"What is it?"
"That thou wilt return my box."
"Oh well! so be it: and the condition?"
"That is it."
"Will you tell me of what use it is to you?"
"To hold the plants which I pick."
"And why do you search for plants? To sell them?"
"Nonsense! I am not a merchant, I am a savant."
He held out his hand to me and said with visible joy: "I am charmed.
Science is a beautiful thing. Our ancestors were wise men. Our
grandchildren will be, perhaps. As for us, time is lacking. Savants are
much esteemed in your country?"
"Greatly."
"One gives them rank?"
"Sometimes."
"One pays them well?"
"Enough!"
"One attaches a little ribbon to their coat?"
"Occasionally!"
"Is it true that cities dispute as to which they belong?"
"It is true in Germany!"
"And one looks upon their death as a public calamity?"
"Assuredly!"
"What you tell me gives me great pleasure. Then you have no complaints
to make of your fellow-citizens?"
"Very much to the contrary. It is through their liberality that I was
enabled to come to Greece."
"You travel at their expense?"
"Yes."
"You are well-educated?"
"I am a doctor."
"It is the highest grade in science?"
"No."
"And how many doctors are there in the city in which you live?"
"I do not know exactly, but not as many doctors in Hamburg, as generals
in Athens."
"Oh! oh! I would not deprive your country of a man so rare. You shall
return to Hamburg, Monsieur, doctor; what would they say down below if
they knew that you were a prisoner up here in the mountains?"
"They would say that it was a misfortune."
"Good! Rather than lose such a man as you, the city of Hamburg would
sacrifice fifteen thousand francs. Take back your box, haste away,
search, gather plants, and follow your studies. Why not put that silver
watch back in your pocket? It is yours, and I respect savants too much
to rob them. But your country is rich enough to pay for her glory. Happy
young man! You recognize, to-day, how much the title of doctor adds to
your personal value. I would not have demanded a centime of ransom, if
you had been as ignorant as I am."
The King listened neither to my objections, nor to Mrs. Simons'
expostulations. He closed the interview, and pointed out to us the
dining hall. Mrs. Simons descended to the place, all the while
protesting that although she would eat her breakfast, yet she would
never pay the bill. Mary-Ann seemed more depressed; but such is the
mobility of youth, that she cried out with joy when she saw the place
where our meal was spread. It was a little corner of green, sheltered by
gray rocks. Beautiful grass formed the carpet; some clumps of privet and
laurels served as hangings and hid the rocky walls. A beautiful blue
arch was above our heads; birds flew back and forth in the azure vault.
In a corner of our dining-hall, a limpid stream, clear as crystal,
silently swept along in its course, spreading over its banks, and
falling in a silvery sheet down the side of the mountain. From this
side, the view illimitably extended to the sides of the Pentelicus, the
great white pile which overhangs Athens; across the sad-colored olive
groves; the dusty plain; the gray sides of Hymettus, rounded like an old
man's spine; and that beautiful Saronic Gulf, so blue that one might
say that a strip had fallen from the sky. Assuredly, Mrs. Simons had not
a mind turned to admiration, and yet, she confessed that the price for
such a beautiful sight would be very high in London or Paris.
The table was laid with heroic simplicity. Brown bread, baked in a field
oven, smoked upon the sod and gave out a most appetizing odor. The
clotted milk quivered in a huge wooden bowl. The large olives and green
piments, were laid on roughly cut pieces of wood. A shaggy goat-skin
bottle spread out its large sides next to a red copper cup, roughly
chiseled. An ewe's-milk cheese reposed upon the cloth which had pressed
it, and which still bore its imprint. Five or six appetizing lettuces
promised us a delicious salad, but there were no condiments with which
to dress them. The King had placed his traveling plate at our disposal,
consisting of spoons cut out with a knife, and we had, as a surfeit of
luxury, our five fingers, for forks. They had not been tolerant enough
to serve us with meat, but the yellow tobacco of Almyros promised me an
admirable digester.
One of the King's officers served us. It was the hideous Corfuan, the
man of the gold ring, who knew English. He cut the bread with his
poniard and distributed it freely, praying us not to lack for anything.
Mrs. Simons, without losing one stroke of her teeth, said to him in a
haughty tone: "Monsieur, does your master seriously believe that we
shall pay a ransom of a hundred thousand francs?"
"He is sure of it!"
"It is because he does not know the English nation."
"He knows it well, Madame, and I also. At Corfu, I have associated with
many distinguished Englishmen! judges!"
"I wish you joy of it! but tell this Stavros to arm himself with
patience, because he will wait a long time for the hundred thousand
francs, which he has promised himself."
"He told me to tell you that he would wait for them until the 15th of
May, at noon, precisely."
"And if we have not paid it the 15th of May, at noon?"
"He will regret that he will be obliged to cut off your head, as well as
Mademoiselle's."
Mary-Ann dropped the bread which she was carrying to her mouth. "Give me
a little wine," she said. The bandit handed to her a cup full; but
scarcely had it touched her lips, before she cried out with fear. The
poor child imagined that the wine was poisoned. I reassured her by
emptying the cup at one draught. "Fear nothing," I said to her; "it is
the resin."
"What resin?"
"Wine would not keep in these goat-skins if a certain amount of resin
was not added, to prevent it from spoiling. The mixture is not very
agreeable, but you may drink it without fear."
Despite my example, Mary-Ann and her mother made the bandit bring water.
The man ran to the brook and was back in an instant. "You understand,
Mesdames," he smilingly said, "that the King would not be foolish
enough to poison such valuable people as you are." He added, turning to
me: "You, M. le docteur, I have orders to tell you that you have thirty
days to pursue your studies and pay the sum. I will furnish you all with
writing materials."
