The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. XXXV–XXXVIII

THE HISTORY OF RASSELAS. PRINCE OF ABYSSINIA. BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL. D. CHAPTER XXXV. THE PRINCESS LANGUISHES FOR THE WANT OF PEKDAH. Nekayah, being tlus reconciled to herself, found that no evil is insupportable, but that which is accompanied with con- sciousness^of wrong. She was from that time delivered from the violence of tempestuous sorrow and sunk into silent pensiveness and gloomy tranquility. She sat from morning to evening rncol- lecting all that had been done or said by her Pekuah, treasured up with care every trifle on which Pekuah had set an accidental value, and'which might recall to mind any little incident or care- less conversation. The sentiments of her, whom she now expected to see no more, were treasured in her memory as rules of life, and she deliberated to no other end than to conjecture on any occa- sion what would have been the opinion and counsel of Pekuah. The women by whom she was attended knew nothing of her real condition, and therefore she could not talk to them but with caution and reserve. She began to remit her curiosity, having no great desire to collect notions which she had not convenience of uttering. Rasselas endeavored first to comfort, and afterwards to divert her; he hired musicians, to whom she seemed to listen, but did not hear them; and procured masters to instruct her in vari- ous arts, whose lectures, when they visited her again, were again to be repeated. She had lost her taste of pleasure and her ambi- tion of excellence. And her mind, though forced into short excursions, always recurred to the image of her friend.

THE HISTORY OF RASSELAS. 665 Imlac was every morning earnestly enjoined to renew his inquiries, and was asked every night whether he had yet heard of Pekuah, till, not being able to return the princess the answer that she desired, he was less and less willing to come into her pres- ence. She observed his backwardness, and commanded him to attend her. "You are not, " said she, ''to confound impatience with resentment, or to suppose that I charge you with negligence because I repine at your unsuccessfulness. I do not much won- der at your absence; I know that the unhappy are never pleasing, and that all naturally avoid the contagion of misery. To hear complaints is wearisome alike to the wretched and the happy; for who would cloud, by adventitious grief, the short gleams of gay- ety which life allows us? or who that is struggling under his own add to them the miseries of another? evils, will "The time is at hand when none shall be disturbed any longer by the sighs of Nekayah: my search after happiness is now at an end. I am resolved to retire from the world with all its flatteries and deceits, and will hide myself in solitude without any other care than to compose my thoughts, and regulate my hours by a constant succession of innocent occupations, till, with a mind puri- fied from all earthly desires, I shall enter into that state to which all are hastening, and in which I hope again to enjoy the friend- ship of Pekuah." "Do not entangle your mind," said Imlac, by irrevocable determinations, nor increase the burden of life by a voluntary accumulation of misery: the weariness of retirement will continue or increase when the loss of Pekuah is forgotten. That you have been deprived of one pleasure is no very good reason for the rejection of the rest." "Since Pekuah was taken from me, " said the princess, "I have no pleasure to reject or to retain. She that has no one to love or trust, has little to hope. She wants the radical principle of hap- piness. We may, perhaps, allow, that what satisfaction this world can aflford must arise from the conjunction of wealth, knowledge, and goodness: wealth is nothing, but as it is bestowed, and knowl- edge nothing, but as it is communicated: they must therefore be imparted to others, and to whom could I now delight to impart them? Goodness affords the only comfort which can be enjoyed

666 IMPROVEMENT ERA. without a partner and goodness may be practiced in retire- ment." "How far solitude may admit goodness, or advance it, I shall not, " replied Imlac, "dispute at pi esent. Remember the con- fession of the pious hermit. You will wish to return into the world when the imago of your companion has left your thoughts." "That time, " said Nekayah, "will never come. The gener- ous frankness, the modest obsequiousness, and the faithful secrecy of my dear Pekuah will always be more missed as I shall live longer to see vice and folly." "The state of mind oppressed with a sudden calamity," said Imlac, "is like that of the fabulous inhabitants of the new-created earth, who, when the first night came upon them, supposed that day would never return. When the clouds of sorrow gather over us, we see nothing beyond them, nor can imagine how they will be dispelled: yet a new day succeeded to the night, and sorrow is never long without a dawn of ease. But they who restrain them- selves from receiving comfort, do as the savages would have done had they put out their eyes when it was dark. Our minds, like our bodies, are in a continual flux; something is and hourly lost something acquired. To lose much at once is inconvenient to either, but while the vital powers remain uninjured, nature v/ill find the means of reparation. Distance has the same effect on the mind as on the eye; and while we glide along the stream of time, whatever we leave behind us is always lessening, and that which we approach increasing in magnitude. Do not suffer life to stagnate; it will grow muddy for want of motion: commit your- self to the current of the world, Pekuah will vanish by degrees; you will meet in your way some other favorite, or learn to diffuse yourself in general conversation." "At least," said the prince; "do cot despair before all reme- dies have been tried: the inquiry after the unfortunate lady is still continued, and shall be carried on with yet greater diligence, on condition that you will promise to wait a year for the event, with- out any unalterable resolution." Nekayah thought this a reasonable demand, and made the promise to her brother, who had been advised by Imlac to require it. Imlac had, indeed, no great hope of regaining Pekuah, but he

