The next evening the old woman made her appearance, without raising any
difficulty, as on the previous day, and took her seat before the pacha,
and thus continued:--
As I stated to your highness last evening when I broke off my
narrative, I was in the highest favour with the sultan, who made me his
confidant. He had often mentioned to me the distinguished services of a
young seraskier, whom he had lately appointed capitan pacha, to combat
in the north against a barbarous nation called Sclavonians, or Russians.
My curiosity was raised to see this Rustam of a warrior, for his
exploits and unvaried success were constantly the theme of the sultan's
encomiums. A Georgian slave, who had been the favourite previous to my
arrival, and who had never forgiven my supplanting her, had been sent to
him by the sultan as a compliment; and this rare distinction had been
conferred upon him on the day when I requested leave to remain behind
the screen in the hall of the divan, that I might behold this celebrated
and distinguished person. He was indeed a splendid figure, and his face
was equally perfect. He formed, in outward appearance, all that I could
imagine of a hero. As I looked at him from behind the screen, he turned
his head from me, and I beheld, to my surprise, the red stain on his
neck, which told me, at once, that I had found my long-lost brother.
Delighted at the rencontre, I retired as soon as the audience was over,
and the sultan came to my apartment; I told him the discovery which I
had made. The sultan appeared pleased at the information: and the next
day sending for my brother, he asked him a few questions relative to his
lineage and former life, which corroborated my story, and, loading him
with fresh honours, he dismissed him. I was delighted that, in finding
my brother, I had found one who was not unworthy of the sultan's regard,
and I considered it a most fortunate circumstance; but how blind are
mortals! My brother was the cause of my disgrace and eternal separation
from the sultan. I mentioned to your highness that the Georgian slave,
who had preceded me in the sultan's favour, had been sent as a present
to my brother. This woman, although she had always appeared fond of me,
was, in fact, my most bitter enemy. She was very beautiful and clever,
and soon obtained the most unlimited influence over my brother. Yet she
loved him not; she had but one feeling to gratify, which was revenge on
me. My brother had so often led the troops to victory, that he had
acquired an unbounded sway over them. Stimulated by their suggestions,
and his own ambition, which like mine, was boundless, he was at last
induced to plot against his master, with the intention of dethroning
him, and reigning in his stead. To his new wife, the Georgian, he had
intrusted his plans; and she resolved to regain the favour of the sultan
and accomplish my ruin, by making me a party, and then communicating to
him the treason which was in agitation. She proposed to my brother that
he should inform me of his intentions, alleging, that in all probability
I would assist him, as I cared little for the sultan; and at all events,
if I did not join, my interest might save him from his wrath. For some
time he refused to accede to her suggestions; but as she pointed out
that if the plot were discovered, I, as his sister, would certainly
share his fate, and that she well knew that I had never forgiven the
punishment of the bastinado which I had received, and only waited for an
opportunity to revenge myself, he at last consented to make me a party
to his intentions. My brother had been allowed to visit me, and he took
this opportunity of stating to me his schemes. I started from him with
horror, pointed out to him his ingratitude and folly, and entreated him
to abandon his purpose. Convinced that I was firmly attached to the
sultan, he appeared to acquiesce in the justice of my remarks, confessed
that he was wrong, and promised me faithfully to think no more of his
treacherous designs. I believed him to be sincere, and I shed tears of
joy, as I thanked him for having yielded to my entreaties. We separated,
and in a short time I thought no more of the subject.
But he had no idea of abandoning his purpose; in fact, he was already
too deeply involved to be able to do so. His arrangements went on
rapidly; and when all was ripe, the Georgian gave information to the
sultan, denouncing me as a party as well as my brother.
One morning as I was sitting in my apartment, arranging on a tray a
present for my lord and master, I was surprised by the abrupt entrance
of the Kislar Aga, accompanied by guards, who without explanation seized
me, and led me into the presence-chamber, where the sultan and all the
officers of state were assembled. It immediately rushed into my mind
that my brother had deceived me. Pale with anxiety, but at the same time
with a feeling of delight that the plot had been discovered, I entered
the divan, where I beheld my brother in the custody of the palace-guard.
