178 
A CEUSADE IN THE EAST. 
tion down below by tbe manner in which he caused all the 
domestics to brush them, and made every Arab about the 
premises tremble by the ferocity of his looks. 
Such an idea as that of entertaining any proposition from 
another dragoman never entered our heads. We felt that we 
belonged to Yusef from the beginning ; that he had a right to 
us, which we could not resist ; that he was just the man to 
take us through a dangerous country. Every recommenda¬ 
tion in the book complimented him upon his indomitable per¬ 
severance and courage. It was enough ; the thing was fixed. 
Yusef was already our drago¬ 
man. Here you have his por¬ 
trait : 
Face open and intelligent, 
eyes round and full of fire, 
mustache fierce, temperament 
nervous-sanguine, age twenty- 
eight, costume rich, careless, 
and dashing; figure well-knit 
and of medium height; man¬ 
ner frank, self-relying, and 
chivalrous; whole tone of 
character imposing, captivat¬ 
ing, and Oriental. 
Now I profess to be a judge 
of mankind. I claim some merit in knowing Yusef at a 
glance. I felt that we were perfectly safe in his hands; that 
he would fight for us ; nay, wallow in blood for us, if neces¬ 
sary ; that it would do us credit to travel with a dragoman 
so renowned and feared throughout Syria ; that his lively 
energy would carry us through all difficulties; that there was 
nothing narrow or contracted in such a man, and he would 
feed us well, and provide us with good horses. 
The duties of the Syrian dragoman are rather onerous, and 
require, perhaps, some explanation. He is interpreter of the 
party ; he usually provides the provisions, horses, mules, 
tents, &c., and charges so much a day for the whole; he 
speaks various languages, seldom less than five or six : is 
