Chapter VI: Into Erewhon
And now I found myself on a narrow path which followed a small
watercourse. I was too glad to have an easy track for my flight,
to lay hold of the full significance of its existence. The
thought, however, soon presented itself to me that I must be in an
inhabited country, but one which was yet unknown. What, then, was
to be my fate at the hands of its inhabitants? Should I be taken
and offered up as a burnt-offering to those hideous guardians of
the pass? It might be so. I shuddered at the thought, yet the
horrors of solitude had now fairly possessed me; and so dazed was
I, and chilled, and woebegone, that I could lay hold of no idea
firmly amid the crowd of fancies that kept wandering in upon my
brain.
I hurried onward--down, down, down. More streams came in; then
there was a bridge, a few pine logs thrown over the water; but they
gave me comfort, for savages do not make bridges. Then I had a
treat such as I can never convey on paper--a moment, perhaps, the
most striking and unexpected in my whole life--the one I think
that, with some three or four exceptions, I would most gladly have
again, were I able to recall it. I got below the level of the
clouds, into a burst of brilliant evening sunshine, I was facing
the north-west, and the sun was full upon me. Oh, how its light
cheered me! But what I saw! It was such an expanse as was
revealed to Moses when he stood upon the summit of Mount Sinai, and
beheld that promised land which it was not to be his to enter. The
beautiful sunset sky was crimson and gold; blue, silver, and
purple; exquisite and tranquillising; fading away therein were
plains, on which I could see many a town and city, with buildings
that had lofty steeples and rounded domes. Nearer beneath me lay
ridge behind ridge, outline behind outline, sunlight behind shadow,
and shadow behind sunlight, gully and serrated ravine. I saw large
pine forests, and the glitter of a noble river winding its way upon
the plains; also many villages and hamlets, some of them quite near
at hand; and it was on these that I pondered most. I sank upon the
ground at the foot of a large tree and thought what I had best do;
but I could not collect myself. I was quite tired out; and
presently, feeling warmed by the sun, and quieted, I fell off into
a profound sleep.
I was awoke by the sound of tinkling bells, and looking up, I saw
four or five goats feeding near me. As soon as I moved, the
creatures turned their heads towards me with an expression of
infinite wonder. They did not run away, but stood stock still, and
looked at me from every side, as I at them. Then came the sound of
chattering and laughter, and there approached two lovely girls, of
about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed each in a sort of
linen gaberdine, with a girdle round the waist. They saw me. I
sat quite still and looked at them, dazzled with their extreme
beauty. For a moment they looked at me and at each other in great
amazement; then they gave a little frightened cry and ran off as
hard as they could.
"So that's that," said I to myself, as I watched them scampering.
I knew that I had better stay where I was and meet my fate,
whatever it was to be, and even if there were a better course, I
had no strength left to take it. I must come into contact with the
inhabitants sooner or later, and it might as well be sooner.
Better not to seem afraid of them, as I should do by running away
and being caught with a hue and cry to-morrow or next day. So I
remained quite still and waited. In about an hour I heard distant
voices talking excitedly, and in a few minutes I saw the two girls
bringing up a party of six or seven men, well armed with bows and
arrows and pikes. There was nothing for it, so I remained sitting
quite still, even after they had seen me, until they came close up.
Then we all had a good look at one another.
Both the girls and the men were very dark in colour, but not more
so than the South Italians or Spaniards. The men wore no trousers,
but were dressed nearly the same as the Arabs whom I have seen in
Algeria. They were of the most magnificent presence, being no less
strong and handsome than the women were beautiful; and not only
this, but their expression was courteous and benign. I think they
would have killed me at once if I had made the slightest show of
violence; but they gave me no impression of their being likely to
hurt me so long as I was quiet. I am not much given to liking
anybody at first sight, but these people impressed me much more
favourably than I should have thought possible, so that I could not
fear them as I scanned their faces one after another. They were
all powerful men. I might have been a match for any one of them
singly, for I have been told that I have more to glory in the flesh
than in any other respect, being over six feet and proportionately
strong; but any two could have soon mastered me, even were I not so
bereft of energy by my recent adventures. My colour seemed to
surprise them most, for I have light hair, blue eyes, and a fresh
complexion. They could not understand how these things could be;
my clothes also seemed quite beyond them. Their eyes kept
wandering all over me, and the more they looked the less they
seemed able to make me out.
