THE CAVE-DWELLERS
The cavern into which the chief led me was very spacious, but had
no light except that which entered through the portal. It was with
difficulty that I could see anything, but I found that there were many
people here moving about, all as intent upon their own pursuits as
those which one encounters in the streets of our cities. As we went
on farther the darkness increased, until at last I lost sight of the
chief altogether, and he had to come back and lead me. After going
a little farther we came to a long, broad passage-way like a
subterranean street, about twenty feet in width, and as many in
height. Here there were discernible a few twinkling lamps, which
served to make the darkness less intense and enabled me to see the
shadowy figures around. These were numerous, and all seemed busy,
though what their occupation might be I could not guess. I was amazed
at the extent of these caverns, and at the multitude of the people. I
saw also that from the nature of their eyes the sunlight distressed
them, and in this cavern gloom they found their most congenial
dwelling-place. From what I had thus far seen, this extraordinary
people shrank from the sunlight; and when they had to move abroad they
passed over roads which were darkened as much as possible by the deep
shadows of mighty ferns, while for the most part they remained in
dark caverns, in which they lived and moved and had their being. It
was a puzzle to me whether the weakness of their eyes had caused
this dislike of light, or the habit of cave-dwelling had caused this
weakness of eyes. Here, in this darkness, where there was but a faint
twinkle from the feeble lamps, their eyes seemed to serve them as well
as mine did in the outer light of day; and the chief, who outside had
moved with an uncertain step, and had blinked painfully at objects
with his eyes almost closed, now appeared to be in his proper element;
and while I hesitated like a blind man and groped along with a
faltering step, he guided me, and seemed to see everything with
perfect vision.
At length we stopped, and the chief raised up a thick, heavy mat which
hung like an unwieldly curtain in front of a doorway. This the chief
lifted. At once a blaze of light burst forth, gleaming into the dark,
and appearing to blind him. His eyes closed. He held up the veil for
me to pass through. I did so. He followed, and then groped his way
slowly along, while I accompanied and assisted him.
I now found myself in a large grotto with an arched roof, from which
was suspended an enormous lamp, either golden or gilded. All around
were numerous lamps. The walls were adorned with rich hangings;
couches were here, with soft cushions, and divans and ottomans; soft
mats were on the floor, and everything gave indications of luxury and
wealth. Other doors, covered with overhanging mats, seemed to lead out
of this grotto. To one of these the chief walked, and raising the mat
he led the way into another grotto like the last, with the same bright
lights and the same adornments, but of smaller size. Here I saw
someone who at once took up all my attention.
It was a young maiden. Her face and form, but especially her eyes,
showed her to be of quite a different race from these others. To me
she was of medium height, yet she was taller than any of the people
here that I had hitherto seen. Her complexion was much lighter; her
hair was dark, luxuriant, and wavy, and arranged in a coiffure secured
with a golden band. Her features were of a different cast from those
of the people here, for they were regular in outline and of exquisite
beauty; her nose was straight; she had a short upper lip, arched
eyebrows finely pencilled, thin lips, and well-rounded chin. But the
chief contrast was in her eyes. These were large, dark, liquid, with
long lashes, and with a splendid glow in their lustrous depths. She
stood looking at me with her face full of amazement; and as I caught
the gaze of her glorious eyes I rejoiced that I had at last found one
who lived in the light and loved it--one who did not blink like a bat,
but looked me full in the face, and allowed me to see all her soul
revealed. The chief, who still was pained by the glare of light, kept
his eyes covered, and said a few hasty words to the maiden. After this
he hurried away, leaving me there.
The maiden stood for a moment looking at me. As the chief spoke to
her a change came over her face. She looked at me in silence, with
an expression of sad and mournful interest, which seemed to increase
every moment. At length she approached and said something in the same
strange language which the chief had used. I shook my head and replied
in English, whereupon she shook her head with a look of perplexity.
Then, anxious to conciliate her, I held out my hand. She looked at
it in some surprise. Upon this I took her hand, and pressed it to my
lips, feeling, however, somewhat doubtful as to the way in which she
might receive such an advance. To my great delight she accepted it in
a friendly spirit, and seemed to consider it my foreign fashion of
showing friendship and respect. She smiled and nodded, and pointed to
my gun, which thus far I had carried in my hand. I smiled and laid
it down. Then she pointed to a seat. I sat down, and then she seated
herself close by me, and we looked at each other in mutual wonder and
mutual inquiry.
I was full of amazement at thus meeting with so exquisite a being,
and lost myself in conjectures as to her race, her office, and her
position here. Who was she, or what? She was unlike the others, and
reminded me of those Oriental beauties whose portraits I had seen in
annuals and illustrated books. Her costume was in keeping with such
a character. She wore a long tunic that reached from the neck to the
ground, secured at the waist with a golden girdle; the sleeves were
long and loose; over this she had a long mantle; on her feet were
light slippers, white and glistening. All about her, in her room and
in her costume, spoke of light and splendor and luxury. To these
others who shrank so from the light she could not be related in any
way. The respect with which she was treated by the chief, the peculiar
splendor of her apartments, seemed to indicate some high rank. Was
she, then, the queen of the land? Was she a princess? I could not
tell. At any rate, whatever she was, she seemed anxious to show me
the utmost attention. Her manner was full of dignity and sweet
graciousness, and she appeared particularly anxious to make herself
understood. At first she spoke in a language that sounded like that of
the chief, and was full of gutturals and broad vowels; afterward she
spoke in another that was far more euphonious. I, on the other hand
spoke in English and in French; but of course I was as unintelligible
to her as she was to me.
