SULTAN ACHMED.
The sun is shining through the windows of the Seraglio, the two Ulemas
who are wont to come and pray with the Sultan have withdrawn, and the
Kapu-Agasi, or chief doorkeeper, and the Anakhtar Oglan, or chief
key-keeper, hasten to open the doors through which the Padishah
generally goes to his dressing-room, where already await him the most
eminent personages of the Court, to wit, the Khas-Oda-Bashi, or Master
of the Robes, the Chobodar who hands the Sultan his first garment, the
Dülbendar who ties the shawl round his body, the Berber-Bashi who shaves
his head, the Ibrikdar Aga who washes his hands, the Peshkiriji Bashi
who dries them again, the Serbedji-Bashi who has a pleasant potion ready
for him, and the Ternakdji who carefully pares his nails. All these
grandees do obeisance to the very earth as they catch sight of the face
of the Padishah making his way through innumerable richly carved doors
on his way to his dressing-chamber.
This robing-room is a simple, hexagonal room, with lofty,
gold-entrellised window; its whole beauty consists in this, that the
walls are inlaid with amethysts, from whose jacinth-hued background
shine forth the more lustrous raised arabesques formed by topazes and
dalmatines. Precious stones are the delight of the Padishah. Every inch
of his garments is resplendent with diamonds, rubies, and pearls, his
very fingers are hidden by the rings which sparkle upon them. Pomp is
the very breath of his life. And his countenance well becomes this
splendour. It is a mild, gentle, radiant face, like the face of a father
when he moves softly among his loving children. His large, melancholy
eyes rest kindly on the face of everyone he beholds; his smooth,
delicate forehead is quite free from wrinkles. It would seem as if it
could never form into folds, as if its possessor could never be angry;
there is not a single grey hair in his well-kept, long black beard; it
would seem as if he knew not the name of grief, as if he were the very
Son of Happiness.
And so indeed he was. For seven-and-twenty years he had sat upon the
throne. It is possible that during these seven-and-twenty years many
changes may have taken place in the realm which could by no means call
for rejoicing, but Allah had blessed him with such a happy disposition
as to make him quite indifferent to these unfortunate events, in fact,
he did not trouble his head about them at all. Like the true
philosopher he was, he continued to rejoice in whatsoever was joyous. He
loved beautiful flowers and beautiful women--and he had enough of both
and to spare. His gardens were more splendid than the gardens of Soliman
the Magnificent, and that his Seraglio was no joyless abode was
demonstrated by the fact that so far he was the happy father of
one-and-thirty children.
He must have had exceptionally pleasant dreams last night, or his
favourite Sultana, the incomparably lovely Adsalis, must have
entertained him with unusually pleasant stories, or perchance a new
tulip must have blossomed during the night, for he extended his hand to
everyone to kiss, and when the Berber-Bashi proceeded comfortably to
adjust the cushions beneath him, the Sultan jocosely tapped the red
swelling cheeks of his faithful servant--cheeks which the worthy Bashi
had taken good care of even in the days when he was only a barber's
apprentice in the town of Zara, but which had swelled to a size worthy
even of the rank of a Berber-Bashi, since his lot had fallen in pleasant
places.
"Allah watch over thee, and grant that thy mouth may never complain
against thy hand, worthy Berber-Bashi. What is the latest news from the
town?"
It would appear from this that the barbers in Stambul also, even when
they rise to the dignity of Berber-Bashis, are expected to follow the
course of public events with the utmost attention, in order to
communicate the most interesting details thereof to others, and thus
relieve the tedium invariably attendant upon shaving.
"Most mighty and most gracious One, if thou deignest to listen to the
worthless words which drop from the mouth of thine unprofitable servant
with those ears of thine created but to receive messages from Heaven, I
will relate to thee what has happened most recently in Stambul."
The Sultan continued to play with his ring, which he had taken off one
finger to slip on to another.
"Thou hast laid the command upon me, most puissant and most gracious
Padishah," continued the Berber-Bashi, unwinding the pearl-embroidered
_kauk_ from the head of the Sultan--"thou hast laid the command upon me
to discover and acquaint thee with what further befell Gül-Bejáze after
she had been cast forth from thy harem. From morn to eve, and again from
eve to morning, I have been searching from house to house, making
inquiries, listening with all my ears, mingling among the chapmen of the
bazaars disguised as one of themselves, inducing them to speak, and
ferreting about generally, till, at last, I have got to the bottom of
the matter. For a long time nobody dared to buy the girl; it is indeed
but meet that none should dare to pick up what the mightiest monarch of
the earth has thrown away; it is but meet that the spot where he has
cast out the ashes from his pipe should be avoided by all men, and that
nobody should venture to put the sole of his foot there. Yet,
nevertheless, in the bazaar, one madly presumptuous man was found who
was lured to his destruction at the sight of the girl's beauty, and
received her for five thousand piastres from the hand of the public
crier. These five thousand piastres were all the money he had, and he
got them, in most wondrous wise, from a foreign butcher whom he had
welcomed to his house as a guest."