At last I raised myself upon my feet, and leaning upon my stick, I
spoke whatever came into my head to the man who seemed foremost
among them. I spoke in English, though I was very sure that he
would not understand. I said that I had no idea what country I was
in; that I had stumbled upon it almost by accident, after a series
of hairbreadth escapes; and that I trusted they would not allow any
evil to overtake me now that I was completely at their mercy. All
this I said quietly and firmly, with hardly any change of
expression. They could not understand me, but they looked
approvingly to one another, and seemed pleased (so I thought) that
I showed no fear nor acknowledgment of inferiority--the fact being
that I was exhausted beyond the sense of fear. Then one of them
pointed to the mountain, in the direction of the statues, and made
a grimace in imitation of one of them. I laughed and shuddered
expressively, whereon they all burst out laughing too, and
chattered hard to one another. I could make out nothing of what
they said, but I think they thought it rather a good joke that I
had come past the statues. Then one among them came forward and
motioned me to follow, which I did without hesitation, for I dared
not thwart them; moreover, I liked them well enough, and felt
tolerably sure that they had no intention of hurting me.
In about a quarter of an hour we got to a small Hamlet built on the
side of a hill, with a narrow street and houses huddled up
together. The roofs were large and overhanging. Some few windows
were glazed, but not many. Altogether the village was exceedingly
like one of those that one comes upon in descending the less known
passes over the Alps on to Lombardy. I will pass over the
excitement which my arrival caused. Suffice it, that though there
was abundance of curiosity, there was no rudeness. I was taken to
the principal house, which seemed to belong to the people who had
captured me. There I was hospitably entertained, and a supper of
milk and goat's flesh with a kind of oatcake was set before me, of
which I ate heartily. But all the time I was eating I could not
help turning my eyes upon the two beautiful girls whom I had first
seen, and who seemed to consider me as their lawful prize--which
indeed I was, for I would have gone through fire and water for
either of them.
Then came the inevitable surprise at seeing me smoke, which I will
spare the reader; but I noticed that when they saw me strike a
match, there was a hubbub of excitement which, it struck me, was
not altogether unmixed with disapproval: why, I could not guess.
Then the women retired, and I was left alone with the men, who
tried to talk to me in every conceivable way; but we could come to
no understanding, except that I was quite alone, and had come from
a long way over the mountains. In the course of time they grew
tired, and I very sleepy. I made signs as though I would sleep on
the floor in my blankets, but they gave me one of their bunks with
plenty of dried fern and grass, on to which I had no sooner laid
myself than I fell fast asleep; nor did I awake till well into the
following day, when I found myself in the hut with two men keeping
guard over me and an old woman cooking. When I woke the men seemed
pleased, and spoke to me as though bidding me good morning in a
pleasant tone.
I went out of doors to wash in a creek which ran a few yards from
the house. My hosts were as engrossed with me as ever; they never
took their eyes off me, following every action that I did, no
matter how trifling, and each looking towards the other for his
opinion at every touch and turn. They took great interest in my
ablutions, for they seemed to have doubted whether I was in all
respects human like themselves. They even laid hold of my arms and
overhauled them, and expressed approval when they saw that they
were strong and muscular. They now examined my legs, and
especially my feet. When they desisted they nodded approvingly to
each other; and when I had combed and brushed my hair, and
generally made myself as neat and well arranged as circumstances
would allow, I could see that their respect for me increased
greatly, and that they were by no means sure that they had treated
me with sufficient deference--a matter on which I am not competent
to decide. All I know is that they were very good to me, for which
I thanked them heartily, as it might well have been otherwise.
For my own part, I liked them and admired them, for their quiet
self-possession and dignified ease impressed me pleasurably at
once. Neither did their manner make me feel as though I were
personally distasteful to them--only that I was a thing utterly new
and unlooked for, which they could not comprehend. Their type was
more that of the most robust Italians than any other; their manners
also were eminently Italian, in their entire unconsciousness of
self. Having travelled a good deal in Italy, I was struck with
little gestures of the hand and shoulders, which constantly
reminded me of that country. My feeling was that my wisest plan
would be to go on as I had begun, and be simply myself for better
or worse, such as I was, and take my chance accordingly.
