Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 22. October, 1878.Various
History
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 22. October, 1878.
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
The only occupant of the building is a tall, dignified-looking priest, who
at once takes upon himself the part of expositor; but he is suddenly
interrupted by the hurried entrance of a man who whispers something in his
ear. The priest instantly vanishes into the sacristy, and, reappearing
with something like a casket under his arm, goes hastily out, muttering as
he passes us some words which my comrade interprets as "Follow me."
We obey at once; but, in truth, it is no light matter to do so, for the
good father sets off at a pace which, considering the heat of the day and
the weight of his trailing robes, is simply astounding. Up one street,
down another, round a corner, along a narrow lane--on he rushes as if bent
upon rivalling that indefatigable giant who "walked round the world every
morning before breakfast to sharpen his appetite."
"By Jove!" mutters P----, mopping his streaming face for the twentieth
time, "what he's going to show us ought to be something special, by the
hurry he's in to get to it. Anyhow, it's a queer style of showing us the
way, to go pelting on like that, and leave us to take care of ourselves.
I'll just halloo to him to slacken speed a bit."
But just as he is about to do so the priest halts suddenly in front of a
high, blank wall of baked clay, in the midst of which a door opens and
swallows him as if by magic. We come tearing up a moment later, and are
about to enter at his heels when our way is unexpectedly barred by an ugly
old Greek with one eye and with a threadbare crimson cap pulled down over
his lean, sallow face, which looks very much like a half-decayed cucumber.
"What do you want?" he growls, eying us from head to foot with the air of
a bulldog about to bite.
We explain our errand, and are electrified with the information that we
have been on the point of intruding ourselves into a private house; that
the priest's business there is to pray over the master of it, who is
dangerously ill; and that, in short, we have been "hunting upon a false
scent" altogether. Having imparted this satisfactory information, Cerberus
shuts the door in our faces (which are sufficiently blank by this time),
and leaves us to think over the matter at our leisure.
"Confound the old mole!" growls P---- wrathfully: "if he didn't want us,
why on earth did he tell us to follow him, I should like to know?"
"Are you quite sure that he _did_ say so?" ask I. "What were the Greek
words that he used?"
"'Me akolouthei,' or something like that."
"Which means, '_Don't_ follow,'" I retort, transfixing the abashed
offender with a look of piercing reproach. "If _that's_ all that's left of
your Greek, you'd better buy a lexicon and take a fresh start. However,
there's nobody to tell tales if _we_ don't, that's one comfort."
And so ends the first and last of our adventures in Cyprus.
DAVID KER.
NEIGHBORLY LOVE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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