"Khoda shefa midêhed--God gives relief!" cried the pacha, as the divan
closed: and, certainly, during its continuance many had been relieved of
their worldly goods, and one or two from all future worldly thoughts or
wanderings.--"What have we to-day, Mustapha?"
"May your highness's shadow never be less!" replied the vizier. "Have we
not the slave who offered to lay his story at your sublime feet, on the
same evening that we met those sons of Shitan--Ali and Hussan, who
received the punishment merited by their enormous crimes? Have we not
also the manuscript of the Spanish slave, now translated by my faithful
Greek; who tells me that the words are flowing with honey, and their
music is equal to that of the bulbul when singing to his favourite
rose?"
"And the Giaour who relates his voyages and travels," interrupted the
pacha--"where is he? No Kessehgou of our own race tells stories like
unto his."
"The Giaour is on the waters, your highness. He is a very _rustam_ on
board of a ship, and brings wealth to the _hazneh_ of your sublime
highness. He consulted the astrologers, and the stars were propitious.
To-morrow I expect he will return."
"Well, then, we must content ourselves with what is offered. Let the
slave approach, and we will listen to his story, since we cannot have
the wonderful tales of Huckaback."
"Whose dog was Lokman, to be compared to your sublime highness in
wisdom?" replied Mustapha. "What are the words of Hafiz--'Every moment
that you enjoy, count it gain. Who shall say what will be the event of
any thing?'"
The slave, who had been detained by the orders of Mustapha, was ordered
to appear. During his confinement, Mustapha had been informed by his
people that he was "visited by Allah;" or in other words, that he was a
madman. Nevertheless, Mustapha--who was afraid to release a man (or
rather, a story) without the consent of the pacha, and could not send
for the renegade to supply any defalcation--considered that, upon the
whole, it was better that he should be admitted to the presence of the
pacha.
"You asked me to hear your story," observed the pacha, "and I have
consented,--not to please you, but to please myself, because I am fond
of a good story: which I take it for granted yours will be, or you would
not have presumed to make the request. Now you may go on."
"Pacha," replied the slave, who had seated himself in a corner, working
his body backward and forward, "it is the misfortune of those who not
aware--of the excitement which--as I before stated to your
highness--exceeds in altitude the lofty and snow-covered peak of
Hebrus--and, nevertheless, cannot be worth more than four or five
paras--"
"Holy prophet! what is all this?" interrupted the pacha; "I cannot
understand a word that you say. Do you laugh at our beard? Speak more
intelligibly. Remember!"
"I remember it as if it were now," continued the maniac, "although years
have rolled away. Never will it be effaced from my recollection while
this heart, broken as it is, continues to beat, or this brain may be
permitted to burn. The sun had just disappeared behind the rugged
summits of the mountain which sheltered my abode from the unkind
north-east wind: the leaves of the vines that hung in festoons on the
trellis before my cottage, which, but a minute before, pierced by his
glorious rays, had appeared so brilliant and transparent, had now
assumed a browner shade, and, as far as the eye could reach, a thin blue
vapour was descending the ravine: the distant sea had changed its
intense blue for a sombre grey, while the surf rolled sullenly to the
beach, as if in discontent that it could no longer reflect the colours
of the prism as before, when it seemed to dance with joy under the
brilliant illumination of the god of day--"
"Poof!" ejaculated the pacha, fanning himself.
"My boat was on the beach; my eyes were fixed upon it, in happy vacancy,
until the shades of night prevented my discerning the nets which were
spread upon its gunnel. I turned round at the soft voice of my Etana,
who was seated near me with her infant in her arms, and watching the
little one's impatience, as it would demand a more rapid flow of milk
from that snowy breast, and the fond smile of the delighted mother, as
she bent over the first dear pledge of our affection. I felt
happy--almost too happy: I had all I wished--yes I had,"--and the maniac
paused and smote his forehead, "but it is past now."
After a second or two he resumed--
"For my part it has always been my opinion that when the wind backs to
the south-east, the fish repair to the deep water; and if you will be
careful when you gather the grapes not to throw in the stalks, that the
wine will, as I before stated to your highness, only increase the
extreme difficulty of ascertaining how far a man could conscientiously
demand, that is to say, in proportion to the degree of intellect, stated
at different intervals, and extending down the crags of the whole
ravine."
