# Zawis and Kunigunde/Chapter 2

CHAPTER II.
THE CAMP.
“Truly a noble and a reverend veteran,” exclaimed the Jew to his companion when they had reached a little distance; “and a stout one too in his day, I doubt not. Marked you his erect and sinewy frame, his open countenance, his eye, round, full and fearless? It would be strange if our venerable host had not wielded a trenchant toledo with Louis at Damietta and Mansoora.”
“And it would be stranger still,” replied his companion, “if the same toledo, and the ambition to wield it under the deceitful suggestions and urgings that goaded men to assume the cross in those days, were not the cause of those ruined walls and that premature decadence of fortune which has brought the old man to what he is. Not the love of Christ nor yet zeal for the honor of his sepulcher has dictated those furious paroxysms of insanity that have blinded the world since the first one perhaps honestly preached by the Hermit. Through their deadly influence nobles have been pauperized and cities enslaved. Through them magistrates have been abolished and monasteries substituted for them. The widows and orphans of zealots who fell beneath famine, disease and the sword at Antioch and Dory​leum, at Odessa and Jerusalem, have perished from want on their own land and in their own homes, while the tonsured spoiler of their substance reveled in luxury and wantonness in those rich valleys which the unreasoning fanaticism of their possessors left deserted, to be the spoil of the grasping hierarchy that remained. No more cunning and daring plot for the plunder of princes and kingdoms under the guise of religion has ever been imposed upon mankind.”
The Jew regarded his companion with a thoughtful smile. The outburst of indignant feeling that had just expended itself contrasted strangely with the circumspection that had hitherto marked the pilgrim, as he styled himself.
“My thanks for your confidence, brother; it shall not be abused. I think I could find parallels in other faiths to the cruel greediness you have justly denounced. Perhaps mankind has not yet discovered the Source of Life. And yet the essential constituent of enlightenment necessarily enters into the being of every human soul. Men who dwell ‘on the face of the whole earth’ are not only of one blood, but of an identical mental constitution. From that boundless and eternal unity of power diffused through all the range of being all things are. All the modes of this activity are itself in various manifestations and degrees. The unity of its elements, if there be such, is absolute, and there can be no dependence or coercive force. Power cannot exist without instrumentalities; and those in which it clothes itself ​are suited to the combinations in which the classes of its activities are conjoined in every object. The omnipresent activity conjoins these kinds in various proportions. Hence men are not only of that power, but they are that power according to its manifestations in each. The unity of all being is eternal, immutable, but it has displayed itself alike in all ages. The diversities of combinations and results that we witness in this age spring from no new principle.”
“The power you speak of,” replied the pilgrim, “is interpreted to us as the omnipotent Being who diffuses his presence everywhere, and by his fiat calls all things that are into the being that he confers upon them. He bestows gifts on men for their eternal welfare and for his glory, and exacts nothing in return but their trust and obedience. He purifies and exalts every spirit that communes with him, and no part of his works is deprived of the tenderness of his love.”
“The perfection of a rational soul,” replied the Jew, “is reached when it becomes a mirror of the universe; when the unity of tendency that prevails in the universe is reflected in it. All activity in natural forces is towards the divine tendencies which alone can sustain the marvelous manifestations of good that are everywhere. Our nature is thus purified and perfected and prepared for complete reunion with the divine essence. But stay, who and what are these?”
At an elevated point of the road about.a mile or ​more before them, a cloud of dust suddenly arose, and in the midst of it appeared horsemen riding furiously.
The travelers hurriedly turned aside into the thickets, and worked their way with all speed in an angular direction into the broken forest. Hiding among some rocks where horsemen could not easily pursue, they waited for the enemy, if they should prove such. The travelers had been perceived, for as soon as the horsemen arrived near the place where they had been seen they halted, and pointed towards the forest with loud cries and threatening gestures. They were a wild, fierce, dirty and forbidding troop. The small snub noses, high cheek bones, sunken fiery eyes, and streaming hair of Tartars could not be mistaken. They wore caps of sheepskin, and brandished long spears with horse-hair pennons. Their saddle was a sheepskin strapped on with hide, and between this saddle and the horse were stretched strips of meat. They did not venture into the thickets, and soon disappeared again along the road the travelers had just traversed.
