What On Earth Do You Mean By That Nonsense?" - "Yes, But
Without Striking Terror And Inspiring Respect, He (Dthemetri) Would
Never be able to force on the arrangements for my journey, and
vossignoria would be kept at Gaza for a
Month!" This would have
been awkward, and certainly I could not deny that poor Dthemetri
had succeeded in his odd plan of inspiring respect, for at the very
time that this explanation was going on in Italian the Governor
seemed more than ever, and more anxiously, disposed to overwhelm me
with assurances of goodwill, and proffers of his best services.
All this kindness, or promise of kindness, I naturally received
with courtesy - a courtesy that greatly perturbed Dthemetri, for he
evidently feared that my civility would undo all the good that his
insults had achieved.
You will find, I think, that one of the greatest draw-backs to the
pleasure of travelling in Asia is the being obliged, more or less,
to make your way by bullying. It is true that your own lips are
not soiled by the utterance of all the mean words that are spoken
for you, and that you don't even know of the sham threats, and the
false promises, and the vainglorious boasts, put forth by your
dragoman; but now and then there happens some incident of the sort
which I have just been mentioning, which forces you to believe, or
suspect, that your dragoman is habitually fighting your battles for
you in a way that you can hardly bear to think of.
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