{18} She spoke it, I dare say, in English; the words would not be the less effective for being spoken in an unknown tongue.  Lady Hester, I believe, never learnt to speak the Arabic with a perfect accent.

{19} The proceedings thus described to me by Lady Hester as having taken place during her illness, were afterwards re-enacted at the time of her death.  Since I wrote the words to which this note is appended, I received from Warburton an interesting account of the heroine’s death, or rather the circumstances attending the discovery of the event; and I caused it to be printed in the former editions of this work.  I must now give up the borrowed ornament, and omit my extract from my friend’s letter, for the rightful owner has reprinted it in “The Crescent and the Cross.”  I know what a sacrifice I am making, for in noticing the first edition of this book reviewers turned aside from the text to the note, and remarked upon the interesting information which Warburton’s letter contained. [This narrative is reproduced in an Appendix to the present edition.]

{20} In a letter which I afterwards received from Lady Hester, she mentioned incidentally Lord Hardwicke, and said that he was “the kindest-hearted man existing—­a most manly, firm character.  He comes from a good breed—­all the Yorkes excellent, with ancient French blood in their veins.”  The under scoring of the word “ancient” is by the writer of the letter, who had certainly no great love or veneration for the French of the present day:  she did not consider them as descended from her favourite stock.

{21} It is said that deaf people can hear what is said concerning themselves, and it would seem that those who live without books or newspapers know all that is written about them.  Lady Hester Stanhope, though not admitting a book or newspaper into her fortress, seems to have known the way in which M. Lamartine mentioned her in his book, for in a letter which she wrote to me after my return to England she says, “Although neglected, as Monsieur le M.” (referring, as I believe, to M. Lamartine) “describes, and without books, yet my head is organised to supply the want of them as well as acquired knowledge.”

{22} I have been recently told that this Italian’s pretensions to the healing art were thoroughly unfounded.  My informant is a gentleman who enjoyed during many years the esteem and confidence of Lady Hester Stanhope:  his adventures in the Levant were most curious and interesting.

{23} The Greek Church does not recognise this as the true sanctuary, and many Protestants look upon all the traditions by which it is attempted to ascertain the holy places of Palestine as utterly fabulous.  For myself, I do not mean either to affirm or deny the correctness of the opinion which has fixed upon this as the true site, but merely to mention it as a belief entertained without question by my brethren of the Latin Church, whose guest I was at the time.