He had been seized in the divan, as his popularity was so great, that a
few minutes' notice would have enabled him not only to escape, but to
have put his treasonable plans into execution; but he bore himself with
such a haughty air, with his arms folded across his breast, that I
thought he might be innocent; and that he had, as he promised me,
abandoned all thoughts of rebellion.
I turned towards the sultan, who fixed his eyes upon me; his brows were
knit with anger, and he commenced, "Zara, your brother is accused of
treason, which he denies. You, also, are charged with being privy to his
designs. Answer me, do you know anything of these plots?"
I did not know how to answer this question, and I would not tell a lie.
I did know something about his intentions; but as he had denied the
charge, it was not to be expected that he should be condemned by the
mouth of his only sister. Perhaps he had, as he had promised me,
abandoned his ideas;--perhaps it could not be proved against him. My
answer would have been the signal for his death. I could not give the
answer required, and I replied, "If my brother be found guilty of
rebelling against his sovereign, let him suffer. I, my lord, have never
plotted or rebelled against you."
"Answer my question, Zara. Do you know anything about this plot? Yes or
no. Say _no_, and I shall believe you."
"Your slave has never plotted against her lord," replied I. "Further I
cannot answer your question."
"Then it is true;--and Zara--even Zara is false!" cried the sultan,
clasping his hands in agony. "O! where can a person in my situation find
one who is faithful and true, when Zara, even Zara is false?"
"No--no, my lord," cried I, bursting into tears; "Zara is true;--always
has been, always will be, true. _That_ I can boldly answer--but do not
press the other question."
The sultan looked at me for a short time, and then consulted with the
viziers and others, who stood by the throne with their arms folded. The
chief vizier replied, "Those who know of treason, and conceal it, are
participators in the crime."
"True--most true. Zara, for the last time I ask you, what do you know of
this intended insurrection? I must be trifled with no longer. A plain
answer, or----"
"I cannot answer that question, my lord."
"Zara, as you value your life, answer me immediately," cried the sultan,
with violence;--but I answered not.
Twice more did the forbearance and love of the sultan induce him to
repeat the question; but I remained silent.
He waved his hands, I was seized by the mutes, and the bowstring
encircled my neck. All was ready, they awaited but the last signal to
tighten the fatal cord.
"Once more, Zara, will you answer; or brave me to your destruction?"
"Sultan, I will at least speak to you before I die. I only wish to
declare my fidelity and my love to you in my last moments, to tell you
that I forgive you for that which, when the truth is known, you will
never forgive yourself. One moment more. Let me remove this jewelled
chain from my neck, now superseded by the bowstring. You presented it to
me when convinced of my attachment and my love. Take it, sultan, and
when you find one as faithful and as true, present it to her; but until
you do so, wear it in memory of Zara. And now let me throw my veil over
those features which have always beamed with love and delight on you,
that when I am dead, and you call them to your recollection, they may be
as you have been used to see them, and not black with convulsions and
distorted with agony. My lord, my dear and honoured lord, farewell!"
The sultan was deeply moved; he turned away his head, and covered his
face with one hand, while the other dropped at his side from the
intensity of his feelings.
Although it never was so intended, this dropping of his hand was
considered as the signal for my death. The string was tightened, and
buried itself, cutting deeply into the flesh of a neck once as fair and
smooth as the polished marble of Patras. For the first moments my
torture was excruciating--my eyes were forcing out of their sockets--my
tongue protruded from my mouth--my brain appeared to be on fire--but all
recollection soon departed.
* * * * *
"Staffir Allah! God forgive me! but are you not laughing at our beards,
old scarecrow? What think you, Mustapha?" continued the pacha, turning
to him. "What is all this but _lies_?"
