Chapter 10 The Second Holy Cabinet and the Holy Grail-6

In the same way, I don't just want to know: Is it purely accidental that this outstanding navigator chose to make his will on October 13, 1460?Because this date happens to be the 153rd anniversary of the arrest of the Templars in France (the mass arrest took place on October 13, 1307). Henry died shortly after making his will in 1460.It wasn't until the early 20th century that the secret files chronicling the last decade of his life were made public.In these archives a brief note was found which read: "Eight years before Henry's death, an ambassador of Prester John visited Lisbon".

What is the mission of that ambassador?What did Prince Henry discuss with the Ethiopian?We don't know.However, two years later, King Alfonso V of Portugal authorized the "Christian Church" to govern religious affairs in Ethiopia, so it can be seen that the meeting was no accident."We still don't know anything about the motives of the King of Portugal for granting this privilege," admits Prof Prestaci. After the death of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1460, a suitable successor was born in the port of Sines in southern Portugal.The successor is also a member of the "Holy Church of Christ", named Vasco da Gama (Vasco da Gama, about 1460-1524, the famous Portuguese navigator-translator's note), this person will open up in 1497 The route from the Cape of Good Hope to India.

It is worth noting that da Gama took two things with him on this famous voyage: a white silk banner embroidered with the red cross of the Holy Church of Christ; A few testimonials.Not only that, although the destination of the Portuguese captain is indeed India, he still spends a lot of time exploring in Africa. It is said that when his fleet reached Mozambique, he was overjoyed to hear that Priest John lived far inland to the north.He learned from the same source that the Ethiopian emperor "occupied many cities along the coast."While this is not true, Da Youma later had the fleet call at Malindi, Mombasa, Brava (where he built a lighthouse, which still stands), and Mogadishu.He did this partly because he was always eager to see Priest John.

At the same time, in 1487 (10 years before da Gama set off on his voyage), the "Christian Church" organized another attempt to go to Ethiopia.That year, King John II of Portugal (then the master of the sect) sent his trusted assistant, Billo de Covehan, on a perilous journey through the Mediterranean, Egypt and the Red Sea to the home of Priest John. go to court. Kowihan disguised himself as a businessman, passed through Alexandria and Cairo, and came to Suakin (the port city on the Red Sea in the northeast of Sudan——Translator's Note). In 1488, he boarded an Arab three-masted ship in Suakin and went to the port of Yemeni in the Gulf of Aden.Afterwards, he encountered various obstacles, which greatly delayed his journey, and it was not until 1493 that he finally entered Abyssinia.

As soon as he got there, he immediately went to the palace.At first he was welcomed, but then he was put under house arrest in comfort.As for the reasons for his house arrest, we can only speculate.However, it is said that Cowihan is a well-known spy (he used to be a spy in Spain), so it is difficult for me not to speculate that the "Christian Church" may have sent him to collect information on the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant.Perhaps he had aroused suspicion by asking about the relic, perhaps not.For whatever reason, he was interned in Ethiopia until his death. When the first official Portuguese mission to the court of Priest John arrived in the port of Massawa in 1520, Kovihan was still alive.After the mission came ashore, they went to see Leibner Dengle, the emperor of the Solomon line who came to the throne in 1508.One of the members of the mission was Father Francisco Alvarez.The reader may recall that it was this Alvarez who heard the old legend told by the local priests that the monolithic church in Lalibela was "built by white men."

Now I have returned to the English translation of Alvarez's long account, written after he left Ethiopia in 1526.Re-reading the chapter on Lalibela, I was amazed to see his description of St. George's Church.On the majestic monolith, he said, there is "a double cross, a cross inside another cross, in the shape of a Christian cross". I already knew that those churches in Lalibela were of course built in the time of the Templars, that is, long before the founding of the "Christian Church" that followed.However, it seems reasonable to assume that the "Christian" cross came from a pattern that had been meaningful to the Templars.So I was intrigued to learn that this cross was used in St. George's Chapel.

