, older than he seemeth, and quick to render loyalty35 for my sake. Be advised also that he is deaf and dumb; yet, if in speaking thou turn thy face to him, and use the Greek tongue, he will understand thee by the motion of thy lips, and make answer by signs.
"Finally, be not afraid to accept this commission on account of pecuniary36 involvement. Syama hath means of procuring37 all the money he may require, even to extravagance; at the same time he is forbidden to contract a debt, except it be to thee for kindness done, all which he will report to me so I may pay them fitly.
"In all essential things Syama hath full instructions; besides, he is acquainted with my habits and tastes; wherefore I conclude this writing by saying I hope thou wilt render him aid as indicated, and that when I come thou wilt allow me to relate myself to thee as father to son, in all things a help, in nothing a burden.
"Again, O Son of Jahdai, to thee and thine--Peace!"
[Seal.]
The son of Jahdai, at the conclusion of the reading, let his hands fall heavily in his lap, while he plunged38 into a study which the messenger with his foreign airs could not distract.
Very great distance is one of the sublimities most powerful over the imagination. The letter had come from an Island he had never heard named. An Island in the Over-Sea which doubtless washed the Eastern end of the earth, wherever that might be. And the writer! How did he get there? And what impelled39 him to go?
A chill shot the thinker's nerves. He suddenly remembered that in his house there was a cupboard in a wall, with two shelves devoted40 to storage of heirlooms; on the upper shelf lay the torah of immemorial usage in his family; the second contained cups of horn and metal, old phylacteries, amulets41, and things of vertu in general, and of such addition and multiplication42 through the ages that he himself could not have made a list of them; in fact, now his attention was aroused, he recalled them a mass of colorless and formless objects which had ceased to have history or value. Amongst them, however, a seal in the form of a medallion in gold recurred43 to him; but whether the impression upon it was raised or sunken he could not have certainly said; nor could he have told what the device was. His father and grandfather had esteemed44 it highly, and the story they told him about it divers45 times when he was a child upon their knees he could repeat quite substantially.
A man committed an indignity46 to Jesus the pretended Christ, who, in punishment, condemned47 him to linger on the earth until in the fulness of time he should come again; and the man had gone on living through the centuries. Both the father and grandfather affirmed the tale to be true; they had known the unfortunate personally; yet more, they declared he had been an intimate of the family, and had done its members through generations friendlinesses without number; in consequence they had come to consider him one of them in love. They had also said that to their knowledge it was his custom to pray for death regularly as the days came and went. He had repeatedly put himself in its way; yet curiously48 it passed him by, until he at last reached a conviction he could not die.
Many years had gone since the stall-keeper last heard the tale, and still more might have been counted since the man disappeared, going no one knew whither.
But he was not dead! He was coming again! It was too strange to believe! It could not be! Yet one thing was clear--whatever the messenger might be, or presuming him a villain49, whatever the lie he thought to make profitable, appeal could be safely and cheaply made to the seal in the cupboard. As a witness it, too, was deaf and dumb; on its face nevertheless there was revelation and the truth.
Through the momentary50 numbness51 of his faculties52 so much the son of Jahdai saw, and he did not wait. Signing the messenger to follow, he passed into a closet forming part of the stall, and the two being alone, he spoke53 in Greek.
"Be thou seated here," he said, "and wait till I return."
The messenger smiled and bowed, and took seat; thereupon Uel drew his turban down to his ears, and, letter in hand, started home.
His going was rapid; sometimes he almost ran. Acquaintances met him on the street, but he did not see them; if they spoke to him, he did not hear. Arrived at his own door, he plunged into the house as if a mob were at his heels. Now he was before the cupboard! Little mercy the phylacteries and amulets, the bridle-spanglery of donkeys, the trinketry of women, his ancestresses once famous for beauty or many children-- little mercy the motley collection on the second shelf received from his hands. He tossed them here and there, and here and there again, but the search was vain. Ah, good Lord! was the medalet lost? And of all times, then?
The failure made him the more anxious; his hands shook while he essayed the search once more; and he reproached himself. The medal was valuable for its gold, and besides it was a sacred souvenir. Conscience stung him. Over and over he shifted and turned the various properties on the shelf, the last time systematically54 and with fixed55 attention. When he stopped to rest, the perspiration56 stood on his forehead in large drops, and he fairly wrung57 his hands, crying, "It is not here--it is lost! My God, how shall I know the truth now!"
At this pause it is to be said that the son of Jahdai was wifeless. The young woman whom he had taken as helpmeet in dying had left him a girl baby who, at the time of our writing, was about thirteen years old. Under the necessity thus imposed, he found a venerable daughter of Jerusalem to serve him as housekeeper58, and charge herself with care of the child. Now he thought of that person; possibly she knew where the seal was. He turned to seek her, and as he did so, the door of an adjoining room opened, and the child appeared.
