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ALI AND ORASMIN;
Or, the Effects of Envy.
When Muley Mustapha swayed the Ottoman Empire, lived Ali and Orasmin,
sons of two most eminent Lords in the court of Amurath his father; they
were born on the same day; had been companions from infancy;
contemplated together the stupendous beauties of Nature; scrutinized the
complicated labyrinths of Knowledge; cultivated the heroic discipline of
War; and courted the irresistible Graces calculated to meliorate the
ruggedness of the soldier, and familiarize the pedantic stiffness of the
scholar; polish the invaluable precepts of Wisdom, and make even
Virtue’s self more divine. It was determined at their births, by the
Genii of Excellence, that Ali should surpass Orasmin in beauty of
person, strength of body, and vigor of mind; and though the latter
apparently possessed all the candour and generosity of the former, he
was in reality subtle and selfish; jealous of merit, and impatient of
superiority; yet the sacred zone of friendship was mutually exchanged
between them, and they were the sole confidents of each other.
A soil so ungrateful as the breast of Orasmin was little propitious to
the seeds of amity; especially as increasing maturity confirmed
proportionately the unkind bias of nature. In all their emulatory
exercises, the wreath of victory was the boon of Ali, who wore it with
the most conciliating demeanour; but nothing could reconcile Orasmin to
repeated disappointment; continual defeat increased his chagrin; his
friendship daily subsided; he had recourse to stratagem for triumph, but
the result was ever accumulated mortification; till, at length, envy
took possession of his breast, and was by a most important occurrence
sublimed into a desire of revenge.
Of Amine, the beautiful and virtuous daughter of the Vizier Omar, they
were both enamoured; and both sought her affections, though unknown to
each other: but the talisman of Fortune was in the hand of Ali; and, by
consent of the vizier, the cadi drew up the contract of union between
them. Orasmin attended the celebration of his friends nuptials; but,
while he prayed aloud that Alla might shower down innumerable blessings
on his head, he cursed him in his heart, and from that moment meditated
his destruction. But his resentment he veiled under the garb of extreme
solicitude; and while on his lips dwelt the mellifluous accents of
disinterested profession, the deadly gall of hatred rankled in his soul.
Lo! to the eye, how beautiful appears the serpent of the desart; yet in
his mouth is inserted a barbed sting, and under his tongue is collected
the dark beverage of death!
Orasmin now stedfast in his hate, waited with the utmost anxiety for a
favourable moment to effect his monstrous purposes on his rival, as the
tawny lion of Africa watches an opportunity to spring on his prey: but
the hopes of the envious were vain; the conduct of Ali put Scandal to
shame, and bade defiance to the machinations of Malice.
The pure bliss which the new-married couple enjoyed was in the fullness
of time heightened extremely by the birth of a son: but it is written in
the ample book of Nature, “That the fairest blossom shall be blighted,
and the green leaf shall not last forever;” and, in the unutterable
volume of Destiny, that--“The aspect of human happiness is deceitful as
the complexion of the sky; and that the exquisite season of enjoyment
flees away on the light pinions of impatience.” The son of Amine was
stolen from his nurse; and the house of Ali, from being the mansion of
supreme felicity, became on a sudden, the dwelling of anguish, and the
haunt of despair.
An hundred moons had revolved, and Ali and Amine heard not of their
first-born; neither did the all-wise Alla think fit to supply his place
by another. At length, Ali was dispatched on an expedition against the
enemies of the faithful; and Orasmin had the mortification to serve
under him, as second in command. He resolved to thwart him all he could
insidiously: and, by a well-concerted stratagem, and most consummate
address, made so grand diversion in favour of the foe, that the
Musselmen were not only defeated; but, apparently to the whole army,
through the imbecility of the commander in chief, who narrowly escaped
being made a prisoner.
The sagacious Ali, however, though he little suspected the treachery of
Orasmin, knew well where the blame lay; yet rather than his friend
should suffer, nobly chose to keep silence, and himself bear the whole
weight of the Sultan’s displeasure.