"Lies!" screamed the old woman. "Lies! you tell me they are lies! Well,
well--the time has been. Pacha, after what I have suffered by telling
the truth all my life, it is hard, in my old age, to be told that I lie;
but you shall be convinced," and the old woman put her hands up to the
shrivelled, pendent skin of her neck, and stretching it out smooth,
showed a deep blue mark, which encircled it like a necklace. "Now are
you satisfied?"
The pacha nodded his head to Mustapha, as if convinced; and then said,
"You may proceed."
"Yes, I may proceed; but I tell you, pacha, that if you doubt what I say
once more, I will return your twenty pieces of gold, and hold my tongue.
I proved that I could do it as a young woman, and we become more
obstinate as we get old."
"That is no lie," observed Mustapha. "Continue, old woman, and we will
not interrupt you with doubts again."
* * * * *
My brother, who had watched every motion of the sultan's, and who had
determined to reveal all rather than that I should suffer, when he
perceived the fatal mistake, which he did not till some moments
afterwards, uttered a loud cry, and attempted to burst from his guards.
Roused by the cry, the sultan looked up, and perceived what had taken
place. In a moment he darted from his throne, and was kneeling by me
with frantic exclamations. The mutes hastily tore away the bowstring,
but I was, to all appearance, dead.
"Yes, sultan, well you may rave," exclaimed my brother; "for you have
good cause. You have destroyed one who, as she declared with her last
breath, was most faithful and most true. I acknowledge the conspiracy. I
told her my intentions, and she thought that she had succeeded in
preventing me, for I promised by _the three_ to abandon my design. She
has been faithful both to you and to me, for she believed that, although
accused, I had atoned for my fault by repentance."
The sultan looked earnestly at my brother, but made no answer. He
embraced me, at one moment bursting into tears, in the next calling for
assistance. I was removed to my apartments, and after some time, the
physicians succeeded in restoring me to life; but I was for many days
confused and dizzy in the brain, during which time every attention and
care was lavished on me. One evening I felt sufficiently recovered to
speak, and I demanded of my attendants what had taken place. They
informed me that the mutes, who had mistaken the signal, had been
impaled, and that the Janissaries had risen and demanded my brother,
whose execution had been deferred by the sultan; but that on the
commotion taking place, by order of the grand vizier,--my brother had
been executed, and his head thrown out to the rebellious troops, who had
been dispersed, and had since been brought to subjection, and some
hundreds of the ringleaders had been executed. I turned away at this
intelligence, for I loved my noble but misguided brother. The movement
occasioned excruciating pain, which arose from the deep wound made by
the bowstring in my neck.
The next morning I rose, that I might contemplate my person in the
mirror, and I at once perceived the alteration which had taken place.
There was a certain degree of distortion of features which I thought
would never be removed. I felt, that although the sultan might respect
me, I could not expect the same influence and undivided attention as
before. With a heavy heart I threw myself on the couch, and planned for
the future. I reflected upon the uncertain tenure by which the
affections of a despot are held, and I resolved to part. Still I loved
him, loved him in spite of all his cruelty; but my resolution was made.
For six weeks I refused to see the sultan, although he inquired every
day, and sent me magnificent presents. At the end of that period I had
recovered, and all that remained from the effects of the bowstring was a
slight wrinkling of the skin from distension, and the deep blue mark
round my neck which I have just shown to your highness.
When I first admitted the sultan, he was much affected. "Zara," said he,
mournfully, "I swear by the holy prophet that I meant not to give the
signal."
"I believe you, my lord," replied I, calmly.
"Neither did I intend that your brother should suffer. I meant to have
gained your favour by his pardon."
"He was a traitor, my lord, an ungrateful traitor, and deserved his
death. So may all like him perish."
"And now, Zara, may I hope for your forgiveness?"
"On one condition, sultan; and swear that you will grant what I
require."
"I do, by Allah!"
"It is, that you send me back to my own country."