"What is the name of this man?"?
"Halil Patrona."
"And what happened after that?"
"The man took the girl home, whose beauty, of a truth, was likely to
turn the head of anybody. He knew not what had happened to her at the
Seraglio, in the kiosks of the Kiaja Beg and the Grand Vizier, Ibrahim
Damad and in the harem of the White Prince. For, verily, it is a joy to
even behold the maiden, and it would be an easy matter to lose one's
wits because of her, especially if one did not know that this fair
blossom may be gazed at but not plucked, that this beautiful form which
puts even the houris of Paradise to shame, suddenly becomes stiff and
dead at the contact of a man's hand, and that neither the warmth of the
sun-like face of the Padishah, nor the fury of the Grand Vizier, nor the
thongs of the scourge of the Sultana Asseki, nor the supplications of
the White Prince, can awaken her from her death-like swoon."
"And didst thou discover what happened to the girl after that?"
"Blessed be every word concerning me which issues from thy lips oh,
mighty Padishah! Yes, I went after the girl. The worthy shopkeeper took
the maiden home with him. It rejoiced him that he could give to her
everything that was there. He made her sit down beside him. He supped in
her company. Then he would have embraced her. So he drew her to his
bosom, and immediately the girl collapsed in his arms like a dead thing,
as she is always wont to do whenever a man touches her, at the same time
uttering certain magical talismanic words of evil portent, from which
may the Prophet guard every true believer! For she spoke the name of
that holy woman whose counterfeit presentment the Giaours carry upon
their banners, and whose name they pronounce when they go forth to war
against the true believers."
"Was he who took her away wrath thereat?"
"Nay, on the contrary, he seemed well satisfied that it should be so,
and ever since then he has left the girl in peace. He regards her as a
peri, as one who is not in her right mind, and therefore should be dealt
gently with. She is free to go about the house as she likes. Halil will
never permit her to do any rough work, nay, rather, will he do
everything himself, with his own hands, so that all his acquaintances
already begin to speak of him as a portent, and his patience has become
a proverb in their mouths. Halil they say took unto himself a
slave-woman, and lo! he has himself become that slave-woman's slave."
"Of a truth it is a remarkable case," observed the Padishah; "try and
find out what turn the affair takes next. And the Teskeredji Bashi shall
record everything that thou sayest for an eternal remembrance."
During this speech the Berber-Bashi had artistically completed the
official dressing of the Padishah's head, whereupon the Ibrikdar Aga
came forward to wash his hands, the Peshkiriji Bashi carefully dried
them with a towel, the Ternakdji Bashi pared his nails, the Dülbendar
placed the pearl-embroidered _kauk_ on the top of his head, and adjusted
the long eastern shawl round his waist, the Chobodar handed him his
upper jacket, the _binis_ heavy with turquoise, the Silihdar buckled on
his tasselled sword, and then everyone, after performing the usual
salaams withdrew, except the Khas-Oda-Bashi and the Kapu-Agasi, who
remained alone with their master.
The Khas-Oda-Bashi announced that the two humblest of the Sultan's
servants, Abdullah, the Chief Mufti, and Damad Ibrahim, the Grand
Vizier, were waiting on their knees for an audience in the vestibule of
the Seraglio. They desired, he said, to communicate important news
touching the safety and honour of the Empire.
The Sultan had not yet given an answer when, through the door leading
from the harem, popped the Kizlar-Aga, the chief eunuch, a respectable,
black-visaged gentleman with split lips, who had the melancholy
privilege of passing in and out of the Sultan's harem at all hours of
the day and night, and finding no pleasure therein.
"Kizlar-Aga, my faithful servant! what dost thou want?" inquired Achmed
going to meet him, and raising him from the ground whereon he had thrown
himself.
"Most gracious Padishah!" cried the Kizlar-Aga, "the flower cannot go on
living without the sun, and the most lovely of flowers, that most
fragrant blossom, the Sultana Asseki, longs to bask in the light of thy
countenance."
At these words the features of Achmed grew still more gentle, still more
radiant with smiles. He signified to the Khas-Oda-Bashi and the
Kapu-Agasi that they should withdraw into another room, while he
dispatched the Kizlar-Aga to bring in the Sultana Asseki.
