Just after the escape of the slaves, as already narrated, the British
consul demanded a private audience of the Dey. His request was granted,
and one morning early he set off on horseback to the city. Arriving
there too soon, he put up his horse, and, threading his way through the
streets of the old town, soon found himself in front of the small and
unpretending, though massive, portal of Bacri the Jew.
He found the master of the house seated in the central court, or skiffa,
drinking coffee with his wife and children.
"Bacri," said the Colonel, "may I venture to interrupt your present
agreeable occupation? I wish to have a talk with you in private."
"With pleasure," replied the Jew, rising and ushering his visitor into a
small apartment, the peculiar arrangement and contents of which
betokened it the wealthy merchant's study or office,--indeed, it might
have been styled either with equal propriety, for Bacri, besides being
an able man of business, was learned in Arabic literature--of which the
town possessed, and still possesses, a valuable library,--and was a
diligent student of the Hebrew Scriptures.
"You are aware," said the Colonel, "that I am, at your request, about to
use my influence with the Dey in behalf of certain friends of yours.
Now, there is an old saying--and I have great respect for many old
sayings,--that `one good turn deserves another.' May I, then, ask you
to do me a favour?"
"Certainly," said the Jew. "Name it."
"You must know, then, that the Dey has been pleased to send me a pretty
Portuguese girl as a slave, along with her infant child."
"I know it," said Bacri.
"You do? Well, this poor girl turns out to be a very sweet creature,
and my wife, although somewhat annoyed at first by the unexpected gift,
and puzzled what to do with her, is now so fond of her, and finds her so
gentle as well as useful, that she has set her heart on having Paulina
Ruffini--that is her name--freed and sent home. This, however, is not
the point. Paulina has a sister named--"
"Angela Diego," interrupted the Jew.
"Oh! you know that too?" said the Colonel, with some surprise. "You
seem to know everything that goes on in this curious city! Indeed, it
is a belief in this general knowledge of yours that brings me here.
Well, poor Paulina is naturally in great anxiety about her sister's
fate, not having heard of her since the day they were cruelly separated
by Sidi Hassan. The latter is now my janissary, and tells me that he
sold Angela to a Jew in the public market, and does not know where she
is. Believing that you can find this out for me, I have come hither
this morning on my way to the palace. Do you think you can?"
"I think I can," said the Jew, opening a door and beckoning to some one
without. "Come hither, Angela. A gentleman wishes to see you."
"What! is this Paulina's sister?" said the consul in surprise, as a
pretty bright-eyed girl obeyed the summons.
"Speak, fair one," said the Jew. "Dost know of one Paulina Ruffini, and
her infant Angelina?"
We need scarcely add that Angela admitted, with a look of surprise, that
she did, and was overwhelmed with joy on finding that her sister was a
happy inmate of the consul's villa, and that in a short time she would
be permitted to see her.
Leaving the Jew's house, well satisfied with his unlooked-for success in
this matter, the consul proceeded to the palace, and was at once
admitted into the audience-chamber.
According to custom, the Dey was seated on a sort of throne, with the
huge lion-pup serving as a footstool. We have said before that this
lion had a decided antipathy to the British consul. Not being able to
speak, it could not give the reason why! Perhaps, although unable to
speak, it might have been able to understand what was said, and,
possibly, had taken offence at the straightforward manner in which the
consul had more than once remonstrated with the Dey for allowing so old
a pup to be at large. Be this as it may, certain it is that, on the
present occasion, the lion raised its head when the consul was
announced. On seeing his hated scarlet uniform, it uttered a savage
growl, sprang up, and ran out of the room by another door, with its tail
between its legs. In springing up, the brute had forgotten its
temporary character of footstool. The result was that the Dey was
tilted violently backwards, and fell off his throne in a confused and
most undignified heap!
Fortunately for the lion--perchance also for the consul--Achmet
possessed too much native dignity and common-sense to allow such an
accident to ruffle his temper. He rose and resumed his seat with a
hearty laugh, as he said--
"You see, Monsieur le Consul, that even lions are afraid of the English
uniform!"
"Your highness is pleased to be complimentary," replied the consul, with
a bow; "and that emboldens me to observe that a Dey should not retain
the services of one who is capable of showing fear."
"Perhaps you are right," returned Achmet, with a smile; "especially one
who has had the audacity to dethrone me.--And now, what demand have you
to make of me to-day? Not, I trust, that old one--the liberation of
slaves!"
"No, not exactly that," replied the consul. "Nevertheless," he added
earnestly, "I do come to make an appeal in behalf of slaves."
The Dey's countenance became grave.
"I refer," continued the consul, "to those unfortunate slaves who
recently attempted to escape, and are now lying in chains condemned to
be bastinadoed, thrown on the hooks, and otherwise tortured to death."
"How!" exclaimed the Dey, frowning darkly, while a flush of anger
covered his face, "can you plead for slaves who have not only rebelled
and fled, but who have disabled two of my janissaries, and some of
whom--especially their leader Castello and the young Sicilian Mariano--
are so turbulent as to be an absolute nuisance to their guards?"