"Thanks," Mrs. Simons said. "We will think of it in eight days, if we
are not delivered before."
"And by whom, Madame?"
"By England."
"Is it far?"
"Or by the police."
"For your sake, I hope you may have that luck. In the meantime, I will
do anything in my power for you."
"I wish first for a bed-chamber."
"We have near here a grotto, which is called Les Etables. You would not
like it; the sheep were kept there during the winter, and the odor still
remains. I will get two tents from the shepherds below and you can camp
here--until the arrival--of the gendarmes!"
"I wish for a waiting-maid."
"Nothing is easier. Our men will go down to the plain, and stop the
first peasant-woman who passes,--if, however, the gendarmerie will
permit!"
"I must have clothes, dresses, linen, toilet appurtenances, soap, a
mirror, combs, scents, a tapestry frame, a----"
"A good many things, Madame, and in order to get them all, we would be
forced to go to Athens. But one will do the best. Count on me and count
not too much on your soldiers."
"May God pity us!" Mary-Ann said.
A vigorous echo replied: "Kyrie Eleison!" (Lord, have mercy upon us.) It
was the good old man who came to visit us, and who sang while traveling
about in order to keep in practice. He saluted us cordially, placed upon
the grass a vessel full of honey, and seated himself near us. "Take and
eat," he said. "My bees offer you a dessert."
I shook hands with him; Mrs. Simons and Mary-Ann turned away in disgust.
They obstinately refused to see him in any other light than as an
accomplice of the brigands. The poor, good man knew no malice. He knew
only how to chant his prayers, to care for his bees, to sell his goods,
to collect the revenues of the convent, and to live at peace with the
whole world. His intelligence was limited; his science, nothing; his
conduct as innocent as that of a well-regulated machine. I do not
believe that he was able to clearly distinguish good from bad, and to
see any difference between a thief and an honest man. His wisdom
consisted in making four meals a day, and of never getting more than
half-seas over. He was, moreover, one of the best monks of his order.
I did full justice to the present he had brought us. This half-wild
honey resembled the kind which we eat in France, as the flesh of a roe
resembles lamb's meat. One would have said that the bees had distilled
in an invisible alembic all the perfumes of the mountains. I forgot, in
eating my bread spread with the honey, that I had only a month in which
to find fifteen thousand francs, or die.
The monk, in his turn, asked permission to refresh himself a little, and
without waiting for a reply, took the cup and turned out a bumper. He
drank, successively, to each of us. Five or six brigands, drawn by
curiosity, glided into the nook. He spoke to each by name, and drank to
each, in a spirit of justice. It was not long before I cursed his
presence. An hour after his arrival, half the band was seated in a
circle around our viands. In the absence of the King, who was taking a
siesta in his office, the brigands came, one by one, to cultivate our
acquaintance. One offered his services, another brought us something,
still a third introduced himself without pretext and without
embarrassment, as a man who felt himself at home. The more familiar
besought me to relate our history; the more timid held back at first but
insensibly drew nearer. Some, having satisfied themselves with looking
at us, threw themselves down, without courtesy for the ladies' presence,
and immediately began to snore. And the fleas, always flying about, and
the presence of their original master rendering them so bold that I
surprised two or three of them on the back of my hand. Impossible to
dispute their right to a grazing ground, I was no more a man, but a
common pasture. At this moment, I would have given three of the most
beautiful plants in my herbarium for a quarter of an hour of solitude.
Mrs. Simons and her daughter were too discreet to impart to me their
views, but they proved, by some involuntary starts, that we were of a
community of ideas. I even surprised a look between them which seemed
to say: "The gendarmes will deliver us from the thieves, but who can
deliver us from these fleas." This mute complaint awoke in my heart a
chivalrous sentiment. I resolutely rose and said:
"Go away, all of you; the King has sent us here to live quietly until
the arrival of our ransoms. The rent is so high that we have a right to
remain alone. Are you not ashamed to crowd around a table, like
parasitical dogs? You have no business here. We have no use for you; we
do not want you here. Do you believe that we can escape? How? By the
cascade? Or past the King's cabinet? Leave us then in peace. Corfuan,
drive them away, and I will help you, if you wish."
I added action to the word. I shoved along the loiterers, I awakened the
sleepers, I shook the monk, I forced the Corfuan to aid me, and soon the
troop of brigands, a troop armed with poniards and pistols, gave up to
us the place, with lamb-like meekness, although kicking, taking short
steps, resisting with the shoulders and twisting the head, in the
fashion of school-boys who have to be pushed into the schoolroom, when
recreation is over.
At last we were alone with the Corfuan. I said to Mistress Simons:
"Madame, this is our house. Will you be kind enough to separate the
apartment into two divisions? I must have a little corner for my tent.
Behind those trees, I shall not be badly off, and all the rest is yours,
if that pleases you. You will have the brook at hand."
My offers were accepted with sufficiently bad grace. These ladies would
have liked to keep all and let me go to sleep with the thieves. It is
true that British conventions might have gained something by this
separation, but I would have lost sight of Mary-Ann. And, moreover, I
had decided to sleep far from the fleas. The Corfuan approved of my
proposition, which rendered his watch less difficult. He had orders to
guard us night and day. It was necessary that he should sleep near my
tent, but I exacted the condition of a distance of six English feet
between us.
The treaty concluded, I established myself in a corner to give chase to
my domestic game. But I had scarcely begun, before the curious bandits
appeared under pretext of bringing our tents.
