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she-第15部分
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of about half a mile; or perhaps a little less; and
then halted。 Seeing the old gentleman; my adopted
〃father;〃 Billali; emerge from his litter; I did the
same; and so did Leo and Job。 The first thing I saw
was our wretched Arab companion; Mahomed; lying
exhausted on the ground。 It appeared that he had not
been provided with a litter; but had been forced to
run the entire distance; and; as he was already quite
worn out when we started; his condition now was one of
great prostration。
On looking round we discovered that the place where we
had halted was a platform in front of the mouth of a
great cave; and piled upon this platform were the
entire contents of the whaleboat; even down to the
oars and sail。 Round the cave stood groups of the men
who had escorted us; and other men of a similar stamp。
They were all tall and all handsome; though they
varied in their degree of darkness of skin; some being
as dark as Mahomed; and some as yellow as a Chinese。
They were naked; except for the leopard…skin round the
waist; and each of them carried a huge spear。
There were also some women among them; who; instead of
the leopard…skin; wore a tanned hide of a small red
buck; something like that of the oribe'; only rather
darker in color。 These women were; as a class;
exceedingly good…looking; with large; dark eyes; well…
cut features; and a thick bush of curling hairnot
crisped like a negro'sranging from black to chestnut
in hue; with all shades of intermediate color。 Some;
but very few of them; wore a yellowish linen garment;
such as I have described as worn by Billali; but this;
as we afterwards discovered; was a mark of rank;
rather than an attempt at clothing。 For the rest;
their appearance was not quite so terrifying as that
of the men; and they sometimes; though rarely; smiled。
As soon as we had alighted they gathered round us and
examined us with curiosity; but without excitement。
Leo's tall; athletic form and clear…cut Grecian face;
however; evidently excited their attention; and when
he politely lifted his hat to them; and showed his
curling yellow hair; there was a slight murmur of
admiration。 Nor did it stop there; for; after
regarding him critically from head to foot; the
handsomest of the young womenone wearing a robe; and
with hair of a shade between brown and chestnut
deliberately advanced to him; and in a way that would
have been winning had it not been so determined;
quietly put her arm round his neck; bent forward; and
kissed him on the lips。
I gave a gasp; expecting to see Leo instantly speared;
and Job ejaculated; 〃The hussywell; I never!〃 As for
Leo; he looked slightly astonished; and then;
remarking that we had got into a country where they
clearly followed the customs of the early Christians;
deliberately returned the embrace。
Again I gasped; thinking that something would happen;
but。 to my surprise; though some of the young women
showed traces of vexation; the older ones and the men
only smiled slightly。 When we came to understand the
customs of this extraordinary people the mystery was
explained。 It then appeared that; in direct opposition
to the habits of almost every other savage race in the
world; women among the Amahagger are not only upon
terms of perfect equality with the men; but are not
held to them by any binding ties。 Descent is traced
only through the line of the mother; and while
individuals are as proud of a long and superior female
ancestry as we are of our families in Europe; they
never pay attention to; or even acknowledge; any man
as their father; even when their male parentage is
perfectly well known。 There is but one titular male
parent of each tribe; or; as they call it;
〃household;〃 and he is its elected and immediate
ruler; with the title of 〃Father。〃 For instance; the
man Billali was the father of this 〃household;〃 which
consisted of about seven thousand individuals all
told; and no other man was ever called by that name。
When a woman took a fancy to a man she signified her
preference by advancing and embracing him publicly; in
the same way that this handsome and exceedingly prompt
young lady; who was called Ustane; had embraced Leo。
If he kissed her in return it was a token that he
accepted her; and the arrangement continued till one
of them wearied of it。 I am bound; however; to say
that the change of husbands was not nearly so frequent
as might have been expected。 Nor did quarrels arise
out of it; at least among the men; who; when their
