LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 70, 21 August 1874, Page 3

LITERATURE.

IN DANGER. IN FOUR CHArTERS. [From " Chamber's Journal'"] Continued. The. feast was nearly over when a dismal howl, like lhat of a famished wolf, resounded without, and was immediately followed by i lie appearance of a ragged dervish, who strode into the room, bearing-in his hand a wooden bowl, in which was a small brass ball that rattled as its owner shook it, uttering the while iu the most lugubrious accents the Mohammedan nrnfession of faith. This is an appeal which is seldom or never made in vain, and accordingly there was an immediate untying of sashes and fumbling for purses, and a number of small copper coins dropped into the outstretched alms-bowl of the holy man, who proceeded slowly to make the circuit of the table, all the time calling out in monotonous accents, after the manner of his irregular confraternity: 'Allah is merciful!' 'Allah is most great!' My own contribution was a piece of silver, but the dervish took no apparent notice of this offering, but forthwith laid his bowl aside, and thrusting his hand unceremoniously into the nearest pilaff, began to eat voraciously, now and then interrupting his meal to utter a hoarse and pithy quotation from some Sura of the Koran. I was in no way surprised, knowing the superstitious respect with which religious mendicants of this sort are treated among Mussulmans ; but what attracted my attention was the face of Ali Sahib, which was very pale, as, with dilated eyes and knitted brow, he gn/.ed upon the intruder, who, on his part, seemed to concern himself with nothing but his food and his intermittent vociferations. What was there, in a poor dervish, dipping his greasy fingers into a dish of steaming pilaff, to disturb so cool and experienced a traveller as my trusty interpreter ? Could it be that Ali Sahib dreaded the ' man's religious fanaticism should be inflamed to a dangerous pitch, when he had time to recognise that he was in company with a Christian, and did he apprehend peril from me from some outbreak of wild fury, such as are now and then imputed to half-crazed wanderers of this class? Scarcely so, unless all present shared in the same notion, for, as 1. looked around, I saw nothing but pale and anxious faces, and all eves seemed stealthily to watch the movements of the dervish. This roving friar, however, did nothing to justify the alarm which his aspect appeared to evoke, and having finished his repast, and recited a few words of praise in Arabic, caught up his bowl and clapper, and stalked off, howling as he went.

It appeared to me as if AH Sahib had divined my thoughs, for when he rose from the taVilc he came up to me. and said, plausibly enough, that he was glad that the dervish had departed so quietly. There was no answering, he declared, for what these privileged vagrants, often partially insane, and not seldom counterfeiting, as a means of influence, the sigus of a disordered mind, might do, if suddenly brought into contact with a non-believer iu Islam. It was well that he was gone, and he, Ali Sahib, would take care to confer with the Sheiks on the subject of his being prevented from returning. There was indeed a great deal of whispering and talking, and after a time my faithful interpreter "came back to say that all was now arranged, and that there would be no risk of annoyance from the dervish. He then listened with interest to my account of what had taken place at the camp; and congratulated me on having got so well through what might have been an awkward scrape. 'I have heard of this Yussef Khan,'he said : ' he is reported ou the Afghan frontier to have put out the right eye and cut off the right hand of all the Ghilzie prisoners that fell into his clutches. He has no love for foreigners, too, and altogether, Sahib, you were fortunate to be quit of him so easily. I should like, with your permission, to read to you a translation of the agreement which, subject to your approval, I have this day made with the village elders as regards their trees and minerals. But first—if you choose -I will get you your coffee.' And he was as good as his word, bringing not only several thin leaves of blue paper covered with writing, but also the gay little gilded coffee-pot, the acorn cup of filmy porcelain, and the delicate zarf or holder, Of dainty silver filigree. But either the coffee was very, very strong, or Ali Sahib was unusually prosy in his explanations, for I can dimly lemcmbcr that the room seemed to swim round me, that a strange drowsiness came on, that I rose, and staggered on my feet, and dropped down like a log upon the cushions of the divan' and I remember no more.

When I regained my senses, it was twilight alreadv, and the dusk within the house looked the darker for the scud of black clouds flying wildly overhead, and which I could see through the narrow lattice near me. 1 called aloud, but no one answered, and T seemed to be alone, while my head felt heavy, and my temples throbbed painfully. There was the long table, yet encumbered by broken meats and Haps o'f bread and pitchers of sherbet, the relics of the feast, and 1 had been lying on the softly cushioned divan, a pillow beneath my head, and a heavy quilted covering Hung across me as I lay. It cost me a great effort to rise from my recumbent position, so considerable was the langour which I felt, while my head was heavv, and my eyes dim. What had occurred? Was I ill—sickening, perhaps, of some marsh fever ? But then, if so, why was I left alone, and where was Ali Sahib? Then, for the first time, I perceived that, whilst insensible. I had been divested of my coat and waistcoat, and that my cravat had also been removed. Scarcely knowing what to make of this, I groped my way to the small bed-chamber which had been assigned to me as a guest of importance, apart from the selamlik, or general apartment for the male members of the family, and, striking a li.rht, discovered that my scanty baggage had vanished. My purse, however, my watch and rings', and a weighty bag of silver dollars which belonged to the Company, lay neatly spread out upon a small table, and on the bed was a suit of clothes, which I recognised as the property of Ali Sahib, carefully prepared, as if for my wear, while on a piece of paper that was pinned to the sleeve of the robe, were the words awkwardly written in cramped characters, but still legible: -A fair exchange is no loot. Aleiknui salaam. master !' What could this portend 1 Practical joking is a thing so alien to eastern ideas, that J could not for a moment entertain the notion '.hat Iwaslhe victim of a mere prank ; and be-

