good fortune by which my brother Saladin was distinguished, even during
his childhood. As he grew up, his success in everything he undertook
was as remarkable as my ill luck in all that I attempted. From the time
the rich vessel arrived, we lived in splendor; and the supposed
prosperous state of my father's affairs was of course attributed to the
influence of my brother Saladin's happy destiny.
"When Saladin was about twenty, my father was taken dangerously ill;
and as he felt that he should not recover, he sent for my brother to
the side of his bed, and, to his great surprise, informed him that the
magnificence in which we had lived had exhausted all his wealth; that
his affairs were in the greatest disorder; for, having trusted to the
hope of continual success, he had embarked in projects beyond his
powers.
"The sequel was, he had nothing remaining to leave to his children but
two large china vases, remarkable for their beauty, but still more
valuable on account of certain verses inscribed upon them in an unknown
character, which was supposed to operate as a talisman or charm in
favor of their possessors.
"Both these vases my father bequeathed to my brother Saladin; declaring
he could not venture to leave either of them to me, because I was so
unlucky that I should inevitably break it. After his death, however, my
brother Saladin, who was blessed with a generous temper, gave me my
choice of the two vases; and endeavored to raise my spirits, by
repeating frequently that he had no faith either in good fortune or ill
fortune.
"I could not be of his opinion, though I felt and acknowledged his
kindness in trying to persuade me out of my settled melancholy. I knew
it was in vain for me to exert myself, because I was sure that, do what
I would, I should still be Murad the Unlucky. My brother, on the
contrary, was nowise cast down, even by the poverty in which my father
left us: he said he was sure he should find some means of maintaining
himself, and so he did.
"On examining our china vases, he found in them a powder of a bright
scarlet color; and it occurred to him that it would make a fine dye. He
tried it, and after some trouble, it succeeded to admiration.
"During my father's lifetime, my mother had been supplied with rich
dresses, by one of the merchants who was employed by the ladies of the
grand seignior's seraglio. My brother had done this merchant some
trifling favors; and, upon application to him, he readily engaged to
recommend the new scarlet dye. Indeed, it was so beautiful, that, the
moment it was seen, it was preferred to every other color. Saladin's
shop was soon crowded with customers; and his winning manners and
pleasant conversation were almost as advantageous to him as his scarlet
dye. On the contrary, I observed that the first glance at my melancholy
countenance was sufficient to disgust every one who saw me. I perceived
this plainly; and it only confirmed me the more in my belief in my own
evil destiny.
"It happened one day that a lady, richly apparelled and attended by two
female slaves, came to my brother's house to make some purchases. He
was out, and I alone was left to attend to the shop. After she had
looked over some goods, she chanced to see my china vase, which was in
the room. She took a prodigious fancy to it, and offered me any price
if I would part with it; but this I declined doing, because I believed
that I should draw down upon my head some dreadful calamity, if I
voluntarily relinquished the talisman. Irritated by my refusal, the
lady, according to the custom of her sex, became more resolute in her
purpose; but neither entreaties nor money could change my
determination. Provoked beyond measure at my obstinacy, as she called
it, she left the house.
"On my brother's return, I related to him what had happened, and
expected that he would have praised me for my prudence; but, on the
contrary, he blamed me for the superstitious value I set upon the
verses on my vase; and observed that it would be the height of folly to
lose a certain means of advancing my fortune, for the uncertain hope of
magical protection. I could not bring myself to be of his opinion; I
had not the courage to follow the advice he gave. The next day the lady
returned, and my brother sold his vase to her for ten thousand pieces
of gold. This money he laid out in the most advantageous manner, by
purchasing a new stock of merchandise. I repented, when it was too
late; but I believe it is part of the fatality attending certain
persons, that they cannot decide rightly at the proper moment. When the
opportunity has been lost, I have always regretted that I did not do
exactly the contrary to what I had previously determined upon. Often,
whilst I was hesitating, the favorable moment passed. Now this is what
I call being unlucky. But to proceed with my story.
