Cl>iv. 
 
 ih III 
 
 UiSiiKL^
 
 >3!=''- 
 
 t-
 
 THE 
 
 MUSSULMAN. 
 
 BY R. R. JIADDEN, ESQ. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 TRAVELS IN TURKEY, EGYPT, NUBIA, AND PALESTINE.' 
 
 the face of Mussulman 
 
 Not oft betrays to standtrs by 
 
 Tilt" mind within, well skill'd to hide 
 
 All but unconquerable piide." Bride of Abydus. 
 
 " And indeed the sundry contemplation of my travels. In which my 
 after rumination wraps me, is a most humourous sadness." 
 
 A% You Like It. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, 
 
 NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 
 1830.
 
 LONDON: 
 PB:NTED by SAJIUEL BENTLEy, 
 
 Dorset Slriet, Fieel Slreel.
 
 41 n I 
 
 V. I 
 
 TO THE 
 
 i^emori) of tfjat 33eing 
 
 To whose unalterable love in every stage of life 
 I owe a debt of boundless gratitude, I dedicate 
 these Volumes. 
 
 Though living love can now derive no pleasure 
 from the insci-iption, I once fondly hoped it might ; 
 and in those distant lands, the manners of Avhose 
 inhabitants I have attempted to pourtray, the 
 hope was still the solace of many a weary journey, 
 that I might one day return home and tell a 
 beloved parent " of all I felt and all I saw :" 
 I still hoped to compensate maternal anxiety for 
 the pain of many a long year's absence : but alas ! 
 it was a vain hope ! 
 
 R. R. M. 
 
 London, Feb. 11, 1830. 
 22, Curzon Street, May Fair. 
 
 2063821
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The spider weaves his web in the palace of the 
 
 Caisars, and the owl keeps his watch in the ruined tower 
 
 of Afrasiab. 
 
 Ferdousi. 
 
 At the foot of the miserable village of Bour- 
 narbashi, where the Scamander has its rise, a 
 few scattered huts were standing some years 
 ago, chiefly inhabited by Greek peasants and 
 the families of Fanariot refugees. The village 
 is on the site of the most celebrated city of 
 antiquity; but a few sepulchral mounds, a 
 river's course, and a poet's lay, are all the 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 remainiiif^ records of Trojan splendour. The 
 European pilgrim is still shown the sacred 
 Zanthus, formed by the confluence of the Si- 
 mois and the Scamander ; and the shadows of 
 Mount Ida are still pointed out on the paltry 
 iiamlet, whose Turkish Aga is the only repre- 
 sentative in the district of kingly Priam. The 
 gorgeous palaces, the magnificent temples, the 
 gilded halls, the stately columns, have vanished 
 like " the baseless fabric of a vision, and left 
 not a wreck behind." 
 
 The only mansion in the modern village de- 
 serving to be called a house, is the khan of 
 the governor, adjoining the sources of the 
 sacred stream, a quarter of the town to which 
 the barbarous Cicerones of the place still give 
 the appellation of the Scasan gates. But Troy, 
 in her proudest days, was never ruled by a 
 haughtier despot than Suleiman, the Aga of 
 Bournarbashi. The magnificence of the Tro- 
 jan princes most probably entailed less misery 
 on the people, than the squalid splendour of 
 the Turkish Aga, now occasioned the unfor- 
 tunate peasantry. The retinue of the governor 
 consisted of twenty Albanian soldiers and as
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 3 
 
 many domestics ; the subsistence of all was de- 
 rived from the plunder of the district, which 
 had the calamity of being under the protection 
 of the Aga. The Greek rayahs, of course, 
 were subjected to heavier and more frequent 
 exactions than the true believing peasants. As 
 often as a drunken soldier chose to reel across 
 their threshold, they had to pay an avania for 
 the favour ; whenever the governor had a pre- 
 sent to make at the beiram, the capitation tax 
 was to be paid, though " the price of their 
 heads'"' had perhaps been paid thrice over. 
 When an order arrived from the Capitan Pacha 
 for half a dozen sailors for the fleet, the unfor- 
 tunate Greeks were sure to furnish the neces- 
 sary quota ; and those who were not torn from 
 their families had to purchase their exemption 
 with the last para they possessed. 
 
 It was on one of these occasions, that the 
 myrmidons of the Aga entered the dwelling 
 of a Greek family, who had but recently settled 
 in the district. They were yet strangers in 
 the village, and no one was acquainted with 
 their history ; various rumours ascribed to 
 them different fortunes and stations in society, 
 
 n 2
 
 4 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 but the prevailing report was, that jNIichelaki 
 was a Fanariot by birth, had been a banker 
 by profession, and a fugitive from the capital 
 as a matter of course ; that lie had been rich 
 and now was poor ; had feasted with princes 
 and now had not salt to his pilaw ; had money 
 dealings with Pachas, and was fortunate enough 
 to escape an interview with the executioner. 
 Whatever might have been his rank, the beauty 
 of his wife was of that delicate cast which belongs 
 not to the vulgar, and the dignity of her de- 
 portment accorded not with the M'retchedness 
 which surrounded her. The coarseness of her 
 attire formed a contrast with the elegance of 
 her movements, and concealed not the grace 
 which at that period was deemed the peculiar 
 possession of the Greeks of the Fandal. She was 
 sitting with a smiling infant in her arms, 
 weeping over its little innocent features, when 
 Achmet the Secretary of the Aga, and a num- 
 ber of soldiers, entered the apartment. 
 
 " Where is your husband, woman ?" said 
 the Secretary : " we wish to speak with him. 
 You have no occasion to be alarmed, we merely 
 want to hear the latest news from Stamboul,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 5 
 
 knowing that he has been lately in the capital. 
 Why do you weep ? you have nothing to fear. 
 Min Allah ! God forbid !" All the attendants 
 on the little man in authority doled out Mitt 
 Allah ! with due solemnity. 
 
 The terrified woman was too well acquainted 
 witli Turkish perfidy to hear the words of 
 kindness without trembling ; she had hardly 
 power to reply that her husband was from 
 home and would not return before evening. 
 
 " There is no hurry," said Achmet ; " time 
 is time, Avhether it be to-night or to-morrow, 
 it is all one, Allah Kariiti ! God is merciful ! 
 but let your good man call on the Aga when 
 he does return ; he is said to be a Cateb of 
 eminence, a clever writer, and our master has 
 occasion for his services."" 
 
 The party retired, but one of the young At- 
 naoiits loitered at the door, and beckonine; 
 to the woman, whispered in her ear in her own 
 language, " If your husband would not find 
 himself in the fleet to-morrow, let him keep out 
 of the way." 
 
