The Talisman

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The Saracen Emir formed a marked and striking contrast with the
Western Crusader. His stature was indeed above the middle size,
but he was at least three inches shorter than the European, whose
size approached the gigantic. His slender limbs and long, spare
hands and arms, though well proportioned to his person, and
suited to the style of his countenance, did not at first aspect
promise the display of vigour and elasticity which the Emir had
lately exhibited. But on looking more closely, his limbs, where
exposed to view, seemed divested of all that was fleshy or
cumbersome; so that nothing being left but bone, brawn, and
sinew, it was a frame fitted for exertion and fatigue, far beyond
that of a bulky champion, whose strength and size are
counterbalanced by weight, and who is exhausted by his own
exertions. The countenance of the Saracen naturally bore a
general national resemblance to the Eastern tribe from whom he
descended, and was as unlike as possible to the exaggerated terms
in which the minstrels of the day were wont to represent the
infidel champions, and the fabulous description which a sister
art still presents as the Saracen's Head upon signposts. His
features were small, well-formed, and delicate, though deeply
embrowned by the Eastern sun, and terminated by a flowing and
curled black beard, which seemed trimmed with peculiar care. The
nose was straight and regular, the eyes keen, deep-set, black,
and glowing, and his teeth equalled in beauty the ivory of his
deserts. The person and proportions of the Saracen, in short,
stretched on the turf near to his powerful antagonist, might have
been compared to his sheeny and crescent-formed sabre, with its
narrow and light but bright and keen Damascus blade, contrasted
with the long and ponderous Gothic war-sword which was flung
unbuckled on the same sod. The Emir was in the very flower of
his age, and might perhaps have been termed eminently beautiful,
but for the narrowness of his forehead and something of too much
thinness and sharpness of feature, or at least what might have
seemed such in a European estimate of beauty.

The manners of the Eastern warrior were grave, graceful, and
decorous; indicating, however, in some particulars, the habitual
restraint which men of warm and choleric tempers often set as a
guard upon their native impetuosity of disposition, and at the
same time a sense of his own dignity, which seemed to impose a
certain formality of behaviour in him who entertained it.

This haughty feeling of superiority was perhaps equally
entertained by his new European acquaintance, but the effect was
different; and the same feeling, which dictated to the Christian
knight a bold, blunt, and somewhat careless bearing, as one too
conscious of his own importance to be anxious about the opinions
of others, appeared to prescribe to the Saracen a style of
courtesy more studiously and formally observant of ceremony.
Both were courteous; but the courtesy of the Christian seemed to
flow rather from a good humoured sense of what was due to others;
that of the Moslem, from a high feeling of what was to be
expected from himself.

The provision which each had made for his refreshment was simple,
but the meal of the Saracen was abstemious. A handful of dates
and a morsel of coarse barley-bread sufficed to relieve the
hunger of the latter, whose education had habituated them to the
fare of the desert, although, since their Syrian conquests, the
Arabian simplicity of life frequently gave place to the most
unbounded profusion of luxury. A few draughts from the lovely
fountain by which they reposed completed his meal. That of the
Christian, though coarse, was more genial. Dried hog's flesh,
the abomination of the Moslemah, was the chief part of his
repast; and his drink, derived from a leathern bottle, contained
something better than pure element. He fed with more display of
appetite, and drank with more appearance of satisfaction, than
the Saracen judged it becoming to show in the performance of a
mere bodily function; and, doubtless, the secret contempt which
each entertained for the other, as the follower of a false
religion, was considerably increased by the marked difference of
their diet and manners. But each had found the weight of his
opponent's arm, and the mutual respect which the bold struggle
had created was sufficient to subdue other and inferior
considerations. Yet the Saracen could not help remarking the
circumstances which displeased him in the Christian's conduct and
manners; and, after he had witnessed for some time in silence the
keen appetite which protracted the knight's banquet long after
his own was concluded, he thus addressed him:--

"Valiant Nazarene, is it fitting that one who can fight like a
man should feed like a dog or a wolf? Even a misbelieving Jew
would shudder at the food which you seem to eat with as much
relish as if it were fruit from the trees of Paradise."

"Valiant Saracen," answered the Christian, looking up with some
surprise at the accusation thus unexpectedly brought, "know thou
that I exercise my Christian freedom in using that which is
forbidden to the Jews, being, as they esteem themselves, under
the bondage of the old law of Moses. We, Saracen, be it known to
thee, have a better warrant for what we do--Ave Maria!--be we
thankful." And, as if in defiance of his companion's scruples,
he concluded a short Latin grace with a long draught from the
leathern bottle.

