I am a Greek by birth; my parents were poor people residing at Smyrna.
I was an only son, and brought up to my father's profession,--that of a
cooper. When I was twenty years old, I had buried both my parents, and
was left to shift for myself. I had been for some time in the employ of
a Jewish wine-merchant, and I continued there for three years after my
father's death, when a circumstance occurred which led to my subsequent
prosperity and present degradation.
At the time that I am speaking of, I had, by strict diligence and
sobriety, so pleased my employer, that I had risen to be his foreman;
and although I still superintended and occasionally worked at the
cooperage, I was intrusted with the drawing off and fining of the wines,
to prepare them for market. There was an Ethiopian slave, who worked
under my orders, a powerful, broad-shouldered, and most malignant
wretch, whom my master found it almost impossible to manage; the
bastinado, or any other punishment, he derided, and after the
application only became more sullen and discontented than before. The
fire that flashed from his eyes, upon any fault being found by me on
account of his negligence, was so threatening, that I every day expected
I should be murdered. I repeatedly requested my master to part with
him; but the Ethiopian being a very powerful man, and able, when he
chose, to move a pipe of wine without assistance, the avarice of the Jew
would not permit him to accede to my repeated solicitations.
One morning I entered the cooperage, and found the Ethiopian fast asleep
by the side of a cask which I had been wanting for some time, and
expected to have found ready. Afraid to punish him myself, I brought my
master to witness his conduct. The Jew, enraged at his idleness, struck
him on the head with one of the staves. The Ethiopian sprung up in a
rage, but on seeing his master with the stave in his hand, contented
himself with muttering, "That he would not remain to be beaten in that
manner," and reapplied himself to his labour. As soon as my master had
left the cooperage, the Ethiopian vented his anger upon me for having
informed against him, and seizing the stave, flew at me with the
intention of beating out my brains. I stepped behind the cask; he
followed me, and just as I had seized an adze to defend myself, he fell
over the stool which lay in his way; he was springing up to renew the
attack, when I struck him a blow with the adze which entered his skull,
and laid him dead at my feet.
I was very much alarmed at what had occurred; for although I felt
justified in self-defence, I was aware that my master would be very much
annoyed at the loss of the slave, and as there were no witnesses, it
would go hard with me when brought before the cadi. After some
reflection I determined, as the slave had said "He would not remain to
be beaten," that I would leave my master to suppose he had run away, and
in the mean time conceal the body. But to effect this was difficult, as
I could not take it out of the cooperage without being perceived. After
some cogitation, I decided upon putting it into the cask, and heading it
up. It required all my strength to lift the body in, but at last I
succeeded. Having put in the head of the pipe, I hammered down the
hoops and rolled it into the store, where I had been waiting to fill it
with wine for the next year's demand. As soon as it was in its place, I
pumped off the wine from the vat, and having filled up the cask and put
in the bung, I felt as if a heavy load had been removed from my mind, as
there was no chance of immediate discovery.
I had but just completed my task, and was sitting down on one of the
settles, when my master came in, and inquired for the slave. I replied
that he had left the cooperage, swearing that he would work no more.
Afraid of losing him, the Jew hastened to give notice to the
authorities, that he might be apprehended; but after some time, as
nothing could be heard of the supposed runaway, it was imagined that he
had drowned himself in a fit of sullenness, and no more was thought
about him. In the mean while I continued to work there as before, and
as I had the charge of every thing I had no doubt that, some day or
another, I should find means of quietly disposing of my incumbrance.
The next spring, I was busy pumping off from one cask into the other,
according to our custom, when the aga of the janissaries came in. He
was a great wine-bibber, and one of our best customers. As his
dependants were all well known, it was not his custom to send them for
wine, but to come himself to the store and select a pipe. This was
carried away in a litter by eight strong slaves, with the curtains drawn
close, as if it had been a new purchase which he had added to his harem.
My master showed him the pipes of wine prepared for that year's market,
which were arranged in two rows; and I hardly need observe that the one
containing the Ethiopian was not in the foremost. After tasting one or
two which did not seem to please him, the aga observed, "Friend
Issachar, thy tribe will always put off the worst goods first, if
possible. Now I have an idea that there is better wine in the second
tier, than in the one thou hast recommended. Let thy Greek put a spile
into that cask," continued he, pointing to the very one in which I had
headed-up the black slave. As I made sure that as soon as he had tasted
the contents he would spit them out, I did not hesitate to bore the cask
and draw off the wine, which I handed to him. He tasted it, and held it
to the light--tasted it again and smacked his lips--then turning to my
master, exclaimed, "Thou dog of a Jew! wouldst thou have palmed off upon
me vile trash, when thou hadst in thy possession wine which might be
sipped with the houris in Paradise?"
The Jew appealed to me if the pipes of wine were not all of the same
quality; and I confirmed his assertion.
"Taste it then," replied the aga, "and then taste the first which you
recommended to me."
My master did so, and was evidently astonished. "It certainly has more
body," replied he; "yet how can that be, I know not. Taste it,
Charis."--I held the glass to my lips, but nothing could induce me to
taste the contents. I contented myself with agreeing with my master,
(as I conscientiously could), "that it certainly had more _body_ in it
than the rest."
The aga was so pleased with the wine, that he tasted two or three more
pipes of the back tier, hoping to find others of the same quality,
probably intending to have laid in a large stock; but finding no other
of the same flavour, he ordered his slaves to roll the one containing
the body of the slave into the litter, and carried it to his own house.
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"Stop a moment, thou lying kafir!" said the pacha, "dost thou really
mean to say that the wine was better than the rest?"
