BEN-HUR: a tale of the Christ.
Lew Wallace
to THE WIFE OF MY YOUTH who
still abides with me
BOOK FIRST
CHAPTER I
The Jebel es
Zubleh is a mountain fifty miles and more in length, and so narrow that its
tracery on the map gives it a likeness to a caterpillar crawling from the south
to the north. Standing on its red-and-white cliffs, and looking off under the
path of the rising sun, one sees only the Desert of Arabia, where the east
winds, so hateful to vinegrowers of Jericho, have kept their playgrounds since
the beginning. Its feet are well covered by sands tossed from the Euphrates,
there to lie, for the mountain is a wall to the pasture-lands of Moab and Ammon
on the west - lands which else had been of the desert a part.
The Arab has
impressed his language upon everything south and east of Judea, so, in his
tongue, the old Jebel is the parent of numberless wadies which, intersecting
the Roman road - now a dim suggestion of what once it was, a dusty path for
Syrian pilgrims to and from Mecca - run their furrows, deepening as they go, to
pass the torrents of the rainy season into the Jordan, or their last
receptacle, the Dead Sea. Out of one of these wadies - or, more particularly,
out of that one which rises at the extreme end of the Jebel, and, extending
east of north, becomes at length the bed of the Jabbok River - a traveller
passed, going to the table-lands of the desert. To this person the attention of
the reader is first besought.
Judged by his
appearance, he was quite forty-five years old. His beard, once of the deepest
black, flowing broadly over his breast, was streaked with white. His face was
brown as a parched coffee-berry, and so hidden by a red kufiyeh (as the
kerchief of the head is at this day called by the children of the desert) as to
be but in part visible. Now and then he raised his eyes, and they were large
and dark. He was clad in the flowing garments so universal in the East; but
their style may not be described more particularly, for he sat under a
miniature tent, and rode a great white dromedary.
It may be doubted
if the people of the West ever overcome the impression made upon them by the
first view of a camel equipped and loaded for the desert. Custom, so fatal to
other novelties, affects this feeling but little. At the end of long journeys
with caravans, after years of residence with the Bedawin, the Western-born,
wherever they may be, will stop and wait the passing of the stately brute. The
charm is not in the figure, which not even love can make beautiful; nor in the
movement, the noiseless stepping, or the broad careen. As is the kindness of
the sea to a ship, so that of the desert to its creature. It clothes him with
all its mysteries; in such manner, too, that while we are looking at him we are
thinking of them: therein is the wonder. The animal which now came out of the
wady might well have claimed the customary homage. Its color and height; its
breadth of foot; its bulk of body, not fat, but overlaid with muscle; its long,
slender neck, of swanlike curvature; the head, wide between the eyes, and
tapering to a muzzle which a lady's bracelet might have almost clasped; its
motion, step long and elastic, tread sure and soundless - all certified its
Syrian blood, old as the days of Cyrus, and absolutely priceless. There was the
usual bridle, covering the forehead with scarlet fringe, and garnishing the
throat with pendent brazen chains, each ending with a tinkling silver bell; but
to the bridle there was neither rein for the rider nor strap for a driver. The
furniture perched on the back was an invention which with any other people than
of the East would have made the inventor renowned. It consisted of two wooden
boxes, scarce four feet in length, balanced so that one hung at each side; the
inner space, softly lined and carpeted, was arranged to allow the master to sit
or lie half reclined; over it all was stretched a green awning. Broad back and
breast straps, and girths, secured with countless knots and ties, held the
device in place. In such manner the ingenious sons of Cush had contrived to
make comfortable the sunburnt ways of the wilderness, along which lay their
duty as often as their pleasure.
When the
dromedary lifted itself out of the last break of the wady, the traveller had
passed the boundary of El Belka, the ancient Ammon. It was morning-time. Before
him was the sun, half curtained in fleecy mist; before him also spread the
desert; not the realm of drifting sands, which was farther on, but the region
where the herbage began to dwarf; where the surface is strewn with boulders of
granite, and gray and brown stones, interspersed with languishing acacias and
tufts of camel-grass. The oak, bramble, and arbutus lay behind, as if they had
come to a line, looked over into the well-less waste and crouched with fear.