Without a doubt, the Church of St. George was the first church built in Lalibela.I think back to my visit there in 1983 and don't remember seeing the double cross.Still, I checked out the photos from my visit with interest.Those photos show that Alvarez's description of St. George's Church was completely correct because of the double cross in the photo. In the mid-1530s, when the Portuguese ambassador was still at the palace of Leibner Dengel, it was clear that Ethiopia would soon be attacked by Muslim armies.At the time, Muslim armies were gathering in the Emirate of Harar in the eastern Horn of Africa.At the head of these armies was a fearsome warlord of extraordinary ability named Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Haz, nicknamed "Grajin" (meaning "left-handed").

After several years of careful preparation, Grakin finally declared a holy war in 1528 and led a large number of Somali troops (supported by Arab mercenaries and Turkish musketeers) into this Christian plateau country.Instead of a quick fight, the war has become a protracted one, year after year, with no respite.Across Ethiopia, towns and villages have been burned, churches destroyed, priceless treasures looted and thousands killed. Leibner Dengel has always been somewhat indifferent towards those Portuguese.During the six years of the Portuguese mission in Ethiopia (1520-152), he often emphasized his own self-reliance, saying that despite the threat of Muslim armies (which by 1526 became very clear), he could not see the need for Alliance with foreign powers.I think his strange indifference probably stemmed from his concern about the true motives of these European visitors, and especially his concern for the safety of the Ark of the Covenant.

Yet, whatever the emperor feared, it gradually dawned on him that Grakin was a far greater threat than the white men.Grakin not only threatens the safety of the Ark, but also the very existence of Christianity in Ethiopia. In 1535, the Muslim army captured the city of Axum and razed the most sacred church of St. Mary on Mount Zion in ancient times (I will talk about it later in this chapter: the priests have sent the Ark of the Covenant to another place to protect it. Safety).It was also in 1535, and not by coincidence, that Leibner Dengel finally overcame his aversion to foreign alliances and sent an envoy to the King of Portugal to ask him for urgent military assistance.

During this period, communication between Ethiopia and Europe had become very difficult, because the Turks controlled most of the coastal areas of the Horn of Africa and also occupied many ports on the Red Sea.The emperor's distress call took a long time to reach Portugal. As a result, it was not until 1541 that a musketeer battalion of 450 Portuguese landed at Massawa to aid the Abyssinian army.By then, the Abyssinian army had been completely routed and practically non-existent.Emperor Leibner Dunger had died of exhaustion after several years of war, and was succeeded by his son Claudius, then a teenager.

The Portuguese troops were armed with muskets, muskets, and a few heavy pieces of artillery, so that most of the people's hopes rested on their intervention.The Ethiopian royal chronology of 1541 speaks of the Portuguese marching confidently from the coast to the highlands, praising them for being "proud and fearless, eager to fight like a wolf and eager to kill like a lion". Nor is this praise too high for the quality of the Portuguese force - small in number they fought valiantly and won some decisive victories.Later, the British historian Edward Gibbon summarized their achievements in only nine English words: "EthioPia was saved by four hundred and fifty PortugUese (450 Portuguese saved Ethiopia)." I think it is worth mentioning that the commander of this rescue force was none other than Don Christopher da Gama, son of the famous Vasco da Gama.Like his father, Don Christopher was also a member of the Church of Christ.James Bruce was particularly interested in the character of the young