Mrs. Simons fairly screamed when she saw that her house was composed of
a simple strip of heavy felt, pleated in the middle, fastened to the
earth at the two ends, and opened to the wind on two sides. The Corfuan
swore that we should be lodged like princes, save in case of rain or a
strong wind. The entire band began to drive in stakes, to fix our beds
and to bring bed-covers. Each bed was composed of a rug with a covering
made of goat-skin. At six o'clock, the King came to assure himself, with
his own eyes, that we lacked nothing. Mrs. Simons, more incensed than
ever, replied that she lacked everything. I formally asked for the
exclusion of all useless visitors. The King established severe
regulations, such as we had never followed. Discipline is a French word
hard to translate in Greek. The King and his subjects retired at seven
o'clock, and we were to be served then with supper. Four torches of
resinous wood lighted the table. Their red and smoky light strangely
colored Miss Simons' pale face. Her eyes seemed to flash, become dim,
and rekindle again, like a revolving beacon-light. Her voice, weakened
by fatigue, took on, at intervals, a discordant tone. In listening to
her, my mind seemed to wander in a supernatural world, and I remembered
some very fantastic tales which I had once read. A nightingale sang, and
I believed I saw its silvery song pouring from Mary-Ann's lips. The day
had been a hard one for all, and even I, who had given substantial proof
of my appetite, soon recognized the fact that I was famished only for
sleep. I said good-night to the ladies and retired to my tent. In an
instant, I forgot nightingale, danger, ransom, stings; I closed my eyes
and I slept.
A fearful discharge of musketry awoke me with a start. I jumped up so
quickly that I struck my head against the poles of my tent. At the same
moment, I heard two feminine voices crying: "We are saved! The
gendarmes!" I saw two or three indistinct forms rush by in the night. In
my joy, in my trouble, I embraced the first shadow which passed my
tent--it was the Corfuan.
"Halt!" he cried, "where are you running, if you please?"
"Dog of a thief!" I replied, "I am going to see if the gendarmes will
soon finish shooting your comrades."
Mrs. Simons and her daughter, guided by my voice, came up to us. The man
said to us:
"The gendarmes will not travel to-day. It is the Ascension and the 1st
of May, a double fête-day. The noise which you have heard is the signal
for rejoicing. It is after midnight, almost morning; our companions go
to drink wine, eat meat, dance the Romaique and burn powder. If you wish
to see this beautiful sight, it will give me pleasure to take you to it.
I can guard you more agreeably around the roast than at the fountain
here."
"You lie!" cried Mrs. Simons, "it is the gendarmes!"
"Let us go and see," added Mary-Ann.
I followed them. The tumult was so great that one could not have slept
if one had wished. Our guide led us through the King's cabinet, and we
climbed to the bandit camp which was all ablaze with light. Whole pine
trees, placed at intervals, were used as torches. Five or six groups,
seated around a huge fire, watched the lambs roasting on spits. In the
midst of the crowd, a line of dancers wound slowly around in serpentine
fashion, to the measures of most frightful music. Occasional volleys of
musketry were heard. Once, it came quite near us and I felt the whizzing
of a ball, close to my ear. I begged the ladies to hasten forward,
hoping that, near the King, we would be farther from danger. The King,
seated on his everlasting carpet, presided with due solemnity over the
diversions of his people. Around him were goat-skin bottles; the sheep
were cut up and each man took a leg or shoulder and carried it about in
his hands. The orchestra was composed of a rude tambourine, and a shrill
flageolet. The dancers had taken off their shoes, in order to be more
agile. They flounced and jumped all over the spot and came near
cracking their bones, sometimes. From time to time, they left the dance,
drank a cup of wine, ate a piece of meat, discharged a gun, and then
returned to the dance. All these men, except the King, drank, ate,
hurled themselves about and jumped; I saw not one of them even smile.
Hadgi-Stavros courteously excused himself for having awakened us.
"It is not I who am to blame, it is the custom. If the first of May
passed without a discharge of musketry, these worthy people would not
believe that Spring had come. I have here only simple people, brought up
in the country and attached to ancient customs. I have done the best for
their education that I could do, but I shall die before they become
civilized. Men cannot be made over in a day like silver forks and
spoons. Even I, such as you see me, have found pleasure in these gross
sports; I have eaten and drunk and danced like the others. I have never
known European civilization; why should I take the trouble to travel so
late in life? I would give much to be young and only fifty, again. I
have ideas of reform which will never be executed; I see myself, like
Alexander, without an heir worthy of me. I dream of a new organization
of brigandage, without disorder, without turbulence, and without noise.
But I have no one to second me. I ought to have the exact census of all
the inhabitants of the kingdom, with an approximate statement of their
wealth, personal and real. As for the strangers who land on our shores,
an agent established at each port would learn and send to me their
names, their itinerary, and, as nearly as possible, their fortune. In
this way, I would know what each one could give me; and I would not make
the mistake of asking too little or too much. I would establish on each
road a post, with proper clerks, well brought-up and well educated;
because, for what good, to frighten clients with disgusting behavior or
a surly mien? I have seen, in France and in England, thieves, elegant to
excess; and did they not certainly succeed better because of it?
"I would demand of all my subordinates, exquisite manners, above all,
from those whose business it was to accost people. I would have for
prisoners of distinction like you, comfortable quarters in the open air,
with fine gardens. And do not think that they would cost the occupants
more dearly; to the contrary! If all those who traveled in this country
were, necessarily, to fall into my hands, I could tax the passers-by for
a very insignificant sum. So that each nation and each traveler would
give me only a fourth per cent on their principals, I would gain upon
the quantity. Then brigandage would only be a tax on the circulation; a
just tax, because it would be proportional; a normal tax, because it had
always been collected since ancient times. We could simplify it, if
necessary, by yearly subscriptions. In consideration of a sum, once
paid, one could obtain safe conduct for the natives, and an indorsed
pass-port for travelers. You say that according to the terms of the
Constitution no tax could be imposed without the vote of the Chambers.
