*
 
 ExUbris 
 C. K. OGDEN
 
 The Travels of 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gentleman.
 
 A True Relation of the 
 Travels and Perilous Adven- 
 tures of Mathew Dudgeon, 
 Gentleman : 
 
 Wherein is truly set down the Manner of his 
 
 Taking, the Long Time of his Slavery in 
 
 Algiers, and Means of his Delivery. 
 
 Written by Himself, and now for tlie 
 first time printed. 
 
 London : 
 Longmans, Green, and Co. 
 
 New York : 15 East i6 lb Street. 
 1894.
 
 AM Descended fr m a 
 
 family of position, 
 which has held from time 
 immemorial a considerable 
 estate in the neighbourhood 
 of Portsmouth ; and per- 
 haps it was the accident of living so 
 near to the sea that gave me a taste for 
 seafaring life. Often have I wandered 
 down as a child to where the old sea-dogs 
 were sunning themselves with their pipes, 
 and there have listened with all the 
 strength of my little ears to their tales 
 of the foreign countries they had seen, 
 the wonders of the sea and land, the 
 birds, the beasts, fishes, and monsters 
 hardly to be described, and of their perils 
 and adventures ; some, I fear me, not 
 strictly veracious, but none the less enter- 
 taining for all that. 
 
 Being a younger son of a younger son, 
 I was bound to seek some profession ; and 
 it was only natural that when asked by an
 
 The Travels of 
 
 indulgent father what I would choose to be, I 
 answered him that I should like to be ap- 
 prenticed to the sea. Now, my father had 
 a brother, a Turkey merchant in London, 
 married, but childless, and to him I was 
 accordingly sent. He lived next to his 
 office and warehouse in a commodious 
 mansion situated in the Barbican, and, 
 greatly to my disgust, I was kept to my 
 desk at his office learning the business of a 
 merchant, in order that I might take charge 
 of some of his ventures as supercargo when 
 sufficiently acquainted with the business, in 
 place of going to sea at once and witnessing 
 the marvels I had been told of by the old tars 
 of the Hard. Of my early apprenticeship, 
 however, it is not my intention to discourse 
 here, and I will merely say that I made 
 many voyages for my uncle both to the East 
 and the West Indies, gaining much ex- 
 perience, going through many perilous 
 adventures, twice being shipwrecked, and 
 winning the esteem and confidence of my 
 uncle by the skill and ability I showed in 
 the conduct of his affairs. At the age of 
 twenty-nine, I married a wife, and settled 
 in a house at Southwark, and soon after 
 my uncle died leaving me a large portion 
 of his property together with his business. 
 After my marriage I had settled at home, 
 but after my uncle's death, when I became
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 3 
 
 for the first time master of myself, the 
 old longing came over me, and laying out 
 about two thousand pounds in goods that 
 my experience had taught me were suit- 
 able, I embarked them in the Antelope, 
 Captain Manwaring, who was an old friend 
 of my uncle's, his ship then lying in the 
 Thames bound for Smyrna, with several 
 other merchants, and goods to great value 
 on board. The parting with my wife was 
 exceeding painful, as indeed it would be 
 to any man of right feelings. My wife, 
 poor creature, held up bravely until the last 
 moment, though I knew that her heart was 
 full of forebodings at the departure for so 
 long a period of her dear husband ; and 
 the more so, since I had never yet left her ; 
 and the stories I had related to her of my 
 previous voyages and perils had filled her soul 
 with perhaps unnecessary alarm ; but little 
 Tom, our child, jumped and crowed in her 
 arms, delighted at the confusion and bustle 
 around. I kissed her, and bade her be of 
 good cheer, but she only sobbed the louder 
 until little Tom, struck by her sorrowful 
 mien, paused in his merriment and gazed 
 so wistfully in her face that she fell to kiss- 
 ing and hugging him, and forgot half her 
 pain. Seizing this opportune moment, I 
 motioned to the boatmen to cast off, at the 
 same time swinging myself aboard the
 
 The Travels of 
 
 vessel, and we parted before she could 
 look up. The wind favoured us very much, 
 blowing fair from the north, which was of 
 service to us, both in getting out of the 
 river, wherein the tide also helped us, and 
 in sailing down the channel ; but I went 
 into my cabin, and thinking of my wife, 
 her sorrow, and the many calm delights of 
 my dear home, fell into a troubled sleep, 
 wherein I dreamed that Tom was grown 
 into a big man handsome as his father, and 
 the delight of his aged parents. Nothing 
 worthy of recounting occurred for the first 
 week ; the wind continued fair, having gone 
 over somewhat to the west. Ever and 
 anon we spoke homeward-bound ships. 
 Ah, how my heart rebelled within me and a 
 longing seized me to return ! How at such 
 times the picture of my poor wife sitting 
 alone with her little son would fill my 
 thoughts, and how a wondrous melancholy 
 seized me : all this I will not relate, it 
 would but tire the reader, and 'tis but a 
 common feeling to those that depart for a 
 long time from home. We put in at Porto 
 where some of our merchants had goods 
 to unload, and took the opportunity to get 
 fresh victuals and water ; and then setting 
 sail again, in a day or two we had passed 
 the mighty Rock of Gibraltar. But here the 
 wind, which had hitherto been favourable,
 
 Mat hew Duageon, Gent. 5 
 
 was against us, and we made but slow way. 
 It was the third day after we had passed 
 Gibraltar that we saw a ship to windward 
 of us, crowding all the sail she could carry. 
 We began to misdoubt that she was an 
 Algerian corsair, or piratical vessel, and 
 our captain, swearing a great oath, ordered 
 the helm to be put over, and the decks to 
 be cleared and prepared for our defence. 
 \Ve had a long eight, and three four- 
 pounders, with of course small arms ; these 
 were all loaded, and every man had his 
 place appointed to him, while we watched 
 anxiously betwixt hope and fear until we 
 should be satisfied by their colours. Some 
 imagined her to be French by the make of 
 the ship, while others urged us to be of good 
 cheer, for they knew her for a Dutchman 
 from Hamborough. Our distrust, how- 
 ever, made us seek a Spanish port, till at 
 last French colours came out, which we 
 answered with our English ensign, and she 
 fired a gun as a command to us to strike 
 our sail. Our captain, however, who was 
 well acquainted with such tricks of pirates, 
 would not trust appearances, and now 
 began an all-absorbing race, in which as 
 we feared, the lives of some and the 
 liberties of all were at stake. Unfortu- 
 nately, it was yet early in the day, and we 
 had no hope of darkness presently prevail-
 
 The Travels of 
 
 ing to favour our escape if they should 
 prove to be the faster sailers. For some 
 time, indeed, the distance between us 
 appeared to remain about the same, but it 
 soon became apparent, notwithstanding 
 our great desire to the contrary, that the 
 stranger vessel was gaining upon us. At 
 half a league's distance they discovered 
 themselves to be Turks by hoisting of their 
 bloody ensign, which they put up instead 
 of the white, and we perceived a puff of 
 smoke presently followed by the noise of a 
 ball rushing over our heads. What a 
 terrible sound was this ! Many of the 
 merchants fell to praying, and even I felt 
 some inclination to duck my head as it 
 came hurtling by. I observed a fellow 
 who before had suffered from some disease 
 in his legs and hands, much like unto the 
 gout, which made him unserviceable all the 
 time of the voyage, when he saw the 
 danger he began to skip about, and handle 
 the guns as if nothing had ever ailed him. 
 Again came another shot which ploughed 
 up the water close upon our starboard 
 quarter, and yet another which cut our 
 mainmast in two. With astounding quick- 
 ness our men cut away the wreck, but. 
 alas ! we had lost all chance of escape, and 
 about noon the pirate came up with us, 
 saluting us as she did so with a broadside.
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 7 
 
 Upon this we turned about and bore down 
 straight upon him, greatly to his astonish- 
 ment as I afterwards found, causing him to 
 fear that we were an armed vessel and not 
 merely the peaceful trader he had taken us 
 for. But what was the use of arms, or of 
 mine and the crew's bravery ? Fight we 
 did, for above an hour, and it was furious 
 and bloody while it lasted ; some when 
 their limbs were all bruised, their bones 
 shattered, and their bodies torn by 
 splinters, did obstinately continue to 
 handle and manage the guns. Broadside 
 after broadside they poured into us, the 
 air was thick with smoke, and for the yells 
 of these fiends and the roar of the cannon 
 we could scarce hear the captain's orders. 
 We had drawn together, and as a puff of 
 wind blew the smoke aside for an instant 
 we perceived some of the enemy lashing 
 the two vessels together. In a moment 
 they were down upon us, springing -from 
 the shrouds, pouring over the bows, leap- 
 ing and vaulting like cats. Inch by inch 
 we disputed their way, but at last perceiv- 
 ing that we had no hope of escaping from 
 them, and that our vessel was in a sinking 
 condition, we called for quarter, which the 
 Turks were glad to grant, for they had 
 lost many men ; and moreover, they 
 wished to take us for slavery and ransom.
 
 8 The Travels of 
 
 One thing occurred during the fight which 
 I did then look upon as of evil omen : at a 
 broadside which we both fired at the same 
 instant, one of their shot met one of ours 
 in mid-air, and in the encounter split in 
 two pieces, one of which flew back upon 
 our captain and killed him. Truly it was 
 a marvellous chance that he should thus be 
 slain by one of his own shot ! 
 
 Our vessel was in so evil a plight that 
 the Turks quickly removed our cargo into 
 their own ; and when they saw the rich 
 lading, they readily pardoned us the injury 
 we had done them. Their prisoners were 
 loaded with chains and also taken aboard 
 their vessel, the dead and badly wounded 
 were left on board ours, which was then 
 sunk. In searching us for valuables, they 
 found in my pocket a small case of instru- 
 ments which I, who had some knowledge 
 of surgery, usually carried by me ; for in 
 my former voyages I had found the neces- 
 sity of this and had attended some lectures 
 under the celebrated Dr. Harvey. Belike 
 for this reason I was not fettered like the 
 rest, but inasmuch as they were in want of 
 a surgeon, I was set to heal those wounds 
 I had been so anxious to make. We were 
 as civilly treated by the Turks as we could 
 expect, but they were very inquisitive to 
 find our several conditions and what they
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 9 
 
 might hope to receive from us in the 
 matter of ransom, either from the property 
 we had in our own country or from the 
 kindness of friends. I gave myself out for 
 a poor supercargo in charge of goods for 
 my master, a tale which they, poor fools, 
 believed ; at least, for that time. In my 
 quality of surgeon they gave me plenty to 
 do. I myself had a nasty cut upon the 
 side of the head, but my wound was not a 
 serious one : the ruffian's scimeter had 
 glanced from my skull, which, luckily, is of 
 good thickness ; and beyond the blow, 
 which somewhat dazed me at the time, I 
 had merely lost blood, which in this climate 
 is sometimes beneficial, so that despite the 
 foul air and filthy state of the ship, I was 
 soon in a fair way of recovery. I confess 
 it did my heart good to see the number of 
 Turks that had been laid low by our 
 brave crew, besides many we had sent to 
 their paradise if they could find it ; never- 
 theless as surgeon I did my best for them. 
 The Turks were mightily pleased with my 
 address, and even he who wounded me 
 swore, that if it were not that he hated 
 doing a thing by halves, he was almost glad 
 that he had not killed me. They agreed 
 that I had a pretty talent for fighting, and 
 some of them begged me to forswear my 
 religion and become one of them. On the
 
 i o The Travels of 
 
 one side they put before me the glory of 
 their profession, the riches I might get, 
 and the honour in which I should be held ; 
 on the other, they showed me how, if I 
 would not become a renegado, I should be 
 held in slavery, perhaps sent to the galleys, 
 and, since I was a poor man, I could not 
 hope to be ransomed. All this and more 
 I steadfastly refused : how could I forsake 
 the religion in which I had been brought 
 up, and which I knew to be the true one, 
 to become a follower of their false prophet 
 Mahomet ? And, moreover, I foresaw 
 that if I fixed myself thus in their country, 
 I should never dare to purchase my freedom 
 as I hoped to do, and should have more 
 difficulty in compassing my escape. 
 
 When they saw that I was determined, 
 they ceased to importune me any more. I 
 was, as I have said, left unfettered, never- 
 theless I was not allowed to communicate 
 with my companions, save once in the day 
 when I was permitted to dress their wounds ; 
 and thus shut out as it were from all my 
 kind, I had the more leisure to think over 
 my former estate and to curse that greed 
 of riches that would not be satisfied with 
 what I had got, but still would crave for 
 more, as also that insatiable love of ad- 
 venture that had brought me to this present 
 pass. In bitterness of heart I would retire
 
 Mathew Dtidgeon, Gent. 1 1 
 
 to some quiet corner of the vessel and there 
 con over the pleasant images of my past 
 life. I would bethink me how I had first 
 met that sweet girl that was to become my 
 wife ; how I would visit her mother, and 
 commend her cakes and ale hypocrite that 
 I was ! how I would relate my various ad- 
 ventures with that modest spirit which is so 
 inseparable from me, and furtively watch 
 the flush of surprise and pleasure that 
 mantled in her innocent cheek. Nor did 
 I fail to note how awkwardly she would 
 arrange the things, desiring to gain time 
 and linger in the room ; how ever and 
 anon she would fetch her breath at some 
 marvellous or hairbreadth escape, how her 
 colour would come and go, her breast heave ; 
 in short, how she would discover every mark 
 of deep and tender sympathy. Again I 
 would bethink me of that anxious time 
 when she began to accompany her parents, 
 a welcome guest, to the houses of the 
 neighbouring gentry, the centre of an ad- 
 miring circle. Yet still she used to blush 
 when I appeared, and her face would 
 brighten ; but withal, so blind was I, that 
 in place of seeing and rejoicing in these 
 marks of my success, I only saw the 
 wretched cringing crowd of sparks about 
 her, and paled with awful fear that her 
 inexperienced heart might be carried off
 
 1 2 The Travels of 
 
 by one of those experienced and faithless 
 liars. With pictures such as these I well- 
 nigh lashed myself at times to desperation, 
 and had serious thoughts of casting myself 
 headlong into the sea, and so ending my 
 miserable life. 
 
 The pirates lingered about in these 
 waters, sometimes avoiding ships that 
 seemed of greater strength than them- 
 selves, at others chasing those that ap- 
 peared to be mere traders. Several of 
 these they took, though none of any great 
 value, being mostly laden with oil, wine, 
 wood, and such-like commodities of great 
 bulk and little use to the Turks ; but they 
 got some Christian provisions, welcome 
 enough to me that was not used to their 
 diet cf dried bread and a small bean called 
 lentil, or rice and poor John, and a dish 
 they greatly favour which they call pil- 
 law. One day, however, they had the 
 good luck to take a rich galleon laden with 
 silver for the King of Spain, after a hard 
 and desperate fight in which their ship 
 received so great hurt that the pirate 
 captain, satisfied with what he had already 
 got, determined forthwith to return to 
 Algiers. We had not sailed a few 
 hours when we encountered a Spanish 
 man-of-war that laboured to come up to 
 speak with us ; but the pirates had no
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 13 
 
 longer any stomach for fighting, and so, 
 hoisting all the sail they could carry, they 
 made away as fast as they could go. See- 
 ing this, I stealthily made fast a cord to a 
 great sail that lay bundled up at the poop, 
 and as dusk was coming on dropped it 
 overboard so as to drag and deaden our 
 way, which played to some purpose ; but 
 greatly to my disappointment I observed 
 when it grew dark that the Spaniard had 
 lost sight of us, and saw by his lights 
 that he was sailing away, not knowing that 
 we had altered our course, for we showed 
 no lights. Then finding that there was no 
 hopes of our capture, and fearing that the 
 sail might be seen in the water, I cut it 
 adrift ; for I knew that should I be found 
 out, I should most certainly be slain, and 
 perhaps tortured ; though I was yet to 
 learn how horribly they put to death those 
 that do offend them. 
 
 The next morning we anchored in the 
 Bay of Algiers, where some officers, of 
 the Dey, or King of that country, came on 
 board to take note of what prize we had 
 gotten. Among these was a renegade, 
 an Italian, that had amassed great wealth 
 by his apostasy. This man was a trader 
 in slaves, and knew well how to make his 
 advantage : therefore taking us captives 
 aside as though he would not be overheard
 
 14 The Travels of 
 
 by the Turks, he pretended that his con- 
 science smote him for having abjured the 
 Christian faith, and held out hopes to us that 
 he would attempt to escape to his own 
 country, and rescue with him as many 
 slaves as he was able. To this end he 
 begged us to tell him of our conditions, 
 and which among us had men of substance 
 and worth among our friends, in order that 
 he might communicate with them and so 
 save them and assist the poorer sort to 
 escape, whether by ransom or otherwise. 
 There were some sixty of us, English, 
 Spaniards, French, Italians, and a few 
 Greeks, mostly of the poorer sort, and 
 some of them were caught by his deceitful 
 words ; but I began to suspect him, and 
 privately warned my countrymen, so that 
 we all gave ourselves out for poor men 
 and unable to provide a ransom, as un- 
 knowing of friends of worth. Whereupon 
 he purchased all those who had told him 
 of their wealth, and made their lot as 
 slaves harder than the worst Turk would 
 do in order to urge them the more to pay 
 their ransome. Me too he suspected, but 
 being in doubt, he would not bid a suffi- 
 cient sum for me, and I therefore was 
 taken ashore like the rest with a chain 
 about my neck to be sold as if I were a 
 horse or a dog. There was a vast crowd all
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 15 
 
 round the landing place ; some brought 
 there by their curiosity, others would-be 
 buyers, and others again, the relations of 
 those we had slain in fight, who strove to 
 come near in order that they might wreak 
 their vengeance upon us : and indeed, it 
 had gone hard with us had not these 
 wretches been driven back by our masters. 
 Nevertheless, one among them made a 
 slash at one of us that had chanced to slay 
 his brother at the taking of our vessel, and 
 sliced off a part of his cheek, which he 
 snatched up and greedily ate, all bleeding 
 and raw as it was, declaring that it was the 
 sweetest morsel he had ever tasted. In 
 this guise we were led up to the market- 
 place, with nothing on us save a cloth 
 about our middle, when several grave Turks 
 examined us, as we are accustomed to exa- 
 mine horses in our country, and one that 
 thought to make profit by my skill in sur- 
 gery, which had been extolled to him, 
 bought me for two hundred pieces of eight. 
 In this way, for a time, I escaped the hard 
 labour of my fellow-captives, for in place 
 of being put to building, carrying of bur- 
 dens, or to the galleys as were they, I was sent 
 about the town curing such as were sick, 
 in which I had indifferent success ; but that 
 not satisfying the greed of my master, he 
 would have me work in his garden also.
 
 1 6 The Travels of 
 
 In this garden were many slaves, among 
 which was an Englishman, that may have 
 been a proper youth at one time, with good 
 features and pleasing countenance, but now 
 all so sunken that he looked a poor pitiful 
 creature enough. I spoke to him with 
 kindness out of the abundance of my good 
 nature, the which pleased him so much that 
 he did whatsoever of my work that he was 
 able for me, while I sat by and smoked ; 
 for though our work was hard, our meat 
 poor, and our lodging not fit for beasts, yet 
 the Turks cannot conceive that a man may 
 live if he do not smoke, and therefore they 
 supply their slaves with an inferior sort of 
 tobacco, which is marvellously cheap in 
 these regions. One evening, after the 
 labour of the day was over, he appeared to 
 be wondrously tired, for he was a weak 
 creature that had hardly yet attained to 
 manhood, and for that reason had been put 
 to the lighter labour of the garden, I ob- 
 served the tears rolling down his cheeks, 
 and asked him whether perchance he was 
 thinking of his home, and if he had any 
 hopes of obtaining his ransom ? ' My 
 ransom,' he replied, ' I doubt much 
 whether even if it were offered to me I 
 would accept of it ; nor do I know what it 
 is still holds me to this hated life if it be 
 not the misery that I am enduring. Hear
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 1 7 
 
 me,' he said, ' hear what it is that I suffer, 
 and then say whether any man would care 
 for life were he so wretched as I, and tor- 
 mented as I am ! To begin, then, I never 
 knew a father, and my mother died while 
 I was still so young that I have hardly any 
 remembrance of her. Her brother, to whom 
 she commended me on her dying bed, 
 brought me to his wife, who, like a true 
 woman, took pity on the helpless thing, and 
 they bred me up as their son. About two 
 years afterwards a daughter was born to 
 them, and we grew up together as brother 
 and sister, although we knew of the rela- 
 tionship between us. As brother and 
 sister we loved each other and wandered 
 hand in hand over the surrounding country, 
 rejoicing together in the air and sunshine, 
 watching together the habits of the birds 
 and beasts, and making posies for each 
 other of the wildflowers. Insensibly with 
 my years my love for her changed, and I 
 rejoiced that I was not really her brother 
 and began to look forward to a closer and 
 dearer tie. On her side, I doubt that her 
 thoughts ever changed towards me, or that 
 she ever thought of me otherwise than as 
 of a brother. Afterwards, perhaps, when 
 she too had learned what sorrow was, then 
 she also, if she looked back, may have di- 
 vined somewhat of the love which I had
 
 1 8 The Travels of 
 
 so hopelessly cherished for her. For the 
 present, indeed, it was sufficient for me to 
 be near her, to see her, to breathe the atmo- 
 sphere in which she dwelt. Can I ever 
 forget the time when she, then scarcely 
 sixteen, called me aside one day and spoke 
 words of sisterly esteem and love. Ah ! 
 how I trembled, and would have fallen on 
 my knees and told her then how I wor- 
 shipped her, but the words seemed to dry 
 up in my throat and I could not. I think 
 I must have had a feeling of what was 
 coming, and therefore it was that I could 
 not speak ; and I was glad afterwards that 
 it was so. She told me that she loved the 
 son of a gentleman in our neighbourhood, 
 who was far above us in rank. Poor girl ! 
 She blushed and hesitated, pure soul that 
 she was ; and all her difficulty hurt me, for 
 I could not bear to see her even in that 
 pain. She told me that her parents had 
 forbidden her to see him, and that she 
 wished me to help her to disobey them. 
 Alas ! alas ! I was to betray all that was 
 dearest to me also. Yet I took her mes- 
 sage to him, and I saw them meet. He 
 gave me light words of thanks and put a 
 tester in my hand, and I threw it on the 
 ground and felt that I could have murdered 
 him, but her image was between us, and I 
 thought that he might make her happy.
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 19 
 
 She trusted that evil man and left the home 
 of which she was the life. Would that I 
 had murdered him ! Could she but have 
 known in that glamour of faith and love 
 what sorrow she was bringing on her 
 parents ! I felt like a traitor to them, a 
 snake that they had nursed in their bosoms ; 
 but they still continued to treat me with 
 kindness though I had told them all, for 
 they knew that I also had loved her. How 
 carefully they tended everything that had 
 been hers, as if they were persuaded that 
 one day she might still return to them : her 
 pet birds, and her little dog Hope, who 
 would wander seeking for her all about the 
 cottage and be pricking up his ears at 
 every passing footstep. Often have I seen 
 them pass on tiptoe by her room as though 
 she slept there, and they were feared to 
 wake her ! Often, ah, how often ! have I 
 watched the tears roll down her mother's 
 cheeks as she would sit in the ingle nook 
 thinking of what might have been ! I 
 could not bear to leave them, and yet I 
 could not bear to stop ; until at last her 
 silence determined me to set off in search 
 for her. To this end I wandered through 
 France, until one coming from Italy gave 
 me to believe that she had died at a town 
 called Perugia ; and I was on my way 
 thither when I was captured by these cor-
 
 2O The Travels of 
 
 sairs. Now it seems indifferent to me 
 whether I return or not ; or whether my lot 
 be life or death.' When he had finished, 
 I clapped him on the back, and bade him 
 be of good cheer, for if she were dead, she 
 was dead, and there were quite as good 
 fish in the sea as ever came out of it. But, 
 as I have already said, he was a weak crea- 
 ture, and perhaps 'twas as well that he 
 lived not much longer, as I shall relate in 
 due course. 
 
 I need not say that a man of my kidney 
 could not brook, without indignation, this 
 state of bondage, and that I was ever cast- 
 ing about for some means of escape 
 although I well knew that this could not 
 be done without peril of my life. Yea, 
 even to speak of it to my fellows in bond- 
 age was a matter of danger ; for some, 
 especially those of France and Italy, were 
 so broken in spirit that they would confess 
 a plot in order that they might win their 
 master's grace, and bring their fellow cap- 
 tives to a horrid death by torture in order 
 that they might gain a slight indulgence 
 for themselves. I have seen some who 
 were caught as they attempted to escape, 
 punished in the most horrible of fashions : 
 those who were too valuable as able bodied 
 slaves to be done to death, were given a 
 hundred blows on the back, and a hundred
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 2 1 
 
 blows on the belly, and then were sent into 
 the galleys ; and, indeed, I think from my 
 own later experience, that the manners of 
 death I am about to relate are not so terri- 
 ble as this. Others were executed in divers 
 fashions : for some they threw from high 
 rocks upon a company of sharp pointed 
 stakes, planted below, in order that they 
 might die torn and crushed ; one was spread 
 with honey and exposed naked on the hot 
 sands to the fury of the sun and the stings 
 of venomous insects ; one again was done 
 to death in a more horrid manner, for he 
 was flayed while he was yet living, and his 
 skin used to cover one of their drums ; 
 while another had a stake thrust through 
 his living body, and there, lifted on high 
 in the midst of the town, he died soon 
 after, more from the heat of the sun than 
 from the agony of his wounds. But, me- 
 thinks, the worst death was of one who in 
 his rage cursed their prophet Mahomet ; 
 for they poured down his throat boiling 
 lead. He could utter no cry : for all his 
 throat was instantly burnt away, and there 
 was nought but a hideous soughing of steam 
 to proclaim his torments. God preserve 
 me from the like sights again ! Though I 
 be not of a weak nature, such things make 
 a man to think twice before he will attempt 
 to escape and risk the like punishment !
 
 22 The Travels of 
 
 Now, in my peregrinations as physi- 
 cian, I had been sent to a house which stood 
 in a garden next to that of my master, in 
 order that I might prescribe for one of the 
 women therein. Think not, gentle reader, 
 that I was allowed to cheer myself with a 
 view of her fair countenance ; for these 
 followers of the devilish Mahomet, who 
 drink no honest liquor but in secret, nor 
 know any true religion, never suffer their 
 women to be seen. When they go forth 
 'tis as a bundle of clothes with a veil over 
 their features ; nor, even when I was called 
 upon to prescribe for their diseases, was I 
 ever permitted to set eyes upon them. 
 There they sat, behind a curtain, and the 
 most I was permitted to do was to feel a 
 pulse. I think now that my fair neighbour, 
 for whom, as I have said, I was called 
 upon to prescribe, did not surfer from ought, 
 but had seen me through her meshrebeeyeh 
 (which is a sort of Venetian window of 
 small pieces of wood cunningly joined 
 together, so that one may look through it 
 from within, but may not be seen from 
 without) I say she may have seen me while 
 I was at work in her neighbour's garden. 
 But what a thrill ran through me as I took 
 that fair small wrist ! I think that I pressed 
 her hand, nay, I would almost swear that 
 I did, but my mind was so perturbed that
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 23 
 
 I cannot be sure, and I will not write what 
 I do not know for certain to be true. I 
 thought that I had offended her, for she 
 quickly withdrew it, but she returned it 
 again in a short space, and to my great 
 wonder, as I withdrew, I found that she 
 had pressed into my hand, for some sign, 
 two small pieces of charcoal, a lump of salt, 
 and a leaf. In great perplexity I returned 
 to my quarters, cudgelling my brains to 
 think what this might mean. That the 
 women of the Turks cannot indite an 
 epistle I knew, as, indeed, can few of the 
 men. I therefore felt the more sure that 
 these things conveyed some message, a 
 message from one sympathising with me in 
 my misfortunes ! That was sweet, indeed, 
 to one who had known nought but hardship, 
 had seen nought but rudeness, and felt 
 nought but blows since he had been in this 
 accursed country. A message it surely 
 was, but what ? All night I lay awake 
 thinking, until at last, in a flash, it became 
 clear to me what she meant. The signs 
 conveyed this : ' Two nights hence, meet 
 me in the garden at the borders of the sea.' 
 It could mean but that! The two lumps 
 of charcoal stood for two nights hence, 
 the lump of salt for the sea, and the leaf 
 showed that she would meet me in the 
 garden. Time seemed to move with
 
 24 The Travels of 
 
 leaden steps, and for fear that I should 
 mistake, I was there as soon as ever we 
 were free to retire for rest from the labours 
 of the day. As I left my lair among the 
 sleeping slaves, the moon was rising in all 
 her splendour as though she were a town 
 on fire: everything was silent, but for 
 the incessant barking of the dogs, the 
 occasional cry of the owl, or the distant 
 howls of the jackals quarrelling over the 
 carcass of some dead camel beyond the 
 ramparts. A fitful light could be seen on 
 the distant mole ; but there was nought 
 else to illumine the deep shadows that the 
 moon cast as she rose. The deep masses 
 of blackness, broken by the outlines of 
 feathery palms and the tall spires of the 
 mosques, from which the muezzin calls these 
 heathens to pray, was set off by the white 
 gleaming roofs of the houses. All this I 
 admired as I stole along and ensconced 
 myself in some tall bushes in the garden 
 by the sea shore. Presently I perceived 
 two female figures stealing down to the 
 place where I lay concealed, which I 
 doubted not were my Reyya and a slave ; 
 and in another instant she was in my arms. 
 O Love, thou subtle teacher of all 
 that is sweetest in knowledge ; breaker 
 of bolts and bars ; thou for whom diffi- 
 culties only exist in order that they may be
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 25 
 
 overcome ; thou who suffusest the cheek 
 with the blush of life, and makest the eyes 
 more brilliant than the stars ; giver of 
 more than human subtlety, the only 
 author of modesty, that chiefest charm of 
 woman, and gallantry, the greatest virtue 
 of man ! By thy grace, although we were 
 mutually ignorant of each other's language, 
 yet were we enabled to understand each 
 word the other uttered, words breathing 
 fire, and love, and truth, and enduring 
 affection ! Sweet indeed were those 
 moments, and bright enough to gild even 
 a captive's chain ! When 1 look back 
 again upon that time, and see again in the 
 shimmering light of the moon those droop- 
 ing eyelashes that served but to render en- 
 durable to weak human nature the flashes of 
 those coal-black eyes ; flashes which other- 
 wise would have consumed my innermost 
 heart to dust ! When I recall again that 
 tender form melting in my enclasping 
 arms, I feel again what it is to live, a 
 dream of bliss lasting but a moment, yet 
 not to be forgotten while still a breath is 
 left in the decaying tenement on which 
 devouring time has laid his palsied hand ! 
 But though I love to train back my 
 thoughts to the memory of that time, to 
 picture to myself its joys, and once again 
 linger over its sweetness, yet is it tinged
 
 26 The Travels of 
 
 with the memory of the bitterness that was 
 to follow upon our delicious intercourse 
 a bitterness too often inseparable, alas ! 
 from forbidden pleasures. 
 
 By the time that we had been tenderly 
 enjoying each other's society in these 
 stolen interviews for about the space of a 
 month (for nearly every night Reyya used 
 to come down to the garden attended by 
 but one female slave) and when we had 
 learned to converse in a sort of lingua 
 franca, I began to open to her my thoughts 
 of escape. We had continued so long in 
 our peaceful interviews, and so pure was her 
 heart, that she had begun to think that this 
 was to be her life, and had ceased to pro- 
 ject her mind beyond the present moment. 
 When however she understood that I had 
 thoughts of escape, her heart seemed to 
 stand still, she clung to me as one dis- 
 traught, for she was the only daughter of 
 a tender father whom she greatly loved, 
 and it at once became clear to her that 
 the time was come when she must elect 
 between me and him. What tears she 
 shed ! Now would she pray me to stay 
 and be one of them ; and anon she would 
 dissolve in an agony of grief as she fore- 
 saw how impossible this would be, for 
 though even I should apostatize, how could 
 her father unite her to a slave ! Never-
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 27 
 
 theless love to a stranger is ever greater 
 than filial love, and so her mind was after 
 no long time settled in my favour, though 
 with heaviness and sorrow ; she agreed to 
 assist all she could in furthering my escape, 
 for she could deny me nothing. Fervently 
 did I embrace the dear creature at this 
 crucial evidence of her great love for me, 
 and straightway I proceeded to mature 
 the plans necessary for my purpose. 
 
 There were eleven Englishmen among 
 the slaves of the garden, including myself : 
 six were seafaring men ; one was a mer- 
 chant from Bristol ; one was an adventurer 
 that had journeyed over nearly all Europe, 
 offering his sword to the best paymaster ; 
 another was a young Cornishman of means, 
 that had been travelling abroad to see 
 foreign countries ; while yet another was 
 the youth whose story I have related. 
 The seamen and the Cornishman I knew 
 that I could trust : the former were blunt 
 honest creatures that would brave the devil 
 to obtain their freedom again, while the 
 Cornishman was a gentleman of courage 
 as I could see. But I somewhat mistrusted 
 the soldier who cared not on whose side he 
 fought ; as also the merchant, whom I 
 feared would prove to be fainthearted 
 when it came to the pinch, and who, more- 
 over, was an old man. The youth I could
 
 28 The Travels of 
 
 trust ; but he would be of but little use, and 
 I therefore said nothing to him on the 
 matter. Taking first the seamen aside 
 one by one, I communicated my design to 
 them, and they all, like brave men as they 
 were, agreed to risk everything with me. 
 One was a master-carpenter, and I found 
 him afterwards of great value to my pur- 
 pose. Now I had noticed an old boat 
 laid up among the rocks on the sea shore 
 at the bottom of the garden, almost worn 
 out, that had last been used for carrying 
 ballast in the harbour. This I hoped that 
 we should be able to repair, but we still 
 wanted for oars and sails, provisions and 
 water. I told Reyya of our necessities, 
 and with her woman's wit she supplied 
 some of them in the following manner. 
 Her father, who held some office in the 
 fort at the foot of the mole, was wont to 
 sail over the harbour to get there, thereby 
 saving a long round by land. She feigned 
 one day again to be unwell, and protested 
 that she longed mightily to pass an evening 
 on the sea ; which her father agreed to, 
 and with several rowers they put out and 
 rowed along the coast. When they were 
 gotten opposite to where our old boat lay, 
 Reyya stood upright as if to gaze around 
 her, and making as though she stumbled 
 over the gear, which was a mast and sail
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 29 
 
 and two pairs of oars that lay at the bottom 
 of the boat, fell straightway into a violent 
 rage, nor would anything satisfy her but 
 that the offending matter should be cast 
 out, which her father consented to, know- 
 ing the spot, and intending to send for 
 them later. I, however, who had been on 
 the watch, instantly conveyed them to 
 another place, and scraping a shallow 
 trench in the sand, there buried them so 
 that they could not be found by others. 
 Reyya also, little by little, brought us dried 
 bread, lentils, rice, and a small breaker for 
 water, which I thought might be sufficient 
 for us until we had gained a Christian coast 
 or had been picked up by a passing ship. 
 When all was ready, I fixed upon a moon- 
 less night towards the end of their fasting 
 time, which they call Ramadan. In this 
 time, which endures for forty days, they 
 fast while the sun is up, only eating at 
 night time ; wherefore they are weak, and 
 moreover are occupied in their houses in 
 eating and smoking at night, and are there- 
 fore at that time the less likely to keep 
 good ward ; although even then they still 
 have galleys kept in readiness, and the 
 slaves sleep in their chains at the oars. 
 
 As the time approached for our attempt 
 at escape, I observed a strange fear and 
 restlessness in Reyya : now she wished us
 
 30 The Travels of 
 
 to start at once, and anon she would 
 implore me to put off our journey and to 
 stay longer, but I would not listen to her 
 in this. Nathless, I had reason to fear 
 that the English slave, the soldier of 
 fortune, had got wind of our affair ; and 
 once, indeed, made sure that I saw him 
 spying ; but when I examined about more 
 narrowly I could find no trace of him. I 
 therefore determined to pretend to take him 
 into our confidence, and named a day upon 
 which we would depart later than that upon 
 which we had in truth fixed, so as to put 
 him off the scent, and if he did betray us it 
 should be in vain. In the first hour after 
 sunset on the appointed day I took the 
 youth aside and led him down to the boat 
 where the rest were assembled, nor asking 
 him whether he would choose to go, put 
 him in. I looked around with anxiety for 
 Reyya, but she was nowhere to be seen. 
 With much perturbation of spirit I ran up 
 into her garden, but she was not to be 
 found there ; and then hearing a commo- 
 tion and running to and fro, I hurried 
 down to the boat and gave the order to 
 push off. Just as we did so, I heard the 
 wails of women from her father's house 
 that betokened one dead ; and as my 
 companions silently plied their mufHed 
 oars and we steered along under the
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 31 
 
 shadow of the shore, my heart was heavy 
 and my mind filled with forebodings that 
 the gentle Reyya was no more. Only 
 long afterwards did I hear it said that she 
 had been found with a dagger through her 
 heart ; but I never rightly came to know 
 whether she did it with her own hand in 
 the conflict of choice betwixt deserting her 
 father or her lover, or whether she had 
 been betrayed by the slave girl or the 
 soldier slave, and had been slain by her 
 father. Tis pitiful that this poor heathen 
 creature was cut off in the flower of her 
 youth and beauty to suffer those torments 
 that the followers of the false prophet 
 Mahomet foolishly believe we Christians 
 are doomed to undergo. I would have 
 saved her if I could, but much as I doubted 
 of her fate, I had to put away all thought 
 of her for the more pressing care of my 
 own safety. We had hardly got the third 
 of a league along the coast when we heard 
 the boom of one of their great ordnance 
 from the mole, we could see lights flitting 
 about, and presently two galleys left the 
 port. The savage yells of the Turks came 
 floating over the calm water, and we heard 
 even the thwack of the whips over the bare 
 backs of the poor Christian slaves who 
 were tugging at the unwieldy sweeps : but 
 they went straight out to sea, which jus-
 
 32 The Travels of 
 
 tified my foresight, and left us to creep along 
 the shore as before for about four leagues, 
 when as it began to be dawn, fearing to be 
 spied from the land, and thinking that we 
 had got a sufficient distance from the course 
 of the galleys, we put out to sea. For the 
 first part of the day we saw nothing, and 
 began to have hopes that we had escaped 
 the galleys and should make the coast of 
 Spain, if we did not fall in with a Christian 
 vessel before. But fortune was against us ; 
 for about the second watch, when we were 
 resting somewhat from the labours of the 
 night, we saw a galley making straight for 
 us. Doubtlessly they had spied us from 
 the masthead, and so seen us before we 
 could see them. We rowed as hard as we 
 could, but we were exhausted, when luckily 
 a breeze sprang up, and hoisting our sail 
 we made some way through the water. 
 The wind came from the north-east, and I 
 therefore headed our boat north, for I knew 
 that with the wind three points on the 
 beam, the galleys would be able to make 
 but little way, and their oars would rather 
 impede than assist them. They were 
 already so near, however, that they would 
 try their ordnance upon us ; and though 
 most of their shot fell wide or short, one, 
 that was almost spent, struck the youth 
 who had accompanied us, scattering his
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 33 
 
 brains all over the place ; and what was 
 worst, stove in our breaker, letting the 
 water run out into the bottom of our boat, 
 where it mingled with his blood. Had it 
 not fallen on the breaker it would, I make 
 no doubt, have stove a hole through the 
 bottom, and we should all have been 
 drowned or taken. With the rising wind 
 we drew out of reach of their shot, but I 
 would not allow the body to be thrown 
 overboard yet, for we sailed much better 
 with so much ballast. In vain did we look 
 out for some sign of a Christian vessel ; 
 nothing was to be seen but the hateful 
 galley, and our only hope was that we might 
 keep ahead of it, at least while daylight 
 lasted, so that we might escape under cover 
 of the darkness of the night. The wind 
 now veered round a bit to the east, so, 
 tying the shot that had killed him to our 
 dead comrade, we heaved him overboard, 
 and sailing almost before the wind made, 
 as nearly as I could guess, directly for 
 Valencia. As the sun set, the galley was 
 almost hull down in the offing, but the 
 wind only held an hour longer and it then 
 fell calm. 
 