Not to detain your highness by dwelling too long upon what passed, it
will suffice to say, that notwithstanding the entreaties of the sultan,
and the pleadings of my own heart, my resolution was immovable. Every
arrangement was made for my departure, and during the preparations, the
sultan was continually with me, persuading me to abandon the idea. The
magnificence and liberality which he showed in the costly presents
bestowed upon me, that I might return with honour and wealth to my own
country, more than once made me waver in my resolution. The evening
before my departure he made a last attempt, but in vain. My refusal was
at least softened by the tears which I shed, for now that the time of
departure was so near, I felt how truly, how devotedly I was attached to
him. We parted; I threw myself on the couch, and wept till the dawn of
day, when I was summoned to commence my journey.
As your highness may be aware is the custom, when my brother was
executed, all his property was seized by the sultan, and distributed
among the favourites. The new capitan pacha who succeeded my brother was
called Abdallah, and was said to be an excellent soldier. Part of my
brother's property was made over to him, and among the rest the Georgian
slave, who had been the ruin of my brother, and had so fatally destroyed
my happiness. To show me every attention and respect, the sultan had
ordered Abdallah in person to escort me to my own country, with a picked
body of cavalry. The cavalcade was magnificent--treasure had been heaped
on treasure--present upon present; twenty women of my own country, and
numerous slaves had been permitted to attend upon me, and the procession
wore the appearance of a pageant. I ascended my litter with an aching
heart; and, journeying by easy stages, arrived at the land of my
nativity. The borders were passed, and Abdallah requested me to write an
acknowledgment that he had done his duty, which the sultan would require
of him upon his return. I gave him the paper, and, professing many
wishes for my future happiness, he assembled his troops, and the escort
turned the heads of their neighing steeds towards the city, where my
heart had truly been left behind.
It will now be necessary to revert to the Georgian slave, who had been
presented to my brother by the sultan, and had afterwards been made over
to Abdallah. When she heard that I was about to depart for my own
country, loaded with presents, her rage was without bounds. Already had
her beauty and talents made great impression upon Abdallah, and she soon
won him over to a plot which would be advantageous to him, at the same
time that it would throw me, whom she distrusted, into her power. She
proposed to Abdallah that, after having escorted me to the frontiers,
and received from me the acknowledgment required by the sultan, he
should follow my small escort of slaves, cut them to pieces, take
possession of me and all my treasure, and return with it to
Constantinople, where I might be immured in his harem. The avarice of
Abdallah was not able to withstand the temptation, and aware that there
was no chance of the nefarious transaction being discovered by the
sultan, he agreed to the proposal. On the second night after we had
parted with Abdallah, a body of horsemen galloped down upon us, and all
my attendants, male and female, were massacred. I was seized, put into a
sack, and thrown across a horse, and as soon as the treasure could be
collected, they set off at a rapid pace. I was nearly dead when they
halted, and when I was removed from my painful situation I fainted away.
Abdallah had never seen my face; the soldiers reported me dead, and he
was glad when he heard of it, for it was only to please his wife that he
had promised to bring me back. He walked up to where I lay, and was,
even in my miserable situation, enamoured with my beauty. His heart
acknowledged that I was the most valuable of all his plunder. Every care
and attention was bestowed upon me, and after several hours' halt to
allow me to refresh myself, I was placed in a small litter, and our
journey recommenced. He was studious to obtain my favour: at first I
spurned him: but when he told me that the Georgian slave had instigated
him to the deed, and had insisted that he should bring me back, I well
knew for what purpose, and thought only of revenge. I feigned to be less
averse to him, and before our journey was over, had used all my powers
of fascination with triumphant success. At last our wearied horses
arrived at Stamboul, and after waiting in the suburbs till the evening
closed in, that the cavalcade might not attract attention, it proceeded
to the house of Abdallah, and I was once more in the precincts of a
harem. The Georgian slave hastened to meet me when she was informed of
our arrival, and taking off her slipper, she struck me contemptuously on
the mouth, with such force as to cause the blood to flow.