Ah! Monsieur, if I only had time! I would buy the whole Senate; I would
nominate a Chamber of Deputies, friendly to me! A law would be passed,
in a trice! One could create, if necessary, a Ministry of the Highway.
That might cost me two or three millions, at first; but in four years I
could square myself--, and I could keep the roads in order, into the
bargain!"
He sighed heavily, then he said: "You see with what freedom I have
spoken to you. It is an old habit, of which I can never break myself. I
have lived, always, in the open air and in the sunlight. Our profession
would be shameful if exercised clandestinely. I hide nothing about
myself, but I fear no one. When you read in the papers, that search is
being made for me, say without hesitation that it is a parliamentary
fiction; it is always known where I am. I fear neither Ministers, the
Army, nor the Tribunals. The Ministers know that by a gesture I can
change a Cabinet. The Army is on my side; it furnishes me with recruits,
when I need them. I receive from it, soldiers; I return, officers. As
for Messieurs, the Judges, they know my opinion of them. I do not esteem
them, but I pity them. Poor, and badly recompensed, one cannot expect
them to be honest. I have fed some, and clothed others; I have hung very
few in my life; I am, then, the benefactor of the magistracy."
He pointed out to me with a magnificent gesture, the sky, the sea, the
country: "All that," said he, "is mine! Every breathing thing in the
kingdom submits to me through fear, friendship or admiration. I have
made many weep, and there is not one mother who would wish to have a son
like Hadgi-Stavros. A day will come, when doctors, like you, will write
my history, and when the isles of the Archipelago will dispute the
honor of my birthplace. My portrait will hang on the walls of the
houses, to keep company with the sacred images in the niches. At that
time, my daughter's grandchildren will be reigning princes, who will
speak with pride of their ancestor, the King of the Mountains!"
Perhaps you will laugh at my German simplicity; but this strange
discourse moved me profoundly. I admired, in spite of myself, this
grandeur in crime. I had not, until then, ever met a majestic rascal.
This devil of a man, who might cut off my head at the end of a month,
almost inspired me with respect. His grand face, as if carved from
marble, serene in the midst of the orgies, seemed to me like an
inflexible mask of destiny. I could not restrain myself from saying:
"Yes, you are, truly, a King!"
He smilingly answered:
"In truth, then, I have flatterers even among my enemies. Do not defend
yourself; I can read faces, and you have looked at me since morning, as
if you would like to hang me."
"Since you have asked me to be frank, I confess that I have been angry.
You have asked me a most unreasonable ransom. That you can take a
hundred thousand francs from these ladies, who have them, is a very
natural thing, and what might be expected of you; but that you should
exact fifteen thousand from me, who has nothing, it is outrageous."
"Nothing, however, is more simple. All strangers who come here are rich,
because traveling costs. You pretend that you are not traveling at your
own expenses; I would like to believe you. But those who have sent you
here give you at least three or four thousand francs yearly. If they go
to this expense, they have their reasons, because one does nothing for
nothing. You represent, in their eyes, a capital of sixty to eighty
thousand francs. Then, in ransoming you for fifteen thousand, they gain
by it."
"But the establishment which pays me has no capital; it has only
revenues. The appropriation for the Jardin des Plantes is voted every
year by the Senate; its resources are limited; one has never known a
parallel case; I know not how to explain it to you--you could not
comprehend--"
"And when I did comprehend it," he replied in a haughty tone, "do you
believe that I would take back what I have said? My words are laws; if I
wish to have them respected, I must not violate them myself.
"I have a right to be unjust; I have not the right to be weak. My
injustices injure others; a weakness would ruin me. If I was known to be
exorable, my prisoners would endeavor to find prayers to win me, instead
of endeavoring to find money to pay me. I am not one of your European
brigands who are a medley of sternness and generosity, of speculation
and imprudence, of cruelty without cause, and comparison without excuse,
in order to end, foolishly, on the scaffold. I have said, before
witnesses, that I must have fifteen thousand francs for your head.
Arrange it to suit yourself; but, in some way or other, I must be paid.
Listen: in 1854, I condemned two little girls who were the age of my
dear Photini. They held out their arms to me, weeping, and their cries
made my fatherly heart bleed. Vasile, who killed them, tried many times;
his hand trembled. And yet I was inflexible, because the ransom was not
paid. Do you think, after that, that I would show you grace? What
purpose would it have served me to kill them, the poor things! if one
learned that I sent you away for nothing?"
I dropped my head without a word in reply. I had a thousand reasons; but
I knew not how to oppose them to the pitiless logic of this old
executioner. He aroused me from my reflections with a friendly tap on
the shoulder. "Have courage," he said to me. "I have seen death nearer
to me than you are, and I carried myself like an oak. During the war of
Independence, Ibrahim ordered me to be shot by seven Egyptians. Six
balls failed of their duty; the seventh struck me on the forehead and
glanced off. When the Turks came to pick up my body, I had disappeared
in the smoke. You have, perhaps, a longer time to live than you think
you have. Write to your friends in Hamburg. You have received an
education; a doctor ought to have friends worth more than fifteen
thousand francs. I really wish so. I do not hate you! you have never
harmed me! your death would cause me no pleasure, and it would please me
to believe that you will find the means for paying the money. While
waiting, go and remain with the ladies. My people may drink a drop too
much, and they look upon the English with eyes that say nothing good.