adventurer, and described him as follows: His bravery had almost developed into a weakness.He was reckless and violent.He was eager to achieve what he considered to be the exploits of war, and stubbornly insisted on his resolution. . . Or missing. I believe that the activities of Don Christopher, a paladin of Christ, in Ethiopia may have a hidden purpose: he first wanted to defeat the Muslims, and then he wanted to find the Ark of the Covenant.His recklessness and impatience, however, will cost him his life before both ends are achieved. Despite being outnumbered, he fought several times with the armies of Ahmet Grakin (sometimes the Portuguese troops were deserted by the Abyssinians and they had to face the enemy's 10,000 spearmen, and defeated the enemy).This kind of record achieved by bravery is full of danger. In 1542, Don Christopher was taken prisoner.An eyewitness described that shortly before Don Christopher's capture, "a bullet hit him in the right knee, and he was still fighting with his left arm, because his right arm had been hit by another bullet. Interrupted." The Portuguese commander was first tortured and then, according to Bruce's account of his last moments: He was brought before Grakin, the commander of the Moors.Grakin cursed at Don Christopher, and Don Christopher cursed back.The Moor was furious, drew his sword, and beheaded Don Christopher with his own hands. But, less than a year later, the Muslim chief was also killed. On February 10, 1543, in a battle on the banks of Lake Tana, Grakin was killed by a man named Peter Leon: This man of humble origin, but active and courageous in combat, was Don Christopher's squire... The moment the Moorish army lost its commander, it immediately fell into chaos and was routed.The Portuguese and Abyssinians pursued the victory and slaughtered the Moors until evening. And just like that, after 15 years of unprecedented destruction and violence, the Muslim attempt to conquer the Christian empire of Ethiopia was crushed.Portuguese reinforcements suffered heavy losses: like Don Christopher, who made the enemy feared, more than half of the 450 Portuguese soldiers in the Musketeer Battalion died on the battlefield.The Abyssinian losses were of course far more severe (tens of thousands killed in battle).So did the cultural loss: manuscripts, statues, and paintings burned, churches razed, and treasures looted cast a shadow over civilization on the plateau for centuries to come. However, the jewel of jewels, the Ark, survived the war. A few days before the burning of Axum in 1535, the Ark of the Covenant was sent by priests to an island monastery on Lake Tana.It hid there for a long time until Grakin's death.Later, in the mid-17th century, Emperor Phasiridas (described by Bruce as "the greatest king in the history of Abyssinia") built a new Cathedral of St. Mary of Mount Zion on the ruins of the original church. .After a solemn ceremony, the sacred Ark was returned to the church, restored to its former glory. Fasiridas did one more thing.Although his country should have been very grateful to the Portuguese (their numbers in Ethiopia had been growing after the war against Grakin), he was committed to driving all Portuguese out of his country.It appears that he was indeed suspicious of the Portuguese intentions, so much so that he made a deal with the Turks in Massawa: any Portuguese who reached that port and attempted to enter Ethiopia would be immediately arrested and beheaded, Fasi Ridas will pay a handsome amount of gold for each head. source of mystery After the death of Don Christopher da Gama, the intense and concentrated interest of the "Christian Church" in Ethiopia seems to have ceased.After the time of the Fasiridas, no Portuguese had the opportunity to satisfy this interest. However, as I have already mentioned, "Christianity" is not the only vehicle for perpetuating the Templar tradition.Freemasonry in Scotland also inherited some of the mystical legends of Solomon's Temple.The central character of this legend is the Ark of the Covenant.I