"The lady, who bought my brother Saladin's vase, was the favorite of
the sultan, and all-powerful in the seraglio. Her dislike to me, in
consequence of my opposition to her wishes, was so violent, that she
refused to return to my brother's house while I remained there. He was
unwilling to part with me; but I could not bear to be the ruin of so
good a brother. Without telling him my design, I left his house,
careless of what should become of me. Hunger, however, soon compelled
me to think of some immediate mode of obtaining relief. I sat down upon
a stone, before the door of a baker's shop; the smell of hot bread
tempted me in, and with a feeble voice I demanded charity.
"The master baker gave me as much bread as I could eat, upon condition
that I should change dresses with him, and carry the rolls for him
through the city this day. To this I readily consented; but I had soon
reason to repent of my compliance. Indeed, if my ill luck had not, as
usual, deprived me at this critical moment of memory and judgment, I
should never have complied with the baker's treacherous proposal. For
some time before, the people of Constantinople had been much
dissatisfied with the weight and quality of the bread furnished by the
bakers. This species of discontent has often been the sure forerunner
of an insurrection; and, in these disturbances, the master bakers
frequently lose their lives. All these circumstances I knew; but they
did not occur to my memory, when they might have been useful.
"I changed dresses with the baker; but scarcely had I proceeded through
the adjoining streets with my rolls, before the mob began to gather
round me, with reproaches and execrations. The crowd pursued me even to
the gates of the grand seignior's palace; and the grand vizier, alarmed
at their violence, sent out an order to have my head struck off; the
usual remedy, in such cases, being to strike off the baker's head.
"I now fell upon my knees, and protested I was not the baker for whom
they took me; that I had no connection with him; and that I had never
furnished the people of Constantinople with bread that was not weight.
I declared I had merely changed clothes with a master baker, for this
day; and that I should not have done so, but for the evil destiny which
governs all my actions. Some of the mob exclaimed that I deserved to
lose my head for my folly; but others took pity on me, and whilst the
officer, who was sent to execute the vizier's order, turned to speak to
some of the noisy rioters, those who were touched by my misfortune
opened a passage for me through the crowd, and, thus favored, I
effected my escape.
"I quitted Constantinople: my vase I had left in the care of my
brother. At some miles' distance from the city, I overtook a party of
soldiers. I joined them; and learning that they were going to embark
with the rest of the grand seignior's army for Egypt, I resolved to
accompany them. If it be, thought I, the will of Mahomet that I should
perish, the sooner I meet my fate the better. The despondency into
which I was sunk was attended by so great a degree of indolence, that I
scarcely would take the necessary means to preserve my existence.
During our passage to Egypt, I sat all day long upon the deck of the
vessel, smoking my pipe; and I am convinced that if a storm had risen,
as I expected, I should not have taken my pipe from my mouth, nor
should I have handled a rope, to save myself from destruction. Such is
the effect of that species of resignation or torpor, whichever you
please to call it, to which my strong belief in _fatality_ had reduced
my mind.
"We landed, however, safely, contrary to my melancholy forebodings. By
a trifling accident, not worth relating, I was detained longer than any
of my companions in the vessel when we disembarked; and I did not
arrive at the camp till late at night. It was moonlight, and I could
see the whole scene distinctly. There was a vast number of small tents
scattered over a desert of white sand; a few date-trees were visible at
a distance; all was gloomy, and all still; no sound was to be heard but
that of the camels, feeding near the tents; and, as I walked on, I met
with no human creature.
"My pipe was now out, and I quickened my pace a little towards a fire,
which I saw near one of the tents. As I proceeded, my eye was caught by
something sparkling in the sand: it was a ring. I picked it up, and put
it on my finger, resolving to give it to the public crier the next
morning, who might find out its rightful owner: but by ill luck, I put
it on my little finger, for which it was much too large; and as I
hastened towards the fire to light my pipe, I dropped the ring. I
stooped to search for it amongst the provender on which a mule was
feeding; and the cursed animal gave me so violent a kick on the head,
that I could not help roaring aloud.