"I cannot, positively, understand a word of all this!" exclaimed the
pacha, with irritation; "can you, Mustapha?"
"How is it possible for your slave to comprehend that which is concealed
from the wisdom of your highness?"
"Very true," replied the pacha.
"Your highness will understand it all by-and-bye," observed the maniac;
"but it will be necessary that you wait until I have finished the story,
when it will all reel off like a skein of silk, which at present but
appears to be ravelled."
"Well then," replied the pacha, "I wish you would begin at the end of
your story, and finish with the beginning. Now go on."
"There is nought under heaven so interesting--so graceful--so pleasing
to contemplate as a young mother with her first-born at her breast. The
soft lisps and caresses of childhood--the expanding graces of the
budding maiden--the blushing, smiling, yet trembling bride, all lose in
the comparison with woman in her beauty fulfilling her destiny on earth;
her countenance radiating with those intense feelings of delight, which
more than repay her for her previous hours of sorrow and of anguish. But
I'm afraid I tire your highness."
"Wallah el Nebi!--by God and his Prophet, you do indeed. Is it all to be
like that?"
"No! pacha. I wish to heaven that it had been. Merciful God!--why didst
thou permit the blow?--Was not I grateful?--Were not my eyes suffused
with tears, springing from gratitude and love, at the very moment when
they rushed in--when their murdering weapons were pointed to my
breast--when the mother shrieked as they tore away the infant as a
useless encumbrance, and dashed it to the ground--when I caught it up,
and the pistol of the savage Turk put an end to its existence? I see it
now, as I kissed the little ruby fountain which bubbled from its heart:
I see her too, as they bore her away senseless in their arms. Pacha, in
one short minute I was bereft of all--wife, child, home, liberty, and
reason; and here I am, a madman and a slave!"
The maniac paused: then starting upon his feet, he commenced in a loud
voice:--"But I know who they were--I know them all, and I know where she
is too: and now, pacha, you shall do me justice. This is he who stole my
wife; this is he who murdered my child; this is he who keeps her from my
arms: and thus I beard him in your presence:"--and as he finished his
exclamations, he sprang upon the terrified Mustapha, seizing him by the
beard with one hand, while with the other he beat his turban about his
head.
The guards rushed in, and rescued the vizier from the awkward position
in which he was placed by his own imprudence, in permitting the man to
appear at the divan.
The rage of the pacha was excessive; and the head of the maniac would
have been separated from his body, had it not been for the prudence of
Mustapha, who was aware that the common people consider idiots and
madmen to be under the special protection of heaven, and that such an
act would be sufficient to create an insurrection. At his intercession,
the man was taken away by the guards, and not released until he was a
considerable distance from the palace.
"Allah Karim!--God is merciful!" exclaimed the pacha as soon as the
maniac had been carried away. "I'm glad that he did not think it was me
who had his wife."
"Allah forbid that your highness should have been so treated. He has
almost ruined the beard of your slave," replied the vizier, adjusting
the folds of his turban.
"Mustapha, make a memorandum never again to accept an offer. I'm
convinced that a volunteer story is worth nothing."
"Your highness speaks the truth--no man parts readily with what is worth
retaining--gold is not kicked up with the sandal, nor diamonds to be
found glittering in the rays of the sun. If we would obtain them, we
must search and labour in the dark mine.--Will your highness be pleased
to hear the manuscript which had been translated by the Greek slave?"
"Be it so," replied the pacha, not in the very best of humours.
The Greek made his appearance and made his salutation, and then read as
follows:--
MANUSCRIPT OF THE MONK,
RECORDING THE DISCOVERY OF THE ISLAND OF MADEIRA.
Before I am summoned to that offended tribunal, to propitiate which I
have passed so many years in penitence and prayer, let me record for
the benefit of others the history of one, who, yielding to fatal
passion, embittered the remainder of his own days, and shortened those
of the adored partner of his guilt. Let my confession be public, that
warning may be taken from my example; and may the sincerity with which I
acknowledge my offence, and the tears which I have shed, efface it from
the accumulated records of the wilfulness and disobedience of man!