And now there was
an end of path or road. More than ever the camel seemed insensibly driven; it
lengthened and quickened its pace, its head pointed straight towards the
horizon; through the wide nostrils it drank the wind in great draughts. The
litter swayed, and rose and fell like a boat in the waves. Dried leaves in
occasional beds rustled underfoot. Sometimes a perfume like absinthe sweetened
all the air. Lark and chat and rock-swallow leaped to wing, and white partridges
ran whistling and clucking out of the way. More rarely a fox or a hyena
quickened his gallop, to study the intruders at a safe distance. Off to the
right rose the hills of the Jebel, the pearl-gray veil resting upon them
changing momentarily into a purple which the sun would make matchless a little
later. Over their highest peaks a vulture sailed on broad wings into widening
circles. But of all these things the tenant under the green tent saw nothing,
or, at least, made no sign of recognition. His eyes were fixed and dreamy. The
going of the man, like that of the animal, was as one being led.
For two hours the
dromedary swung forward, keeping the trot steadily and the line due east. In
that time the traveller never changed his position, nor looked to the right or
left. On the desert, distance is not measured by miles or leagues, but by the
saat, or hour, and the manzil, or halt: three and a half leagues fill the
former, fifteen or twenty-five the latter; but they are the rates for the
common camel. A carrier of the genuine Syrian stock can make three leagues
easily. At full speed he overtakes the ordinary winds. As one of the results of
the rapid advance, the face of the landscape underwent a change. The Jebel
stretched along the western horizon, like a pale-blue ribbon. A tell, or
hummock of clay and cemented sand, arose here and there. Now and then basaltic
stones lifted their round crowns, outposts of the mountain against the forces
of the plain; all else, however, was sand, sometimes smooth as the beaten
beach, then heaped in rolling ridges; here chopped waves, there long swells.
So, too, the condition of the atmosphere changed. The sun, high risen, had
drunk his fill of dew and mist, and warmed the breeze that kissed the wanderer
under the awning; far and near he was tinting the earth with faint
milk-whiteness, and shimmering all the sky.
Two hours more
passed without rest or deviation from the course. Vegetation entirely ceased.
The sand, so crusted on the surface that it broke into rattling flakes at every
step, held undisputed sway. The Jebel was out of view, and there was no
landmark visible. The shadow that before followed had now shifted to the north,
and was keeping even race with the objects which cast it; and as there was no
sign of halting, the conduct of the traveller became each moment more strange.
No one, be it
remembered, seeks the desert for a pleasure-ground. Life and business traverse
it by paths along which the bones of things dead are strewn as so many blazons.
Such are the roads from well to well, from pasture to pasture. The heart of the
most veteran sheik beats quicker when he finds himself alone in the pathless
tracts. So the man with whom we are dealing could not have been in search of
pleasure; neither was his manner that of a fugitive; not once did he look
behind him. In such situations fear and curiosity are the most common
sensations; he was not moved by them. When men are lonely, they stoop to any
companionship; the dog becomes a comrade, the horse a friend, and it is no
shame to shower them with caresses and speeches of love. The camel received no
such token, not a touch, not a word.
Exactly at noon
the dromedary, of its own will, stopped, and uttered the cry or moan,
peculiarly piteous, by which its kind always protest against an overload, and
sometimes crave attention and rest. The master thereupon bestirred himself,
waking, as it were, from sleep. He threw the curtains of the houdah up, looked
at the sun, surveyed the country on every side long and carefully, as if to
identify an appointed place. Satisfied with the inspection, he drew a deep
breath and nodded, much as to say, "At last, at last!" A moment
after, he crossed his hands upon his breast, bowed his head, and prayed
silently. The pious duty done, he prepared to dismount. From his throat
proceeded the sound heard doubtless by the favorite camels of Job - Ikh! ikh! -
the signal to kneel. Slowly the animal obeyed, grunting the while. The rider
then put his foot upon the slender neck, and stepped upon the sand.