Adsalis, for so they called her, was a splendid damsel of Damascus. She
had been lavishly endowed with every natural charm. Her skin was whiter
than ivory and smoother than velvet. Compared with her dark locks the
blackest night was but a pale shadow, and the hue of her full smiling
face put to shame the breaking dawn and the budding rose. When she gazed
upon Achmed with those eyes of hers in which a whole rapturous world of
paradisaical joys glowed and burned, the Padishah felt his whole heart
smitten with sweet lightnings, and when her voluptuously enchanting lips
expressed a wish, who was there in the wide world who would have the
courage to gainsay them? Certainly not Achmed! Ah, no! "Ask of me the
half of my realm!"--that was the tiniest of the flattering assurances
which he was wont to heap upon her. If he were but able to embrace her,
if he were but able to look into her burning eyes, if he were but able
to see her smile again and again, then he utterly forgot Stambul, his
capital, the host, the war, and the foreign ambassadors--and praised
the Prophet for such blessedness.
The favourite Sultana approached Achmed with that enchanting smile which
was eternally irresistible so far as he was concerned, and never
permitted an answer approaching a refusal to even appear on the lips of
the Sultan.
What pressing request could it be? Why it was only at dawn of this very
day that the Padishah had quitted her! What vision of rapture could she
have seen since then whose realisation she had set her heart upon
obtaining?
The Sultan, taking her by the hand, conducted her to his purple ottoman,
and permitted her to sit down at his feet; the Sultana folded her hands
on the knees of the Padishah, and raising her eyes to his face thus
addressed him:
"I come from thy daughter, little Eminah, she has sent me to thee that I
may kiss thy feet instead of her. As often as I see thee, majestic Khan,
it is as though I see her face, and as often as I behold her it is thy
face that stands before me. She resembles thee as a twinkling star
resembles a radiant sun. Three years of her life has she accomplished,
she has now entered upon her fourth summer, and still no husband has
been destined for her. This very morning when thou hadst turned thy face
away from me I saw a vision. And this was the vision I saw. Thy three
children, Aisha, Hadishra, and Eminah, were sitting in the open piazza,
beneath splendid, sparkling pavilions. There were three pavilions
standing side by side: the first was white, the second violet, and the
third of a vivid green. In these three pavilions, I say, the princesses,
thy daughters, were sitting, clothed in _kapanijaks_ of cloth of silver,
with round _selmiks_ on their heads, and embellished with the seven
lucky circles which bring the blessings of prosperity to womenkind. Thou
knowest what these circles are, oh Padishah! They are the ishtifan or
diadem, the necklace, the ear-ring, the finger-ring, the girdle, the
bracelet, and the mantle-ring-clasp--the seven gifts of felicity, oh
Padishah, that the bridegroom giveth to the bride. Beside these
pavilions, moreover, were a countless multitude of other tents--of three
different hues of blue and three different hues of green--and in these
tents abode a great multitude of Emir Defterdars, Reis-Effendis,
Muderises, and Sheiks. And in front of the Seraglio were set up three
lofty palm-trees, which elephants drew about on great wheeled cars, and
there were three gardens there, the flowers whereof were made of sugar,
and then the chiefs of the viziers arose and the celebration of the
festival began. After the usual kissing of hands, the nuptials were
proceeded with, the Kiaja representing the bridegroom and the
Kizlar-Aga the bride, and everyone received a present. Then came the
bridal retinue with the bridal gifts, a hundred camels laden with
flowers and fruits, and an elephant bearing gold and precious stones and
veils meet for the land of the peris. Two eunuchs brought mirrors inlaid
with emeralds, and the _miri achorok_ held the reins of splendidly
caparisoned chargers. After them came the attendants of the Grand
Vizier, and delighted the astonished eyes of the spectators with a
display of slinging. Then came the wine-carriers with their wine-skins,
and in a pavilion set up for the purpose wooden men sported with a
living centaur. There also were the Egyptian sword and hoop dancers, the
Indian jugglers and serpent charmers, after whom came the Chief Mufti,
who read aloud a verse from the Koran in the light of thy countenance,
and gave also the interpretation thereof in words fair to listen to.