think it is necessary to examine more closely the activities of one of the most daring and resolute foreigners who ever visited Ethiopia, "James Bruce of Kinnard" Note) because he is related to Scotland, because he claims to be descended from the Scottish king who gave refuge to the fugitive Templars in the 14th century. Bruce was at least 6ft 4in tall and massively built, a giant - one of his contemporaries said he was "the tallest man you can meet for free".He was also very rich and well educated.Bruce was born in the Kinnard family mansion in the Scottish Lowlands in 1730, and was sent to Harrow School (the famous British boys' school, built in 1571-Translator's Note) at the age of 12 to go to school.His academic performance in several ancient languages ​​was rated as excellent by his teacher.He later completed his studies at the University of Edinburgh. Bruce later became ill.After he recovered from his illness, he went to London, intending to apply for a job for the East India Company.However, as soon as he arrived in London, he fell in love with a beautiful woman named Adlaine Allen, and married her in 1753.Soon after, he became a partner in his father-in-law's wine business. Tragedy ensued. In 1754, Adelaine died suddenly while traveling to France.Although Bruce remarried shortly thereafter and had several children, it seems to have taken him a long time to recover from the loss of his first wife.Feeling uneasy and hopeless, he began to travel almost continuously, learning new languages ​​with extraordinary talent in each place he visited. He first traveled to Europe, fought duels in Belgium, went boating on the Rhine, visited ancient Roman ruins in Italy, and studied ancient Arabic manuscripts in Spain and Portugal.Later, after the British government recognized his language ability, he was sent to the British consulate in Algiers to do diplomatic work. Later, on an extensive journey from Algiers along the North African coast, after visiting the ruins of Inthage, he went to the Holy Land, Jerusalem, where he explored several other monuments.He also finds time to return to Scotland to tend to the family estate.He is now a landowner, since his father had died in 1758. During this period, the Scottish youth became something of an astronomer, and acquired two telescopes, which he later traveled around the world with.He also acquired skills in surveying and navigation, which were invaluable on his several trips to Abyssinia. Exactly when he wanted to do his last Ethiopian expedition is unknown, but there is evidence that his intentions had been going on for a long time.For example, he is said to have begun learning Jeze, an ancient Ethiopian language, as early as 1759. By the time Bruce arrived in Cairo in 1768 for his landmark voyage, his preparations for the expedition (including careful reading of the writings of all the travelers who had visited Ethiopia) had already enabled him to accumulate a great deal of knowledge about the country. What is it that motivates Bruce to go to Ethiopia?He has spoken bluntly about his motives: He has risked "countless perils and hardships, the least of which would have overwhelmed me, were it not for the constant mercy and protection of God", all in search of the Nile source. Bruce later wrote a long book called (Journey to the Source of the Nile in 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772 and 1773). He deliberately used this long title to summarize his work. ambition, lest anyone suspect that his real motives were not in this. There is, however, a mystery here that more than one historian has noticed (but found no answers for).Here is the mystery: Long before setting off for Ethiopia, James Bruce knew that two Europeans had visited and thoroughly investigated the source of the Blue Nile.The two men were Pietro Payez and Geronimo Lobo, both Portuguese priests who had lived in Ethiopia before the reign of Emperor Fasiridas in the first century. In 1989, as I investigated the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant, the