 The terror which this intelligence caused 
 may be easily imagined ; the wretched woman
 
 6 THE MUSSULMAN, 
 
 ran to apprize her husband of liis danger, 
 who was in the house of one of his lieedless 
 countrymen in the neiglibourhood, solemnizing 
 the festival of one of the innumerable Saints 
 of the Greek calendar. He received the news 
 with the apathy that characterizes the Greeks ; 
 he would trust, he said, in the protection of the 
 Pania, the sweet Madonna, and he kissed her 
 image as he spoke. " Fly, for Heaven's sake !'" 
 said his wife; but Michelaki felt no disposition to 
 sacrifice his present comforts for any future con- 
 siderations. He crossed himself devoutly with 
 the effigy of his patron Saint, which like all 
 religious Greeks he wore next his heart. " Sa}i 
 Demitri" he cried, " never abandoned one of 
 his faithful worshippers :"" and then he endea- 
 voured to establish his right to divine protection 
 by cursing the enemies of the true religion : in 
 the bitterness of his heart he ran through the 
 whole vocabulary of Eastern maledictions, be- 
 ginning with an imprecation on the mother of 
 Mahomed, and ending with a curse on the beard 
 of Suleiman. In short, he spent a considerable 
 time in anathematizing the whole Moslem race, 
 after the most approved form and fashion of
 
 THE MUSSULMAN, 7 
 
 invective, but he made no effort to escape the 
 persecution of his enemies. In spite of every 
 remonstrance, he sat carousing with his coun- 
 trymen, talking of the valour of Leonidas, Scan- 
 derbeg, Achilles, and other contemporary 
 heroes, and drowning all future care in soul- 
 spiriting Cyprus. 
 
 As the eyes of the merry rayahs borrowed 
 sparkles from the glass, one might have ima- 
 gined that the Seven Champions of Christen- 
 dom were assembled in a convivial Areopagus, 
 rehearsing their astonishing achievements. 
 But Michelaki vaunted exploits which bore 
 down all competition ; he had overreached 
 Grand Viziers, who were called Locmans, for 
 wisdom ; he had led Pachas of three tails by 
 the nose who had the ability to cheat Jews ; 
 he had slain fourteen Turks with his own 
 hand in the last revolution in Roumelia ; and 
 he had seen the sweating pillar in the Mosque 
 of San Sophia, and had even collected a small 
 vial of the miraculous exudation which had the 
 power of curing every mortal malady. 
 
 A merry little tailor asked Michelaki how 
 long he had been afflicted with the chronic rheu-
 
 8 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 matism, but it was a profane jest and no one 
 laughed at it. 
 
 The only effect of the entreaties of poor 
 Kmineh the wife of Michelaki, was to get him 
 to consent to fly the following morning from 
 the impending danger, and to remain at the 
 neighbouring village of Chiblak, till such time 
 as the fleet should have cleared the Hellespont. 
 But that night he felt the Pania was sufficient 
 to protect him from a thousand Moslems, and 
 depending on his patroness, he continued in the 
 society of his frivolous countrymen, singing 
 Hellenic songs in praise of freedom till the sol- 
 diers of Suleiman were knocking at the door, 
 and no possibility of escaping was left. The 
 magic influence of a Turkish voice transformed 
 the valorous Greeks in an instant into crouch- 
 ing rayahs, fawning on their oppressors, and 
 vieing with each other in protestations of regard 
 for the best of Agas. Both Michelaki and his 
 companions were hurried off" from their festivi- 
 ties to the divan of the Aga. 
 
 There each pallid wretch pressed forward to 
 kiss the hem of his revered benish, and then 
 fell back with down-cast eyes and respectfully
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 9 
 
 folded arms, to await the awful words of autho- 
 rity. 
 
 " How many of the giaours are there 
 said Suleiman, deposing his pipe, and without 
 deigning to look on the Infidels. 
 
 " There are seven of your slaves," replied 
 a voluble little Greek, " who have hastened to 
 throw themselves at the feet of your excel- 
 lency, to rub their foreheads in your footsteps, 
 and to know your pleasure, and when known, 
 to lay it on the crown of their heads as the 
 honour of their lives." 
 
 " 'Tis well spoken, giaour," said the Gover- 
 nor. " I know you all love me, and much 
 reason have you to do so ; the Sultan (may 
 his glory never diminisli !) permits even ray- 
 ahs, in the abundance of his mercy, to fieht 
 by the side of the true-believing, against the 
 enemies of God and his Prophet, blessed be 
 his Name ! His ships want men, and giaours 
 though you are, you are suffered to range 
 under the shadow of the Sacred Sanjak, and 
 to gratify your desire of serving against the 
 unbelievers." 
 
 Then addressing his secretary Achmet, with- 
 
 B 5
 
 TO THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 I 
 
 out affording any time for entreaty or remon- 
 strance, he said — " Let them be sent to the 
 fleet immediately ; they will behave well, they 
 must, for their wives and children shall be hos- 
 tages for their faith. As usual, let them be 
 provided for in the khan ; we will look to their 
 comfort ; their husbands, if they are wise, Avill 
 look to their behaviour. But if any of the 
 poor Infidels," he continued, '* have domestic 
 affairs which stand in the way of their honour- 
 able employment in the fleet, God forbid they 
 should be compelled to go. Min Allah ! not for 
 five hundred piastres would I send away the 
 poorest rayah of them all.*" The Aga left the 
 room, the Greeks understood the hint, but one 
 only was able to take advantage of it, the vo- 
 luble little gentleman who lately addressed the 
 Aga ; he offered to purchase his exemption, at 
 the price of three hundred piastres, an offer 
 which occupied three hours of discussion, but 
 the bargain eventually was driven. Half an 
 hour was given him to produce the money, 
 and having left his wife for his security, he Avas 
 suffered to go home.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. II 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Thou rascal beadle ! hold thy bloody hand. 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 In Turkey, the bowels of the earth are the 
 banking-houses of the people, consequently 
 panics are less frequent than in the countries 
 of Franguestan, for nothing short of an earth- 
 quake can shake the old firm, the original 
 fountain of all capital. At any period, per- 
 haps, it would be difficult to find one half 
 the bullion of the empire above the surface 
 of the soil. Deep beneath, the treasures are 
 deposited which no coffer on the earth would 
 be strong enough to preserve from the rapa- 
 city of the rulers of the land. The little 
 Greek no sooner reached his dwelling than he 
 commenced digging up his garden in twenty
 
 12 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 tlifferent places, in order, had he been ^^Hltched, 
 to throw his observers on the wrong scent ; and 
 finally, with a heavy heart, he visited the real 
 sepidchre of his soul, ravaged the interior of 
 an old saucepan, and disinterred a handful of 
 sequins. Having counted out three hundred 
 piastres he secreted the remainder in the lin- 
 ing of his unmentionables, and proceeded to 
 the Divan. There he paid down the hard 
 cash in the presence of the Aga, who had re- 
 turned on the important occasion of receiving 
 the money. But no sooner was the stipulated 
 sum paid, than the Aga gave way to ungovern- 
 able wrath, " Allah Akbar Mahomet rassur Al- 
 lah !" he exclaimed, " there is but one God, and 
 Mahomet is his prophet : three hundred piastres 
 indeed ! giaour, kafir, pessavink, scoundrel of 
 an unbelieving dog, will three hundred piastres 
 pay my poor soldiers for fatiguing themselves 
 to death to find a substitute for you ? Whose 
 dog are you, who dares to laugh at my beard ?" 
 " Noble EfFendi," exclaimed the Greek, " and 
 very best of governors, I am your dog, I am 
 your servant, the most abject of your slaves; 
 take pity on my poverty, my family are with-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 13 
 
 out bread, we are utterly destitute. God sees 
 my misery ; indeed I have not another piastre 
 in the wide world." 
 
 " Count down two hundred more," cried the 
 Aga, " and fifty beside, for the lies you have 
 uttered; do it instantly, son of an infidel, or 
 undergo the punishment your cursed obstinacy 
 deserves." 
 