"That, too, you call a part of your liberty," said the Saracen;
"and as you feed like the brutes, so you degrade yourself to the
bestial condition by drinking a poisonous liquor which even they
refuse!"

"Know, foolish Saracen," replied the Christian, without
hesitation, "that thou blasphemest the gifts of God, even with
the blasphemy of thy father Ishmael. The juice of the grape is
given to him that will use it wisely, as that which cheers the
heart of man after toil, refreshes him in sickness, and comforts
him in sorrow. He who so enjoyeth it may thank God for his winecup as for his daily bread; and he who
abuseth the gift of Heaven
is not a greater fool in his intoxication than thou in thine
abstinence."

The keen eye of the Saracen kindled at this sarcasm, and his hand
sought the hilt of his poniard. It was but a momentary thought,
however, and died away in the recollection of the powerful
champion with whom he had to deal, and the desperate grapple, the
impression of which still throbbed in his limbs and veins; and he
contented himself with pursuing the contest in colloquy, as more
convenient for the time.

"Thy words" he said, "O Nazarene, might create anger, did not thy
ignorance raise compassion. Seest thou not, O thou more blind
than any who asks alms at the door of the Mosque, that the
liberty thou dost boast of is restrained even in that which is
dearest to man's happiness and to his household; and that thy
law, if thou dost practise it, binds thee in marriage to one
single mate, be she sick or healthy, be she fruitful or barren,
bring she comfort and joy, or clamour and strife, to thy table
and to thy bed? This, Nazarene, I do indeed call slavery;
whereas, to the faithful, hath the Prophet assigned upon earth
the patriarchal privileges of Abraham our father, and of Solomon,
the wisest of mankind, having given us here a succession of
beauty at our pleasure, and beyond the grave the black-eyed
houris of Paradise."

"Now, by His name that I most reverence in heaven," said the
Christian, "and by hers whom I most worship on earth, thou art
but a blinded and a bewildered infidel!-- That diamond signet
which thou wearest on thy finger, thou holdest it, doubtless, as
of inestimable value?"

"Balsora and Bagdad cannot show the like," replied the Saracen;
"but what avails it to our purpose?"

"Much," replied the Frank, "as thou shalt thyself confess. Take
my war-axe and dash the stone into twenty shivers: would each
fragment be as valuable as the original gem, or would they, all
collected, bear the tenth part of its estimation?"

"That is a child's question," answered the Saracen; "the
fragments of such a stone would not equal the entire jewel in the
degree of hundreds to one."

"Saracen," replied the Christian warrior, "the love which a true
knight binds on one only, fair and faithful, is the gem entire;
the affection thou flingest among thy enslaved wives and half-wedded slaves is worthless, comparatively,
as the sparkling
shivers of the broken diamond."

"Now, by the Holy Caaba," said the Emir, "thou art a madman who
hugs his chain of iron as if it were of gold! Look more closely.
This ring of mine would lose half its beauty were not the signet
encircled and enchased with these lesser brilliants, which grace
it and set it off. The central diamond is man, firm and entire,
his value depending on himself alone; and this circle of lesser
jewels are women, borrowing his lustre, which he deals out to
them as best suits his pleasure or his convenience. Take the
central stone from the signet, and the diamond itself remains as
valuable as ever, while the lesser gems are comparatively of
little value. And this is the true reading of thy parable; for
what sayeth the poet Mansour: 'It is the favour of man which
giveth beauty and comeliness to woman, as the stream glitters no
longer when the sun ceaseth to shine.'"

"Saracen," replied the Crusader, "thou speakest like one who
never saw a woman worthy the affection of a soldier. Believe me,
couldst thou look upon those of Europe, to whom, after Heaven, we
of the order of knighthood vow fealty and devotion, thou wouldst
loathe for ever the poor sensual slaves who form thy haram. The
beauty of our fair ones gives point to our spears and edge to our
swords; their words are our law; and as soon will a lamp shed
lustre when unkindled, as a knight distinguish himself by feats
of arms, having no mistress of his affection."

"I have heard of this frenzy among the warriors of the West,"
said the Emir, "and have ever accounted it one of the
accompanying symptoms of that insanity which brings you hither to
obtain possession of an empty sepulchre. But yet, methinks, so
highly have the Franks whom I have met with extolled the beauty
of their women, I could be well contented to behold with mine own
eyes those charms which can transform such brave warriors into
the tools of their pleasure."

