And this
hate was not of the dry, dull, and inactive sort. Dthemetri was in
his sphere a true Crusader, and whenever there appeared a fair
opening in the defences of Islam, he was ready and eager to make
the assault. These sentiments, backed by a consciousness of
understanding the people with whom he had to do, made Dthemetri not
only firm and resolute in his constant interviews with men in
authority, but sometimes also (as you may know already) very
violent and even insulting. This tone, which I always disliked,
though I was fain to profit by it, invariably succeeded. It swept
away all resistance; there was nothing in the then depressed and
succumbing mind of the Mussulman that could oppose a zeal so warm
and fierce.
As for me, I of course stood aloof from Dthemetri's crusades, and
did not even render him any active assistance when he was striving
(as he almost always was, poor fellow) on my behalf; I was only the
death's head and white sheet with which he scared the enemy. I
think, however, that I played this spectral part exceedingly well,
for I seldom appeared at all in any discussion, and whenever I did,
I was sure to be white and calm.
The event which induced the Christians of Nablus to seek for my
assistance was this. A beautiful young Christian, between fifteen
and sixteen years old, had lately been married to a man of her own
creed. About the same time (probably on the occasion of her
wedding) she was accidentally seen by a Mussulman Sheik of great
wealth and local influence, who instantly became madly enamoured of
her. The strict morality which so generally prevails where the
Mussulmans have complete ascendency prevented the Sheik from
entertaining any such sinful hopes as an European might have
ventured to cherish under the like circumstances, and he saw no
chance of gratifying his love except by inducing the girl to
embrace his own creed. If he could induce her to take this step,
her marriage with the Christian would be dissolved, and then there
would be nothing to prevent him from making her the last and
brightest of his wives. The Sheik was a practical man, and quickly
began his attack upon the theological opinions of the bride. He
did not assail her with the eloquence of any imaums or Mussulman
saints; he did not press upon her the eternal truths of the "Cow,"
{41} or the beautiful morality of "the Table"; {42} he sent her no
tracts, not even a copy of the holy Koran. An old woman acted as
missionary. She brought with her a whole basketful of arguments -
jewels and shawls and scarfs and all kinds of persuasive finery.
Poor Mariam! she put on the jewels and took a calm view of the
Mahometan religion in a little hand-mirror; she could not be deaf
to such eloquent earrings, and the great truths of Islam came home
to her young bosom in the delicate folds of the cashmere; she was
ready to abandon her faith.
The Sheik knew very well that his attempt to convert an infidel was
illegal, and that his proceedings would not bear investigation, so
he took care to pay a large sum to the Governor of Nablus in order
to obtain his connivance.
At length Mariam quitted her home and placed herself under the
protection of the Mahometan authorities, who, however, refrained
from delivering her into the arms of her lover, and detained her in
a mosque until the fact of her real conversion (which had been
indignantly denied by her relatives) should be established. For
two or three days the mother of the young convert was prevented
from communicating with her child by various evasive contrivances,
but not, it would seem, by a flat refusal. At length it was
announced that the young lady's profession of faith might be heard
from her own lips. At an hour appointed the friends of the Sheik
and the relatives of the damsel met in the mosque. The young
convert addressed her mother in a loud voice, and said, "God is
God, and Mahomet is the Prophet of God, and thou, oh my mother, art
an infidel, feminine dog!"
You would suppose that this declaration, so clearly enounced, and
that, too, in a place where Mahometanism is perhaps more supreme
than in any other part of the empire, would have sufficed to have
confirmed the pretensions of the lover. This, however, was not the
case. The Greek priest of the place was despatched on a mission to
the Governor of Jerusalem (Aboo Goosh), in order to complain
against the proceedings of the Sheik and obtain a restitution of
the bride. Meanwhile the Mahometan authorities at Nablus were so
conscious of having acted unlawfully in conspiring to disturb the
faith of the beautiful infidel, that they hesitated to take any
further steps, and the girl was still detained in the mosque.
Thus matters stood when the Christians of the place came and sought
to obtain my assistance.
I felt (with regret) that I had no personal interest in the matter,
and I also thought that there was no pretence for my interfering
with the conflicting claims of the Christian husband and the
Mahometan lover, and I therefore declined to take any step.
My speaking of the husband, by-the-bye, reminds me that he was
extremely backward about the great work of recovering his youthful
bride. The relations of the girl, who felt themselves disgraced by
her conduct, were vehement and excited to a high pitch, but the
Menelaus of Nablus was exceedingly calm and composed.
The fact that it was not technically my duty to interfere in a
matter of this kind was a very sufficient, and yet a very
unsatisfactory, reason for my refusal of all assistance.
