The Last American | Page 6

the West to-day. We weighed anchor and sailed up
the Eastern side of the city. I did this as Nofuhl finds the upper portion
of the town much richer in relics than the lower, which seems to have
been given up to commercial purposes. We sailed close under one of
the great monuments in the river, and are at a loss to divine its meaning.

Many iron rods still dangle from the tops of each of the structures. As
they are in a line, one with the other, we thought at first they might
have been once connected and served as a bridge, but we soon saw they
were too far apart.
Came to anchor about three miles from the old mooring. Up the river
and down, North, South, East, and West, the ruins stretch away
indefinitely, seemingly without end.
Am anxious about Lev-el-Hedyd. He went ashore and has not returned.
It is now after midnight.

16th May

Praise Allah! my dear comrade is alive! This morning we landed early
and began our search for him. As we passed before the building which
bears the inscription
. . . DORF ASTORIA
upon its front, we heard his voice from within in answer to our calls.
We entered, and after climbing the ruined stairway found him seated
upon the floor above. He had a swollen leg from an ugly sprain, and
various bruises were also his. While our friends were constructing a
litter on which to bear him hence we conversed together. The walls
about us bore traces of having once enclosed a hall of some beauty. In
idling about I pulled open the decaying door of an old closet and saw
upon the rotting shelves many pieces of glass and earthenware of fine
workmanship. Taking one in my hand, a small wine-cup of glass, I
approached my comrade calling his attention to its slender stem and
curious form. As his eyes fell upon it they opened wide in amazement.
I also observed a trembling of his hand as he reached forth to touch it.
He then recounted to me his marvellous adventure of the night before,
but saying before he began:
"Thou knowest, O Prince, I am no believer in visions, and I should
never tell the tale but for thy discovery of this cup. I drank from such
an one last night, proffered by a ghostly hand."
I would have smiled, but he was much in earnest. As I made a
movement to sit beside him, he said:
"Taste first, O my master, of the grapes hanging from yonder wall."
I did so, and to my great surprise found them of an exquisite flavor,

finer even than the cultivated fruit of Persia, sweeter and more delicate,
of a different nature from the wild grapes we have been eating. My
astonishment appeared to delight him, and he said with a laugh:
"The grapes are impossible, but they exist; even more absurd is my
story!" and he then narrated his adventure.
It was this:
WHAT LEV-EL-HEDYD SAW.
Yesterday, after nightfall, as he was hastening toward the Zlotuhb he
fell violently upon some blocks of stone, wrenching his ankle and much
bruising himself. Unable to walk upon his foot he limped into this
building to await our coming in the morning. The howling of wolves
and other wild beasts as they prowled about the city drove him, for
safety, to crawl up the ruins of the stairway to the floor above. As he
settled himself in a corner of this hall his nostrils were greeted with the
delicious odor from the grapes about his head. He found them
surprisingly good, and ate heartily. He soon after fell into a sleep which
lasted some hours, for when he awoke the moon was higher in the
heavens, the voices of the wolves were hushed and the city was silent.
As he lay in a revery, much absorbed in his own thoughts, he gradually
became aware of mysterious changes taking place, as if by stealth,
about him. A decorated ceiling appeared to be closing over the hall.
Mirrors and tinted walls slowly crept in place of ivy and crumbling
bricks. A faint glow grew stronger and more intense until it filled the
great room with a dazzling light. Then came softly into view a table of
curious form, set out with flowers and innumerable dishes of glass and
porcelain, as for a feast.
Standing about the room he saw solemn men with beardless faces, all
in black attire, whose garments bore triangular openings upon the chest
to show the shirt beneath. These personages he soon discovered were
servants.
As he gazed in bewilderment, there entered other figures, two by two,
who took their seats about the table. These later comers, sixty or more,
were men