 At dawn the galley was nowhere in 
 sight, for we had changed our course, as 
 soon as it grew dark, more to the westward, 
 and the Turks most likely had been row- 
 
 D
 
 34 The Travels of 
 
 ing all the time in the wrong direction. 
 But there was still no wind, and we were 
 all exhausted, insomuch that we could none 
 of us row, but lay at the bottom of the boat 
 and let her drift whithersoever she would. 
 We had a sufficiency of meat, but no drink ; 
 and as the sun gained in power, we felt the 
 want very sorely, but still no wind came. 
 On the third day there was still no wind, 
 and the sun seemed to be hotter than ever ; 
 our tongues swole in our mouths, we could 
 hardly speak, and no one offered to row. 
 Some would fain have lapped up what 
 remained of the water at the bottom of the 
 boat which had nearly all been sucked up 
 by the sun, but the blood in it had putrefied 
 and the stench was too horrible even for 
 men parched as they were. One drank 
 some sea-water, whereupon he grew even 
 more thirsty, his tongue cracked and bled, 
 and at last he went mad and jumped over- 
 board, nor did anyone try to save him. I 
 counselled those who had the strength to 
 strip, and sink their bodies in the sea, while 
 they hung on to the boat, and this some- 
 what refreshed them ; but after a time a 
 shark was sighted, and I promise you we 
 quickly got into the boat again. Still we 
 saw nothing, and by this time, so great 
 were our sufferings, we should have wel- 
 comed even the Turks. Once, indeed, we
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 35 
 
 did see something black on the water, and 
 hope rose high, for we thought that it 
 might be a cask ; and even if it contained 
 rum, or some such liquor, at least we hoped 
 we might go out of the world drunk like 
 gentlemen. One or two of us made a 
 shift to move the oars, but as we drew 
 nearer we saw to our horror that it was 
 our dead comrade the shot we had tied 
 to his feet was not heavy enough to keep 
 him under, and there he stood, as it were, 
 up in the water black and swollen, with 
 but a fragment of head, his arms waving 
 to and fro in the lazy current. 
 
 After this we lay as dead, at the bottom 
 of the boat, how long I know not, but it 
 could not have been more than twelve 
 hours, for another day's sun would have 
 killed us outright ; and when we came to 
 again, we found ourselves aboard a Turkish 
 galley. Had they not picked us up, we 
 had surely perished, yet it grieved us that 
 we had not had the fortune to be picked 
 up by a Christian vessel ; and some of us 
 that before had prayed, now blasphemed 
 their Maker that He had again cast them 
 into slavery : and, in sooth, it was hard to 
 bear when we had as it were already three 
 parts escaped. The Turks treated us well 
 until we had somewhat recovered our 
 strength, for we were all strong men, and 
 
 D 2
 
 36 The Travels of 
 
 valuable for slaves, though at present weak, 
 seeing that we had been unable to eat owing 
 to our great thirst. We were uncertain 
 whether they knew us to be runaways from 
 slavery at Algiers, for there was nothing 
 about us or the boat to show whence we 
 came. Many of the people about Calabria, 
 Malta, and Sicily were attired as we were, 
 and the boat differed in nought from the 
 boats of those countries. We therefore 
 agreed among ourselves to deceive them if 
 we could, and to give ourselves out when 
 questioned, as we presently were, for poor 
 mariners from an English ship that had 
 been blown out to sea while attempting to 
 land at Palermo in a gale ; and this story 
 they appeared to believe, for I do not think 
 that this was one of the same galleys that 
 had come out to take us. We knew, never- 
 theless, that this would only save us until 
 we returned to Algiers, where our master 
 would know us again, as well as others that 
 had seen us before ; our only hope, there- 
 fore, was that we might yet be taken by a 
 Christian vessel. 
 
 As soon as we had somewhat recovered, 
 as I have said, we were chained to the oar 
 with the other slaves ; and though we had 
 in our former slavery esteemed our lot to be 
 a hard one, yet it was easy in comparison 
 with our present state ; nor is there any
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 37 
 
 torment in this world that approaches nearer 
 to the pains of hell. Those deaths that I 
 before have spoken of, though lingering 
 and painful, yet release the sufferer after 
 but a few hours' agony ; but this doth last as 
 long as the slave lives : and some there are 
 who have suffered thus for over ten years, 
 though not many are so strong as to live 
 so long. Chained to their benches by the 
 oar, for the double reason that they may 
 not rise upon their oppressors nor seek 
 refuge in death by jumping overboard into 
 the sea, there they remain night and day, 
 until the vessel returns into port again, 
 when sometimes they are taken on land 
 while the vessel is laid up, and put to heavy 
 work there. Their food is at best but 
 bread and water, nor have they any cover- 
 ing to guard them from the scorching sun 
 by day or nipping cold by night, save and 
 alone a short pair of cotton breeches ; their 
 heads are shaved, their visage disbarbed ; 
 their filthy skin, scarred and broken, is 
 pearled with bloody sweat. At the sound 
 of the whistle, the whole three hundred of 
 them must start up and row orderly and 
 punctually and all together : a dolorous 
 labour, at which many do split their hearts. 
 From prow to poop there is nothing but 
 execrations and passing of blows, the whip 
 is never resting, and the bodies of the slaves
 
 38 The Travels of 
 
 are stiff with congealed blood. Their repose, 
 when they have any, is at the oar ; the 
 upright bench their pillow, not having so 
 much room as to stretch their legs, and 
 that only for an hour or two at night, the 
 one half rowing while the other half slum 
 ber, so that their want of sleep is in itself a 
 very ecstasy of torture. If chased by 
 Christian galleys which might relieve them 
 from their woes, then must they put forth 
 all their strength to get away ; and should 
 any poor wretch by reason of his weakness 
 faint, he is beaten until he be dead indeed. 
 If again the Christian galley do come near 
 within speaking distance of the cursed 
 ordnance, then are they slaughtered by 
 those who would release them : for being 
 so many and so close together, more of the 
 poor galley slaves are killed or maimed than 
 of the devilish Turk. In all this dreadful 
 cup of bitterness is only one drop of sweet- 
 ness : for should a Turkish galley be over- 
 come, they are made slaves upon the 
 Christian galleys ; and 'tis sweet indeed to 
 see them tugging at the oar, beaten, cursed, 
 and spat upon, starved if they will not eat 
 hog's flesh, and given no drink if they will 
 not first taste wine. 
 
 Not long after we had been picked up, 
 our galley, joined with six others which 
 were assembled at a rendezvous agreed
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 39 
 
 before, near to Tunis, where, having 
 tallowed our vessels, with all celerity we 
 set forth on a great expedition of destruc- 
 tion for the Italian shores. We soon de- 
 scried four Christian galleys which nimbly 
 got from us, and giving warning to the 
 coast, we found everywhere the people had 
 fled inland, driving their cattle before them 
 and leaving their crops and houses and 
 impotent or aged people to our mercy. 
 We landed a party at Ocootra, a city of 
 Calabria, who destroyed everything that 
 they came across, leaving nothing behind 
 them but wasted vineyards, burnt crops, 
 and ruined houses ; and this we did at di- 
 vers other places, insomuch that it was 
 disliked of by some of the graver Turks 
 themselves. In this way we came at 
 length to Naples, where there is a mighty 
 burning mountain, or volcano as it is called, 
 which some wise men say is hollow within, 
 and through which is a passage to the 
 depths of hell : for there the groans of the 
 damned are plainly to be heard. Here the 
 people, as soon as they had notice of our 
 coming, were in great fear : some of their 
 ships of war which lay in the port were 
 deserted of their men, who all ran ashore, and 
 we took and set fire to them. The castle 
 fired upon us, but their shot were so ill 
 directed that they did us no damage ; and the
 
 4O The Travels of 
 
 Turks laughing at them passed on, every- 
 where getting information from Christian 
 spies of the richest and weakest places to at- 
 tack. And, indeed, it is lamentable to see 
 how ready the Christians are to discover their 
 most hidden secrets to these, their greatest 
 scourges, though it be to the ruin of their 
 own country. I have known three of them 
 who, casting off all grace, have piloted the 
 Turks to the place where they were born, 
 and have been instruments in the captivat- 
 ing of their own fathers and mothers and 
 all their kin, afterwards turning renegadoes 
 and receiving their part of the price for 
 which their parents were sold in the 
 market. One of these piloted our fleet to 
 a small place called Quirico, which lies a 
 little south of Leghorn, whence most of 
 the people who were able fled with all that 
 they could hastily take with them when 
 they saw the Turks landing, who, never- 
 theless, brought away 2 1 5 persons, besides 
 having slain many that were too old or that 
 had offended them. Of these one was the 
 Bishop of San Miniato that chanced to be 
 there at the time, thirty-one were nuns, and 
 the remainder were women and children 
 and a few brave men that had stayed to 
 defend the place. What weeping and 
 wailing there was among these, and how 
 the men wished that they had all slain each
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 41 
 
 other rather than allow themselves to be 
 taken. They were all divided among the 
 different galleys, and among those that 
 were brought on board ours I noticed a 
 girl aged about seventeen or eighteen 
 years, so beautiful that our rais or captain 
 designed her as a present to the Dey him- 
 self. She was accordingly treated with 
 honour by them, and allowed more freedom 
 than the rest. Now, as this was the first 
 place that had offered any serious resistance, 
 so was it the first fight in which we had 
 many wounded ; and I, wishing to soften 
 my hard lot and gain a little respite from 
 my intolerable labours, offered to bind their 
 wounds, which they allowed of ; and when 
 they saw that I did it as one that had 
 knowledge, they released me from my 
 heaviest chains, and I was appointed assis- 
 tant chirurgeon to a renegade that held the 
 chief office. Whether it was that my face 
 inspired confidence, or whether, knowing 
 that I was no renegade, this fair creature 
 had the more hope from me, I know not ; 
 but one evening when it was already dark, 
 I heard a gentle ' hist ' in my ear. I started, 
 and a fair hand on my shoulder motioned me 
 not to move. ' I am one of the captives,' 
 said the voice ; ' she, alas ! who is destined 
 to worse than slavery ; art thou willing to 
 assist me?' She spoke in Italian, a Tan-
 
 42 The Travels of Mat hew Dudgeon 
 
 guage which I read before I had left Eng- 
 land, and which I had talked to some of the 
 other captives ; I could therefore answer 
 her in her own tongue, and assured her 
 that any man who had once seen her would 
 willingly die in her service. ' A truce to 
 compliments,' she answered, ' but listen to 
 my story, and you will then see whether it 
 is possible to assist me.' With many sighs 
 she then related her story as follows.
 
 THE STORY OF GABRIELLA DI CAP ELLIN I 
 
 name is Gabriella, and I 
 belong to the princely 
 house of the Capellini who 
 hold vast possessions in the 
 neighbourhood of Siena. 
 My father is a distinguished 
 general in the service of the Duke of Flo- 
 rence, and in the winter time, when there is 
 little stirring, we inhabited one of the finest 
 palazzos in Florence. I am an only child, 
 and consequently a great heiress ; for which 
 reason, and also on account of the high 
 position of my father, you may readily 
 imagine that we did not want for the best 
 society that the town could afford. I n the 
 division of troops commanded by my father 
 was an old officer whom he greatly re- 
 spected for his prudence, courage, and 
 military capacity, whose name was Giro- 
 lamo dei Stracci, of the noble family of 
 that name ; but who belonging to the
 
 44 The Travels of 
 
 younger branch, had nothing but a small 
 farm which barely served to supply his 
 wife and only son with sufficient polenta 
 for their daily food, and an occasional piece 
 of goatsflesh for feast days. One day he 
 begged permission from my father to place 
 his son among his pages, saying that he 
 wished to bring him up to be at least a 
 gentleman, if a poor one ; and that, though 
 he had trained him as well as he was able, 
 yet his frequent absences, and the diffi- 
 culty of finding proper companions for him, 
 made him unwilling to let him remain any 
 longer on his farm, and he would esteem 
 it a favour if he would allow him to be 
 placed among his retinue where he would 
 meet with companions who were his equals 
 in rank, and learn all that was necessary 
 for a gentleman and a soldier, until he was 
 old enough to join him with the army. 
 This my father very readily accorded ; the 
 young gentleman was enrolled among his 
 pages ; and not long afterwards his father 
 died, leaving him but his farm, his sword, 
 and an untarnished name. 
 
 Baptisto dei Stracci at this time was 
 only eighteen or nineteen years of age ; 
 notwithstanding which, it was difficult to 
 say whether nature had been more bounti- 
 ful to him in body or in mind. He was 
 tall, slight in figure, as was natural at hia
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 45 
 
 age, though well made, and with strikingly 
 handsome and noble features. I would 
 liken him to an Apollo, but I have never 
 seen any cold and lifeless statue so beau- 
 tiful as he. Added to this, he had so just 
 an understanding, such charm of manner, 
 such perfect courtesy, and spoke so well 
 on every subject under the sun, that he 
 soon became a favourite among his com- 
 panions and arbiter in all their disputes. 
 Moreover he attracted my father's notice 
 by his skill in the use of arms and manage- 
 ment of the great horse, which, indeed, he 
 sat like a god, and seemed to make obey 
 his every desire merely by the pressure of 
 his knee. Soon after being taken to the 
 wars, he showed such proofs of courage, 
 combined with a certain amount of pru- 
 dence, as was very unusual in one of his 
 age. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that a youth 
 so favoured should escape the notice of my 
 sex ; but though he showed the greatest 
 gratitude for all the favours they did 
 him, his would-be adorers found always an 
 impassable barrier to any tender advances : 
 and yet, so courteous and charming was he 
 withal, even in his coldness, that he never 
 made an enemy. The state with which I 
 was surrounded, and semi-seclusion in which 
 all the upper classes of Italian women
 
 46 The Travels of 
 
 are kept, so unlike, as I am given to under- 
 stand, to the way in which your country- 
 women are brought up, prevented me from 
 seeing any of the pages excepting at a dis- 
 tance, but I should have been more than 
 human ; let alone more than a daughter of 
 Eve, had I not noticed and unconsciously 
 liked the face of Baptisto dei Stracci. 
 Perhaps I should have thought no more 
 about him, but my father was never tired of 
 praising him, comparing him with the other 
 pages, recalling his father's memory, and 
 predicting a brilliant future for him. How 
 can I be blamed, therefore, for allowing my 
 thoughts sometimes to dwell upon this 
 paragon ; watching him to see if I could 
 detect any of those virtues ; and detecting, 
 ah ! how quickly, his eyes fixed on me in 
 respectful admiration almost as often as I 
 lifted my eyes to his. My interest once 
 aroused, I could not fail to note how every 
 one spoke well of him : how one would 
 extol his bravery, another his courtesy, and 
 another his good looks. I now listened to, 
 and indeed, encouraged my tiring women 
 when they spoke in his praise, and I felt 
 I know not what secret joy when they 
 complained of his coldness to all women- 
 kind. It was his sole fault, from what I 
 gathered, and it made me look all the 
 more curiously upon him. I thought he
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 47 
 
 did not look cold ; nay, once or twice I 
 caught his eye so ardently fixed upon me 
 that he almost made me afraid. But I 
 was soon to resolve the riddle : for one 
 evening when all the inmates of the palace 
 had retired to rest, feeling sleepless, I 
 opened the casement and gazed out upon 
 the garden. It looked so quiet and peace- 
 ful in the brilliant moonshine, the quaint 
 forms of the trees cut into all sorts of 
 shapes were clearly shown, the birds 
 and beasts and allegorical monsters. I 
 fancied them conversing with each other 
 until my senses became confused and I 
 dropped asleep with my head resting upon 
 my hands. I could not have slept long, 
 however, before I was awakened by some 
 low and sweet sounds as of a mandoline or 
 some such instrument. It was a sad air, 
 the strings seemed to weep and sigh, but 
 presently combining in a more measured 
 strain they were accompanied by a pleasant 
 voice that sang the following : 
 
 Unlock those eyelids, and look out on me, 
 And give me courage to confess, 
 That more than words can tell I do love thee, 
 My sweet mistress. 
 
 Ah no, 
 
 Not so, 
 Thou wilt not give me e'en a look, and I 
 
 Can only die.
 
 48 The Travels of 
 
 Didst thou look forth, the shining moon would 
 
 fade, 
 
 And every star pale out of sight ; 
 Thy glorious beams would drive away night's 
 
 shade : 
 Than suns more bright ! 
 
 Ah no, 
 
 Not so, 
 Thou wilt not gild me with a look, and I 
 
 Can only die. 
 
 The sun on all impartially doth shine, 
 
 Be they of low or high degree ; 
 
 Wilt thou not then from thy great height incline 
 
 Thy heart to me ? 
 
 Ah no, 
 
 Not so, 
 Too high, I fear, I've dared to look, and I 
 
 Can only die. 
 
 'Tis said the wind, e'en though it hath no heart, 
 Is tempered to the lamb that's shorn ; 
 And thou wilt not, that all sweet kindness art, 
 Hold me in scorn. 
 
 Ah no, 
 
 Not so, 
 Thou wouldst not be unkind to me, or I 
 
 Would surely die. 
 
 The angry billows in their dreadful ire 
 
 Do not all trusting them devour ; 
 
 And thou wouldst not one tear from me desire 
 
 To prove thy power. 
 
 Ah no, 
 
 Not so, 
 For if thou didst but frown upon me, I 
 
 Must straightway die.
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 49 
 
 O Love ! who art all-powerful, I implore 
 Thee shoot one arrow in her heart ! 
 Yet let it not prove painful to her or 
 Cause too great smart ! 
 
 Ah no, 
 
 Not so, 
 For if it hurt her any whit, then I 
 
 For dole must die ! 
 
 Merely to repeat the words to you can 
 give but a faint idea of the sweetness of 
 the music and the pathos of the voice. I 
 thought that I recognised it, but I could 
 not be sure, for I had never heard Baptisto 
 sing. Could it be he ? Whom could it 
 be meant for ? And though I thought of 
 all my women one by one, yet none lodged 
 anywhere near upon that side of the palace, 
 nor would any seem to fit to the song. I was 
 tormented as to the meaning and in doubt 
 as to the singer, for though I cautiously- 
 looked all around I could see no one. I 
 closed my casement and retired to my 
 couch, but not to sleep, and soon I found 
 my pillow grow wet with tears. In the 
 morning I sallied forth in my mask with 
 my governess and a retinue of servants to 
 take the air ; and as I was passing through 
 the great courtyard there were, as usual, 
 numbers of my father's retainers scattered 
 about, some polishing their arms, some 
 lying lazily in the sun, some talking or 
 playing at cards or dice. I caught the sound
 
 50 The Travels of 
 
 of a mandoline : it was the strain I had 
 heard the night before, and looking fur- 
 tively round I saw Baptisto, who imme- 
 diately changed the melody as I went out, 
 to a wild plaintive air full of sadness. I 
 cannot describe what my thoughts were at 
 this discovery. Two things were certain : 
 first that the singer of last night was none 
 other than I had suspected ; and secondly, 
 that if it was intended for the ears of any- 
 one, it was intended for mine. No other 
 woman was with me then but my gover- 
 ness. Was I intended to hear it ? If not, 
 why did he repeat the air again as I passed 
 by ? Forsooth it may have been chance, 
 nevertheless the allusion in the song to the 
 difference of rank convinced me that he 
 could mean no other than myself. I felt 
 pleased and flattered, and the more I 
 thought over it, as I could not help think- 
 ing, and considered that I, I to whom he 
 had hardly spoken a word, was the object 
 of his adoration, that I had conquered the 
 unconquerable, my heart swelled with pride 
 and delight, and I forgot for the time that 
 difference in degree between us. Whether 
 it was that I hoped to hear that sweet voice 
 again, or that my thoughts were in too 
 great a turmoil, when night came I found 
 it impossible to sleep. I again opened my 
 casement and looked out, wondering if, and
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 5 1 
 
 (shall I confess it ?) wishing that he would 
 come again. Nor was I disappointed, for 
 hardly had I been there for a few moments 
 when, as if he had been awaiting me, I 
 heard the notes of the mandoline, and after 
 a short prelude he sang the following song, 
 into which he put a depth of feeling no 
 words of mine can express : 
 
 Oh give me back my heart again, 
 
 The heart that thou didst steal from me : 
 
 Oh, let me not beseech in vain ! 
 I would not be so cruel to thee. 
 
 When I first saw thy face, 'twas as 
 
 The sun shone forth from leaden skies : 
 
 I looked, I loved, and now, alas ! 
 I cannot breathe for choking sighs. 
 
 Before I saw thee, I was gay 
 
 And free and blithe and debonnaire ; 
 
 But thou didst steal my heart away, 
 And now dost leave me to despair. 
 
 Oh, can a form divinely rare ; 
 
 As thine, enclose a heart of stone ? 
 It cannot be that one so fair 
 
 Unmoved can listen to my moan ! 
 
 Thine eyes are grey, and like unto 
 
 The colour that in steel we see ; 
 Oh, they're not hard as steel, but true 
 
 As steel, and they will melt for me ! 
 
 Thy brow is like a marble shrine 
 
 That thy sweet mind within doth guard ; 
 
 Oh, let that mind to me incline, 
 And not be like to marble hard !
 
 52 The Travels of 
 
 About thy head, thy golden hair 
 A saintly aureole is ; oh, bless 
 
 With a kind word thy worshipper, 
 And leave him not in his distress ! 
 
 Thy cheeks are soft, and red and white, 
 And blush with every virgin thought ; 
 
 To blush a greeting at the sight 
 
 Of me, oh let them then be taught ! 
 
 Thy ruddy lips harmoniously 
 
 Are tuned alone to speak what's truth ; 
 Oh, let the words they utter be : 
 
 Upon thy misery I have ruth ! 
 
 Oh, give me back my heart again ! 
 
 Or, since that it is from me fled, 
 I will not have it back ; oh, deign 
 
 To give me thy heart in its stead ! 
 
 As he sung, I listened as one entranced, 
 and sighed deeply as he finished. Perhaps 
 he heard me, perhaps he was over bold, 
 but in a minute he was on the balcony at 
 my feet, having climbed up a cypress tree 
 that grew close by. I would have scolded 
 and driven him away, but my agitation 
 was so great that no words were at my 
 command, and before I could control my- 
 self he had poured out his soul before me 
 and I had confessed my love. The hours 
 seemed to fly as minutes, and it seemed as 
 though we had had hardly time to say a 
 word before the dawn came on apace. I 
 begged him to leave me, and with great
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 53 
 
 reluctance he went, but not before he had 
 ravished a kiss. A kiss ! He had ravished 
 my whole soul ! and I knew that I should 
 never more know what peace of mind was 
 while he, my lord, my God almost, was 
 absent. What was this that had come 
 over me ? I seemed to be another being ; 
 to be born again with new aims and a 
 forgotten past. I lived in the future, I 
 was a woman, and my girlish years seemed 
 to fade away in the remote distance as if 
 they had been but a dry and insipid dream. 
 How I recalled every gesture and every 
 tone ! How I dwelt upon them, and 
 turned them in every light ! Once, for a 
 moment, I looked into the future, and saw 
 an angry father who cast me out from him ; 
 yet life seemed to me so lovely that I could 
 not believe it, but took back my thoughts 
 to the sweet moments that had passed all 
 too quickly. The next day I saw nothing 
 of my love. The day passed more slowly 
 than I could have believed possible, and I 
 almost thought that another Joshua had 
 commanded the sun to stand still. I could 
 scarcely contain myself as night fell ; and 
 pleading a migraine, I retired early, dis- 
 missed my women as soon as I decently 
 could, and anxiously awaited Baptisto. 
 Another night was passed in delicious 
 converse with him, and at last we began
 
 54 The Travels of 
 
 to talk about our future, when he told me 
 that he was bound in honour to tell my 
 father of our love, and to ask his permission 
 to win my hand : nevertheless, we both of 
 us felt that this was tantamount to separa- 
 tion for ever, and our hearts were heavy. 
 How unlike the ecstasy of the night 
 before ! As we took leave of each other, 
 and felt, too surely, that we had taken leave 
 for long, perhaps for years, we renewed our 
 vows of unalterable affection, come what 
 might. The next day Baptisto sought an 
 interview with my father, which was readily 
 accorded, for he always saw him with 
 pleasure. On other occasions he had 
 modestly tendered suggestions on military 
 matters, and my father, who had no pride 
 on such a subject, had always found his 
 remarks so sensible and so obviously 
 advantageous, that his more mature ex- 
 perience had seldom prevented him from 
 entertaining them. On this occasion he 
 was to receive a cruel wound, for he loved 
 Baptisto as a son, both for his own and for 
 his father's sake, and yet you know how 
 great is the pride of us Italians in every- 
 thing that concerns our family : how their 
 dearest passions are sacrificed to their pride 
 of race, and how they would rather 
 condemn themselves to lifelong misery 
 than allow people for whom they care
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 55 
 
 nought to be able to say that their blood 
 has been defiled by a mismarriage. My 
 father could scarcely hear Baptisto out 
 with patience ; the idea of an alliance with 
 a house so long impoverished and for- 
 gotten was insupportable to him ; and he 
 told Baptisto to think no more about it, 
 that he would overlook his presumption in 
 consideration of his friendship towards him, 
 his youth, and the noble house from which 
 he was descended ; but that he was to give 
 him his word of honour to forget all about 
 me, otherwise he would have to dismiss 
 him from his service and never see him 
 more. My noble Baptisto in all humble- 
 ness acknowledged the difference in rank 
 and riches, and the great kindness that my 
 father had always shown to him ; and 
 falling on his knee, said that the great 
 obligations that my father had put him 
 under were almost more than a father 
 would have done for a son. ' But,' he 
 added, ' love is stronger than man, I love 
 your daughter, and I have reason to 
 believe that she returns my affection. 
 Could I have known that I was drifting 
 into love, and that the feeling I felt 
 growing upon me was something different 
 from increasing respect and gratitude for 
 you reflected in one that belonged to you, 
 that respect would have induced me to fly
 
 56 The Travels of 
 
 from temptation and to leave you ; but, 
 alas, to see your daughter is to love her, 
 and once in love all volition is gone. I 
 loved her, and even then I did not realise 
 that love would demand a closer relation- 
 ship than respectful admiration. Now, 
 indeed, I am wiser, but I cannot renounce 
 my love, and though my birth is not 
 unworthy of the highest in the land, yet I 
 feel that I have abused the hospitality that 
 you have extended to me ; kill me there- 
 fore, for I cannot live without her ! ' Then, 
 baring his breast, he presented his sword, 
 saying that death at his hands would be 
 more merciful than expulsion. My father 
 was softened at this, and after a moment 
 or two of silence spoke as follows : ' You 
 are a man of honour, and I grieve right 
 truly that it is impossible for me to give 
 you my daughter. I tell thee, Baptisto, 
 that there is no one that I would rather 
 have as a son than thou, and I had hoped 
 to be able to supply the loss of thy father 
 to thee. Since, however, thy dream 
 cannot be fulfilled, thou must leave me. I 
 will give thee letters for the Duke of Milan, 
 with whom thou mayest take service ; once 
 there, thou wilt see many fair women of 
 thy own degree, and thou wilt forget my 
 daughter. When she is married, return to 
 me, and we will be as before.' Poor
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 57 
 
 Baptisto seized his hand and kissing it 
 with the tears running down his cheeks 
 said that he would go since he had no 
 choice, but that he was sure that he would 
 never love anybody else ; and my father, 
 more moved than he cared to show, 
 dismissed him. 
 
 Baptisto did not seek another interview 
 with me, but wrote a general account of 
 what had passed between him and my 
 father ; his letter concluded as follows : 
 ' Farewell, I can never love anyone but 
 thee. I wish thee happiness. Whatever be 
 my fate, as long as we both live, I will 
 watch over thee.' I had expected an end 
 of this kind to my short dream of happiness. 
 And yet the blow was very hard to bear. 
 In your country, perchance, a lady would 
 have written to her cavalier : for I under- 
 stand that there they choose for themselves, 
 and, unless they are heiresses, marry whom 
 they please. Happy country ! But I felt 
 that that was not for me to do, and I verily 
 believe that Baptisto himself would not 
 have been pleased had I done so. As for 
 my father, he said little to me : he blamed 
 me for my want of pride in loving Baptisto, 
 but said nothing more until one terrible 
 day he informed me that Prince Mazzapig- 
 lio had formally asked for my hand in 
 marriage, and had been accepted ; and that
 
 58 The Travels of 
 
 he would that day appear to pay his respects 
 to me. I retired to my apartment as soon 
 as I was permitted, in a very whirl of grief 
 and confusion, no thought would stay a 
 moment together in my brain, and I could 
 not frame any course of conduct. The 
 prince, Baptisto, marriage, and a thousand 
 other thoughts, mingled with ideas of a 
 nunnery or death, chased each other through 
 my mind until I thought that I was going 
 mad. I began a letter to Baptisto, but I 
 could not write coherently, nor did I know 
 where to find him. I sat there, apparently 
 in a stupor, until I was summoned to meet 
 the prince, and I was thankful when I 
 entered the saloon that he was not yet 
 there. He was soon announced, however, 
 and I just managed to rise and make my 
 courtesy, and note that he was a man old 
 enough to be my father, when I lost 
 consciousness and fell on the floor, the 
 blood gushing out of my mouth and nostrils. 
 There was great confusion, and I was 
 carried to my chamber ; a physician was 
 summoned, who ordained that I should 
 keep my bed, and warned my parents that 
 they were not to talk to me of marriage at 
 the present ; for if I were to break another 
 bloodvessel, I should certainly die. Upon 
 this my parents treated me with the utmost 
 tenderness, and nothing more was said in
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 59 
 
 my hearing of Prince Mazzapiglio, so that 
 after I had kept my bed for the space of 
 about a fortnight and commenced to mend, 
 I began to hope that all that it seemed to 
 me that I had experienced in the last few 
 days was but a dream of an evil spirit. I 
 soon became convalescent, and was per- 
 mitted for the first time since my seizure 
 to walk in the garden of the palace. My 
 governess was but a few steps before me, 
 talking to my waiting woman, who was the 
 only other person with me, when suddenly 
 the bushes parted at my side, and a boy 
 appeared who, laying his finger on his lips, 
 thrust a note into my hand, and without a 
 sound vanished. So weak was I that I 
 was startled and gave a scream, and my 
 governess and woman turning back, just 
 caught me as I swooned. Fortunately, how- 
 ever, my hand unconsciously closed upon 
 the note, and when I had collected my 
 thoughts, I hid it in my bosom, so that 
 they did not perceive it. Then, with the 
 fair excuse that I did not feel strong enough 
 to remain out any longer, I got back to 
 my apartments, and dismissing the women, 
 tore open the letter, which was, as my 
 heart had told me, from my dear Baptisto. 
 In it he informed me that he had heard of 
 my promised marriage with the Prince 
 Mazzapiglio, who, since he was in high
 
 60 The Travels of 
 
 favour at court, and immensely wealthy, 
 might, from a worldly point of view, be 
 considered a far more desirable husband for 
 me than he could be himself. ' I need not 
 tell you,' he went on, ' the agonies that I 
 suffered, but I would not seem to influence 
 you ; for I would rather see you happy in 
 a father's love and well to do in the world, 
 than dragged down to poverty by me with 
 your father's curse upon us both. But 
 when I heard (for I take care to learn all 
 that goes on), when I heard how grievously 
 you took it, I wrote to your father, saying 
 that I could no longer remain quiet, and 
 that since I was now convinced that your 
 happiness was bound up with mine, I would 
 henceforward do all in my power to make 
 you my wife. I will not write, even to 
 you, where I am, lest this missive fall into 
 the wrong hands, and I should be seized 
 at the instance of your father ; but rest 
 assured that I am always near you.' My 
 joy at receiving this from my dear Baptisto 
 was more than I can tell you ; for besides 
 the pleasure of hearing from him, I now 
 felt that he was actively engaged in watch- 
 ing over me, and would not give me up to 
 the hateful prince. The roses returned to 
 my cheeks, my strength waxed, insomuch 
 that in a few days my parents again began 
 cautiously to speak to me about the mar-
 
 Matheiv Dudgeon , Gent. 61 
 
 riage ; and seeing that the talk did not affect 
 me so much as before, they were persuaded 
 that I had overcome my former repugnance, 
 or that at least I had become reconciled to 
 my fate. Although the prince did not yet 
 himself venture to see me, yet scarce a day 
 passed without some reminder from him, 
 such as magnificent jewels and posies, 
 and he even ventured to send me verses. 
 Many of the latter I recognised as old 
 friends ; for he doubtlessly thought that I 
 was as ignorant as most of us girls are, and 
 knew not, and still less cared, that besides 
 reading the best authors of my own country, 
 I was mistress of the Latin and French 
 tongues, and had read some of our ancient 
 literature as well as some of the French 
 poets. Some he may have composed him- 
 self, or at least have had composed for him ; 
 and I will give you an example which is 
 perhaps better than most of his pieces, 
 though it is hardly likely to please a young 
 girl, or to displace a favoured lover : 
 
 Why would thy May not wed with my September? 
 
 Is it my head is silver-streaked with time ? 
 Though I be near my Autumn, yet remember 
 
 A woman's Autumn falleth in man's prime. 
 
 Youth hath its charms to take a maiden's fancy : 
 There's naught behind it, it is all outside, 
 
 'Tis but appearance, subtle necromancy, 
 A mirror picture that may not abide.
 
 62 The Travels of 
 
 In youth thou never shalt find constancy : 
 A day he'll love thee, ever after hate ; 
 
 He'll sip thy nectar, like a butterfly, 
 
 And then he'll leave thee, all disconsolate. 
 
 Contemn not Autumn, it is calm and fair, 
 Not hot and stormy as your Summers be ; 
 
 No fickleness or jealousy is there, 
 
 But loving peace and gentle constancy. 
 
 Do not by glozing youth deceived be : 
 He'll be thy master, thou his servitor ; 
 
 But give thy sweet and tender heart to me, 
 That will it keep and cherish evermore ! 
 
 All this, I say, I made a shift to endure, 
 since I heard nearly every week from 
 Baptisto. I found that he had gained 
 over my governess, which was a great 
 solace to me, for I longed for some sym- 
 pathising heart to whom I might unbosom 
 myself and through her he sent his letters 
 to me by divers emissaries. My father 
 somewhat suspected our correspondence, 
 and many straits were we put to to 
 conceal it. Once, a boy bringing a letter, 
 perceived some of my father's servants 
 coming up, and suspecting that they were 
 going to search him, casting about to con- 
 ceal it, hastily entered a blacksmith's shop 
 that was hard by, where he thrust the 
 letter into the flames. The servants 
 entered and searched him, but finding 
 nothing, were obliged to let him go ; and
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 63 
 
 then seeing the smith fall to laughter, in 
 answer to their questions he told them 
 that if they sought for a paper they might 
 find the ashes if they wanted them. An 
 other time that an old serving-man in like 
 case was bringing me a letter, seeing 
 himself followed, he picked up a stone, 
 and wrapping the letter round it, threw it 
 far into the Arno. The servants took 
 him, and carried him before my father, but 
 to all his questions he would answer him 
 nothing. My father threatened him that 
 he should be whipped, but still he would 
 not confess ; until my father, struck by the 
 faithfulness of the fellow, offered him high 
 wages to take service with him. But the 
 man only said that though his master was 
 too poor to give him anything, yet 
 would he serve him as long as he lived. At 
 length, seeing that he could not stop this 
 correspondence, and fearing that I should 
 continue to refuse the prince's hand if I 
 had the comfort of the letters and sym- 
 pathy of Baptisto, my father determined 
 to send me to the convent of Santa Bar- 
 bara, of which a sister of his was the Su- 
 perior. 
 
 This convent had been founded by one 
 of our ancestresses, mainly as a sort of 
 refuge for the females of our family whom 
 it might not be convenient to dower ; and
 
 64 The Travels of 
 
 Tomasina di Capellini, being the least 
 handsome of my father's two sisters, was 
 placed in the convent when she was only 
 ten years old, and had been forced to take 
 the veil when she was eighteen, Al- 
 though she heard news of what was doing 
 in our society and family, for my father 
 sometimes visited her, she knew nothing 
 of the world and its ways ; she had been 
 brought up without a mother's love, amidst 
 a set of women, all of noble families, in- 
 deed, but all outcasts. Some, like herself, 
 had never seen the world ; others had lived 
 a family life, but on their husbands' death 
 had retired here ; others, again, had sinned, 
 and either by force or of their own 
 will had taken the veil. It is not amazing, 
 therefore, that my aunt took a jaundiced 
 view of the world, and had little sympathy 
 with the softer side of human nature. 
 The holy Mother Ursula, for that was my 
 aunt's name in religion, received me with 
 coldness; and the next day, sending for 
 me, she held forth in a long discourse 
 upon the sin of opposing the will of our 
 parents, and finally said that it was my 
 father's desire that I should remain there 
 until I had vanquished my obstinacy and had 
 acquired a proper frame of mind. Should 
 I not consent, she continued, to give my 
 hand to Prince Mazzapiglio within a
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 65 
 
 reasonable time, I was to take the veil and 
 stay there for ever, for in that case my 
 father would have nothing more to say to 
 me. I was thunderstruck. I had hoped 
 that if I had the strength to hold out 
 against him in this my hour of trial, my 
 father, who I knew loved me, would give 
 way ; but I knew not the force of that 
 feeling which is derived from a long line 
 of ancestors. I wrote him a passionate 
 letter of entreaty, assuring him of my love, 
 reminding him that I had never disobeyed 
 him before, and begging him to have pity 
 on me. I promised him that if he would 
 not force me to marry where I could not 
 give my heart, I would never marry with- 
 out his consent ; and finished a long epistle 
 with these words : ' If you deny me my 
 prayer, if you still insist upon my marriage 
 with the prince, it would be easier for me 
 to take the veil and to end my days here, 
 for I am persuaded that this prison will not 
 hold me long, and I shall not have much 
 more to suffer before I am relieved by 
 death.' In a short time my aunt Ursula 
 sent for me again, and informed me that 
 my father was much grieved at my stub- 
 bornness, and that he requested me to 
 hold no further communication with him 
 until I could say that I was ready to 
 obey him. In deep despair I retired to
 
 66 The Travels of 
 
 my cell, thinking of Baptisto, for I 
 doubted much whether he knew where 
 I was, so suddenly and so secretly had I 
 been sent away. But even if he did 
 know, what, indeed, could he do ? Could 
 he unbolt these locks, or lull to sleep the 
 vigilance of the nuns, when it was impos- 
 sible even to communicate with me ? I 
 wept bitterly, and as day after day passed 
 in the same unvarying monotony, all hope 
 seemed to die away, I grew listless and 
 subdued, I seemed to have no soul. What 
 could it matter, I found myself thinking, 
 what could it matter whom I married ? I 
 could never be happy any more, and at 
 least I could please my parents if I con- 
 sented to their choice. 
 
 Here she broke off, saying that it was 
 now late, and she dared not stay any longer, 
 lest she be noticed. But, she added, come 
 to this spot to-morrow night and I will 
 continue my sad story. I assured the 
 lady of my devotion, and took leave of her ; 
 and the next evening was ready betimes, 
 for her story interested me much, and 
 moved me even, in parts. 
 
