lling him of her
own famous balsam, the secret of which was imparted to her by her
mother, who had it from her mother; and her great-grandmother learnt it
from an Arabian. But knowledge of the balsam went back to the Queen of
Sheba, who brought the plant to King Solomon. Thou must have seen the
bush in the garden in Galilee. It throws a white flower, like the
acacia, and the juice when drawn passes through many colours, honey
colour and then green. The Egyptians use it for many sicknesses, and it
heals wounds magically. The sweet liquor pours from cuts in the
branches, and care must be taken not to wound them too sorely. This
plant fears the sword, for it heals sword wounds, so the cuts in the
tree are best made with a sharp flint or shell, these being holier than
steel. If thou hast missed the bush in Magdala, Master, thou must have
seen it in Jericho, for I brought some seeds from Galilee to Jericho and
planted them by the gardener's cottage. Esora, all that thou tellest me
about the balsam is marvellous. I could listen to thee for hours, and
thou'lt tell me about thy grandmother and the Arabian who taught her how
to gather the juice of the plant, but we must be thinking now of my
friend's agony. Hast any of thy balsam ready, or must thou go to Jericho
for the juice?--you draw the juice from the tree? No, Master, Esora
answered him, I have here in my press a jar of the balsam, and, going to
her press, she held the jar to Joseph, who saw a white, milky liquid,
and after smelling and liking its sweet smell he said: let us go at
once. But thou mustn't hurry me, Master; I'm collecting bandages of fine
linen and getting this kettle of water to boil; for this I learnt from a
man who learnt it from the best surgeons in Rome: that freshly boiled
water holds no more the humours that make wounds fructify, and if boiled
long enough the humours fall to the bottom. I strain them off, and let
the water cool. Thou mustn't hurry me; what I do, I do well, and at my
own pace; and I'll not touch a wound with unclean things. Now I'll get
some oil. Some hold Denbalassa is best mixed with oil, but I pour oil
upon the balm after I have laid it on the wound, and by this means it
will stick less when it is removed. But is thy friend a patient man?
Wounds from scourging heal slowly; the flesh is bruised and many humours
must come away; wounds from rods are not like the clean cut of a sword,
which will heal under the balm when the edges have been