"Now, sultana," cried she, "the day is mine; again shall you receive the
bastinado. Aye, and again shall the bowstring be applied to your proud
neck, and more effectually than before." She then ordered her slaves to
strip me, and put on the meanest attire. When that was done, she spat in
my face, and left me without speaking; but the flashing of her eyes gave
evidence of the fiery passions which were raging in her bosom.
In the meantime, Abdallah had proceeded to the palace, to present to the
sultan the document proving my safe arrival, and having so done, he
hastened back to his own house. As soon as he entered the harem, instead
of visiting the Georgian slave, who had arrayed herself for his
reception, he inquired of the astonished women in which chamber I had
been accommodated. They hesitatingly replied, pointing it out to him. He
entered, and found me clothed in a slave's dress, with my face covered
with blood. When I stated the treatment I had received, and the further
threat of the bastinado and the bowstring, his rage was beyond all
bounds. Ordering all the women to attend me, he quitted me, that I
might resume my own dress, intimating that he hoped that I would allow
him to sup with me that evening. My desire for revenge induced me to
grant his request, and he quitted the harem to look after the treasure
of which I had been robbed.
In the meantime, the other women had communicated to the Georgian slave
all that had occurred, and she was frantic at the information. Fearful
of her, I kept my door fast until the arrival of Abdallah, who sent to
inquire whether I would receive him. He was admitted, and again
expressed his indignation at the conduct of my rival, offering, as a
proof of his attachment, to abandon her to my resentment. I had no time
for reply before the door was burst open, the Georgian flew in and aimed
her dagger at my heart. Abdallah had sufficient time to ward the blow,
and as the weapon passed through his left arm, with his right hand he
dashed her on the floor. Pale with rage and pain he called his people.
"She threatened you, Zara, with the bastinado and the bowstring. She has
sealed her own doom."
By his orders her slippers were torn off, and she received fifty blows
of the bastinado; then, as she screamed with pain, and held up her hands
for mercy, the mutes were summoned, and the bowstring was applied. My
revenge was more than satiated, and I covered up my eyes that I might
not be a witness to the dreadful spectacle. When I removed my hands, I
found Abdallah only in the apartment, and my rival lying a blackened
corpse upon the floor.
For three years I remained in the harem of Abdallah, and, if not happy,
was resigned to my fate. He was devotedly attached to me, and, if I
could not return his love, I was not deficient in gratitude. At last a
second war broke out between the Turks and Russians, and Abdallah was
ordered to put himself at the head of his troops, and drive the invaders
back to their regions of frost and snow. As was the custom with Turkish
commanders, all his harem accompanied him, and after travelling about
from one territory to another, sometimes in pursuit of, and at others
retreating before the enemy's forces, we were shut up in the fortress of
Ismael, with orders to defend it to the last.
I shall not weary your highness with a detail of what occurred. I shall
only say, that after the town had been nearly reduced to ashes, by the
shells and shot, which had set fire to it at least one hundred times, it
was taken by storm, with immense slaughter. We sat in our apartments,
listening with terror to the alternate shouting and shrieking--the noise
of the bursting of the shells, the whizzing of the balls, the cries of
the wounded, and the terrific roaring of the flames, which were now
consuming the whole town in their fury. At last our doors were burst
open, and the enemy entered. We screamed, and would have fled, but in
vain. What became of the rest I know not, but I was dragged over the
dead and the dying, through smoke and through flame, until I fainted
away with terror and exhaustion. When I recovered, I found myself in a
hut, lying on a small bed, and attended by two bearded monsters, whom I
afterwards discovered were Cossacks. They were chafing my limbs with
their rough hands, without the least regard for decorum. As soon as I
opened my eyes, one of them poured a little spirits down my throat, and
wrapping me up in a horse-cloth, they left me--to meditate upon my
misfortunes.