 Attached to the convent, she resumed, 
 and surrounded by its walls, was a large 
 garden in which the sisters took the air, 
 and also, when they felt so inclined, did a 
 little gardening. But the real work was
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 67 
 
 done by an old man, who as he became 
 aged, had asked and obtained leave to have 
 the assistance of his son, a young boy, who 
 getting older in due course was dismissed, 
 and a succession of boys took his place. I 
 was too listless and too miserable to do any 
 work in the garden, which perhaps, would 
 have been better for me than my continual 
 brooding. But I used to walk in it, though 
 always accompanied by a sister ; for they 
 had, as it seems, taken notice of my in- 
 creasing melancholy, and feared that I might 
 either make some desperate effort to escape 
 or perchance attempt my own life. Upon 
 one of these occasions I had my attention 
 attracted for a moment by hearing the 
 sister say to the gardener, ' You have a 
 new boy ; why did you dismiss the last ? 
 He was not old, and moreover, it seems to 
 me that your new one is somewhat older.' 
 The gardener replied that the other boy 
 was not dismissed, but that he was on a 
 visit to some relatives, and the new boy 
 was only taking his work during his ab- 
 sence ; and then we passed on. This boy 
 was busy at the time in pruning some vines 
 by the side of the walk, and, as I passed 
 by, methought that I heard him whisper 
 the word ' Baptisto.' Instantly I turned 
 my head towards him, for we had already 
 passed, whereupon he made a sign which
 
 68 The Travels of 
 
 showed me he had something to say. As 
 we came round again, I brushed past 
 him as close as I could, and with great 
 dexterity he slipped a note into my hand. 
 If I had not had leisure after I had passed 
 him the first time to compose myself as I 
 walked round the garden, my agitation 
 might have betrayed me ; but as it was, I 
 was prepared, and hastily concealing the 
 note in my bosom I presently told the sister 
 that I was fatigued and would retire into my 
 cell. It was indeed from Baptisto : a letter 
 of passionate love. He informed me that 
 I could communicate with him in the same 
 way that I received this ; and he even had 
 the forethought to enclose a sheet of paper 
 and a tiny piece of Indian ink, for whence 
 could I have procured writing materials 
 without drawing down upon me the sus- 
 picion of the sisters ? He further begged 
 me to consent to a secret marriage : if I 
 would do so he had already arranged a 
 plan for my escape ; but since he could not 
 take me to his own relations for fear of 
 pursuit, so he could not ask me to fly with 
 him without having the right to protect 
 me. I was greatly troubled, for it is a 
 terrible thing to marry without the consent 
 of one's parents, nay, against their express 
 will ; while on the other hand there was 
 the prospect of the happiness of having
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 69 
 
 Baptisto ever by my side, I had told my 
 father that I would never marry without 
 his consent, provided that he would not 
 force me to marry without my own, and he 
 had not listened to me ; so that I now 
 feared every day that I should be forced 
 into a hateful union with one I could 
 never love. You who know the world 
 and weak human nature will guess which 
 way this conflict within me ended : I 
 wrote the words ' I consent,' and passed 
 it to the messenger the next day. Perhaps 
 it was fortunate for me that my anxiety 
 and grief at disobeying my parents pre- 
 vented the joy which I should otherwise 
 have felt, and did in part feel, from mani- 
 festing itself in my face ; and so without 
 being suspected by the sisters, who still 
 watched me vigilantly, and every few days 
 under pretext of cleaning diligently searched 
 my cell, I got another note full of rapture, 
 and containing instructions concerning the 
 method of my escape. I kissed it again 
 and again, and fearing lest it might be 
 discovered, I ate it, for I knew it by heart. 
 Baptisto had been informed by his mes- 
 senger of the position of the convent and 
 all other necessary matters, and he had 
 laid his plans accordingly. Now, every 
 evening the sister who acted as janitor took 
 her keys into my aunt's cell, where they
 
 70 The Travels of 
 
 remained until required for matins. These 
 I was to procure, but the key of the 
 priest's door which gave access to the 
 chapel from outside, was at present in the 
 hands of the gardener in order that he 
 might give the masons access who were at 
 work there, without troubling the nuns 
 every morning : and this Baptisto was 
 himself to get. Oh, how I trembled when 
 the appointed night came ! for I well knew 
 that if I failed this time good care would 
 be taken that I never had the opportunity 
 again. The sisters noticed my agitation, 
 which I could not conceal, and thinking 
 that I had the fever, I was nearly prevented 
 from my purpose by being sent to my cell 
 before the evening meal ; but I assured 
 them that I could not sleep, and begged 
 them so earnestly to let me stay that they 
 gave way. I soon slipped into the buttery, 
 and there, noting my aunt's flagon of wine, 
 which was different from those the sisters 
 used, I put a few drops of opium into it, 
 which Baptisto had sent me for that pur- 
 pose. Instead, however, of feeling sleepy 
 after it, as I had expected her to do, my 
 aunt appeared to be more lively than usual, 
 and also in a better temper, for she bantered 
 me on my obstinacy as she called it, and 
 made the sisters laugh. I was in despair, 
 and still more when, as we were retiring to
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 71 
 
 our cells after the meal, my aunt called 
 to me and bade me follow her. For 
 the first time since I had been in the 
 convent, she talked kindly to me, and put 
 before me the advantage of such an alliance 
 as that with Prince Mazzapiglio, my duty 
 to my father, and many other things of a 
 like nature. While she was talking, the 
 janitress brought in the keys, which I looked 
 at with hungry eyes, for I feared that my 
 aunt might remain awake the whole night ; 
 but to my great relief, after a little longer 
 her mind seemed to begin to wander, she 
 paused in her talk as if to gather her 
 thoughts together, and these pauses gra- 
 dually grew longer until her head, which she 
 rested on her hands, gradually sank down 
 upon the table, and she slept. I seized the 
 keys, extinguished the lamp, and quietly 
 retired to my own cell. There I waited 
 for what seemed to me ages, until I thought 
 all the sisters were asleep ; then stealing 
 down the corridor, starting at every sound, I 
 picked out the key of the chapel door with- 
 out much difficulty, and hurrying through 
 in an agony of fear lest the marble effigies 
 of my relations should rise up against me, 
 I made my way to the other door, where I 
 expected to find Baptisto waiting. I tried 
 it, but found it locked. I listened, but could 
 hear no sound. In trembling accents I
 
 72 The Travels of 
 
 whispered the name of Baptisto, but there 
 was no reply save the sighing of the wind. 
 I sank down on the stone floor and wept, 
 for I felt that some untoward accident must 
 have happened : the gardener had gone out 
 with his key, Baptisto had been seen, or I 
 knew not what ! I only knew that all my 
 chances were gone ; that the hope which 
 had so newly cheered me was but a bitter 
 mockery ; and that henceforward I was 
 doomed to a life of misery and living 
 entombment. But just as I was on the 
 point of returning to my cell I heard the 
 key turning in the lock, and with a cry of 
 joy and relief I found myself in Baptisto's 
 arms. I could not restrain my tears, so 
 great was the revulsion of my feelings from 
 the lowest depths of despair to the height 
 of happiness ; but Baptisto, after a tender 
 embrace, hurried me out, and at a short 
 distance we came to the horses he had in 
 waiting, and then dismissing the servant 
 we two rode away alone. It did not take us 
 long to reach San Martino, where Baptisto 
 had arranged with the priest to marry us 
 and ask no questions. In his poor chamber, 
 therefore, and at midnight, I was married, 
 the priest's housekeeper holding our horses 
 the while ; and no power on earth, not even 
 the Holy Father himself, could undo it. 
 We immediately mounted aeain and rode
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 73 
 
 on some distance, carefully avoiding the 
 larger places, such as Castelfiorentino, 
 where Baptisto was known, and towards 
 dawn we reached Montajone, a mountain 
 village, where we sought the hospitality of 
 a cottager. Here we gave our horses a 
 rest ; and I, who was dying with fatigue, 
 not being used to exercise during my long 
 imprisonment in the convent, after a hasty 
 meal, such as the place afforded, retired to 
 an inner room and was soon fast asleep. 
 Baptisto, who seemed to be made of iron, 
 meanwhile looked to the horses, procured 
 some food to take with us, and made 
 other necessary preparations. In a couple 
 of hours he awoke me, and we resumed 
 our flight. We felt pretty sure that we 
 should not be immediately followed, because 
 I should not be missed until the morning, 
 as I did not usually attend the midnight 
 mass, and no one saw us depart ; nor, unless 
 they inquired of the priest of San Martino 
 (if they chanced to come there, and he 
 chanced to break his oath) would they 
 obtain any tidings of the direction which 
 we had taken ; for all the country we had 
 passed through was wrapped in slumber. 
 For these reasons, and for the sake of our 
 horses, and perhaps too because we liked 
 to ride hand-in-hand, we did not urge our 
 beasts along too fast. We rode the greater
 
 74 The Travels of 
 
 part of the day, with but two hours' rest at 
 noon in a wood, and were looking out for 
 some place to halt for the night, when in 
 the neighbourhood of a mountain town 
 called Chianni, I chanced to see a troop of 
 armed men riding down upon us. I called 
 to Baptisto to fly, at the same time turning 
 my horse off the track into a wood, and 
 sped on as fast as I could make my way 
 among the trees ; but Baptisto, who was 
 busier in looking on my face than in look- 
 ing out along the road, did not follow 
 quickly. I fled on some distance, and 
 then halted for Baptisto, but the woods 
 were silent and I was afraid to cry 
 out. I searched hither and thither, but 
 to no purpose, and by-and-by the shades 
 of night began to fall and my horse gave 
 evident signs of being tired out. I 
 dismounted and led it along, stumbling at 
 every step, and as the darkness fell thick, 
 as it soon did among those trees, my fears 
 grew stronger. Every shadow methought 
 to be a wild beast, and the soughing of the 
 wind sounded to me as the nearing cries 
 of the wolves. Tired as I was, it seemed 
 that I had walked for hours when at length 
 I saw a light in the distance, for which I 
 made at once, and found to proceed from 
 a humble cottage. I knocked at the door, 
 and an old man came out, shading the
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 75 
 
 lamp with his hand, while his old wife 
 peered over his shoulder. I asked him if 
 it was yet far to Quirico, for that was the 
 port we had been making for, and whence 
 we had intended to sail for Sicily. The 
 man appeared to be greatly amazed at 
 seeing me, and replied that it was a day's 
 journey from hence, and now too dark to 
 seek the way, nor was there, he added, any 
 village in the neighbourhood. I asked 
 him therefore if he would give me shelter 
 for the night ; at which he sighed, and said 
 ' Alas ! this wood is haunted by bands of evil 
 men, and should they come upon me, as 
 they often do, they might do thee an 
 injury, and I could not protect thee.' 
 Thereupon I said, ' Father, I have no 
 choice ; if I go on, I shall lose my way 
 and perhaps be torn to pieces by wolves, 
 or even meet some of those bands you 
 fear. If I stay with you, I shall only run 
 one risk, and moreover, both I and my 
 horse are exhausted : therefore I pray you, 
 give me food and shelter for this night.' 
 The old couple then gave me permission 
 to enter, and the best that their cottage 
 afforded. My horse was stabled in a little 
 shed, and we retired early to rest. But 
 my fears for Baptisto and the thought of 
 my misfortunes kept sleep far from me. 
 How hard had been our lot, and how
 
 7 6 The Travels of 
 
 happy we might have been but for our 
 absurd Italian pride ! I had been nearly 
 driven mad by my fears lest I should be 
 forced into a marriage that I detested ; I 
 had lost my father's love, a splendid home, 
 and been banished to the gloomy imprison- 
 ment of the convent ; and now, when I 
 thought that some chance of happiness 
 was dawning for me in my Baptisto's arms, 
 I had again lost him : nay, he was perhaps 
 killed, and I had lost him for ever! 
 Tormented by these thoughts, I tossed 
 about and wooed sleep in vain. Just as it 
 grew dawn, methought I heard the distant 
 trampling of many horses and men. Hastily 
 rising, I looked forth, and saw many armed 
 men coming towards the cottage, which 
 greatly terrified me, and seeking to save 
 myself, I went out to the yard at the back 
 of the cottage for concealment if it were 
 possible. There I was fortunate enough 
 to find a great heap of coarse hay, in which 
 I completely buried myself. Hardly had 
 I done so, when they entered the cottage, 
 and after looking round, entered the shed, 
 where they found my horse and saddle ; 
 upon which they asked the old man whom 
 he had with him, and he, not seeing me, 
 declared that there was no one there 
 saving himself and his wife ; but as for 
 the horse, he said he had found it grazing
 
 Mathew Dzidgeon, Gent. 77 
 
 outside his cottage the evening before, and 
 for fear lest it might be killed by the 
 wolves, he had stabled it. They appeared 
 to be satisfied with this explanation, and 
 said that since the horse had no owner 
 they would give it one and take it with 
 them. Then they dispersed therrfselves 
 through the cottage, many of them coming 
 out into the yard, where building a fire, 
 they cooked themselves some goatsflesh 
 and other food that they had brought with 
 them, and producing an abundance of wine, 
 they made merry and grew very riotous ; 
 and had I not then escaped another very 
 great danger which convinced me that I 
 was under the Divine protection, I should 
 have been even more terrified than I was. 
 For when the men came out into the yard, 
 they tossed aside their arms, and one out 
 of very wantonness threw his spear into the 
 heap of hay in which I lay concealed, and 
 so close did it pass to my right side that it 
 even tore my gown. I was so afraid that 
 I nearly cried out, but mercifully was able 
 to restrain myself; and there I lay a- 
 trembling while they rested and ate and 
 drank their fill : and it then growing light, 
 they went away, taking my horse with them. 
 As soon as they were gone, the old man 
 asked his wife if she knew where I was, 
 for he was troubled concerning me ; and I
 
 78 The Travels of 
 
 then came forth and related to them how I 
 had concealed myself and what had passed, 
 at which they greatly marvelled. Now 
 that it was daylight, the old man told me 
 that I might safely proceed on my journey. 
 At about ten miles distance, there was, he 
 told me, a castle to which he would 
 conduct me, called Castellina Maritima, 
 where I could be safely lodged, and thither 
 he guided me. After resting there a day, 
 and not getting any tidings of Baptisto, I 
 proceeded to Quirico, where to my despair 
 I still could hear nothing of him. And 
 then came the night in which we were 
 attacked in the manner you wot. While 
 the fighting was going on and I was 
 watching and praying from my refuge, 
 methought I saw Baptisto among the few 
 who had stayed and were defending the 
 place from the Turks ; and I have seen 
 him here on board this galley rowing 
 among the slaves. How relieved, and at 
 the same time how miserable I felt when I 
 recognised him you will readily imagine : 
 relieved that he had escaped from the 
 robbers, and miserable that through me, 
 and in my defence, he should have been 
 condemned to this slavery. I trust in you 
 to help to communicate with him in order 
 that we may endeavour to form some plan 
 of escape, and failing that, I am resolved
 
 Matheiv Dudgeon, Gent. 79 
 
 to put an end to this life which seems 
 destined to be nought but a source of 
 unhappiness to its owner and to all who 
 come in contact with her. 
 
 It was already late when she had 
 finished her narrative, and we therefore 
 agreed to meet the next night to consider 
 what were best to be done. The next day, 
 as I dressed Baptisto's wounds, I whispered 
 to him that I knew his story ; but we could 
 come to no plan of escape. We were 
 steering up towards Genoa, and as we 
 neared the place a galley came out flying 
 a flag of truce, and our fleet halted to 
 parley. All the captains assembled on 
 board our vessel, and the embassy from 
 Genoa, several grave and reverend signers, 
 came on board too. They were come to 
 offer the exchange of Mahometan cap- 
 tives for Christians, which was accepted of, 
 but only a few, and those that had been 
 lately taken, were exchanged : for most of 
 the slaves had no friends in these parts. 
 Among the rest of the embassy was a man 
 of consideration, who when he was come on 
 board and his eyes fell on Gabriella could 
 not restrain the hot tears from coursing 
 down his wrinkled cheeks. She also recog- 
 nising him seemed to fall into a swoon ; 
 and I soon discovered that this was her 
 father. The Turks at the beginning would
 
 80 The Travels of 
 
 not listen to any offer of ransom, but at 
 length, being tempted by a large sum, they 
 gave way, and Gabriella was free to go. 
 But this she refused without Baptisto being 
 also ransomed ; for, as she told her father, 
 he was her husband, and she intended 
 rather to die than be ransomed and leave 
 him, who was become a slave for her sake. 
 The old general had a terrible struggle 
 betwixt his pride and his love for his only 
 daughter, yet in the end he could not 
 choose but give way : for was it not a 
 greater dishonour to leave his daughter in 
 captivity among the Turks than to acknow- 
 ledge her marriage with Baptisto, who, if 
 poor, -at least came of noble family ? 
 Morepver, she was married to him and the 
 marntage could not be undone, so that 
 even if Baptisto remained in captivity 
 she could never make a great alliance. 
 Therefore it was that he gave way, and 
 the last I saw of them was the three going 
 away very lovingly together. I was 
 enraged that there could be so much 
 ingratitude in the world as to leave me, 
 whom they seemed not to think of, behind. 
 Had I guessed at it, I would have informed 
 the Turks of the great riches of the Capel- 
 lini. But it was too late, and I was left 
 on board the galley without hope of release, 
 with the agony of disappointment, and the
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 81 
 
 fear that as soon as we returned to Algiers 
 I should be recognised and punished for 
 my attempted escape. 
 
 The Rais, or Captain-general, was now 
 satisfied with the success of the expedition, 
 and accordingly the fleet set sail for their 
 respective ports. But my estate was of 
 the most miserable, for I greatly feared 
 that I should be recognised when I arrived, 
 and punished, as I have already related. 
 There was a great concourse at the landing 
 place, of men quiet and dignified, and of 
 women giving their shrill cries of joy 
 or ululations. As soon as the prisoners 
 were taken ashore, I observed the same 
 renegado that deceived so many when I 
 was first taken ; and who, I found, had 
 been on board one of the galleys buying 
 the slaves from their captors, now busy 
 among the prisoners marshalling his pur- 
 chases : and in the bitterness of my heart I 
 bethought me of a tale to relate whereby I 
 might revenge the Christians he had 
 deceived. Accordingly, chained at the oar 
 as I was, I cried out in a loud voice (for 
 by this time I had learned to speak their 
 language so as to be understood), that I 
 had something to say unto the Dey ; at 
 which no man durst affront me, but my 
 chains were knocked off, and I was led 
 into the Presence. After that I had made
 
 82 The Travels of 
 
 my salaam, I was bidden to speak ; where- 
 upon I said : O Dey ! this slave of thine, 
 this Emir Hassan, hath deceived thee, 
 for there was a great beauty among the 
 prisoners, whose tace was as the full moon, 
 with joined eyebrows, and a body like the 
 willow-wand, so that the sight of her would 
 ravish all beholders. And then one stood 
 forward, whom I had instructed, and recited 
 the following verses, which I will do into 
 English : 
 
 Her cheeks were smooth and tender, she was delicate 
 
 and fair, 
 Like to a pearl hid in its shell, suffused with colour 
 
 rare ; 
 
 Her shape like to an Alif, and her smile a medial Mim, 
 Her body like a willow wand, slender, tall and slim. 
 
 Like arrows sharp her glances shot to search out every 
 
 part, 
 To water turned the liver, and made roast meat of the 
 
 heart ; 
 Her eyebrows like inverted Nouns, and arched as 
 
 Rustem's bow, 
 Like Sad beneath her eyes shone out in dulcet tender 
 
 glow. 
 
 Hair in abundance decked her head, and hung down 
 
 to her feet ; 
 
 None e'er created lovelier, or for a king more meet ! 
 Praise Allah, who created her a creature of such grace, 
 And those who sold her for a price, may their lot be 
 
 disgrace ! 
 
 This one, I continued, was reserved 
 for thee, O Dey ! but the Emir Hassan
 
 Mat hew Duageon, Gent. 83 
 
 loved gold better than thee, and he per- 
 mitted her to be ransomed. At this the 
 Dey was very angry, and straightway 
 ordered that the renegado should be cast 
 into prison, and all his goods plundered, 
 for none could gainsay what I had said. 
 As for me, the Dey took me into his 
 particular service, and so I escaped the 
 penalty that my old master, who had re- 
 cognised me, was prepared to impose upon 
 me through the cadi or magistrate of the 
 town. 
 
 And here I saw several of the prisoners 
 who were wicked or weak of heart abjure 
 their religion ; and the manner thereof was 
 this. The renegado is set upon a horse, 
 with his face towards the tail and a bow 
 and arrow in his hand. After him is carried 
 a picture of the Nazarene Christ, as they 
 call Him, feet upwards, at which he draws 
 his bow with the arrow therein ; and thus 
 he rides to the place of abjuration, cursing 
 the father that begat him, the mother 
 that bore him, his kindred, and his 
 country. Then, coming to the place of 
 oath-taking, he says : ' Allah il Allah, 
 Mahomet Rasoul Allah ' ; and afterwards 
 he is called a renegado, that is a Christian 
 denying Christ, and turned Turk ; of which 
 sort there are more in Algiers and in 
 Barbary than natural Turks. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 The Travels of 
 
 Among the slaves of the Emir Hassan 
 who were seized by the Dey was one, a 
 Spaniard, with whom I became intimate in 
 this wise. We two, with many others, were 
 employed as ferrashes, that is as carpet 
 spreaders, sweepers, and so forth ; for in 
 the summer the Dey would desert his 
 palace and live in tents in airy places where 
 he could best catch the cooler breezes that 
 blew from the north, and then the whole 
 work of the camp would be carried on by us. 
 Now, the Ferrash Bashi, or chief of the 
 Ferrashes, was a Dutchman who had been 
 a pirate, mainly preying upon those Spanish 
 vessels which came richly laden from the 
 settlements of Peru, and which, when 
 they had passed all the dangers of the sea 
 and were near their port, were cruelly taken 
 almost within sight of land : and these 
 pirates having fast ships, the heavy Spanish 
 men-of-war could seldom come up with 
 them before they had taken their prizes. 
 I suppose from the nature of his former 
 vocation the Dutchman looked upon all 
 Spaniards as his enemies : but whatever 
 might be the reason, he treated my friend 
 Pablo with a cruelty and brutishness that 
 must have been hard to bear, as without 
 doubt it was hard for me with the blood of 
 a free Englishman in me to look upon with 
 coolness. One day this man, who was
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 85 
 
 called Hendrik vander Stok, being in a 
 more surly mood than usual, found some 
 fault with the manner in which Pablo had 
 discharged those duties which appertained 
 to him ; and with his courbash or whip of 
 hide chastised him so terribly that he lay 
 there in his blood without sense or motion. 
 When I saw this, and saw that even then 
 he would not give over his blows, I spoke 
 to him and bade him desist ; whereupon in 
 his blind rage he turned and spat in my 
 face, at the same time striking me with his 
 whip. But the next moment he lay without 
 motion on the ground, for I had given him 
 a blow behind the ear, and he fell like an 
 ox. He never moved again, but none but 
 the slaves saw him fall, and therefore I 
 escaped punishment, for they all hated 
 him, and gave the Turks to understand 
 that he had died of an apoplexy (and, 
 indeed, he had died of a stroke) which they 
 the more readily believed seeing that he 
 had no wound ; and moreover they would 
 not be troubled to inquire more nearly, for 
 they held a slave's life as a thing of nought. 
 When Pablo recovered, and learnt that it 
 was I who of my generosity and disregard 
 of danger of my life had bravely saved his, 
 his gratitude knew no bounds. Thence- 
 forth he would endeavour to do all my 
 work for me, and to give him satisfaction,
 
 86 The Travels of 
 
 I let him do as much as he could without 
 observation of the Turks. He would also 
 bring me what food he was able, which 
 was very acceptable, seeing that our allow- 
 ance was but scanty, and would talk with 
 me in his own tongue, which was the only 
 one he understood, but which I soon picked 
 up by the help of the Italian which I already 
 knew. He had a lute, which he may have 
 brought with him for all I know, upon 
 which he played not without skill ; and in 
 this he was encouraged by the Turks ; for, 
 although the music of these heathens (if it 
 may be called by that name) resembles not 
 at all those sweet sounds which ever delight 
 the ears of polite men and Christians, yet 
 the music of the Spaniards is somewhat 
 betwixt that of Christians and of Turks. 
 
 One day I heard him discourse these 
 verses : 
 
 How long, O Death, must I then on thee call ? 
 
 To most, alas ! thou comest all too soon : 
 To young, to old, to rich and poor, to all 
 
 Thou art a curse to me alone a boon. 
 Yet, nathless, I'd not have thee take me here : 
 
 For if my country I may never see, 
 That beauteous land that still I hold most dear, 
 
 Let it at least afford a grave to me ! 
 My bones can never rest in foreign earth ; 
 
 If death be sleep, 'tis therefore I can't die, 
 Enshrined in that dear soil that gave me birth 
 
 Alone 'tis possible for me to lie !
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 87 
 
 In mine own land the seasons come and go, 
 
 Spring blossoms bloom, and autumn leaves do 
 
 fall; 
 The Sun still shines, the gentle rivers flow, 
 
 And birds still make the woodlands musical. 
 My absence makes no discontinuance there, 
 
 The waters of oblivion close me o'er : 
 Friends I had once that used to speak me fair 
 
 Now I am gone, they think of me no more. 
 And yet, not ail there's one still thinks of me, 
 
 Still weeps for me, still watches, and still prays ; 
 And, in my dreams, her tear-dimmed face I see, 
 
 That gives me strength to bear my evil days. 
 
 This made me curious to hear his 
 history, which without much pressing he 
 related as follows.
 
 THE STORY OF PABLO FRAXADO 
 Y RIBADENEYRA 
 
 father's name was Antonio 
 Fraxado de Castaneda, and 
 he occupied the office of 
 master of the mint in the 
 ancient town of Segovia. 
 My mother came of the 
 noble family of Ribadeneyra, but her I 
 cannot remember, for she died while I 
 was yet an infant, so that my only expe- 
 rience of a mother's love was from my old 
 Catalan nurse, who also served as house- 
 keeper to my father in his modest dwel- 
 ling on the banks of the Eresma, hard 
 by the mint, whose name was Christiana 
 Irurosqui, which was shortened into la 
 Cria. The household was completed by 
 a boy of Moorish blood of about my own 
 age, who came the Lord knows whence, 
 called Pedro el Moro, who served as 
 my playfellow when young, and my ser- 
 vant when he grew older. My father
 
 Matheiv Dudgeon, Gent. 89 
 
 was a man of retired habits who seemed 
 to have no friends save a priest called 
 Dom Vicente, who used to sup with him 
 at least once in the seven days, and with 
 whom he loved to talk of the nature of the 
 things of this earth, and their virtues and 
 qualities ; for, indeed, it was shrewdly sus- 
 pected that my father sought for the philo- 
 sopher's stone, and even dabbled a little in 
 the black art. Nay, some went so far as 
 to assert that el Moro was a devil that he 
 had called up, and who now was only 
 biding his time to fly away with his soul. 
 And yet my father was a pious man who 
 faithfully fulfilled all the duties of our 
 holy church, and fasted when there were 
 fast days (which, alas ! I thought, came 
 with undue frequency) ; but nevertheless it 
 was fortunate for him that no accident had 
 happened at the mill, or it might have 
 gone hard with him. I loved him greatly, 
 but perhaps feared him more, for he 
 seldom took any notice of me, and never 
 unbent before me, or played with me, 
 much less fondled me. Yet when he had 
 occasion to speak to me he was always 
 kind, and I never had a harsh word from 
 him. 
 
 When I had arrived at the age of nine 
 years, Dom Vicente suggested to him that 
 it was time that my education should
 
 90 The Travels of 
 
 be seen to, and himself undertook to 
 instruct me in the rudiments of the Latin 
 tongue, for I was a great favourite of his, 
 and he hoped to make a priest of me. 
 Moreover he taught me of the hidden 
 secrets of nature, of the precious stones, 
 and how they engender of the sap or juice 
 of other stones distilled within crevices ; 
 though some, as he told me, who take 
 upon themselves to sift more narrowly the 
 secrets of nature, affirm that they are 
 sublimed from the sap or marrow of the 
 precious metals. Of their diverse proper- 
 ties he told me that which they call 
 Nicolaus maketh him that weareth it sad 
 and melancholic, and so wrests the spirits 
 and inward parts that it stirs up wonderful 
 passions in the mind. He also talked 
 of a stone called Opal, most fickle and 
 changing in colour, which maketh as 
 many perish as wear it ; and also of 
 another called Natron, which, as is won- 
 derful to relate, being cast upon the water 
 straightway kindles into flame without the 
 help of fire ; a thing rather mystical than 
 agreeing with our capacity. There is 
 also the Ruby, which chaseth away melan- 
 choly, prevents dreams and illusions at 
 night, and serves as a counterpoison 
 against corrupt air. The Sapphire repre- 
 sents fire in its most vehement heat, as
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 91 
 
 also the azure sky, being most calm and 
 clear. For the use of physic, there is no 
 stone of greater price, seeing that it is 
 of so great virtue by reason of its coldness 
 that it presently staunches bleeding of the 
 nose, heals the eyes, and, if placed on the 
 tongue of them that suffer from fever, 
 mortifies the disease. It also serves as a 
 counterpoison against all venoms, and 
 defends all infections of the air from such 
 as wear it in pestilent times. The Hya- 
 cinth defends from thunders. The Tur- 
 quoise chaseth away all troubles from the 
 brain. He also told me many wonderful 
 things of fishes : one of the most won- 
 drous things, so miraculous as to be 
 almost incredible, is that those dumb 
 creatures do lift themselves out of their 
 moist element to pierce the air as birds do 
 with their wings. There is also the fish 
 which is called in Latin the Torpedo, 
 which hath a hidden property which is 
 very strange, for if a man do touch it 
 with an angle rod, she enchanteth forth- 
 with his arm, so that often time he is 
 constrained to abandon his prize. There 
 are also fish of the. likeness of men, saving 
 that their skin is like to the slough of an 
 eel ; they have two little horns on the 
 head, and on either hand have but two 
 fingers. The feet end in a tail, and on
 
 92 The Travels of 
 
 the arms are two wings as a bald mouse 
 hath. Furthermore, he taught of the 
 nature of plants, as, for instance, of the 
 herb Basil, which, if a man chew and place 
 under a stone, will straightway engender a 
 scorpion. Also the herb called Pulicaris 
 hath such a cold virtue that being cast into 
 boiling water it will kill the heat thereof. 
 The Squilla, if hanged in a house, delivereth 
 men from charms and sorceries, and the 
 Parsley, by a certain secret property, 
 engendereth in us the falling sickness. 
 Furthermore, the Consyre hath so great a 
 virtue to knit and make to grow together 
 fresh hurts, that being put into a pot with 
 fresh pieces of flesh, it will knit and join 
 them together. These and many other 
 things he taught me, very curious, but 
 which I cannot now call to mind ; and 
 being thus well tutored in all learning by 
 Dom Vicente, yet unwilling to take orders 
 as he wished, my father set me to work in 
 the mill in the purification of the metals, in 
 which the knowledge that I had gained was 
 of use. But I liked not the occupation, 
 and would steal away whenever I was able 
 to the more congenial pursuit of a fair face 
 that had caught my roving sight through 
 a window grill, the lovely Dolores Esca- 
 nuela, who was unfortunately an heiress, 
 and therefore sought after by all the
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 93 
 
 gallants of Segovia. Scarcely a night 
 passed but what she was serenaded by 
 some young blade, so that the town musi- 
 cians had no rest, neither had she, without 
 she stopped her ears with wool, and what 
 young maiden would do that to shut out 
 the sweet incense of a serenade ? Fre- 
 quent were the brawls which took place 
 under her window, insomuch that her 
 father made complaint to the alcalde ; but 
 the alguazils durst not interfere, for many 
 had their heads broken. As for the young 
 gallants, it was almost an act of suicide to 
 serenade her unless in a party of ten or 
 twelve, when some very pretty fighting 
 generally took place. For my part, I had 
 no friends ; for besides the bad odour 
 in which my father was held for his reputed 
 dealings in the black art, his retired habits 
 prevented him from making the acquain- 
 tance of his fellow-townsmen, and therefore 
 prevented me from being on familiar terms 
 with their sons. Nevertheless, so great 
 were the attractions of Dolores' charms, 
 that I too, alone as I was, ventured to 
 serenade her in the following verses : 
 
 Alas, arise ! 
 
 And cast thy eyes 
 On me, love stricken, that dares thy feet to kiss ; 
 
 Ah, pity take ! 
 
 And for love's sake 
 List to my suit, and drown me all in bliss
 
 94 The Travels of 
 
 I scarce dare raise 
 
 My voice in praise 
 Of the charms with which so richly thou'rt indued ; 
 
 Thou wilt not deign 
 
 A humble swain 
 That of so many gallant swains are wooed ! 
 
 Nathless a youth, 
 
 That loves in truth, 
 Beyond what words can e'er to thee express, 
 
 Can never find 
 
 Thy heart unkind 
 To leave him in such dire unhappiness ! 
 
 Ah, sweetest one ! 
 
 I am undone : 
 Give me some sign that thou wilt look on me ! 
 
 I cannot live 
 
 If thou'lt not give 
 Some token of thy gentle charity ! 
 
 As I came to the last verse, what was 
 my joy to see a white flower drop at my 
 feet ! I caught it up and covered it with 
 kisses, and was about to depart in the 
 seventh heaven of happiness, when a band 
 of the retainers of the Count de Villegas, 
 who was also one of Dolores' suitors, 
 rushed upon me, so that I had scarce time 
 to draw my sword to defend myself. 
 However, I set my back to the wall and 
 did what I could El Moro had fled at 
 the first onset, so there was I alone to 
 thrust and parry as best I could against 
 six ; but the odds were too great, and in 
 a short time I fell covered with blood from
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 95 
 
 several wounds. Undoubtedly I should 
 have been killed had not several alguazils, 
 hearing the noise of clashing steel, come 
 just at that moment to the end of the street, 
 taking good care to leave the other end 
 free for escape, and letting their presence 
 be known by their flashing lanterns, by 
 striking their wands on the pavement, and 
 their shouts of ' Seize the peacebreakers ! ' 
 and the like ; when, seeing that the Count 
 de Villegas' men had fled, and there finding 
 me stretched upon the ground for dead, 
 they were for carrying me to prison for a 
 brawler. Fortunately for me, Dolores' 
 father just then came out, who, after ex- 
 amining me, bound up my wounds with 
 his daughter's assistance ; and recognising 
 me, ordered some of his servants to carry 
 me home. My father was much grieved 
 at the calamity which had befallen me, and 
 showed more tenderness than I had hitherto 
 thought he had. After applying some 
 healing balsam, he and la Cria set them- 
 selves to watching by my bedside in turns, 
 where I was soon in a raging fever. By 
 the great care of my father, and with the 
 aid of a good constitution, in about ten 
 days I had so far recovered as to be out 
 of danger of my life ; and as soon as I was 
 strong enough, I searched through the 
 garments that I had worn on that fateful
 
 96 The Travels of 
 
 night to find my guerdon, the flower 
 which I had thrust into my bosom before 
 the attack ; and though my search was in 
 vain, I nevertheless found to my great joy 
 a handkerchief embroidered with the first 
 letter of Dolores' name, which I supposed 
 she had used for staunching my wounds. 
 My father still watched by me, and great 
 was my desire to embrace him and open 
 my heart to him. I think that he would 
 have been pleased had I done so ; but as 
 I grew better, so his stiffness grew upon 
 him again, and before I could muster 
 courage to address him the opportunity 
 was lost, he had returned to his ordinary 
 occupations, and the old relation between 
 us of outward coldness was resumed. It 
 was not so with la Cria. She was never 
 tired of fondling me, and wishing all the 
 foulest deaths she could think of to fall on 
 the house of Villegas, to be followed by 
 eternal punishment in the lowest hell 
 hereafter. To Dom Vicente, who was a 
 frequent visitor, she would confess her sin 
 of uncharitableness as he told her that it 
 was ; I say, she would confess it to him 
 every time, in order that she might have a 
 free conscience to sin again in the same 
 manner directly afterwards. My father 
 wished to complain before the corregidor 
 of the unprovoked attack, but Dom Vicente
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 97 
 
 with much ado dissuaded him ; for, as he 
 pointed out, in any case the Count de 
 Villegas would bring all his influence to 
 bear, and it was not likely that the 
 corregidor would withstand that at the 
 suit of a plain citizen. He forbore to tell 
 him his more potent reason, that the vulgar 
 of the town looked askaunt upon him for 
 his supposed magical powers, and disliked 
 him while they feared him. My father, who 
 was a man of sense, acknowledged that 
 the advice was good ; nevertheless he 
 fretted that he could not be avenged, and 
 all the more since anything that disturbed 
 the usual placid course of his life made him 
 quite unable to follow those pursuits which 
 he so much loved. Had his means been 
 sufficiently great, he would say, to supply 
 those costly earths, precious stones, and 
 alembics, and so forth, that he found 
 needful for his studies, he had left the 
 neighbourhood of cities, and would have 
 retired to some quiet mountain hermitage, 
 where, undisturbed by the distractions of 
 the world and the necessity of mingling 
 with vulgar souls, he might commune with 
 Nature, and win those secrets from her 
 reluctant hand for which he so greatly 
 thirsted and so patiently laboured. But, 
 what avails talk like this, he added ; there 
 is no peace in this world. He who hath
 
 98 The Travels of 
 
 no relations to distract him, no one to 
 consider but himself, will pine for the 
 sympathy of his kind. The work he has 
 done, even the fame he may win, turns to 
 bitterness and gall. He will ask himself 
 of what use to him is a name known far 
 and wide, to be remembered even after its 
 bearer is no more, a mere breath associated 
 with the idea that once a living man owned 
 it, and that too would die in a few years 
 and be forgotten, only to be remembered 
 now and again by the curious delvers in 
 the history of the forgotten past. If, on 
 the other hand, our unfortunate lot gave 
 us friends or relatives to love, did not 
 their pains, their accidents, their griefs or 
 their misdoings, fall upon us as though we 
 had the capacity to bear the ills of many 
 with the physical body of but one ? But 
 la Cria had no patience with him when he 
 was in one of these moods. It is not for 
 us, she would say, to ask why we are here 
 more than anywhere else, or to repine at 
 the position in which we are placed. Cry 
 when you are moved to tears, laugh when 
 you are moved to mirth, hate your enemies 
 and love your friends. These were the 
 maxims upon which she acted, and accord- 
 ingly made el Moro's life a burden to him 
 with her gibes against him for running 
 away, in spite of his oaths that he went but
 
 Mat hew D^tdgeon t Gent. 99 
 
 to obtain succour, perceiving that so he 
 might do his master the greater service, 
 On the other hand, she scraped acquaint- 
 ance with Dolores' duenna, and would 
 bring me news of my mistress which so 
 gladdened my heart that I made a rapid 
 recovery. 
 