"Brave Saracen," said the Knight, "if I were not on a pilgrimage
to the Holy Sepulchre, it should be my pride to conduct you, on
assurance of safety, to the camp of Richard of England, than whom
none knows better how to do honour to a noble foe; and though I
be poor and unattended yet have I interest to secure for thee, or
any such as thou seemest, not safety only, but respect and
esteem. There shouldst thou see several of the fairest beauties
of France and Britain form a small circle, the brilliancy of
which exceeds ten-thousandfold the lustre of mines of diamonds
such as thine."

"Now, by the corner-stone of the Caaba!" said the Saracen, "I
will accept thy invitation as freely as it is given, if thou wilt
postpone thy present intent; and, credit me, brave Nazarene, it
were better for thyself to turn back thy horse's head towards the
camp of thy people, for to travel towards Jerusalem without a
passport is but a wilful casting-away of thy life."

"I have a pass," answered the Knight, producing a parchment,
"Under Saladin's hand and signet."

The Saracen bent his head to the dust as he recognized the seal
and handwriting of the renowned Soldan of Egypt and Syria; and
having kissed the paper with profound respect, he pressed it to
his forehead, then returned it to the Christian, saying, "Rash
Frank, thou hast sinned against thine own blood and mine, for not
showing this to me when we met."

"You came with levelled spear," said the Knight. "Had a troop of
Saracens so assailed me, it might have stood with my honour to
have shown the Soldan's pass, but never to one man."

"And yet one man," said the Saracen haughtily, "was enough to
interrupt your journey."

"True, brave Moslem," replied the Christian; "but there are few
such as thou art. Such falcons fly not in flocks; or, if they
do, they pounce not in numbers upon one."

"Thou dost us but justice," said the Saracen, evidently gratified
by the compliment, as he had been touched by the implied scorn of
the European's previous boast; "from us thou shouldst have had no
wrong. But well was it for me that I failed to slay thee, with
the safeguard of the king of kings upon thy person. Certain it
were, that the cord or the sabre had justly avenged such guilt."

"I am glad to hear that its influence shall be availing to me,"
said the Knight; "for I have heard that the road is infested with
robber-tribes, who regard nothing in comparison of an opportunity
of plunder."

"The truth has been told to thee, brave Christian," said the
Saracen; "but I swear to thee, by the turban of the Prophet, that
shouldst thou miscarry in any haunt of such villains, I will
myself undertake thy revenge with five thousand horse. I will
slay every male of them, and send their women into such distant
captivity that the name of their tribe shall never again be heard
within five hundred miles of Damascus. I will sow with salt the
foundations of their village, and there shall never live thing
dwell there, even from that time forward."

"I had rather the trouble which you design for yourself were in
revenge of some other more important person than of me, noble
Emir," replied the Knight; "but my vow is recorded in heaven, for
good or for evil, and I must be indebted to you for pointing me
out the way to my resting-place for this evening."

"That," said the Saracen, "must be under the black covering of my
father's tent."

"This night," answered the Christian, "I must pass in prayer and
penitence with a holy man, Theodorick of Engaddi, who dwells
amongst these wilds, and spends his life in the service of God."

"I will at least see you safe thither," said the Saracen.

"That would be pleasant convoy for me," said the Christian; "yet
might endanger the future security of the good father; for the
cruel hand of your people has been red with the blood of the
servants of the Lord, and therefore do we come hither in plate
and mail, with sword and lance, to open the road to the Holy
Sepulchre, and protect the chosen saints and anchorites who yet
dwell in this land of promise and of miracle."

"Nazarene," said the Moslem, "in this the Greeks and Syrians have
much belied us, seeing we do but after the word of Abubeker
Alwakel, the successor of the Prophet, and, after him, the first
commander of true believers. 'Go forth,' he said, 'Yezed Ben
Sophian,' when he sent that renowned general to take Syria from
the infidels; 'quit yourselves like men in battle, but slay
neither the aged, the infirm, the women, nor the children. Waste
not the land, neither destroy corn and fruit-trees; they are the
gifts of Allah. Keep faith when you have made any covenant, even
if it be to your own harm. If ye find holy men labouring with
their hands, and serving God in the desert, hurt them not,
neither destroy their dwellings. But when you find them with
shaven crowns, they are of the synagogue of Satan! Smite with
the sabre, slay, cease not till they become believers or
tributaries.' As the Caliph, companion of the Prophet, hath told
us, so have we done, and those whom our justice has smitten are
but the priests of Satan. But unto the good men who, without
stirring up nation against nation, worship sincerely in the faith
of Issa Ben Mariam, we are a shadow and a shield; and such being
he whom you seek, even though the light of the Prophet hath not
reached him, from me he will only have love, favour, and regard."