"My cries awakened those who slept in the tent, near which the mule was
feeding. Provoked at being disturbed, the soldiers were ready enough to
think ill of me; and they took it for granted that I was a thief, who
had stolen the ring I pretended to have just found. The ring was taken
from me by force; and the next day I was bastinadoed for having found
it: the officer persisting in the belief that stripes would make me
confess where I had concealed certain other articles of value, which
had lately been missed in the camp. All this was the consequence of my
being in a hurry to light my pipe, and of my having put the ring on a
finger that was too little for it; which no one but Murad the Unlucky
would have done.
"When I was able to walk again after my wounds were healed, I went into
one of the tents distinguished by a red flag, having been told that
these were coffee-houses. Whilst I was drinking coffee, I heard a
stranger near me complaining that he had not been able to recover a
valuable ring he had lost; although he had caused his loss to be
published for three days by the public crier, offering a reward of two
hundred sequins to whoever should restore it. I guessed that this was
the very ring which I had unfortunately found. I addressed myself to
the stranger, and promised to point out to him the person who had
forced it from me. The stranger recovered his ring; and, being
convinced that I had acted honestly, he made me a present of two
hundred sequins, as some amends for the punishment which I had unjustly
suffered on his account.
"Now you would imagine that this purse of gold was advantageous to me:
far the contrary; it was the cause of new misfortunes.
"One night, when I thought that the soldiers who were in the same tent
with me were all fast asleep, I indulged myself in the pleasure of
counting my treasure. The next day I was invited by my companions to
drink sherbet with them. What they mixed with the sherbet which I
drank, I know not; but I could not resist the drowsiness it brought on.
I fell into a profound slumber; and, when I awoke, I found myself lying
under a date-tree, at some distance from the camp.
"The first thing I thought of, when I came to my recollection, was my
purse of sequins. The purse I found still safe in my girdle; but, on
opening it, I perceived that it was filled with pebbles, and not a
single sequin was left. I had no doubt that I had been robbed by the
soldiers with whom I had drunk sherbet; and I am certain that some of
them must have been awake the night I counted my money; otherwise, as I
had never trusted the secret of my riches to any one, they could not
have suspected me of possessing any property; for, ever since I kept
company with them, I had appeared to be in great indigence.
"I applied in vain to the superior officers for redress: the soldiers
protested they were innocent; no positive proof appeared against them,
and I gained nothing by my complaint but ridicule and ill-will. I
called myself, in the first transport of my grief, by that name which,
since my arrival in Egypt, I had avoided to pronounce: I called myself
Murad the Unlucky! The name and the story ran through the camp; and I
was accosted afterwards, very frequently, by this appellation. Some
indeed varied their wit by calling me Murad with the purse of pebbles.
"All that I had yet suffered is nothing compared to my succeeding
misfortunes.
"It was the custom at this time, in the Turkish camp, for the soldiers
to amuse themselves with firing at a mark. The superior officers
remonstrated against this dangerous practice, but ineffectually.
Sometimes a party of soldiers would stop firing for a few minutes,
after a message was brought them from their commanders; and then they
would begin again, in defiance of all orders. Such was the want of
discipline in our army, that this disobedience went unpunished. In the
mean time, the frequency of the danger made most men totally regardless
of it. I have seen tents pierced with bullets, in which parties were
quietly seated smoking their pipes, whilst those without were preparing
to take fresh aim at the red flag on the top.
"This apathy proceeded, in some, from unconquerable indolence of body;
in others, from the intoxication produced by the fumes of tobacco and
of opium; but in most of my brother Turks it arose from the confidence
which the belief in predestination inspired. When a bullet killed one
of their companions, they only observed, scarcely taking the pipes from
their mouths, 'Our hour is not yet come: it is not the will of Mahomet
that we should fall.'
"I own that this rash security appeared to me, at first, surprising;
but it soon ceased to strike me with wonder; and it even tended to
confirm my favorite opinion, that some were born to good and some to
evil fortune. I became almost as careless as my companions, from
following the same course of reasoning. It is not, thought I, in the
power of human prudence to avert the stroke of destiny. I shall perhaps
die to-morrow; let me therefore enjoy to-day.