CHAPTER II
The man as now
revealed was of admirable proportions, not so tall as powerful. Loosening the
silken rope which held the kufiyeh on his head, he brushed the fringed folds
back until his face was bare - a strong face, almost negro in color; yet the
low, broad forehead, aquiline nose, the outer corners of the eyes turned
slightly upward, the hair profuse, straight, harsh, of metallic lustre, and
falling to the shoulder in many plaits, were signs of origin impossible to
disguise. So looked the Pharaohs and the later Ptolemies; so looked Mizraim,
father of the Egyptian race. He wore the kamis, a white cotton shirt
tight-sleeved, open in front, extending to the ankles and embroidered down the
collar and breast, over which was thrown a brown woollen cloak, now, as in all
probability it was then, called the aba, an outer garment with long skirt and short
sleeves, lined inside with stuff of mixed cotton and silk, edged all round with
a margin of clouded yellow. His feet were protected by sandals, attached by
thongs of soft leather. A sash held the kamis to his waist. What was very
noticeable, considering he was alone, and that the desert was the haunt of
leopards and lions, and men quite as wild, he carried no arms, not even the
crooked stick used for guiding camels; wherefore we may at least infer his
errand peaceful, and that he was either uncommonly bold or under extraordinary
protection.
The traveller's
limbs were numb, for the ride had been long and wearisome; so he rubbed his
hands and stamped his feet, and walked round the faithful servant, whose
lustrous eyes were closing in calm content with the cud he had already found.
Often, while making the circuit, he paused, and, shading his eyes with his
hands, examined the desert to the extremest verge of vision; and always, when
the survey was ended, his face clouded with disappointment, slight, but enough
to advise a shrewd spectator that he was there expecting company, if not by
appointment; at the same time, the spectator would have been conscious of a
sharpening of the curiosity to learn what the business could be that required
transaction in a place so far from civilized abode.
However
disappointed, there could be little doubt of the stranger's confidence in the
coming of the expected company. In token thereof, he went first to the litter,
and, from the cot or box opposite the one he had occupied in coming, produced a
sponge and a small gurglet of water, with which he washed the eyes, face, and
nostrils of the camel; that done, from the same depository he drew a circular
cloth, red-and white-striped, a bundle of rods, and a stout cane. The latter, after
some manipulation, proved to be a cunning device of lesser joints, one within
another, which, when united together, formed a centre pole higher than his
head. When the pole was planted, and the rods set around it, he spread the
cloth over them, and was literally at home - a home much smaller than the
habitations of emir and sheik, yet their counterpart in all other respects.
From the litter again he brought a carpet or square rug, and covered the floor
of the tent on the side from the sun. That done, he went out, and once more,
and with greater care and more eager eyes, swept the encircling country. Except
a distant jackal, galloping across the plain, and an eagle flying towards the
Gulf of Akaba, the waste below, like the blue above it, was lifeless.
He turned to the
camel, saying low, and in a tongue strange to the desert, "We are far from
home, O racer with the swiftest winds - we are far from home, but God is with
us. Let us be patient."
Then he took some
beans from a pocket in the saddle, and put them in a bag made to hang below the
animal's nose; and when he saw the relish with which the good servant took to
the food, he turned and again scanned the world of sand, dim with the glow of
the vertical sun.
"They will
come," he said, calmly. "He that led me is leading them. I will make
ready."
From the pouches
which lined the interior of the cot, and from a willow basket which was part of
its furniture, he brought forth materials for a meal: platters close-woven of
the fibres of palms; wine in small gurglets of skin; mutton dried and smoked;
stoneless shami, or Syrian pomegranates; dates of El Shelebi, wondrous rich and
grown in the nakhil, or palm orchards, of Central Arabia; cheese, like David's
"slices of milk;" and leavened bread from the city bakery - all which
he carried and set upon the carpet under the tent. As the final preparation,
about the provisions he laid three pieces of silk cloth, used among refined
people of the East to cover the knees of guests while at table - a circumstance
significant of the number of persons who were to partake of his entertainment -
the number he was awaiting.
All was now
ready. He stepped out: lo! in the east a dark speck on the face of the desert.
He stood as if rooted to the ground; his eyes dilated; his flesh crept chilly,
as if touched by something supernatural. The speck grew; became large as a
hand; at length assumed defined proportions. A little later, full into view
swung a duplication of his own dromedary, tall and white, and bearing a houdah,
the travelling litter of Hindostan. Then the Egyptian crossed his hands upon
his breast, and looked to heaven.