THE HISTORY OF RASSELAS. 667 supposed that if he could secure the interval of a year, the prin- cess would then be in no danger of a cloister. CHAPTER XXXVI. PEKUAH IS STILL REMEMBERED. THE PROGRESS OF SORROW. Nekayah, seeing that nothing was omitted for the recovery of her favorite, and having, by her promise, set her intention of re- tirement at a distance, began imperceptibly to return to common cares and common pleasures. She rejoiced, without her own con- sent at the suspension of her sorrows, and sometimes caught her- self with indignation in the act of turning away her mind from the remembrance of her, whom she yet resolved never to forget. • She then appointed a certain hour of the day for meditation on the merits and fondness of Pekuah, and for some weeks retired constantly at the time fixed, and returned with her eyes swollen and her countenance clouded. By degrees she grew less scrup- ulous, and suffered any important and pressing avocation to delay the tribute of daily tears. She then yielded to less occasions; sometimes forgot what she was indeed afraid to remember, and at last wholly released herself from the duty of periodical affliction. Her real love of Pekuah was not yet diminished. A thousand occurrences brought her back to memory, and a thousand wants, which nothing but the confidence of friendship can supply, made her frequently regretted. She therefore solicited Imlac never to desist from inquiry, and to leave no art of intelligence untried, that, at least she might have the comfort of knowing that she did not suffer by negligence or sluggishness. "Yet what," said she, *'is to be expected from our pursuit of happiness, when we find the state of life to be such, that happiness itself is the cause of misery? Why should we endeavor to attain that of which the possession cannot be secured? I shall henceforward fear to yield my heart to excellence, however! bright, or to fondnesss however tender, lest I should lose again what I have lost in Pekuah." CHAPTER XXXVn. THE PRINCESS HEARS NEWS OF PEKUAH. In'seven months, one of the messengers, who had been sent away when the promise was drawn from the princess, returned

668 IMPROVEMENT ERA. after many unsuccessful rambles, from the borders of Nubia, with an account that Pekuah was in the hand of an Arab chief, who possessed a castle or fortress on the extremity of Egypt. The Arab, whose revenue was plunder, was willing to restore her, with two attendants, for two hundred ounces of gold. The price was no subject of debate. The princess was in ecstasies when she heard that her favorite was alive, and might so cheaply be ransomed. She could not think of delaying for a moment Pekuah's happiness or her own, but entreated her brother to send back the messenger with the sum required. Imlac being consulted was not very confident of the veracity of the relator, and was still more doubtful of the Arab's faith, who might, if he were too liberally trusted, detain at once the money and the cap- tives. He thought it dangerous to put themselves in the power of the Arab's faith, who might, if he were too liberally trusted, de- tain at once the money and the captives. He thought it danger- ous to put themselves in the power of the Arab by going into his district, and could not expect that the rover would so much expose himself as to come into the lower country, where he might be seized by the forces of the Bassa. It is difficult to negotiate where neither will trust. But Imlac after some deliberation, directed the messenger to propose that Pekuah should be conducted by ten horsemen to the monastery of St.Anthony, which is situated in the deserts of Upper Egypt, where she should be met by the same number, and her ransom should be paid. That no time might be lost, as they expected that the pro- posal would not be refused, they immediately began their journey to the monastery; and when they arrived, Imlac went forward with the former messenger to the Arab's fortress. Rasselas was desir- ous to go with them; but neither his sister nor Imlac would con- sent. The Arab, according to the custom of his nation, observed the laws of hospitality with great exactness, to those who put themselves into his power, and, in a few days brought Pekuah with her maids, by easy journeys, to the place appointed, where, re- ceiving the stipulated price, he restored her with great respect to liberty and her friends, and undertook to conduct them back to- wards Cairo, beyond all danger of robbery or violence.

THE HISTORY OF RASSELAS. 669 The princess and her favorite embraced each other with transport too violent to be expressed, and went out together to pour the tears of tenderness in secret, and exchange professions of kindness and gratitude. After a few hours they returned into the refectory of the convent; where, in the presence of the prior and his bretnren, the prince required of Pekuah the history of her adventures. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ADVENTURES OF LADY PEKUAH "At what time and in what manner I was forced away," said Pekuah, "your servants have told you. The suddenness of the event struck me with surprise, and T was at first rather stupefied than agitated with any passion of either fear or sorrow. My con- fusion was increased by the speed and tumult of our flight, while we were followed by the Turks, who, as it seemed, soon despaired to overtake us, or were afraid of those whom they made a show of menacing. "When the Arabs saw themselves out of danger they slack- ened their course, and as I was less harassed by external violence, I began to feel more uneasiness in my mind. After some time we stopped near a spring shaded with trees, in a pleasant meadow where we were set upon the ground, and offered such refreshments as our masters were partaking. I was suffered to sit with my maids apart from the rest, and none attempted to comfort or in- sult us. Here I first began to feel the full weight of my misery. The and from time to time looked on girls sat weeping in silence, me for succor. I knew not to what condition we were doomed, nor could conjecture where would be the place of our captivity, or whence to draw any hope of deliverance. I was in the hands of robbers and savages and had no reason to suppose that their pity was more than their justice, or that they would forbear the grati- fication of any ardor of desire or caprice of cruelty. I, however, kissed my maids and endeavored to pacify them by remarking, that we were yet treated with decency, and that, since we were now carried beyond pursuit, there was no danger of violence to our lives. "When we were to be set again on horseback, my maids