 The poor wretch protested according to cus- 
 tom, that if a para could save his father's soul 
 from the devil, he had it not ; that if it pleased 
 his Lord, the best of governors, to order his 
 servant's body to be flogged into a jelly, the 
 servant of his excellency could not help it, he 
 could not command a single asper to save his 
 flesh; and, as he was a religious Greek, he called 
 every saint in the calendar to witness his utter 
 destitution. 
 
 The Aga looked at one of his soldiers ; a 
 stranger could have observed no visible ges- 
 ture, no external sign, no waving of the hand, 
 no motion of the lips; there is no waste of 
 words in Turkey, but in the twinkling of an 
 eye, the Greek was capsized, his legs fastened 
 in a noose attached to a long stick held by
 
 14 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 two brawny Arnaouts, and a couple o^feraahes, 
 stationed at either side, Avith well-seasoned 
 sticks, which instantly fell on the bare soles 
 of the unfortunate rayah. The stripes were 
 inflicted with terrible velocity, and eacli re- 
 sounded as it fell, and, notwithstanding the 
 screams of the sufferer, were even audible to 
 his wretched wife, who was stationed at the 
 door. " Iman Effendi ! Iman Effendi !" follow- 
 ed every blow ; " take pity on me. Sir ! take 
 pity on me !" but the cry was disregarded ; the 
 blood streamed from the ancles, but the sight 
 made no pause in the torture. The Aga con- 
 tinued to smoke his water-pipe with the im- 
 perturbable indifference becoming his high 
 place ; it was only when two hundred and fifty 
 blows had been laid on, that he waved his hand, 
 and the exhausted executioners had leisure to 
 wipe the perspiration from their brows. 
 
 ** Now, giaour," said the Aga, " are you 
 disposed to pay the remainder of your just and 
 lawful debt .^" 
 
 " Best of governors !*" cried the culprit, 
 raising his head from the ground, " I am a 
 dead man, but money I have none — Heaven
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 15 
 
 knows the truth — would I have my feet man- 
 gled as they are, if I had wherewithal to pur- 
 chase mercy ?" 
 
 " Since you are so very poor," replied the 
 Aga, " life is of no value, therefore down 
 with the dog," he continued, addressing the 
 executioners. " Vras, vras ! kill, kill ! let him 
 have a thousand lashes !" The consternation 
 of the Greek was great ; but his love of money 
 was still greater. The number of stripes now 
 ordered to be inflicted generally proves fatal ; 
 in fact, nine out of ten of those who receive 
 above eight hundred, die. Again the bastinado 
 was resumed ; upwards of a hundred blows 
 more were inflicted ; the shrieks of the poor 
 wretch became gradually indistinct ; at length 
 they ceased altogether, and he no longer writhed 
 under the blows ; there was no eff'usion of blood, 
 except where the noose which secured the legs 
 lacerated the skin ; but the feet presented the 
 appearance of tumid masses of livid flesh, 
 streaked here and there with blue and crimson. 
 " Enough !" said the Governor, " let us hear 
 if he still persists in refusing to pay his debts ; 
 raise the infidel, and let him answer." One
 
 16 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 of the Albanians accordingly endeavoured to 
 rouse him with a blow over the stomach, which 
 would have been fatal in any other country ; 
 but })cople in Turkey take more killing than 
 even an Hibernian could imagine. The Aga 
 prevented a repetition of the blows ; the sol- 
 diers grumbled as they laid down their blud- 
 geons. Whoever has witnessed the punishment 
 of the bastinado, must have observed, that the 
 operation is generally commenced with cool- 
 ness; but as the fatigue of the officers of jus- 
 tice augments, the fury of tiieir passion is let 
 loose on the victim, whose crime they are most 
 probably unacquainted with ; and when the 
 last blow is given, it is sure to be the heaviest, 
 and to be accompanied with a malediction on 
 the father and mother of the wretch they have 
 beaten. Now, whether Jack Ketch feels any 
 personal animosity against his clients, we know 
 not ; but we certainly never saw a schoolboy 
 flogged, where passion did not add to the 
 gravamen of the pedagogue's last stripe. The 
 Greek either was, or appeared to be, insensible. 
 The Aga concluded he had no more money, 
 he therefore ordered him to be thrown out of
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. IT 
 
 doors, a ceremony which was performed in the 
 most unceremonious way imaginable. He lay 
 motionless as a corpse till the soldiers of the 
 best of governors were out of sight. He then 
 contrived to get upon his legs, and hobbled 
 home much faster than could have been ex- 
 pected, exulting in the greatest triumph a 
 Greek can achieve, the heroical endurance of 
 the bastinado, in order to preserve his purse. 
 Michelaki and his companions were in the 
 meantime chained together, as the recruits of 
 his invincible Highness always are in the Pro- 
 vinces, and marched to the Dardanelles, clank- 
 ing their fetters as they went along, and mani- 
 festing with what willing spirits they gave 
 their arms to the cause of Islam. Michelaki 
 was not suffered even to embrace his wife and 
 child. The Avretched Emineh was torn from 
 his sight, and hurried away to the khan of the 
 Aga, where the other women were already im- 
 mured within the spacious court-yard, bewail- 
 ing the cruel fate which had separated them 
 from their husbands. 
 
 The barbarous custom still prevails along 
 the Asiatic coast of keeping the wives and
 
 18 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 children of the Greek sailors as hostages for 
 the good conduct of their husbands, but is 
 often only a pretext for licentiousness, in order 
 to place the women in the power of the go- 
 vernors. This was the case with regard to 
 the beautiful Emineh, a lady who once ranked 
 with the nobles of the land, and now was be- 
 low the condition of the humblest serf around 
 her. The Greek women had not much cavise 
 to complain at the connnencement of their de- 
 tention ; they were daily employed in spinning 
 the Aga's wool, and were treated with that 
 rude respect which is generally shown to fe- 
 males in the East. No actual violence was 
 offered to their affections ; but in a little while 
 the Arnaouts, who spoke their own language, 
 and partly believed in their own faith, (for the 
 Albanians very commonly profess the doctrines 
 both of Christ and Mahomet,) became less ter- 
 rific to the fair hostages ; they shared their 
 rations with them, and sometimes their ca- 
 resses, and several of the Greek matrons, it is 
 to be feared, in the course of a little month, 
 became forgetful of Heaven and their hus- 
 bands. The lovely Emineh was an exception
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 19 
 
 to these women ; the perils which beset her 
 were so many additional motives to mourn the 
 absence of her husband, and there was a sanc- 
 tity in her sorrow, which even the rude Alba- 
 nians did not dare to outrage. But at the 
 hands of Suleiman she had many insults to 
 sustain, and many infamous advances to resist. 
 Achmet, the secretary of the Aga, was the 
 secret minister of his pleasures, and, if rumour 
 belied him not, the agent of his private ven- 
 geance. 
 
