Part 26 (1/2)
Spurring their beaten horses to a last effort, they soon gained the summit of the little hill. Dismounting, Fernando sought for the entrance to the rather dilapidated building, and having found it, was about to make his way inside, when he was surprised to see a man kneeling on its flagstones, engaged in earnest prayer. His long beard, his patched clothing, and his general appearance signified that he was a Moslem hermit, one of those who had retired from the haunts of men to practise his religious austerities in peace. Fernando was about to address him roughly and bid him begone, when the holy man, hearing the ring of his mailed foot upon the pavement, looked up and asked him what he required.
”Get you gone,” said Fernando, ”for we are about to defend this place to the last extremity against your infidel brethren.”
The hermit smiled. ”Young man,” he said, ”what possible defence can you hope to make in this poor place against the numbers which will shortly surround you? Your sword and that of your companions will be of little more avail than these poor walls, which, almost ruined as they are, would soon be beaten down. Trust me, there is a much better defence against the violence of man than either stone or steel.”
”I know not of what you speak, old man,” said Fernando, ”but in those things which you deride, I, as a soldier, have been accustomed to place my trust.”
”Alas,” said the hermit, ”that it should be so! Have you not been taught, young man, in your own country that G.o.d is a surer defence to those who trust Him than those vain material bulwarks which men of blood erect against one another's rage? Put your trust in G.o.d, I say, and He will be able to succour you, even through the least of His servants.”
”Were it the G.o.d of the Christians of whom you speak,” replied Fernando, ”I would agree that your words were those of wisdom, but in the mouth of an unbeliever they have naught but a blasphemous ring.”
”Sir Knight,” said the hermit, ”you are yet a young man, but as you grow older it will be given you to understand that G.o.d is the same in all lands, and that division of His personality is one of the fictions with which the Father of Lies seeks to make enmity between the righteous. Argue no longer, I pray you, but take heed to what I say. This remnant of stone is the last remaining turret of an ancient fortalice, beneath which extends a labyrinth of dungeons. Secrete yourselves speedily in the darkness of this labyrinth, I beg you, so that you may evade your pursuers and regain your own country after nightfall.”
”Have a care, Don Fernando,” cried one of the prince's comrades. ”This infidel seeks to beguile us into a trap, where his countrymen will be able to murder us at their leisure.”
”Not so,” replied the prince, ”for I can see that the mind of this good and holy man holds a better purpose toward us, and I willingly yield myself to his care. Lead the way, good father, to the hiding-place of which you speak.” The hermit immediately requested the cavaliers to enter the building, and indicated to them a dark and sloping pa.s.sage, down which they led their horses. They had scarcely had time to conceal themselves in the gloomy recesses to which it led when with a loud clamour the infidels who had been pursuing them rode up. Their leader challenged the hermit and asked him if he had observed any Christian knights pa.s.s that way. ”a.s.suredly no Christian knights have pa.s.sed this way, my son,” replied the man of G.o.d; ”go in peace.” The Moslem captain with a grave salutation immediately remounted his horse, and the band swept on.
The hermit having entertained the Christian knights to the best of his poor resources, returned to them within a few hours and told them that darkness had now fallen. ”You will now be able,” he said, ”to make a safe return to your own land.”
”How can I reward you?” cried Fernando, whose generous heart had been deeply stirred by the old man's unaffected kindness.
”There is one way in which you can do so, young cavalier,” said the recluse, ”and that is by trying to form a better opinion of the men of my race.”
”You ask a difficult thing,” said the prince sadly, ”for truth compels me to say that I have heard great evil of the Moors, and but little good.”
”That is not surprising,” said the hermit, with a smile, ”since you will readily admit that you have not encountered them otherwise than with sword in hand or as prisoners whose hearts are burning with the bitterness of defeat. Open your mind, young man, or rather pray that its doors, until now closed, should be thrown wide to admit the rays of celestial wisdom. Seek for the best in your enemies, and believe me you will not fail to find it.”
As he spoke, Fernando indeed felt as if the doors of his spirit, until now rusty with prejudice, had been unbarred. ”I shall not forget your advice,” he said, ”for surely nothing evil can come from one so good and n.o.ble,” and with a respectful gesture of farewell he mounted his horse and, followed by his companions, rode away.
He arrived safely in his capital in the early hours of the morning, and having bathed and refreshed himself, sought his audience chamber, where, surrounded by his anxious ministers, he told them of the adventure which had befallen him.
”Great has been your good fortune, your Majesty,” said one of his advisers. ”But for the services of this good man you would certainly now have been a captive in the citadel of your enemies. Surely few such spirits can reside in Moorish bodies.”
”How so, senor?” replied the prince. ”May it not be otherwise? When all is said and done, what do we know of the Moors, save that knowledge which is gained by constant strife with them? Would it not be well for us to strive to know them better?”
”What!” cried another councillor, ”do we not know them for dogs and infidels, for perjured blasphemers and wors.h.i.+ppers of false G.o.ds? Heaven forbid that we should have further converse with them than that of the herald, which serves to call us into the same field as they, so that we may bring our lances to bear upon their infidel bodies.”
”These words seem to me neither good nor wise,” said Fernando gently; ”and I tell you, senors, that while riding home this morning I made a resolution to know those Moors better, even to travel into their country, study their inst.i.tutions and their faith, and meet them as men rather than as enemies.”
”Madness!” cried the Chancellor. ”The rash vow of a young and inexperienced prince.”
”That is not my opinion,” replied Fernando, ”but in order to avoid all unnecessary risks I have resolved to disguise myself as a Moslem. As you are aware, I have a perfect acquaintance with the Moorish tongue, and the manners and religious customs of our neighbours I know by report. I have taken this resolve, and am not to be dissuaded from it.”
”Your Majesty's word is law,” replied the Chancellor, who saw in the prince's resolve an opportunity for the extension of his personal power. Others of his suite did their best to turn aside Fernando's resolution by every argument in their power, but to no avail. His preparations were speedily made, and within three days of announcing his determination the prince, disguised as a Moslem of rank, set out by night for the frontiers of his enemies.
On entering their country he resolved to make in the first place for the capital, a town of considerable importance, on reaching which he dismounted from his Arab steed and put up at a khan, or public hostelry. Here he found himself in the company of travellers of all sorts and conditions. The merchant sat at the same table with the mullah, or priest, and the soldier shared his meal with the pilgrim. The first thing that Fernando noticed regarding these people was their great abstemiousness. They ate but little food, and drank not at all, unless of milk or water. The atmosphere of gravity prevalent in the inn surprised him. These sober, sallow-faced men sat, for the most part, with downcast eyes, speaking rarely, and without gesticulation, and in a low and decorous tone of voice. If asked a question, they did not answer at once, but appeared to cogitate upon their reply, which was invariably courteous and couched in formal but agreeable language. All their conduct seemed to be subservient to decency and dignity. Fernando noticed that they were spotless in their cleanliness. Not only was this so as regards their garments, but they were constantly performing ablutions, either in the inn itself during the stipulated hours of prayer, or in the magnificent public baths of the city.
On the other hand, the disguised prince could not but see that these men were one and all within the grip of a powerful formalism, which had the effect of cramping and limiting their ideas, and which was only too painfully evident in their speech and manners. There seemed to be no room for individuality in their system of life. He entered into conversation with one of the shaven mullahs, who had retired into a corner the better to read his copy of the Koran. At first he evinced but little inclination to talk, but seeing that the prince wished to exchange ideas with him, he soon brought the conversation round to the especial point of Moslem law he was studying, upon which he split so many hairs that the hapless Fernando deeply regretted that he had ever approached him.