Language was, therefore, of no use. It was necessary to go back to
first principles and make use of signs, or try to gain the most
elementary words of her language; so first of all I pointed to her,
and tried to indicate that I wanted to know her name. She caught my
meaning at once, and, pointing to herself, she looked fixedly at me
and said, "Almah, Almah!"
I repeated these words after her, saying, "Almah, Almah!" She smiled
and nodded, and then pointed to me with a look of inquiry that plainly
asked for my name. I said "Adam More." She repeated this, and it
sounded like "A-tam-or." But as she spoke this slowly her smile died
away. She looked anxious and troubled, and once more that expression
of wondering sadness came over her face. She repeated my name over and
over in this way with a mournful intonation that thrilled through me,
and excited forebodings of evil. "Atamor, Atamor!" And always after
that she called me "Atamor."
But now she sat for some time, looking at me with a face full of pity
and distress. At this I was greatly astonished; for but a moment
before she had been full of smiles, and it was as though something in
my name had excited sorrowful thoughts. Yet how could that be, since
she could never by any possibility have heard my name before? The
beautiful Almah seemed to be not altogether happy, or why should she
be so quick to sadness? There was a mystery about all this which was
quite unaccountable.
It was a singular situation, and one which excited within me feelings
of unutterable delight. This light and splendor, this warmth and
peace--what a contrast it offered to the scenes through which I had
but lately passed! Those scenes of horror, of ice and snow, of storm
and tempest, of cold and hunger, of riven cliff and furious ocean
stream, and, above all, that crowning agony in the bleak iron-land of
the cannibals--from all these I had escaped. I had been drawn down
under the earth to experience the terrors of that unspeakable passage,
and had at last emerged to light and life, to joy and hope. In this
grotto I had found the culmination of all happiness. It was like a
fairy realm; and here was one whose very look was enough to inspire
the most despairing soul with hope and peace and happiness. The only
thing that was now left to trouble me was this mournful face of Almah.
Why did she look at me with such sad interest and such melancholy
meaning? Did she know of any evil fate in store for me? Yet how could
there be any evil fate to be feared from people who had received me
with such unparalleled generosity? No, it could not be; so I resolved
to try to bring back again the smile that had faded out of her face.
I pointed to her, and said, "Almah."
She said, "Atam-or."
And the smile did not come back, but the sadness remained in her face.
My eager desire now was to learn her language, and I resolved at once
to acquire as many words and phrases as possible. I began by asking
the names of things, such as "seat," "table," "mat," "coat," "hat,"
"shoe," "lamp," "floor," "wall," and all the common objects around.
She gave all the names, and soon became so deeply interested that her
sadness departed, and the smile came back once more. For my own part,
I was always rather quick at learning languages. I had a correct ear
and a retentive memory; in my wanderings round the world I had picked
up a smattering of many languages, such as French, Italian, Spanish,
Arabic, German, Hindoostanee, and a few others. The words which I
learned from Almah had a remote resemblance to Arabic; and, in fact,
my knowledge of Arabic was actually of some assistance, though how it
was that these people should have a language with that resemblance
was certainly a mystery, and I did not try to solve it. The beautiful
Almah soon grew immensely interested in my efforts to learn, and also
in the English words which I gave when I pointed to any object.
Thus I pointed to myself, and said "Man," then pointing to her, I
said, "Woman." She laughed, and pointing to me said "Iz," and pointing
to herself said, "Izza." Then I pointed to the row of lights, and
said "Light;" she did the same, and said, "Or." Then her face grew
mournful, and she pointed to me, saying "Atam-or." It struck me then
that there was some chance resemblance between "or," the word meaning
"light," and one of the syllables of my name as she pronounced it, and
that this might cause her sadness; but as I could make out nothing of
this, I dismissed the thought, and went on with my questions. This
took up the time, until at length someone appeared who looked like a
servant. He said something, whereupon Almah arose and beckoned to me
to follow. I did so, and we went to a neighboring apartment, where
there was spread a bounteous repast. Here we sat and ate, and Almah
told me the names of all the dishes. After dinner we returned to the
room.
It was a singular and a delightful position. I was left alone with the
beautiful Almah, who herself showed the utmost graciousness and the
kindest interest in me. I could not understand it, nor did I try to;
it was enough that I had such a happy lot. For hours we thus were
together, and I learned many words. To insure remembrance, I wrote
them down in my memorandum-book with a pencil and both of these were
regarded by Almah with greatest curiosity. She felt the paper,
inspected it, touched it with her tongue, and seemed to admire it
greatly; but the pencil excited still greater admiration. I signed to
her to write in the book. She did so, but the characters were quite
unlike anything that I had ever seen. They were not joined like our
writing and like Arabic letters, but were separate like our printed
type, and were formed in an irregular manner. She then showed me a
book made of a strange substance. It was filled with characters like
those which she had just written. The leaves were not at all like
paper, but seemed like some vegetable product, such as the leaves of
a plant or the bark of a tree. They were very thin, very smooth, all
cut into regular size, and fastened together by means of rings. This
manuscript is written upon the same material. I afterward found that
it was universally used here, and was made of a reed that grows in
marshes.
Here in these vast caverns there was no way by which I could tell the
progress of time, but Almah had her own way of finding out when the
hours of wakeful life were over. She arose and said, "Salonla." This I
afterward found out to be common salutation of the country. I said it
after her. She then left me. Shortly afterward a servant appeared,
who took me to a room, which I understood to be mine. Here I found
everything that I could wish, either for comfort or luxury; and as I
felt fatigue, I flung myself upon the soft bed of down, and soon was
sound asleep.
I slept for a long time. When I awoke I heard sounds in the distance,
and knew that people were moving. Here in these caverns there was no
difference between day and night, but, by modes of which I was
ignorant, a regular succession was observed of waking times and
sleeping times.