 He was a Candiote by birth, and had fol- 
 lowed the fortunes of Suleiman in every stage of 
 his advancement, from the station of a favourite 
 slave of a Pacha, to the high post of Governor 
 of a village. Achmet was endowed with very 
 many of the bad qualities, which from time im- 
 memorial have been ascribed to the inhabitants 
 of Crete ; he was plausible, but perfidious ; 
 shrewd, and at the same time dishonest ; active, 
 for the ends of avarice, and passionless, though 
 sanguinary. He was one of those mongrel 
 Moslems of the Islands ; half Greek, half Turk, 
 an entire knave. His figure was below the 
 middle size, but full of vigour ; his features
 
 20 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 almost handsome, were it not for the inordi- 
 nate dimensions of his brows, and the down- 
 cast expression ol'his eyes. A painter of Turk- 
 ish sbirri could not have desired a finer model ; 
 but unfortunately, there are no portrait painters 
 in Turkey, for it is unlawful to make the 
 likeness of any living thing on the earth, above 
 it, or beneath. He was still in the prime of 
 life; a thick-set, soft-complexioned, little gen- 
 tleman, with a small grey eye twinkling in its 
 orbit, a thin aquiline nose, with expanded nos- 
 trils, and a pair of small straight lips in exact 
 apposition, in the angles of which a faint smile 
 was continually lurking. Suleiman, on the 
 other hand, was one of those Stambouline Ef- 
 fendis, whose voluptuous inanition and felicitous 
 ignorance, Lady Mary Montague preferred the 
 possession of, to the acquisition of all the know- 
 ledge of Sir Isaac Newton. Suleiman was in 
 his fortieth year, a grave, silent personage, 
 therefore a wise man ; a slow-paced biped, with 
 a solemn aspect, and imperturbable deportment, 
 therefore a dignified EfFendi ; and haughty 
 withal, therefore of an exalted station. That 
 he was a rapacious Governor, was no reproach
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 21 
 
 to his character ; the fault lay m the office, not 
 the officer ; rapacity is indispensable to every 
 Aga. He had many excellent traits in his cha- 
 racter, but as in all sublunary things there is 
 a mixture of good and evil, the Aga had a few 
 of the prevailing vices of his countrymen. His 
 virtues, however, were better known to the 
 world ; he was " a tolerable spouse, and a de- 
 cent sire,"" a good master, and a strict Mussul- 
 man. He did not drink wine like other Mos- 
 lems in public ; he doubted not the propriety 
 of stoning a Sufi for scepticism, of plundering 
 a rayah for infidelity, and of exterminating 
 the whole race of Schiites for their heterodox 
 opinions. 
 
 His ablutions were the most perfect of any 
 in the district ; the intonation of his Allah 
 Akbar was the most sonorous in the jNIosque, 
 and his abstinence in the Ramazan was the 
 theme of the neighbouring Imams; but, he had 
 one little defect which predominated over many 
 others, and that was sensuality. He was not, 
 moreover, remarkably particular about the 
 means of gratifying his prevailing passion ; 
 the removal of any impediment gave little un-
 
 22 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 easiness to his conscience. Achniet generally 
 suggested the plan, and carried it into execu- 
 tion ; Suleiman was too habitually indolent to do 
 either. Indeed, he might have been as aood 
 a man as he was a Moslem, had he had a better 
 counsellor than the wily Candiote ; but the 
 fatal facility which the villainy of a willing agent 
 threw in the Avay of every licentious scheme 
 of his, mainly contributed to render him that 
 which Nature perhaps had not intended him 
 to be. It is not more true that we should have 
 no robbers were there no receivers, than, that 
 villainy could not exist in the great world with- 
 out the subordinate agency of vice. 
 
 Soon after the departure of the Greeks from 
 the Dardanelles, where they were to join the 
 fleet, Achmet took an early opportunity of com- 
 mending the beauty of the wife of Michelaki 
 to his master. Suleiman's placid features were 
 rippled over with pleasure at the name of the 
 beautiful Greek, whom he had already unfor- 
 tunately seen and admired. As Achmet pro- 
 ceeded in his praises of her loveliness, how the 
 breath of licentiousness came curling over the 
 surface of the dead sea of the Turkish visa«:e !
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 23 
 
 converting the slumbering aspect of apathy 
 into the inflammable asphaltum of passion, 
 which bubbled up from the bosom of a volcano. 
 " The odours of Yemen," continued Achmet, 
 " are nothing when compared to the fragrance 
 of her breath ; the very touch of her hand im- 
 parts the perfume of the musk of Hadramut ; 
 and when you behold her white teeth, you 
 fancy you are gazing on the pearls of Omman. 
 The sunbul is beautiful, but no hyacinth is 
 sufficiently lovely to be the emblem of her 
 purity." 
 
 " God is most wonderful," cried Suleiman, 
 in a transport of delight ; " but one would 
 think, Achmet, you were in love with her your- 
 self, for Abou Temam never talked more de- 
 voutly of his mistress." 
 
 " Blessings on your beard, Effendi," exclaim- 
 ed Achmet, "I in love with another man's 
 sworn wife ! Heaven forbid ! What leisure have 
 I to be in love? are not my days and nights 
 devoted to my master"'s service ? were I to fall 
 in love, w^ho would levy contributions on the 
 district and collect the taxes thereof? To me 
 make no more mention of the tune and the
 
 24 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 love song ; like Ebn cl Wardi, I have parted 
 with the instruments of mirth which excite to 
 wanton movements, and regard not even the 
 lascivious Alme." 
 
 " You cold-featured scribes,"" cried Sulei- 
 man, '' are doubtless very great sages ; but 
 you have warmer blood than you acknow- 
 ledge in your veins, and your livers do not 
 become water so early as you would make us 
 believe. I know your heart is hard as the 
 flint, but the harder the stone the more fire 
 lies concealed. But this Leileh of beauty," 
 continued Suleiman, " is ever in my thoughts. 
 I dreamt, Achmet, she was even in my harem." 
 
 " Did you dream," said the secretary, fid- 
 dling with his beads, " how she got there .''" 
 
 " I did," replied Suleiman, fixing his eye on 
 Achmet ; " I dreamt that you found the means 
 of bringing her to the door." 
 
 " Well, people will dream," cried the Can- 
 diote, " but a dream is only a dream ; ^things, 
 to be sure, will fall out now and then which we 
 have fancied in the slumber which succeeds a 
 surfeit." But did you dream, EfFendi, of the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 25 
 
 return of the husband, at the commencement 
 of the winter, when the fleet put back ?" 
 
 " Not exactly," rephed Suleiman ; " but I 
 had sonie confused ideas of a troublesome 
 rayah crawling in my path, and then following 
 the footsteps of the Mufti and the Vizir." 
 
 " But did you not dream," said Achmet, 
 " that you trod upon the reptile that might 
 have ruined you ?" 
 
 " I confess, I have not a very distinct recol- 
 lection of the circumstance," rejoined Sulei- 
 man ; " but I am quite sure I offered you a 
 purse, and, as well as I remember, you did not 
 decline it." 
 
 " Min Allah !" exclaimed Achmet, kissing 
 his patron's hand : " Heaven forbid I should 
 decline any command of so excellent a master!" 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 26 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Sorrow has become thy guest ; thou didst not mark 
 
 its entrance, but thou hast wept over its acquaintance 
 
 with a broken heart. 
 
 El Wardi. 
 