sides, AU Sahib, grave, courteous, and urbane, was not the man whom it would be possible to suspect of a turn for idle jesting. Suddenly a thought flashed through my mind—the coffee must have beeu drugged ! I could feel, even then, the strong narcotic fighting with my powers of th( ught and volition. Yes ; I was sure, now. that treachery had been deliberately planned ; but why. or for what purpose, had my perfidious Mentor thus hocused and deserted me ? Had plunder been his object, he would surely not have thus scrupulously set aside my valuables ; whereas, as I have said, my money was intact, and my watch and rings left untouched. I wenj through the house, calling aloud, but the sullen echoes of the empty rooms alone answered me. The harem door was, fastened, but I heard no babble of female voices from within, and I knocked and shouted in vain. Doubtless, the people with whom 1 was lodged were accomplices of Ali Sahib, and had quitted their dwelling at his behest, but why, or for what purpose, I could not conjecture. My bewildered brain grew gradually clearer, and I began to bethink me of the necessity for action. It seemed clear that Ali Sahib was gone, carrying off with him my clothes and baggage, and that he was not likely to return. The owners of the house were of course in league with him, and should I remain where I was, the cupidity of the peasants might prompt them to murder me, for the sake of the cash in my possession ; while at best I was in a precarious position, far from the sea, and imperfectly acquainted with the language. What should Ido ? After some reflection, it occurred to me that my best course was to return to the camp, aud to request the young prince. Mirza Hussein, kindly to give me the means of returning to the harbor where the rest of the party awaited me. He, as being at once educated and in authority, could easily comprehend my story, and enable me to struggle through ray present embarrassment ; whereas, I could not rely either on the honesty or on the intelligence of the villagers, now that I had been cheated and abandoned by my interpreter. How was I to attire myself, however, for the road ? I had no coat or waistcoat, no hat or cap, left to me. Making a virtue of necessity, though with some reluctance, I put on the tight-fitting under tunic, the robe, and the shawl-girdle of my treacherous guide: wound the glistening white turban around my head, a : :<! selecting a spiked staff from a bundle of ironshod sticks which I found in a corner of the selamlik, I set off at once on the long walk to the camp. As I passed through the village every house was dark and every door closed, as if the plague had swept the place of its inhabitants. I could not but counect this remarkable exodus of the rural population with the mysterious disappearance of Ali Sahib, though what motive could have prompted such extraordinary behaviour on his part, was quite beyond my powers of guessing. It was now dark and cloudy; the wind sang shrilly amidst the tree-tops, and it appeared to me as if a storm was coming on; but the fresh air that cooled my heated brow was very welcome, aud by degrees the fever of my blood abated, and the dull pain in my throbbing temples grew less, as I proceeded on my way. The first part of my route was sufficiently easy ; but when I got fairly among the hills, it needed all my recollection of the various landmarks which I had noted in the morning, to enable me to steer a proper course; and at length arriving at a place where several paths met, I chose the wrong one, and after floundering for some time among thickets and boulders of stone, found that I had strayed from the right track, and must either retrace my steps, or persevere, in hopes of finding another road to the camp. While 1 stood perplexed, a faint but distinctly audible sound, as of many voices chanting in unison, reached my ears, and proved to me that I was at no great distance from human help; while 1 fancied that through the trees I could see a red glow, as from a furnace-mouth suddenly opened, although iu a few moments the ruby light again faded into the general darkness. Who could these neighbors be 1 Charcoal-burners, perhaps; probably a caravan of pilgrims or traders; possibly robbers bivouacking in the forest. In the latter case, it would be unwise for a stranger, and the bearer of so large a sum as I had about me, to venture on approaching them; but the chances were rather in favor of the former supposition; and therefore I resolved to draw near, but cautiously, so as to reconnoitre the appearance of the party before disclosing myself. Advancing slowly, therefore, I scaled a steep bank, and peering down from betwixt the boles of two gigantic trees, I looked into a little grassy valley, some twelve or fifteen feet below, and beheld one of the most singular spectacles that, in a century of material progress aud mental enlightenment, can easily be conceived. The narrow glen was crowded with worshippers, robed in pure wtiite, all of whom, men, women, and children, were in the act of prostrating themselves before an altar built of a few huge flat stones, set on a swelling mound, and which instantly reminded me of the rude hill-shrines of Baal, so frequently mentioned in the Scripture narrative. The fire was burning low, and threw but a dim and weird lh'ht upon the assembly; yet there < was brightness enough to illumine the solitary figure of a man, the high-priest, as I supposed, of this strange and occult rite, who stood with outspread arms beside the altar, rapidly repeating some formula of faith, as 1 judged, in a tongue necessarily unknown to me. He, too, was clad iu white, but wore a streaming scarf of pale blue, while on his head shone a fantastic mitre, bedecked with sold and precious stones; aud in his right hand was a slender silver wand, such as a magician of the middle ages might have been supposed to carry. Rouud his waist was clasped a broad belt of leather, the yellow colour of which instantly brought to my recollection the Gheber in Moore's Fireworshippers. To be continued.