"Why should I tell a lie to your sublime highness--am not I a worm that
you may crush? As I informed you, I did not taste it, your highness;
but after the aga had departed, my master expressed his surprise at the
excellence of the wine, which he affirmed to be superior to any thing
that he had ever tasted--and his sorrow that the aga had taken away the
cask, which prevented him from ascertaining the cause. But one day I
was narrating the circumstance to a Frank in this country, who expressed
no surprise at the wine being improved. He had been a wine-merchant in
England, and he informed me that it was the custom there to throw large
pieces of raw beef into the wine to feed it; and that some particular
wines were very much improved thereby."
"Allah kebur! God is great!" cried the pacha--"Then it must be so--I
have heard that the English are very fond of beef. Now go on with thy
story."
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Your highness cannot imagine the alarm which I felt when the cask was
taken away by the aga's slaves. I gave myself up for a lost man, and
resolved upon immediate flight from Smyrna. I calculated the time that
it would take for the aga to drink the wine, and made my arrangements
accordingly. I told my master that it was my intention to leave him, as
I had an offer to go into business with a relation at Zante. My master,
who could not well do without me, intreated me to stay; but I was
positive. He then offered me a share of the business if I would remain,
but I was not to be persuaded. Every rap at the door, I thought that
the aga and his janissaries were coming for me; and I hastened my
departure, which was fixed for the following day,--when in the evening
my master came into the store with a paper in his hand.
"Charis," said he, "perhaps you have supposed that I only offered to
make you a partner in my business to induce you to remain, and then to
deceive you. To prove the contrary, here is a deed drawn up by which
you are a partner, and entitled to one third of the future profits.
Look at it, you will find that it has been executed in due form before
the cadi."
He had put the paper into my hand, and I was about to return it with a
refusal, when a loud knocking at the door startled us both. It was a
party of janissaries despatched by the aga, to bring us to him
immediately. I knew well enough what it must be about, and I cursed my
folly in having delayed so long; but the fact was, the wine proved so
agreeable to the aga's palate that he had drunk it much faster than
usual; besides which, the body of the slave took up at least a third of
the cask, and diminished the contents in the same proportion. There was
no appeal, and no escape. My master, who was ignorant of the cause, did
not seem at all alarmed, but willingly accompanied the soldiers. I, on
the contrary, was nearly dead from fear.
When we arrived, the aga burst out in the most violent exclamations
against my master--"Thou rascal of a Jew!" said he, "dost thou think
that thou art to impose upon a true believer, and sell him a pipe of
wine which is not more than two thirds full,--filling it up with trash
of some sort or another. Tell me what it is that is so heavy in the
cask now that it is empty?"
The Jew protested his ignorance, and appealed to me; I, of course,
pretended the same. "Well then," replied the aga, "we will soon see.
Let thy Greek send for his tools, and the cask shall be opened in our
presence; then perhaps, thou wilt recognise thine own knavery."
Two of the janissaries were despatched for the tools, and when they
arrived, I was directed to take the head out of the cask. I now
considered my death as certain--nothing buoyed me up but my observing
that the resentment of the aga was levelled more against my master than
against me; but still I thought that, when the cask was opened, the
recognition of the black slave must immediately take place, and the
evidence of my master would fix the murder upon me.
It was with a trembling hand that I obeyed the orders of the aga--the
head of the pipe was taken out, and, to the horror of all present, the
body was exposed; but instead of being black, it had turned _white_,
from the time which it had been immersed. I rallied a little at this
circumstance, as, so far, suspicion would be removed.
"Holy Abraham!" exclaimed my master, "what is that which I see!--A dead
body, so help me God!--but I know nothing about it--do you, Charis?" I
vowed that I did not, and called the patriarch to witness the truth of
my assertion. But while we were thus exclaiming, the aga's eyes were
fixed upon my master with an indignant and deadly stare which spoke
volumes; while the remainder of the people who were present, although
they said nothing, seemed as if they were ready to tear him into pieces.
"Cursed unbeliever!" at last uttered the Turk, "is it thus that thou
preparest the wine for the disciples of the Prophet?"
"Holy father Abraham!--I know no more than you do, aga, how that body
came there; but I will change the cask with pleasure, and will send you
another."
"Be it so," replied the aga; "my slave shall fetch it now." He gave
directions accordingly, and the litter soon re-appeared with another
pipe of wine.
"It will be a heavy loss to a poor Jew--one pipe of good wine," observed
my master, as it was rolled out of the litter; and he took up his hat
with the intention to depart.
"Stay," cried the aga, "I do not mean to rob you of your wine."
"Oh, then, you will pay me for it," replied my master; "aga, you are a
considerate man."
"Thou shalt see," retorted the aga, who gave directions to his slaves to
draw off the wine in vessels. As soon as the pipe was empty, he desired
me to take the head out; and when I had obeyed him, he ordered his
janissaries to put my master in. In a minute he was gagged and bound,
and tossed into the pipe; and I was directed to put in the head as
before. I was very unwilling to comply: for I had no reason to complain
of my master, and knew that he was punished for the fault of which I had
been guilty. But it was a case of life or death,--and the days of
self-devotion have long passed away in our country. Besides which, I
had the deed in my pocket by which I was a partner in the business, and
my master had no heirs,--so that I stood a chance to come in for the
whole of his property. Moreover--
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"Never mind your reasons," observed the pacha, "you headed him up in the
cask--Go on."
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"I did so, your highness; but although I dared not disobey, I assure you
that it was with a sorrowful heart--the more so, as I did not know the
fate which might be reserved for myself."
As soon as the head was in, and the hoops driven on, the aga desired his
slaves to fill the cask up again with the wine; and thus did my poor
master perish.
"Put in the bung, Greek," said the aga in a stern voice.