In a few days this attenuated frame will be mingled with the dust from
which it sprung, and scattered by the winds of heaven, or by the labour
of future generations, as chance may dictate, will yield sustenance to
the thistle which wars against the fertility of nature, or the grain
which is the support of our existence,--to the nightshade with its
deadly fruit, or the creeping violet with its sweet perfume. The heart
which has throbbed so tumultuously with the extreme of love, and which
has been riven with the excess of woe, will shortly pant no more. The
mind which has been borne down by the irresistible force of
passion,--which has attempted to stem the torrent, but in vain, and,
since the rage of it has passed away, has been left like the once
fertile valley which has been overflown, a waste of barrenness and
desolation,--will shortly cease from its wearied action. In a few brief
days I must appear in the presence of an offended, yet merciful Saviour,
who, offering every thing, weeps at the insanity of our rejection. Let
then the confessions of Henrique serve as a beacon to those who are
inclined to yield to the first impulse; when, alarmed at the discovery
of their errors, they will find that conviction has arrived too late,
and that, like me, they will be irresistibly impelled against the
struggles of reason and of conscience.
I am an Englishman by birth: my parents were called away before I was
five years old; yet still I have a dreaming memory of my mother--a faint
recollection of one at whose knees I used, each night, to hold up my
little hands in orison, and who blessed her child as she laid him to
repose.
But I lost those whose precepts might have been valuable to me in
after-life, and was left to the guardianship of one who thought that, in
attending to my worldly interests, he fulfilled the whole duty which was
required of him. My education was not neglected, but there was no one to
advise me upon points of more serious importance. Naturally of a fiery
and impatient temper,--endued with a perseverance which was only
increased by the obstacles which presented themselves, I encouraged any
feeling to be working in my mind in preference to repose, which was
hateful. To such excess did it arrive as I grew up, that difficulty and
danger, even pain and remorse, were preferable to that calm sunshine of
the breast which others consider so enviable. I could exist but by
strong sensations: remove them, and I felt as does the habitual drunkard
in the morning, until his nerves have been again stimulated by a
repetition of his draughts. My pursuits were of the same tendency:
constant variety and change of scene were what I coveted. I felt a
desire "to be imprisoned in the viewless winds, and blown with restless
violence about the pendent world." At night I was happy; for as soon as
sleep had sealed my eyes, I invariably dreamt that I had the power of
aerostation, and, in my imagination, cleaved through the air with the
strength of an eagle, soaring above my fellow-creatures, and looking
down upon them and their ceaseless drudgery with contempt.
To a mind thus constituted by nature, and unchecked by counsel, it is
not surprising that the darling wish and constant idea was to roam the
world; and the vast ocean, which offered to me the means of gratifying
my passion, was an object of love and adoration. If I had not the wings
of the eagle with which fancy had supplied me in my dreams, still I
could fly before the wings of the wind, and, as in my aerial excursions
when asleep, leave no track behind. As soon as I had arrived at the age
which allowed me to take possession of my property, I sought the element
so congenial to my disposition. For some years I continued the
profession, and was fortunate in my speculations; but I cared little for
gain; my delight was in roving from clime to clime, flying before the
gale,--in looking with defiance at the vast mountainous seas which
threatened to overwhelm me,--in the roaring of the wind,--in the mad
raging of the surf,--in the excitement of battle, even in the
destruction and disasters of the wreck.
It may be a source of astonishment that I arrived at the age of thirty
without ever feeling the sensation of love; but so it was. This most
powerful of excitements, which was so to influence my future existence,
had not yet been called into action: but it was roused at last, and,
like the hurricane, swept every thing before it in ruin and desolation.