These poor devils are condemned to an austere life, and they are not
seventy years old, as I am. In ordinary times, I can keep them obedient
by fatigue; but to-day, it is different; in an hour, I cannot answer for
them."
In truth, a menacing circle had already formed itself around Mary-Ann,
who looked at these strange figures with innocent curiosity. The
brigands, crouched before her, talked in loud tones, and praised her
beauty in terms that it was well she did not comprehend. The Corfuan,
who was making up for lost time, held out to her a cup of wine, which
she proudly repulsed.
Five or six drinkers, more inflamed than the rest, began to fight among
themselves, as if to warm themselves up and toughen themselves for later
and harder exploits. I made a sign to Mrs. Simons; the ladies both rose.
But the moment I offered my arm to Mary-Ann, Vasile, red with wine,
advanced with a staggering gait, and made as if to take hold of her. At
this sight, I was furious. I jumped at the miserable cur and I made of
my ten fingers a cravat for him. He clapped his hands to his belt, and
gropingly felt for the handle of the knife; but before he could find it,
I saw him torn from my hands and thrown ten feet away, by the powerful
hand of the old King. A murmur arose from the crowd. Hadgi-Stavros
raised his head and in a tone which dominated the noise, cried:
"Silence! Show that you are Greeks and not Albanians!" He added in a low
tone: "Make haste! the Corfuan shall not leave me; M. German, tell the
ladies that I will sleep at the door of their tent."
He went with us, preceded by his pipe-bearer, who never left him, day
or night. Two or three men, inflamed with wine, made as if to follow us;
he repulsed them rudely. We were not a hundred feet from the crowd, when
a ball whizzed by us. The old Palikar did not deign to turn his head. He
looked at me and smiled, and said in a low tone: "One must be indulgent;
it is the day of the Ascension." Reaching the path, I profited by the
stupidity of the Corfuan, who was tumbling along, to ask Mrs. Simons for
a private interview. "I have," I said to her, "an important secret to
confide to you! Permit me to come to your tent, when our spy sleeps the
sleep of Noah."
I knew not whether this Biblical comparison seemed irreverent; but she
dryly replied that she knew enough not to have any secrets with me. I
insisted; she was firm. I told her I had found a means of freeing
ourselves without impoverishing us. She threw me a glance of defiance,
consulted her daughter, and at last, acquiesced. Hadgi-Stavros made easy
our interview, by keeping the Corfuan near him. He had his carpet spread
at the top of the natural staircase which led to our camp, placed his
arms near at hand, made the pipe-bearer lie down upon his right and the
Corfuan on his left.
I kept prudently within my tent until three distinct snores assured me
that our guardians were asleep. The tumult had almost subsided. Two or
three shots occasionally disturbed the silence of the night. Our
neighbor, the nightingale, poured forth his song. I carefully crept
along in the shadow of the trees, until I reached Mrs. Simons' tent.
Mother and daughter were waiting for me, outside, on the damp grass.
English custom forbade my entrance to the sleeping-room.
"Speak, Monsieur," said Mrs. Simons, "but be quick about it. You know
that we need rest."
I replied with assurance: "Mesdames, what I have to say to you is well
worth an hour of sleep. Would you like to be free in three days?"
"But, Monsieur, we shall be to-morrow, or England will not be England.
Dimitri ought to have apprised my brother by 5 o'clock; my brother would
see our Minister at dinner-time; orders ought to have been given at
once; the soldiers are already on the way, and we shall be free in the
morning, in time for breakfast."
"Let us not deceive ourselves! time passes. I do not count upon the
gendarmes! Our captors speak too lightly of them, to fear them. I have
always heard, that in this country, hunter and game, gendarme and
brigand, are in collusion with each other. I suppose, strictly speaking,
that some men may be sent to our aid; Hadgi-Stavros will see them coming
and will drag us, by lonely paths, to another and more remote retreat.
He knows the country, thoroughly; all the rocks are his accomplices,
every bush his ally, the ravines his "fence" (receiver of stolen goods).
Parnassus is leagued with him against us; he is the King of the
Mountains!"
"Bravo, Monsieur! Hadgi-Stavros is God, and you are his Prophet! He
would be touched to hear with what admiration you speak of him! I have
already divined that you are one of his friends, seeing how he put his
hand on your shoulder, as if he was speaking to you in confidence. Is
it not he who has suggested the plan of escape which you have come to
propose?"
"Yes, Madame, it is he; or rather, his correspondence. I found, this
morning, while he was dictating to his secretaries, the infallible means
of freeing us gratis. Will you write to Monsieur, your brother, to send
a sum of 115,000 francs, 100,000 for you and 15,000 for me, by some safe
person, say, Dimitri?"
"By your friend, Dimitri, to your friend, the King of the Mountains?
Many thanks, my dear Monsieur. It is for this price that we are to be
freed for nothing?"
"Yes, Madame. Dimitri is not my friend and Hadgi-Stavros would not
scruple to cut off my head. But I will continue; in exchange for the
money, you shall insist that the King sign a receipt."
"And a fine receipt it would be."
"With this paper, you would get back your 115,000 francs, without losing
a centime, and you will see how."
"Good evening, Monsieur. Do not waste time to say any more. Since we
landed in this miserable country we have been robbed by everybody. The
Customs-officers robbed us; the man who drove us to Athens robbed us;
our inn-keeper has robbed us; our servant, hired by the day, who is not
your friend, has thrown us into the hands of these thieves; we met a
respectable monk, who shared the spoils with the brigands; all the men
who were drinking up there are knaves; those who sleep before our tent,
to protect us, are of the same class; you are the only honest man whom
we have met in Greece, and your counsels are the best in the world! but
good-evening, Monsieur! good-evening!"