670 IMPROVEMENT ERA. clung around me, and refused to be parted, but I commaded them not to irritate those who had us in their power. We traveled the remaining part of the day through an unfrequented and pathless country, and came by moonlight to the side of a hill where the rest of the troop was stationed. Their tents were pitched and their fires kindled, and our chief was welcomed as a man much beloved by his dependents. "We were received into a large tent, where we found wom^n who had attended their husbands in the expedition. They set be- fore us the supper which they had provided, and I ate it rather to encourage my maids than to comply with any appetite of my own. When the meat was taken away, they spread the carpets for re- pose. I was weary, and hoped to find in sleep that remission of distress which nature seldom denies. Ordering myself therefore to be undressed, I observed that the women looked very earnestly upon me, not expecting, I suppose, to see me so submissively attended. When my upper vest was taken off, they were appar- ently struck with the splendor of my clothes, and one of them timorously laid her hand upon the embroidery.She then went out and in a short time came back with another woman, who seemed to be of higher rank and greater authority. She did, at her entrance, the usual act of reverence, and, taking me by the hand, placed me in a smaller tent, spread with finer carpets, where I spent the night quietly with my maids. "In the morning, as I was sitting on the grass, the chief of the troop came toward me. I rose to receive him, and he bowed with great respect. 'Illustrious lady, ' said he, 'my fortune is bet- ter than I had presumed to hope; I am told by my women, that I have a princess in my camp. 'Sir, answered I, 'your women ' ' have deceived themselves and you; I am not a princess, but an unhappy stranger who intended soon to have left the country, in which I am now to be imprisoned forever.' — 'Whoever, or whence- soever you are, ' returned the Arab, 'your dress, and that of your servants, show your rank to be high, and your wealth to be great. Why should you, who can so easily procure your ransom, think The purpose of my in- yourself in danger of perpetual captivity?' cursions is to increase my riches, or, more properlv, to gather tribute. The sons of Ishmael are the natural and hereditary lords

THE HISTORY OF RASSELAS. 671 of this part of the continent, which is usurped by late invaders and low-born tyrants, from whom we are compelled to take by the sword what is denied to justice. The violence of war admits no distinction; the lance, that is lifted at guilt and power, will some- times fall on innocence and gentleness.' " 'How little,' said I, 'did I expect that yesterday it should have fallen upon me. "'Misfortunes,' answered the Arab, 'should always be ex- pected. If the eye of hostility could learn reverence or pitj^ ex- cellence like yours had been exempt from injury. But the angels of affliction spread their toils alike for the virtuous and the wicked, for the mighty and the mean. Do not be disconsolate: I am not cne of the lawless and cruel rovers of the desert; I know the rules of civil life; I will fix your ransom, give a passport to your mes- senger, and perform my stipulation with nice punctuality. "You will easily believe that I was pleased with his courtesy: and, finding that his predominant passion was desire of money, I began now to think of my danger less, fori knew that no sum would be thought too great for the release of Pekuah. I told him that he should have no reason to charge me with ingratitude, if I was used with kindness, and that any ransom which could be ex- pected from a maid of common rank, would be paid, but that he must not persist to rate me as a princess. He said he would con- ' sider what he should demand, and then, smiling, ojwed and re- tired. "Soon after the women came about me, each contending to be more officious than the other, andmy maids themselves were served with re/erence. We traveled onward by short journeys. On the fourth day the chief told me that my ransom must be two hundred ounces of gold; which I not only promised him, but told him I would add fifty more, if I and my maids were honorably treated. "I never knew the power of gold' before. From that time I was the leader of the troop. The march of every day was longer or shorter as I commanded, and the tents were pitched where I chose to rest. We now had camels and other conveniences for travel, my own women were always at my side, and I amused my- self with observing the manners of the vagrant nations, and with

672 ' IMPROVEMENT ERA. viewing remains of ancient edifices, with which these deserted countries appear to have been, in some distant age, lavishly em- bellished. ' 'The chief of the band was a man far from illiterate : he was able to travel by the stars or the compass, and marked, in his erratic expeditions, such places as are most worthy the notice of a passenger. He observed to me, that buildings are always best preserved in places little frequented and difficult of access, for, when once a country declines from its primitive splendor, the more inhabitants are left, the quicker ruin will be made. Walls supply stones more easily than quarries, and palaces and temples will be demolished, to make stables of granite, and cottages of porphyry." [to be continued.]