 Emineh was persecuted day after day with 
 the advances of the Aga : she rejected his im- 
 portunities, she refused his presents, and she 
 only prayed for the speedy return of her hus- 
 band, to free her from the dangers which sur- 
 rounded her. Her only consolation was her 
 little boy. Immured as she was amidst objects 
 terrifying to the heart and hateful to the eye, 
 her affections were wholly centred in her 
 infant ; he was the life of her bosom ; and in the 
 contemplation of that treasure, she lived, mov- 
 ed, and had her being. The crafty Achmet
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 27 
 
 well knew how much her affections were wrap- 
 ped up m her only child, and he resolved on 
 making the knowledge of this circumstance 
 instrumental to the accomplishment of his in- 
 famous designs. That she hated Suleiman he 
 well knew ; but by giving him some claim on 
 her gratitude, he hoped to overcome her re- 
 pugnance to his addresses ; or at all events, to 
 furnish a plausible pretext for bringing her to 
 the harem, without the inconvenience of un- 
 seemly violence. He suggested to the Aga 
 the necessity of adopting some plan which 
 might afford a feasible motive for alluring the 
 victim to the apartments of the Avomen, and 
 at the same time, which might bind her to him 
 by the greatest possible obhgation. He pro- 
 posed stealing the child from the apartment 
 of the mother, when an opportunity should be 
 afforded, and spr£ading a report that a strolling 
 Dervish, who had of late been in the neigh- 
 bourhood had been the thief. After a few days, 
 the child was to be discovered by the messen- 
 gers of the Aga, and brought to the harem, 
 where it was to be restored to the arms of the 
 delighted mother. *' If she does not love you 
 
 c 2
 
 28 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 after this," said Achmet, " there is no talisman on 
 earth strong enough to bind lier heart to yours." 
 
 Suleiman, though a wise man, was perfect- 
 ly astonished at the sagacity of his secretary. 
 " Mashalla !" he cried, " you are a more 
 clever man than the philosopher who wrote 
 the ten thousand moral maxims, each of which 
 out-values the world. Be it as you say ; but 
 the fountain of my heart will be dried up till I 
 see that beautiful infidel in the harem ; for, like 
 Locman, I have learned wisdom from the blind, 
 who are assured of nothing before they touch it." 
 
 Achmet undertook to kidnap the child, when 
 Emineh should be employed in carrying the 
 garments of the inmates of the harem to the 
 banks of the Scamander ; where the Greek 
 matrons to this day, follow the domestic 
 avocation of the daughters of Priam, and still 
 where many a fair form is laved, no less beau- 
 tiful, perhaps, than those of the blooming 
 goddesses who bathed their immortal limbs in 
 tliat very stream ere they contended for the 
 prize of beauty. 
 
 One morning, on Emineh's return to the khan, 
 on entering her apartment, she was horror-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 29 
 
 struck to find her infant missing. She remained 
 for a moment motionless with terror, glancing 
 her regard on every object around, but no 
 where encountering what she sought. She 
 rushed into the apartments of the other women, 
 enquiring of every one for her child : she ran 
 like one distracted into the quarters of the sol- 
 diers, demanding of every individual her lost 
 infant, but he was nowhere to be found. No 
 phrenzy is more terrible to behold than the 
 raging agony of a mother deprived of her only 
 child. The death of husband, father, or of 
 friend, has no misery in its calamity comparable 
 to the madness of such grief. The babe which 
 has been snatched from her bosom, is lost to 
 her by no gradual decline of health, by the 
 slow hand of no insidious malady, but is torn 
 from her all at once in rosy health, in smiling 
 beauty : this is a deep sorrow, a heart-rending 
 affliction ; and if reason survives its impulse, 
 the instinct of nature is weaker than it is wont 
 to be, or the intellect of the sufferer must be 
 unusually strong. At length the loud violence 
 of despair overpowered the strength of the 
 wretched Emineh, and eventually subsided into
 
 30 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 the settled calm of unutterable angui&h. The 
 day passed over, and every search was unsuc- 
 cessful, and at night she would have dragged 
 her tottering limbs to the door of the khan, to 
 go, she knew not where ; but the women led her 
 back, her head sunk on her bosom, trailing her 
 feeble steps as she went along, exhausted in mind 
 and body, the most wretched creature on the 
 surface of God's earth. No entreaty could in- 
 duce her to lie down ; all night long she sat at 
 the door of her chamber, shedding no tears, 
 uttering no loud lamentation, but wringing her 
 cold hands, and rocking her throbbing head to 
 and fro, and crying in a feeble voice, whose 
 melancholy tone pierced even the hard hearts 
 of the Albanian savages — " My child ! my poor 
 child ! my infant ! my poor murdered infant !" 
 no other sound escaped her lips, and they 
 ceased not the live- long night. The following 
 day brought no tidings of hope or consolation ; 
 the only rumour which prevailed was, that a 
 wild-looking man, in the habit of a dervish, had 
 been seen for some days loitering about the vil- 
 lage ; no one had observed him since the pre- 
 ceding morning, and the inference was obvious.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 31 
 
 The Aga even appeared to sympathize in the 
 affliction of the poor distracted mother ; he dis- 
 patched some of his soldiers to go in quest of 
 the lost child ; he sought to console her with 
 the assurance that God was great, and that 
 what was written in the great book, was writ- 
 ten and immutable. What better reasons did 
 she want to be resigned ; she asked for none, 
 she talked of nothing but her murdered child ; 
 the impression that her infant had been mur- 
 dered seemed fixed on her imagination, and 
 that terrible idea penetrated daily deeper and 
 deeper into her brain, till it touched the chords 
 of reason, and spoiled the sweet music of the 
 settled mind, perhaps for ever. The intensity 
 of sorrow at length subsided into a calm and 
 listless melancholy, which one better acquainted 
 with human nature than Suleiman mio^ht have 
 looked upon as a lasting and irremediable dis- 
 order. It was not his desire to have pushed 
 affliction to such an extremity in depriving her 
 of her infant ; his object was, after a few days 
 anxiety, to be considered the instrument of her 
 happiness, by restoring the lost child to her 
 bosom, and causing her to believe he had res-
 
 32 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 cued the little innocent from the robber, whom 
 the dervish was intended to be accounted. 
 
 With such a claim on the gratitude of Emi- 
 neh, he had little doubt of making her affec- 
 tions the reward of his services. But like all 
 Turkish machinations, the means were not pro- 
 portioned to the end, and the awkwardness of 
 the execution marred the success of the plot. 
 On the ground of humanity, he had the unfor- 
 tunate Emineh brought from the enclosure of 
 the khan, where the other Greek women had 
 their apartments, to the interior of the harem, 
 in order, as he said, that his own females might 
 better minister to her wants, and sootlie her 
 sorrow. He resolved to delay no longer from 
 his victim the joy of beholding her darling 
 child, and thereby restoring her to health and 
 happiness, the absence of which were already 
 but too visible on her cheek. Had his reso- 
 lution been carried into effect with ordinary 
 judgment and precaution, it is probable that 
 reason would have resumed her seat ; but the 
 truly Turkish mode he adopted, of suddenly 
 presenting tlie lost child to the eyes of the poor 
 mother, was a shock to the already shattered
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 33 
 
 mind which terminated in its utter overthrow. 
 The first moment she gazed on its little fea- 
 tures, she uttered a shriek, which pierced the 
 very soul ; she rushed from the women who 
 held her back, toward the infant, but before 
 her outstretched hands reached the object of 
 her solicitude, she sunk on the floor, the liv- 
 ino- imao-e of death and sorrow. She continued 
 insensible for a considerable time; but when 
 she awoke to the most miserable of all states 
 of being, the gem, which gave a value to 
 existence, was gone, the foil of ecstasy oc- 
 cupied the casket. Her vacant eye was fixed 
 for a moment on her infant ; but she withdrew 
 her re<rard, as if it had encountered some 
 painful object ; she bade the attendant take 
 the annoyance from her sight, and from that 
 hour she never could bear to look upon the 
 child. It was in vain they told her it was the 
 babe she had suckled at her breast ; but she 
 only shook her head, and smiled incredulously: 
 she smiled, but some of the women wept ; she 
 told them to weep on, for she had no tears, she 
 had shed them all on the grave of her mur- 
 dered infant. Months passed away, and the 
 