"Your highness is aware," answered the consul respectfully, "that
British ideas in regard to slavery and all connected with it are widely
different from those entertained by Algerines, and I do not presume to
pass an opinion on the sentences pronounced on men who are held guilty
of having violated your laws. I merely plead that you will extend to
them the royal prerogative of mercy--especially to two of their number,
Francisco and Mariano."
"On what ground do you ask mercy for these?" demanded Achmet sternly.
"On the ground that courageous and worthy men, although tempted to rebel
in order to regain their liberty, are not deserving of death; that the
Portuguese girl your Highness was so generous as to send me, and who was
captured along with them, has interested me deeply in their history, and
also on the ground that one is the father and the other the brother of
your scrivano Lucien Rimini."
"Indeed!" exclaimed the Dey in surprise, "Lucien never told me that,
although his own hand made out the order for their execution!"
"That," answered the consul, with a smile, "is because I advised him to
leave the pleading of their cause to me."
"Believing, no doubt," returned the Dey, with a laugh, "that your powers
of persuasion are superior to his. Well, Monsieur le Consul, you may be
right; nevertheless, let me tell you that short though the time be in
which Lucien has been my scrivano, there is that in his modest air and
ready will, as well as his talent, which constitutes a sufficient plea
to induce me to pardon his relations."
"It rejoices me," said the consul, "to find that, as I expected, your
highness's--"
"Yes, yes; say no more on that head," interrupted the Dey. "Here!
Lucien," he added, calling aloud to his secretary, who, clad in superb
Oriental costume, appeared at the door which led into his office, "make
out an order to cancel the sentence against your father and brother, and
let them be sent to the palace immediately. I will speak with thee
again on the matter.--Meanwhile, will Monsieur le Consul come and behold
the present which I am preparing for my royal master the Sublime Porte?"
There was a touch of sarcasm in the tone in which he used the words
"royal master," which the consul understood well enough, for he was
aware that although nominally subject to Turkey, Algiers was to all
intents and purposes an independent power, and that the present referred
to was almost all the benefit derived by the Sultan from his piratical
vassal.
It was costly enough, no doubt, viewed simply in the light of a gift,
and afforded a subject of great interest to the consul when permitted to
survey it--an honour, by the way, which the Dey would not have conferred
on the consul of any of the other nations represented at the Algerine
court, for the British consul at that time was, as we have said, a
special favourite. It consisted of two magnificent milk-white Arab
horses, richly caparisoned; their saddles and bridles being profusely
ornamented with diamonds and other gems, and their shoes being made of
pure gold; several boxes of rare and costly jewels; six women-slaves
with skins of the most beautiful ebony tint; a number of black-maned
lions, several parrots, and a few monkeys.
"Your highness is resolved to please the Sultan by means of variety,"
observed the consul, with a smile, after commenting on the gift in
detail.
"That," replied Achmet, "would have little power to please if the jewels
were not numerous and costly. But happily our treasury can afford it,
although we have not been very successful in war of late."
He looked at the consul with a sly smile as he spoke, but the latter
deemed it wise to be lost in admiration of some of the jewels in
question.
After examining the "present," the consul retired, and Achmet went to
his private apartments to enjoy a cup of coffee and a pipe.
The room in which he sat was similar to that already described as being
the reception-room of the bridal party, only the decorations were if
possible more elaborate and sumptuous. Here, seated on rich cushions,
with, not his most beautiful, but his wisest wife beside him, Achmet--
once a petty officer of janissaries--gave himself up to the enjoyment of
the hour. Christian slaves--once the happy butterflies of European and
other lands--attended on him, filled his pipe, brought him hot coffee,
and watched his every movement. They were richly dressed, more richly
and gaily, perchance, than they had ever been in the days of freedom,
when they had been wont to chat and laugh with careless hilarity. But
they were mute enough now. A few of them had tasted the bastinado and
been tamed; most of them had been wise enough to tame themselves. If
Shakespeare had been a Turk he would probably have written a very
different version of the Taming of the Shrew!
When coffee was finished, the Dey ordered the attendants to withdraw,
and then settling himself comfortably on the cushions, and puffing two
white streams of smoke slowly through his nose, in order to gather the
fullest enjoyment therefrom, he thus addressed himself to his
better-proportion--we had almost said "half," but forgot for the moment
that there were several Sultanas!
"Ashweesha, thou art a wise woman. I might almost style thee my
guardian angel, for not only hast thou often guided me on the right
road, but sometimes thou hast prevented me from straying into the
wrong."
Ashweesha, who was a sweet and passably good-looking woman of about
thirty, raised her large dark eyes to the face of Achmet with a look of
gratitude, but did not reply. Indeed, her husband did not seem to
expect an answer, for he continued to smoke for some time in silence,
with his eyes fixed abstractedly on a tame gazelle--the kitten of the
harem--which tried to attract his attention.
"Thou art sad, or anxious, to-night," said Ashweesha, at length breaking
silence.
"Both sad and anxious," replied the Dey slowly. "My position is indeed
one of power, but not of comfort or safety."