After this incident the wayfarers advanced with great circumspection, listening for every sound, and scanning the road before them from every available point. At length smoke appeared in the forest. Some heavy, lumbering wagons with broad wooden wheels, each consisting of two solid semi-circles of wood joined and fastened together with thick wooden pins, were drawn up on the edge of the road, and among the trees. A long series of smoldering fires ​became perceptible. More wagons, oxen, with here and there a horseman,came into view, and the neighborhood of a camp was clearly recognized. Were they friends or foes? became a serious question. Turning aside again into the forest, the strangers cautiously felt their way towards the skirts of the camp. Looking through the undergrowth, they perceived that it was not strictly speaking a military encampment they had reached, but rather the motley equipment of a crowd of men and women apparently of the lowest and most ruffianly character. Groups of half ragged men lay here and there, apparently in a state of intoxication. Some low sheltering hovels of branches were occupied by women who bori over soiled and mean raiment, rich shawls and velvets, brocades of costly descriptions which they flaunted with mock dignity. Scattered here and there were rich saddles and pieces of armor. In one place a group of men were busily examining a chest that had been broken open, and holding up the contents to the common gaze. Fine linens, silks and laces were dragged out without regard to value. A pendant lamp with a chain of gold was reached and held up with a shout of savage satisfaction. A necklace of pearls created another peak of hoarse triumph, and a small casket inlaid with ivory and silver was fiercely contended for by the coarse and vulgar crowd. A party of ferocicus plunderers had been in pursuit of spoil, and the abodes of industry and opulence and gentle life had furnished the coveted booty. Silver coin was not lacking, for handfuls of ​large pieces, each bearing the name of Otakar, were offered by one and another for each rich prize as soon as a possessor had violently asserted his right of seizure. Garments of fur covered the persons of burly robbers, and pelisses of white and scarlet silk adorned the figures of abandoned and unkempt women.
While this scene was being watched by the amazed strangers, another body of plunderers reached the camp by the road that led towards the March. They brought with them several wagon loads of household and wardrobe stuff, and sacks of meal, with meat and cheese and wine. The plunder was evidently only beginning, and much more might be expected. With special glee the new-comers exhibited several chalices of silver, patens of the same material, and lamps and ecclesiastical vestments. In gratification seemingly of especial hatred, the chalices were flung on the ground and stamped on. As this procedure was slow and ineffectual, the vessels were set wherever a projecting rock was found and pounded with stone until all shape had as nearly as possible disappeared. A coat of mail formed of rings and with a Greek cross worked of steel plates on the breast was adopted by a lusty ruffan, who donned the manly garment to exhibit it in mockery to the crowd. At length the wine was distributed, and a scene of ghastly hilarity soon ensued. Through want of vessels the ruffans employed their united hands held to their mouths at the wrists, and had the costly beverage poured thus into their throats. Rough familiar​ity speedily led to quarreling, and much of the rich garniture that decked the ruffians was torn into shreds. Blows with deadly weapons and spear thrusts followed, and the plundered victims could have witnessed a large measure of retaliation had they been present. At length a noise of horses approaching at the gallop became audible, and our horrified observers recognized the same Tartar troop returning from their reconnaissance. They bore some trophies of their visit. One carried a crusader’s sword and helmet, and another held across his horse before him a bag filled with plunder recently acquired. The party rode up to a horseman stationed on the road in front of the camp, and having seemingly made their report, all the horsemen in the place, Tartars without exception, rode off towards the March.
“If we can only avoid or baffle the vagabonds before us,” observed Solomon in a low tone, “and reach the road beyond, we may be able to advance another stage.”
“Your resources surpass mine,” returned Pietro. “These wretches are now in a dangerous mood, and no little skill will be necessary to elude them by the direct road, and I see no other.”
“A little wit is more than a match for a great deal of ruffianism,” replied Solomon, “and I think I have seen more dangerous customers baffled. We will try not only to pass along our journey, but to secure perhaps some mementoes to prove that fools and their ill-gotten wealth can be easily parted. ​We cannot appeal to any sentiment of good in these wretches. Greed is their actuating passion, and by the same passion can they as well as other men be circumvented.”