I discovered that evening that I had, by the fortune of war, become the
property of a Russian general, who had no time for making love. With him
it was all ready made, as a matter of course. Still he was a handsome
man, and when not tipsy, was good-humoured and generous; but the
bivouacs, even of a general, were very different from the luxuries to
which I had been accustomed. I lived badly, and was housed worse. It so
unfortunately happened, that my protector was a great gambler, as indeed
are all Russians; and one morning, to my surprise, a handsome young
officer came into the tent and the general very unceremoniously handed
me over to him. My beauty had been made known in the camp, and the
Russian general, having the night before lost all his money, had staked
me for one thousand sequins, and had lost. My new master was a careless,
handsome youth, a colonel in the army; I could have loved him, but I had
not time; for I had not been in his tent more than three weeks, before I
was again gambled away, and lost to a major. I had hardly time to make
myself comfortable in my new abode, when I was staked and lost again. In
short, your highness, in that campaign I was the property of between
forty and fifty Russian officers, and what with the fatigue of marching,
the badness of provisions, and my constant unsettled state of mind and
body, I lost much of my good looks--so much, indeed, that I found out
that instead of being taken as a stake of one thousand sequins, I was
not valued at more than two hundred. I can assure your highness that it
is no joke to go through a Russian camp in that way--to be handed about
like a purse of money, out of one man's pocket into another's. I assure
you, that before the campaign was over, I had had quite enough of the
Russians, and only wished that the Turkish army might rout them, and I
could find myself once more in a harem. It was then that I first
lamented over my hard fate, and that of the sultan. It was then that I
first used the expression, when I thought of my condition, and that I
said to myself, "The time has been."
At last the army was ordered to march back, and being then the property
of a Cossack, he put me on a pony, and made me keep up with the
squadron, driving me before him with his long spear, sometimes sticking
the point into the rear of the pony, and sometimes into me, by way of a
joke. But I had not been more than ten days on the retreat, before he
sold me, pony, bridle, saddle, altogether, as a bargain, to an infantry
officer, who as soon as he had taken possession, made me dismount, while
he got in the saddle, desiring me to lay hold of the pony's tail and
follow him. When they halted, he made me wait upon him, and do
everything which he required. In the morning he mounted again, and I had
to walk after him, as before. This was hard service for one who had been
the favourite of the sultan. For a week I contrived to hobble after him,
but it was impossible to go on any longer. We passed through a town, and
as soon as we were clear of the gates and he did not watch me, I let go
the tail of the pony, and escaped without his perceiving it. I regained
the town, and faint with hunger and fatigue, sat at the steps of a large
house. A lady, dressed in rich furs and sables, came out, and perceiving
that my dress was foreign, stopped, and inquired of me who I was. I told
her in a few words: she ordered me to be received and taken care of. A
few days afterwards she sent for me, and I then narrated to her my
history. She was kind and generous, and I became her head attendant; I
was contented and happy, and hoped to die in her service. But my
misfortunes were not half over. My mistress was a lady of rank, and much
esteemed. Her house was always full of company: she was rich, and gave
most splendid entertainments. Her husband had been dead about two years,
but she was still very young, and exceedingly beautiful. One evening,
when there was a large party assembled in her rooms, the door was
opened, and an officer came up to her and whispered in her ear. She
coloured, trembled, and said that she would be ready in an hour. I was
near her at the time; she beckoned to me, hastened to her room, and
burst into a flood of tears.
"I am ordered to Petersburg immediately, on a charge of treason. My
conscience tells me that I have done nothing; but, alas! for me, the
emperor has no mercy. Ekaterina," for that was the name I went by, "will
you accompany me?--it will be a long, and a melancholy journey. God
knows how it may end."
I immediately consented--packed up what we required, and without
disturbing those who were enjoying themselves, we gained the courtyard,
and took our seats in a britska, in company with the officer. In four
days we arrived at Petersburg, and my mistress was separated from me and
thrown into prison. She never saw her accusers or her judges; her
memorial to the emperor was disregarded, and she was condemned--but her
punishment was not immediately decided upon.
