How the grand emir rewarded the cunning Alhafiz.
Thereafter it seemed as if the spirit of warfare and enterprise
possessed more than ever the mind of the grand emir Nurreddin. A
fleet of ships was got in readiness, troops were inlisted, arms and
provisions collected; though no one could even guess for what purpose
he made all these preparations. That some grand object was in view
the lookers-on could have no doubt; for it never had been known of
the emir, that a slight or unworthy cause had brought him into the
battle-field.
Late one evening, after a day spent in toil and tumult, Nurreddin was
seated on a richly-embroidered couch in his great hall, with a lute
on his arm, on which he awoke strange and fitful music, now touching
the strings with a light hand like some fond lover, anon almost tearing
them asunder, as if in wrathful vehemence. His slaves thought that he
was now reposing and diverting himself after the fatigues of the day;
but, whoever had marked his fiercely rolling eyes, quivering lips, and
the wild alternations of his music, must have perceived, that with this
seeming repose had begun indeed the sternest of his conflicts, for he
was now at war, not with others, but with himself; and it was at such
times only that Nurreddin had ever been known to tremble.
While he was thus engaged, lo! there came into the room a tall stately
warrior, with a long grizzly beard and gleaming eyes, who was named
Abdallah. While he solemnly and slowly delivered the message with
which he came, the emir kept his eyes fixed on him; but all the while
continued to tear at the strings, till at last some of them snapped
asunder, with a long mournful intonation. In a rage, Nurreddin dashed
the instrument against a marble pillar. “It is thine own fault,” cried
he, “thou senseless harp, because thou hast not understood me.” Then,
making a sign, that the attending slaves should withdraw, and that the
soldier should sit near him, he began to speak as follows:--
“Abdallah, my heart feels as if torn asunder, because I cannot find
occasion to express, after my own manner, what now labours therein,
and before a listener who can understand my words, reflecting in his
own heart that which directly came from mine. I do not forget that
such emotions make themselves best known by outward deeds; but these
require time ere they can come to light; and if one could now and then
interchange words, it might be possible to arrive at more glorious
achievements than any which, by mere silent thoughts, we should be able
to conceive.”
“The words of an eloquent man,” said Abdallah, “have been compared to
winged arrows penetrating the heart of the listener; and, methinks,
true eloquence is like a tree, which not only sends forth its fruits or
blossoms on high, but also throws them back again to the maternal soil;
that is, to the bosom which gave them birth.”
“Rightly spoken, Abdallah,” said the emir; “I believe that we shall
understand each other. In earlier years I have indeed earnestly sought,
amid the seductive pleasure-gardens and forests of this world, for a
noble tree that would offer to me such long-wished-for fruits, but
in vain!--Truly, if I but threw a random-spark on their branches,
they would crackle and hiss in the wind; but the true graft of a
fruit-bearing tree,--or, to speak more plainly, the true spirit that
makes a man that which he ought to be, and able to interchange thoughts
with a brave champion, was either not to be found, or yet unripe!--They
were all delighted for the most part to be noticed by the grand emir
Nurreddin, and to have it to say,--‘To-day I spoke with him for a
whole hour. Did’st thou mark how we were walking together?’--But for
the rest they troubled themselves little enough about the matter.”
“With submission,” answered Abdallah, “when your highness admitted such
men to your presence, it was your part then to teach them what they
should say and do, even as an old eagle instructs his young brood.”
“No, no!” cried the emir impatiently; “I would insist that the men with
whom I speak should feel with me that which cannot be taught; should
know themselves for what they are; that is to say, as consecrated
firebrands in the hands of their prince. Abdallah, should it not be so?”
The soldier spoke not, but looked at the emir silently, and shaking
his head, while with still greater vehemence and impatience Nurreddin
resumed,--
“Abdallah, thou hast lived, no doubt, twenty years longer in the world
than I have done. What I now learn, being a man past middle age, and
beginning to turn old, must have been to thee long since clear and
well understood. Dost thou not perceive, in the wars which every year
increase,--in the countless battles among Mussulmans, Heathens, and
Christians, that God and our holy prophet have decreed, that the whole
vault of heaven is to be converted into a fiery furnace, wherein the
nations of the earth are to be melted like ore in the hands of the
refiner?--Truly almost every nation has in itself life and spirit; but
should not we, who are the noblest among them, feel that we are chosen
to feed the flames; for, should the work advance so slowly as it now
seems to do, all will perish in smoke; nor will the great Alchemist
find at last aught but a mass of lifeless dross instead of pure metal
remaining.”