mystery of the purpose of Bruce's trip to Ethiopia came to my attention more and more.His five-volume tomes, Journey to the Source of the Nile, have become essential reference books for me because they paint a unique picture of Ethiopian culture.Ethiopian culture at that time had not yet separated too far from its ancient sources. More than this, I learned that the Scottish explorer was a worthy scholar.The rigor and accuracy of his observations, and the general value of his judgments and insights into historical events, impressed me from the very beginning.I also think he's an honest guy who doesn't always like exaggerations and twists. I had to ask myself: From his many self-reports, he clearly read Payez and Lobo carefully.Nevertheless, how is it that he makes no mention of the accomplishments of these two men in his own writings? I'm all for history's subsequent verdict (that "Bruce was far from a legend writer, but a sure guide"), so his apparent dishonesty on a crucial issue increasingly irritates me. confused.This dishonesty is manifested in his blatant emphasis that "no Portuguese . . . has ever seen (or even claimed to have seen) the source of the Nile". It didn't take me long to discover that Bruce had lied about more than this one question.His description of the issue of the ark of the covenant is even more evasive and frequently lies.Describing his visit to the holy city of Axum, he first recounts the burning of the first Church of St. Mary of Mount Zion by Ahmed Grakin, and then truthfully states that a new one has now been erected on the site of the church. Church of: It is said that it will house the Ark of the Covenant...the Ethiopian legend says that Menelik stole the Ark of the Covenant from his father King Solomon on his return to Ethiopia...I am sure this church once contained the Old Testament An ancient version of ... but whatever was hidden in this church, it was destroyed by Grakin anyway, just pretending to keep it in the church.I heard this statement from the king himself. Anyway, Bruce seems to be saying that the Ark of the Covenant was never brought to Axum (since he thinks the story of Menelik and Solomon is nothing more than a "bizarre legend").The holy relic, which was once hidden in this church, was therefore really only "an ancient version of the Old Testament," and even that no longer exists, as it had been "destroyed by Grakin" .He also emphasized that it was "the king himself" who made the claim, and relied on it. Had it not been for his last statement, I might have believed with satisfaction that Bruce probably never heard how the Ark of the Covenant survived the war with the Axum city.However, it is clearly a lie to say that "the king himself" confirmed the destruction of the holy relics. In 1690, long after the Grakin War had ended, and 80 years before Bruce himself visited Ethiopia, an Ethiopian monarch entered the nave of the new St. Mary's Church and indeed saw the Ark of the Covenant (thus confirming its exist).The monarch in question here is Iyasu the Great, who was both king and priest.Because of this, he was allowed not only to see the relic, but to open it to see what was inside.It is inconceivable that the king of Ethiopia in Bruce's day had not heard of this unprecedented and famous event.I am therefore compelled to conclude that once again the Scottish traveler "reduced the truth." I understand that, contrary to what Bruce himself quotes above, he doesn't actually see the Ethiopian stories of Menelik, Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba as "bizarre legends."This reinforced my conviction that, on the contrary, he took that legend very seriously. In the first volume of Bruce's Journey to the Source of the Nile, before he describes his visit to Axum for thousands of pages, he describes at length the close relationship between Ethiopia and Jerusalem in early Old Testament times. Cultural and business connections.Among the many connections he recounts, one of his own is unambiguously stated: the Queen of Sheba was a real