Tancred; Or, The New CrusadeDisraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield
ReligionJewish
Tancred; Or, The New Crusade
Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield
Christianity and other religions -- Judaism -- Fiction; Judaism -- Relations -- Christianity -- Fiction
At this moment a man in the Syrian dress, turban and flowing robe, is
passing through one of the gateways of this street, and entering the
large quadrangle to which it leads. It is surrounded by arcades; on one
side indications of commerce, piles of chests, cases, and barrels; the
other serving for such simple stables as are sufficient in the East.
Crossing this quadrangle, the stranger passed by a corridor into a
square garden of orange and lemon trees and fountains. This garden court
was surrounded by inhabited chambers, and, at the end of it, passing
through a low arch at the side, and then mounting a few steps, he was at
once admitted into a spacious and stately chamber. Its lofty ceiling was
vaulted and lightly painted in arabesque; its floor was of white marble,
varied with mosaics of fruit and flowers; it was panelled with cedar,
and in six of the principal panels were Arabic inscriptions emblazoned
in blue and gold. At the top of this hall, and ranging down its two
sides, was a divan or seat, raised about one foot from the ground, and
covered with silken cushions; and the marble floor before this divan was
spread at intervals with small bright Persian carpets.
In this chamber some half dozen persons were seated in the Eastern
fashion, and smoking either the choice tobaccoes of Syria through the
cherry-wood or jasmine tube of a Turkish or Egyptian chibouque, or
inhaling through rose-water the more artificial flavour of the nargileh,
which is the hookah of the Levant. If a guest found his pipe exhausted,
he clapped his hands, and immediately a negro page appeared, dressed
in scarlet or in white, and, learning his pleasure, returned in a few
moments, and bowing presented him with a fresh and illumined chibouque.
At intervals, these attendants appeared without a summons, and offered
cups of Mocha coffee or vases of sherbet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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