her he was not still
dreaming, or whether the scene had not been changed by magic. Instead of
the damp grass, he lay on a couch of more than Oriental luxury; and
some kind hands had, during his repose, stripped him of the cassock of
chamois which he wore under his armour, and substituted a night-dress of
the finest linen and a loose gown of silk. He had been canopied only by
the palm-trees of the desert, but now he lay beneath a silken pavilion,
which blazed with the richest colours of the Chinese loom, while a
slight curtain of gauze, displayed around his couch, was calculated to
protect his repose from the insects, to which he had, ever since his
arrival in these climates, been a constant and passive prey. He looked
around, as if to convince himself that he was actually awake; and all
that fell beneath his eye partook of the splendour of his dormitory.
A portable bath of cedar, lined with silver, was ready for use, and
steamed with the odours which had been used in preparing it. On a small
stand of ebony beside the couch stood a silver vase, containing sherbet
of the most exquisite quality, cold as snow, and which the thirst that
followed the use of the strong narcotic rendered peculiarly delicious.
Still further to dispel the dregs of intoxication which it had left
behind, the knight resolved to use the bath, and experienced in doing
so a delightful refreshment. Having dried himself with napkins of the
Indian wool, he would willingly have resumed his own coarse garments,
that he might go forth to see whether the world was as much changed
without as within the place of his repose. These, however, were
nowhere to be seen, but in their place he found a Saracen dress of
rich materials, with sabre and poniard, and all befitting an emir
of distinction. He was able to suggest no motive to himself for this
exuberance of care, excepting a suspicion that these attentions were
intended to shake him in his religious profession--as indeed it was well
known that the high esteem of the European knowledge and courage made
the Soldan unbounded in his gifts to those who, having become his
prisoners, had been induced to take the turban. Sir Kenneth, therefore,
crossing himself devoutly, resolved to set all such snares at defiance;
and that he might do so the more firmly, conscientiously determined to
avail himself as moderately as possible of the attentions and luxuries
thus liberally heaped upon him. Still, however, he felt his head
op