"I now made it my study, every day, to procure as much amusement as
possible. My poverty, as you will imagine, restricted me from
indulgence and excess; but I soon found means to spend what did not
actually belong to me. There were certain Jews who were followers of
the camp, and who, calculating on the probability of victory for our
troops, advanced money to the soldiers; for which they engaged to pay
these usurers exorbitant interest. The Jew to whom I applied traded
with me also upon the belief that my brother Saladin, with whose
character and circumstances he was acquainted, would pay my debts, if I
should fall. With the money I raised from the Jew I continually bought
coffee and opium, of which I grew immoderately fond. In the delirium it
created, I forgot all my misfortunes, all fear of the future.
"One day, when I had raised my spirits by an unusual quantity of opium,
I was strolling through the camp, sometimes singing, sometimes dancing,
like a madman, and repeating that I was not now Murad the Unlucky.
Whilst these words were on my lips, a friendly spectator, who was in
possession of his sober senses, caught me by the arm, and attempted to
drag me from the place where I was exposing myself. 'Do you not see,'
said he, 'those soldiers, who are firing at a mark? I saw one of them,
just now, deliberately taking aim at your turban; and, observe, he is
now reloading his piece.' My ill luck prevailed even at this instant,
the only instant in my life when I defied its power. I struggled with
my adviser, repeating, 'I am not the wretch you take me for; I am not
Murad the Unlucky.' He fled from the danger himself: I remained, and in
a few seconds afterwards a ball reached me, and I fell senseless on the
sand.
"The ball was cut out of my body by an awkward surgeon, who gave me ten
times more pain than was necessary. He was particularly hurried, at
this time, because the army had just received orders to march in a few
hours, and all was confusion in the camp. My wound was excessively
painful, and the fear of being left behind with those who were deemed
incurable added to my torments. Perhaps, if I had kept myself quiet, I
might have escaped some of the evils I afterwards endured; but, as I
have repeatedly told you, gentlemen, it was my ill fortune never to be
able to judge what was best to be done, till the time for prudence was
past.
"During that day, when my fever was at the height, and when my orders
were to keep my bed, contrary to my natural habits of indolence, I rose
a hundred times, and went out of my tent in the very heat of the day,
to satisfy my curiosity as to the number of the tents which had not
been struck, and of the soldiers who had not yet marched. The orders to
march were tardily obeyed, and many hours elapsed before our encampment
was raised. Had I submitted to my surgeon's orders, I might have been
in a state to accompany the most dilatory of the stragglers; I could
have borne, perhaps, the slow motion of a litter, on which some of the
sick were transported; but in the evening, when the surgeon came to
dress my wounds, he found me in such a situation that it was scarcely
possible to remove me.
"He desired a party of soldiers, who were left to bring up the rear, to
call for me the next morning. They did so; but they wanted to put me
upon the mule which I recollected, by a white streak on its back, to be
the cursed animal that had kicked me whilst I was looking for the ring.
I could not be prevailed upon to go upon this unlucky animal. I tried
to persuade the soldiers to carry me, and they took me a little way;
but, soon growing weary of their burden, they laid me down on the sand,
pretending that they were going to fill a skin with water at a spring
they had discovered, and bade me lie still, and wait for their return.
"I waited and waited, longing for the water to moisten my parched lips;
but no water came,--no soldiers returned; and there I lay, for several
hours, expecting every moment to breathe my last. I made no effort to
move, for I was now convinced my hour was come, and that it was the
will of Mahomet that I should perish in this miserable manner, and lie
unburied like a dog; a death, thought I, worthy of Murad the Unlucky.
"My forebodings were not this time just; a detachment of English
soldiers passed near the place where I lay: my groans were heard by
them, and they humanely came to my assistance. They carried me with
them, dressed my wound, and treated me with the utmost tenderness.
Christians though they were, I must acknowledge that I had reason to
love them better than any of the followers of Mahomet, my good brother
only excepted.
"Under their care I recovered; but scarcely had I regained my strength
before I fell into new disasters. It was hot weather, and my thirst was
excessive. I went out with a party, in hopes of finding a spring of
water. The English soldiers began to dig for a well, in a place pointed
out to them by one of their men of science. I was not inclined to such
hard labor, but preferred sauntering on in search of a spring. I saw at
a distance something that looked like a pool of water; and I pointed it
out to my companions. Their man of science warned me by his interpreter
not to trust to this deceitful appearance; for that such were common in
this country, and that, when I came close to the spot, I should find no
water there. He added that it was at a greater distance than I
imagined; and that I should, in all probability, be lost in the desert,
if I attempted to follow this phantom.