 5
 
 34 TFIE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 settled gloom of insanity continued undispelled : 
 the spot where she missed her child, her disor- 
 dered imagination converted into the grave of 
 lier little innocent ; she covered the surface 
 with green sods, and every morning she was 
 seen wandering along the banks of the river, 
 oatherino; fresh flowers to scatter over the inia- 
 ginary tomb. The sacred character which is 
 attached to insanity in Turkey rendered her 
 situation less miserable than it would probably 
 have been elsewhere. 
 
 The aberration of intellect was irritated by 
 no ridicule, insulted by no idle curiosity, and 
 aggravated by no unnecessary restraint ; the 
 doors of the harem were open to her ; she went 
 and came, and no one chid her wanderings. 
 Even the diabolical author of her misery repent- 
 ed of the ruin he had occasioned, and treated his 
 victim with unwonted kindness. The wreck of 
 her beauty, no less than that of her reason, 
 caused him to lament the cruelty of his con- 
 duct ; the charms, which made the conquest 
 of virtue of any value, were already faded ; 
 the rose, which had suffused her cheek, was
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 35 
 
 gone ; and the god-iike apprehension, which 
 once lit up her fine eye, was lost in vacancy. 
 Some little portion of the fragrant flower still 
 hung around the broken vase, and enough re- 
 mained to gratify the sense of the destroyer. 
 One moment he longed for the return of the 
 husband of Emineh, to get rid of the incum- 
 brance ; at another period he trembled at the 
 prospect of the retribution he might be called 
 to even by a rayah ; he resolved on secretly 
 taking him off on his arrival, or, should that be 
 impracticable, on getting rid of him in a more 
 public manner, through his influence in the 
 capital, on some charge of blasphemy or dis- 
 affection. One motive for his murderous re- 
 solution was, his fondness for the little boy, 
 whom he had already adopted as his son, as 
 the child of his soul ; for so are the children 
 of adoption called, and he doated on him with 
 more affection than he bestowed on his own 
 issue. 
 
 In Turkey, the adopted child is as tenderly 
 loved as the natural offspring of the parent, 
 and the affection is generally reciprocal. The
 
 36 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 child of the unhappy Emineli grew apace : the 
 first sound he was taught to lisp was the name 
 of father, and the first use of language was made 
 to be, to give that loved title to the deadly 
 enemy of the authors of his being.
 
 TFIE MUSSULMAN. 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Look here, upon this picture, and on this, 
 The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 Suleiman had an only son, named Jussuf, 
 whose mother was the Sultanum of the harem, 
 and a daughter, named Zuleika, by another 
 lady of Circassian origin. Jussuf Avas about 
 the same age as the little Greek, whose Chris- 
 tian appellation of Demetrius was now changed 
 to Mourad. The two boys were brought up 
 together; fed and flogged together, reared un- 
 der the same roof, instructed in the elementary 
 knowledge of the doctrines of Islam by the 
 same Imam, were companions in the same 
 sports, and rivals for the same favour. If 
 Suleiman showed any preference for either,
 
 38 Tin; Mussulman. 
 
 it was for little Mourad, who was indeed a 
 general favourite in the haroni, as well as in 
 the quarters of the soldiers. His beautiful 
 little Greek features were full of inteUigence 
 and frankness, and the good ladies failed not 
 to observe the laughing devils in his dark blue 
 eyes, and the wicked imps wliich were eternally 
 planning mischief in the angles of his mouth. 
 One said he was born to eat lions ; another that 
 he was destined to break hearts ; all agreed 
 that he was born under a lucky planet. 
 
 Yussuf was a handsomer boy, at least his fea- 
 tures were more regular than Mourad''s, but 
 his beauty was in perpetual repose. There 
 was no expression in his countenance, no ar- 
 chery in his eye, no kiosk for revelry in his 
 lip, no forge for thunder-bolts in his brow ; if 
 any thing redeemed his countenance from the 
 inanimate expression of the cast of a little 
 Apollo after death, it was a slight elevation 
 of the upper lip, with a corresponding ap- 
 proximation of his eye brows. 
 
 The dispositions of the two children were 
 not more dissimilar than their persons; IMou-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 39 
 
 rad was the Little Pickle of the harem ; he 
 put gun-powder in the Aga's pipe, he stuck 
 pins in the cushions which the young ladies sat 
 on, he mixed ink with the henna Avhich was 
 to dye their fingers, he compounded the ver- 
 milion which was to paint their lips with the 
 surmch which was to tinge their eye-brows ; 
 he tore leaves out of the Koran, to the great 
 scandal of the harem, to draw mosques and 
 minarets ; he fed dogs who followed him into 
 the Divan, and touched the unclean animals 
 to the horror of all the true believers in the 
 house. Suleiman even found a litter of pup- 
 pies on his praving carpet, but he forgave the 
 little Kafir as he called him, and suffered him 
 even to make explosions with the gun-powder 
 he begged from the soldiers, though he had 
 once very nearly killed the cook, by blowing up 
 half a dozen of his saucepans. Yet somehow 
 or another he was a general favourite, with all 
 but his own poor distracted motlier, and the 
 mother of Yussuf who looked on him witli a 
 jealous eye. Yussuf, on the other hand, was a 
 sedate, discreet child ; if he played off any
 
 4)0 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 tricks, they were tlie gambols of a camel, 
 frisky, but exceedingly awkward. He threw 
 pebbles occasionally at the Greek women : he 
 blinded one. He pinched their children when 
 he could get at them in the dark ; he emptied 
 oil lamps into the lutes of the ladies in the 
 harem ; he broke their pearl-handled mirrors ; 
 he told lies, and generally endeavoured to get 
 Mourad thrashed for his mischief, and wlien- 
 ever his mother was the dispenser of punish- 
 ment he succeeded. 
 
 This lady took pi-ecedence of all the other 
 women : she had the honour of bringing the 
 first pledge of love to the arms of her lord ; 
 the others had no honour at all, save the mo- 
 ther of Ziileika, who had that little portion 
 which is allotted for a female child. 
 
 The curse of Lear had been for many years 
 on the harem, and in Oriental countries, where 
 she has most honour who has most children, 
 a barren wife is covered, like the fabled Ashab, 
 with the garment of contempt. The freaks of 
 the two urchins sometimes set the fair ladies 
 by the ears, and Suleiman not unfrequently 
 found his sanctum sanctorum in an uproar.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 41 
 
 But as the best regulated harems are subject 
 to occasional squabbles, he held his tongue, 
 and had not the folly to interfere. His name 
 imported wisdom, and he very wisely abstain- 
 ed from attempting to control the elements of 
 wrath, when the fury of his wives was at its 
 height, and discord was howling in the four 
 quarters of the harem. The despot of Bour- 
 narbashi often fled from " the multifarious 
 face" of domestic anger, and the fair comba- 
 tants not having the fear of the sack before 
 their eyes, very often trifled with the domestic 
 felicity of the lord of the creation. 
 