"In the name of heaven, Madame!--I will not attempt to justify myself,
think what you will of me. Only permit me to tell you how you can get
back your money."
"And how do you think I can get it back, if all the soldiers of the
kingdom cannot free us? Hadgi-Stavros is, then, no longer King of the
Mountains? He knows no more hidden paths? The ravines, the bushes, the
rocks, are no longer his accomplices? Good-evening, Monsieur; I can
testify to your zeal; I will tell the brigands that you have executed
their commission; but once for all, Monsieur, good-evening!"
The good woman gave me a push by the shoulders, crying "good-evening" in
so shrill a tone, that I trembled lest she should awaken our guardians,
and I sorrowfully went to my tent. What a day! I went over, one by one,
all the incidents which had occurred since the hour I left in pursuit of
the boryana variabilis. The meeting with the Englishwomen, Mary-Ann's
beautiful eyes, the attack of the brigands, the dogs, the fleas,
Hadgi-Stavros, fifteen thousand francs to pay, my life at that price,
the orgies of the Ascension, the balls whizzing about my ears, the
drunken face of Vasile, and to crown all, Mrs. Simons' injustice. And
then to be taken for a thief! Sleep, which consoled the others, did not
come to my aid. All the events which had happened had over-excited me
and I could not sleep. Day broke upon my miserable meditations. I
followed the course of the sun as it rose in the heavens. Some confused
noises followed, little by little, the silence of the night. I had not
courage to look at my watch, or to turn my head to see what was passing
around me. I was overcome with fatigue and discouragement. I believe if
anyone had attempted to roll me down the hill, that I would not have put
out my hands to stop myself. In this prostration of my faculties, I had
a vision, which partook, at the same time, of a dream and an
hallucination, because I was neither awake nor asleep, and my eyes were
neither closed nor open. It seemed that I had been buried alive, that my
felt tent was a catafalque, adorned with flowers, and that some one
chanted prayers for the dead. Fears seized me; I tried to cry out; the
words stuck in my throat, or the sound of them was drowned in the
chants. I heard, distinctly, verses and responses, and I recognized that
funeral services were being celebrated over me, in Greek. I made a
violent effort to move my right arm; it was like lead. I extended my
left; it yielded easily, striking against the tent and causing something
like a bouquet to fall. I rubbed my eyes, I rose on my elbow, I examined
the flowers, fallen from above, and I recognized in the superb specimen,
the boryana variabilis. It was certainly the flower! I touched the
lobated leaves, its gamosepalous calyx, its corolla composed of five
oblique petals, united at the base by a staminal filament, its ten
stamens, its ovary with its five loculaments; I held in my hand the
queen of malvaceae! But by what chance had I found it at the bottom of
my tomb? and how send it so far to the Jardin des Plantes at Hamburg? At
this moment, a lively pain drew my attention to my right arm. One would
have said that it was the prey of a swarm of invisible little animals. I
rubbed it with my left hand, and little by little, it became normal. I
had lain with it under my head for many hours, and it had become numb. I
lived then, since pain is one of the privileges of life. But, then, what
did that funeral chant, which rang obstinately in my ears, mean? I
raised myself. Our apartment was in the same state as on the evening
before. Mrs. Simons and her daughter were sleeping profoundly. A huge
bunch of flowers like mine hung from the upper part of their tent. It
occurred to me that I had heard that the Greeks had a custom of
decorating their dwellings on the night before the first of May. These
bouquets and the boryana variabilis came, then, from the munificence of
the King. The funeral chant haunted me, I could still hear it. I climbed
the staircase which led to the King's cabinet, and saw a more curious
spectacle than any that had astonished me the evening before. An altar
was set up and dressed, under the pine. The monk, clothed in magnificent
pontificals, was celebrating, with imposing dignity, the divine office.
Our drinkers of the night before, some standing, others kneeling in the
dust, all religiously uncovered, were metamorphosed into little saints.
One fervently kissed an image painted on wood, another made the sign of
the cross, the most fervent bowed themselves to the ground and wiped the
dust with their hair. The King's young pipe-bearer circulated through
the crowd, with a plate, saying: "Give alms! He who giveth to the Church
lendeth to the Lord!" And the centimes showered upon the plate, and the
ring of the coins as they fell upon the copper dish made an
accompaniment to the voice of the priest and the prayers of the
suppliants. When I entered the assembly of the faithful, each one
saluted me with a discreet cordiality, which recalled the primitive
Church. Hadgi-Stavros, near the altar, made place for me at his side. He
held a large book in his hand, and judge of my surprise, when I heard
him recite the lessons in a loud voice. A brigand, officiating! He had
received, in his youth, two of the lower orders; he was reader. One
degree more, he would have been exorcist, and invested with the power of
chasing out devils! Assuredly, I am not one of those travelers who are
astonished at everything, and I practice, energetically enough, the nil
admirari; but I was wonder-struck and amazed before this strange
spectacle. Looking on at the genuflections, listening to the prayers,
one would have supposed these actors guilty, only, of a little idolatry.
Their faith seemed active and their conviction profound, but I who had
seen them at work and who knew how little Christ-like they were in
action, I could not help saying to myself: "Who is being fooled?"
The office lasted until some minutes after noon. An hour afterward, the
altar had disappeared, the men had begun to drink again, and the good
old man (the monk) led them.