I thought of these things while they were waiting for me to have
done washing, and on my way back. Then they gave me breakfast--hot
bread and milk, and fried flesh of something between mutton and
venison. Their ways of cooking and eating were European, though
they had only a skewer for a fork, and a sort of butcher's knife to
cut with. The more I looked at everything in the house, the more I
was struck with its quasi-European character; and had the walls
only been pasted over with extracts from the Illustrated London
News and Punch, I could have almost fancied myself in a shepherd's
hut upon my master's sheep-run. And yet everything was slightly
different. It was much the same with the birds and flowers on the
other side, as compared with the English ones. On my arrival I had
been pleased at noticing that nearly all the plants and birds were
very like common English ones: thus, there was a robin, and a
lark, and a wren, and daisies, and dandelions; not quite the same
as the English, but still very like them--quite like enough to be
called by the same name; so now, here, the ways of these two men,
and the things they had in the house, were all very nearly the same
as in Europe. It was not at all like going to China or Japan,
where everything that one sees is strange. I was, indeed, at once
struck with the primitive character of their appliances, for they
seemed to be some five or six hundred years behind Europe in their
inventions; but this is the case in many an Italian village.
All the time that I was eating my breakfast I kept speculating as
to what family of mankind they could belong to; and shortly there
came an idea into my head, which brought the blood into my cheeks
with excitement as I thought of it. Was it possible that they
might be the lost ten tribes of Israel, of whom I had heard both my
grandfather and my father make mention as existing in an unknown
country, and awaiting a final return to Palestine? Was it possible
that I might have been designed by Providence as the instrument of
their conversion? Oh, what a thought was this! I laid down my
skewer and gave them a hasty survey. There was nothing of a Jewish
type about them: their noses were distinctly Grecian, and their
lips, though full, were not Jewish.
How could I settle this question? I knew neither Greek nor Hebrew,
and even if I should get to understand the language here spoken, I
should be unable to detect the roots of either of these tongues. I
had not been long enough among them to ascertain their habits, but
they did not give me the impression of being a religious people.
This too was natural: the ten tribes had been always lamentably
irreligious. But could I not make them change? To restore the
lost ten tribes of Israel to a knowledge of the only truth: here
would be indeed an immortal crown of glory! My heart beat fast and
furious as I entertained the thought. What a position would it not
ensure me in the next world; or perhaps even in this! What folly
it would be to throw such a chance away! I should rank next to the
Apostles, if not as high as they--certainly above the minor
prophets, and possibly above any Old Testament writer except Moses
and Isaiah. For such a future as this I would sacrifice all that I
have without a moment's hesitation, could I be reasonably assured
of it. I had always cordially approved of missionary efforts, and
had at times contributed my mite towards their support and
extension; but I had never hitherto felt drawn towards becoming a
missionary myself; and indeed had always admired, and envied, and
respected them, more than I had exactly liked them. But if these
people were the lost ten tribes of Israel, the case would be widely
different: the opening was too excellent to be lost, and I
resolved that should I see indications which appeared to confirm my
impression that I had indeed come upon the missing tribes, I would
certainly convert them.
I may here mention that this discovery is the one to which I
alluded in the opening pages of my story. Time strengthened the
impression made upon me at first; and, though I remained in doubt
for several months, I feel now no longer uncertain.
When I had done eating, my hosts approached, and pointed down the
valley leading to their own country, as though wanting to show that
I must go with them; at the same time they laid hold of my arms,
and made as though they would take me, but used no violence. I
laughed, and motioned my hand across my throat, pointing down the
valley as though I was afraid lest I should be killed when I got
there. But they divined me at once, and shook their heads with
much decision, to show that I was in no danger. Their manner quite
reassured me; and in half an hour or so I had packed up my swag,
and was eager for the forward journey, feeling wonderfully
strengthened and refreshed by good food and sleep, while my hope
and curiosity were aroused to their very utmost by the
extraordinary position in which I found myself.
But already my excitement had begun to cool and I reflected that
these people might not be the ten tribes after all; in which case I
could not but regret that my hopes of making money, which had led
me into so much trouble and danger, were almost annihilated by the
fact that the country was full to overflowing, with a people who
had probably already developed its more available resources.
Moreover, how was I to get back? For there was something about my
hosts which told me that they had got me, and meant to keep me, in
spite of all their goodness.
Erewhon : Chapter VII - First Impressions
Erewhon