Page:Memoirs of the Lady Hester Stanhope.djvu/174

 made him take leave of the other servants, and set off from the door. Then, hiding himself under a rock, when he was at a distance, he dressed himself as a fakýr, and, so perfect was his disguise, that, when he came back to me, I did not know him. He was a poor timid fellow, and that was the reason why I chose him as fit for my purpose, In such a nice business as that, I wanted a man that would follow my instructions exactly, and do nothing out of his own head: and Giovanni was in such a fright, that I was sure of him in that respect. Well, he succeeded perfectly well. There was a poor devil of a sacca, or water-carrier, in the camp, who used to take water to Derwish Pasha’s tents. Meanly dressed, and with his head held down, like one in misery, nobody paid any attention to him; at night he would frequently creep between the ropes of the Pasha’s tent, and seem to sleep there like an unhappy being who had no hole to put his head in. Through a slit in the tent, he could see and hear much that passed, communicating whatever information he obtained to Giovanni, who brought it at convenient opportunities to me. But when I wanted a stout-hearted fellow to carry a letter through the entrenchments to the foot of the walls, to be drawn up, then I chose a different sort of a messenger; for I had them all ready."

December 16.—The last three days Lady Hester