The King took me one side and asked me if I had written. I promised to
do so at once, and he gave me reeds, ink and paper. I wrote to John
Harris, to Christodule, and to my father. I supplicated Christodule to
intercede for me with his old comrade, and I told him it was impossible
for me to furnish fifteen thousand francs. I recommended myself to the
courage and imagination of John Harris, who was not a man to leave a
friend in trouble. "If any one can save me," I wrote to him, "it is you.
I do not know how you can do it, but I hope in you with all my soul; you
are such a hot-headed fellow! I do not count on your finding fifteen
thousand francs ransom; it would be necessary to borrow them of M.
Mérinay, who lends nothing. You are, moreover, too American to consent
to such a bargain. Do as you please; set fire to the Kingdom; I approve
of everything in advance; but lose no time. I believe that my head is
weak, and that my reason will be gone before the end of the month."
As for my unfortunate father, I kept from him the facts. To what good to
bring death to his soul, by telling him to what dangers I was exposed? I
wrote to him, as always, the first of the month: that I was well, and I
hoped my letter would find the family well. I added that I was
sojourning in the mountains, that I had discovered the boryana
variabilis and a young Englishwoman more beautiful and richer than the
Princess Ypsoff, of romantic memory. I had not yet been able to inspire
her with love, for the lack of favorable circumstances; but I would
find, perhaps, some occasion when I could render her some great service
or show myself to her in my Uncle Rosenthaler's uniform. But I added
with a feeling of unconquerable sadness: "Who knows but that I may die
a bachelor? Then, it would fall to Frantz or Jean-Nicholas to make a
fortune for the family. My health is better than ever, and my strength
is not yet weakened; but Greece is a traitor which makes short work of
the most vigorous men. If I am condemned to never see Germany again and
to die here, some unexpected death, at the end of my travels and my
work, my last regret would be for my family, and my last thought of
them."
The King came up just as I was wiping away a tear, and I believe that
this mark of weakness made him lose some of his esteem for me.
"Come, young man, have courage! The time is not yet come to weep over
yourself. What the devil! One would say that you had been assisting at
your own interment. The English lady has written a letter of eight
pages, and she has not dropped a tear. Go and keep her company for a
little while. She needs entertainment. Ah! if you were a man of my
temper! I swear to you that at your age and in your position, I would
not remain long a prisoner. My ransom would be paid in two days, and I
know full well who would furnish the funds. You are not married?"
"No."
"Oh, well! You do not understand? Return to your camping place and make
yourself agreeable. I have furnished you a fine opportunity to get a
fortune. If you do not profit by it, you will be foolish, and if you do
not put me on the list of your benefactors, you will be an ingrate."
I found Mary-Ann and her mother seated near the cascade. While waiting
for their waiting-maid, which had been promised them, they were
themselves endeavoring to mend their torn habits. The bandits had
furnished them with thread, or rather with twine, and some needles
suitable for sewing sails. From time to time they stopped their work to
look with melancholy gaze upon the houses in Athens. It was hard to see
the city so near, and not to be able to go there except at a cost of a
hundred thousand francs. I asked them how they had slept. The curtness
of their reply, proved to me that they had been discussing our
interview. At this moment, I noticed Mary-Ann's hair; she was
bare-headed, and after washing it at the brook, she had left it to dry
in the sun. I would never have believed that any woman could possess
such a profusion of soft, glossy chestnut hair. It fell in masses over
her shoulders and down her back. But it did not hang in limp strings
like the locks of other women who have just washed them. It fell in
perfect waves, like the surface of a little lake rippled by the wind. I
had never loved anyone and I ought not to have begun by falling in love
with a girl who took me for a thief. But I confess that I wished, at the
price of my life, to save those beautiful tresses from the clutches of
Hadgi-Stavros. I conceived, while sitting there, a plan of escape,
difficult but not impossible. Our apartment (so-called) had two exits,
one upon the King's cabinet, or office; the other, over the precipice.
To escape by the King's cabinet was absurd! It would be necessary to
traverse the camp and pass the second line of defense, guarded by the
dogs. There remained the precipice. In looking over into the abyss I
saw that the rock, almost perpendicular, offered enough sinuous
depression, with tufts of grass, with little saplings, and available
shrubs of all kinds to permit one to descend without breaking one's
neck. What would render flight dangerous on this side, was the cascade.
The brook, which flowed through the place, formed, on the side of the
mountain, a horribly glistening sheet. It would, moreover, be difficult
to keep one's courage, while descending the side of the mountain safely,
with a torrent of water pouring over one's head. But were there no means
of turning the course of the stream? Perhaps. In examining more closely
the place where we had slept, I saw that, without any doubt, the water
had once traversed that spot. Our camping place was, then, only the dry
bed of a torrent. I raised a corner of the carpet which was spread under
our feet, and I discovered a thick sediment, left by the water. It was
possible, that some day or other, an earthquake, so frequent in those
mountains, had broken down an embankment; or a vein of rock, softer than
the others, had given passage to the current, and the mass of waters had
been thrown from its bed. A strip ten feet long and three wide, led to
the side of the mountain. In order to close this sluice, open for many
years, and imprison the waters in their first reservoir, only two hours
work was needed. An hour more would be enough to drain off the water,
and the night wind would soon dry the rocks. Our escape, the way thus
prepared, would not take more than twenty-five minutes. Once at the foot
of the mountain, we would have Athens before us, and the stars would
serve as guides; the paths were detestable, but we would run no risk of
meeting a brigand. When the King would come in the morning to make us a
visit, to inquire how we had passed the night, he would see that we had
passed it, running; and, as one can acquire knowledge at any age, he
would learn, to his sorrow, that one cannot count on one's self, and
that a cascade was a bad guard for prisoners.