"God only is
great!" he exclaimed, his eyes full of tears, his soul in awe.
The stranger drew
nigh - at last stopped. Then he, too, seemed just waking. He beheld the
kneeling camel, the tent, and the man standing prayerfully at the door. He
crossed his hands, bent his head, and prayed silently; after which, in a little
while, he stepped from his camel's neck to the sand, and advanced towards the
Egyptian, as did the Egyptian towards him. A moment they looked at each other;
then they embraced - that is, each threw his right arm over the other's
shoulder, and the left round the side, placing his chin first upon the left,
then upon the right breast.
"Peace be with
thee, O servant of the true God!" the stranger said.
"And to
thee, O brother of the true faith! - to thee peace and welcome," the
Egyptian replied, with fervor.
The new-comer was
tall and gaunt, with lean face, sunken eyes, white hair and beard, and a
complexion between the hue of cinnamon and bronze. He, too, was unarmed. His
costume was Hindostani; over the skull-cap a shawl was wound in great folds,
forming a turban; his body garments were in the style of the Egyptian's, except
that the aba was shorter, exposing wide flowing breeches gathered at the
ankles. In place of sandals, his feet were clad in half-slippers of red
leather, pointed at the toes. Save the slippers, the costume from head to foot
was of white linen. The air of the man was high, stately, severe. Visvamitra,
the greatest of the ascetic heroes of the Iliad of the East, had in him a
perfect representative. He might have been called a Life drenched with the
wisdom of Brahma - Devotion Incarnate. Only in his eyes was there proof of humanity;
when he lifted his face from the Egyptian's breast, they were glistening with
tears.
"God only is
great!" he exclaimed, when the embrace was finished.
"And blessed
are they that serve him!" the Egyptian answered, wondering at the
paraphrase of his own exclamation. "But let us wait," he added,
"let us wait; for see, the other comes yonder!"
They looked to
the north, where, already plain to view, a third camel, of the whiteness of the
others, came careening like a ship. They waited, standing together - waited
until the new-comer arrived, dismounted, and advanced towards them.
"Peace to
you, O my brother!" he said, while embracing the Hindoo.
And the Hindoo
answered, "God's will be done!"
The last comer
was all unlike his friends: his frame was slighter; his complexion white; a
mass of waving light hair was a perfect crown for his small but beautiful head;
the warmth of his dark-blue eyes certified a delicate mind, and a cordial,
brave nature. He was bareheaded and unarmed. Under the folds of the Tyrian
blanket which he wore with unconscious grace appeared a tunic, short-sleeved
and low-necked, gathered to the waist by a band, and reaching nearly to the
knee; leaving the neck, arms, and legs bare. Sandals guarded his feet. Fifty
years, probably more, had spent themselves upon him, with no other effect,
apparently, than to tinge his demeanor with gravity and temper his words with
forethought. The physical organization and the brightness of soul were
untouched. No need to tell the student from what kindred he was sprung; if he
came not himself from the groves of Athene', his ancestry did.
When his arms
fell from the Egyptian, the latter said, with a tremulous voice, "The
Spirit brought me first; wherefore I know myself chosen to be the servant of my
brethren. The tent is set, and the bread is ready for the breaking. Let me
perform my office."
Taking each by
the hand, he led them within, and removed their sandals and washed their feet,
and he poured water upon their hands, and dried them with napkins.
Then, when he had
laved his own hands, he said, "Let us take care of ourselves, brethren, as
our service requires, and eat, that we may be strong for what remains of the
day's duty. While we eat, we will each learn who the others are, and whence they
come, and how they are called."
He took them to
the repast, and seated them so that they faced each other. Simultaneously their
heads bent forward, their hands crossed upon their breasts, and, speaking
together, they said aloud this simple grace:
"Father of all
- God! - what we have here is of thee; take our thanks and bless us, that we
may continue to do thy will."
With the last
word they raised their eyes, and looked at each other in wonder. Each had
spoken in a language never before heard by the others; yet each understood
perfectly what was said. Their souls thrilled with divine emotion; for by the
miracle they recognized the Divine Presence.
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