wives deserted them in favor of a rival; accepted the
whole thing much as we accept the income…tax or our
marriage laws; as something not to be disputed; and as
tending to the good of the community; however
disagreeable they may in particular instances prove to
the individual。
It is very curious to observe how the customs of
mankind on this matter vary in different countries;
making morality an affair of latitude; and what is
right and proper in one place wrong and improper in
another。 It must; however; be understood that; as all
civilized nations appear to accept it as an axiom that
ceremony is the touchstone of morality; there is; even
according to our canons; nothing immoral about this
Amahagger custom; seeing that the interchange of the
embrace answers to our ceremony of marriage; which; as
we know; justifies most things。
CHAPTER VII
USTANE SINGS
When the kissing operation was finishedby the way;
none of the young ladies offered to pet me in this
fashion; though I saw one hovering round Job; to that
respectable individual's evident alarmthe old man
Billali advanced; and graciously waved us into the
cave; whither we went; followed by Ustane; who did not
seem inclined to take the hints I gave her that we
liked privacy。
Before we had gone five paces it struck me that the
cave that we were entering was none of Nature's
handiwork; but; on the contrary; had been hollowed by
the hand of man。 So far as we could judge it appeared
to be about one hundred feet in length by fifty wide;
and very lofty; resembling a cathedral aisle more than
anything else。 From this main aisle opened passages at
a distance of every twelve or fifteen feet; leading; I
supposed; to smaller chambers。 About fifty feet from
the entrance of the cave; just where the light began
to get dim; a fire was burning; which threw huge
shadows upon the gloomy walls around。 Here Billali
halted; and asked us to be seated; saying that the
people would bring us food; and accordingly we
squatted ourselves down upon the rugs of skins which
were spread for us; and waited。 Presently the food;
consisting of goat's flesh boiled; fresh milk in an
earthenware pot; and boiled cobs of Indian corn; was
brought by young girls。 We were almost starving; and I
do not think that I ever in my life ate with such
satisfaction。 Indeed; before we had finished we
literally ate up everything that was set before us。
When we had done; our somewhat saturnine host;
Billali; who had been watching us in perfect silence;
rose and addressed us。 He said that it was a wonderful
thing that had happened。 No man had ever known or
heard of white strangers arriving in the country of
the People of the Rocks。 Sometimes; though rarely;
black men had come here; and from them they had heard
of the existence of men much whiter than themselves;
who sailed on the sea in ships; but for the arrival of
such there was no precedent。 We had; however; been
seen dragging the boat up the canal; and he told us
frankly that he had at once given orders for our
destruction; seeing that it was unlawful for any
stranger to enter here; when a message had come from 〃
_i_ She…who…must…be…obeyed _i_ ;〃 saying that our
lives were to be spared; and that we were to be
brought hither。
〃Pardon me; my father;〃 I interrupted at this point;
〃but if; as I understand; _i_ She…who…must…be…obeyed
_i_ lives yet farther off; how could she have known of
our approach?〃
Billali turned; and seeing that we were alonefor the
young lady; Ustane; had withdrawn when he had begun to
speaksaid; with a curious little laugh
〃Are there none in your land who can see without eyes
and hear without ears? Ask no questions; _i_ She _i_
knew。〃
I shrugged my shoulders at this; and he proceeded to
say that no further instructions had been received on
the subject of our disposal; and this being so he was
about to start to interview 〃 _i_ She…who…must…be…
obeyed _i_ ;〃 generally spoken of; for the sake of
brevity; as 〃Hiya〃 or _i_ She _i_ simply; who he gave
us to understand was the Queen of the Amahagger; and
learn her wishes。
I asked him how long he proposed to be away; and he
said that by travelling hard he might be back on the
fifth day; but there were many miles of marsh to cross
before he came to where _i_ She _i_ was。 He then said
that every arrangement would be made for our comfort
during his absence; and that; as he personally had
taken a fancy to us; he sincerely trusted that the
answer he should bring from _i_ She _i_ would be one
favorable to the c
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