"I was so unfortunate as not to attend to his advice: I set out in
pursuit of this accursed delusion, which assuredly was the work of evil
spirits, who clouded my reason, and allured me into their dominion. I
went on, hour after hour, in expectation continually of reaching the
object of my wishes; but it fled faster than I pursued, and I
discovered at last that the Englishman, who had doubtless gained his
information from the people of the country, was right; and that the
shining appearance, which I had taken for water, was a mere deception.
"I was now exhausted with fatigue: I looked back in vain after the
companions I had left; I could see neither men, animals, nor any trace
of vegetation in the sandy desert. I had no resource but, weary as I
was, to measure back my footsteps, which were imprinted in the sand.
"I slowly and sorrowfully traced them as my guides in this unknown
land. Instead of yielding to my indolent inclinations, I ought,
however, to have made the best of my way back, before the evening
breeze sprung up. I felt the breeze rising, and, unconscious of my
danger, I rejoiced, and opened my bosom to meet it; but what was my
dismay when I saw that the wind swept before it all trace of my
footsteps in the sand. I knew not which way to proceed; I was struck
with despair, tore my garments, threw off my turban, and cried aloud;
but neither human voice nor echo answered me. The silence was dreadful.
I had tasted no food for many hours, and I now became sick and faint. I
recollected that I had put a supply of opium into the folds of my
turban; but, alas! when I took my turban up, I found that the opium had
fallen out. I searched for it in vain on the sand, where I had thrown
the turban.
"I stretched myself out upon the ground, and yielded without further
struggle to my evil destiny. What I suffered from thirst, hunger, and
heat cannot be described! At last I fell into a sort of trance, during
which images of various kinds seemed to flit before my eyes. How long I
remained in this state I know not; but I remember that I was brought to
my senses by a loud shout, which came from persons belonging to a
caravan returning from Mecca. This was a shout of joy for their safe
arrival at a certain spring, well known to them in this part of the
desert.
"The spring was not a hundred yards from the spot where I lay; yet,
such had been the fate of Murad the Unlucky, that he missed the
reality, whilst he had been hours in pursuit of the phantom. Feeble and
spiritless as I was, I sent forth as loud a cry as I could, in hopes of
obtaining assistance; and I endeavored to crawl to the place from which
the voices appeared to come. The caravan rested for a considerable time
whilst the slaves filled the skins with water, and whilst the camels
took in their supply. I worked myself on towards them; yet,
notwithstanding my efforts, I was persuaded that, according to my usual
ill fortune, I should never be able to make them hear my voice. I saw
them mount their camels! I took off my turban, unrolled it, and waved
it in the air. My signal was seen! The caravan came towards me!
"I had scarcely strength to speak: a slave gave me some water; and,
after I had drunk, I explained to them who I was, and how I came into
this situation.
"Whilst I was speaking, one of the travellers observed the purse which
hung to my girdle: it was the same the merchant, for whom I recovered
the ring, had given to me; I had carefully preserved it, because the
initials of my benefactor's name, and a passage from the Koran, were
worked upon it. When he gave it to me, he said that perhaps we should
meet again in some other part of the world, and he should recognize me
by this token. The person who now took notice of the purse was his
brother; and when I related to him how I had obtained it, he had the
goodness to take me under his protection. He was a merchant, who was
now going with the caravan to Grand Cairo: he offered to take me with
him, and I willingly accepted the proposal, promising to serve him as
faithfully as any of his slaves. The caravan proceeded, and I was
carried with it."
II.
"The merchant, who was become my master, treated me with great
kindness; but, on hearing me relate the whole series of my unfortunate
adventures, he exacted a promise from me, that I would do nothing
without first consulting him. 'Since you are so unlucky, Murad,' said
he, 'that you always choose for the worst when you choose for yourself,
you should trust entirely to the judgment of a wiser or a more
fortunate friend.'