person in history, not a figure of myth; she did visit the court of King Solomon in Jerusalem (" She undoubtedly went on that expedition"); most importantly, she came from Ethiopia, not from any other country. "(Some people) may think that the queen is Arab," he concluded, "but there are many reasons for my conviction that she is Ethiopian." He went on to say that the story of the Queen of Sheba's love affair with Solomon and the subsequent birth of Menelik described in "King's Glory" is "by no means impossible."Following the same train of thought, he recounts Menelik's personal visit to Jerusalem and finally "returning to Ethiopia with a group of Jews, among whom were many doctors of the Law of Moses".Bruce concludes that these events led to "the establishment of the Ethiopian Monarchy, which perpetuated to this day the kingship of the Jewish tribes . No more, no less, just a straight-forward summary of a section of The King's Glory.And that text gives the passage great weight and historical authenticity.Oddly enough, however, while Bruce covers every important detail of the subject, he says nothing about the Ark.This omission can only be intentional, because in the Ethiopian national epic "Glory of the King", the sacred object of the Ark of the Covenant plays a central and overriding role. Again, therefore, I am compelled to conclude that the Scottish traveler was deliberately misleading his readers on the subject of the Ark.But why would he do it?What is his motive? Curious, I perused his description of Axum.I stumbled across a detail that I had completely overlooked before—the dates of his visit to Axum were two days, January 18 and 19, 1770. It dawned on me that this date was by no means accidental, as it was only on these two days that he could witness the celebration of Epiphany, the most important holiday of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.As I confirmed when I spoke with the guardian monk in 1983: only on this festival, and not at any other time, is the Ark of the Covenant wrapped in rich brocade according to the traditional practice (to "keep outsiders safe from the wounded by it"), carried out of the cella, and used in ceremonies.Therefore, Bruce chose this time of year to go to Axum.As a member of the congregation, he will then likely have a reasonable opportunity to view the relic up close. Now, I really began to try to figure out a question: Was it always the Ark of the Covenant that attracted the Scottish traveler to Ethiopia?His claim to have gone there to find the source of the Nile does not stand up to close scrutiny, and has a strong color of obfuscation, intended to conceal the real purpose of his quest.Not only that, but his evasiveness about the Ark has special effect only if he has a special interest in it, since he does not want people to know about his interest. Soon, I learned something else, which only deepened my suspicion.For example, I discovered that Bruce was fluent in Accounting Hebrew.He has no reason to learn this dead language, unless he intends to delve into some early versions of the Bible.Besides, he has undoubtedly done such research: his Journey to the Source of the Nile reveals his knowledge of the Old Testament on almost every page.An expert on the Bible once said that Bruce's knowledge in this area was "brilliant". This is not the only instance in which Bruce is "well beyond the usual erudition".I already knew that he had also done meticulous and original research on the culture and history of black Jews in Ethiopia.He said: "I found it no difficulty in investigating the history of this strange people, and in the company of some of the most learned and respected among them." His efforts have enabled him to make a profound contribution to the study of the Falasha society.This one, like many of his others, did not coincide with his professional zeal for geographic exploration, but with the search for the Ark of the Covenant. I called Bele Godet, a historian in Addis Ababa, and asked him for insights into Bruce's motivations