The punishment due to Hajji Baba falls upon Nadân, which makes the
former a staunch predestinarian.
I had passed ten long and tedious days in my hiding-place without the
smallest tidings from the mollah Nadân. I was suspicious that his star
was still glancing obliquely at him, and that matters had not gone quite
so well as he had expected. Little communication existed between the
city and the village; and I began to despair of ever again hearing of my
horse, my rich trappings and clothes, when, one evening a peasant,
who had gone to the market-place of Hamadan for the purpose of hiring
himself as a labourer in the fields, and who had returned disappointed,
by his discourse threw some light upon my apprehension.
He said that a great stir had been excited by the arrival of a nasakchi,
who had seized the son of their Aga (the owner of the village), taken
away his horse, and carried him off prisoner to the capital, under the
accusation of being the murderer of the mollah bashi of Tehran.
I leave the gentle reader to judge of my feelings upon hearing this
intelligence. I soon became satisfied of the reason of the mollahs
silence; and although I felt myself secure for the present, yet I was
far from certain how long I might remain so. I immediately declared
that I was perfectly restored to health, and taking a hasty leave of my
hospitable villagers, made the best of my way to Hamadan, in order to
ascertain the truth of the peasants intelligence.
Nadâns father was well known in the city, and I found no difficulty
in discovering where he lived. I abstained from entering his house,
and making any direct inquiries concerning the fate of my friend; but
I stopped at the shop of a barber in the neighbourhood, both because I
wanted his assistance in giving a decent appearance to my head and face,
and because I knew that he would be the most likely person to inform me
of the real state of the case.
I found him as talkative and as officious as I could wish. When I had
asked him the news of the day, and had pleaded my ignorance of the
recent occurrence that had filled everybody with astonishment, he
stepped back two paces, and exclaimed, Whence do you come, that the
iniquities of that dog the mollah Nadân are unknown to you? He was not
satisfied with killing the chief priest, but he must needs dress himself
in his very clothes; and, not content with that, he also has stolen one
of the chief executioners best horses and furniture. Wondrous dirt has
he been eating!
I entreated my informant to relate all the particulars of a story of
which I pretended to be totally ignorant; and without waiting for a
second request, he spoke as follows:--
About ten days ago this Nadân arrived at the gate of his fathers
house, mounted on a superb horse, caparisoned in a style more fitting a
khan and a man of the sword than a poor servant of God. He was dressed
in shawls of the finest quality, and looked indeed like the high priest
himself. His appearance in this fashion of dress and equipage created
an extraordinary sensation; because a very short time before it was
reported that he had incurred the Shahs displeasure, and had been
turned out of Tehran in the most ignominious manner. He gave himself
all sorts of airs upon alighting; and when questioned concerning his
expulsion from the capital, he appeared to make very light of it, and
said that he had been made to understand, in a secret manner, that his
disgrace was only temporary; and that, by way of softening it, he had
been presented with the horse which he then rode.
This tale was believed by every one, and he was received at his
fathers house with great honours; but most unfortunately, the next day,
when about mounting his horse to show himself in the city, a nasakchi
passed the gate of the house, having just arrived from Tehran. He
stopped, and looked at the animal very earnestly; inspected the bridle
and gold-pommelled saddle, and then cried out, _La Allah il Allah!_
there is but one God! He inquired of the bystanders to whom the horse
belonged, and was informed that it was the property of the mollah Nadân.
The Mollah Nadân! exclaimed he in a great rage: whose dog is he?
That horse is the property of my master, the chief executioner; and
whoever says it is not is a liar, whoever he may be, mollah or no
mollah!
At this interval appeared the delinquent himself, who, upon seeing what
was going on, endeavoured to hide himself from the observation of the
nasakchi; for it so happened that he was one of the officers who had
paraded him through the capital on the day of his disgrace.
Wearing the garments and turbaned cap of the deceased chief priest,
the dangers of his situation immediately stared him in the face, and
he would have decamped on the spot, had he not been recognized by the
nasakchi, who as soon as he saw him cried out, Seize him, take his
soul, that is he--the very man. Well done, my happy stars! By the head
of Ali, by the beard of the Prophet, that is the bankrupt rogue who
killed the chief priest and stole my masters horse.
By this time the nasakchi had dismounted, and, with the assistance of
his own attendant, and of the bystanders (who soon discovered that he
was acting under authority), he secured the mollah, who, in his defence,
made oath upon oath that he was neither thief nor murderer, and that he
was ready to swear his innocence upon the Koran.
The barber related very faithfully the whole conversation which took
place between Nadân and the nasakchi, the result of which was that
the latter took the former with him to Tehran, notwithstanding all the
interest made in his favour by the mollahs father and friends.
Never was breast torn by so many contending feelings as mine, upon
hearing the fate that had befallen my companion, as related to me by the
barber. In the first place, I bemoaned the loss of my horse and his rich
trappings, and of my fine shawl dresses; but in the next I enjoyed a
feeling of security when I considered, that if poor Nadân should happen
to lose his head, no account would ever be asked from me of my late
iniquities. I still could not help looking upon myself as one under
the protection of a good star, whilst the mollah, I concluded, was
inevitably doomed to be unfortunate: else why should we have exchanged
clothes, and he taken my horse from me at a time when I was in no way
inclined to accede to his proposals? But, notwithstanding there was
every likelihood that he would suffer the punishment due to me, still,
for the present, I could not feel myself secure so long as I remained in
Persia, and therefore determined to proceed upon my original intention,
and quit it without further delay. I consoled myself for the loss of
the horse and clothes, by the possession of the remaining ninety-five
tomauns, which would be sufficient for my present wants; and then those
powerful words, _Khoda buzurg est!_ God is great, stood me in lieu (as
they do many a poor wretch besides) of a provision for the future, and
of protection against all the unforeseen misfortunes preparing for us by
the hand of fate.