"The anchorite whom I would now visit," said the warlike pilgrim,
"is, I have heard, no priest; but were he of that anointed and
sacred order, I would prove with my good lance, against paynim
and infidel--"

"Let us not defy each other, brother," interrupted the Saracen;
"we shall find, either of us, enough of Franks or of Moslemah on
whom to exercise both sword and lance. This Theodorick is
protected both by Turk and Arab; and, though one of strange
conditions at intervals, yet, on the whole, he bears himself so
well as the follower of his own prophet, that he merits the
protection of him who was sent--"

"Now, by Our Lady, Saracen," exclaimed the Christian, "if thou
darest name in the same breath the camel-driver of Mecca with
--"

An electrical shock of passion thrilled through the form of the
Emir; but it was only momentary, and the calmness of his reply
had both dignity and reason in it, when he said, "Slander not him
whom thou knowest not--the rather that we venerate the founder of
thy religion, while we condemn the doctrine which your priests
have spun from it. I will myself guide thee to the cavern of the
hermit, which, methinks, without my help, thou wouldst find it a
hard matter to reach. And, on the way, let us leave to mollahs
and to monks to dispute about the divinity of our faith, and
speak on themes which belong to youthful warriors--upon battles,
upon beautiful women, upon sharp swords, and upon bright armour."

CHAPTER III.

The warriors arose from their place of brief rest and simple
refreshment, and courteously aided each other while they
carefully replaced and adjusted the harness from which they had
relieved for the time their trusty steeds. Each seemed familiar
with an employment which at that time was a part of necessary
and, indeed, of indispensable duty. Each also seemed to possess,
as far as the difference betwixt the animal and rational species
admitted, the confidence and affection of the horse which was the
constant companion of his travels and his warfare. With the
Saracen this familiar intimacy was a part of his early habits;
for, in the tents of the Eastern military tribes, the horse of
the soldier ranks next to, and almost equal in importance with,
his wife and his family; and with the European warrior,
circumstances, and indeed necessity, rendered his war-horse
scarcely less than his brother in arms. The steeds, therefore,
suffered themselves quietly to be taken from their food and
liberty, and neighed and snuffled fondly around their masters,
while they were adjusting their accoutrements for further travel
and additional toil. And each warrior, as he prosecuted his own
task, or assisted with courtesy his companion, looked with
observant curiosity at the equipments of his fellow-traveller,
and noted particularly what struck him as peculiar in the fashion
in which he arranged his riding accoutrements.

Ere they remounted to resume their journey, the Christian Knight
again moistened his lips and dipped his hands in the living
fountain, and said to his pagan associate of the journey, "I
would I knew the name of this delicious fountain, that I might
hold it in my grateful remembrance; for never did water slake
more deliciously a more oppressive thirst than I have this day
experienced."

"It is called in the Arabic language," answered the Saracen, "by
a name which signifies the Diamond of the Desert."

"And well is it so named," replied the Christian. "My native
valley hath a thousand springs, but not to one of them shall I
attach hereafter such precious recollection as to this solitary
fount, which bestows its liquid treasures where they are not only
delightful, but nearly indispensable."

"You say truth," said the Saracen; "for the curse is still on
yonder sea of death, and neither man nor beast drinks of its
waves, nor of the river which feeds without filling it, until
this inhospitable desert be passed."

They mounted, and pursued their journey across the sandy waste.
The ardour of noon was now past, and a light breeze somewhat
alleviated the terrors of the desert, though not without bearing
on its wings an impalpable dust, which the Saracen little heeded,
though his heavily-armed companion felt it as such an annoyance
that he hung his iron casque at his saddle-bow, and substituted
the light riding-cap, termed in the language of the time a
MORTIER, from its resemblance in shape to an ordinary mortar.
They rode together for some time in silence, the Saracen
performing the part of director and guide of the journey, which
he did by observing minute marks and bearings of the distant
rocks, to a ridge of which they were gradually approaching. For
a little time he seemed absorbed in the task, as a pilot when
navigating a vessel through a difficult channel; but they had not
proceeded half a league when he seemed secure of his route, and
disposed, with more frankness than was usual to his nation, to
enter into conversation.

