ugh
not less daring and not less full of faith, could profit by the splendid
but fruitless achievements of the first Tancred de Montacute. Our hero
came on this new crusade with an humble and contrite spirit, to pour
forth his perplexities and sorrows on the tomb of his Redeemer, and to
ask counsel of the sacred scenes which the presence of that Redeemer and
his great predecessors had consecrated.

CHAPTER XXIV.

_A Gathering of Sages_

NEAR the gate of Sion there is a small, still, hilly street, the houses
of which, as is general in the East, present to the passenger, with the
exception of an occasional portal, only blank walls, built, as they are
at Jerusalem, of stone, and very lofty. These walls commonly enclose
a court, and, though their exterior offers always a sombre and often
squalid appearance, it by no means follows that within you may not be
welcomed with cheerfulness and even luxury.

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,