The perfidious Orasmin, internally rejoicing at the effect of his art,
with the greatest pleasure received the news, that the generous Ali was
banished his sovereigns presence, and had retired to hide his shame far
from the royal city. Time, however, and the interest of Omar, once more
restored Ali to Mustapha’s favour; he was intrusted, in a full divan,
with an embassy to the Christian states; and returned, after having
concluded his mission in the most honourable manner. But it should seem
that the Genii of Prosperity had resigned his destiny to the Spirits of
Malediction; the sublime satisfaction he received from the approving
smiles of his royal master, were blasted by the intelligence that Amine,
the wife of his bosom, was no more! At his departure, she had retired to
a house which he possessed by the sea-shore; and it was her custom every
evening to ramble among the rocks, as if to look for his return; from
one of these excursions she never returned; and her attendants concluded
that she must have been drowned.
Ali was distracted at the information, and flew from society to bury his
grief in sympathising solitude. In the mean time, partly through
sorrowing for his daughter, and partly through the dilapidations of
time, the venerable Omar resigned his seat of mortality; and Orasmin, by
mere intrigue, obtained the post of temporary Vizier; as Mustapha had
proclaimed, that no one should be confirmed in it, but he who should
perform an action worthy of such a reward.
Orasmin, however, through the most refined artifice, had almost induced
the Sultan to perpetuate his claim to the viziership; when Nadar Ismoul,
with a formidable army, approached, with all the insolence of a rebel,
within two days march of the royal capital. The voice of rebellion
pierced the recesses of grief; and Ali, rouzed from his desponding
lethargy by the imminent danger of his country, hastened to court, and
throwing himself at the Sultan’s feet, entreated leave to march against
Nadar, and retrieve his former dishonour. Muley readily complied; and
Ali took the field with a less, but a much better disciplined army than
that of Nadar: victory strode before him; the deluded forces of the
traitor threw down their arms, but it was the will of Alla that their
leader should escape.
The acclamations of thousands proclaimed the honourable return of Ali;
and Orasmin, making a virtue of necessity, was the first to declare him
worthy of the viziership. He at first hesitated to accept it, for the
memory of Amine had estranged his heart from society; but, reflecting
that man was not made for himself, and that he who slights the power of
doing good is an enemy to human nature, he received it at the hands of
his gracious sovereign with the most zelous and heartfelt professions of
gratitude. The torments of Orasmin increased daily; and, though he
overserved the most marked attention to his rival outwardly, the dark
projects of revenge continually absorbed his mind. An orphan, who from
earliest infancy had been under his protection, loved, and was beloved
by his daughter: he had long noticed it, but concealed that knowledge.
One day, when the lovers were enjoying, as they thought, the blisses of
security, he surprized them, and with a stern frown bade Ibrahim follow
him. They entered a private apartment; when Orasmin, seating himself,
thus addressed the youth, who stood trembling before him--“Ibrahim, when
the Angel of Death deprived thee of thy parents, and the Angel of
Adversity destroyed the fortunes of thine house, thou was insensible to
thy loss. Thy father had been my most intimate friend, and I took thee
under my protection. I have been to thee as a father, and thou hast been
profuse in professions of gratitude; but it is by deeds alone that we
can judge of the sincerity of the heart, and Orasmin now finds it
necessary to put thy gratitude to trial.” Then, giving him a letter,
bade him read it; which the terrified Ibrahim immediately opening, found
to contain these words--
“Ali Mahomet, to his esteemed friend, Nadar Ismoul, greeting, health and
happiness. To the tyrant Mustapha, despair and death! The plan of thy
defeat was well managed; the credulous Muley is completely deceived, and
has made me vizier: he little dreams, that he has put himself into the
power of his most implacable enemy. I dispatch this by a trusty
messenger; by whom, from time to time, I shall communicate to thee what
steps thou art to take. At present, keep still where thou art; and I
hope soon to call thee from thy hiding-place, to share with me the
empire of the usurping Othmans. Thine in all the ardour of sincerity.
“ALI MAHOMET.”
“Among the talents thou possessest,” continued Orasmin, “thou hast that
of imitating, beyond the possibility of detection, the most difficult
hand-writing; transcribe then, that letter in the characters of Ali our
vizier, specimens of which I shall give thee; and if thou succeedest to
my wish the hand of my daughter Almeria, whom thou lovest, shall be
thine.” The agitation of surprize which possessed the youthful Ibrahim,
left him not words to reply: he stammered a few incoherent words; when
Orasmin, drawing his scymitar cried--“I am not to be trifled! to the
task this moment; or, by the head of Mahomet, thou shalt follow the
shade of thy father! But, I again repeat it, if thou pleasest me,
Almeria shall be thine to-morrow.”
(To be continued.)
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