 As soon as I was able I went to the 
 Church of the Seven Sorrows, which I 
 knew was frequented by Dolores, and to 
 my great joy I saw her, recognising her 
 in spite of her veil, for what veil will not 
 a lover's eye pierce ? I knelt beside her, 
 and had hardly the patience to let pass one 
 quarter of an hour before I addressed her. 
 I saw by her mantling blush that she re- 
 cognised me as I spoke. ' Fair lady,' I 
 began, ' it seems that the Saints take pity 
 on those that truly love, since I have the 
 felicity to meet you here, the sight of 
 whom is life. I beseech you excuse me 
 if, having ended my devotions, I begin to 
 pray you to take pity upon me, whose flame 
 is so ardent and affection so passionate, as 
 either I must live yours or not die my own.' 
 To this Dolores answered : ' Sir, since 
 your devotions can neither be pleasing to 
 God nor profitable to your soul if you 
 come here merely to have speech with me, 
 so it would be equally sinful in me to reply 
 to your civil speeches either as your present
 
 ioo The Travels of 
 
 action or real merit deserves.' I was not 
 so great a novice in the art of love as to 
 be put off with the first rebuff, but rather 
 seeing that the perfection of her mind 
 corresponded with the beauty of her form, 
 resolved to return to the charge, and there- 
 fore boarded her thus : ' Sweet lady, where 
 can truth be more fitly spoken than in 
 the temple of truth, or where else could 
 my hard lot afford me an opportunity of 
 speech with one who hath the power, so 
 great is my devotion, to make me brave 
 all the evil of this world or the next ? If 
 you will not have me speak to you here, 
 until, as I ardently hope, you condescend 
 to plight your vows to me before the altar, 
 at least give an opportunity of speaking to 
 you elsewhere, that I may assure you of 
 my unfeigned love and undying devotion.' 
 At this, Dolores, repenting her of her 
 harshness towards me, replied : ' Noble 
 sir, when I am as well acquainted with 
 your heart as with your speeches I may 
 perhaps pardon your indiscretion in thus 
 addressing me, and since I may have 
 wronged your merits and virtues, if you 
 will be at the wicket gate of my father's 
 house soon after the first watch of the 
 night, I will give you then an opportunity 
 to explain your intent at greater length.' 
 So saying, she bowed to me, and going
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 101 
 
 forth, left me in so happy and eager a state 
 that I scarce knew what I did, but only 
 that the day seemed to be the longest that 
 I had ever passed. 
 
 It is needless to say that the hour 
 found me at the wicket gate, but I had 
 hardly got there when there was a great 
 bruit or noise of clashing of naked weapons 
 in the same street at its further end, and 
 I clearly perceived that it was a brawl 
 between two parties of pretenders to 
 Dolores' favour, who, being on the same 
 errand intent, had there met. In haste to 
 escape their observation I knocked at the 
 gate, but scarcely had I done so than one 
 being hurt in the skirmish broke out of the 
 press, and fleeing towards the place where 
 I stood, fell down dead at my feet, even as 
 the duenna, the confidante of Dolores, 
 opened the wicket to let me enter. She 
 straightway conducted me into a garderobe 
 or inner chamber, where I hardly passed 
 three words to my dear mistress, whom I 
 found there awaiting me, when we heard 
 a great noise and hurly-burly in the street 
 of the alguazils, who, finding the dead 
 body at the door, inquiring of the neigh- 
 bours were told that the murderer had but 
 now slipped into the house before which the 
 body lay. Whereupon the captain began 
 to bounce at the door with such assistance
 
 102 The Travels of 
 
 of his company that we were struck with 
 fear at the uproar, I for her honour, while 
 she was in terror for my safety lest they 
 might search the house and take me for 
 the murderer, notwithstanding that I knew 
 nothing of it. With her ready woman's 
 wit Dolores bade me instantly follow her, 
 and leading me into a manservant's cham- 
 ber then disused, showed me how I might 
 mount to the midst of the chimney, 
 which I did just as her father was parleying 
 with the officers who insisted on searching 
 the house. I had nothing to support me 
 but a narrow bar of iron upon which there 
 was barely space to stand, while Dolores 
 retired to her chamber, from which she 
 presently issued, feigning to be disturbed 
 from her slumber, and exclaiming at the 
 indecency of such a disturbance at such an 
 hour. But the captain was forced by 
 what the neighbours had said (though half 
 against his will) to continue his search, 
 and receiving the keys from Senor Esca- 
 nuela, began to ransack each corner and 
 cabinet in the house, in which he omitted 
 nothing, for no coffer escaped without its 
 bottom turned upward, and every bed and 
 bolster was tried with the point of a sharp 
 poignard. When they came to the cham- 
 ber where I was hid in the chimney I 
 would have cursed my folly, had my love
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 103 
 
 not been so great, for venturing thus upon 
 one of the most dangerous enterprises that 
 can be undertaken in Spain, and risking 
 the honour of my mistress by my discovery ; 
 and, as evils never come alone, after they 
 had well searched the chamber, which had 
 very little furniture in it, though fortunately 
 not bethinking them that one might be 
 perched up in the chimney, that being the 
 last part of the house examined, the cap- 
 tain was dissatisfied at not having found 
 anyone, and so proposed to set a guard for 
 the night and to continue his search at the 
 return of daylight. To that end, despite 
 the protestations of Dolores' father, two 
 men were left on guard, and what was 
 worse, these men quartered themselves in 
 the very chamber where I hung up in the 
 chimney, as being one of those in the house 
 not at present in use. You may well 
 imagine that Dolores was terribly distressed 
 at this, and all the more that she feared, as 
 I did, that since the night was cold the 
 men would desire to kindle a fire, where- 
 fore she gave special charge that no fuel 
 should be supplied to them, but that if 
 they wished it a pan of hot coal, after the 
 manner of us Spaniards, could be placed 
 in the midst of their chamber. Hearing 
 these two wretches establish themselves, I 
 had almost given myself up for lost, but
 
 IO4 The Travels of 
 
 that I might not for the reputation of my 
 mistress which I valued more than my life. 
 I had grown during this time exceedingly 
 tired of standing upon my perch, hardly 
 recovered in strength as I was from my 
 severe wounds ; moreover, the smell of the 
 soot and the cold air excited in me a very 
 great desire to sneeze, which I durst not 
 gratify and yet scarce could stay it. Soon 
 after I heard my mistress enter the cham- 
 ber again with two of her women, and 
 proffer wine to the men, in reward, as she 
 said, for their services in guarding her. 
 This they took very graciously, but know- 
 ing what I did, methought she had put a 
 sleeping-draught therein, which, indeed, 
 turned out to be the case, for presently 
 they slept and soundly, but I durst not 
 come down until her duenna, whom she 
 had sent there to spy, seeing that the 
 guards were governed by the potion, bade 
 me descend, which I joyfully did, and 
 withdrew quietly to another chamber 
 where I found my dear mistress. Our 
 common adventure had brought us nearer 
 together, for the danger we had mutually 
 suffered and were not yet escaped from, 
 had swept away the artifices of coyness, 
 our hearts seemed already to sympathise 
 and burn in the flame of mutual affection. 
 She entertained my vows and speeches of
 
 Matkew Dudgeon, Gent. 105 
 
 unalterable love with many blushes which 
 came and went, casting a roseate veil over 
 the milk-white lilies of her complexion, 
 which, together with her soft eyes, her 
 delicate stature, and the many perfections 
 of her beauty, confirmed the subserviency 
 of my zeal and wedded constancy to my 
 love. With many protestations we took 
 our leaves, but, impatient of delay, the 
 very next day I waited upon her father, 
 and in due terms requisite for me to give 
 and him to receive, demanded his daughter 
 in marriage. Sefior Escanuela, while 
 thanking me for the honour, which, as he 
 protested, I had done him, replied : ' Sefior, 
 our family is much beholden to you for the 
 flattering proposal which you make, and 
 words hardly suffice me to express the 
 pleasure I should experience by the union 
 of our two families in marriage, which is 
 as much an honour to me as a condescen- 
 sion in you. Nevertheless, much as I 
 may regret it, I have already pledged my 
 daughter Dolores to the Count de Villegas, 
 and my pledged word will not permit me 
 to alter my decision in your favour. 
 Therefore, senor, I am your humble ser- 
 vant, and must beg you in future to put 
 away from your thoughts all notion of my 
 daughter.' To this I could only answer : 
 ' Illustrissimo, I am your humble and obe-
 
 io6 The Travels of 
 
 dient servant,' and so take my leave, know- 
 ing full well that he preferred the titled 
 and rich Count de Villegas to poor me, 
 who had nothing, no title and no riches. 
 Nevertheless my love was so great and 
 the encouragement my mistress had given 
 me was such, that I was resolved not to 
 give her up without a struggle, and there- 
 fore I indited an epistle to her as follows, 
 which I entrusted to el Moro to deliver to 
 her, who, however cowardly he might be, 
 possessed a discretion and a subtlety that 
 few could equal. 
 
 'Madam,' I wrote, 'though your father 
 prove obdurate in entertaining the hope 
 with which I burn, yet so great and inex- 
 tinguishable are the flames of my desire, 
 that I cannot tamely acquiesce in his deci- 
 sion to give you to another whom I cannot 
 think worthy of those transcendent 
 beauties. That your charms have van- 
 quished me is nothing, and would give me 
 no claim to your consideration ; but you 
 have deigned to distinguish me from the 
 common crowd, and in so doing have 
 raised me to that degree among the com- 
 petitors to your favour, that I now consider 
 myself the equal and even superior of any 
 grandee in Spain. Oh, grant me, divine 
 being, some confirmation of my preten- 
 sions, that my fainting heart be again
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 107 
 
 raised by thy word, for without thee 
 nothing is left to me to live for, while the 
 hope of thy favour will give me strength 
 to fight against paternal objections, my 
 superiors in rank or riches, or even the 
 devil himself.' This letter I despatched 
 by el Moro, who, by feigning an attach- 
 ment to Dolores' maid, had no great diffi- 
 culty in delivering it to her own hand 
 without the observation of her parents. 
 By the same means I received the follow- 
 ing answer : ' Senor, it is with blushes and 
 hesitation that I so far transgress maidenly 
 decorum as to answer your letter ; and the 
 more since I fear that my conduct in giving 
 you an opportunity of private converse 
 may be misconstrued. Nevertheless, it 
 would show ill manners in me to pass 
 over your letter in silence, since it plainly 
 comes from the heart of an honourable 
 gentleman. I may freely confess that 
 your person is not unpleasing to me, and 
 that, were it my parents' wish, I might be 
 prepared to entertain your flattering pro- 
 posal ; but since you have not succeeded 
 in obtaining from them the confirmation of 
 your wishes, it only remains for me to say 
 that I will never consent to a union with 
 the Count de Villegas. 1 To this I replied 
 by the same means as follows : ' Fair mis- 
 tress ! Ah, madam, though I be not so
 
 io8 The Travels of 
 
 fortunate as to please thy parents, yet 
 love is no crime to be visited by thy 
 divine displeasure, when thou thyself art 
 the bright object of my affection. Though 
 thy parents, swayed rather by their 
 ambition than by dislike to me, do not 
 favour my suit, yet the union of two 
 souls should not be governed by Mam- 
 mon, but rather by Cupid, the gentle god 
 of love. Hymen ever joyfully confirms 
 the union of them that are invited to 
 join themselves by Cupid, and as con- 
 stantly refuses to bless those introduced 
 to him by pride or avarice. Give then 
 scope to thy gentle heart, dear lady, that 
 hath already rescued me from the death 
 nearly brought upon me by rivals for 
 thy affection, and confirm my life, which 
 is otherwise valueless, by the hope of 
 thy dear hand.' 
 
 Though I succeeded in corresponding 
 with Dolores without the knowledge of 
 her parents, yet this correspondence could 
 not be so subtle as to hope for concealment 
 from the eyes of a lover, and so the Count 
 de Villegas was not without intelligence of 
 what was going on, of which he took good 
 care that Sefior Escanuelas should be in- 
 formed, who thereupon gave instructions 
 that el Moro should be prevented from 
 coming to his house. At the same time
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 109 
 
 the Count de Villegas sent me the follow- 
 ing challenge : 
 
 ' Since I am given to understand that 
 thy baseness doth not fear to aspire to the 
 incomparable beauty of the phcenix of her 
 sex and bright star of beauty, my mistress 
 Dolores, if thou dost not instantly give up 
 all pretension to her hand, doubt not that 
 my sword is prepared to chastise thy inso- 
 lence. Either, therefore, return me an 
 answer under thy hand, that thou art pre- 
 pared henceforth to avoid all communica- 
 tion with my mistress, or be prepared 
 to-morrow morning to meet me without 
 the walls with rapier and sword, if thou 
 hast any pretence to be thought to have 
 the breeding of a gentleman, to justify thy 
 audacious resolution. VILLEGAS.' 
 
 To this I bade the messenger reply 
 that I would not fail to meet him accord- 
 ing to his desire and appointment. I bore 
 this challenge privately from my father, 
 and all the world except a young gentle- 
 man, one of my few acquaintances, whom 
 I chose to be my second in the quarrel, 
 named Senor Velasco, a valiant and true 
 friend, who very readily engaged himself 
 to me, so that he and the Marquis de 
 Campofrio, the second of the Count de 
 Villegas, with as much friendship as 
 secrecy, met in the city and resolved on
 
 1 10 The Travels of 
 
 the rapiers and other ceremonies requisite 
 in the duello. As soon as the morning 
 appeared, both parties were early astir, 
 and showed themselves on the field of 
 battle a little before six, which was the 
 hour appointed. The seconds duly per- 
 formed their allotted office in visiting the 
 principals, who cast off their doublets and 
 drew, and so we fell to deeds. The 
 Count de Villegas played the first close 
 with great warinesss and coolness, but 
 presently warming to the business, he 
 wounded me in the right arm, while I 
 gave him a thrust in the left side which 
 did but little hurt as it glanced along 
 a rib. At the second encounter, the 
 Count wounded me betwixt the breast and 
 shoulder, while I thrust him clean through 
 the left arm, which piercing his sinews 
 and arteries, he was no longer able to hold 
 his poignard, and despite his resolution 
 and courage, it fell out of his hand, an un- 
 looked-for disaster which did much per- 
 plex and afflict him. Upon seeing this, 
 disdaining to fight upon unequal terms, I 
 threw away my poignard also, and after a 
 short breathing space we again closed, 
 when running in upon him I ran him 
 through the right flank and withdrawing 
 my rapier leapt back to put myself upon a 
 defensive guard, but my foot slipping, I
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent, in 
 
 could not prevent myself from falling to 
 the ground. The Count following me 
 close, and being eager in pursuit, could 
 not forego his advantage, and being blood- 
 thirsty in his revenge and forgetful of all 
 honour, working upon the misfortune of 
 my fortune, he right then and there nailed 
 me to the ground, and withdrawing his 
 rapier was preparing to pierce me through 
 the heart and so act a perpetual divorce 
 betwixt my body and soul, when his 
 second unable to look on at so base an 
 act, ran forward and turned aside his 
 weapon. My own second coming forward 
 at the same time, raised me from the 
 ground, and the chirurgeon advancing 
 examined my wounds, so that the combat 
 was put an end to. 
 
 I was conveyed to my home, and lay 
 betwixt life and death for the space of 
 about a week, when an alguazil of the 
 Inquisition came to cite me before the 
 Holy Tribunal upon certain charges of 
 heresy, and I was conveyed to a noisome 
 cell of their prison, which, as my father 
 afterwards learnt, was at the instance of 
 the false Count, who repenting him of my 
 life had thus accused me. 
 
 My dungeon was situated close beneath 
 the roof, and since it was winter I was 
 almost perished with cold. Yet, withal,
 
 H2 The Travels of 
 
 that was better than the extreme heat of 
 summer that I had to look forward to, for 
 the stink and noisomeness of the air was 
 less in the winter. The cell was narrow, 
 and for that reason belike, and also perhaps 
 because I had not yet been put to the 
 question, I had no fellow-prisoner. No 
 light entered therein save for a narrow rift 
 in the wall high up, and no wider than a 
 man's finger, but I might have had a 
 worse apartment if it had not been ex- 
 pected that my father would be willing to 
 pay for my better accommodation. For the 
 same reason the order of my diet was 
 better than the common, for my father 
 paid very large fees to the Holy Office for 
 it, and had it not been for this, in my 
 then state of weakness with my wounds 
 scarcely healed, I had surely perished. 
 And yet, easy as it is to get into the 
 prison of the Inquisition, few go out, for 
 if they have not already perished from the 
 hardships of their imprisonment and the 
 torture of the question, yet they seldom 
 go forth but clad in the San Benito for the 
 stake, or at the least to a life-long slavery 
 in the galleys. It was far otherwise with 
 the ordinary prisoners who had no money 
 to bless themselves withal. Those poor 
 creatures have a daily allowance of half a 
 rial from the king for their diet, which is
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 113 
 
 about equal to two sous French, out of 
 which poor pittance is to be defrayed their 
 steward and laundress's wages, and what- 
 soever other necessary charges grow 
 besides must be from thence discharged. 
 Moreover, of this allowance given to them 
 by the king, not one half comes to their 
 use, for it passes through two or three 
 men's hands, to whose fingers some of it 
 sticks. First there is the treasurer, and 
 then comes the steward, then the cook, 
 and lastly, the jailor, all of whom will have 
 their fees. But if the prisoner be a rich 
 man then is his lot even worse, for they 
 do not suffer him in any case to better his 
 condition out of his own goods, which they 
 look to for plunder, nor do they allow 
 him to have other than a little brown 
 bread and cold water. No sound is heard 
 in those sorrowful walls, for no prisoner is 
 allowed to raise his voice, and some 
 heretics that would be singing of psalms 
 in the vulgar tongue, for fear that they 
 should thereby solace themselves or let 
 others know of their presence, had 
 wooden bits fastened upon their tongues, 
 and were so compelled to silence. For 
 this reason it happens that father and 
 son, husband and wife, or brother and 
 sister, may be in the prison-house for the 
 
 i
 
 H4 The Travels of 
 
 space of two or three years, and neither of 
 them know of the other being there until 
 the time comes of meeting on the scaffold 
 if it ever comes, for the most perish in 
 prison as I have said, from the great filth 
 and stench, and their corrupt and naughty 
 diet, or they become altered in their wits 
 from their prolonged and lonely imprison- 
 ment, or perchance some fever consumes 
 them little by little, making their living 
 life worse than any death they could die. 
 Yea, so great are the cruelties of this 
 prison, and so easily are men cast therein 
 at the mere whisper of an enemy, that it 
 would confirm these Turks in their false 
 religion did they know and understand 
 thereof. Indeed, there was a certain 
 Turk who had voluntarily forsaken and 
 abjured the Mahometan idolatry and was 
 newly come into Spain to be confirmed in 
 the true religion, who, finding more faults 
 and worse sins among the Christians than 
 he had left behind him among his own 
 countrymen the Moors, happening to say 
 one day that the Mahometan law was 
 better than the Christian, was immediately 
 denounced by some, and lodged forthwith 
 in a dungeon of the Inquisition, whence 
 he never again issued forth but to one of 
 their Acts, and that only after the torture
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 115 
 
 of the rack, when he was burnt at the 
 stake, which is a thing that the Turks, 
 pagans as they are, will not do, save that 
 you revile their religion or so-called 
 saints. 
 
 The walls of my dungeon were written 
 all over with the sad complaints of priso- 
 ners that had been there before me, and 
 though in some cases there were blasphe- 
 mous inscriptions by heretics, denying the 
 divinity of our Lady, or even the reality 
 of the Blessed Host, yet for the most part 
 they were but the expression of their hope- 
 lessness, their trust in God, a farewell to 
 the world, or an invocation to death. 
 Some of these I remember, for I had 
 leisure to impress them upon my memory 
 during my long imprisonment ; and since 
 they help to show the horror of my suffer- 
 ing, and the mutability of human affairs, I 
 will repeat them to you. One of them ran 
 as follows : 
 
 Erst I did live in calm content, 
 And passed each day in merriment ; 
 And in my arrogance and pride, 
 Methought no evil could betide, 
 No stroke of fortune break it, nought 
 Save Death one day must cut it short. 
 Now, as the past day is the morrow, 
 One long agony of sorrow ; 
 And in humbleness I sigh 
 To thee, Lord, to let me die ! 
 
 I 2
 
 ii6 The Travels of 
 
 And another : 
 
 Ye gloomy walls whose massy stones 
 Such wicked actions have seen done, 
 
 What shrieks ye've heard, what hollow groans ! 
 What tortures have ye looked upon ! 
 
 Yet there's no spot in all your parts 
 
 So hard as are your masters' hearts ! 
 
 The wretch whom fate doth immure here 
 Will ne'er go free while he has life ; 
 
 Ne'er more he'll see those he holds dear, 
 Ne'er bid farewell to child or wife ! 
 
 An age of torment is begun, 
 
 That ne'er will end till life be done. 
 
 Oh, Virgin Mother, grant me strength 
 That I may be resigned to pain ; 
 
 And through thy Son's mercy at length 
 May unto heavenly bliss attain ! 
 
 My body's weak, then pity take 
 
 Upon me for thy dear Son's sake ! 
 
 And again : 
 
 With limbs disjointed by the rack, 
 And by the trough a broken back, 
 I hardly have sufficient breath 
 To breathe a quavering prayer to Death, 
 Can scarce my trembling limbs command 
 To trace these lines with palsied hand ! 
 I pray thee, Lord, to let me die, 
 And so cut short my agony ! 
 
 And again : 
 
 Alas, Constantia, we've loved long, 
 And hoped to pass our lives together, 
 
 But unkind fate hath proved too strong, 
 And ruthless our dear love doth sever
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 117 
 
 I hoped thy joys and griefs to share, 
 While thou didst do the same by me ; 
 
 And hand in hand together fare 
 Through Death into Eternity. 
 
 But now, alas, in all my pain, 
 
 Thou art not by to soothe my woes, 
 
 And if we e'er shall meet again, 
 The God above us only knows ! 
 
 About the third week of my imprison- 
 ment, when I had almost recovered from 
 my wounds, but was like to fall ill from the 
 irksomeness of my confinement and distress 
 for my separation from Dolores, the keeper 
 of the prison began to question me upon 
 the subject of my arrest, and to ask me if 
 I could suspect either the cause or my 
 accuser ? Having heard my father, when 
 he was alone with me, talking upon the 
 wiles of the Inquisitors, and bethinking me 
 that the keeper would have far greater 
 cause to assist his masters than to take 
 pity upon me, I answered very guardedly, 
 though with seeming ingenuousness, that 
 I was entirely ignorant of both the one and 
 the other. Upon this he urged me to con- 
 fess anything that I could think of, and to 
 petition the Holy Fathers for a day of hear- 
 ing, in order that my case might be dis- 
 posed of. But knowing somewhat of their 
 tricks, and of how they ensnare the unwary, 
 I replied that I was at their disposal, for
 
 1 1 8 The Travels of 
 
 them to do with me as they pleased. At 
 this reply he could not conceal his dis- 
 pleasure, and it was not until fourteen days 
 afterwards that I was cited before the Con- 
 sistory. They then spoke to me as though 
 I was merely before them to discharge a 
 pro-forma accusation, and bade me tell 
 them all I knew, in order that they might 
 send me back to my own house. This 
 they did, hoping that I might unawares 
 confess to some fault, or accuse some 
 other, perhaps my father ; and they ear- 
 nestly charged me therefore to disburden 
 my conscience, as they called it, persuad- 
 ing me that they went about nought else 
 but to do me good for the very love and 
 mere compassion which they had for me. 
 When I humbly replied that I could think 
 of no reasonable cause why anyone should 
 denounce me to them, they answered that 
 they could mete out sharp justice to the 
 contumacious, and so sent me back to my 
 cell. In the meanwhile they sent an officer 
 to me called the ' tutor,' whom they 
 appoint, as they pretend, to advise with 
 the prisoner how he may best defend his 
 case, but who in reality is only a spy 
 who betrays many, and even the innocent, 
 to his masters. I merely repeated to him 
 what I had said before, and although he 
 urged me to put my trust in him for that
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 119 
 
 he was appointed to defend me, which he 
 could not do unless I would deal candidly 
 with him, yet I knew better, even had I 
 been guilty, than to trust him. On the 
 third day I was called before the Inquisi- 
 tors again, who demanded of me if I was 
 now resolved to make a clean breast of the 
 affair, with an earnest request of me to do 
 so for my own welfare, after their accus- 
 tomed manner. If I would not, they 
 threatened to use extremity towards me of 
 what they could do by law, by which they 
 mean extreme tormenting and mangling of 
 men, but finding that I had nothing to 
 confess, or, as they would have it, that I 
 would confess nothing, they remitted me 
 again to prison, and upon some information 
 of my intended escape, which I discovered 
 from the keepers' inquiries, I was now put 
 into an underground dungeon, which was 
 even worse than the one in which I had 
 been hitherto confined. As the Inquisitors 
 could get no confession out of me, and 
 moreover had no witnesses against me save 
 the Count de Villegas, whom they knew to 
 bear a grudge against me, for the reasons 
 known to you, and since they had heard 
 of the duello between us, and therefore 
 suspected his testimony the more, they for- 
 bore to put me to the question, as they call 
 it, that is to the rack and other tortures,
 
 I2O The Travels of 
 
 though they rehearsed all the several tor- 
 ments to me as terribly as they could ; and, 
 indeed, I had almost fainted at their de- 
 scription, and the sight thereof. The place 
 is a deep dungeon beneath the earth, with 
 many doors to pass through ere we came 
 to it, in order that those who are put to it 
 should not be heard to shriek or cry. On 
 the one side are raised seats with a canopy, 
 where the Inquisitors are seated with their 
 clerks, and the links being lighted in their 
 sockets on the walls, they take their seats, 
 and the prisoners are brought forth. Here 
 he sees, as I did, in that dim and flickering 
 light, the Inquisitors sitting in their red 
 robes on- the one side, flanked by their 
 familiars in their gowns of white, with 
 hoods which cover their faces, making 
 them to resemble so many spirits or devils 
 come to enjoy his tortures. The execu- 
 tioner, a brawny knave, stands hard by his 
 instrument, which is in the midst of the 
 apartment, clad all over in a close-fitting 
 garment of black canvas, with a long black 
 hood which reaches over so as to cover his 
 face. The chief Inquisitor then urges him 
 to speak the truth freely and voluntarily, 
 otherwise it will be at his own peril. For 
 if his arm or leg be broken in the rack, or 
 if he receive other injuries so that he die 
 thereof (for they mean not to deal gently
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 121 
 
 with him), let him blame no one but him- 
 self ; and so they think to salve their con- 
 sciences. Then is he stripped to the skin, 
 and his hands bound with a cord which 
 passes over a pulley, so that he may be 
 hoisted up. His feet likewise are weighted 
 with heavy weights, and in this plight 
 is he again summoned to tell them all he 
 knows, which nevertheless does not 
 satisfy them, but they sign to the execu- 
 tioner to hoist the poor wretch, and while 
 he thus hangs, they fall to their persua- 
 sions once again, commanding the execu- 
 tioner to hoist him to the very beam till 
 his head touch the pulley. Then, if he will 
 not accuse both himself and all his acquain- 
 tance, they command to let him down 
 again, and twice the weight that was afore 
 to be affixed to his feet, when he is again 
 hoisted, and suffered to hang a good while, 
 which seems every minute an age to him, 
 such is his great and momentarily increas- 
 ing agony ; every sinew in his body being 
 strained, until, as most often happens, he 
 swoons for his intolerable pain. Then the 
 leech who stands by, not to cure, indeed, 
 as is their office in less holy places, but 
 merely to prolong his capacity for suffering, 
 the leech, I say, gives orders to lower 
 him down again, and after sousing him 
 with cold water, administers a cordial, and
 
 122 The Travels of 
 
 then is the wretch again questioned. In 
 his then state, though he be innocent, yet 
 racked and dazed as he is, if he be able to 
 speak at all he will now say anything that 
 they wish, and one of the familiars lean- 
 ing over him repeats aloud after him the 
 confession that he can scarce whisper. If 
 he be rich and they merely require an 
 excuse to plunder him of all his possessions, 
 this will satisfy them ; but if, as is more 
 often the case, they hope through him to 
 get others within their net, they again give 
 orders to hoist him, and bid the execu- 
 tioners so to jog the ropes that every limb 
 is disjointed : arms, shoulders, back, and 
 legs torn from their sockets, and the 
 afflicted parts then swelling, the weights 
 tell with more -excruciating force. Then 
 they begin to rail upon him, calling him 
 dog and heretic, that will stand so obsti- 
 nately in concealing the truth ; and in this 
 pitiful plight, half dead and more, if he 
 pray them to let him down, promising to 
 tell them somewhat, after he has said what 
 he can, he is worse handled than before, 
 because they think that now only he begins 
 to broach his matters. For as soon as his 
 tale is at an end they begin afresh to 
 exhort, to threat, and to rack him, giving 
 charge to haul him up and let him down 
 again as I have already described, until
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 123 
 
 the leech signifies by a private sign that if 
 he suffer any more now his spirit will pre- 
 sently depart, and so he will escape out of 
 their hands ; when they leave him and let 
 him down for that time, demanding of the 
 executioner (to fright him), whether his 
 other instruments be ready ? To which 
 the executioner answers that they be ready, 
 but that he has not brought them with 
 him. ' Then see,' they say, ' that they be 
 ready by to-morrow, and look that nothing 
 be wanting, for we shall try one way or 
 another to get the truth from this heretic.' 
 Thereupon they rise and go their way, 
 while the leech restores the sufferer's 
 limbs as best he may, putting his arms 
 and legs in their right joints again (if the 
 swelling permit) and so he is carried back 
 into his cell. 
 
 After two or three days are past he is 
 again put to the question, and finds all 
 ready as before ; when, being bound to 
 the rack, they again straitly fall to per- 
 suade him to utter somewhat, wherein, if 
 he answers nothing, they carry him back 
 to prison, but if he says ought, then in 
 the hopes of getting more from him they 
 again put him to the rack, and while he 
 hangs bind his thighs and mid-leg together 
 tightly with small but very strong cord, 
 and then drive in wedges betwixt until the
 
 124 The Travels of 
 
 cords are hidden in the flesh ; a very 
 extreme and terrible torment. In this 
 plight the poor soul is left for some hours 
 until his legs almost mortify and the pain 
 is beyond endurance. Nevertheless, they 
 cease not to persuade and to entreat him, 
 but if he still prove obstinate they employ 
 another device the name of which is 
 ' Buriorum Aselli' and the manner of it is 
 this : he is laid upon his back upon a 
 trough of massy timber, across which just 
 below his shoulders is a bar, so that his 
 back may not settle to the bottom and he 
 may have the less ease. When he is laid 
 thereon, his arms, legs, and thighs are 
 bound with very stout small cords, which 
 they afterwards strain with sticks so that 
 they pierce the flesh almost to the bone, 
 insomuch that the cords can no longer be 
 seen. Then they take a piece of fine 
 linen, large enough to cover both his 
 mouth and nose, and pour upon it water 
 in a thin stream which bears down the 
 linen into his mouth and throat so as to 
 suffocate him, and yet he cannot move, so 
 that when they pluck it out from the 
 bottom of his throat, as they do many 
 times to see whether he will answer their 
 questions, the cloth is dyed with his blood 
 and he suffers death by this torment many 
 times over. All this was shown and
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 125 
 
 explained to me, and I was led back to 
 my cell almost dead with fear. 
 
 Lying thus in my new cell, which, as I 
 have said, was changed, for some suspicion 
 of my jailors, from the attics to a deep 
 underground dungeon, trembling for the 
 fear of what I had seen which I had too 
 much reason to dread might be my fate, 
 with but the cold hard stone for my pillow, 
 I had nought to sustain me but the 
 memory of the moments I had passed with 
 Dolores, tormenting myself with the doubt 
 lest she might give way to the wishes of 
 her father and the importunities of the 
 Count de Villegas. I went over in my 
 mind all her words, and still more her 
 looks and involuntary signs of love, tor- 
 turing myself with the idea that they were 
 but signs of common politeness, and that, 
 though she might like me, yet did she not 
 care for me to that degree that she 
 would sacrifice her peace for my sake. 
 How long I lay thus I had lost count, but 
 it was certainly night, for my jailor had 
 long since brought me my evening meal 
 of beans or chickpeas boiled in oil, and also 
 my pipkin of water ; when presently I 
 heard, as it were beneath me, a sound as 
 of a pick plied with regular blows. To be 
 sure I had heard it for some time, but it 
 had not arrested my attention until now
 
 126 The Travels of 
 
 when I began to wonder as it came nearer 
 what it might portend. Then I heard a 
 mighty blow upon a stone at my feet ; my 
 heart leapt to my mouth, for, indeed, the 
 terrors I had gone through and my long im- 
 prisonment had somewhat wasted my 
 mettle, and I had almost shrieked aloud 
 when the stone without further warning dis- 
 appeared, leaving merely a cavity where it 
 had been. I gazed intently, waiting to see 
 what might happen, but all was silent for 
 a time, and then I thought that indeed my 
 wits had left me, for the sufferings I had 
 gone through, for I seemed to hear my 
 father's voice, and lo ! his head appeared as 
 if it were rising through the pavement. I 
 think that it was the indescribable look of 
 tender pity that his face bore which quieted 
 me and drove away my fear ; I began to 
 think that I had died and that my father 
 had come to deliver me from the perse- 
 cutors of this earth and to bring me to 
 heavenly bliss, but my senses left me, and 
 I knew no more until I found myself in a 
 little dark chamber hardly illumined by a 
 solitary candle, which only served to show 
 my father's face bending over me. I closed 
 my eyes again, and then I heard his voice 
 bidding me to remain quiet, and assuring 
 me that I was now in safety and with him. 
 Then he held a cordial to my lips, which
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 127 
 
 revived me so that I could sit up and par- 
 take of food which he had prepared for 
 me. When I had finished, I begged him 
 to tell me where I was, and he answered 
 me as follows. 
 
 ' You know, my son, that I have long 
 studied the secrets handed down to us by 
 the Moors, who once were all-powerful in 
 this country ; secrets which, so learnedly 
 and skilfully are the books of their philo- 
 sophers written, only those who have 
 themselves studied much can hope to 
 decipher. The Sierras which we see so 
 close to us are veined with gold and silver ; 
 but I sought less to find the old mines 
 which were formerly worked there and 
 which our unskilful forefathers left to be 
 forgotten, than the hiding-places which I 
 felt sure the Moors had digged about this 
 town, and in which they must have left 
 from time to time much treasure in gold 
 and jewels, and still more in those priceless 
 works of their philosophers, which they 
 alone of all the nations of the world in 
 those barbarous days encouraged and 
 honoured. From the works of one Abu- 
 ca9im, I was led to believe that our house 
 together with the mint had at one time 
 been one of the defences of the town, the 
 prison on the opposite banks of the stream 
 being another, and, if that were the case,
 
 128 The Travels of 
 
 there should be a secret passage beneath 
 the river communicating between the two. 
 By much study I fixed upon the point, 
 found the passage and chamber in which 
 we now are, but alas ! no sign of books or 
 treasure. However, as I began to suspect 
 that a hiding-place in time of need might 
 be useful, I studied the whole of these 
 underground workings, and found that 
 while on the one hand they communicate 
 with the mint and your prison-house, on 
 the other a longer branch goes to a cavern 
 situated in the hill which, you know, 
 lies to the south of our city ; a cavern only 
 known to a few goatherds who have never 
 dared to penetrate its depths. In this 
 place I stored a few necessaries, and when 
 you were arrested I made it my business 
 to inquire as to the plan of your prison ; 
 when, finding that the passage had formerly 
 opened into what is now an underground 
 dungeon, and hearing that the cell you 
 were in was situated beneath the roof, I 
 spread abroad rumours that there was a 
 plan of escape prepared for you, and so 
 procured your removal to the cell from 
 which I rescued you. I then learned 
 that it was resolved also to arrest me, and 
 therefore retired at once to my hiding-place 
 to which I have now happily brought you ; 
 it only remains for us to fly the country,
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 1 29 
 
 for I need not remind you that henceforth 
 we shall never be safe in Spain. Your cell 
 shows no sign of having been entered, the 
 stone is replaced and is well filled in 
 beneath so that it will not yield a hollow 
 sound. Probably your jailor will be sus- 
 pected of having assisted you, and will be 
 tortured ; such men must learn that there 
 is not always safety in evil-doing, and that 
 he who serves the devil will be rewarded 
 with hell.' 
 
 We lay there perdue in our hiding- 
 place for some three weeks until the hue 
 and cry after us was somewhat abated ; and 
 then stole forth in the disguise of peasants, 
 hiding by day in the vineyards, and only 
 faring on by night, and so made our way 
 to Tortosa, where my father had a friend, 
 a merchant, who traded with Marseilles. 
 To our joy, we found that he had a vessel 
 now in harbour upon the point of sailing, 
 to which he conveyed us in the guise of 
 factors, and we got safely away without 
 being discovered by the familiars of the 
 Inquisition. You may guess, however, 
 that I did not depart without leaving a 
 letter for Dolores, which I gave into the 
 hands of a muleteer who was just starting 
 for Segovia. The letter was couched in 
 the following words : ' One who was un- 
 justly persecuted has now escaped, but in
 
 130 The Travels of 
 
 leaving thee, he leaves all behind him that 
 makes life valuable in his eyes. Oh, grant 
 that he may look forward to the time when 
 in a secure asylum he may hope to hear 
 from thee ! ' I have not much more to tell 
 you. We were scarcely out of sight of 
 the coast of Spain, when we were attacked 
 by a couple of Sallee pirates, and though 
 we fought desperately, we proved to be no 
 match for them and were overpowered. 
 My father, alas ! was among the slain, and 
 I was sold for the slave you see before 
 you. 
 
 This story amused me : indeed, it 
 always gave me pleasure to hear the stories 
 of the slaves who were my fellows in 
 captivity, and this not only for the tale, 
 though all men love to hear stories of 
 adventure, but also they served to remind 
 me how many Turks were daily sent out 
 of the world in their rights, which could 
 not but be pleasing in the sight of God 
 and man. Also it served to show how 
 few men there are in this world equal to me 
 in the virtues of manhood skill, bravery, 
 and quickness of resource. Most of these 
 tales, indeed, were nought ; for most of the 
 slaves had been taken in the pursuit of 
 their daily bread, sordid churls, who had 
 lived their mechanic lives like the cattle of
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 131 
 
 the fields. Nevertheless there was one 
 story related to me by a Kurd from Hak- 
 karieh which was entertaining enough to 
 remain fixed in my memory, and which I 
 shall call after its narrator, the ' Story of 
 Yousef ibn Ali. 1
 
 THE STORY OF YOUSEF IBN ALL 
 
 ) man can escape his destiny, 
 he began, and doubtlessly 
 it was written upon my fore- 
 head that I should be cast 
 down to the depths of misery 
 from a position in which I 
 enjoyed the most exquisite of delights and 
 the choicest of the gifts of God. My 
 father was the lieutenant of the chief of 
 the Kurds, Ogloo Beg, who usually dwelt 
 in his mountain fastness of Koursouf when 
 not on one of his raiding expeditions. 
 This castle was situated in a large and 
 fertile valley, entirely surrounded by high 
 and rugged mountains, well watered by 
 several mountain streams, and only to be 
 approached by two passes, both difficult 
 and easily to be defended. Nominally he 
 was subject to the Government of Bagdad, 
 but practically, so long as he sent a small 
 yearly tribute, he did as he pleased, and
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 133 
 
 any complaints of the merchants concerning 
 his robberies were disregarded or easily 
 met by a present to the Turkish governor. 
 Indeed the Turks would have thought 
 twice before attacking him. His valley 
 was large enough to support all his men, 
 and they were numerous enough to keep 
 any army out of so impregnable a place. 
 None the less he acted wisely in sending the 
 small tribute demanded of him, since there 
 was always the possibility of treachery, 
 even though his followers were devoted 
 to him, and moreover he had to take 
 into consideration that, were the Turks 
 roused to energy, they might cut him off 
 in one of his expeditions. 
 