For three weeks my mistress remained in prison. I was, by the humanity
of the officer, who had the charge of her, allowed to visit her for a
few minutes every day; but it was always in the presence of a third
person. One morning when I came, the poor lady fell upon my neck and
sobbed a long while without speaking; the countenance of the officer was
also melancholy to a degree, and I perceived that a tear occasionally
trickled down his manly cheek.
"Ekaterina," said she, at last, "I have heard my sentence, and am to be
punished to-morrow. O God! forgive them their cruelty and injustice;"
and she sank from my arms upon the floor of the dungeon.
We raised her, and she recovered a little. "Yes, Ekaterina, I am to be
punished to-morrow for a crime of which I am innocent--a punishment--God
have mercy!--worse than death. The knout--the knout--and that attended
with public exposure in the market-place. May God forgive the emperor
his cruelty!"
I had heard of this dreadful punishment, but little thought that women
suffered by it. It was too barbarous.
* * * * *
"I have not heard of it," said the pacha. "Tell me, old woman, is it
worse than the bastinado?"
"Yes, your highness. It is a whip of enormous power, so that if the
executioner has a private order, he can kill the party on whom it is
inflicted by two or three blows; but your highness will better
comprehend the nature of the punishment when I describe what I
witnessed."
My dear mistress begged me, as a favour, that I would attend her to the
place of execution, and I consented. Poor creature! she, as well as I,
had but an imperfect idea of what she was to endure. The punishment was
to take place in the great square, and the troops were out, and a large
concourse of people were assembled. She appeared on the raised platform
upon which she was to suffer, in a genteel undress, which contributed
still more to heighten her extreme beauty. The sweetness of her
countenance obtained for her the commiseration of those who were ordered
and accustomed to execute the will of the despotic and cruel emperor.
Young, lively, and admired, sought for, and caressed by everybody, high
in rank, and rich in worldly wealth, she stood, no longer surrounded by
the attentions and homage due to her talents, her beauty, and her wit,
but surrounded only by stern executioners. She looked at them with
astonishment, seeming to doubt if such preparations could be intended
for her. One of the executioners then pulled off a kind of furred tippet
which covered her bosom; her modesty taking the alarm, made her start
back a few steps; she turned pale and burst into tears. Her clothes were
soon afterwards all stripped off, and in a few moments she was all naked
to the waist, exposed to the looks of a vast multitude, who were all
profoundly silent. One of the executioners then seized her by both
hands, and turning half round, threw her on his back, bending forwards,
so as to raise her feet a few inches from the ground, and the other
executioner, with his rough hands, and without symptoms of remorse,
adjusted her on the back of his companion, in a posture most convenient
for her to receive her punishment. Sometimes he pressed his large hands
brutally upon her head, in order to make her keep it down: at others,
like a butcher handling a lamb, he appeared to soothe her until he had
fixed her in a favourable attitude. He then took the knout, a whip made
of a long strip of leather, prepared for the purpose; he retreated a
few steps, measuring the requisite distance with a steady eye, and
looking backwards, gave a stroke with the end of the whip, so as to
carry away a slip of skin from the neck to the bottom of the back; then
striking his feet against the ground, he took his aim for a second blow,
parallel to the former, so that in a few moments all the skin of her
back was cut away in small slips, most of which remained hanging to her
shift and dress below. I fainted with horror long before the punishment
was over. "Good heavens!" thought I, "I have suffered the bastinado and
the bowstring, but both were merciful compared to this. Is there no God
in heaven to punish such despotic cruelty?" My mistress was not dead,
and the surgeons were ordered to pay her every attention, that she might
recover; and I thought this attention on the part of the emperor in some
measure made amends for his barbarity. But, God in heaven! she was
restored to life that she might be more cruelly punished; for no sooner
was she able to bear this infliction, than they cut out her tongue, and
then banished her to Siberia.
