The Prince of India, Volume I

fteenth day of May, fourteen hundred and forty-eight-a man entered one of the stalls of a market in

andish. In this instance the owner of the stall indulged a positive stare. He had seen, he thought, representatives of all known nationalities, but never one like the present visitor-never one so pinkish in complexion, and so very bias-eyed-never one who wrapped and re-wrapped himself in a single shawl so entirely, making it answer all the other vestments habitual t

d the letter, and began reading it. His neighbors less considerate ran together, and formed a crowd around the stran

m the more. The delicacy of its texture, its softness to the touch, its semi-transpare

ntrollable, and the missive being of but one sheet, his eyes dropped to the place of signature. There was no na

ustr

shment, half awe. Retreating to a bench near by, he seated himself, and presently became unmindful of th

rson who was not more than an ordinary dealer in an Eastern market may by this time have becom

ER-SEA. FAR EAST.

Son of

thee and

d them, for they were a virtuous and goodly race, studious to do the will of the Lord God of Israel, and acknowledging no other; therein manifesting the chiefest of human excellences. To which, as more directly personal to thyself, I will add that qualities of men, like qualities in plants, are transmissible, and go they unmixed through many generations, they make a kind. Therefore, at this great distance, and though I have never looked int

s, and live simply and affectionately. Though they never heard of the Nazarene whom the world persists in calling the Christ, it is truth to say they better illustrate his teachings, especially in their dealings with each other, than the so-called Christians amongst whom thy lot is cast. Withal, however, I have become weary, the f

exactly one year from this 15 May, the time I have given him to make the journey, which is more by sea than land. Thou mayst then know I am following him, though with stoppages of uncertain duration; it

ce is with a design of which I think

is it to think my own door will open instantly at my knock. In this affair thou canst be of service which shall be both remembered and gratefully recompensed. He hath no experience in the matter of property in thy city; thou hast; it is but natural, therefore, if I pray thou bring it into pract

for my sake. Be advised also that he is deaf and dumb; yet, if in speaking thou turn thy face to him,

f procuring all the money he may require, even to extravagance; at the same time he is forbidden to contr

wherefore I conclude this writing by saying I hope thou wilt render him aid as indicated, and that when I

Jahdai, to thee

ea

hands fall heavily in his lap, while he plunged into a study

om an Island he had never heard named. An Island in the Over-Sea which doubtless washed the Eastern end

neral, and of such addition and multiplication through the ages that he himself could not have made a list of them; in fact, now his attention was aroused, he recalled them a mass of colorless and formless objects which had ceased to have history or value. Amongst them, however, a seal in the form of a medallion in gold r

med the tale to be true; they had known the unfortunate personally; yet more, they declared he had been an intimate of the family, and had done its members through generations friendlinesses without number; in consequence they had come to consider him one of

d the tale, and still more might have been counted s

enger might be, or presuming him a villain, whatever the lie he thought to make profitable, appeal could be safely and cheaply made

aw, and he did not wait. Signing the messenger to follow, he passed into a

e," he said, "and w

at; thereupon Uel drew his turban down to h

e at his heels. Now he was before the cupboard! Little mercy the phylacteries and amulets, the bridle-spanglery of donkeys, the trinketry of women, his ancestresses once famous for beauty or many children-little m

a sacred souvenir. Conscience stung him. Over and over he shifted and turned the various properties on the shelf, the last time systematically and with fixed attention. When he

ng, was about thirteen years old. Under the necessity thus imposed, he found a venerable daughter of Jerusalem to serve him as housekeeper, and charge herself with care of the c

never required to assure him of her love. And the little one was bright and affectionate, and had prettinesses in speech, and sang low and contentedly the day long. Often as he took her

had given it to her as a plaything. Untied at last-for his impatience was nigh uncontrollable-he hurried with the recovered treasure to a window, to look at the device raised upon it; then, his heart beating ra

ower by a word, not merely to change the most fixed of the decrees of nature, but, by suspending it entirely, hold an offending wretch alive for a period already encroaching upon the eternal? One less firmly rooted in the faith of his fathers would have stood aghast at the conclusion to which the answer as an argument led-a conclusi

merely to aid an inexperienced servant in the purchase of a dwelling-house, the servant having plenty of funds. True, when the master presented himself in person, it would be necessary to determine exactly the footing to be accorded

h that was unaccountable, breaking the even tenor of his tradesman's life by unwonted perplexities. He had not the will to control his thoughts; they would go back to the excitement of the moment when he believed the medallion lost; and as points run together in the ha

n the quarters of the Greeks, which were always clean, and those of the Jews, which were always filthy. It was also observed that neither the hill nor the church obstructed the western view from the roof; that is to say, it was so far around the upper curve of the hill that a thistle-down would be carried by a south-east wind over many of the proudest Greek residences and dropped by the Church of

promptly for everything he bought; in the next place, communication with him was astonishingly easy. His eyes made up for the deficiency in

rgotten that the house, completely furnished, is awaiting him