Then followed fit and capable men from the arsenal, dragging along on
rollers huge galleys in full sail, and after them the topijis, dragging
after them, likewise on rollers, a fortress crammed full of cannons,
which also they fired again and again to the astonishment of the
multitude. Thereupon began the dancing of the Egyptian opium-eaters,
which was indeed most marvellous, and after them there was a show of
bears and apes, which sported right merrily together. Close upon these
came the procession of the Guilds and the junketing of the Janissaries,
and last of all the Feast of Palms, which palms were carried to the very
gates of the Seraglio, along with the sugar gardens I have already
spoken of. Then there was the Feast of Lamps, in which ten thousand
shining lamps gleamed among twenty thousand blossoming tulips, so that
one might well have believed that the lamps were blossoming and the
tulips were shining. And all the while the cannons of the Anatoli Hisar
and the Rumili Hisar were thundering, and the Bosphorus seemed to be
turned into a sea of fire by reason of the illuminated ships and the
sparkling fireworks. Such then was the dream of the humblest of thy
slaves at dawn of the 12th day of the month Dzhemakir, which day is a
day of good omen to the sons of Osman."
It might have been thought a tiresome matter to listen to such long,
drawn-out visions as this to the very end, but Achmed was a good
listener, and, besides, he delighted in such things. Nothing made him so
happy as great festivals, and the surest way of gaining his good graces
was by devising some new pageant of splendour, excellence, and
originality unknown to his predecessors. Adsalis had won his favour by
inventing the Feast of Lamps and Tulips, which was renewed every year.
This Feast of Palms, moreover, was another new idea, and so also was the
idea of the sugar garden. So Achmed, in a transport of enthusiasm,
pressed the favourite Sultana to his bosom, and swore solemnly that her
dream should be fulfilled, and then sent her back into the harem.
And now the Kizlar-Aga admitted the two dignitaries who had been waiting
outside. The Chief Mufti entered first, and after him came the Grand
Vizier, Damad Ibrahim. Both of them had long, flowing, snow-white beards
and grave venerable faces.
They bowed low before the Sultan, kissed the hem of his garment, and lay
prostrate before him till he raised them up again.
"What brings you to the Seraglio, my worthy counsellors?" inquired the
Sultan.
As was meet and right, the Chief Mufti was the first to speak.
"Most gracious, most puissant master! Be merciful towards us if with our
words we disturb the tranquil joys of thy existence! For though slumber
is a blessing, wary wakefulness is better than slumber, and he who will
not recognise the coming of danger is like unto him who would rob his
own house. It will be known unto thee, most glorious Padishah, that a
few years ago it pleased Allah, in his inscrutable wisdom, to permit the
Persian rebel, Esref, to drive his lawful sovereign, Tamasip, from his
capital. The prince became a fugitive, and the mother of the prince,
dressed in rags, was reduced to the wretched expedient of doing menial
service in the streets of Ispahan for a livelihood. The glory of the
Ottoman arms could not permit that a usurper should sit at his ease on
the stolen throne, and thy triumphant host, led by the Vizier Ibrahim
and the virtuous Küprili, the descendant of the illustrious Nuuman
Küprili, wrested Kermandzasahan from Persia and incorporated it with thy
dominions. And then it pleased the Prophet to permit marvellous things
to happen. Suddenly Shah Tamasip, whom all men believed to be
ruined--suddenly, I say, Shah Tamasip reappeared at the head of a
handful of heroes and utterly routed the bloody Esref Khan in three
pitched battles at Damaghan, Derechár, and Ispahan, put him to flight,
and the hoofs of the horses of the victor trod the rebel underfoot. And
now the restored sovereign demands back from the Ottoman Empire the
domains which had been occupied. His Grand Vizier, Safikuli Khan, is
advancing with a large army against the son of Küprili, and the darkness
of defeat threatens to obscure the sun-like radiance of the Ottoman
arms. Most puissant Padishah! suffer not the tooth of disaster to gnaw
away at thy glory! The Grand Vizier and I have already gathered
together thy host on the shores of the Bosphorus. They are ready, at a
moment's notice, to embark in the ships prepared for them. Money and
provisions in abundance have been sent to the frontier for the gallant
Nuuman Küprili on the backs of fifteen hundred camels. It needs but a
word from thee and thine empire will become an armed hand, one buffet
whereof will overthrow another empire. It needs but a wink of thine eye
and a host of warriors will spring from the earth, just as if all the
Ottoman heroes, who died for their country four centuries ago, were to
rise from their graves to defend the banner of the Prophet. But that
same banner thou shouldst seize and bear in thine own hand, most
glorious Padishah! for only thy presence can give victory to our arms.
Arise, then, and gird upon thy thigh the sword of thy illustrious
ancestor Muhammad! Descend in the midst of thy host which yearns for the
light of thy countenance, as the eyes of the sleepless yearn for the sun
to rise, and put an end to the long night of waiting."
Achmed's gentle gaze rested upon the speaker abstractedly. It seemed as
if, while the Chief Mufti was speaking, he had not heard a single word
of the passionate discourse that had been addressed to him.