“Prince!” said Abdallah confounded, “methinks you would banish peace
from this whole earth, and with it all national laws and rights. What
then would be left to us?”
“Rights of man!--rights of chivalry!--rights of women!” cried the
emir with vehemence. “Each one should be held by his neighbour in due
respect, and the masses should be mixed and shaken together, till they
are fully melted, and thereafter assume of themselves finer forms than
before.”
“But, may it please your highness,” said Abdallah, “who has revealed to
you this mystery? or by whom have you been chosen for such a duty as
that which you would now take upon your shoulders?”
“Are not the flames that burn here,” said the emir, beating on his
breast, “enough to inform me, that I am chosen to assist like a
firebrand in this mighty work?”--Suddenly pausing, however, he fixed
a long, steadfast look on Abdallah, then added,--“Thou truly art no
firebrand; neither heat nor light will come from thy heart; so let us
talk no more of such matters, but get thee gone.”
Abdallah rose proudly from the sofa, and bowed in order to take
leave. Then Nurreddin held out his hand kindly to the old man,
and said,--“Well, though thou art not a flaming firebrand, yet art
thou not the less a brave soldier. I shall not deal with thee as I
have done with the broken lute that lies yonder; nor indeed had it
been so treated, had it been fit for any other service,--even, for
example, as a shield. But a mere lute must answer to our thoughts or
be destroyed. For the rest, old man, it is better that thou should’st
forget what I have said; or think, if thou wilt, that I have for once
broken the laws of our prophet, and confused my senses with wine. Good
night.”--Thereupon the soldier retreated, and the emir threw himself
back on the couch, grinning with wrath and vexation.
He had not long been left thus alone, when there arose a great noise of
music, clarionets, and cymbals, as if for some grand rejoicing, which
rang and echoed through the castle. The emir started up in a rage, and
called for his slaves.
“Who dares to begin that music,” cried he, “when your prince is alone
and thoughtful? Is this a time to fill the palace with your senseless
tumult and rejoicing?”--The slaves fell with their faces on the ground,
and said, “Let not the anger of our sovereign lord and prince fall
upon us; for, if a fault has been committed, the blame rests wholly on
Alhafiz. He has just now arrived with his galley in the harbour, and
has brought a veiled lady into the palace, telling every one that she
was the long-wished-for damsel, whom the grand emir valued more than
all the diamonds and pearls of the East. Hereupon we shouted for joy,
and the music played to welcome her arrival.”
“If this indeed be true,” said Nurreddin, “then for the future Alhafiz
shall be clad in cloth of gold and purple; nor shall he only possess
the third of my treasures which was promised him, but shall sit at my
left hand at the banquet-table, and ride next me in the battle-field.
Should he not, however, have brought that inestimable gem, but come
hither to disturb my repose by lying boasts, there shall be no want of
wild beasts to tear him limb from limb, and scatter his bones to the
four winds of heaven!”
Ere the prince ended his speech, lo! the cedar-wood door turned slowly
on its silver hinges, and there came into the hall a tall female figure
simply attired, with a long veil; on her left hand a frightful Moorish
woman, and on her right the grinning Alhafiz. “Here, great prince,”
said Alhafiz, “I have come to fulfil my promise; the damsel is yours,
and the black slave was my best assistant. I recommend her to your
favour, and hope also that you will now as faithfully remember your
engagements to me.” The emir made him a signal to be silent. “Thou hast
an untuneable voice, Alhafiz,” said he, “and thy unmannerly demands on
me prove the meanness of thine own spirit. Disturb me not then in these
moments, which are to me sacred and solemn: thou hast indeed fulfilled
more than I had believed to be possible, and more than I can yet well
understand. Know then that thou shalt not be the first man, to whom,
through his whole life, Nurreddin has remained a debtor.” Hereupon
Alhafiz and the black slave nodded triumphantly to each other, while
the prince rose from his couch, came respectfully towards the damsel,
and said, “I feel in mine inmost heart, noble lady, that Alhafiz has
not deceived me, and that you are that unequalled gem and paragon
of beauty after whom I have so long and ardently longed. Now then I
appeal to your benign goodness. Do not let me be withheld longer from
the sight of a countenance which doubtless is the most beautiful that
in this world has ever been beheld.” “Your flatteries,” answered the
damsel, “would never have lifted up the veil which I now wear; but
since Heaven has permitted that I should thus fall into your power,
and because it is not forbidden to a Christian maiden that she should
walk forth without a mask or veil before all the world, so I shall act
according to the prince’s commands.”