"You have asked the name," he said, "of a mute fountain, which
hath the semblance, but not the reality, of a living thing. Let
me be pardoned to ask the name of the companion with whom I have
this day encountered, both in danger and in repose, and which I
cannot fancy unknown even here among the deserts of Palestine?"

"It is not yet worth publishing," said the Christian. "Know,
however, that among the soldiers of the Cross I am called
Kenneth--Kenneth of the Couching Leopard; at home I have other
titles, but they would sound harsh in an Eastern ear. Brave
Saracen, let me ask which of the tribes of Arabia claims your
descent, and by what name you are known?"

"Sir Kenneth," said the Moslem, "I joy that your name is such as
my lips can easily utter. For me, I am no Arab, yet derive my
descent from a line neither less wild nor less warlike. Know,
Sir Knight of the Leopard, that I am Sheerkohf, the Lion of the
Mountain, and that Kurdistan, from which I derive my descent,
holds no family more noble than that of Seljook."

"I have heard," answered the Christian, "that your great Soldan
claims his blood from the same source?"

"Thanks to the Prophet that hath so far honoured our mountains as
to send from their bosom him whose word is victory," answered the
paynim. "I am but as a worm before the King of Egypt and Syria,
and yet in my own land something my name may avail. Stranger,
with how many men didst thou come on this warfare?"

"By my faith," said Sir Kenneth, "with aid of friends and
kinsmen, I was hardly pinched to furnish forth ten well-appointed
lances, with maybe some fifty more men, archers and varlets
included. Some have deserted my unlucky pennon--some have fallen
in battle--several have died of disease--and one trusty armour-bearer, for whose life I am now doing my
pilgrimage, lies on the
bed of sickness."

"Christian," said Sheerkohf, "here I have five arrows in my
quiver, each feathered from the wing of an eagle. When I send
one of them to my tents, a thousand warriors mount on horseback
--when I send another, an equal force will arise--for the five, I
can command five thousand men; and if I send my bow, ten thousand
mounted riders will shake the desert. And with thy fifty
followers thou hast come to invade a land in which I am one of
the meanest!"

"Now, by the rood, Saracen," retorted the Western warrior, "thou
shouldst know, ere thou vauntest thyself, that one steel glove
can crush a whole handful of hornets."

"Ay, but it must first enclose them within its grasp," said the
Saracen, with a smile which might have endangered their new
alliance, had he not changed the subject by adding, "And is
bravery so much esteemed amongst the Christian princes that thou,
thus void of means and of men, canst offer, as thou didst of
late, to be my protector and security in the camp of thy
brethren?"

"Know, Saracen," said the Christian, "since such is thy style,
that the name of a knight, and the blood of a gentleman, entitle
him to place himself on the same rank with sovereigns even of the
first degree, in so far as regards all but regal authority and
dominion. Were Richard of England himself to wound the honour of
a knight as poor as I am, he could not, by the law of chivalry,
deny him the combat."

"Methinks I should like to look upon so strange a scene," said
the Emir, "in which a leathern belt and a pair of spurs put the
poorest on a level with the most powerful."

"You must add free blood and a fearless heart," said the
Christian; "then, perhaps, you will not have spoken untruly of
the dignity of knighthood."

"And mix you as boldly amongst the females of your chiefs and
leaders?" asked the Saracen.

"God forbid," said the Knight of the Leopard, "that the poorest
knight in Christendom should not be free, in all honourable
service, to devote his hand and sword, the fame of his actions,
and the fixed devotion of his heart, to the fairest princess who
ever wore coronet on her brow!"

"But a little while since," said the Saracen, "and you described
love as the highest treasure of the heart--thine hath undoubtedly
been high and nobly bestowed?"

"Stranger," answered the Christian, blushing deeply as he spoke,
"we tell not rashly where it is we have bestowed our choicest
treasures. It is enough for thee to know that, as thou sayest,
my love is highly and nobly bestowed--most highly--most nobly;
but if thou wouldst hear of love and broken lances, venture
thyself, as thou sayest, to the camp of the Crusaders, and thou
wilt find exercise for thine ears, and, if thou wilt, for thy
hands too."

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