"My faithful servants!" said he, smiling pleasantly, "this day is to me
a day of felicity. The Sultana Asseki at dawn to-day saw a vision
worthy of being realised. A dazzling festival was being celebrated in
the streets of Stambul, and the whole city shone in the illumination
thereof. The gardens of the puspáng-trees and the courtyards of the
kiosks around the Sweet Waters were bright with the radiance of lamps
and tulips. Waving palm-trees and gardens full of sugar-flowers
traversed the streets, and galleys and fortresses perambulated the
piazzas on wheels. That dream was too lovely to remain a dream. It must
be made a reality."
The Chief Mufti folded his hands across his breast and bent low before
the Padishah.
"Allah Akbar! Allah Kerim! God is mighty. Be it even as thou dost
command! May the sun rise in the west if it be thy will, oh Padishah!"
And the Chief Mufti drew aside and was silent.
But the aged Grand Vizier, Damad Ibrahim, came forward, and drying his
tearful eyes with the corner of his kaftan, stood sorrowfully in front
of the Padishah. And these were his words:
"Oh! my master! Allah hath appointed certain days for rejoicing, and
certain other days for mourning, and 'tis not well to confuse the one
with the other. Just now there is no occasion for rejoicing, but all the
more occasion for mourning. Woeful tidings, like dark clouds presaging a
storm, are coming in from every corner of the Empire--conflagrations,
pestilences, earthquakes, inundations, hurricanes--alarm and agitate the
people. Only this very week the fairest part of Stambul, close to the
Chojabasha, was burnt to the ground; and only a few weeks ago the same
fate befell the suburb of Ejub along the whole length of the sea-front,
and that, too, at the very time when the other part of the city was
illuminated in honour of the birthday of Prince Murad. In Gallipoli a
thunder-bolt struck the powder-magazine, and five hundred workmen were
blown into the air. The Kiagadehane brook, in a single night, swelled to
such an extent as to inundate the whole valley of Sweet Waters, and a
whole park of artillery was swept away by the flood. And know also, oh
Padishah, that, but the other day, a new island rose up from the sea
beside the island of Santorin, and this new island has grown larger and
larger during three successive months, and all the time it was growing,
the ground beneath Stambul quaked and trembled. These are no good omens,
oh, my master! and if thou wilt lend thine ears to the counsel of thy
faithful servant, thou wilt proclaim a day of penance and fasting
instead of a feast-day, for evil days are coming upon Stambul. The voice
of the enemy can be heard on all our borders, from the banks of the
Danube as well as from beside the waters of the Pruth, from among the
mountains of Erivan as well as from beyond the islands of the
Archipelago; and if every Mussulman had ten hands and every one of the
ten held a sword, we should still have enough to do to defend thy
Empire. Bear, oh Padishah! with my grey hairs, and pardon my temerity. I
see Stambul in the midst of flames every time it is illuminated for a
festival, and full of consternation, I cry to thee and to the Prophet,
'Send us help and that right soon.'"
Sultan Achmed continued all the time to smile most graciously.
"Worthy Ibrahim!" said he at last, "thou hast a son, hast thou not,
whose name is Osman, and who has now attained his fourth year. Now I
have a daughter, Eminah, who has just reached her third year. Lo now! as
my soul liveth, I will not gird on the Sword of the Prophet, I will not
take in my hand the Banner of Danger until I have given these young
people to each other in marriage. Long ago they were destined for each
other, and the multiplication of thy merits demands the speedy
consummation of these espousals. I have sworn to the Sultana Asseki that
so it shall be, and I cannot go back from my oath as though I were but
an unbelieving fire-worshipper, for the fire-worshippers do not regard
the sanctity of an oath, and when they take an oath or make a promise
they recite the words thereof backwards, and believe they are thereby
free of their obligations. It beseemeth not the true believers to do
likewise. I have promised that this festival shall be celebrated, and it
is my desire that it should be splendid."
Ibrahim sighed deeply, and it was with a sad countenance that he thanked
the Padishah for this fresh mark of favour. Yet the betrothal might so
easily have been postponed, for the bridegroom was only four years old
and the bride was but three.
"Allah Kerim! God grant that thy shadow may never grow less, most mighty
Padishah!" said Damad Ibrahim, and with that he kissed the hand of the
Grand Seignior, and both he and the Chief Mufti withdrew.
At the gate of the Seraglio the Chief Mufti said to the Grand Vizier
sorrowfully:
"It had been better for us both had we never grown grey!"
But Sultan Achmed, accompanied by the Bostanjik, hastened to the gardens
of the grove of puspáng-trees to look at his tulips.