Hereupon her veil was rolled back. In the quiet majesty of her
loveliness, Bertha von Lichtenried looked on the astonished emir,
fixing on him her large blue eyes, shadowed by their dark frowning
brows. Her smooth brown hair was parted on the forehead; quiet and
collected she stood there, not indeed overpowering by her charms at
first sight, but every moment entwining round the heart, bonds of
chaste and respectful admiration.
For a long space they were both silent, the damsel, in the
consciousness of her own virtuous dignity, and the emir in
self-humiliation, because he now found that his usual pride and
dictatorial spirit were overcome. “Noblest of damsels,” said he at
length, “wherefore have you spoken of a prince or his commands, as if
violence and constraint would here be laid upon you? I trust indeed,
that no one has ever been so insolent as to force you to aught that
was contrary to your own wishes, at least not in my name. That Moor,
who now stands by the door, happened to overhear what I once said;
namely, that I would give the third part of my worldly fortune to
any one who would bring you hither, beautiful and innocent as you
had been left by the Prince Mutza. But, by Heaven, your honour and
dignity are dear to me, even more than my own; and I trust you have
been induced to cross the seas, not by violence, but by eloquent and
ingenious persuasions, or by the sweet spells that animate our Moorish
love-songs.”
“I know not,” said Bertha, “what thou meanest by persuasions or
love-songs; but your ambassador there, with his blackamoor band, forced
me away from the blessed image of the cross on the shore of Gascony, to
which I had clung for protection. The black slave who is here present
was my servant, and betrayed me into his power.”
“So then!”--answered the emir, while his brows contracted, and every
limb seemed quivering with rage, walking straightway towards a corner
of the hall, where all sorts of weapons were hung in readiness.
“Prince,” cried Alhafiz, his voice trembling with fear, “have I not
brought to you the damsel, safe and sound in her beauty and innocence,
as she was left by the Prince Mutza?”
“How darest thou say that she has been brought hither safe and sound?”
said the emir in a voice of thunder; “and could’st thou look upon
a form so angelic as this, and yet think of using violence? But be
silent, wretches, in her honoured presence, and ere long you shall be
silenced for ever.”
With these words he had drawn out two sharp javelins from among the
trophies on the wall, and in a moment he had hurled them severally at
Alhafiz and the black woman with such frightful certainty of aim, that,
ere the eye could trace the weapons in their flight, his two victims
were struck to the heart, and fell to the ground almost without even
one shriek of anguish.
“Away with them!” cried the emir; “a doctor learned in the law shall
come hither, and shall divide all my wealth fairly and equally into
three parts. When the written deeds are completed, then the next heir
of Alhafiz shall appear before me, that he may receive that portion
which belongs to him. Henceforward no one shall again dare to speak
of my promise, nor of the manner in which it has been fulfilled.”
Thereafter the slaves covered up the dead bodies, and bore them away.
Bertha meanwhile looked at them mournfully, and said, “Unfortunate
victims! I well knew that your crime would be fearfully punished
on your own heads; I warned you of this, and wherefore would you
not desist? May Heaven have mercy on your souls!” Turning then to
Nurreddin, she added, “What I should think of thee, I know not yet!
Wert thou indeed chosen here for a supreme and righteous judge?”
“Truly, methinks, I have been so chosen, noble lady,” answered the
emir; “but enough of this. For the present, may it please you to repose
yourself after your voyage? I would beg of you to lay aside all fear
so long as you are under my roof; for to you these apprehensions,
by which other young damsels might be assailed, are indeed unknown.
It seems rather as if angels always hovered around you with their
protecting wings, as if within the hallowed circle of your innocence
such thoughts dared not enter as those by which other minds are in this
world possessed. Do not think, however, that my character is like that
of Alhafiz, who called himself my ambassador; for, in truth, I did
not long to obtain you as a lover seeks after a young and beautiful
mistress, but rather as a guardian angel,--a heaven-inspired sister,
by whom I might for the future be chastised and counselled.” “Heaven’s
will be done!” answered Bertha; “if it has been ordained, that one so
humble as I am should point out the true path of religion and virtue
to a restless warrior such as thou art, then doubtless I shall succeed
in affording the counsels which thou desirest of me.” Meanwhile, on a
signal from the emir, female slaves had come into the hall, to whom he
gave in charge his beautiful guest, commanding that they should treat
her with the utmost respect and attention. Then, with a grave and
humble salutation, he took his leave.