It Was A Sore Thing For Me To See My Poor Comrade Brought To This,
For Young Though He Was, He Was A Veteran In Travel.
When scarcely
yet of age he had invaded India from the frontiers of Russia, and
that so swiftly, that
Measuring by the time of his flight the broad
dominions of the king of kings were shrivelled up to a dukedom and
now, poor fellow, he was to be poked into an araba: like a
Georgian girl! He suffered greatly, for there were no springs for
the carriage, and no road for the wheels; and so the concern jolted
on over the open country with such twists, and jerks, and jumps, as
might almost dislocate the supple tongue of Satan.
All day the patient kept himself shut up within the lattice-work of
the araba, and I could hardly know how he was faring until the end
of the day's journey, when I found that he was not worse, and was
buoyed up with the hope of some day reaching Constantinople.
I was always conning over my maps, and fancied that I knew pretty
well my line, but after Adrianople I had made more southing than I
knew for, and it was with unbelieving wonder, and delight, that I
came suddenly upon the shore of the sea. A little while, and its
gentle billows were flowing beneath the hoofs of my beast, but the
hearing of the ripple was not enough communion, and the seeing of
the blue Propontis was not to know and possess it - I must needs
plunge into its depth and quench my longing love in the palpable
waves; and so when old Moostapha (defender against demons) looked
round for his charge, he saw with horror and dismay that he for
whose life his own life stood pledged was possessed of some devil
who had driven him down into the sea - that the rider and the steed
had vanished from earth, and that out among the waves was the
gasping crest of a post-horse, and the ghostly head of the
Englishman moving upon the face of the waters.
We started very early indeed on the last day of our journey, and
from the moment of being off until we gained the shelter of the
imperial walls we were struggling face to face with an icy storm
that swept right down from the steppes of Tartary, keen, fierce,
and steady as a northern conqueror. Methley's servant, who was the
greatest sufferer, kept his saddle until we reached Stamboul, but
was then found to be quite benumbed in limbs, and his brain was so
much affected, that when he was lifted from his horse he fell away
in a state of unconsciousness, the first stage of a dangerous
fever.
Our Tatar, worn down by care and toil, and carrying seven heavens
full of water in his manifold jackets and shawls, was a mere weak
and vapid dilution of the sleek Moostapha, who scarce more than one
fortnight before came out like a bridegroom from his chamber to
take the command of our party.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 14 of 170
Words from 7195 to 7714
of 89094