for going to Ethiopia.His answer surprised me: "Actually, we Ethiopians say that Mr. James Bruce didn't come to our country to explore the source of the Nile. We think he just used it as a cover. We say he has another purpose." I said, "Please elaborate. If his goal is not the Nile, what do you think his real goal is?" "The real reason he came to our country was to steal our treasures," Godet said indignantly, "our cultural treasures. He brought back many precious manuscripts to Europe. For example, "Enoch" (Enoch, " Old Testament character, Adam's seventh generation descendant--Translator's Note). He also took from the royal collection of Gondar an ancient manuscript of "Glory of the Kings." I haven't heard this news before, but it's very exciting if it's true.I did further investigation and it proved Godet to be absolutely right.Bruce did take King's Glory with him when he left Ethiopia, but not just the excellent copy in Curry's Royal Collection, but a copy of that copy, which he copied himself (because His knowledge of Jeze, an ancient Ethiopian language, was "almost perfect").Much later he gave both manuscripts to the Boudley Library in Oxford, England, where they have been preserved to this day (cataloged as "Bruce 93 " and "Bruce 97"). That's not all of Bruce's contribution. Scholars before the 18th century believed that the Book of Enoch was lost and could not be recovered - it was written long before the birth of Christ and was regarded as the most important chapter in the Jewish scriptures, which can only be obtained from fragments of other scriptures and See the reference for its content.This situation was completely changed when James Bruce provided several transcripts of the lost work, which he copied during his stay in Ethiopia.These manuscripts of his are the first complete versions of the Book of Enoch seen by Europeans. I was of course also interested in discovering that Bruce had brought "King's Glory" back to Europe, and had taken the trouble to transcribe this voluminous tome with his own hand.Thus, the fact that he summed up this great work without mentioning the Ark made me more skeptical than I was at first.However, doubt does not equal fact.I was therefore finally able to confirm my suspicions only after learning the full history of the Book of Enoch and the scholarly contribution of the Scottish explorer. I learned that the Freemasons have always taken the Book of Enoch very seriously.In Bruce's day, some Masonic rituals equated the prophet Enoch with the Ethiopian god of wisdom, Thoth.Then, I also found a long entry in the Royal Encyclopedia of Masonics, which records some other legends about Masonic.Enoch, for example, invented the written word: "He taught the people the art of building"; before the Flood he "worried that the true secrets would be lost, and carved the Top Secret on a white porphyry, and buried it in the ground." This Encyclopedia entry concludes: "The Book of Enoch, it is said, existed from time immemorial, and the priests of the Church constantly5! transcript." This entry refers to Bruce very concisely and in a friendly tone.In addition, the "Book of Enoch" that Bruce brought back to Europe was not one copy, but three, all of which shows that Bruce himself is likely to be a Freemason.If so, then the confusion caused by his evasiveness and cover-up would be explained. I believe he had a special interest in the Ark, but he was determined to conceal it.Now I know exactly where his interest comes from, and why he wants to hide it.As a Freemason, and a Freemason in Scotland, he was probably well aware of the legends taught by the Templars about the "Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia". But is Bruce a Freemason?Finding out the answer to this question is no easy task.In his more than 3,000-page "Journey to the Source of the Nile" there was no clue that would lead me to relevant information.Bruce's two informative and lengthy biographies (the first in 1836, the second in 1962) offer no revelations either. Until August 199o, I finally