 As for me, I was born on the last 
 Wednesday in the month of Safar, a day 
 which naturally gave my father much 
 concern. A darweesh, a Persian, who 
 was a man of much learning and attached 
 to the court of Ogloo Beg, demanded an 
 astrolabe and cast my horoscope, which he 
 considered attentively for some time, and 
 then raising his head he said : ' Oh, Aga. 
 the affairs of God are inscrutable, and 
 what is fated is fated. When thy son 
 arriveth at man's estate, he will be sore 
 tried and will return evil for good, attain 
 the summit of happiness, and be cast down 
 into the depths of misery.' At this my
 
 134 The Travels of 
 
 father struck hand upon hand, but said 
 nothing. Now he possessed a talisman, 
 a jacinth, inscribed with many cabalistic 
 characters, which he had obtained in this 
 way. While commanding an expedition 
 on the borders of Persia he had fallen 
 upon a large and sumptuously appointed 
 caravan, and after slaying the guard and 
 plundering the merchants, the women were 
 brought before him. One of these proved 
 to be a Persian princess journeying with 
 her slaves to the mountains for a summer 
 residence ; and since Ogloo Beg wisely 
 sought to keep on good terms with those 
 in power on both sides of the border, in 
 case of need, instead of holding her and 
 her handmaidens to ransom, my father 
 treated her with all honour, and, giving 
 her a guard of his own men, sent her 
 on to her destination. In return she pre- 
 sented him with that jewel which she was 
 wearing at the time, and which makes him 
 who wears it prosperous and preserves 
 from evil chance. This talisman my father 
 now hung about my neck ; and, had I not 
 parted with it, I should have been pre- 
 served from the fate which overtook me. 
 
 My education was that usual for a boy 
 in my position : I was taught to ride almost 
 before I could walk ; to throw the jereed 
 in the game of war, and to handle arms as
 
 Mat hew Diidgeon, Gent. 135 
 
 soon as I could bear them. Without 
 boasting, I may say that at a very early 
 age I showed considerable proficiency in 
 all manly exercises, so much so that Ogloo 
 Beg himself was pleased to notice me, and 
 would delight to see his son, who was 
 scarcely one year my elder, contend with 
 me in mimic warfare. It is needless to 
 add that I always allowed him to overcome 
 me, greatly to the delight of his father, who 
 would exclaim, ' Afferin, well done ! ' and 
 so I not only retained the consideration 
 of the father Ogloo Beg, but also gained 
 the affection of the son, Hussein, who was 
 a youth of great beauty and of a noble 
 disposition, whom to see was to love. As 
 soon as I grew old enough to take part in 
 the plundering expeditions, I was attached 
 to the person of Hussein, and more than 
 once, had it not been for me, his ardour 
 and impetuosity in the fight would have 
 cost him dearly, so that he loved me all 
 the more as the preserver of his life, and 
 we became inseparable companions. 
 
 Now it happened upon one occasion 
 that Ogloo Beg had plundered a particularly 
 rich caravan of Indian merchants, which 
 he had had notice had left Bagdad under 
 a guard of soldiers supplied by the Pasha 
 of that city. The guard had instantly fled 
 upon our attack, we had slain the
 
 136 The Travels of 
 
 merchants and taken their goods to our 
 fastness ; but since Ogloo Beg had re- 
 ceived a private message from the Pasha 
 informing him of this opportunity, and 
 that the guard had instructions not to 
 resist, it was incumbent upon him to send 
 in return half the value of the goods 
 taken, which he did, and appointed his 
 son Hussein to accompany them and to 
 present his respects to the Pasha. I, of 
 course, went with him, and we were well 
 received. Whether by policy, so as to 
 have a valuable hostage always in his 
 power, or whether he was struck by the 
 noble bearing of the son of the mountain 
 chieftain, I cannot tell ; but certain it was 
 that Hussein grew daily in greater favour 
 with the Pasha, and was induced to put 
 off his departure for many days, until at 
 length, when he grew more pressing in 
 desiring permission to return to his father, 
 the Pasha announced that the governorship 
 of Mosul was vacant, and that, Inshallah ! 
 God willing, he would appoint him to the 
 vacant place. My friend immediately 
 prostrated himself, as in duty bound, and 
 thanked the Pasha, but desired permission 
 to acquaint his father with the honour that 
 had been done him, in order that he might 
 also express his gratitude at the kindness 
 that had been shown his son, and the
 
 Mat hew Dttdgeon, Gent. 137 
 
 permission being accorded, I was deputed 
 to return to Ogloo Beg and acquaint him 
 with the fact. Accordingly I set forth, 
 but I found that all that had happened 
 was well known to my master, and although 
 he did not seem to be quite satisfied with 
 the position in which his son was placed, 
 he was too old a diplomatist to do otherwise 
 than send me back with many protestations 
 of thanks and professions of duty. He 
 argued, perhaps, that though his son might 
 be to some extent a hostage, yet that it 
 was easier to escape from Mosul than from 
 Bagdad ; and, moreover, as Governor of 
 Mosul, he might procure many good things 
 for him in the way of business. 
 
 Having received his firman, Hussein 
 took leave of the Pasha, and set out for 
 Mosul, taking me with him in the capacity 
 of his vizier ; and he was no sooner 
 settled in his government, than one day, 
 calling me aside, he said, ' My brother, it 
 is hard for the wild hawk to be chained in 
 the mews, even if he have all that his heart 
 can desire save freedom ; and like the wild 
 hawk, I often pine for our valley-home, 
 where we ever saw men around us, not 
 slaves as here. But there is one thing in 
 our home that might reconcile me to my 
 banishment, the procuring whereof I would 
 entrust to no one but thee, who art united
 
 138 The Travels of 
 
 to me by every tie of affection. Say, wilt 
 thou do this thing for me ? ' ' On my head 
 and my eyes, oh Aga,' I replied, ' nor is 
 there anything that I would not do for you, 
 even were it to divorce my soul from my 
 body ! ' Then he confided to me that he 
 had long loved Zehneb, the daughter of his 
 uncle, and that he wished me to go and 
 demand her in marriage for him, for that 
 he himself was unable to leave his Govern- 
 ment. Accordingly, I set forth with many 
 rich presents, and, to make a long story 
 short, soon accomplished his purpose. The 
 lady Zehneb took leave of her parents 
 with many tears, and set forth with a cara- 
 van richly provided and many guards, for 
 she carried a rich dowry with her. Of 
 this caravan I had the command. 
 
 It is perhaps necessary to tell you that 
 we Kurds give our women more freedom 
 than is elsewhere common in the East, and 
 as children, both my lord and I had played 
 with Zehneb, neither as she grew older 
 had we been altogether separated, nor had 
 my heart escaped unscorched by the fire 
 of her eyes. Alas ! the cold embers of my 
 love, which had almost burnt out in the all- 
 absorbing practice of war, were again 
 kindled into flame with my mission. She 
 did not veil herself before me, for she 
 regarded me as a brother almost, she said ;
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 139 
 
 and I could not look upon her without 
 longing that she should be mine. It was 
 only by constantly recalling to myself the 
 loyalty that I owed to Hussein, and that 
 Zehneb was his betrothed wife, that I could 
 prevent my lips from declaring to her what 
 my traitor eyes could no longer conceal. 
 
 As the caravan journeyed along day by 
 day, I rode by the side of her litter, and 
 though I essayed to talk upon such indiffe- 
 rent subjects as philosophy, and the history 
 and heroes of our race, such as might both 
 interest her and be permitted to me, yet 
 one glance of her eyes was sufficient to 
 render me mute, and my troubled looks 
 and frequent sighs could hardly escape the 
 notice of one so acute, so sympathetic, and 
 so friendly as she. On one occasion, when 
 I had been relating to her some of the 
 adventures of Rustem, a silence ensued for 
 some time, and then she said to me, ' Oh, 
 Yusef, thou hast related many stories to 
 me of the might and power of the old 
 heroes, and it behoveth me .also to relate 
 in my turn somewhat of the stories of yore, 
 calculated to admonish the understanding 
 and make us extol the power and perfec- 
 tion of God.' Upon which she related to 
 me the story of ' El Melek en Assad, or 
 Evil is Rewarded by Evil.'
 
 EL MELEK EN ASSAD, OR EVIL IS 
 REWARDED BY EVIL. 
 
 l\f O\A7 tnat m tne 
 
 yore, when Ma- 
 hommed, on whom be peace, 
 had returned to heaven but a 
 short time, and the victorious 
 armies of the believers in 
 the true faith had converted the unbelievers 
 of Arabia, and of Syria, and of Mesopo- 
 tamia, that there was a warrior of Persia, a 
 champion among the champions, whose 
 name was Assad, and who had been among 
 the first to welcome the true faith in that 
 country. He was a man of so great might, 
 that even the hosts of the Arabs would have 
 been worsted and overcome had he been 
 against them. Now Assad, of his greatness 
 of heart and ambition, could not fold the 
 hand of complacency upon the belly of 
 satiety, or remain at rest upon the carpet 
 of luxury, wherefore, when Persia was con-
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 141 
 
 quered, and the worshippers of fire over- 
 thrown, and the people were converted, and 
 peace was proclaimed, seeing that there 
 were no more enemies of the sons of Adam 
 in whose blood he might bathe his sword, 
 he set forth single-handed against the king 
 of the Divs or Demons, in order that he 
 might compel him also to embrace the true 
 faith of our Lord Mahommed. Now this 
 king was called the Red King, and he was 
 Sultan over a thousand tribes of the Jinn, 
 each of which was a hundred thousand in 
 number, and every one of whom ruled 
 over a thousand Marids, who each ruled 
 over a thousand Afrits, who each ruled 
 over a thousand Shitans, and every Shitan 
 ruled over a thousand warlocks. No 
 human foot had ever trodden the soil of 
 his country, because of the perils and fright- 
 ful sights and sounds by which it was 
 encompassed, and which no human being 
 had hitherto had the courage to brave or 
 the strength to encounter. But Assad in 
 his pride recked nought of these things, 
 and donning his suit of mail, and girding 
 on his scimitar, he mounted his horse, a 
 noble beast of the Keheyleh tribe, and so 
 set forth into the desert. Here he jour- 
 neyed on for many days, until hunger and 
 thirst overtook him, and his soul nearly 
 departed from his body, when at length he
 
 142 The Travels of 
 
 came upon a great sea of fresh water, 
 whereupon he returned thanks to God for 
 his preservation, and drank his fill. Then 
 he tethered his horse, and sat down by the 
 shore, because it was not possible for him 
 to cross or to go farther. After he had sat 
 there for some time, putting his trust in 
 Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful, he 
 heard a voice from a neighbouring grove 
 chanting the blessed Koran, and drawing 
 near, little by little, that he might see from 
 whence the voice proceeded, he perceived an 
 ancient Sheikh, who had taken up his abode 
 there in an empty tomb. This Sheikh was 
 clad in a garment of camel's hair, his locks 
 were long and matted, and his beard de- 
 scended to his knees. After salutations, 
 the Sheikh questioned him of his coming, 
 whereupon Assad related to him the cause, 
 and of his desire to win-to the kingdom of 
 the Divs, in order that he might propound 
 to them the true faith, and save their souls 
 from the fire. The Sheikh when he heard 
 these words shook all over with delight, 
 and said : ' Oh ! my son, know that I am 
 of the children of the Divs, and being con- 
 verted to the true faith, I sought to bring 
 my father, the Red King, together with 
 his subjects, to profess that there was but 
 one God, and that Mahommed was his 
 Prophet ; but they would not listen to me,
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 143 
 
 and scorned my words, and drove me forth 
 from among them. Whereupon I wept, 
 and humbled myself to Allah, and I 
 besought Him that He would aid me to 
 convert the blood of my blood, and not 
 visit them with His judgment. And He 
 sent an angel to me who swore that my 
 prayer had been heard, and that in His 
 good time He would send a champion who 
 would convert them, but that I must sur- 
 render my immortality, and become one of 
 the sons of Adam. This I accepted, and 
 immediately I became as thou seest me ; 
 for though I am the youngest of the sons 
 of the Red King, yet have I seen 1,040 
 years. Now, however, thou wilt release 
 me from this life, and I shall attain Para- 
 dise.' Upon this, he threw certain magic 
 herbs upon a brazier of living coal, and 
 repeated some incantations, when imme- 
 diately a ship appeared sailing without wind, 
 until it stopped at the shore where they 
 were. Then the Sheikh bade him depart 
 in it, for it would carry him to the country 
 of the Divs ; and scarcely had he ceased 
 speaking, when he became a heap of dust. 
 Assad thereupon dug a grave, and 
 deposited his remains therein, and having 
 read some verses of the Koran over him, 
 went on board the vessel. As soon as he 
 had set foot upon it, it left the shore, and
 
 144 The Travels of 
 
 without wind or sails departed swifter than 
 the flight of the eagle for the opposite 
 shore, where he disembarked, and, mount- 
 ing his horse, fared on. 
 
 Now the Sheikh had informed him that 
 he would first have to pass a stony desert 
 in which he would be assailed by soulless 
 bodies of hideous form, but that he must 
 not heed them or turn his head, for if he 
 did they would instantly slay him, nor 
 would his valour avail him ; and he had 
 not proceeded a parasang into the desert 
 when he was surrounded with threatening 
 forms such as the imagination can scarcely 
 conceive ; nor would it have been possible 
 for anyone endowed with less valour and 
 stoutness of heart and belief in his own 
 strength than Assad to have escaped 
 death. For they tempted him in every 
 way to turn his head, they filled the 
 air around him, they clasped him round 
 the waist, they sat on the crupper of 
 his horse, but all this he heeded not 
 and fared on until he had left the desert 
 behind him and had come to an oasis, as 
 the old man had informed him that he 
 would, where he found dates for himself, 
 grass for his horse, and water for both ; 
 and after he had said the evening prayers 
 and had eaten, he passed the night there. 
 In the morning he arose refreshed, and
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 145 
 
 prepared to go through his second ad- 
 venture, which was to pass through a plain 
 filled with wild beasts that seemed to bar 
 his way, lions and winged serpents and 
 basilisks and unicorns, but he recked not 
 of them, and passed on unscathed, for 
 as he had no fear they did him no harm. 
 Then he saw before him a mighty wall of 
 fierce flame, and the blast from it was 
 as the blast from a furnace, or as the wind 
 of the desert, and it roared like a troop of 
 baboons in a resounding cavern. He 
 would have feared to enter it, deeming 
 that no man could enter it and live, had 
 not the old man forewarned him of it and 
 assured him that it would not harm him ; 
 and when he passed through it he felt 
 nothing, no more than had he been riding 
 on the meidan. When he had passed 
 through this, he saw the whole army 
 of the Red King drawn up before him 
 in battle array, arranged rank after rank, 
 and more numerous than the blades of 
 waving corn. The air above them was 
 thick with Afrits, whose forms were 
 hideous enough to instil fear even into the 
 stoutest heart. As soon as they perceived 
 him, they gave a great cry and beat their 
 spears upon their shields so that the sky 
 seemed as if it were about to fall, and 
 a hundred of their chiefest champions
 
 146 The Travels of 
 
 galloped forward to take him and present 
 him to their king, but though they wheeled 
 round him and cut and thrust, yet they 
 could not overcome him ; and he slew them 
 one by one until he had slain fifty of them, 
 when fear of him overcame them, their 
 livers became water, and they fled before 
 him, and the whole army fled with them. 
 Assad pursued them and seized the Red 
 King as he too was preparing to fly, and 
 having bound him, drew his sword and 
 made him kneel down, and then pro- 
 pounded Islam to him, saying : ' Either 
 accept the true belief in one God brought 
 to us by our Lord Mahommed, on whom 
 be peace, or thy head shall roll from 
 between thy shoulders.' Whereupon the 
 Red King was convinced of the truth 
 of Islam, and pronounced the requisite 
 formula : ' Allah il Allah, Mahommed 
 Rasoul Allah ; ' so Assad raised him from 
 the ground, and unbound him and treated 
 him with honour, and after they had sat 
 for a while conversing, the Red King 
 said : ' Oh, my lord, since you have come 
 among us, and we have become brothers, 
 it is incumbent upon us to show you some- 
 what of hospitality ; therefore accompany 
 us to our city in order that we may do 
 what is necessary.' To this Assad replied, 
 ' No harm ' ; and accordingly they set
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 147 
 
 forth mounted on horses richly capari- 
 soned, the drums beating before them, 
 banners flying, and surrounded by the 
 troops, until they arrived at the city of the 
 Red King. The inhabitants thereof deco- 
 rated the town and came forth to meet 
 them and do them honour, and so con- 
 ducted them to the palace. Then the 
 Red King took his seat on the musnud 
 with Assad on his right hand and the 
 wuzeers and emirs and the captains and 
 chief men around him, and he cried out to 
 them with a loud voice, ' Oh, Jinn, this 
 champion of the sons of Adam has come 
 among us and has vanquished the most 
 accomplished of our cavaliers and most 
 valiant of our captains ; and we threw out 
 spells against him, but neither our valour 
 nor our spells availed us aught ; wherefore 
 it is obvious that his religion is the true 
 religion and it is incumbent upon us that 
 we embrace Islam.' Then all present 
 cried : ' Long live our king ! ' and they one 
 and all made the profession of the faith. 
 After this, Assad having accomplished his 
 purpose, demanded permission of the king 
 to depart to his own country ; but he 
 replied to him, ' What is this ? You would 
 depart and have not yet partaken of our hos- 
 pitality ! ' So Assad remained, and there 
 were festivities for three days, every man 
 
 L 2
 
 148 The Travels of 
 
 eating and drinking at the royal expense. 
 On the third night, when Assad was 
 reposing in his chamber, he suddenly per- 
 ceived that he was no longer alone, but 
 that a lovely girl stood by his couch, 
 accompanied only by one attendant slave- 
 girl. Did I attempt to describe her beauty 
 to you, no words would avail me, and I 
 will only say, therefore, that it was such that 
 no human pen could write or human mind 
 conceive it. She smiled upon the bewil- 
 dered Assad and then spoke in words 
 sweeter than distilled honey, saying : ' My 
 name is Tamineh, and I am the daughter 
 of the Red King. Hearing the praise 
 of thy doughty deeds and of thy prowess, 
 whereby thou didst overcome all the 
 champions of my father, I became ena- 
 moured of thee, and swore that I would 
 espouse no other man. Therefore demand 
 my hand of my father, and he will not 
 deny me to thee.' So saying she retired, 
 and Assad the next morning demanded 
 her hand, which being accorded to him, 
 the nuptials were celebrated the same day. 
 After Assad had remained in the city 
 of the Jinn but a short time, the longing 
 to return to his own country grew upon 
 him so greatly that he could no longer 
 withstand it, and going to Tamineh, he 
 informed her of his longing, and that he
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 149 
 
 was about to depart, but that he must 
 do so secretly, since so great was the 
 love that the Red King bore his daughter, 
 that he would not suffer him to go if 
 he became aware of his intention. At 
 this Tamineh wept, but prepared every- 
 thing for his departure the next night ; 
 and after a tender leave-taking, and pro- 
 mising her to return soon, he set forth and 
 came into his own country. Some months 
 afterwards Tamineh gave birth to a boy, 
 one of the most beautiful of babes, whom 
 she named Zohrasp. As the youth grew 
 in strength and loveliness, he became the 
 delight of his mother and of his grand- 
 father, but still Assad did not return, for 
 indeed the way was arduous and he 
 had forgotten her. Now, when Zohrasp 
 was ten years old, he said to his mother : 
 ' Tell me who my father is, and what 
 is his name ? ' But Tamineh wept, and 
 answered, ' Oh, my son, thy father's name 
 is Assad,' and she went on to describe to 
 him his valour and renown and the deeds 
 that he had done, so that Zohrasp was 
 eager to seek him. But his mother tried 
 to dissuade him, for she feared that some 
 evil would befall, and she said : ' Oh, my 
 son, some day the memory of me will 
 prevail on thy father and he will turn 
 his footsteps this way again ; but now
 
 150 The Travels of 
 
 there is no one left to me but thee, and if 
 I lose thee I lose all that I have ! ' 
 Nevertheless he was determined, and 
 when his mother saw this, she did not 
 oppose him any longer, but gave him the 
 finest steed from her father's stables, to- 
 gether with enchanted weapons made by 
 her people, the Jinn, that must prevail 
 against all that do not pronounce the name 
 of God. Then Zohrasp went forth, and 
 journeyed on until he came into the king- 
 dom of Tartary, which was then at war 
 with the Persians. Zohrasp, who longed 
 to show himself worthy of his father, 
 thought that this would be a good oppor- 
 tunity of performing some deed of valour, 
 therefore he joined the army of the 
 Tartars, who were glad to receive him, for 
 though he was yet young, yet he showed 
 such promise of prowess in war that they 
 hoped great things of him. They soon 
 reached the frontier, where they found the 
 Persian army encamped, and the next 
 morning the Tartars prepared to give 
 battle. But Zohrasp went before them 
 and stood alone in the plain, and he chal- 
 lenged any one among the Persians, even 
 the greatest of their champions, to come 
 forward and engage him in single com- 
 bat. Seeing that he was but young still, 
 the Persians mocked at him, until at
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 151 
 
 length one of them came forward 
 to give him battle, thinking to have 
 an easy victory over him ; but he was 
 so speedily vanquished and slain that 
 terror seized the hearts of the Persians, 
 and they said among themselves : ' What 
 is this ? Behold a beardless youth van- 
 quisheth one of our champions ! ' And 
 they all feared him. Then one of their 
 oldest and most experienced warriors 
 came forward, and the fight was desperate 
 for a time, but in the end Zohrasp 
 overcame him, and waving his bloody 
 spear aloft he cried : 'Ho, Persians, are 
 ye afraid ? Which among ye will come for- 
 ward and try a bout with me ? ' But there 
 was no response, for each one said within 
 himself: ' If I encounter him, beardless 
 youth as he is, I shall be slain.' Now, as 
 destiny would have it, Assad had joined 
 the hosts of the Persians ; for he was tired 
 of peace and longed for war ; and when 
 he heard the challenge of this youth, and 
 saw that among all the warriors of the 
 Persians there was not one that dared 
 encounter him, he was enraged, and 
 ordering his horse to be brought to him, 
 he mounted it and rode forth to encounter 
 the champion of the Tartars. But when 
 he saw Zohrasp and his tender years, his 
 heart went out to him, and he said : ' Oh,
 
 The Travels of 
 
 youth, thou art but a child still, while I 
 am an old and experienced warrior, and 
 if we join in combat, thou wilt certainly 
 die. Go back, therefore, to thy comrades 
 in arms, and perhaps thou wilt live.' But 
 Zohrasp thought of his father, and that it 
 behoved him to make himself worthy of 
 him and of his lineage, and he answered 
 him : ' Not so, warrior ! but if so be that 
 thou fearest death, behold, I give thee thy 
 life, for I have pity on thy grey hairs ; go 
 back, and I will not harm thee ! ' ' Then/ 
 said Assad, ' thy death be on thy head : in 
 the name of God fall to.' Upon which 
 they turned their horses, and fetching a 
 compass, charged upon each other. In 
 the first shock their spears were shivered 
 in pieces, whereupon they drew their 
 swords, which soon became so hacked 
 that they were useless, and so they threw 
 them away, and continued the fight with 
 clubs until their blood and sweat poured 
 down upon the ground, and by mutual 
 consent they stopped to breathe them- 
 selves. When Zohrasp removed his 
 helmet Assad looked upon him, and 
 behold, he was a youth like the full moon, 
 the down just appearing on his upper lip ; 
 and Assad loved him, he knew not why, 
 and he wished to save him, so he said to 
 him : ' Oh, youth, thou hast proved thy
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 153 
 
 valour against the greatest champion in 
 the army of the Persians ; depart therefore 
 in peace while there is yet time, for I am 
 loth to slay thee.' But Zohrasp's heart 
 swelled with pride when he heard this, 
 and he said within himself: ' If I vanquish 
 this champion, then indeed can I appear 
 before my father with honour, and he will 
 take me to his bosom as his true son.' 
 He therefore replied to Assad, whose 
 name was yet unknown to him, ' Oh, 
 champion of the champions, indeed I will 
 not depart until my right arm hath given 
 me the victory over thee.' Then they 
 renewed the fight, and rained blows upon 
 each other until they both reeled, and 
 Assad began to fear for himself. So rais- 
 ing his club with both hands, and saying 
 ' Bismillak? in the name of God, he dealt 
 so mighty a blow upon the helmet of 
 Zohrasp that he felled him to the ground. 
 Then he threw himself upon him, and 
 would have bound him, but finding that 
 his strength availed not thereto, drew his 
 dagger and plunged it into his side. 
 When Zohrasp felt the dagger enter 
 between his ribs, and knew that the 
 wound was mortal, he gave a great sob, 
 and cried : ' Oh my father ! I shall never 
 see thee now ! ' At this Assad said, 
 " And who is thy father, oh valiant
 
 154 The Travels of 
 
 youth?' * His name is Assad,' said 
 Zohrasp, ' and my mother is Tamineh, 
 the daughter of the Red King.' On 
 hearing these words, Assad threw himself 
 upon him and kissed him and tried to 
 staunch his wound, crying, ' My son, my 
 son ! And thy father's hand was pre- 
 destined to slay thee ! ' The dying 
 Zohrasp begged to look upon his face, 
 and tried to comfort him, saying, 
 ' Indeed, thou wouldst have saved me, 
 but I was obstinate, for I wished to do 
 deeds that would bring me honour in thy 
 sight ; and have I done so, oh my father ? 
 Am I worthy of thee ? ' But Assad could 
 not answer him, the tears ran down his 
 cheeks, and he rolled on the ground and 
 flung dust upon his head. Presently the 
 soul of Zohrasp departed ; and his father 
 took him up and buried him, and built a 
 magnificent tomb over him, upon which he 
 inscribed these verses : 
 
 I had a jewel deep hidden in the earth, 
 Which, when I found, I failed to recognise, 
 But cast it from me as of little worth, 
 Unknowing that I cast away my prize ! 
 My son, my son, more beautiful than day ! 
 Was my hand, then, more cruel than bitterest foe, 
 Thy father's hand, to make thy life-blood flow 
 And drain the roses from thy cheeks away ? 
 Dim those bright eyes in fatal deadly strife,
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 155 
 
 Slay him to whom myself had given life ? 
 Ah, could I give him life but once again, 
 But for a moment, even at the cost 
 Of my own life, and to my bosom strain 
 But once again the son that I have lost, 
 Then gladly would I lay me down and die, 
 In those dear arms eternally to lie ! 
 
 When Zehneb had finished her story, 
 I was silent for a time, and then I said, 
 4 Truly evil is rewarded by evil ; but no 
 man can escape what is written upon his 
 forehead, even as it happened with 
 Mohammed ben Khosroes.' ' And what 
 is his story ? ' she replied. So I related 
 to her the following.
 
 THE STORY Oj<* 
 
 MOHAMMED BEN KHOSROES, OR EVIL 
 IS REWARDED BY EVIL, 
 
 NCR 
 
 upon a time there 
 lived a Caliph in the 
 city of Hillah, who, though 
 he had been married for 
 many years, yet had never 
 been blessed with a child. At length, how- 
 ever, a son was born to him, at which there 
 were great rejoicings, and the astrologers 
 were called in after the usual custom to cast 
 his horoscope, which, after they had con- 
 sidered for a time, they were silent over, 
 until the Caliph commanded them to speak. 
 They then said : ' Oh, Caliph, may you live 
 for ever ! Your son will be happy up to his 
 eighteenth year, after which misfortune will 
 overtake him, and will pursue him to his 
 dying day.' At this the Caliph was greatly 
 grieved, but, hoping to avoid the evil 
 fortune predicted for his only son, he caused 
 to be gathered from far and wide the most
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 157 
 
 potent charms and talismans that were to 
 be procured, until at length the search after 
 them, and their collection, became a craze 
 with him, and he spent the greater part 
 of his revenues on this hobby of his ; for 
 he would send expeditions to Hind and to 
 China, and even to the country of the 
 blacks, with instructions to spare naught 
 in the matter of gold and silver in the pro- 
 curing of talismans of the highest repute, 
 and such as would bring their owners 
 happiness, and in the feeing of astrologers 
 and necromancers ; moreover, if anyone 
 should refuse to part with any charm that 
 he might possess, his envoys were ordered 
 to go on offering larger and larger sums 
 until the owner was at length tempted to 
 do so. Now, even the treasury of a king 
 could not withstand so deep and long con- 
 tinued a drain upon its resources, and at 
 last it grew so low, that even a greatly 
 increased taxation failed to satisfy its needs ; 
 the people murmured, the troops remained 
 unpaid, and finally, when Mohammed ben 
 Khosroes, as the unfortunate son was called, 
 attained his eighteenth year, they broke 
 out into open revolt : they slew the Caliph, 
 set the Wuzeer on the throne, and would 
 have slain Mohammed also, and thus have 
 ended his misfortunes at once, had he not 
 fled to Birumis, where, in the garb of a
 
 158 The Travels of 
 
 Darweesh, he concealed himself in a miser- 
 able hovel by the roadside. There, fallen 
 from his high estate, he dwelt, instead of 
 inhabiting a palace in the midst of gardens ; 
 for his former robes of silk he now had but 
 one camel-hair garment, in place of a thou- 
 sand dishes his food now consisted of the 
 crusts doled out by fitful charity ; and instead 
 of having a crowd of obedient slaves await- 
 ing his every command, he was himself now 
 at the beck and call of every old woman 
 who chose to solicit his prayers. Yet, in 
 spite of all this, so well balanced was his 
 mind that he was tolerably happy. From 
 his earliest childhood he had known of the 
 fate that was in store for him ; how long 
 had he not brooded over it, watched each 
 passing chance, received with resignation 
 the prospect of cruel fortune, and looked 
 with apprehension for the misfortunes that 
 the future might bring forth ; so that he had 
 almost longed for the period of suspense to 
 end, and for the misfortune that was bound 
 to come on him sooner or later to come at 
 once. Hence it was with some sense of 
 contentment that he now reviewed his 
 miserable plight, and hoped that fortune 
 had done her worst and would now forget 
 him and leave him in peace. As he lived 
 in retirement, duly performing his daily 
 ablutions and prayers, his presence began
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 159 
 
 to create some excitement among such 
 population as there was in the neighbour- 
 hood, especially among the old women, who 
 brought him from time to time quantities 
 of sour milk, bread, dates, and even mutton 
 and goatsflesh. But fearing the evils of 
 fortune he refused everything save what 
 was absolutely necessary to sustain life, and 
 so, greatly to his disgust, the fame of his 
 sanctity increased. People came to him 
 from far and near, some for advice as to 
 the regulation of their conduct, some for 
 augury as to what the future might have 
 in store for them, and some for charms 
 against evil chance ; to all of which, from 
 the bitterness of his experience, he prophe- 
 sied evil by apt quotations from the Koran, 
 such as : ' Wheresoever ye be, death will 
 overtake you, although ye be in lofty 
 towers ; ' and, ' Whatever evil befalleth 
 thee, it is from thyself;' and, 'If God 
 should bestow abundance upon His servants, 
 they would certainly behave insolently upon 
 this earth.' Moreover, since few people 
 escape misfortunes in this world, his sayings 
 generally came true, insomuch that his 
 fame waxed and he had no rest all day and 
 all night for the crowd of those that sought 
 his services, and thus his last case became 
 even worse than his first. 
 
 Now, as it chanced, the Wuzeer who
 
 1 60 The Travels of 
 
 had usurped the throne was a winebibber, 
 contrary to the ordinances of our Lord 
 Mohammed, whom Allah protect and 
 preserve ! And a devil took possession 
 of him and made his stomach sick, so that 
 he had no desire or relish for food ; and 
 the devil used to appear to him as a blue 
 Afrit, and from that he changed into many 
 shapes, from a squeaking mouse to a mon- 
 key, then to a bear, and at last into the 
 shape of a roaring lion, so that the Wuzeer 
 sought far and wide for some holy man 
 who might exorcise this devil, who had 
 become a burden to him and more than he 
 could endure, and make him depart. In 
 this way he heard of the Darweesh of 
 Birumis, to whom he sent honourable men 
 with rich gifts and a request that he would 
 come to him at Hillah ; for he knew not 
 that he was the son of the former Caliph. 
 But Mohammed ben Khosroes refused his 
 presents, for which, as he said, he had no 
 use and sent the messengers away, saying : 
 ' I am a sinful mortal like yourselves, 
 neither do I possess any power over 
 Afrits : ' for indeed, he greatly feared 
 Afrits, and would rather have fled than 
 have faced one. At this the Caliph was 
 incensed, and the Afrit taunted him, 
 saying : ' Lo, I am but one against you 
 all ; and yet thou and thy servants and
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 161 
 
 even thy holy men are afraid to meet me ! ' 
 And the Afrit appeared before him as a 
 tiny fly, which presently swelled until it 
 grew into a monstrous bird of fearful 
 aspect bigger than a roc, so that the 
 Caliph could no longer support his fear 
 and trouble, and sent an armed guard to 
 bring Mohammed by force into his pre- 
 sence. When he was come, the Caliph 
 commanded him to exorcise the devil ; but 
 Mohammed feared the power of the Afrit, 
 and said that he was not able, and he re- 
 peated the verse : " Give the orphans their 
 substance, and render them not in ex- 
 change bad for good, and devour not their 
 substance by adding it to thy substance, 
 for this is a great sin.' He also recited 
 the verse : ' Surely wine, and lots, and 
 images, and divining arrows are an abomi- 
 nation of the work of Satan ; therefore 
 avoid them that ye may prosper.' But the 
 Caliph was enraged at these sayings, and 
 at his refusal to exorcise the devil, and he 
 bade the ferrashes throw him down and 
 give him an hundred blows on the soles of 
 his feet ; and they laid on with such good 
 will that Mohammed fainted for stress of 
 pain, and his feet became as jelly. When 
 they had finished, he crawled out more 
 dead than alive on his hands and knees, 
 groaning, into the street, and as he lay 
 
 M
 
 1 62 The Travels of 
 
 there an old woman who was passing by 
 took pity upon him, and set him upon an 
 ass, and conveyed him to her house, where 
 she dressed his feet and somewhat alle- 
 viated the pain. Now this old woman was 
 foul of aspect and filthy, her eyes ran over 
 with salt rheum, and her voice was harsh 
 like a man's, in short she was a misfortune 
 to look upon ; but Mohammed was thank- 
 ful for his escape and grateful to her, and 
 he called down blessings upon her for 
 tending him. She had not, however, 
 shown kindness to him but out of the 
 wickedness of her heart, for she took his 
 darweesh's cloak from him, and clad him in 
 slave's garments, making him to do all the 
 heavy work of the house, and grind the 
 corn, and see to the asses ; and she would 
 follow him about and beat him, and rail and 
 cry out at him : ' Thou sluggard ! thou oaf ! 
 work faster ! do this and do that,' until he 
 almost fainted from stress of work and from 
 hunger, and said within himself: ' Verily 
 it would have been better to have faced the 
 Caliph's Afrit than to have suffered this ! ' 
 In such evil plight he abode with the old 
 woman for some time, and all hope of es- 
 cape or of any change in his condition, 
 save death, had almost left him, for every 
 night she would bind him to a stone pillar 
 lest he might flee from her. But one night
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 163 
 
 her bosom was contracted at the thoughts 
 of Eblis and the fear of a future state, 
 and she bid her slave-girl bring her the 
 wine cups, and she ate and she drank until 
 the wine she had taken overcame her, and 
 her reason left her, so she desired to divert 
 her mind by the sight of Mohammed and 
 of his misery, and bade the slave girl un- 
 bind him and bring him before her in order 
 that she might expand her bosom by re- 
 viling him. And when he stood before 
 her, anger overcame him at the recollection 
 of all the wrongs that he had suffered at 
 her hands, and he took up a pitcher of 
 water that stood beside her, and threw it 
 at her so that she died. Then the slaves 
 raised a great cry, and the officers of jus- 
 tice came and bound him and carried him 
 before the Caliph, who said to him : ' Oh, 
 ill-omened slave, was it not enough for thee 
 that I beat thee, but thou must slay the 
 daughters of true believers ? ' And he bid 
 them beat him again, and then take him 
 out and hang him. So they beat him 
 until he thought that his soul had left his 
 body, and that hanging would be super- 
 fluous ; and then they set him upon an ass 
 with his face to its tail, and a crier went 
 before him saying : ' This is the reward of 
 murderers ! ' until they reached the gallows 
 without the city. 
 
 M 2
 
 164 The Travels of 
 
 Now it happened that some of the 
 chief men about the Caliph had recognised 
 Mohammed when he was brought before 
 him, and repented them of having slain his 
 father and of having given the kingdom to 
 the Wuzeer, for he was a winebibber, and 
 neglected the affairs of state, and oppressed 
 the people ; so they rose upon him and 
 slew him, and they sent after Mohammed, 
 intending to set him upon the throne. A 
 troop of horse rode forth at once, shout- 
 ing : ' Long live our Lord Mohammed ! 
 Long live our Caliph ! ' The crowd took 
 up the cry and rushed after them, and 
 they reached the place of execution just as 
 the rope was being placed round Moham- 
 med's neck and he had given himself up 
 for lost. The officers of justice heard the 
 commotion, and said : ' Perhaps something 
 has happened, it were better that we wait : 
 for if the Caliph wish him to live, it is 
 well, whereas if he wish him to die, we 
 can kill him afterwards.' But just then a 
 fly stung the ass upon which Mohammed 
 was sitting, and the ass threw up its heels 
 and pitched him off, so that, the rope being 
 round his neck, he was strangled and died. 
 May Allah have mercy upon him and end 
 his woes in Paradise ! 
 
 When I had finished this story, Zehneb 
 hung her head, and said: ' It is true that
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 165 
 
 there is no escape from destiny, but he who 
 always does right is protected by God, as 
 was the case with Abou All. ' What is the 
 story of Abou AH ? ' I asked. So she re- 
 lated it to me as follows.
 
 THE STOR\ OF ABOU ALI, OR GOOD 
 DEEDS ARE REWARDED BY GOD. 
 