The Jew then sought out a straight slight sapling of oak. It was not readily found, but after considerable search one sufficient for his purpose was discovered. The bark was all stripped off carefully, leaving the white surface of the inner sapwood smooth—and shining. It was cut to about five feet in length. Then advancing cautiously through the woods towards the contentious crowd, the Jew suddenly walked up to the nearest group, waving his wand with the air of a necromancer. Being too intent on their own disputes to notice the approach of the strangers, the rufans stood astonished. The Jew promptly drew a circle around the group on the ground with his wand; then pointing with the wand towards the east, and drawing circles through the air, he muttered half aloud some Arabic jargon wholly unintelligible to his auditors. Astonishment and curiosity strongly mingled with superstitious fear produced perfect quiet. Again waving his wand over the heads of the crowd, and bringing it near to one and another without permitting it to touch, and pointing to the plunder lying around, he signified by gestures that they must allow it to remain where it was until the distribution could be accomplished by divination. At this moment a luckless dog approached from the, road. The dog was still more luckless in being black. Pointing to the wretched, starving quadruped ​with an earnest gesture with one hand, the Jew raised his wand to heaven, at the same time obliterating a portion of the circle, and at once the wretches rushed upon the dog and speedily cut its throat, and hung the carcass to a pole placed upright. Signifying then that a fire should be kindled, the Jew pointed to the plunder and directed it to be collected. He was obeyed. All this time he stood with his wand uplifted, his eyes turned toward heaven and uttering in a hoarse voice powerful incantations in Arabic, and when the fire was well kindled, selecting two of the least intoxicated in the crowd by a touch of his wand, they quickly flayed the dog and the carcass passed rapidly over the fire. The limbs were torn asunder, and each portion again purified with fire. The sacred morsels were then passed around, and every man tasted a portion. It was the oath of their sacrament. Each portion of the accumulated property was then distributed. The Jew’s keen eye discerned the most influential and the most sober. Dividing and distributing according to his judgment, each man’s share was apportioned, the Jew and his companion reserving only a small enameled casket inlaid on the cover with a diademed head, the casket being of very beautiful and ancient Greek workmanship. “Within we shall assuredly find enough to content ourselves with,” he said aside to his companion. Then spreading out his arms and waving his wand, uttering aloud his parting invocation, the Jew beckoned to his partner and both rapidly passed on before their astonished congregation had time to ​combine their stupefied senses in the least opposition or remonstrance. During the performance of this comedy Solomon took care to adopt looks and gestures as emphatic as possible. He raised his loose robe and spread it as wide as possible, and with his tall figure, full and flowing beard, and impassioned gesticulation, he really seemed to be the magician he pretended to be.
Pietro regarded his companion with a feeling akin to apprehension. “Oh, be comforted, my brother,” exclaimed Solomon; “I told you a little presence of mind was better than a sword and buckler. Ah, my brother, the ceaseless energy that pervades all nature is especially active in the soul advancing towards perfection. The more uninterrupted this vital action in any being, the more potent will its manifestations be. We cannot ourselves resist that universal vitality of which we are manifested elements. Much less can these wretches resist it.”
“Then there must be imperfections, or vacant spaces, in the diffused influences you mention,” slyly interposed Pietro. “Had we remained longer among them we might have discovered that this activity is capable of manifesting itself in methods neither refreshing nor ethical.
“But pardon my apparent intrusiveness,” he added; “from what source have you acquired the sort of ceremonial which you practiced but awhile ago?”
“From no source whatever, but the sensitiveness as to my surroundings which arises from the related activity I have described. Ah,” added Solomon, ​the world has been darkened and corrupted by socalled revelations until it is filled with cruelty. In these corrupt days, brother, a black cat, a brindle cock, a brown toad, a black dog, a few rags, craven credulity on one side, and audacity on the other, and you have all the elemental paraphernalia of a necromancer or a priest.”
Then drawing the small casket from his robe, “Let us be seated,” he said, “and see what memorial we possess.” The wayfarers withdrew a little from the road, and being seated out of view of passers by, the Jew looked intently at the casket. The cover bore an inlaid portrait with a Greek imperial diadem. The miniature was formed entirely of ivory and precious stones surrounded by interlacing scrollwork. In a corner was a Greek cross with a small pearl in the center. Beneath the miniature were the letters M. III., but there was no date. Solomon pointed out these details to Pietro, commenting on each separately. “I cannot at this moment recall the prince who is probably here represented,” he said. “But the casket is of ancient date. It is long since workmanship equally skillful has come to my notice even from Constantinople. There was an Emperor Michael the Third, but I do not now associate his name with any event connected with these regions. He never exercised jurisdiction here, nor did any other Greek sovereign. These countries were scarcely—if at all—within the empire of Eastern Rome.”
“I have understood,” replied Pietro, “that the ​Slavonian people were long identified with Constantinople, and that it was from her care that the first Christian teachers were derived. They arrived here after the middle of the ninth century, and if my reading has been correct Michael III. wore the tiara at that date.”
“You may be correctly informed,” replied Solomon. “Let us examine the contents if any.” After some examination the casket was opened by a spring carefully concealed in the carvings of the front face. The box was lined with purple silk, embroidered on the inside of the cover with the motto,
ΔΟΞΑ ΕΝ ΥΨΙΣΤΟΙΣ ΘΕΩ.
The covered casket only contained a cross of ivory, inlaid with a large pearl at the intersection of the arms. There were no carvings whatever. This simple article was wrapped in silk. Underneath were the fragments of an ancient parchment. The edges of the several portions were frayed and worn, and no arrangement could make the original complete. The fragments were covered with Greek writing, nearly defaced, all discolored by frequent handling and illegible except some separate characters. Replacing all as they had been, the Jew handed the casket to his companion, saying: “Take your choice, brother.” Pietro took the articles and looked at them long and carefully. “It is difficult to choose,” he said at last, “especially as the treasure by right is at your disposal. But whatever I select, with your permission, I promise to restore to the owner if ever he shall be discovered. I make no difficulty in rescuing this much from the ruffians who had seized it.”