He held her very dear, because she had the clear olive complexion of her mother, and the same soft black eyes with which the latter used to smile upon him in such manner that words were never required to assure him of her love. And the little one was bright and affectionate, and had prettinesses in speech, and sang low and contentedly59 the day long. Often as he took her on his lap and studied her fondly, he was conscious she promised to be gentle and beautiful as the departed one; beyond which it never occurred to him there could be superior excellences.
Distressed60 as the poor man was, he took the child in his arms, and kissed her on the round cheek, and was putting her down when he saw the medal at her throat, hanging from a string. She told him the housekeeper had given it to her as a plaything. Untied61 at last--for his impatience62 was nigh uncontrollable--he hurried with the recovered treasure to a window, to look at the device raised upon it; then, his heart beating rapidly, he made comparison with the impression sunk in the yellow wax at the foot of the letter; he put them side by side--there could be no mistake--the impression on the wax might have been made by the medallion!
Let it not be supposed now that the son of Jahdai did not appreciate the circumstance which had befallen. The idea of a man suffering a doom63 so strange affected64 him, while the doom itself, considered as a judgment, was simply awful; but his thought did not stop there--it carried him behind both the man and the doom. Who was He with power by a word, not merely to change the most fixed of the decrees of nature, but, by suspending it entirely, hold an offending wretch65 alive for a period already encroaching upon the eternal? One less firmly rooted in the faith of his fathers would have stood aghast at the conclusion to which the answer as an argument led--a conclusion admitting no escape once it was reached. The affair in hand, however, despite its speculative66 side, was real and urgent; and the keeper of the stall, remembering the messenger in half imprisonment67, fell to thinking of the practical questions before him; first of which was the treatment he should accord his correspondent's requests.
This did not occupy him long. His father, he reflected, would have received the stranger cordially, and as became one of such close intimacy68; so should he. The requests were easy, and carried no pecuniary liability with them; he was merely to aid an inexperienced servant in the purchase of a dwelling69-house, the servant having plenty of funds. True, when the master presented himself in person, it would be necessary to determine exactly the footing to be accorded him; but for the present that might be deferred70. If, in the connection, the son of Jahdai dwelt briefly71 upon possible advantages to himself, the person being presumably rich and powerful, it was human, and he is to be excused for it.
The return to the market was less hurried than the going from it. There Uel acted promptly72. He took Syama to his house, and put him into the guest-chamber, assuring him it was a pleasure. Yet when night came he slept poorly. The incidents of the day were mixed with much that was unaccountable, breaking the even tenor73 of his tradesman's life by unwonted perplexities. He had not the will to control his thoughts; they would go back to the excitement of the moment when he believed the medallion lost; and as points run together in the half-awake state on very slender threads, he had a vision of a mysterious old man coming into his house, and in some way taking up and absorbing the life of his child. When the world at last fell away and left him asleep, it was with a dread74 tapping heavily at his heart.
The purchase which Uel was requested to assist in making proved a light affair. After diligent75 search through the city, Syama decided76 to take a two-story house situated77 in a street running along the foot of the hill to-day crowned by the mosque78 Sultan Selim, although it was then the site of an unpretentious Christian church. Besides a direct eastern frontage, it was in the divisional margin79 between the quarters of the Greeks, which were always clean, and those of the Jews, which were always filthy80. It was also observed that neither the hill nor the church obstructed81 the western view from the roof; that is to say, it was so far around the upper curve of the hill that a thistle-down would be carried by a south-east wind over many of the proudest Greek residences and dropped by the Church of the Holy Virgin82 on Blacherne, or in the imperial garden behind the Church. In addition to these advantages, the son of Jahdai was not unmindful that his own dwelling, a small but comfortable structure also of wood, was just opposite across the street. Everything considered, the probabilities were that Syama's selection would prove satisfactory to his master. The furnishment was a secondary matter.
It is to be added that in course of the business there were two things from which Uel extracted great pleasure; Syama always had money to pay promptly for everything he bought; in the next place, communication with him was astonishingly easy. His eyes made up for the deficiency in hearing; while his signs, gestures, and looks were the perfection of pantomime. Of evenings the child never tired watching him in conversation.
While we go now to bring the Wanderer up, it should not be forgotten that the house, completely furnished, is awaiting him, and he has only to knock at the door, enter, and be at home.
收听单词发音 |
1
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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cosmopolitanism
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| n. 世界性,世界主义 | |
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denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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10
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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14
cynosure
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| n.焦点 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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modernized
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| 使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法 | |
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progenitors
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| n.祖先( progenitor的名词复数 )；先驱；前辈；原本 | |
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wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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excellences
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| n.卓越( excellence的名词复数 )；（只用于所修饰的名词后）杰出的；卓越的；出类拔萃的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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conspicuously
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| ad.明显地，惹人注目地 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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41
amulets
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| n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 ) | |
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multiplication
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| n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法 | |
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recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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45
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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46
indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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47
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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48
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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49
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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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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51
numbness
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| n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆 | |
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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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53
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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54
systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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56
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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57
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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58
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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speculative
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| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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mosque
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| n.清真寺 | |
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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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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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