DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17#0137
A FAITHFUL ARAB—AN INCIDENT OF TRAVEL. I17
dragomans in Egypt, and deservedly a prosperous man. At the time of my
friend's illness he was only a poor donkey-boy. He has told me that my friend
became very violent and completely delirious, and tried to throw himself into
the river. It took all his strength, and the boy's too, to hold him down in the
bottom of the boat, and he had to keep awake always after that till his master
recovered. Then another tale was told of native character of a different sort.
An old Nile traveller was one day standing on the post-boat, which was
about to draw up at the landing-stage of a village. There is always a
crowd of men, women, and children on the arrival of the mail steamer, and
on this occasion a little girl stepped forward, offering something for sale to one
of the passengers. Perhaps he misunderstood her, but this man pushed her
off rudely, and the poor child fell into the river. She emerged dripping and
crying, more at the insult before her people than for any real hurt. But when
the gentleman saw that the man never apologised, but only said something
rude, he took the fellow by the collar of the coat and dropped him into the
Nile ! The man crawled out as best he could, and was no more seen—hid
himself somewhere. But the poor child came up to my friend, and in her own
tongue blessed and gave him her thanks, and then the steamer moved off on her
voyage up the river. Three years afterwards my friend was again going up the
Nile on the post-boat. This time he had his wife and daughter with him. At the
landing-place they noticed among the little crowd of villagers a tall, handsome girl,
who seemed to be on the look-out for some one. When my friend landed she came
up to him, knelt and kissed his hand, crying with joy at meeting him again.
It was the child he had
seen at the same place
some years ago, whose
wrongs he had avenged.
He raised the girl up
and spoke kindly to
her. "You don't forget
me, I see. Why, I
hoped you would be
married long ago, and
I never thought you
would remember me."
" I will never marry
anyone but you, sir, and
I have come here to
every mail boat since abydoS: temple of seti <list of nomes).
dragomans in Egypt, and deservedly a prosperous man. At the time of my
friend's illness he was only a poor donkey-boy. He has told me that my friend
became very violent and completely delirious, and tried to throw himself into
the river. It took all his strength, and the boy's too, to hold him down in the
bottom of the boat, and he had to keep awake always after that till his master
recovered. Then another tale was told of native character of a different sort.
An old Nile traveller was one day standing on the post-boat, which was
about to draw up at the landing-stage of a village. There is always a
crowd of men, women, and children on the arrival of the mail steamer, and
on this occasion a little girl stepped forward, offering something for sale to one
of the passengers. Perhaps he misunderstood her, but this man pushed her
off rudely, and the poor child fell into the river. She emerged dripping and
crying, more at the insult before her people than for any real hurt. But when
the gentleman saw that the man never apologised, but only said something
rude, he took the fellow by the collar of the coat and dropped him into the
Nile ! The man crawled out as best he could, and was no more seen—hid
himself somewhere. But the poor child came up to my friend, and in her own
tongue blessed and gave him her thanks, and then the steamer moved off on her
voyage up the river. Three years afterwards my friend was again going up the
Nile on the post-boat. This time he had his wife and daughter with him. At the
landing-place they noticed among the little crowd of villagers a tall, handsome girl,
who seemed to be on the look-out for some one. When my friend landed she came
up to him, knelt and kissed his hand, crying with joy at meeting him again.
It was the child he had
seen at the same place
some years ago, whose
wrongs he had avenged.
He raised the girl up
and spoke kindly to
her. "You don't forget
me, I see. Why, I
hoped you would be
married long ago, and
I never thought you
would remember me."
" I will never marry
anyone but you, sir, and
I have come here to
every mail boat since abydoS: temple of seti <list of nomes).