Thus, O pacha! was my beautiful mistress treated upon mere suspicion,
for guilty she never was. I had been permitted to see her previous to
her latter punishment, and she fancied, poor thing, that the emperor's
wrath had been appeased, and that she would have been permitted to
return home, but her tongue was cut out without her receiving any
warning of the second punishment which awaited her, and after that I was
refused admittance, and I never saw my beautiful and ill-treated
mistress any more. It was from the officer who had the charge of her
that I learnt this cruel intelligence, and I went back to my lodgings
with a heart bursting with grief and indignation.
I was resolved that, if possible, I would escape from a country where
women's tongues were cut out; but how to manage it I knew not. I had
still some money and valuables, which had been left in my possession by
my unfortunate mistress, and I made inquiry about the means of
proceeding to Constantinople, where, at least, I should be in a
civilised country. At last a Jew, who heard that I wished to go to the
southward, offered to take me with him as soon as the snow was on the
ground, for which I bargained for five hundred roubles. In a fortnight
the winter had set in, and we got into a drotski, and went away. We
arrived at Moscow, and from thence we at last gained Constantinople. On
my arrival I selected my luggage, that I might pay the sum agreed; but
it was snatched from me by the old rascal, who saluted me with a kick in
the body which half-killed me. I was locked up in a room, and in half an
hour a slave-merchant came, and I was sold for a low sum and taken away,
remonstrating in vain against the injustice. My beauty was now gone, I
was more than thirty years old, and hardship had done the rest.
My subsequent life has been nothing but a series of changes and
disasters. I was sold to a pastrycook, and broiled by standing over the
oven. I grew obstinate and was punished by blows, but for those I cared
not. The pastry was burnt, and I was resold to a barber, whose wife was
a shrew, and half-killed me; fortunately the barber was accused of
shaving a criminal, who had escaped from prison, and one morning was
stretched out before his own door, with his head under his arm. His wife
and I were both sold again as slaves.
Thus did I go down-hill each year, fetching less and less, and receiving
worse treatment, until I was embarked with several others by an
Armenian, who was bound to Smyrna. The vessel was captured by an
Algerine pirate, and for a long while I was kept on board to cook their
victuals. At last she was wrecked on this coast; how I escaped I know
not, for I was weary of life. But I was thrown up, and made my way to
this place--where I have for many years lived in company with an old
wretch like myself, supplicating alms. He died about a year ago, and
left me in the hovel by myself. I still beg for my subsistence; and
now, pacha, you have my story, and I think you will acknowledge that I
may well say that _"Time has been."_
* * * * *
"It is your kismet, your destiny, good woman. There is but one God, and
Mahomet is his Prophet," observed the pacha. "You are dismissed."
"And the gold, your highness," whispered Mustapha.
"Let her retain it. Has she not been a sultana?" observed the pacha,
with some appearance of feeling.
The old woman's ears were keen, she had heard the question of Mustapha,
and she had heard the reply of the pacha; and she easily imagined the
rest.
"And now, pacha, before I quit your presence, as I have enjoyed your
bounty, I will, with your permission, offer you a piece of advice,
which, from my knowledge of the world and of people's countenances, may
be of no small service to you. Is it permitted, O pacha?"
"Speak," replied the pacha.
"Then, pacha, beware of that man who sits beside you; for there is that
in his face which tells me that he will raise himself upon your fall.
Pacha, beware!"
"Hag of Jehanum!" exclaimed Mustapha, rising from his seat.
The old woman held up her finger, and walked out of the divan.
The pacha looked suspiciously at Mustapha, for he was of a suspicious
nature; and Mustapha looked anything but innocent.
"Doth my lord give ear to a lying tongue of an old woman?" said
Mustapha, prostrating himself. "Hath not your slave proved himself
faithful? Am not I as dust in thy presence? Take my life, O pacha! but
doubt not the fidelity of thy slave."
The pacha seemed pacified. "What is all this but bosh, nothing?" said
he, rising and quitting the apartment.
"Bosh!" muttered Mustapha. "The cursed old hag! I know better--there is
no time to lose--I must be quick. When will that renegade return from
Stamboul? It is time." And Mustapha, with a gloomy countenance, quitted
the divan.