3 TRAVELS IN UPPER 



the Red Sea, was detained by I know not what 

 obstacles, in the last of these two cities. He 

 had brought with him from Aleppo a Maronite 

 Christian, who spoke seven languages with the 

 utmost ease, though without understanding the 

 principles of them. This Frenchman, who ap- 

 peared to have given up his intended journey, 

 ceded the S)riantome, whose fickle disposition 

 had inspired him with a desire to follow me. I 

 imagined that this acquisition would be of great 

 service to me, but I found in him a villain equally 

 brutal and dangerous. 



It is truly wonderful with v/hat facility tlie east- 

 ern nations, the Turks and Arabians excepted, 

 whose superstitious pride will not allow them to 

 learn any other language but that of the Alcoran, 

 acquire the power of speaking the different idioms, 

 even those of the nations of Europe. I, who never 

 possessed great aptness in the study of language, 

 have often envied this natural talent of the Orien- 

 talists, and the ease with which they acquire the 

 use of it in a very short space ot time. It was not 

 uncommon to meet among them several who had 

 the same knowledge in (his respect as the Syrian, 

 whom 1 had just made my uiterpretcr, and who 

 spoke French extremely well, as he did, although 

 he learnt it merely by frequenting the company of 

 the small number of our merchants at Aleppo. 



I had 



