If I Hesitated At All Between
The "Impropriety" Of Interfering In A Matter Which Was No Business
Of Mine And
The "infernal shame" of refusing my aid at such a
conjecture, I soon came to a very ungentlemanly decision, namely,
That I would be guilty of the "impropriety," and not of the
"infernal shame." It seemed to me that the immediate arrest of
Mohammed Damoor was the one thing needful to the safety of the
Jews, and I felt confident (for reasons which I have already
mentioned in speaking of the Nablus affair) that I should be able
to obtain this result by making a formal application to the
Governor. I told my applicants that I would take this step on the
following morning. They were very grateful, and were, for a
moment, much pleased at the prospect of safety which might thus be
opened to them, but the deliberation of a minute entirely altered
their views, and filled them with new terror. They declared that
any attempt, or pretended attempt, on the part of the Governor to
arrest Mohammed Damoor would certainly produce an immediate
movement of the whole Mussulman population, and a consequent
massacre and robbery of the Israelites. My visitors went out, and
remained I know not how long consulting with their brethren, but
all at last agreed that their present perilous and painful position
was better than a certain and immediate attack, and that if
Mohammed Damoor was seized, their second estate would be worse than
their first.
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