I was at Cadiz, where I had arrived with a valuable cargo, when it was
proposed that I should witness the ceremony of taking the White Veil. As
the young woman who professed was of a noble family, and the solemnity
was to be conducted with the greatest splendour, I consented. The
magnificent decorations of the church, the harmony of the singing, the
solemn pealing of the organ, the splendid robes of the priests in
contrast with the sombre humility of the friars and nuns, the tossing of
the censers, the ascending clouds of frankincense, and, above all, the
extreme beauty of the fair devotee,--produced feelings of interest which
I had not imagined could have been raised from any description of
pageantry. When the ceremony was over, I quitted the church with new and
powerful sensations, which at the time I could not precisely analyse.
But when I lay down on my couch, I perceived that, although the
splendour of the rites were but faint in my recollection, the image of
the sweet girl kneeling before the altar was engraven on my heart. I
felt an uneasiness, a restlessness, a vacuum in my bosom, which, like
that in the atmosphere, is the forerunner of the tempest. I could not
sleep; but, tossing from one side to the other during the whole night,
rose the next morning feverish and unrefreshed.
Following, as usual, the impulse of my feelings, I repaired to her
relative, who had taken me to witness the ceremony, and persuaded him to
introduce me at the wicket of the convent.
As she had yet one year of probation previous to her taking the final
vows, which were for ever to seclude her from the world, in seeing her
there was no difficulty. Her duteous resignation to the will of her
parents, her serene and beautiful countenance, her angelic smile,--all
contributed to the increase of my passion; and, after an hour's
conversation, I left her with my heart in a state of tumult, of which it
is not easy to express the idea. My visits were repeated again and
again. In a short time I declared my sentiments, and found that I was
listened to without offending. Before I quitted Cadiz, which my
engagements rendered imperative, I obtained from her a reciprocal
acknowledgment. And as there were still nine months to pass away
previous to her decision upon a monastic life, before that period had
elapsed, I faithfully promised to return, and claim her as my own. As we
professed the same faith, and she had only been sacrificed that the
possessions of her brother might not be diminished by the fortune which
her marriage would require, I did not anticipate any objections from her
parents. I required no dower, having more than sufficient to supply her
with every luxury. We parted; our hands trembled as we locked our
fingers through the grating; our tears fell, but could not be mingled;
our lips quivered, but could not meet; our hearts were beating with
excess of love; but I could not strain her in my embrace. "In three
months more, Rosina!" exclaimed I, as I walked backward from the
grating, my eyes still fixed upon her. "Till then, farewell, Henrique!
Relying upon your faith and honour, I shall not hesitate to cherish your
dear image in my heart;"--and, overcome by her feelings, Rosina burst
into tears, and hurried from my sight.
I sailed with prosperous gales, and arrived safely at my own country.
My ventures were disposed of: I realised a large sum of money, had
completed all my arrangements, and in a few days intended to return to
Cadiz, to fulfil my engagement with Rosina. I was in the metropolis,
impatiently waiting for the remainder of the freight to be put on board
of the vessel in which I had taken my passage, when, one evening, as I
was sauntering in the Park, anticipating the bliss of rejoining the
object of my affection, I was rudely pushed aside by a personage richly
attired, who was escorting two of the ladies of the court. Fired at the
insult, and, as usual, acting upon the first impulse, I struck him in
the face, and drew my sword--forgetting, at the time that I was in the
precincts of the Palace. I was seized and imprisoned: my offence was
capital; my adversary a relation of the king's. I offered a large sum
for my release; but when they found out that I was wealthy, they
rejected, as I increased, my offers, until I was compelled to sacrifice
one half of my worldly possessions to escape from the severity of the
Star Chamber. But the loss of property was nothing; I had still more
than enough: it was the dreadful length of my confinement, during which
anxiety had swelled hours into days, and days into months of torture and
suspense. I had been incarcerated more than a year before I could obtain
my release. When in my imagination I conjured up Rosina lamenting my
infidelity, reproaching me in her solitude for my broken vows, and
(there was madness in the very thought) yielding in her resentment and
her grief to the solicitations of her parents, and taking the veil,--I
was frantic; I tore my hair, beat the walls of my prison, raved for
liberty, and offered to surrender up every shilling that I possessed.
* * * * *
"By the beard of the prophet, this tires me," exclaimed the pacha.
"Murakhas, you are dismissed."
The Greek slave bowed and retired.