​“The emblem is more appropriate to you,” exclaimed the Jew. “For my part. I make the same promise as to the casket itself. There will be, I fear, little probability that the wretches who stole these things left many to claim ownership of what they grasped.”
Pietro deposited the cross within his vesture, and Solomon placed the casket carefully in his wallet. This formal ceremony being completed, they resumed their journey, after enjoying a portion of the provision generously supplied to them by their venerable host of the preceding night.
After advancing some distance in silence, the Jew suddenly halted. “Do you not hear a strange sound from before us,” he asked, “or is it in my own ear? Have I become troubled with extra sensitiveness that has excited my hearing unnaturally, and created the resemblance of sounds where there are none? There are those who would explain my sensation by the motions of the whirring wings of spiritual visitants to this lower sphere. But I have communed with nature through her operations, and especially those manifested in the phenomena of our own share in the universal activities, too long to be thus deluded. I have searched into the methods by which vital action is transmitted through our own frame, and it is not necessary to have recourse to hallucinations outside the workings of our own constituent members, as they are necessarily acted on by the perceptible world around us.” Both men stood and listened, and as they did so an arrow whizzed past them and ​was lost in the bushes beside the way. Both men threw themselves on the ground and were quickly surrounded by a band of wild-looking marauders apparently of different nationalities, European, Asiatic, and some half one and half the other. The wrists of the travelers were roughly bound with raw hide, and escorted by a motley guard of Tartars and Magyars they were marched forward at the lance’s point. Crossing an elevation in the road, the party came right in view of a regular military encampment extending widely on both sides of the road before them. The escort formed but a small part of the troop concealed among the thickets. From time to time a blow or a thrust from the butt of a lance quickened the pace of the prisoners even when speed had not diminished. Their captors seemed determined to maltreat them, with or without cause. A rapid pace was kept up for a few miles, and the prisoners were almost choked with dust and thirst. At length the line of the camp itself was reached, and the party halted. Solomon and Pietro were disfigured with the coarsest travel stains. After the leader of the troop had reported to an officer stationed further on, the prisoners were conducted within the lines of the camp and on to headquarters. Here were drawn up fully one thousand men, of different nationalities, largely Magyar, and included about two hundred Tartar horse. The entire force was commanded by a Knight in full armor, with several esquires around him. The prisoners were at once conducted into the presence of this officer. ​Solomon and Pietro advanced with head erect and calm and respectful demeanor. The officer raised his hand slightly, as if in astonishment, but promptly suppressed all symptoms of his emotion. Solomon too looked fixedly, but made no sign. “Let these men be secured until I shall have occasion to question them,” was the order. “Have they been taken with weapons?” inquired the officer, at once divining a reason for leniency. The reply being in the negative,—“Then let their bonds be removed and let water and food be supplied.”
Solomon and Pietro were conducted to a hut that seemed to have belonged to a swineherd. Here a scanty supply of coarse bread, and a gourd of water were furnished them, several skins of the liquid being placed on a wagon and covered with a rough awning of branches. But the water was muddy and disagreeable. The prisoners thankfully removed the dust that had begrimed them, and enjoyed the shade and rest. After an hour they were summoned into the presence of the commanding officer, who demanded in very bad German if either of them understood anything of medicine. Solomon replied in a mixture of Arabic and Spanish that he had acquired some knowledge of the art of healing and had practiced it. “Several of my men,” replied the officer in broad Spanish, “have been wounded in a skirmish, and your services on their behalf would be acceptable. But beware,” he added, “how any malpractice becomes mingled with your proceedings. Instant death will result from the least deviation from prescribed rules.”
​In what way the deviation alluded to should be ascertained, and by whom decided, and to what degree of deviation, and in which application of the healer’s art, were questions not determined, and Solomon was again master of the situation. “This man is your attendant. Sir Esculapius, I presume,” said the officer; “let him attend you, but I hold you responsible for his conduct as well as himself.” Sir Esculapius was conducted to a low black tent where lay several Magyars, Poles and Tartars, and one or two Germans.
Their ailments were simply flesh wounds, but a little attention was obviously very necessary. The wounds were washed and bandaged and the temporary hospital put to rights. Solomon and Pietro proceeded to collect and prepare what remedies were procurable, and none dared dispute their authority. “A little wit, my brother, is better than a spear and buckler,” gravely remarked the Surgeon General of the department.