 In one of the conflicts, occasioned, as usual, 
 by the pranks of the young gentlemen (it is 
 not only in Europe where children cause 
 the first breach of conjugal felicity), Yus- 
 sufs mother was appealed to concerning an 
 affair of honour, in which Master Mourad 
 drew claret from the tip of her son's nose. 
 The worthy matron, like Lord Byron, had 
 very rigid notions on the subject of early edu- 
 cation ; she thought " the ingenuous youth of 
 nations" could never be flogged too often, or 
 too well. She armed herself with one of her
 
 42 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 husband's pipe sticks, a supple chei-ry, and 
 having very properly taken off' both bowl and 
 inouth-])iece, she belaboured Mourad most 
 soundly, regardless of his roars, which were 
 loud enough for a young gentleman of twice 
 his years. But a louder and more piercing shriek 
 than any of the little suff'erer's was suddenly 
 lieard from the unfortunate maniac, who had 
 been sitting in her wonted ])lace in a gloomy 
 corner of tlie room ; and without uttering a 
 word, with a wildness in her aspect which was 
 seldom visible, she rushed out of the apart- 
 ment. The cause of her excitement no one 
 could divine ; she took no interest in the 
 child ; on the contrary, she never noticed him : 
 could then his punishment have been the 
 cause, or was it the excitement which the loud- 
 ness of his screams produced on her shattered 
 nerves ? 
 
 No one at the time deemed it necessary to 
 ascertain what seemed to be a momentary im- 
 pulse of insanity. At sunset, the customary 
 hour of assembling at supper, the unfortunate 
 Emineh was missed ; she had been observed in 
 her former apartment in the court-yard, dig-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 43 
 
 ging up with her hands the mound she had 
 piled over what she deemed the sepulchre of 
 her infant, and as she passed the threshold of 
 the door she was seen scattering a handful of 
 the earth behind her, and shaking the dust oft' 
 her shppers as she left the gate. The servants 
 traced her steps to the banks of the Simois ; they 
 made inquiries in the neighbourhood, but no 
 information was to be had of her ; at last they 
 discovered a shawl on the bank close by the 
 river's side, which was known to have belonged 
 to her ; it was the only clue they had to the 
 fate of the poor creature, and the only inference 
 was, that she had probably thrown herself into 
 the stream, and had perished. The intelligence 
 was brought to the khan, and it was too good 
 not to be true. It was the will of Allah that 
 she was to be drowned, and she was drowned ; 
 and she was dead, and there was an end of her 
 madness. "Allah Karim 1" said theAga, " God 
 is most merciful !" — " Allah Kebir !" responded 
 the women, "God is all-powerful !" No farther 
 search was made, Suleiman was rid of his vic- 
 tim, and the vengeance of her husband was now 
 all he had to trouble him. Some little com-
 
 44 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 punction he certainly felt the first few days 
 following the loss of the once beautiful Eniineli, 
 and as a salvo to his conscience he resolved to 
 redouble his indulgence to Movu-ad, and gave 
 a gentle intimation to his wife, that there was a 
 sack in the chamber of the eunuch, and a river 
 in the vicinity of the khan, and that the first 
 person who punished " the child of his soul," 
 without his permission, might have cause to 
 repent it.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Pro.-— He bears our wood and serves in offices 
 
 That profit us. What ho ! slave Caliban, 
 Thou earth, thou ! Speak ! 
 Cal. — There's wood enough within. 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 Many years had elapsed since Michelaki 
 had been torn from his family, yet no tidings 
 of him were heard in the village. His compa- 
 nions had long since returned to their homes, 
 but he returned not ; some would have him 
 dead, others a prisoner in the arsenal. Those 
 who had been his friends thought either event 
 better than the calamity of living with the 
 knowledge of the desolation of his house, the 
 unfortunate end of his distracted wife, and the 
 subverted faith of his poor boy. 
 
 Suleiman and his trusty agent were better 
 acquainted with his fate from the time of his
 
 46 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 departure to the present hour. Through the 
 interest of the Aga with the Capitan Pacha, 
 the Greek at the return of the fleet to the Dar- 
 danelles was not allowed his liberty, but was 
 transferred to a guard ship for the following- 
 winter. At the expiration of his time of ser- 
 vice, he applied for his liberty, but his petition 
 was disregarded. He resolved, in his despera- 
 tion, to seize the first opportunity of making his 
 escape ; the first day of the Beiram was fixed 
 on for making the attempt, as every one who 
 could afford getting drunk was as religiously 
 intoxicated on that day as any artificer of the 
 Christian community could wish to be of a 
 Christmas morning. In countries notoriously 
 barbarous, as well as in those proverbially 
 moral, festivals of Saints are solemnized with 
 Bacchanalian orgies. Michelaki contrived to 
 get a-shore unobserved, and in a very few days 
 he was at the village of Chiblak, seven or eight 
 miles from Bournabashi. Achmet was soon in- 
 formed of his arrival, and a few hours after he 
 received the intelligence, he had a commission 
 from his master to execute at Chiblak. That 
 night Michelaki was seized, bound, and sent
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 47 
 
 to the capital as a deserter from the fleet. The 
 charge was proved, and he was condemned to 
 two years' hard work in the arsenal. The mi- 
 serable wretches which the dungeons of the 
 Bagnio monthly vomit forth, are here found 
 chained together, or separately fettered with 
 irons proportioned to their crimes, or rather to 
 their circumstances. But it is still a prison of 
 comparative comfort to that horrible gaol, 
 where the infected breath of the crowded in- 
 mates becomes a putrid exhalation which 
 trickles down the walls of the damp dun- 
 geon, and where the atmosphere reeks with 
 the effluvia of filth and wretchedness. 
 
 In the arsenal, on the contrary, the prisoners 
 had the freedom of a large open space extend- 
 ing to the harbour, and were employed as the 
 galley slaves are in Genoa and Venice, and no 
 worse treated. It was Michelaki's fate to be 
 chained to a dervish, an itinerant astrologer, 
 who read the planets which preside over the 
 births of mortals, and described " the skiey 
 influences" to the gaping multitude. But 
 skilled as he was in the heavenly sciences, his 
 supernatural knowledge availed him little in
 