This project seemed to me so marvelous, that I, at once, imparted it to
the ladies. They listened, at first, as prudent conspirators listen to
an irritating agent. The younger woman, however, measured, without a
tremor, the depth of the ravine. "One could do it," she said. "Not
alone, but with the help of a strong arm. Are you strong, Monsieur?"
I replied, without knowing why: "I shall be, if you will have confidence
in me." These words, to which I attached no particular meaning, seemed,
without doubt, somewhat foolish, for she blushed and turned away her
head. "Monsieur," she replied, "it may be that we have judged you
wrongly; misfortune embitters one. I would willingly believe that you
are a worthy young man."
She might have been able to find something more agreeable to say; but
she gave me this half compliment in a voice so sweet and a look so
sincere, that I was moved to the depths of my soul. So true is it, that
if the air is pretty, the words of a song do not matter.
She held out to me her beautiful hand, and I had already put my own out
to take it, when she suddenly withdrew it, and said: "Where will you
get the material for a dike?"
"Under our feet! the turf!"
"The water will wash it away."
"Not under two hours. After us, the deluge!"
"Good!" This time she gave me her hand and I was about to carry it to my
lips, but she quickly withdrew it again. "We are guarded night and day,
have you thought of that?"
I had not even thought of it, but I was too well on my way to recoil
before any obstacle. I replied with a resolution which astonished me:
"The Corfuan? I will see to him. I will tie him to a tree."
"He will cry out."
"I will kill him."
"And the arms to do it with?"
"I will steal them." To steal! to kill! it seemed natural, since I had
almost kissed her hand. Judge then, Monsieur, of what I might be
capable, if ever I fell in love!
Mrs. Simons listened with a certain kindness, and I believe, approved of
my plan by look and gesture. "My dear Monsieur," she said to me, "your
second plan is better than your first, yes, infinitely better; I would
never consent to pay a ransom, even with the certainty of receiving it
again, immediately. Tell me again then, if you please, what you intend
to do?"
"I will tell you the whole plan, Madame. I will procure a poniard
to-day. To-night, our brigands will go to sleep early, and they will
sleep soundly. I will rise at ten o'clock, I will bind our guard, I will
gag him, and if necessary, I will kill him. It would not be murder, it
would be an execution; he merits twenty deaths instead of one. At ten
and a half, I will take up fifty square feet of turf, you can carry it
to the edge of the brook, and I will construct the dam; total, one hour
and a half. It will take till midnight. We will labor together to hasten
the work, while the wind will dry off our path. One o'clock will come; I
will take Mademoiselle on my left arm, we will glide carefully to that
crevasse, we will hold ourselves up by those bushes, we will reach the
wild fig-tree, we will stop to rest at that green oak, we will creep
along to that prominence near those red rocks, we will get down to the
ravine, and we shall be free."
"Good! and I?"
That "I" fell upon my enthusiasm like a douche of water. One is not wise
in all things, and I had forgotten all about saving Mrs. Simons.
Returning to help her down was not to be thought of. The ascent would be
impossible without a ladder. The good woman noticed my confusion. She
said to me with more pity than spite: "My poor man, you see that
romantic projects always fail at some point. Permit me to hold to my
first idea of waiting for the gendarmerie. I am English, and I have a
confirmed habit of placing my confidence in the law. I know, moreover,
the soldiers of Athens; I have seen them parade in the Palace Square.
They are handsome fellows and quite soldiers, for Greeks. They have long
mustaches and percussion-guns. It is they, pardon me, who will liberate
us."
The Corfuan's appearance prevented my reply. He brought a maid for the
ladies. She was an Albanian, quite handsome, in spite of her snub nose.
Two brigands, who were returning to the mountains, had forcibly taken
her, as she was walking between her mother and her betrothed, all
dressed in their Sunday clothes. She screamed with such agonizing cries
that it would have pierced a heart of marble, but they consoled her by
telling her that they would not only release her in fifteen days, but
that they would also pay her. She accepted her lot bravely and almost
rejoiced at the misfortune which would increase her dowry. Happy
country, where the wounds of the heart are cured with five franc pieces.
This philosophical servant was not of very great use to Mrs. Simons; of
all the different avenues of work open to her sex, she knew only
farming. As for me, she made life unbearable by the habit she had of
nibbling at a clove of garlic, as a dainty bit, and through coquetry, as
the ladies of Hamburg amuse themselves devouring bonbons.
The day passed without incident. The next day seemed to all of us
interminably long.
The Corfuan left us not an instant alone. Mary-Ann and her mother
searched the horizon for the soldiers, but saw nothing. I, who am
accustomed to active life, fretted at the inactivity. I could have had
the range of mountains to add to my herbarium, under guard; but a
certain feeling, I knew not what, held me near the ladies. During the
night, I slept little; my plan of escape obstinately haunted me. I had
noticed the place where the Corfuan laid his dagger before going to
sleep; but I would have considered it treachery to have saved myself
without Mary-Ann.
Saturday morning, between five and six o'clock, an unusual noise drew me
towards the King's cabinet. My toilet was quickly made; I went to bed
fully dressed.
Hadgi-Stavros, standing in the midst of his band, was presiding at a
noisy council. All the brigands were upon the war path, armed to the
teeth. Ten or a dozen coffers which I had not seen before had been piled
on some wagon-frames. I divined that they contained the baggage and that
our captors were preparing to leave camp. The Corfuan, Vasile, and
Sophocles were contesting something at the top of their voices, and all
talking together. One could hear from a distance the barking of the
outside guards. A courier, in tatters, ran toward the King, crying: "The
gendarmes!"