THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS LEAVE THE VALLEY, AND SEE MANY WONDERS.
THE Prince and Princess had jewels sufficient to make them rich whenever
they came into a place of commerce, which, by Imlac’s direction, they hid
in their clothes, and on the night of the next full moon all left the
valley. The Princess was followed only by a single favourite, who did
not know whither she was going.
They clambered through the cavity, and began to go down on the other
side. The Princess and her maid turned their eyes toward every part, and
seeing nothing to bound their prospect, considered themselves in danger
of being lost in a dreary vacuity. They stopped and trembled. “I am
almost afraid,” said the Princess, “to begin a journey of which I cannot
perceive an end, and to venture into this immense plain where I may be
approached on every side by men whom I never saw.” The Prince felt
nearly the same emotions, though he thought it more manly to conceal
them.
Imlac smiled at their terrors, and encouraged them to proceed. But the
Princess continued irresolute till she had been imperceptibly drawn
forward too far to return.
In the morning they found some shepherds in the field, who set some milk
and fruits before them. The Princess wondered that she did not see a
palace ready for her reception and a table spread with delicacies; but
being faint and hungry, she drank the milk and ate the fruits, and
thought them of a higher flavour than the products of the valley.
They travelled forward by easy journeys, being all unaccustomed to toil
and difficulty, and knowing that, though they might be missed, they could
not be pursued. In a few days they came into a more populous region,
where Imlac was diverted with the admiration which his companions
expressed at the diversity of manners, stations, and employments. Their
dress was such as might not bring upon them the suspicion of having
anything to conceal; yet the Prince, wherever he came, expected to be
obeyed, and the Princess was frighted because those who came into her
presence did not prostrate themselves. Imlac was forced to observe them
with great vigilance, lest they should betray their rank by their unusual
behaviour, and detained them several weeks in the first village to
accustom them to the sight of common mortals.
By degrees the royal wanderers were taught to understand that they had
for a time laid aside their dignity, and were to expect only such regard
as liberality and courtesy could procure. And Imlac having by many
admonitions prepared them to endure the tumults of a port and the
ruggedness of the commercial race, brought them down to the sea-coast.
The Prince and his sister, to whom everything was new, were gratified
equally at all places, and therefore remained for some months at the port
without any inclination to pass further. Imlac was content with their
stay, because he did not think it safe to expose them, unpractised in the
world, to the hazards of a foreign country.
At last he began to fear lest they should be discovered, and proposed to
fix a day for their departure. They had no pretensions to judge for
themselves, and referred the whole scheme to his direction. He therefore
took passage in a ship to Suez, and, when the time came, with great
difficulty prevailed on the Princess to enter the vessel. They had a
quick and prosperous voyage, and from Suez travelled by land to Cairo.