went to Scotland to visit the Bruce family mansion.I hope to get some decisive information there.On the outskirts of the Falchik suburb of Rabot, I found the Kinnard mansion.It was set back from the main road, and was a large, relatively closed, imposing mansion of gray stone. Mr. John Findlay Russell, the present proprietor of the house, had some reasonable hesitation at first when he heard of my purpose, before he invited me in and showed me the house.Judging by many architectural details, however, the mansion does not belong to the era of Bruce. Findlay Russell said: "That's exactly right. Kinnard House ceased to belong to the Bruce family in 1895. Its new owner, Dr Robert Orr, tore it down. He built it in 1897 The current building." We came into a spacious, paneled corridor facing a wide stone staircase.Findlay Russell said proudly, pointing to the stairs: "They're the only part of the original mansion that remains. Dr. Orr left them where they were and built his house around them. You know , they are very historic." "Oh really? Why?" "Because James Bruce died on those steps. It was in 1794, entertaining guests in an upstairs room and accompanying them downstairs. He tripped and knocked his head. That's how he It's a tragedy." Before leaving, I asked Findlay Russell, "Is Bruce a Masonic?" He said: "No idea. I don't know at all. Of course I am very interested in him, but I am not an expert after all." I nodded, disappointed.However, when I was about to go out, another question came to my mind: "Do you know where Bruce is buried?" "The old church in the city of Rabote. You have to look carefully for his grave, though. There used to be a tall iron obelisk there, but it was pulled down a few years ago because it was rusting. It was thought to be a risk to the public safety." It only took me ten minutes to drive to that church.It took me longer, though, to find the grave of Scotland's greatest explorer. The weather was bad that afternoon, it was raining.I searched repeatedly among the rows of tombstones, feeling more and more disappointed.Despite Bruce's many flaws as a man, I have a strong feeling that it is a disgrace that this enigmatic brave man deserves a permanent memorial, and that he should be left in an unmarked cemetery . 我搜遍了主要墓地，一无所获。后来，我发现了一片杂草丛生的小墓地，周围有一圈石头矮墙，墙上有个小门。我打开小门，踏上了一段只有三级的台阶，它通向……一个垃圾堆。一堆堆旧衣服、被丢弃的鞋子、罐头筒和零散的破家具，散落在长满刺人的蓖麻和荆棘的墓地上。几棵大树的树枝交织在我头上，树叶交错，形成了一个绿色的滴水凉棚，几乎透不进任何光线。 我一边诅咒着向我飞扑过来的大群蚊子和黄蜂，一边尽量朝植物丛的深处走去。我也曾四处环顾，但意识到最好还是在这里寻找。然而，当我几乎放弃了希望时，却突然看见墓地中央有几块坚实的石板，上面长满了青苔和野蓖麻。 我怀着尊崇（但也有几分恼怒），尽量清除了石板上的东西，然后俯身查看。石板上没有说它们就是布鲁斯的墓碑，但不知为什么我却确实感到它们就是。我的喉咙不觉有些硬咽。这里安息着一个人，一个伟大的人，他在我以前去过埃塞俄比亚。不仅如此，如果他果真像我推测的那样，是位共济会员，那就几乎毫无疑问：他到那个遥远国度就是为了寻找失踪的约柜。但现在看来，我也许永远无法证实这一点了。惟一能确定的是，布鲁斯使自己被遗忘了——被他出生的土地遗忘了。 我在那里呆了一会儿，心中十分郁闷。然后，我离开了那块墓地，但不是从进来的那个小门出去的，而是翻过围墙，来到了外面的一块空地上。我几乎立即就在那里看见了一件使我感兴趣的东西：离我站的地方不远的地面上，放着一座巨大的金属方尖碑。我走了过去，发现上面刻着詹姆斯·布鲁斯的名字，此外还有几行铭文： 他毕生从事有益的壮举， 他探索过许多遥远的地域， 他发现了尼罗河的源头。 他是位温情的丈夫，是位溺爱的父亲， 他是位热忱的爱国者， 人类异口同声，将他的英名列入 那些以天才、英勇与美德著称的人物。 这座方尖碑上最使我激动的一点是：它完好无损，既没有生锈，也没有破损，它上面还涂着新的红色底漆。显然，有个人还在对这位探险家感兴趣，这使他恢复了这座方尖碑的本来面貌，只是没有把它重新竖立在布鲁斯的墓旁。 那天傍晚，我采访了教堂的几位主管，了解到了这位神秘施主的身份。他们说，几年前，这座方尖碑曾被抬走修复，我到拉博特市的前一天才被送回来。组织并资助修复工作的人不是别人，正是苏格兰布鲁斯家族的名誉族长——俄尔金及金纳德伯爵，他本人就是共济会的大师。 这是个很有希望的线索。我沿着它，一直追踪到布鲁姆府，它是弗斯湾（苏格兰东部临北海的港湾——译者注）北部的一座宅邸，俄尔金伯爵就住在那里。我先往那里打了电话（布鲁姆府的电话号码就在电话簿上），约定8月4日星期六上午去见俄尔金伯爵。 伯爵事先在电话里说："我只能给你15分钟。" 我回答说："15分钟已经足够了。" 届时，我见到了俄尔金伯爵。他身材矮胖，已经上了年纪，并且一条腿分明有些破（那显然是第二次世界大战时在日本人的监狱里受到的伤害）。他没有做过分的寒暄，就我把领进了一个华丽的客厅，客厅里挂着一些家族成员的肖像。伯爵让我直陈来意。 到目前为止，他的举止一直有些生硬。然而，我们一谈到布鲁斯，他的态度便温和起来。从他对布鲁斯生平细节的广泛了解，我渐渐领悟到，他曾经仔细研究过这位苏格兰探险家的一生。 在一个楼层上，他把我带进了另一个房间，让我看几个书架。书架上都是用各种不同语言写成的珍贵古书。他解释说："这些都是布鲁斯私人书房的藏书。他这个人的兴趣非常广泛……我这里还有他的望远镜、四分仪和罗盘呢……你想看的话，我就给你找出来。" 我们参观这一切时，伯爵原先答应给我的15分钟已经延长到了一个半小时。我虽然被俄尔金伯爵的热情所感染，但还是打算提出一个问题——驱使我拜访布鲁姆府的，正是这个问题。 此刻，他突然看了看手表，说道："糟糕，已经到这个时候了。恐怕你得走了。我还有事……今天下午我要去高原地区。以后你还可以再来。" "哦……好吧，我非常愿意再来拜访。" 听了我的话，伯爵优雅地微笑着，站起身来。我也站起来，和他握手。我觉得自己很蠢，但还是下了个决心——不满足我的好奇就绝不离开这里。 我说："如果您不介意的话，我特别想请教您一件事情。它和我正在考虑的一个理论有关，涉及布鲁斯到埃塞俄比亚探险的动机。您是否碰巧知道……我是说，是否有一种可能，哪怕一丁点儿可能，布鲁斯曾是个共济会员？" 俄尔金伯爵似乎有些吃惊："老弟，他当然是共济会员啦。那是他一生中最最重要的部分嘛！"?