 HEARD * y 
 
 that when the kingdom of 
 Iran was temporarily at rest 
 under Barkiarok, he had a 
 Wuzeer who was called Abou 
 AH, a man discreet and intelligent, who 
 served God, was just to all men, and gave 
 most of his wealth to the poor, insomuch 
 that the people blessed him and loved him 
 better than the Shah. For the Shah took 
 their wealth and gave them nothing in 
 return, neither security nor justice, nor 
 defence nor good government, but on the 
 other hand oppressed them and treated 
 them hardly. So they stood before Abou 
 AH, and said : ' O Wuzeer, verily our Shah 
 oppresses us, and neither our possessions 
 nor our lives are secure from him : there- 
 fore we are resolved to depose him and
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 167 
 
 set you, Inskallah, God willing, in his 
 place.' Then Abou AH rose up and shook 
 his collar, and descending from the divan he 
 cried out at them : ' Oh people, what words 
 are these ? Verily ye are of little sense ! 
 Go to your homes lest this come to the 
 ears of the Shah and he become incensed 
 against you, and make your last state 
 worse than the first ! So they left him 
 abashed, and went to their homes saying : 
 ' There are indeed few among us who 
 being offered the throne would have re- 
 fused it ! ' But Abou AH, when they had 
 left him, struck hand upon hand, and said 
 within himself: ' In sooth it were best that 
 I informed the Shah of that that hath 
 happened, lest he hear of it from others.' 
 So he disposed of his property, and set 
 free his slaves, and then, seeking an audi- 
 ence from the Shah, told him of what had 
 occurred, nor did he conceal anything from 
 him, and he added : ' Verily I fear for 
 thee, Oh Asylum of the Universe, lest they 
 offer the throne to other than I. As for 
 me, I am less than the least, but there are 
 none who would not turn from thee saving 
 myself.' At this the Shah was perplexed, 
 but concealing his anxiety, he praised Abou 
 AH for his rectitude of conduct and loaded 
 him with presents, and so sent him away ; 
 then he turned over in his mind how he
 
 1 68 The Travels of 
 
 might get rid of him, for he feared him 
 and there were none among his officers or 
 chief people whom he might trust. There- 
 fore he sent for the chief of his hareem, 
 and commanded him to take with him 
 forty of his most trusty Memlouks, and 
 go up to the house of Abou Ali when the 
 shades of night had obscured the light of 
 day, and to plunder his house and seize 
 him and convey him quickly into the 
 desert, where they were to put him to 
 death. ' On my head and my eyes,' said 
 the chief: but he was nevertheless grieved 
 for Abou Ali, who had shown him much 
 kindness, and his heart was heavy within 
 him. When evening fell, he accordingly 
 went with forty of his most trusty Mem- 
 louks, and they knocked at the door of 
 Abou Ali's house and said : ' Open in the 
 Shah's name ! ' So he opened to them, and 
 they plundered it and set seals on the door, 
 and they took him and bound him and set 
 him upon a horse, and rode forth with him 
 into the desert. Then the chief dismissed 
 his men, saying : ' The Shah's commands 
 are for me to obey,' and he fared on with Abou 
 Ali until they had come to the borders of 
 Persia, when he alighted from his horse, and 
 unbound him, and treated him with honour, 
 seating him beside him on his carpet, and 
 gave him to eat, putting morsels into his
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 169 
 
 mouth with his own hands. And he said to 
 him : ' Oh, Abou Ali, I am not of those who 
 forget kindness done to them at the hands 
 of others : is it not written in the sublime 
 Koran : " We feed you for God's sake only, 
 we desire no recompense from you, nor any 
 thanks ; verily we dread from our Lord a 
 dismal and calamitous day ; wherefore God 
 shall deliver them from the evil of that day, 
 and shall cast on them brightness of counte- 
 nance and joy." Therefore, Oh Abou Ali, 
 take this horse, together with a sufficiency of 
 food, and go thy ways, for it is not safe for 
 thee to be seen in the Shah's dominions.' 
 So Abou Ali thanked him and fared on, not 
 knowing whither he went, but putting his 
 trust in God, the Protector, the All-powerful. 
 Now he had taken with him all that he 
 had that was great in value but little in 
 bulk of jewels and of money, and when- 
 ever he saw a poor man, he would give 
 him a handful, saying : ' This is for the 
 sake of God.' And they would pray for 
 him and call down blessings upon him. 
 Thus it happened with him until he reached 
 the country of Hind, which is a pleasant 
 country abounding in wealth, with flowing 
 rivers and shady trees. As he entered the 
 city he heard a commotion, and going to 
 see the cause, perceived that a man was 
 chastising his slave, while the slave, who
 
 1 70 The Travels of 
 
 was an old man with white hair, wept and 
 excused himself, saying: 'Verily, I am old, 
 and I am not able to do more than I have 
 done.' So Abou AH went up to the master, 
 and saluted him, and asked the cause of the 
 beating and wherein his slave had offended 
 him. To which the master replied that 
 he was lazy and would not work. Then 
 Abou Ali was moved with pity for him, and 
 said : ' Show kindness unto parents and 
 relations, and to orphans and the poor and 
 the traveller and the captives whom your 
 right hand shall possess.' And he would 
 have ransomed him, but found that none 
 remained to him of all the wealth and jewels 
 that he had fled with. So he said : ' Give 
 this old man his freedom, and something 
 wherewithal to live upon, and take me, 
 who am young and vigorous, as thy slave 
 in his place.' At this the master was 
 pleased, and called out : 'Ho, neighbours, 
 ho, true believers, I take ye to witness that 
 this man hath sold himself to me of his 
 own free will, and the price is ten pieces of 
 silver and this slave.' And they said : 
 ' We are your witness.' Then Abou Ali 
 doffed his robes, and put on the garment 
 of a slave, and worked for this man ; his 
 lot was hard, and he had to eat many stripes, 
 but still he repined not, for he said within 
 himself : ' Verily God will not wrong any-
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 171 
 
 one even the weight of an ant ; if it be a 
 good action, he will double it, and will re- 
 compense it in His sight with great reward.' 
 Thus was his state for a great while ; but 
 it chanced that one day, as the master, 
 according to his custom, was looking on at 
 the work of his slaves in the garden, that 
 he was angry with one of them and ordered 
 him to be thrown upon the ground and 
 beaten. Whereupon all the slaves rose 
 against him and seized him, and treated 
 him vilely, and would have slain him, but 
 Abou Ali cried out at them : ' Ho, Caffour, 
 ho, Hassim, verily it is written, " He who 
 forgiveth and is reconciled unto his enemy 
 shall receive his reward from God, for He 
 loveth not the unjust doers." ' And again, 
 ' " For those who persecute the true believer, 
 and afterwards repent not, are prepared 
 the torments of hell." Therefore, Oh fellow 
 slaves, do no hurt to your master, but 
 leave his punishment to God ! ' So he per- 
 suaded them to leave him, grievously 
 wounded, it is true, but they refrained from 
 taking his life. Then the master departed 
 and returned to his abode and dressed his 
 wounds ; and when he was somewhat re- 
 covered, he sent for Abou Ali, who came and 
 stood before him in a respectful attitude, 
 his hands concealed in his sleeves. And 
 his master said to him, ' Oh, Ali, I should
 
 1 72 The Travels of 
 
 not have escaped from those accursed 
 slaves had it not been for thy faithfulness 
 and fortitude, and inasmuch as thou hast 
 risked thy life for mine, I give thee thy 
 freedom and also the hand of my daughter, 
 my only child, and I adopt thee for my 
 son.' After Abou Ali had thanked him, 
 they made a great feast and celebrated the 
 nuptials, the festivities lasting for three 
 days. Then the father-in-law appointed 
 him master over the slaves, so he looked 
 after them, and treated them justly, and 
 they all loved him and did his behests. In 
 this way they abided for some time until his 
 father-in-law had fulfilled his appointed 
 days, and he died. Then Abou Ali sold 
 all his possessions, and loaded his goods 
 upon camels, and set out on his way 
 towards Iran, for he was tired of dwelling 
 in a country that was not his own ; and he 
 journeyed on until he came to the town of 
 Bunpore where he found all the people 
 assembled without the gates, who, when he 
 came up to them, hailed him as their 
 Sultan : for it was their custom whenever 
 their Sultan died to assemble without their 
 gates, and the first stranger that passed 
 that way they would make Sultan in his 
 place. So Abou Ali accepted the throne 
 of Kohistan, and he lived in the town of 
 Bunpore in the enjoyment of all felicity
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 173 
 
 until he was visited by the terminator of 
 delights and the separator of companions. 
 
 Zehneb finished her story thus, and she 
 added that this showed how those who ful- 
 filled the commandments of Allah attained 
 happiness. Nevertheless, I was not con- 
 vinced, for was I not compelled by love ? 
 And so I related to her the following.
 
 THE STORY OF GHERIB AND BAIDA. 
 
 day as I was wander- 
 ing in the neighbour- 
 hood of our home, pursuing 
 the fleet gazelle with hawk 
 and hound among the stony 
 mountains, I suddenly came 
 upon a cave in which I found dwelling an 
 old Darweesh. His only garment was a 
 camel-hair cloth, his skin was brown with 
 dirt, and his hair and beard were long and 
 matted. There he sat counting his beads 
 or prostrating himself in prayer ; and ever 
 and anon he would take up a great stone 
 and beat his breast, crying out the names 
 of God. I went up to him and questioned 
 him of his case, saying, ' Oh Darweesh, 
 verily I have hunted in these districts many 
 years, but never yet have I met such as 
 thou.' ' Oh, my son,' he replied, ' in truth 
 my story is a sad one, and will serve as an
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 175 
 
 example to those who would be admo- 
 nished.' He then proceeded as follows. 
 
 My name is Gherib, and I loved Baida, 
 the daughter of my uncle, whose name was 
 Achmet Decab. Baida was as the waving 
 willow wand, like a branch pearled with 
 dew ; her face put to shame the shining 
 sun, and her eyes were languishing, such 
 as would steal away the soul ; in short, she 
 was endowed with the uttermost of amorous 
 grace, and resplendent with beauty and 
 perfection. But her father was a covetous 
 man, and desired more for her than he could 
 get from me, her cousin ; and therefore he 
 put off our marriage with excuses and 
 subterfuges, although she loved me, saying 
 that she was yet young, or that he must 
 prepare for the marriage feast, or that some 
 of our relations were away : in short, he 
 said anything that he could think of in order 
 that he might gain time, and perhaps escape 
 from his obligation to give her to me. 
 Now the beauty of Baida was so great, 
 that the fame thereof spread far and wide 
 among the tribes, and her father had many 
 offers of marriage for her, all of which he 
 was obliged to decline on my account, say- 
 ing that she was already betrothed. But 
 one among her suitors, who was a rich man, 
 and owned many flocks and herds and 
 droves of camels, resolved nevertheless to
 
 176 The Travels of 
 
 see her in order that he might verify with 
 his own eyes the report of her extraordinary 
 beauty ; and he therefore visited Achmet 
 Decab, who entertained him hospitably, 
 and he stayed with him three days, in the 
 course of which he saw Baida tending her 
 flocks, and knew that report, so far from 
 exaggerating her charms, had been unable 
 to do her justice. Thereupon the flames 
 of love were kindled within him, and he 
 offered her father a large dowry, though 
 Achmet Decab, much to his regret, was 
 unable to accept it owing to me and to my 
 superior claim ; and he informed the suitor, 
 whose name was Said Salem, of the case. 
 So they consulted together, and Said offered 
 me much wealth if I would give her up : 
 but I replied, ' Oh, Said, wert thou to offer 
 to me all the riches of the Arabs, yet would 
 I not take it save together with Baida.' 
 At that he went his way, but her father 
 was enraged at losing the riches that would 
 have been his. After that he sought to 
 get me out of the way that he might then 
 demand his daughter's dowry suddenly, for 
 if it were not forthcoming, he might then 
 give his daughter to whom he pleased. 
 So he sent for me with a deceitful heart, 
 and treated me with honour, and said : 
 ' Truly, my son, we have been longing for 
 thy union with our daughter ; and we did
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 177 
 
 not tempt thee with riches save to prove 
 thy love for her. Would that thy union 
 were accomplished, nor is there ought 
 standing in its way save thy poverty : for 
 she is used to plenty, and is not accustomed 
 to a hard life. Therefore it is incumbent 
 upon thee to obtain riches. Thou art 
 valiant and experienced : why then dost 
 thou not make a raid upon some one of the 
 neighbouring tribes or towns, and so remove 
 the only obstacle between thee and her ? ' 
 ' Upon my head and my eyes, oh my uncle ! ' 
 I replied. So I got together of our tribe of 
 the most daring of the young men, and set 
 forth on my expedition. As soon, however, 
 as I had been gone some days' march, Achmet 
 Decab demanded his daughter's dowry ; 
 but I had guarded against this by leaving 
 in the hands of four of my kinsmen what 
 was necessary, who paid it over to him 
 before witnesses ; nor could he refuse it, 
 so that when I returned he could no longer 
 make excuses to postpone our marriage, 
 and he knew that I would be informed of 
 what had taken place and return quickly. 
 Then, so great was his rage and disappoint- 
 ment, that he resolved to sin against his 
 own blood, and, calling before him his son 
 Zalan, who was Baida's half-brother, com- 
 manded him to join me, and under the 
 guise of brotherhood and friendliness to 
 
 N
 
 1 78 The Travels of 
 
 seek an opportunity to slay me secretly, so 
 that it might appear that I had been slain 
 by the enemy. Accordingly Zalan set out 
 and came to me, and I welcomed him and 
 treated him like a brother. The next day 
 we made a descent upon the people of 
 Mechrimeh. Spears were bathed in blood, 
 arrows flew in clouds, sword clashed with 
 sword, and valiant men were laid low. In 
 the midst of the fight I chanced to turn 
 my head and saw Zalan in the act of pois- 
 ing a javelin against me. I warded it off 
 with my shield, and Zalan, seeing himself 
 detected, with the courage of desperation 
 seized another with the intention of again 
 attacking me, although he knew that I was 
 superior to him in the exercises of war : but 
 before he could poise it, I spurred my horse 
 upon him, and with my falchion split him 
 in two halves, so that the one fell on the 
 one side of his horse and the other upon 
 the other. When the fight was over, and 
 we had driven off the flocks and herds and 
 had added them to those we had taken 
 before in a secure place in the desert, I had 
 leisure to reflect upon my case and upon 
 the misfortune that had overtaken me. 
 For my uncle was now become the avenger 
 of blood, and would seek to destroy me, 
 and I could not become the husband of 
 Baida. I wept when I reflected upon the
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 179 
 
 perversity of my fate that was before so 
 flourishing, but it had become necessary 
 for me now to take some measures for my 
 own safety, so I withdrew to another tribe, 
 whence I wrote to Baida giving her an 
 account of Zalan's treachery, deploring the 
 adversity of fate and our separation, and 
 begged her to give me some token that in 
 spite of all that had happened she still loved 
 me. I also sent her the following verses : 
 
 Beneath the palms, their gentle fronds still bending 
 
 In murmuring greeting to the balmy wind, 
 I saw thee, love, thy fleecy charges tending ; 
 
 Oh, that I ne'er had seen thee, or been blind ! 
 One glance you shot. Ah me, a never-ending 
 
 Flame that glance kindled in my peaceful mind, 
 And straight I loved thee with a love transcending 
 
 Love ever fired in man by womankind ! 
 
 My eyes that brought those flames on me endeavour 
 
 To quench with tears love's agonising pain ; 
 Alas, alas, I might weep on for ever, 
 
 Without thy love recovery is vain ! 
 Ask weary Night, and she will tell thee never 
 
 Through all her watches o'er the dewy plain 
 Are my lids closed in balmy sleep, but ever 
 
 Look for the rising morning star again. 
 
 O love, my love, if thou canst pity show it 
 
 While yet a spark of life remains in me ! 
 If thou canst not, then let Death have me, so it 
 
 Release me from my yearning misery ! 
 Grant but one grace (ah, would that I might know it 
 
 Before I died, that I might gladdened be ! ) 
 Forget me not think of me sometimes, though it 
 
 Remind thee also that I died for thee ! 
 
 N 2
 
 180 The Travels of 
 
 Then I sealed it, and sent it by a secret 
 messenger, so that it should come into her 
 hands. When she had read it, and under- 
 stood its contents, she wept and fell down 
 in a swoon , and after she had recovered 
 she replied to me as follows : 
 
 I am content for him I love to bide 
 
 All evils that sad destiny hath wrought ; 
 
 So let him blame who will, and who will chide. 
 
 God knows, I ne'er recall thee to my thought, 
 My loved one, but, straight from my brimming eyes 
 The streaming tears gush forth with which they're 
 fraught ! 
 
 Though I my griefs conceal for fear of spies, 
 My hollow cheeks and tears still me betray : 
 Now thou art gone, I only breathe in sighs. 
 
 What though the sun shine ! Still it is not day ; 
 There is but darkness where there should be light, 
 While thou, my love, art elsewhere, far away ! 
 
 Like a left hand, forsaken of the right, 
 I feel now thou art gone ; to whom shall I 
 My soul unburden, thus abandoned quite ? 
 
 ' Console thyself with others' love,' they cry ; 
 
 Nay, by thy life, by my love's life, I vow 
 
 I'd go through fires could I win thee thereby ! 
 
 I supplicate Him, who doth part us now, 
 That we may meet once more, in spite of foes, 
 And in a blissful union end our woes ! 
 
 This was a consolation indeed to me in 
 my misfortunes ; but though we managed
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 181 
 
 to exchange a certain amount of corre- 
 spondence, yet it was impossible for me to 
 relax any of the precautions I was taking 
 to preserve my life. Achmet Decab dared 
 not come near me where I was, but neither 
 dared I go near my old home : for, unless 
 I killed him, which I might certainly do, 
 my life was not safe from hour to hour ; 
 whereas, if I did kill him, I should only 
 give rise to another blood feud and be no 
 better off than I was before. At length in 
 answer to my many complaints of the pain 
 of absence, I received a letter from Baida 
 appointing a meeting in a cave well known 
 to both of us, situated upon the other side 
 of the mountain against which our tribe 
 had encamped. My joy upon the receipt 
 of this epistle I will leave you to imagine, 
 and I need not tell you that I did not fail 
 to keep the appointed time. On the date 
 given me I set off early, and with due cir- 
 cumspection, travelled two-thirds of the 
 distance and then hid myself in a retired 
 spot to wait for the shades of night to fall. 
 As soon as it began to get dark I resumed 
 my journey, and as the moon was just 
 beginning to rise and shed its tender beams, 
 so dear to a lover's heart, over the stony 
 waste, I arrived at the trysting-place, 
 where I tethered my horse in the innermost 
 recesses of a cave and then took up a
 
 1 82 The Travels of 
 
 position among some broken rocks whence 
 I could see and yet not be seen. I had 
 not waited long, when I saw Baida 
 approaching. She appeared troubled in 
 mien, but made light of all obstacles in her 
 way as only an Arab girl could. Ever 
 and anon she stopped and listened, clearly, 
 as I thought, for me, for it was not yet the 
 full time appointed : then she would hurry 
 on again until at length she arrived at the 
 cave. I heard her call my name in a low 
 voice, and needed no second summons 
 before I was at her side. Ah ! how can I 
 describe to you our mutual transports at 
 meeting each other again after so long an 
 interval, rendered twice as long by the 
 sharp impatience of love and doubting as 
 we did that we should ever see each other 
 again ? It seemed that we had hardly ex- 
 changed a word, when she suddenly started 
 back, and looking fearfully around, in- 
 formed me that my life was in the greatest 
 danger. She had come at the peril of her 
 own to warn me that our correspondence 
 had been intercepted and that the letter in- 
 viting me was none of hers but merely a 
 decoy which she had discovered by the 
 merest accident but a few hours ago. 
 Seeing some of her relations assembled 
 rirmed at her father's tent, her suspicions 
 were aroused, and listening behind the
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 183 
 
 curtain, she overheard the whole plot. 
 Achmet Decab had decoyed me here, and, 
 while I unsuspectingly awaited my Baida, 
 he hoped easily to surprise and overcome 
 me. She had scarcely finished her recital 
 when with a shriek she threw herself in 
 front of me, and almost at the same instant 
 fell at my feet pierced through the heart by 
 a javelin, while the war-cry of my tribe rung 
 in my ears. I stooped down to kiss her, and 
 saw that she was dead : my heart became 
 filled with the fury of ten thousand devils : 
 I drew my sword, and rushed down upon 
 my enemies blind with rage ; I attacked 
 madly, and the first person I encountered 
 was Achmet Decab, whose sword I beat 
 down, and whom I instantly slew. Then 
 I turned upon the others, nor did I know 
 what afterwards happened, so blind was 
 my fury, save that shortly afterwards I 
 found that all my enemies had fled, leaving 
 two of their number besides Achmet Decab 
 dead behind them. When there was no 
 one left to fight, my senses returned to 
 me, and I went back to Baida and lifted 
 her tenderly up. How beautiful she was 
 in death ! Gently I closed those loving 
 eyes that never again would respond to my 
 impassioned gaze, and smoothed those 
 tresses for the last time with my trembling 
 hands. That fearful glance was gone, her
 
 1 84 The Travels of 
 
 features were composed in peace, she 
 would feel no more of the griefs and 
 anxieties of this world : her woes were 
 ended, even as she had supplicated the 
 Most High may our union be a blessed 
 one in Paradise ! Then I dug a grave, 
 and laid her in it, while my tears ran in 
 two rivulets at my feet. Her body I co- 
 vered over with sand, but left her face free, 
 for I felt that the sand might choke her. 
 Then I piled large stones around and over 
 it, and sat there three days weeping and 
 reciting verses from the Koran, while the 
 vultures and jackals demolished the car- 
 casses of those I had slain. After this I 
 wandered away as one distraught, I know 
 not for how long, until I took up my abode 
 here ; where I daily pray that the Merciful 
 One will release me from this life and 
 reunite me with my beloved where separa- 
 tion can never more come. 
 
 Zehneb wept when I had finished my 
 story, and said : ' Alas, it is true that there 
 is no security for love in this life, but only 
 in Paradise ! ' By this time we had arrived 
 at our journey's end and were entering the 
 city of Mosul, where separation would come 
 upon us, and the hearts of both of us were 
 full. Yet a few steps, and we should enter 
 the palace of Hussein, after which our 
 companionship would be ended for ever,
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 185 
 
 and I should never set eyes on Zehneb 
 again, much less hear or talk to her. 
 Already a guard of honour had come forth 
 to meet us, and presently Hussein ap- 
 proached and embraced me, and then led 
 the way at the head of the procession to a 
 palace that he had prepared for the 
 reception of Zehneb, whose nuptials were 
 to be celebrated on the morrow. After 
 this I followed him to the Governor's 
 palace. He was full of questions as to the 
 events of the journey and of our old home, 
 but every word from him was as a stab in 
 my heart. I could not talk, so full were my 
 thoughts of Zehneb and of our separation, 
 and I answered him but absently. Then 
 he commanded the slaves to bring the 
 table, and we washed our hands and sat, 
 Hussein feeding me and commending the 
 dishes, but I had no appetite and I could 
 not eat. Then they set the sweetmeats 
 before us of a hundred different sorts, and 
 he conjured me to eat ; but when I 
 essayed to do so the conserves seemed to 
 dry up in my mouth, and I was not able 
 to. So he ordered them to set the wine 
 before us, wine from Shiraz of the choicest, 
 and he filled a cup and handed it to me, 
 and said : ' Oh Yousef, drink to the happi- 
 ness of thy brother Hussein and to his 
 speedy union with Zehneb, the beloved
 
 1 86 The Travels of 
 
 one.' Whereupon I drank, and said : ' May 
 all happiness be theirs ! ' Then Hussein 
 said : ' Tell us somewhat of Zehneb, and 
 of her beauty, for thou hast been with her 
 many days and hast enjoyed her company, 
 nor would I have entrusted her to any one 
 but thee.' Upon this I hung my head, 
 and said : ' Oh, my lord, it is in truth of 
 thy kindness that thou commandest me to 
 speak of one whose charms are such that 
 any word concerning her is delightful ; but 
 I desire of thy goodness that I may be 
 excused, for my tongue is inept, and I 
 have not yet recovered from the fatigues 
 of the journey and my fear and anxiety con- 
 cerning her safety.' Whereat he laughed, 
 and said : ' Oh Yousef, indeed we would 
 not force thee ; but since thy bosom is 
 contracted, perhaps the hearing of music 
 will dilate it.' Then he clapped his hands, 
 and a slave girl appeared more beautiful 
 than the Moon ; and behind her came 
 another slave girl carrying a lute in a bag 
 of silk. And when she had seated herself, 
 she drew the lute forth, and tuned it, 
 bending over it as a mother bends over 
 her child ; then she swept her hands over 
 the strings, and they wailed as a lover 
 mourning the loss of his beloved. After a 
 prelude played in seven different manners, 
 she sang as follows :
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 187 
 
 Like the Cassia branch is she, 
 
 Oh, my soul, so slim and fair ! 
 Sweet as honey from the bee : 
 
 None can with my love compare ! 
 
 I saw the bright Moon rise on high, 
 Amidst the constellations pass : 
 
 My love is like the Moon, I cry, 
 As unattainable, alas ! 
 
 I fear to die of grief. Ah me ! 
 
 A burning fire consumes my heart 
 There is no greater agony 
 
 Than that when weeping lovers part ! 
 
 Be sparing of your blame on one 
 Who must endure a lover's pain : 
 
 There is no hope left to me, none, 
 That I shall meet her e'er again ! 
 
 Then peace be on thee, fairest love ! 
 
 Nought in the world of power or pelf, 
 No being on earth, or heaven above, 
 
 Can compensate me for thyself ! 
 
 When she had finished, I gave a great 
 cry and fell back senseless ; and Hussein 
 sprinkled me with rose-water until I had 
 recovered. Then he said to me : ' Oh, my 
 brother, I did not ply thee with questions 
 concerning Zehneb but of my desire to 
 prove to myself what I knew before, 
 namely the love and affection that thou 
 bearest to her. Know that I was with the 
 caravan the whole of the journey in the 
 guise of a camel-driver, and listened to thy
 
 1 88 The Travels of 
 
 conversation with Zehneb, and to the 
 stories that were related between you ; and 
 I became aware that thou didst love her, 
 and that she loved thee in return. Never- 
 theless thy loyalty to friendship, and her 
 loyalty to her betrothed, withstood the 
 temptation of mutual love. Oh Yousef! 
 if thou wert not my brother I would not 
 do what I am about to do : for I also, in 
 seeing and hearing her and learning the 
 nobility of her mind and the beauty of her 
 understanding, learned to love her too. 
 But thou hast the first right to her, since 
 she loves thee, and I yield her up. We will 
 celebrate your nuptials to-morrow.' When 
 I heard this, I threw myself on the ground 
 before him, and kissed his hands, and 
 thanked him in stammering words. Then 
 I drew out the Jacinth from my bosom, 
 the talisman which my father had given to 
 me and which I had worn ever since, and 
 it had never left me, and I said : ' Oh, my 
 Lord, thou hast overwhelmed me with thy 
 bounty and kindness, and thy slave hath 
 neither words to thank thee nor aught to 
 make in return to thee for thy beneficence. 
 But deign to take this jewel, which alone, 
 of all I possess, is not wholly unworthy of 
 thy acceptance ; for good fortune can do 
 no harm even to those who enjoy the 
 highest of the gifts of God. It is a
 
 M atheist) Dudgeon, Gent. 189 
 
 talisman by virtue of which the wearer 
 ever has good luck ; ' and I related to him 
 its story : whereupon he took it and 
 thanked me, and tied it round his neck. 
 
 The next day my marriage with Zehneb 
 was celebrated with the utmost magni- 
 ficence and pomp. Hussein appointed me 
 to a subordinate governorship at Jaffa ; 
 and I took up my residence there, dealing 
 justly with my people, and was beloved 
 by them in return. But one day as I was 
 riding along by the seashore with but few 
 attendants, in order that I might examine 
 more closely a ship which was anchored 
 hard by, a number of men suddenly darted 
 up from behind the sandhills, where they 
 had been concealed, and seized me to- 
 gether with such of my attendants as had 
 been unable to fly, and hurrying us on 
 board the vessel, weighed the anchor and 
 set sail ; so that I knew that they were 
 pirates. They sold me to a dealer in 
 slaves at Alexandria, who would not listen 
 to me when I told him who I was, and 
 that I was a true believer and a free man 
 whom it was not lawful to enslave ; nor 
 would he believe that I was able to pay 
 ransom, for he perceived that I was a 
 Kurd. So he sold me to some merchants 
 of Barbary, and now I am become what 
 you see. Destiny had marked me out for
 
 190 Travels of Mat hew Dudgeon 
 
 misfortune ; I am cast down from the 
 highest happiness to the lowest depths of 
 despair, and scarcely have a hope left that 
 I shall ever enjoy felicity again in this life. 
 I tell this story as one that I thought 
 to be worthy of remembrance and one of 
 those that served to beguile some of the 
 tedious hours of my captivity. There 
 were besides others, not unworthy of 
 notice, one especially, which was told to 
 me by a High German, a slave of sinister 
 aspect, who called himself Wolfram von 
 Rabenbach, which I think worthy of rela- 
 tion; though, indeed, I hardly know whether 
 to give credence to it or not : for it contains 
 many wonderful things concerning the 
 power of Satan over mortals, which were 
 more frequent in past ages than in these 
 times. This slave related to us one 
 evening the story of his life, as follows.
 
 THE STORY OF WOLFRAM VON 
 RABENBACH 
 
 TVf T? TT F) not be g in tne 
 ^^^ story of my 
 life with any account of my 
 early youth, which passed 
 without any noteworthy 
 event, much as that of 
 others ; but I will begin from the time 
 that I entered the service of Count Diet- 
 rich von Schneckenstein, lord of Schneck- 
 enstein, at a time when I was yet scarce 
 eighteen years old. The castle of Schneck- 
 enstein was situated on the summit 
 of a lofty pinnacle of rock, the spur of 
 a still higher mountain, and all around was 
 a dense pine forest, the home of the deer, 
 wild boar, wolf, and occasional bears. The 
 cultivated plains beneath served to sustain 
 the laborious population of many villages, 
 who all owned the Lord of Schneckenstein 
 for their master
 
 192 The Travels of 
 
 Our days were passed in hunting and 
 the exercises of war, and our evenings in 
 wild carouse ; when Count Dietrich with 
 his knights and any stranger guests that 
 chanced to be passing that way and claimed 
 his hospitality, would drink and sing and 
 swear until the early hours of the morning. 
 There was nothing to hinder him or to 
 soften his manners. His wife had been 
 dead many years, leaving an only daughter 
 who was called Hildegard, and who was, 
 at the time I am speaking of, the only 
 lady in the castle. But she never appeared 
 at her father's board, being still young, 
 only fourteen years of age ; and she passed 
 her time in the ordinary occupations of 
 females with her women in a separate 
 wing of the castle. I had been about a 
 year in Count Dietrich's service before I 
 saw her ; and though I had heard that she 
 was very beautiful, I had never given 
 much thought to her until one day when 
 being on guard, I saw her passing from 
 the castle gardens to her bower. I had 
 no sooner seen her than, young as we both 
 were, I had fallen in love with her ; but, 
 on my part, it was a hopeless love, for 
 how could I hope without either rank or 
 wealth to be able to carry off the heiress of 
 the house of Schneckenstein ? For her 
 part I doubt that she ever saw me, or if
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 193 
 
 she did, that she ever noticed me amidst the 
 crowd of her father's retainers ; and I was 
 compelled to nurse my love in silence. This 
 I would willingly have done for an indefinite 
 time, for it was sufficient for me to worship 
 her at a distance so long as I had no fear 
 of any rival ; but,' to my great distress, the 
 confessor of my Lord of Schneckenstein 
 recalled him from his selfish pursuits to 
 think of his daughter who, as he pointed 
 out, was now growing up to womanhood, 
 and whose beauty was so renowned that it 
 only needed a public declaration from her 
 father that he was willing to entertain the 
 idea of marriage for his daughter, for a 
 crowd of suitors for her hand to come for- 
 ward. Count Dietrich took this advice to 
 heart, and since he knew of no one more 
 suitable for a husband to her than another, 
 he adopted the usual device of proclaiming 
 a tournament (though such jousts were 
 rather out of date), the winner of which was 
 to be rewarded with his daughter's hand. 
 
 This announcement cost me the utmost 
 perturbation of spirit. How could I hope 
 to prove victorious in a tournament against 
 the most accomplished cavaliers of the 
 age ? And if I were, how could I, without 
 rank or wealth, be accepted as a suitor for 
 her hand ? One afternoon, almost beside 
 myself with these thoughts, I wandered 
 
 o
 
 194 The Travels of 
 
 forth into the woods. It wanted but a 
 few days to the tournament. The weather 
 was lowering and portended a storm. 
 Already as I walked beneath the giant 
 pines they sighed to the first blast of the 
 gale. Soon murky clouds began to dis- 
 charge their threatening drops of moisture, 
 the heavens grew dark as night, blinding 
 flashes of lightning were followed by 
 peals of thunder that shook the earth ; the 
 wind howled and roared, making the trees 
 to groan and creak and crash around me. 
 But the turmoil of the storm hardly echoed 
 the fury within my soul as I struggled on 
 in an ecstasy of rage. I cursed my fate, I 
 cursed the elements and bade them do 
 their worst, I cursed the day on which I 
 was born, I cursed my life, and I cursed the 
 life to come ! Suddenly a terrible flash of 
 lightning blasted a tree just before me ; 
 recoiling almost blinded, I was recovering 
 from the shock when I saw a figure clad 
 all in red emerge from behind the ruined 
 trunk. Though my spirits a moment 
 before had been madly excited, a sudden 
 horror seized me at the sight of the 
 stranger. I would have turned and fled 
 had I not been paralysed. A thousand 
 thoughts of fear, anger, horror, and of 
 flight, chased each other through my brain 
 as I stood uncertain what to do ; but
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent, 195 
 
 before I could determine anything the 
 stranger accosted me that is, I seemed 
 to know what he said though no words 
 were expressed. It seemed to me that he 
 knew all my past life of my love, of my 
 longing, and of my despair ; and that he 
 gave me the promise of success in the 
 forthcoming tournament upon one condi- 
 tion : it seemed to me that he assured me 
 of the attainment of all I wished during 
 this life if I would agree to serve him in 
 the life hereafter. I loved too deeply to 
 refuse ; and straightway he produced a 
 document already engrossed and with my 
 name in it, and then handing me a pen he 
 pointed out the place where I was to sign. 
 ' One drop of blood,' he said, ' to write 
 your signature is enough for me ; we need 
 no seal.' I drew my poignard and bade 
 him use it on my arm ; but he fell back 
 and said that he could have no hand in 
 it, and that I must do it myself. So I 
 drew blood and signed. Then there 
 came a roll of thunder more terrible than 
 any I had yet heard ; lightnings played 
 around and a cloud of sulphurous and 
 other mephitic vapours surrounded and 
 almost suffocated me, so that I lost my 
 senses for a time, and when I had regained 
 them the stranger was gone, but there 
 near by me, tied to a tree, was a war horse
 
 196 The Travels of 
 
 laden with a complete suit of magnificent 
 armour. As I turned home cowed and 
 sad, leading my new possession by the 
 bridle, the storm began to abate, dying 
 away in wails and sobs, but the tempestu- 
 ous air seemed to my imagination to be 
 thick with unseen beings, that could be 
 felt although they could not be seen. A 
 rush of wings accompanied me as I went, 
 howls and groans were intermingled with 
 sad sweet cries, among which I could dis- 
 tinguish the words ' Lost ! lost ! ' drowned 
 in shrieks of fiendish laughter. The rain 
 now ceased, but the wind still wailed 
 dirges through the trees, and night was 
 coming on apace. As I groped my way 
 onward, strange shadowy forms seemed 
 to dog my footsteps, and stranger crea- 
 tures seemed to follow me through the 
 branches overhead. Ghastly faces would 
 appear from behind the trunks of the trees, 
 faces that curdled the very marrow in my 
 bones, so terrible was their expression 
 or so awful the agony they betrayed ; 
 while ever and anon some frightful fly- 
 ing thing would sweep by me so closely 
 as to brush my face with a touch that froze 
 me. 
 
 At length I reached the castle again, 
 and hid the horse with its precious burden 
 in one of the outlying stables. Then I
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 197 
 
 retired to my chamber and thought over 
 all that I had gone through. My first 
 impulse was to confess all to Father Kuss- 
 maul, the chaplain, and seek to expiate by 
 penance the frightful doom I had incurred. 
 But could I sacrifice all hope of happiness 
 in this life for fear of the shadowy penalties 
 in the life to come ? Oh, Hildegard! who 
 that had once seen thee would not sooner 
 have braved the deepest depths of hell 
 than have foregone one gentle regard from 
 thee ? In pain and terror I watched 
 during the next few days the preparations 
 for the tournament ; in pain because I now 
 lived a haunted life, my nights were full 
 of awful dreams, I seemed to be dragged 
 down into deep abysses by the most 
 frightful demons, and would awake in a 
 cold sweat and trembling. In terror I 
 passed my hours lest the promises of Satan 
 should not be fulfilled ; and I, inexperienced 
 and weak, should be vanquished by the 
 practised warriors who already filled the 
 castle. Every day, two, three, or half a 
 dozen would arrive, and dreadful were the 
 riots and debauches among them of nights. 
 Each one brought with him a squire and 
 retainers, and every hour there would be 
 measuring of muscle, and deep wagers on 
 the prowess and skill of their several 
 lords, while I looked on as one distraught.
 
 198 The Travels of 
 
 The noise and clamour of their tongues, 
 the braying of the minstrels, the quarrels 
 of the masters, the snarling of their hounds, 
 all went through my brain like the whirling 
 of great mill-wheels, and I had almost 
 given up my love and started for Rome 
 when the eventful day arrived. The jousts 
 were to begin at noon, and it was scarcely 
 an hour before that time when I escaped 
 from my duties and stole away to where 
 my horse and armour were concealed in 
 the forest. There I armed myself cap-a- 
 pie, and set forth ; nor had I gone a few 
 yards when I heard the clattering of hoofs 
 behind me and the tootooing of a horn. 
 I reined in my steed and looked round, 
 when I saw one in the guise of a squire, 
 so evil a face I had never before seen, 
 who, as soon as he saw me stop, called 
 out : * This is no time for delay, my Lord, 
 the joust is begun ! ' ' And you,' I cried, 
 ' who are you ? ' 'I am your squire,' he 
 answered, ' and come whence your horse 
 and armour came ; onward, we are late ! ' 
 In despair, I put spurs to my horse, and 
 we arrived just as the last pair were en- 
 gaged. It was a warm day ; the lists were 
 almost hidden in a cloud of dust, which, 
 however, did not rise to the high tribune 
 where Hildegard sat, the Queen of the 
 tournament, among her maidens. No
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 199 
 
 questions were asked me, and I did not 
 raise my vizor, though many gazed curi- 
 ously at my deviceless shield of maiden 
 whiteness, and whispered among each 
 other : ' A stranger knight ! ' There was 
 a rush of horses, a mighty shock, and 
 one of the combatants lay senseless on 
 the ground. Then my squire rang out 
 an aggressive blast, the knight was carried 
 off, and I and the triumphant conqueror 
 stood face to face in the lists. I could not 
 see his face, for his vizor was down, but 
 I recognised by his shield the knight 
 of Berghausen, a bull-necked stalwart chief 
 who had been the favourite of the wagerers. 
 The air was rent by shouts as he pranced 
 proudly round, which he acknowledged by 
 a slight inclination of his head ; and when 
 I advanced, I could see that he looked me 
 over from top to toe, observed my weak 
 arm and slim build, and made sure of an 
 easy victory. Then we wheeled our horses 
 round, and after doing our obeisance to the 
 Queen of Beauty, took up our positions at 
 the further end of the lists and awaited the 
 signal of the herald. After three blasts 
 from his attendant trumpets he cast down 
 his wand, and scarcely had it touched the 
 ground when we put spurs to our steeds 
 and met in the centre of the lists. His 
 spear only touched my armour when it
 
 2OO The Travels of 
 
 shivered into a thousand fragments ; while 
 mine, blunted as it was, would have done 
 him no further injury than to unhorse him 
 had it not broken off at the end, and by 
 some mischance pierced him through the 
 eye, and to my astonishment and horror, 
 stretched him lifeless upon the ground. 
 The ladies shrieked, and there were angry 
 murmurs among the Lord of Berghausen's 
 men ; several of his knights made for their 
 horses and lowered their vizors, but the 
 Count of Schneckenstein signed to a body 
 of his men-at-arms to form up between us, 
 and, frowning fearfully, summoned me as 
 the victor to accompany him before the 
 Queen of Beauty. ' I cannot accuse you 
 of want of skill, Sir Knight,' he said, ' for 
 none but a skilful knight could have with- 
 stood the Lord of Berghausen, who was 
 doubtlessly born under an unlucky star ; 
 nevertheless, we did not look for such an 
 end.' At this moment we came up to the 
 throne where Hildegard sat blushing 
 among her attendants ; and the Count 
 bade me remove my vizor and kneel down 
 to receive the wreath. ' Himmelkreuz- 
 donnerwetter T he ejaculated, starting back 
 a pace or two ; ' why, it is our Wolfram ! ' 
 He gasped with rage, the big veins stood 
 out from his forehead, and he cried out to 
 the guards to seize me and instantly clap
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 201 
 
 me in one of the most loathsome cells 
 beneath the donjon keep. But Hildegard 
 rose from her seat, and with a glowing face 
 waved back the men-at-arms who were 
 already advancing. ' Father/ she said, ' is 
 this the way you keep your plighted 
 word ? Did you not offer my hand to 
 whomsoever should prove victorious ; and 
 because the victor proves to be one of your 
 own household, is he, he who has brought 
 honour to your roof, to be refused ? ' I 
 seized her hand and kissed it, while the 
 Count seemed to be irresolute, and finally 
 bade me ' take off those things ' and return 
 to my duties while he thought the matter 
 over. 
 
