The liberated seamen once more pushed forward, no longer guided by
Isabella, who had got as far as her knowledge of the place extended, and
were again, in nautical language, "brought up all standing." A priest,
returning from the death-bed of one of his flock, saw them gliding along
silently and in "Indian file." His head being full of good wine, death,
the devil, &c., and the place enjoying moreover the reputation of being
haunted, his imagination magnified and multiplied the seven fugitives
into a legion of devils, with horns, tails, and fiery breath complete.
Under this impression he began to thunder forth a Latin form of
exorcism: "In nomine sanctae Trinitatis et purissimae Virginis, exorcizo
vos! Apage, Satana! Vade retro, diabole!" &c. &c. in such abominably bad
Latin, that a devil or a ghost of the least classical taste would have
incontinently fled to the Red Sea, without waiting to hear another
syllable of the formula that sent him thither. The bawling of the priest
awoke several of the neighbors, and sundry night-capped heads were
protruded from the windows of the nearest houses; but the proprietors,
catching a glimpse of the objects of the priest's alarm, and not caring
to play bo-peep with the devil, closed and barred their casements, and
betook them to their beads.
The party glided on in the same swift, silent pace; but the hindmost
sailor, irritated by the continued vociferation of the priest, and
stumbling at that moment over the carcase of a dog that had given up the
ghost a few hours before, seized it by the hind leg, and flung it at the
holy man with such true aim and force, as brought him to the ground.
Luckily the monk swooned away with terror at this unexpected buffeting
in the flesh from Satan, and his noise was consequently stopped. The
next moment the party plunged into the bushy path, and were instantly
lost to the view of the inhabitants, if indeed any were looking after
them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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