"To me it is the horror of life; it is the chief of terrors." "So it is with me," said I."In my country we call death the King of Terrors." "Here," said Almah, "they call death the Lord of Joy." Not long after, the Kohen came in, looking as quiet, as gentle, and as amiable as ever.

He showed some curiosity about my rifle, which he called a sepet-ram, or "rod of thunder." Almah also showed curiosity.

I did not care to explain the process of loading it to the Kohen, though Almah had seen me load it in the galley, and I left him to suppose that it was used in some mysterious way.
I cautioned him not to handle it carelessly, but found that this caution only made him the more eager to handle it, since the prospect of an accident found an irresistible attraction.

I would not let it go out of my own hands, however; and the Kohen, whose self-denial was always most wonderful to me, at once checked his curiosity..