A shade rested for a moment like a flitting cloud on the face of
Ashweesha. Gladly would she have exchanged her high estate, with all
its costly and gorgeous array, for a life of humble toil accompanied
with peace and security--for she was of gentle nature--but this was
denied her.
"Listen," said the Dey, laying aside his pipe and talking earnestly; "it
may well chance, as it has happened before, that thy counsel may lighten
my care. I am sad because two of my chief officers are snakes in the
grass. They are venomous too, and their bite will prove deadly if it be
not avoided. Canst thou guess their names, Ashweesha?"
"Sidi Omar and Sidi Hassan," said Ashweesha.
Achmet looked surprised.
"Thou art partly right, though I did not expect thy swift reply. Is it
a guess, or hast thou obtained information?"
"I have heard of it from one who is our friend."
"Indeed. Well, thou art right as to Omar, and it is that which makes me
sad. Thou art right also in regard to Sidi Hassan, but I care little
for him. He is but a tool in the hands of one whose power is great--
Hamet, our Aga of cavalry. Omar I had hoped better things of; but fear
him not. The Aga, however, is a dangerous foe, and unscrupulous. I do
not clearly see my way to guard against his wiles. My chief safeguard
is that he and Omar are bitter enemies. I know not what to do."
"The bow-string," suggested Ashweesha.
The reader must not think this suggestion inconsistent with the
character of one whom we have described as gentle and sweet. The
Sultana had been trained in a peculiar school, and was as much
accustomed to hear of disagreeable and troublesome people being
strangled as Europeans are to the drowning of inconvenient kittens.
The Dey laughed.
"Alas! my gentle one," he said, "all powerful and despotic though I be,
there are a few officers around me whom I dare not get rid of in this
way--at least not just now. But it amuses me to hear thee recommend
such strong measures, thou who art always on the side of mercy."
"Truly," said Ashweesha, with a flash in her dark eyes that proved the
presence of other elements besides sweetness in her disposition, "my
leanings are always towards mercy, save when you have to deal with those
who possess no mercy. If you do not apply the bow-string to Hamet in
good time, rest assured that he will apply it to you."
The Dey became more serious at this, yet still smiled as he gazed in the
flushed countenance of his spouse and adviser.
"Thou art right, Ashweesha," said he, in a meditative tone, "and it is
for the purpose of finding out, if possible, when it is the right time
to strike that I now take counsel with thee. What wouldst thou advise?"
"Sidi Hassan, you say, has been sent to be the British consul's
janissary?"
"Yes."
"For what purpose?" asked the Sultana.
"Partly to keep him out of the way of the mischief which is always
brewing more or less in this warlike city; partly to flatter his vanity
by placing him in the service of one for whom he knows that I entertain
great respect, personally, as well as on account of the powerful nation
which he represents; and partly to remind him gently of my power to
order him on any service that I please, and to cut off his insolent head
if so disposed."
"That is so far well," said Ashweesha, letting her delicate
henna-stained fingers play idly with the gorgeous pearls which fell like
a lustrous fountain from her neck, "but it is possible that he may
reflect on the propriety of trying to secure, at no distant date, a
master who will reward him more liberally without conveying covert
threats. But much good," she hastened to add, observing that her lord
did not much relish her last remark, "much good may result from his
being placed under the British consul's roof; for the consul's wife is a
wise woman, and may help us to discover some of his plots; for plotting
he is certain to be, whether in the city or out of it, and you may be
sure that a clever woman like Madame Langley will have her eyes open to
all that goes on in her own palace."
"Nay, then, Ashweesha," returned the Dey, laughing, "thou hast studied
the lady to small profit if thou dost believe her capable of acting the
part of a spy on her own domestics."
"And thou hast studied thy wife to small profit," retorted Ashweesha
playfully, "if you think I could make such a mistake as to ask her to
become a spy. Does not all the city know that Madame Langley has over
and over again refused the most costly bribes offered to induce her to
use her influence with her husband? and is it not also well-known that
if her influence is to be gained at all, it must be by touching her
heart? She is so open, too, in her conduct, that her domestics know all
she does. Did I not tell you, the other night, how the chief from
Marocco offered her a splendid diamond ring to induce her to intreat her
husband's favour in something--I know not what,--and how she flushed
with indignation as she refused it, and told the chief that all the
diamonds in the world could not move her to attempt the leading of her
husband from the path of duty? No, I will not ask her to become a spy,
but I will lead her, in conversation, to tell me all she knows, or at
least is willing to communicate, about Sidi Hassan; and perchance some
good may come of it."
"It may be so," said the Dey; "and where and when dost thou propose to
meet with her?"
"Here, and to-morrow."
"How! in the palace?"
"Yes. Ask her and her little girl to come and dine with me," said
Ashweesha.
"That would be a high compliment," returned the Dey dubiously; "such as
has never been paid before, methinks, by a Dey of Algiers to any
consul's wife."
"No matter," returned the Sultana; "you have a high regard for Colonel
Langley, and have often paid him unusual compliments,--why not
compliment his wife?"
"Well, it shall be done. To-morrow afternoon prepare to receive her."