 There was some trouble about the death 
 of the Knight of Berghausen. H is followers 
 wished to have me delivered up to them 
 for punishment, and swore that it was a 
 foul stroke : but the Count would not 
 listen to them. ' I will bury your Lord 
 with pleasure in the most honourable 
 way,' he said to them ; ' but Wolfram is of 
 gentle birth and there is no dishonour in 
 dying by his hand. 'Tis all fortune and 
 chance : had the knight killed Wolfram, 
 though he be of my own house, I should 
 have borne him no malice. Potztousand, 
 why all this fuss ? ' And I verily believe 
 that their grumbling did my case good ;
 
 202 The Travels of 
 
 for the Count was thereby forced to take 
 my side, and so came to think better of 
 me. Nevertheless, he would not listen to 
 my suit ; and once when I ventured 
 humbly to recall to him the labours I had 
 undertaken for the promised guerdon, he 
 only answered : ' Away, and be thankful 
 that so far you have escaped my resent- 
 ment, nor let me cast eyes upon you if 
 you love your skin.' 
 
 I therefore kept beyond his view ; for, 
 indeed, his nature was hot : but I ventured, 
 whenever I got the chance, to throw 
 myself in the way of Hildegard, and from 
 exchanging a few words, we came, little 
 by little, to meeting often as 'twere by 
 chance ; and thence to talk, to confidences, 
 and so to mutual love. But I was con- 
 stantly in fear lest her confessor should 
 get wind of the affair and reveal our 
 secret to the Count, and so either get me 
 banished, or get her married to one of her 
 many suitors, or, perchance both. I there- 
 fore in one of our conversations urged my 
 fears, to which she replied that, indeed, 
 they were well founded, and that she dare 
 not dispute her father's will. Then I 
 urged her to fly with me beyond the power 
 of her father, but this she feared to do : 
 1 Nay,' says she, ' that would be evil." 
 Again I urged the certainty of our separa-
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 203 
 
 tion, that it was her father who had done 
 evil in breaking his parole : for had he not 
 pledged her hand to the victor in the 
 tournament ? Could she bring herself to 
 be the wife of another ? At this she wept 
 and bemoaned her hard fate, compelling 
 her either to disobey her father or to lose 
 her lover ; and shortly afterwards we were 
 forced to part ; but I had reason to hope 
 that another attack would bring her to 
 yield, and therefore went to consult my 
 squire, him of the evil countenance, who 
 since the tournament had joined the body 
 of the Count's men-at-arms, but who was 
 really only my valet. I ordained him to 
 have a couple of horses waiting at the 
 postern gate so soon as it became dark, and, 
 when the time arrived I took my mandoline 
 and sang these verses beneath her bower : 
 
 Listen, fair maid, to a lover's prayer ! 
 
 Wilt thou not hear me, my own sweetheart ? 
 
 Bid me, oh, bid me not despair ! 
 
 Then say me not nay, my true love, I pray, 
 
 Oh, list to me, darling, my life, my soul, 
 
 Oh, list to me, darling, my own sweetheart ! 
 
 I only live now thy love to gain ; 
 
 Wilt thou not love me a little, sweetheart ? 
 
 Let me not think I love in vain ; 
 
 Then say me not nay, my true love, I pray, 
 
 Oh, say thou dost love me, my life, my soul, 
 
 Oh, say thou dost love me, my own sweetheart
 
 2O4 The Travels of 
 
 Tell me, my love, thou wilt be mine : 
 Wilt thou not say it, my own sweetheart ? 
 I've given my love, then give me thine ; 
 Oh, say me not nay, my true love, I pray, 
 Wilt thou not say it, my life, my soul, 
 Wilt thou not say it, my own sweetheart ! 
 
 And if thou dost thy love deny 
 
 (Thou'lt ne'er be so cruel, my own sweetheart ! ) 
 
 Then I must lay me down and die ! 
 
 Oh, say me not nay, my true love, I pray, 
 
 Thou'lt ne'er be so cruel, my life, my soul, 
 
 Thou'lt ne'er be so cruel, my own sweetheart ! 
 
 I had hardly finished, when her ador- 
 able figure appeared on the terrace. She 
 flew into my arms, and weeping, said : 
 1 No, Wolfram, I am not cruel, I have 
 given thee my love as thou hast given me 
 thine.' We exchanged some love pas- 
 sages, and then I told her of my prepara- 
 tions ; how the horses were now in readi- 
 ness, and I drew a picture of herself in 
 the arms of some lord chosen for her by 
 her father and myself pining in banish- 
 ment ; then, falling on my knees, I be- 
 sought her to prove her love for me and 
 to fly upon the instant. She wept an 
 abundance of tears, but, nevertheless, at 
 that moment she could deny me nothing, 
 and, to my inexpressible joy, she yielded, 
 though beside herself for fear. Yet so 
 great was her confidence in me, and so 
 great her horror of our separation, that
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 205 
 
 she allowed me to lead her out, and we 
 were soon mounted and on our way. 
 
 My squire had informed me that a 
 castle was provided for us, and thither we 
 urged our steeds : but I hope my bride 
 saw not what I saw on the way, hideous 
 shadowy forms, that seemed to wring 
 their hands and wail, while others seemed 
 to urge us on in fierce diabolic delight. 
 We rode along, hand in hand, neither 
 of us seeming to have any heart for talk, 
 as lovers should have, for we were both 
 of us too much absorbed with our own 
 thoughts : Hildegard with the step she 
 had taken in running away from her father 
 and I with terrible fears of the danger into 
 which I had led the confiding girl. At 
 length our guide pointed out a black spot 
 crowning a rocky height, which, as he 
 informed me, was to be our home. To 
 reach it, we had to descend into a deep 
 and dark ravine, in the depths of which 
 we could hear, though not see, a rush- 
 ing torrent. We scrambled down to it 
 with some difficulty and danger owing to 
 the darkness, but would not have ven- 
 tured to cross had not a blue flame sud- 
 denly shot up from the bank at the oppo- 
 site side just where the ford was, and 
 showed us where we might safely pass. 
 So frighted was Hildegard that she
 
 206 The Travels of 
 
 clung as close to me as our horses would 
 permit, nor would anything have persuaded 
 her to go forward had not her fear of 
 returning equalled her present fear. From 
 the depths of the ravine we toiled up 
 a rocky narrow path until we came to the 
 outworks of the castle, whence continuing 
 between embattled walls we arrived at 
 a frowning and gloomy portal. I had 
 never seen the place before, nor, indeed, 
 knew that such a castle existed in the 
 neighbourhood. It is true that I had 
 heard that in the direction which we 
 had taken there was a haunted wood 
 in which no hunter would dare to allow 
 the shades of night to overtake him, and 
 many were the tales I had heard of the 
 awful things that had been seen there ; 
 and belike for this reason my lord of 
 Schneckenstein never cared to turn his 
 footsteps that way, certainly, I had fol- 
 lowed our guide the more readily because 
 I considered that we were in less danger 
 of pursuit in this direction than had we 
 taken another, but the horrors of our ride 
 and the eerie aspect of the castle, I think, 
 had begun to shake my nerves, and had I 
 not had to comfort and reassure Hildegard 
 I do not think that I should have had 
 courage to go on. Though the night was 
 dark, and our way had only been illumined
 
 Mathew Diidgeon, Gent. 207 
 
 by some fitful moonbeams that stole out 
 between the scudding clouds, yet every 
 stone of the old crumbling walls was 
 visible to us clothed in a sort of phos- 
 phorescent light of their own, but the case- 
 ments were mere black cavities, excepting 
 a row of great windows in the distance 
 belonging as I guessed to the banqueting 
 hall, which were all lit up with a ruddy- 
 glow which waned and again waxed as if 
 from the flames of a furnace. Yet all was 
 deathly silent, though we were near 
 enough to have heard sounds of revelry 
 had there been any, as the lights indicated. 
 When we halted at the edge of the moat, 
 the vapours from the stagnant waters of 
 which smote our nostrils like the poison- 
 ous steams of the plague, we could see no 
 watchman or warder, nor indeed, was 
 there any sign of life visible. Then my 
 squire sounded a discordant blast on 
 his horn that seemed to freeze the very 
 marrow in our bones, upon which the 
 drawbridge slowly descended with many 
 creaks and groans, and we passed into the 
 courtyard. Here, however, we still saw 
 no one, but he of the evil countenance 
 seemed to reck of none of these things, 
 and merely motioned us to a crumbling 
 archway which stood in the corner beyond 
 a ruined fountain. We entered, and found
 
 208 The Travels of 
 
 ourselves on a dark but broad stone stair- 
 case, that led into a hall or banqueting 
 chamber, spacious enough, but merely lit 
 at the further end by a few ill-burning 
 sconces sufficient to show that the table 
 was spread. We were hungry after our 
 ride and all the fears we had gone through 
 and took our seats at the dais at the head 
 of the table ; whereupon a trumpet sounded 
 and in trooped men-at-arms and varlets, at 
 least so they seemed to be, but they were 
 all clad in some sort of grey stuff that gave 
 them a sort of shadowy look, and all wore 
 their hoods drawn over their heads so 
 that their visages were hidden. One only 
 saw here and there an eye which shone 
 with a strange lambent flame such as 
 I had never before seen in human counte- 
 nance. They made their obeisance, and 
 there they sat as silent as death, and had 
 we not noted now and again a turn of the 
 head or seen them raise their hands to 
 their mouths, we should have thought 
 indeed that we were in the company of the 
 dead. Even as it was, Hildegard was in 
 an agony of terror, and whispered, asking 
 me whither I had brought her. Amidst 
 such chill surroundings it was some com- 
 fort to see the meats smoking on the 
 board, but when I had helped my Hilde- 
 gard and myself, we found them icy cold,
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 209 
 
 insomuch that some fear began to enter 
 even into my heart, small as the matter 
 was ; but, taken with all that had gone 
 before, I think I had some cause for fear. 
 Poor Hildegard could not touch a morsel, 
 but sat looking at me, afraid to show how 
 fearful she was, and indeed, I had much 
 ado to put on a cheerful countenance, for 
 it was not a cheerful feast. The hall, as I 
 have said, was only dimly lighted, and 
 such vagrant moonbeams as managed to 
 struggle through the heavily mullioned 
 windows seemed but to make more spec- 
 tral the grey and silent guests. The roof 
 was in utter darkness, and here and there 
 it seemed to be gone, disclosing through a 
 tangle of rafters a few dim and distant stars. 
 Outside, the wind moaned drearily, and 
 ever and anon a gust shook the mouldy 
 tapestry that still festooned the walls, 
 causing them to wave to and fro so that 
 the faded figures worked into them seemed 
 to be endued with life, and looked all the 
 more weird in the flickering of the torches. 
 Now and again, too, an owl or a bat, 
 attracted by the light, would brush past, 
 almost touching the table, so that neither 
 of us could do more than sit still and look, 
 for we were deprived of all appetite for 
 food. After the feast had proceeded for 
 some space, one of the figures, who ap- 
 
 p
 
 2io The Travels of 
 
 peared by his habit to be the seneschal, 
 rose up in his place, and in a hollow voice 
 spoke words of welcome for the bride and 
 bridegroom ; then he bade his fellows fill 
 their cups and drink to us to our ETER- 
 NAL DAMNATION ! They all arose in 
 their places, and as they did so, their 
 hoods fell from their heads and each one 
 was revealed to us as a skeleton ; as they 
 waved their cups in their bony hands, 
 blue flames shot up from them which they 
 poured down their cavernous jaws ; but we 
 saw no more, for Hildegard had swooned 
 in my arms, while I, in a frenzy of fear 
 and horror, had seized her up, and rushed 
 with her into the ruined chapel which 
 opened into the hall behind our seat. 
 
 Here all was quiet. The pale moon- 
 beams struggling with the rising dawn 
 shone coldly through the broken win- 
 dows upon the many sculptured monu- 
 ments of priests, and lords and ladies 
 who once had lived here, but now were 
 mouldering into dust. With warm kisses 
 upon her icy forehead I restored my 
 darling back to life, and she had hardly 
 come to, when, seeing where she was, she 
 threw herself before the altar and clasping 
 my hand in hers, commended our souls to 
 God. Shouts, and howls, and blas- 
 phemies, together with the rattling of
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 2 1 1 
 
 bones, resounded from the hall without, 
 while, as if awakened by these cries, 
 horror upon horror ! the graves gave up 
 their dead, and the chapel began to fill 
 with filmy gibbering ghosts in numbers 
 that continued to wax until the chapel 
 became so full that they seemed to stand 
 within each other, and crowded, pressing 
 threateningly around us. With a mind 
 full of anguish I looked at Hildegard, 
 fearing that she would go mad with 
 horror and fright, and would, if I had 
 dared, have cursed my folly for my im- 
 patient dallying with the Evil One ; but 
 the brave girl seemed to gather more 
 courage as the need for it became the 
 greater, and, throwing her arms about my 
 neck, prayed earnestly and without ceas- 
 ing. Still the ghosts thronged nearer, 
 with everincreasing threatenings, and 
 forms of demons seemed to arise out of 
 them that pressed into the front rank and 
 made as though they would seize us. 
 Nearer they came, and I felt redhot 
 claws searing into my flesh, but 
 Hildegard still remained untouched as 
 though some heavenly power were guard- 
 ing her. Me, however, they seized, and 
 they were dragging me away, though she 
 clung to me with tears and prayer, when 
 a sudden inspiration came to her ; she 
 
 p 2
 
 212 The Travels of 
 
 tore off the crucifix she had been wearing 
 and threw it round about my neck. With 
 a howl the demons started back, but only 
 for a moment, and then one among them 
 pierced her with a dart, and she fell cold and 
 dead into my arms. What happened after 
 that I know not. I seemed to fall into 
 an ecstasy, and see a troop of angels come 
 down, whose very sight put all the 
 ghostly forms to flight. They seemed to 
 lift my Hildegard up and bear her away 
 to Paradise, while the ground rose up, the 
 walls of the castle fell, and I found myself 
 lying on the bare rocks in a desert place 
 as the morning sun began to gild the 
 clouds. Only the crucifix which my 
 sainted love had placed about my neck 
 remained to show that what we had 
 suffered was aught but an awful dream. 
 I staggered to my feet, and guiding my- 
 self by the sun, set forth to expiate my 
 sins at Rome, if it were possible to save 
 my sinful soul ; and so, wandering on, I 
 presently found myself at Marseilles, where 
 I took ship, and the next day in a calm was 
 captured by these heathens. This is my 
 story. If I die now, I shall die damned, 
 and never meet my Hildegard again. 
 
 By these stories and the like, our 
 labours were somewhat beguiled, but it
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 213 
 
 was a fearful life ; and though owing to 
 our numbers, our work was not so heavy 
 as it would have been had we been the 
 slaves of any one but the Dey, yet, so 
 terrible were his moods that no one who 
 came near him, not even the greatest of 
 his subjects, was ever safe from the most 
 horrible of deaths. To work too fast or 
 too slow, to salute him or not to salute 
 him, were equal offences in his eyes. 
 When he stirred abroad it was always on 
 horseback, and any horse he had once 
 bestridden it was death for any meaner 
 person to back. Before him went the 
 greatest of his officers, then came a caval- 
 cade of soldiers galloping hither and 
 thither, and executing marvellous feats 
 of horsemanship while they fired their 
 small arms into the air or into the ground. 
 He himself was surrounded by black 
 slaves, some running before and some 
 behind, while it was the office of one 
 to carry an umbrella over him, and 
 woe betide him if he let one ray of sun- 
 shine touch his countenance. In his hand 
 he always carried a dart with which he 
 would transfix any one that angered him, 
 and beside him ran another slave, whose 
 only office it was, when his master darted 
 his weapon into the air, which he would 
 do when it irked him to carry it any
 
 214 The Travels of 
 
 longer, to catch it before it fell ; in which, 
 if he failed, as like as not the Dey would 
 order him to be tossed, which is a punish- 
 ment peculiar to the Turks, and done in 
 this manner. Four or five strong blacks 
 seize upon him on either side, and stoop- 
 ing a little, suddenly straighten their 
 backs at the same time throwing him up 
 with all their strength, with his feet 
 upward, so that he pitches down with his 
 head foremost. In this by much practice 
 they are so dexterous that they can make 
 him fall how they please, and according as 
 the Dey signs to them they either break 
 his neck at the first toss or let him fall 
 on his shoulder, when at another sign 
 they will toss him again until he be dead, 
 or the Dey signify that it is enough. 
 Others of the Dey's slaves are scarred all 
 over by his dart, and in particular that 
 one which bears his umbrella, for at 
 the least offence he will make use of it. 
 Indeed, to show what sort of a temper he 
 hath, and how terrible he is, I cannot do 
 better than relate a story that was 
 credibly told me of his youth, when he was 
 newly come into his kingdom.
 
 THE STORY OF HELIODORA. 
 
 the time the Dey was 
 newly come into his king- 
 dom, he was warring not 
 only with the Christians 
 by sea, but also against his 
 brothers that contested the 
 kingdom against him at his father's death ; 
 when he not only showed his people that 
 he was a lion in the fight, but also showed 
 them that he was a better general, young as 
 he was, than any emir his brothers could 
 bring against him. Now it happened, after 
 that he had won several great victories, and 
 driven his brothers to take refuge in the 
 mountains with such few of their followers 
 as remained to them, he retired to Algiers, 
 where he sought to consolidate his king- 
 dom and rest for a while from the fatigues 
 of war. Nor had he been there long, when 
 his fleet arrived in port, having on board 
 much riches plundered from the Christians, 
 and also many slaves, among whom was 
 a most beautiful Greek girl whom the
 
 216 The Travels of 
 
 captain had brought as a 'present for his 
 sovereign. This slave indeed was a 
 miracle of beauty, a very jewel, barely 
 seventeen years of age, and such as one 
 might scarcely conceive to exist in the 
 flesh or in any other way than in the con- 
 ception of the great sculptors of ancient 
 times. I need not say that no sooner had 
 the Dey seen her than he fell deeply in 
 love, insomuch that he could take no de- 
 Jight out of her company, and his love in- 
 creased little by little until he utterly neg- 
 lected the affairs of his kingdom, leaving his 
 emirs to do as they pleased, and oppress and 
 plunder the people, while the enemy that 
 was before utterly routed and obliged to 
 skulk in caverns and difficult places, began 
 again to take heart of grace in the general 
 disorder, and so to harass the kingdom 
 that there was no security or peace from 
 end to end. In these circumstances the 
 Janissaries, or soldiers, began with open 
 voice to murmur, complaining that their 
 lord consumed his life effeminately and 
 that they were left without employment 
 while the kingdom went to ruin ; while 
 the poor commonalty were oppressed on 
 the one side by their rulers, and on the 
 other by the enemy, so that they too 
 began to broach open sedition, saying that 
 their lord was no lord for them, since he
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 217 
 
 conferred no profit on the kingdom but 
 allowed them to be eaten up from without 
 and within. Yet there was none that 
 durst declare any of these things to the 
 Dey, for they all knew his terrible humour : 
 and, moreover, he was so deeply steeped 
 in love for the beautiful Greek that it was 
 no light thing to draw him away from her. 
 Thus it was that his people began to 
 despair of a remedy, and began to be of 
 one mind to yield no more obedience to 
 him, but to choose some other prince to 
 be Dey, more martial and more warlike, 
 that would rid the kingdom of its enemies 
 and make the emirs give some account 
 of their government. Now, among the 
 counsellors of the Dey, there was one 
 that was called Hamed, the greatest 
 favourite that he ever had, who had come 
 almost a boy into his army, and had 
 distinguished himself in several actions. 
 Having thus come under the young Dey's 
 notice, and being, moreover, a youth of 
 great parts, frank and noble, and of a 
 merry humour, the Dey grew into great 
 familiarity with him, insomuch that he 
 allowed him to enter his presence when- 
 ever he would. This Hamed was heartily 
 grieved at the infatuation of his master 
 and the danger into which he had fallen 
 of being bereft of his kingdom, and re-
 
 218 The Travels of 
 
 solved that, come what might, he would 
 seek to draw him away from the Greek. 
 When, therefore, he perceived a con- 
 venient time, such as he desired to have, 
 he repaired to the Dey who was walking 
 alone in his garden, and after he had 
 made great reverence according to the 
 custom, he said : ' My sovereign lord, if 
 thou wilt permit me to speak freely without 
 fear, I have that to tell thee which greatly 
 concerns thy State, and what is still more 
 important to all thy loving people, the 
 safety of thy own person.' To which the 
 Dey answered merrily : ' Cast aside all 
 fear and speak freely what is on thy mind, 
 for who shall speak to me if thou mayest 
 not?' Then Hamed continued : ' I doubt 
 that what I say may be displeasing to thee, 
 but believe me that nothing but the love 
 and reverence I have for thee compels my 
 tongue to wound thy ears ; and indeed, I 
 fear that I have kept silence too long.' 
 He then proceeded to tell him as gently 
 as he could, what was the state of his 
 kingdom, how the enemy were pressing 
 upon him, how the emirs governed and 
 oppressed the people, and how the people 
 murmured ; so that the kingdom was ripe 
 for rebellion, and there was already talk of 
 deposing him and appointing a new Dey. 
 Then he exhorted him to attend to the
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 219 
 
 government and leave off his slothful life. 
 'Be now,' he continued, 'a conqueror of thy- 
 self, and separate thee from thy slave ; or, 
 if so be the Greek delight thee so much, 
 who shall prevent thee from carrying her 
 with thee on all thy expeditions, and why 
 canst thou not both enjoy her company 
 and use the practice of arms ? And if I 
 have spoken anything disagreeable to thy 
 mind, pardon the same according to thy 
 wonted clemency, and impute the fault 
 rather to my sense of duty, and the care 
 that I have of thy honour and safety.' 
 The Dey, when he had listened to the 
 discourse of his friend, stood as though he 
 had been struck by a thunderbolt : his 
 eyes were fixed upon the ground, his chest 
 heaved, his breath came fast and thick, his 
 colour changed, the veins in his forehead 
 swelled, and, in short, he discovered every 
 sign of agitation and unquietness of mind, 
 insomuch that Hamed, seeing him in these 
 alterations, was in doubt of his life. A 
 furious battle raged in the mind of the 
 Dey, for he knew that Hamed had spoken 
 the truth, while on the other side the 
 beautiful eyes of Heliodora seemed to 
 plead with him to continue in his perfect 
 love and happiness, and the idea of aban- 
 doning her was as though he contemplated 
 tearing his own heart from his bosom.
 
 220 The Travels of 
 
 With great rage he turned upon Hamed 
 and said : ' Before the sun shall once again 
 turn in the heavens, I will let thee and 
 others know what power I have over myself, 
 and whether I am able to bridle my passion 
 or no. Bid the emirs and bashas and 
 grandees, and the captains and principal 
 men assemble to-morrow in the great 
 hall of the divan, where I will meet them, 
 and now, if you value your life, be gone ! ' 
 The next day, all the emirs and bashas 
 and grandees, and all the principal men, 
 together with Hamed, were assembled in 
 the great hall of the divan, wondering 
 what the Dey's words had portended, 
 when, to the sounds of drums and cymbals, 
 the Dey entered, leading Heliodora by the 
 hand. When he had come to the throne, 
 he stood still, and cried with a loud voice : 
 ' Ho, emirs and grandees, it has been 
 brought to my understanding that ye 
 complain I devote too much time to this 
 fair being, to the neglect of the affairs of 
 my kingdom, and that I am weak and 
 unable to overcome my passion and am 
 unworthy any longer to command you.' 
 Then he drew the veil from the face of 
 Heliodora, and all present were amazed at 
 her beauty, insomuch that they could only 
 murmur Allah ! Allah ! extolled be the 
 perfection of Him who hath fashioned
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 221 
 
 thee ! And they placed the finger of 
 admiration in the mouth of wonder, and 
 stood there dumb as fish newly taken from 
 the seas. Then the Dey said to them : 
 ' Which among you that possessed this 
 miracle would have done otherwise than I 
 have, or would have endured any moment 
 apart from her ? ' To which the assembled 
 great men of the kingdom cried with one 
 voice : ' None of us, O Dey ; may we be 
 your sacrifice, had it been vouchsafed to 
 us, we should have done even the same ! ' 
 ' And which among you,' cried he, ' would 
 have done as I do ? ' And so saying, he 
 drew the glittering falchion from his side, 
 seized the fair Heliodora by her yellow 
 hair, and drawing her head back, cut her 
 ivory throat with one stroke from ear to 
 ear, so that she fell on the ground, and her 
 life's blood welled out over his feet. With 
 a terrible frown he commanded them 
 straightway to assemble their men-at-arms, 
 and to meet him the next day to march 
 against the enemy, when he fought as 
 even he had never fought before ; for he 
 raged among them as a lion that has lost 
 its whelps, until they were utterly defeated, 
 and those of his officers who had oppressed 
 the people, he caused to die by the most 
 horrible of deaths, nor did he pass over 
 any dereliction of duty in any one, so that
 
 222 The Travels of 
 
 people hardly dared to move for fear of him, 
 and they regretted that they had aroused 
 him from his sloth. For many years he 
 was never seen to smile, but waged inces- 
 sant war with all the tribes round about 
 until old age grew upon him ; but even at 
 the present day it is whispered that he 
 starts and weeps and groans in his sleep, 
 and agonised cries still ring through the 
 palace in the dead of night of ' Heliodora ! ' 
 
 Such is his character, yet, when it 
 pleases him, he cares for none of the state 
 and appanage of his magnificence, and will 
 go a-hunting like any other man, enduring 
 heat, and thirst, and fatigue. On these 
 occasions, a body of slaves go before, 
 bearing with them the camp equipage, and 
 such of his women as it pleases him to have 
 with him, on a train of camels, which are 
 marvellous tall beasts, having a neck twice 
 as long as a horse, and a great hunch 
 growing out of the midst of their back, as 
 big as a peck. They are covered with wool 
 something like a sheep, and are cloven- 
 footed like them, yet their feet are round, 
 something about the size of a trencher, 
 and soft, so that they can walk equally 
 well on the hard rock or yielding sand. 
 Their strength is very great, for they will 
 carry as much on their backs as four
 
 Mathew Dudgeon y Gent. 223 
 
 horses, and continue marching at a slow 
 pace for two score hours without meat or 
 rest. Now, it so befell that the Dey 
 bethought him of setting out on a hunting 
 expedition in the mountains, and I among 
 the other slaves set out the day before in 
 the manner that I have described. When 
 we had got into the wild and rugged parts, 
 we made our way to a delightful valley, into 
 which there was only one entry, through a 
 long and narrow gorge, by the side of a 
 mountain torrent. This valley was wholly 
 surrounded by mountain cliffs, whose 
 scarped, inaccessible faces added beauty 
 to the scene, by the veins of colour, blue, 
 green, and red, that ran through them in 
 wavy lines. The valley itself was a ver- 
 dant garden, watered by the torrent of 
 which I have already spoken, through 
 which it rushed in a series of miniature cas- 
 cades, sprinkling its mossy and fern- 
 covered banks with sparkling diamonds as 
 it pursued its impetuous course, and ever 
 and anon spreading into broad, quiet pools, 
 that lay smiling in the sunshine. Here we 
 pitched the tents, amidst groves of oleander 
 and palms, on a carpet of flowering plants 
 of every sort and kind, that gladdened 
 both the eye by their rich colours, and the 
 senses by their subtle perfumes ; that is, 
 we pitched the pavilion of the Dey, and
 
 224 The Travels of 
 
 the tents for his women and their slaves, 
 and raised huts of branches for his imme- 
 diate servitors ; but all the hunters and 
 the guard were posted outside the valley, 
 which could not be entered or departed 
 from, save by the gorge through which we 
 had come. On one side of the stream 
 were the servants and on the other, hidden 
 by the groves, the tents and ground 
 devoted to the women, where no man 
 excepting the Dey might intrude, save at 
 those times when they were confined to 
 the inclosure walled by camelcloth, and 
 guarded without and within. Then we, 
 that is I and the other slaves appointed 
 thereto, worked in the garden, and made 
 art look more natural than nature. 
 
 On one of these occasions, overcome 
 by the heat of the sun, I had stolen aside 
 to an inviting thicket of tamarisk, and lay 
 down in the shade to sleep How long I 
 slept I know not, but I was awakened by 
 women's voices, and, looking forth, saw 
 that I had slept too long, and the women 
 were disporting themselves in the garden. 
 My position, I need not say, was one 
 of great danger, and brought fear even to 
 my spirit ; for I well knew that, were I 
 discovered, I were as good as dead. One 
 shriek from a woman, and I should be 
 instantly cut down by the swords of the
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 225 
 
 guardians of the seraglio, and even if my 
 life were preserved for a few hours, it 
 would only be to die a worse death by the 
 orders of the Dey. Although this fear 
 was ever before me, yet could I not 
 restrain my curiosity to look forth, and 
 creeping forward with the utmost caution, 
 perceived two women walking toward me, 
 one of which that walked before, seemed 
 to be sorrowful, while the other, a slave, 
 seemed to be trying to divert her with 
 cheerful talk. It was clear that the first 
 was a favourite of the Dey's, for she was 
 dressed in the richest garments of heavy 
 silk, embroidered with pearls, the sash 
 round her waist was shot with gold, gold 
 ornaments hung from her neck and arms, 
 and her hair, plaited into a thousand 
 strings, was one mass of glittering little 
 coins. Dazzling as was the beauty of her 
 dress, no eye that once reached her face 
 could again leave the enchanting view ; 
 for her countenance combined all that was 
 most beautiful in feature with a nobility of 
 expression that revealed the rare dignity 
 of her soul. To say that I forgot the 
 danger of my position, that my senses 
 deserted me in the entrancing contempla- 
 tion of so divine a being, would but 
 poorly express the sentiments I felt. I was 
 like a sparrow feebly fluttering down from 
 
 Q
 
 226 The Travels of 
 
 his secure perch into the jaws of a jewelled 
 serpent ; only the comparison would be 
 unjust, inasmuch as she was as innocent as 
 the dove, nor was she aware of my pre- 
 sence. Just as I was weakly staggering 
 forth from the friendly concealment of my 
 bower to throw myself at her feet, and so 
 consummate my ruin, my good star willed 
 that she should pause, and turning to her 
 companion she said : * Zuleika, the sun 
 waxes warm, and my heart is oppressed ; 
 leave me for a time to repose in solitude, 
 and perchance I may sleep.' Her words 
 arrested me for the moment, for they were 
 like the voice of the nightingale complain- 
 ing for the loss of its beloved ; yet hardly 
 had she ceased, and again I was about to 
 go forward before even the back of her 
 slave was turned upon her, when again I 
 was arrested, for she began to recite the 
 following verses, which I made no doubt 
 applied to her own case : 
 
 What is there can ever ease me, 
 
 Or my gnawing sorrows let ? 
 Would the joys of heaven e'en please me, 
 
 If I might not there forget ? 
 
 Out, cruel Memory, cruel and partial ! 
 
 Shall peace ne'er be mine again ? 
 Though past joys thou dost remarshal, 
 
 In oblivion rests the pain.
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 227 
 
 Base Enchanter ! Sorrows lightened 
 By half-memories sweet appear : 
 
 Happinesses past are brightened, 
 From all earthly dross made clear. 
 
 Art, O Memory, scarce was needed 
 Glamour o'er the past to shed ; 
 
 Daily joys, almost unheeded, 
 Thou recall'st, now they are fled. 
 
 Thou recall'st each gentle sorrow 
 
 Salt, that to my jaded taste 
 Savoured pleasures, when the morrow 
 
 Brought new joys and grief displaced. 
 
 Ah, sweet Memory ! grant, I pray thee 
 
 This request : if I may not 
 Forget past happinesses, may the 
 
 Present at least then be forgot. 
 
 Hardly had she ceased this lamenta- 
 tion when I threw myself at her feet. 
 She was too amazed at my sudden appear- 
 ance to cry out, and before she could 
 recover, I had told her in incoherent sen- 
 tences of my devotion and readiness to 
 risk everything for her sake. She hastily 
 drew her veil over her face, but I could 
 perceive that she was much agitated, for 
 she trembled violently, but at last com- 
 manding herself sufficiently, she managed 
 to ask me who I was. I told her that I 
 was a gentleman enslaved by the Dey, a 
 slave like her ; and renewed my offers of 
 assistance, forgetting for the moment my 
 sad and powerless state. Whereupon she 
 
 Q2
 
 228 The Travels of 
 
 wept, and warned me of my danger, and, 
 indeed, the danger to both of us if we were 
 discovered. ' Go,' she said, ' my servant 
 may return at any moment ; we are at least 
 companions in sorrow, and I will contrive 
 a meeting to-morrow, when we can talk 
 more securely.' I saw the wisdom of her 
 words, and withdrew to my seclusion. 
 Shortly afterwards the slave girl returned, 
 and they went away together, though not 
 without a parting glance from my mistress 
 in my direction, that was at once a warn- 
 ing to be careful and a reminder that I 
 should meet her again. Then, taking 
 advantage of the overhanging bushes, I 
 slipped into the stream, and diving under 
 water, regained the opposite bank unseen. 
 On the next day, after our morning 
 work in the garden had been performed, I 
 did not linger behind, as I had done unwit- 
 tingly before, fearing lest I might be 
 missed, but at midday, when everyone, 
 from the Dey to the meanest of his slaves, 
 was wrapped in slumber, excepting perhaps 
 the guards, I slipped under a bush by the 
 waterside, and gathering some weeds, 
 bound them about my head. Then I 
 floated slowly across, nothing showing 
 above the surface of the water save the 
 weeds, until I arrived at the spot I had left 
 the day before, when I lay down and
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 229 
 
 awaited my mistress. She came, I think, 
 earlier than usual, for the sun was still high 
 though to my eager fancy I had awaited an 
 endless time. Then telling her slave that 
 she felt sleepy, she bade her keep watch 
 within call that no one disturbed her, 
 and hardly had the girl left than I was 
 beside her. She asked me many more 
 questions as to my condition, how long I 
 had been a slave, and how I hoped to 
 escape ? And partly in order that I might 
 the better contrive how this might be 
 brought about, as well as to satisfy my 
 curiosity, I begged her to tell me her story, 
 which she obligingly did as follows.
 
 THE STORY OF UME1MEH. 
 
 A A/T a native of Maloola, 
 a village situated in 
 some respects similarly to 
 this present spot, for it lies 
 among the mountains which 
 cover the country to the 
 north of Damascus at the mouth of a 
 ravine as narrow, but more terrible, than 
 the gorge through which we came here. 
 Ah ! stranger, how the memories of my 
 childhood welled up before me on that 
 occasion. How I pictured to myself my 
 father's house clinging to the side of the 
 cliff, and again fancied that I saw the 
 figures carved upon the rocks, of men in 
 strange costumes, which I was told repre- 
 sented the sons of our first father Adam. 
 Days past, that, alas ! can never come 
 again. How much happiness have I 
 known since, followed by how much 
 sorrow ! It is perhaps well that I knew 
 not what was written upon my forehead,
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 231 
 
 or I should have anticipated the dart of 
 Azrael before the appointed time. 
 
 In this beautiful village I grew up 
 tending my father's goats in the daytime 
 among the mountains, while in the even- 
 ing I assisted my mother in her household 
 duties. One day, as I was resting during 
 the noontide heat in one of the numberless 
 tombs with which the mountains are 
 honeycombed, I heard the loose stones 
 rolling outside, and presently a youth 
 entered and seated himself to rest. In 
 some fear as to whom the intruder might 
 prove to be, I instantly retreated to the 
 further end of the tomb, which was in 
 complete darkness, and whence I could 
 scan at my leisure the figure of the new- 
 comer. I saw at once that he was a youth 
 of consideration such as I had never seen 
 before, whether in my own or in neigh- 
 bouring villages. He was richly dressed 
 in the silks of Damascus, and was evidently 
 on a hunting expedition in our mountains. 
 But since his dress proclaimed him to be 
 a gentleman, I felt reassured, and was, I 
 confess, greatly taken with his face, which 
 was at once handsome and engaging. As 
 I continued to contemplate him from my 
 safe retreat in the darkness, and wonder 
 when he would leave me at liberty to 
 escape, he shifted his position slightly, when
 
 232 The Travels of 
 
 to my horror I saw that he had disturbed 
 a sleeping snake, one of the most veno- 
 mous known to me, which was already 
 rising up on its coils preparatory to striking 
 him. In the darkness he could not see it, 
 nor did he move, and in another moment he 
 would have been as good as dead, but, 
 before I knew what I did, I dashed 
 forward and broke its back with my crook ; 
 thus unwittingly revealing my presence to 
 his amazed sight. He started up, and 
 laid his hand upon his sword, but when he 
 saw that I was merely a girl, he looked at 
 me inquiringly as to what my sudden 
 action might portend. I pointed to the 
 dead snake at his feet, whereupon he saw 
 at once what had happened, and drawing 
 me forward to the mouth of the tomb so 
 that he could see me, kissed the hem of 
 my garment, and thanked me in a few 
 honest words that went straight to my 
 heart, so that I forgot in my pleasure that 
 he was a stranger, and only his glance of 
 admiration reminded me that my veil was 
 not drawn over my face. In haste and 
 confusion I covered it, and was about to 
 fly from his presence, when he seized my 
 hand, and lifting it to his forehead, be- 
 sought me to let him know to whom he 
 was indebted for his life ? I told him my 
 name, and my father's name, whereupon he
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 233 
 
 let me depart, and I went out into the blaze 
 of sunshine to gather together my scattered 
 flock, all the time thinking over my ad- 
 venture with the handsome stranger, whose 
 face and mien and expression I found for 
 ever haunting my imagination. This was 
 a new experience to me. I had heard 
 many stories and poems during the long 
 winter evenings which mostly turned upon 
 the passion of love, and the extravagances 
 which two mortals will affect to win to one 
 another, and I wondered whether this that 
 I felt within myself could be that passion ? 
 For, every day, as I led my flocks to their 
 pasture, my thoughts would recur to this 
 youth until his imaginary presence became 
 a sort of companion to me, so rarely was 
 his image absent from my memory. One 
 day not long afterwards, my mother bade 
 me prepare for marriage, and she was suffi- 
 ciently acquainted with the curiosity of 
 her sex to inform me that my intended 
 husband was both young and handsome, 
 and one of the richest merchants of 
 Damascus to boot. I need not tell you 
 that I immediately became the heroine of 
 our village, the object of envy of all the 
 girls, regret of many, if not of all the 
 youths, and dislike of the matrons. In- 
 deed, I would thoroughly have enjoyed 
 the triumph of my position had it not been
 
 234 The Travels of 
 
 for the memory of the bold unknown who 
 had dared to speak to me and to steal 
 away my heart on that sultry day in the 
 cave on the mountain-side. What could I 
 do, however, but obey my parents and 
 prepare for marriage, except sigh in soli- 
 tude for what might have been ? You 
 will readily imagine my joy, therefore, 
 when I saw at the ceremony of marriage, 
 that my future husband was no other than 
 the unknown whose life I had saved in the 
 cavern. In due course I received magni- 
 ficent presents ; and on a certain Thursday 
 night, after the preliminary ceremonies, I 
 was conducted under a crimson canopy to 
 my husband's temporary residence. The 
 unveiling brought no fears of disappoint- 
 ment to me, for I knew that my husband 
 had seen and loved me before. We took 
 leave of my parents after a short period of 
 blissful happiness, and removed to my 
 husband's home at Damascus. Every day 
 he would sit in his shop in the merchants ' 
 bazaar, and after he had bought and sold, 
 he would return home and we would take 
 the evening meal together, after which we 
 would resort to one of the public gardens 
 of the town, where, sitting by the flowing 
 waters, amidst the whispering trees, where 
 the nightingale still sang his praises to the 
 rose, we would enjoy the cool fragrance of
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 235 
 
 the evening, and, hand linked in hand, our 
 souls would commune together without 
 any necessity for words. In this pure 
 enjoyment we subsisted for some time until 
 it became necessary for my husband to 
 depart with a caravan of merchandise to 
 Balsora. He took leave of me with many 
 touching expressions of love : and I, who 
 had never yet since our marriage been 
 parted from him, could hardly bear the 
 thought of separation. I besought him to 
 remain with me, alleging my foolish fears 
 for my loneliness. Are we not rich enough, 
 I said, for you to give over your travels in 
 order that you may enjoy what you have ? 
 But he only smiled and kissed me, saying 
 that he would be away but a few months, 
 and then, Inshallah \ he might think of 
 what I had said. He bade me be of good 
 cheer, but I was full of forebodings that I 
 should never see him more ; forebodings 
 which he laughed to scorn, but which, 
 alas ! proved only too true. 
 
 Now the Wali of Damascus was a 
 notorious evil liver who had not the fear of 
 God before his eyes. No justice was to 
 be had from him for the poor man, and his 
 hand was heavy on the province, so insa- 
 tiable was he in his extortion. Nor was it 
 any use for the inhabitants to complain, for 
 he was liberal in his bribes to those above
 
 236 The Travels of 
 
 him, and the more he had to pay away in 
 bribes, the more eager was he to replenish 
 his coffers by grinding the faces of his 
 wretched people. Unfortunately for my 
 happiness, my reputed beauty had come to 
 the ears of this man, and he ardently 
 desired to gain possession of me. Having 
 learnt that my husband was about to take 
 a journey, he disguised some of his Janis- 
 saries as Bedouins, and putting himself at 
 the head of them, fell upon the caravan 
 suddenly and at night, a time when the 
 real Bedouin but rarely attacks. My 
 husband was slain, and his servants put to 
 flight, but one, more faithful than the rest, 
 concealed himself at a little distance, and 
 when the murderers had retired, returned, 
 bringing with him the corpse of my husband. 
 Then the news spread fast that the Be- 
 douins had attacked and had scattered the 
 caravan, and the Wali as in duty bound 
 came to inquire into the facts, for, of 
 course, he was responsible for the safety of 
 travellers. He came into the mandarah, 
 where the corpse was laid out with the face 
 turned towards Meccah, and surrounded by 
 weeping women, wailing and casting dust 
 upon their heads, while holy men were 
 reciting verses from the Koran. I was 
 watching the Wali from behind my veil 
 when he entered with the cadi and his
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 237 
 
 other officers. He pretended to be much 
 moved, but I could see that he was ill at 
 ease : his looks were troubled, not as by 
 grief, but as if he feared the avenger's 
 stroke. Suddenly my husband's mother, 
 who had been sitting by her son's corpse 
 wailing and never taking her eyes off those 
 loved features, knowing that in another 
 hour he would be buried, gave a great cry 
 and started upon her feet. All turned and 
 looked, and behold ! two dark streams of 
 blood were flowing from the wounds 
 towards the Wali, and all knew that he 
 was the murderer. He left abruptly, 
 bidding us bury the body at once, nor did 
 we dare to accuse him of the murder, and 
 if we had, it would have been useless. 
 Long afterwards, I questioned a learned 
 Hakim how it was possible that a body 
 once cold should bleed afresh when in the 
 presence of the murderer, as if to cry out 
 before God against him who made the 
 wound and divorced the soul from the body, 
 and he explained to me that by the virtue 
 contained within the hidden recesses of the 
 corpse, the humours, and especially those 
 of the blood and of the bile, are moved 
 and stirred within it, insomuch that by a 
 certain secret movement of Nature, not 
 readily to be understood, this interior 
 virtue seems to require vengeance. There-
 
 238 The Travels of 
 
 upon, suddenly the bilious humour is 
 stirred by a certain virtue appertaining to 
 the blood, and is moved and leaps within 
 the vessels because of the swiftness and 
 promptitude of its movement. This hu- 
 mour, then, being moved and inflamed, the 
 blood is liquefied and runs forth at the 
 wound, which is the proper gate to show 
 itself at. The vaporous spirit contained 
 within the blood then suddenly directs it 
 straight towards the murderer, especially 
 should he look upon the corpse with 
 attention, which act causes the blood to 
 swell within the wound by reason of that 
 wonderful and hidden motion by which the 
 blood excites its spiritual essence, and reci- 
 procally, the spirits move the blood, so that 
 it flows once more. This shows the un- 
 reason of those, who, without knowledge, 
 philosophy, or science, would argue that 
 the spirit of one slain lingers for a while 
 within the body, so weighed down is it by 
 the desire of vengeance, and hence, when 
 the murderer approaches, it becomes sud- 
 denly inflamed with anger, the blood is 
 heated, and again flows from the wound ; 
 while at the same time all the spirits of the 
 various parts fly together by virtue of their 
 natural legerity, and straightway being 
 directed by the animosity of the soul, force 
 the blood in the direction of the murderer.
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 239 
 
 Be this as it may be, however, it was 
 clear that the Wali was much disturbed at 
 this public evidence of his crime, and 
 especially that it had occurred in my pre- 
 sence : and, indeed, if it had been possible 
 for me to hate him worse than I already 
 did, that would have made me do so. 
 After the funeral I remained in my house, 
 not going forth for the space of about a 
 year, during which time my sole consola- 
 tion was the hearing of praises of my dead 
 husband from his mother's lips. She gave 
 me his history from his childhood upwards, 
 enlarging upon the perfection of his under- 
 standing and the strength of his lion-like 
 heart, whence she would commonly digress 
 into the character of his father, her 
 husband, in whom, it seemed, had dwelt 
 every virtue that it was possible for man 
 to have : fit father of so noble a son ! 
 When we had no more to say, we broke 
 out into sobs and tears together, which 
 would relieve the black humours from our 
 veins and enable us to pass through the 
 tedium of another day. At length an old 
 woman of our acquaintance called upon us, 
 and after condoling with me for a while 
 upon my widowhood, she said : ' But, after 
 all, it is not good for women, neither is it 
 respectable, that a young woman like your- 
 self should live unmarried and without the
 
 240 The Travels of 
 
 care of a husband ;' and then she began 
 the praises of the Wall, who, she said, 
 was a man of power to whom no parent in 
 Damascus would hesitate to give his 
 daughter and feel highly honoured at the 
 chance. ' Nevertheless,' she went on, 
 ' there is only one who can command his 
 heart : the report of thy beauty has pene- 
 trated to his ears, and he desires only thee. 
 What reply shall I make to him on thy 
 behalf? I do not know what reply I 
 should have given, what torrent of abuse I 
 should have poured out in the fury of the 
 moment, had not prudence come to my aid 
 in time for me to check myself. I got rid 
 of her as best I could by some excuse such 
 as that I required time to think over so 
 important an offer, and as soon as she was 
 gone gave free vent to the grief and pas- 
 sion that consumed me at the memory of 
 the murder of my husband and the cynical 
 effrontery of his murderer in demanding 
 my hand. When I had calmed somewhat, 
 and could think over the situation, my 
 thoughts chased each other confusedly 
 through my head. I could think no course 
 of action out, only one idea stood clearly 
 before me : that of intense, bitter, and 
 undying hatred to the man who now 
 sought me in marriage. In marriage ! 
 Heavens ! Was not this the hand of Allah
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon , Gent. 241 
 
 who now threw this man into my power ? 
 My husband's blood still cried aloud for 
 vengeance, and, behold ! after all these 
 months the sword of retribution was placed 
 in my hand, and blood could be made to 
 flow for blood ! My mind was made up, I 
 grew calm and collected. In place of the 
 whirl of confused thoughts, but one, clear 
 and unalterable, stood forth in my mind, like 
 the chiselled images we see upon' the rocks. 
 When the old woman called again the next 
 day, I managed to express a due sense of 
 the honour that the Wali conferred upon 
 me by his choice, nor was it long after that 
 before I found myself his wife. Oh ! how 
 I loathed the man ! As he lifted my veil, 
 my hand closed around the hilt of the 
 tempered blade that lay hidden in my 
 bosom. For a moment he stood aghast 
 at the face he saw, a basilisk rather than a 
 woman, in another moment my dagger 
 was plunged into his black heart, and he 
 fell dead at my feet. 
 
 Leisurely I went to the box at the side 
 of the room and arrayed myself in male 
 garments, over which I threw a woman's 
 cloak, and drawing my veil over my face, 
 went out by the back door, and mingling 
 with the festive crowd in the courtyard 
 slipped out unnoticed into the street. I 
 had only one sensation, that of joy that my 
 
 R
 
 242 The Travels of 
 
 husband's blood was now avenged, and by 
 me ! For myself I neither thought nor cared 
 whither I turned mysteps. In a few minutes, 
 I rejoiced to think, my vengeance would 
 be discovered and it would be known that 
 that vengeance was mine ; but I should be 
 sought for high and low, and I did not 
 choose that they should find me so easily. 
 Throwing aside my woman's cloak, I 
 passed along in the shadow of the walls and 
 as much out of the brilliant light of the 
 moon as was possible, and hurried along 
 the labyrinth of streets. Then, in the 
 silence of the night, I heard distant cries 
 and the sound of horsemen, and knew that 
 the Wali had been found and that his 
 guards were even now searching the town 
 for me. How I hugged myself for joy ! 
 But my vengeance would be more complete 
 if they were unable to find me, and 
 there was no time to be lost. Seeing 
 an open door, I went inside, and casting 
 myself at the feet of an aged lady whom 
 I found sitting there, and kissing the 
 hem of her robe, I begged her to save 
 me from the avengers of blood. Without 
 a word she rose up, and taking me by the 
 hand led me to a spot in the courtyard. 
 Then she pressed a particular stone in the 
 wall, which turned on a pivot and disclosed 
 a hidden staircase. Down this she led me
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 243 
 
 to an underground chamber, magnificently 
 furnished, decorated in gold and ultra- 
 marine, and lighted by a silver lamp that 
 hung from the ceiling. I had arrived at 
 my hiding place none too soon. Whether 
 someone had noticed me and had notified 
 to the guards the direction in which I had 
 gone, I do not know ; but, in any case, they 
 were very soon at the entrance of the alley 
 in which my protectress had her dwelling. 
 Across this they drew a guard, and then 
 proceeded to search every house. That 
 of my protectress was the last searched, 
 but my hiding place remained undis- 
 covered ; indeed, the searchers merely 
 spoke to the lady for a short time and then 
 looked carelessly around. When they 
 were gone, she called to me to come forth 
 from my chamber. Her tone was hard, 
 and her features were changed. ' Woe to 
 thee, unlucky one,' she cried ; ' 'tis well for 
 thee that thou art under my protection ! 
 The pursuers are gone. Him thou hast 
 slain was my son ! What fate was it that 
 made thee seek my hospitality ? Go now, 
 go in peace, but never let me see thy 
 countenance again ! ' I fell at her feet and 
 thanked her, but she only motioned to me 
 to leave her, and I went forth into the night, 
 saddened at the mother's grief and wonder- 
 ing at the magnanimity which had re- 
 
 R2
 
 244 The Travels of 
 
 strained her from delivering up the slayer 
 of her son, even though she had claimed 
 her hospitality. Nevertheless, my case 
 was a parlous one. Whither should I go ? 
 I dared not return to my village, or even 
 pass through places that were peopled, nor 
 could I hide in the mountains, for there 
 I should starve. There was nothing for it 
 but to throw myself upon the hospitality of 
 the Bedouin who were beyond the power 
 of the Governor of Damascus. I made my 
 way, therefore, towards the desert, hiding 
 by day and only travelling by night, my 
 sustenance being the fruit I could steal, 
 and even that failed me as soon as I got 
 away from the watered lands. Then I 
 travelled more boldly in the day-time and 
 was able to buy goat's milk from the goat- 
 herds whom I came across, until after the 
 third day I came upon the black tents of 
 the Arabs, and going up to the Sheikh I 
 claimed the hospitality due to a stranger. 
 I was soon, however, given to understand 
 that I was a prisoner. My fine clothes 
 were demanded from me, and shabby old 
 ones were given me in their stead, my 
 money was taken, and, by an unlucky 
 accident, my sex was discovered by which 
 my fate was sealed. When the tribe moved 
 southwards I was sent to a slave dealer 
 who did business at Jaffa, where I was
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 245 
 
 embarked for Constantinople, but the 
 Moorish pirates, who cared little whether 
 they robbed friend or foe, Turk or Chris- 
 tian, seized our vessel, and I was chosen 
 by our present master as part of his share 
 of the plunder. 
 
 Having finished her story, Umeimeh 
 urged upon me that it was no longer safe 
 to remain. I begged her, however, that 
 she would vouchsafe to me a minute or 
 two more in order that we might think of 
 some means of escape together : for indeed 
 at the first moment that I had set eyes on 
 her, I had seen how valuable an aid she 
 might prove to me. The danger of our 
 meeting was too great to venture on often, 
 and now that we were together it was 
 better to take the risk of a longer stay 
 than the greater risk of another meeting. 
 As for the punishment were we caught ! 
 the thought alone was too horrible to be 
 pursued. After several plans, which, alas ! 
 we found to be too dangerous or altogether 
 impossible to effect, she spoke as follows : 
 ' Know, oh, my Rustem, that it is the 
 custom of the Dey after the evening meal 
 to sit awhile with some of his women, who 
 relate stories, or discourse music, or recite 
 poetry while he carouses. Now I have 
 thought of a plan to gain his seal ring from 
 him, which, Inskallak, I shall put into
 
 246 The Travels of 
 
 effect on the night that he returns from the 
 hunt; If I am successful, I will hang a 
 white handkerchief from the bush, and 
 when you see it you will come and bring 
 me across the river. If, however, it is 
 written that I shall fail, you will never 
 hear of me again.' Upon this I kissed 
 her hand, and with a heavy heart hid again 
 in the bush while my would-be deliverer 
 called her slave and departed. Then I 
 slipped back in the way I had come, and 
 by the mercy of God, was perceived by 
 nobody. On the following evening the 
 Dey returned from hunting, and as the 
 shades of dusk fell and the slaves retired 
 to their quarters, I watched with fear and 
 trembling for the sign which should warn 
 me of perils to be encountered or of the 
 death of Umeimeh. The sickening tortures 
 which I should suffer were I discovered 
 weighed nothing in the balance with the 
 hope of freedom that danced before my 
 eyes, and I even ventured to address the 
 head Syce, warning him that two of the 
 swiftest horses were to be ready to execute 
 the commands of his lord. How slow the 
 moments dragged along ! How my heart 
 palpitated with fears and hopes ! What 
 could I say as to the order for the horses 
 if I failed to obtain the seal ring of the 
 Dey ? What means would Umeimeh
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 247 
 
 adopt to get the ring ? Even if she won 
 it, would she escape the vigilance of the 
 
 fuardians of the hareem ? And if she 
 id, might not the Dey himself discover 
 how he had been robbed and then ! Oh, 
 merciful Providence ! It is easy for me to 
 sit here in my cabinet writing the account 
 of that eventful night, and for thee, O 
 reader, to read what I have written, but 
 neither can I indite nor thou comprehend 
 the torture of that time or the awful conse- 
 quences that the slightest accident might 
 have caused. At length, and perhaps 
 hardly to my relief, so highly strung were 
 my nerves, I saw the signal displayed. I 
 slipped into the water, and had scarcely 
 gained the opposite bank when I found 
 Umeimeh awaiting me. ' Fly,' she cried ; 
 1 1 have the ring, but we have but a few 
 hours before all will be known and we 
 pursued ! ' Then I carried her across, and 
 when we had landed I perceived that she 
 was in the garb of one of the Dey's guard, 
 and had also brought a like dress for me. 
 When I had put it on, we glided through 
 the trees to the head of the pass and, 
 going up to the guard, showed him the 
 ring, enjoined silence, and asked for the 
 horses on service of the Dey. No one 
 dared speak a word ; the horses were 
 brought, and silently mounting, we dashed 
 off downwards towards the coast.
 
 248 The Travels of 
 
 It was early night and we met no one, 
 for even after we had passed in our head- 
 long career the wilds of the mountain, the 
 people of the villages through which we 
 travelled were all asleep. As dawn began 
 to break the need of rest and food pressed 
 upon us ; and happening to light upon a 
 cavern a little to one side of the road, we 
 thought it as well to withdraw therein. 
 For although we had the seal ring of the 
 Dey with us, and were safe until our flight 
 should be brought to his notice, yet it was 
 as well to leave as little trace behind us of 
 the direction and the manner of our flight 
 as possible. Having tethered our horses, 
 we opened the saddle-bags which I had 
 been careful to provide, and took our 
 breakfast ; and since it was necessary to 
 give our horses an hour or two's rest, I 
 desired Umeimeh to give me the relation 
 of her adventure in obtaining the ring, 
 which she did as follows. 
 
 ' You must know,' said she, ' that it is 
 customary for his majesty the Dey to take 
 his supper in the company of his favourite 
 wife, surrounded by all the luxury that the 
 circumstances of such an expedition as his 
 present one can afford. Last evening he 
 summoned his favourite as usual, one 
 Detma, whom I had bribed to feign that 
 she was ill, for it was necessary to my plan
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 249 
 
 that I should be called. Accordingly I 
 attended him in his spacious dining tent 
 which was lit up with a thousand lights, 
 and in one corner was a band of women 
 discoursing sweet music on the Kemengeh, 
 'Ood, Ney, and Kanoon, while slaves 
 handed the dishes, and when we had eaten 
 our fill, placed the dried fruits before us 
 and filled our cups. The Dey had had a 
 successful hunt and his heart was dilated ; 
 he drained his cup in pledging me, and 
 then said : " Oh, Umeimeh, call forth the 
 most skilled among my slaves that she 
 may divert us with her lute." Upon this I 
 ordered them to call Helwa, a beautiful 
 girl, who brought with her in a silken bag 
 her lute, all inlaid with ivory and ebony 
 and sandalwood, and, after an obeisance to 
 the Dey, she seated herself and said : "Oh, 
 my lord, what will it please you that I 
 sing ? Something of the chase, or of war, 
 or of love ? " Thereupon the Dey laughed, 
 and replied: "Oh, sweet one of many 
 songs, sing me something of love, for 
 women delight not in the chase or in war." 
 Then, after a prelude, she sang as 
 follows : 
 
 Come, come away ! 
 My love, see how the moon on high 
 Doth light our path ; fly with me, fly ! 
 To where my tents and people lie ; 
 
 Sweet love, away !
 
 250 The Travels of 
 
 Nay, nay, oh, stay ! 
 Alas ! I dare not go, I fear 
 To leave my home : oh, stay, love, here ! 
 Bid me not leave all I hold dear ! 
 
 Must we needs go ? 
 
 Yea, even so. 
 
 Oh, let not fear true love dissever ! 
 Thou lovest, we are one for ever. 
 Then trust me, love, come with me, never 
 
 Again to part. 
 
 Be still, my heart ! 
 My heart doth hold me on trie rack, 
 It bids me go, yet holds me back, 
 To follow thee, and stay, alack ! 
 
 Which shall I do ? 
 
 To love be true ! 
 
 Love asketh not where it shall go, 
 It hath no thought for fabled woe ; 
 There is but one thing love doth know : 
 
 How to be true ! 
 
 1 The Dey was delighted with the song, 
 and ordered the girl's mouth to be filled 
 with sweetmeats. Then other slaves sang 
 some more songs until he was satisfied, 
 and after the servants had brought more 
 wine, he bade everyone retire. For a 
 while he sat drinking and conversing with 
 me, so that the wine dilated his bosom, and 
 taking up a cup, he put it to his lips and 
 then gave it to me, and I drank it. Then 
 I filled another cup and putting into it a 
 lozenge of bhang, enough if an elephant 
 were to take it to make it drop down sense- 
 less, I put the cup to my lips, and pledging
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 251 
 
 him, said : " Oh, my lord, drink this, and 
 gladden the heart of thy slave." Where- 
 upon he took it from me and drank, 
 and scarcely had the wine reached his 
 stomach when he fell back senseless and 
 without motion. Then I placed him upon 
 his bed and drew the ring from his finger, 
 and, donning the dress of his guard, I 
 lifted up a corner of the tent and passed 
 out, scarcely believing in my escape, and, 
 by the mercy of Allah, I met no one that 
 knew my face. The rest you know : I dis- 
 played my signal, and you saw it and con- 
 veyed me across the stream.' 
 
 We now thought it better to press on, 
 as our horses were rested, and in these parts 
 there were no villages or inhabitants to 
 see us go by. Leaving the beaten track, 
 we journeyed on until we again neared a 
 village, which we dared not pass in the 
 daylight for fear lest those who were 
 doubtlessly already in pursuit of us might 
 chance to come that way and gain tidings 
 of the direction in which we had gone. 
 We therefore turned aside into a wood 
 that lay not far off, and, tethering our 
 horses, slept for a while. When it was 
 become dusk, we rode forward to the port 
 of Cherchel which was not far off, and, turn- 
 ing neither to the right nor the left, we went 
 straight to one of the Dey's vessels that
 
 252 The Travels of 
 
 lay in the harbour there ready for sailing. 
 I called the captain aside, saying that I had 
 somewhat of moment to communicate to 
 him, and, going down into the cabin 
 together, when we were alone, I showed 
 him the Dey's seal ring, and informed him 
 that I was on a particular mission, and 
 that he was to set sail at once The 
 captain was greatly surprised, and, after a 
 moment's thought, he whispered to me, 
 asking me if I had any news of the two 
 runaway slaves ? Concealing my pertur- 
 bation, I put my finger on my lips and bade 
 him loose sail at once. In a few minutes 
 all was hurry on board, the sailors running 
 to and fro, and within a short time we 
 were drawing fast through the water. I 
 felt tolerably safe, for it was plain that he 
 did not suspect us, and that, though our 
 escape was known, yet the Dey had thought 
 fit to conceal the loss of his seal ring, 
 which otherwise might have been a great 
 danger to me. But still it was better to 
 learn all that the captain knew, and there- 
 fore when we were well clear from the 
 land I again called him down into his 
 cabin and made a show of taking him into 
 my confidence, saying that I was com- 
 missioned by the Dey to pursue the fugi- 
 tives of whose departure for France I had 
 had knowledge, and asking him how far the
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 253 
 
 news was known ? For that I feared that 
 they might have heard and so have been 
 put upon their guard. ' I only know,' he 
 replied, " that a few hours ago a courier 
 arrived here who informed the Governor of 
 the escape of a Christian slave together 
 with a woman from the royal seraglio. It 
 was thought that they could not get far and 
 would soon be starved out from their 
 hiding place.' I nodded once or twice at 
 these words, and then shaking my head 
 said : ' Yea, but they are away already. 
 This accursed Christian had planned his 
 escape well ; they are now in an open boat 
 making their way to Italy. But I and my 
 young brother know them well, and, 
 Inshallah, we shall overtake them before 
 they are able to reach land.' The wind 
 held good, and we sailed fast in the 
 direction that I had ordered the captain to 
 take, that is to say, towards the town of 
 Massiglia belonging to the kingdom of 
 France, nor did this excite his fears al- 
 though it was further than they usually 
 ventured, for it was in that direction, as I 
 informed him, that the fugitives intended 
 to go. Nevertheless I was in doubt as to 
 the wisdom of what I had ordered, for if 
 we sailed near into the port that I had 
 named, and did not find the fugitives, 
 which, indeed, was not to be expected,
 
 254 The Travels of 
 
 seeing that we ourselves were they, I 
 could hardly prevent the captain from 
 turning back to Cherchel. While debating 
 this point in my mind, I nevertheless felt 
 confident of success, for we were not sus- 
 pected, and even if the sex of Umeimeh 
 were discovered, I could explain that she 
 was my wife whom I did not wish to 
 appear to carry with me, for I had so 
 thoroughly imbued him with the idea that 
 the fugitives were in an open boat that 
 I felt he could never suspect us to be 
 the runaway slaves of whom he had been 
 informed. 
 
 We had been sailing about twelve 
 hours when the captain began to get 
 anxious about the appearance of the 
 weather and ordered all possible sail to be 
 taken in. The clouds grew lead-coloured 
 to windward, the breeze dropped to nothing, 
 there was a deathly brooding silence, and 
 the air seemed heavy and sultry. Even 
 the gulls and other sea-birds that had 
 been following us seemed now unable to 
 support the weight of their bodies in the 
 drowsy air and rested floating on the 
 waves. Then came a gentle sigh, which 
 presently grew into a hiss, the idle canvas 
 that still remained spread began to flap, 
 and in an instant after, with a shriek and a 
 yell as of thousands of infuriated demons,
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 255 
 
 the blast was upon us. Nothing could 
 withstand it. In a moment our vessel 
 heeled over and lay on its beam ends unable 
 to right itself for the pressure of the wind, 
 the waves freshened and grew from mole- 
 hills into mountains, then sinking into 
 abysses they threatened every moment to 
 engulf us in their cavernous depths. The 
 whole crew were struck with a panic, as 
 well they might be, for even I gave myself 
 up for lost : some wept, some beat their 
 breasts, others shouted, urging that this or 
 that should be done, while others again 
 stood as though they were turned into 
 stone. As the vessel slowly righted again 
 after the first pressure of the rushing hurri- 
 cane had passed over, her bare masts, from 
 which all vestige of sail had been torn, 
 kept her scudding before the breeze, now 
 riding high on a mountain of water, and 
 the next minute sinking deep before the 
 advancing waves that seemed to chase us 
 with fiendish joy in order that they might 
 curl over and engulf us in their horrid 
 depths ; the wind all the while hurtling, 
 skirling, whistling, and shrieking over us, 
 so that no order of the captain could have 
 been heard even if it could have been 
 obeyed. No man durst leave hold of the 
 grip he had of any saving object lest he 
 should instantly have been swept over-
 
 256 The Travels of 
 
 board, as indeed many of the weaker were. 
 Thus we raced on, expecting destruction 
 every instant, ignorant where we were, 
 whither we were going, or what might be 
 our fate. It was not night, though it was 
 as dark as night, yet without the heavenly 
 lanterns with which Nature is wont to 
 comfort the lonely hours of the mariner. 
 Only frightful flashes of lightning now and 
 again illumined the seething masses of 
 water around us and enabled us to see more 
 clearly the danger in which we stood, 
 followed by rolls of thunder that made 
 even the most fearless among us fearful, 
 even myself. On a sudden the heavens 
 seemed to open above us, a ball of fire 
 descended upon our devoted vessel, and 
 in a moment she was demolished and I 
 found myself floating in the waves. I 
 struck out with desperation, for I was a 
 good swimmer, but I well knew that I had 
 but a few minutes to live buffeted as I was 
 by the waves and choked by the blinding 
 spindrift, no man be he ever so strong could 
 hold out, when luckily I came upon a 
 coffer floating by me upon which I got 
 astride and bound myself to it by my waist- 
 band. Soon after a sailor who had by 
 some means kept himself afloat seized 
 hold of it, but I knew that it could not 
 support us both, and with my remaining
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 257 
 
 strength I threw him off and saw him sink 
 with a sob beneath the boiling waters. By 
 this time the chief force of the hurricane 
 seemed to have spent itself, and though 
 the water was still rough, it grew com- 
 paratively quiet. The dawn came, and 
 then the sun rose. I looked around as best 
 I could, but I saw nought but the wild 
 waste of waters. Then I was lifted up on 
 the crest of a wave, when to my delight I 
 perceived not far off a rocky coast. I 
 paddled with legs and arms in that direction 
 as fast as my enfeebled strength would 
 allow me, but I seemed to get no nearer 
 and at last my remaining strength gave out. 
 I could do no more but lay prone upon my 
 coffer until at length my senses failed me 
 and I grew unconscious. 
 
 When I came to myself again, I found 
 that I lay stretched on the sand in a little cove 
 between the rocks, the hot sun was baking 
 down upon me, and an old woman was by 
 my side chafing my hands. As soon as I 
 opened my eyes she thanked God in a 
 sort of Italian tongue, and helping me to 
 rise, assisted me into her cottage which 
 was situated close by. For some days I 
 remained so weak that I scarce was able to 
 move, but the old woman attended to all 
 my wants, and I, being strong by nature, 
 soon recovered. When she perceived that
 
 258 The Travels of 
 
 I was out of danger of death she clapped 
 her hands and laughed and showed every 
 sign of joy, which somewhat disgusted me, 
 for why should she show so much joy for 
 the recovery of one whom she had never 
 seen before, and who was neither her son 
 nor any relation, as little to her as she was 
 to me ? Then she knelt down before an 
 image of the Virgin which hung on the 
 wall, and before which burned a small oil 
 lamp, and in her idolatrous way gave thanks 
 for my recovery. I felt moved to break 
 the image and to cast it down, but abstained 
 because I thought that it behoved me to 
 show my magnanimity before the poor 
 ignorant creature who knew no better. 
 After another day, when I could get about, 
 she asked me whether I had not better put 
 on other garments, seeing that mine were 
 Turkish, and that were I seen in them I 
 might be brought to the galleys. I told her 
 that I had no others, but she said that my 
 chest had been brought on shore with me, 
 and, belike, I had other garments therein. 
 I had forgotten the chest, and tried to 
 open it, but finding that it was locked, I 
 told her that I had lost the key, and taking 
 a large stone, I broke it open. At the top 
 were a few rags of clothing, but lifting 
 these up I was astonished to find that it 
 was full of bags of gold pieces and jewels,
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 259 
 
 a very fortune that no doubt had belonged 
 to the captain of the wrecked vessel. I 
 hastily closed the trunk again, and said that 
 I grieved to find that all my Christian 
 garments had been stolen ; whereupon she 
 gave me a new suit, which, she told me, 
 had belonged to a son of hers who was 
 lost at sea, whether drowned or captured 
 by pirates she had never heard : nor did 
 she ask me any more questions, since she 
 knew not that I had been a slave, but 
 believed the story I had told her of my 
 having come from Malta. I say, she gave 
 the suit of clothes, which became me 
 very well, and told me that there was a 
 ship now in the harbour ready for sailing 
 to Massiglia. I thanked her, and bade 
 her get me a passage, which she did, coming 
 back with two seamen to carry my chest. 
 She did not expect any recompense for her 
 care of me, but I would not part without 
 bestowing upon her my old clothes together 
 with those which I found in the chest, which, 
 indeed, were no use to me, and then, bidding 
 her farewell, I accompanied the two men 
 to their vessel. 
 
 The finding of so much of value in the 
 chest was some recompense to me for the 
 loss of my merchandise by the pirates of 
 Algiers. Indeed, one bag of jewels alone 
 would have more than made up for that, 
 
 S2
 
 260 The Travels of 
 
 This proves how the heavens protect 
 those who trust in the true faith, and though 
 they may be cast down and grievously 
 tried for a time, yet, if they withstand 
 temptation as I have done, and prove 
 steadfast, their losses shall be returned to 
 them tenfold. The vessel I now em- 
 barked in I found to be the Tonnerre, 
 whose master was named Jean le Houx, a 
 worthy man, who asked no questions and 
 received me readily enough. In a few 
 hours he had loosed sail, and we were 
 gliding under a fair breeze for our port. 
 
 As I lay in my cabin, I could not 
 forbear to think of all that I had gone 
 through and of my lucky escape, for 
 which I had to thank my boldness and 
 readiness of resource. I thought of my 
 former attempt and of the fate of Reyya, 
 and how this my last and successful at- 
 tempt had also proved fatal to Umemieh. 
 I had not a doubt that she had perished in 
 the wreck, though I had not seen her 
 body among those that had been washed 
 ashore ; but this mattered little, since being 
 an infidel, Christian burial would have 
 availed her nothing. Though I pitied her 
 sudden fate, for being a man of feeling I 
 cannot resist such tender recollections, yet 
 it was, perhaps, better for her as it was, 
 for what could have become of her ?
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 261 
 
 Dismissing these thoughts from my mind, I 
 went on deck and saw that we were at that 
 moment entering the port of Massiglia. 
 At length I was safe, I had entered a 
 Christian country. Though it was but 
 French, at least there was no longer any 
 danger of slavery, and I observed with joy 
 the port filled with galleys in every one of 
 which was a crowd of slaves, the greater 
 number of which were the false followers 
 of Mahomet, mixed with a few of the 
 sweepings of the jails of Europe. 
 
 Taking leave of the captain, whom I 
 thanked for his courtesy in giving me a 
 passage, I went on shore, and then be- 
 thought me what I should do. To ac- 
 knowledge myself destitute was to court 
 imprisonment, for the French will not 
 surfer vagrants, as we do, or sturdy beggars 
 to stroll about the country. To be sure I 
 could have taken service with Monsieur le 
 Houx, but I had had enough of the risks 
 of a seafaring life, and I could not bear 
 the thought, after all my sufferings with the 
 Moors, that I might run the chance of being 
 captured again. M. le Houx, who asked 
 me what I meant to do, on being informed 
 that I intended to make my way to England 
 across France, gave me a letter to one 
 Jacques Vaillant who had married his 
 sister, together with a few pieces of money
 
 262 The Travels of 
 
 that I would not refuse lest I should there- 
 by betray my riches. Riches did I say ? 
 I dared not be rich, for were I to endea- 
 vour to sell any of the jewels that I 
 possessed I feared that it might be thought 
 that I had come by them in no honest 
 way, and any excuse would be taken to 
 deprive me of all that I had. Therefore, 
 carefully disposing as much as I was able 
 about my body, and the rest in a pack upon 
 my back, I departed on foot for Avignon. 
 Beneath the ancient walls of that town I 
 arrived in due course without adventure of 
 any moment, save such as was occasioned 
 by my anxiety for the safety of the treasure 
 that I carried with me, an anxiety that 
 made me to see in every wayfarer a pos- 
 sible thief, and to pass every wood and 
 rocky place in fear. Once arrived at 
 Avignon, I betook myself to a hostelry 
 hard by the palace of the Bishops of Rome, 
 where I gave out that I was well to do and 
 that my baggage would shortly follow 
 after me. Then I inquired for a gold- 
 smith of credit with whom I changed some 
 of my gold, and so, furnishing myself with 
 a good equipage and new clothes, I cut a 
 very different figure than I had hitherto 
 done. Henceforward I travelled in safety 
 with other merchants of repute through 
 Valence to Lyons, and so onward to Macon
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 263 
 
 and Dijon, where I did not deliver the 
 captain's letter, lest questions inconvenient 
 to answer might be asked. 
 
 I will not here set down what else 
 befell me in the remainder of my journey 
 through Chatillon to Troyes and Paris, 
 whence I descended the river Seine to 
 Havre, though much passed that might 
 be entertaining to relate and pleasant to 
 hear. Suffice to say that I hurried on, 
 eager for but two things, the one to keep 
 my riches safe, and the other to see my 
 beloved country once more. At Havre I 
 found a paquet boat in which I embarked, 
 to arrive safely after all these years of 
 misery and exile in Portsmouth. 
 
 Ah ! how can I describe to those who 
 have never felt what it is to be divorced 
 from their country and held for long years 
 in bondage and tribulation, what joy I felt 
 in once more landing a free man in my 
 native land ! Like the Conqueror, I 
 longed to fall down and embrace the very 
 soil, but it had rained recently and the soil 
 was deep in mire. Or how can I describe 
 to you the longing that seized me once 
 again to embrace my wife and child. How 
 vividly returned to me the old scene of our 
 last parting : my wife's tears and the 
 carelessness of my boy, who now must 
 have grown, if he was still living, to be a
 
 264 The Travels of 
 
 sturdy knave ! If he still lived ? What if 
 my wife and all that I loved were dead ? 
 Or if, with the inconstancy of women, she 
 were married again ? I was in a fever of 
 excitement, and, mounting my horse, I 
 departed for London as quick as might be, 
 though I took good care, for the sake of 
 the valuables that I had about me, to travel 
 always in good company, which did not al- 
 ways travel as fast as the heat of my passion 
 would have had them. I thus arrived in 
 London safely, without having encountered 
 any footpads, and put up at a hostelry from 
 which I could make my inquiries while I 
 myself still remained unknown. It was a 
 Saturday night when I arrived, and the 
 following morning I waited outside the 
 church that we had been wont to attend ; 
 for I had heard that Mistress Dudgeon 
 still lived in the house in which I had left 
 her, being now a reputed widow, although 
 she was said still to cling to the belief that 
 I lived. She was much persecuted by 
 would-be suitors and blamed by all the 
 gossips of the neighbourhood for wasting 
 her youth in widowhood. I say, I watched 
 at the church door, and saw many that I 
 had known in former years pass by. There 
 was Master Carroll, as pompous as ever, 
 with his small meek wife ; and Master 
 Raynbowe, followed by a troop of children.
 
 Mathew Dudgeon, Gent. 265 
 
 Then came Master Bedingfield, with 
 Mistress Bedingfield bearing the prayer- 
 book, and grown monstrous stout and 
 fearsome. Presently I saw my wife, lead- 
 ing her boy by the hand. How young 
 she still looked, and how the men hung 
 about her ; but even I, jealous as I was, 
 had no fault to find with the way in which 
 she treated them. She did not even smile 
 a greeting to her numerous admirers, but 
 quietly took her accustomed place in 
 church, and I slunk in after her. I 
 observed her closely when the prayers of 
 the congregation were asked for those who 
 were in peril at sea or in slavery in 
 Barbary, and could see how the tears ran 
 down her cheeks and her whole frame was 
 convulsed with sobs, how her arm stole 
 round our boy, and she drew him closer 
 towards her. At this sight I could scarce 
 restrain my own tears, so tender is my 
 nature, and had much ado to refrain from 
 crying out then and there that I had come 
 back to my own mouse. But I did refrain, 
 and I let her get back to her own lodgings 
 before I made myself known to her. 
 What a scene there was ! How she clung 
 to me and sobbed upon my breast, and 
 then thrusting me back the better to view 
 me, nevertheless failed to see me for the 
 tears that blinded her eyes. How she
 
 266 The Travels of 
 
 held up our boy before me, who seemed 
 frighted, and whom I could have found 
 it in me to whip for a fool. But, thank 
 God, after a time she recovered her senses, 
 though she could not yet part from my 
 hand which she continued to hold within 
 her own. 
 
 When she began to be able to think of 
 somewhat else beyond her present happi- 
 ness, she besought me to tell her of my 
 sufferings, the which I related to her little 
 by little, for the recital, like my suffering, 
 was long. She wept all through, the 
 which I forgave her, for the narrative as I 
 related it was indeed moving, the more 
 where I described to her how my thoughts 
 in all my captivity were constantly with 
 her, and how for her sake, and notwith- 
 standing all my misery and suffering, I 
 refused to yield to the temptation to turn 
 renegade. I told her how I had been 
 offered freedom, wealth, and marriage 
 with the king's daughter (for, indeed, I 
 believe that the king would have given 
 me his daughter) and she could not find 
 words to express her joy and pride in my 
 steadfastness. Then I showed her the 
 riches I had gotten, which she somewhat 
 misdoubted at first, and would have it that 
 I ought to send it back, fearing that the 
 king had presented it to me as a dowry
 
 Mat hew Dudgeon, Gent. 267 
 
 with his daughter ; but I assured her that 
 it was washed up by the sea for our reward, 
 and presently she became satisfied. 
 
 What more is there to relate ? I was 
 now even richer than when I left my 
 country, my appetite for adventure was 
 more than satiated by the years that I had 
 passed in slavery, and I resolved thence- 
 forward never again to tempt fortune, but 
 to pass in enjoyment and in quiet at home 
 the remainder of such days as it might 
 please my God to grant me. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Spottismioilt & Co. Printers, Nc.u-ttreet Square, London.

 
 
 A 000 035