 48 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 the arsenal, where he was sentenced to ten 
 years' imprisonment, and doomed to receive 
 more stripes for his laziness than any indivi- 
 dual within the walls who had only followed 
 terrestrial avocations. The crime of the der- 
 vish was one of great magnitude, of more than 
 common turpitude, otherwise the disgrace of 
 chaining a true believer to an infidel would not 
 have been his punishment. He was accused 
 of corrupting the morals of a whole harem, 
 by his diabolical charms, and of robbing a 
 venerable Ulema, an aged doctor of Theology 
 and Law, of a considerable sum of money, and 
 of five and twenty commentaries on the Koran 
 of his own composition, which had occupied 
 him five and twenty years, and were well worth 
 five and twenty purses. Dervish Ali was for- 
 tunate to escape with his head, and to have 
 been sentenced to no worse punishment than 
 ten year's hard labour. He was about five and 
 thirty ; his black bushy hair hanging over his 
 shoulders gave an air of wildness to his person, 
 while his brawny limbs and expanded chest 
 showed the strength of his frame and the vigour 
 of his constitution. The strong lineaments of
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 49 
 
 passion were written in his countenance; but 
 his studies or his affected inspiration gave a 
 certain abstraction to his look, which redeemed 
 the sensual character of his full black eye, 
 his broad aquiline nose, and sphynx-shaped 
 lips. In short. Dervish Ali had that bold com- 
 bination of slothful features becoming and 
 almost peculiar to a " magnifique lazaroni." 
 Michelaki and the Dervish being inseparable, 
 it is to be presumed they were on the best of 
 terms. The same policy which compels indivi- 
 duals setting out on a long voyage to be cour- 
 teous and conciliatory to their fellow-passengers, 
 from whose society they have no escape, made 
 a virtue of the same necessity in the case of 
 Michelaki and his companion. A chain of 
 three feet long, and a good-humoured man 
 at either extremity, attachment becomes a 
 bounden duty, a sort of Siamese compact is 
 involuntarily entered into ; and Ali and his 
 friend the Greek became united in the closest 
 bonds of friendship. But beside the physical 
 inducement to agree well together, there was 
 also a moral motive ; Michelaki loved rum, and 
 so did the Dervish, and " that was sympathy." 
 VOL. I. D
 
 50 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 There was but one source of contention which 
 occasionally mingled bitterness with the cup 
 of fellowship. The INIahonietan monk was 
 cursed with that constitutional laziness which 
 characterizes his fraternity in every part of the 
 globe. He had so long lived on the bounty 
 of Providence, or rather on the credulitv of 
 fools, that to work for his bread with the sweat 
 of his brow, appeared to him an intolerable 
 hardship. 
 
 The Chiaous, who was the deputy of the task- 
 master, never fixed his eyes upon the poor 
 Dervish but he found him idle ; carrying, per- 
 haps, one log of wood upon his brawny shoul- 
 ders when Michelaki was bearing five, or 
 gazing on the stars and cursing the Ulema, 
 when his industrious companion was piling 
 balls and bomb-shells. The result was, that 
 his attention was very frequently drawn oif 
 the heavenly bodies by the stripe of a cour- 
 bash ; but, unfortunately, Michelaki often 
 came in for a portion of the punishment which 
 was meant for his associate. 
 
 " How, in the name of San Dimitri, is it," 
 said INIichelaki to him one day, " that so
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 51 
 
 vigorous a man as you are can prefer to be 
 beaten ten times a day, to the performance of 
 a task which a weak man like myself accom- 
 plishes without difficulty ?" 
 
 " Michelaki," rephed the Dervish, *•' your 
 mind is not enlightened, therefore you speak 
 like a fool. Can he who devotes his life to God 
 bestow his strength on worldly occupations ? 
 Can he who converses with the stars carry logs 
 of wood on his shoulders ? Can he who controls 
 the influence of the unpropitious planets, break 
 his back in piling cannon balls ? — No, no : I 
 can stick daggers in my flesh for the glory of 
 Allah, — behold my arms : I can sear my skin 
 with red hot irons to edify a congregation, — 
 regard my breast : I can slash my legs with a 
 naked sword at a procession, to gain an approv- 
 ing smile from a well known lattice, — examine 
 my limbs : but to work like a dog, to sweat un- 
 der a burden, to degrade one''s nerves and sinews 
 by manual labour — Mia Allah ! Heaven for- 
 bid ! — better to be beaten, better almost to die, 
 than to work." 
 
 The Greek, much as he regretted the in- 
 curable laziness of his friend, could not help 
 
 d2
 
 52 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 lauo-hinff at the conversation with the stars, 
 and the controlling of the planets. 
 
 " I thought," said he, " you promised to 
 laugh no more at my mustachios ; to talk to 
 me no more of that celestial knowledge, which 
 availed you so little when the Ulema sent you 
 to the bagnio." 
 
 " True, my friend,"" replied the Dervish, '• I 
 did promise to say no more on these subjects ; 
 but I hope one day to get out of this infernal 
 place of labour, and if I did not keep the lan- 
 guage of the heavenly sciences in a little prac- 
 tice, what would become of me hereafter ? But 
 henceforth I will treat you — albeit, you are an 
 infidel — as one of our own brotherhood, and 
 keep the mysteries of Giafar for the ears of 
 true believing hearers. But I have consulted 
 the stars " 
 
 " For the love of San Dimitri," cried Miche- 
 laki, " no more about the stars ; remember 
 your promise." 
 
 " Well, then," continued the Dervish, " I 
 know nothing of futurity, if I remain ten 
 months, much less ten years, within these 
 walls ; if I had only my celestial instruments,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 53 
 
 my astrological implements, for casting nati- 
 vities, and exhibiting the miracles of magic to 
 the million, I should be out of this workhouse 
 in a month. I would show the headless trunk 
 of a Chiaous in a supernatural glass to that 
 villainous deputy, and would give him a charm 
 to wear round his neck, which would secure it 
 from all harm. I would manufacture an amu- 
 let for the old captain of the arsenal, contain- 
 ing a compound of the musk of the crocodile, 
 and the powdered muscle of a lion, enveloped 
 in a leaf of the Commentary on the Koran I 
 borrowed from the Ulema — an amulet whose 
 virtues should exceed those of any philtre in 
 the world, and transfuse the spirits of youth, 
 and the warm streams of life, into the frozen 
 veins of age and infirmity. But, alas ! the 
 Cadi has the whole of my celestial apparatus." 
 " Depend upon it," said Michelaki, '•' if I 
 get out before you, I will purchase you a whole 
 box of juggles at a German magazine in Ga- 
 lata ; and as to the lion's flesh, and the croco- 
 dile's musk, I have a cousin an apothecary in 
 Pera, who keeps all sorts of drugs, brick-dust, 
 and civet, and you shall want nothing for the
 
 54 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 amulet. In the mean time, you might fulfil a 
 promise you made me long ago, of giving me 
 some account of your life, with as little as pos- 
 sible of the stars and planets. Tiie Chiaous is 
 at dinner, and I have half an oke of rakee in 
 the dungeon, commence, for the love of San 
 Dimitri, or for the sake of any saint you be- 
 lieve in." 
 
 " Are you sure you have the rakee," said 
 the Dervish ; " then," continued he, giving a 
 glance at the heavens, " since the sun is in the 
 meridian, it is a propitious hour to tell a story, 
 and while 1 speak, remember the words of 
 Imam Ali — blessed be his memory! — ' Listen, 
 if you would learn ; be silent, that you may 
 be wise ?' "
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 55 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Believe in the law, and trust not the man who 
 watches the progress of the stars. 
 
 El Ward I. 
 
 " In the beginning of the world," said Der- 
 vish Ali, " when God created all things, he 
 blessed our father Adam Avith a son, whose 
 name was Seth, and he, in course of time, re- 
 joiced in a child, who was called Enoch." 
 
 " Oh for the Pania !" exclaimed Michelaki, 
 " do not commence with the beginning of the 
 world." 
 
 " And this Enoch," continued the Dervish, 
 disregarding the interruption of the Greek, 
 " was the first astrologer ; his work, the Edris 
 Kitableri, which contained the knowledge of 
 all the occult sciences, became, in the revo-
 
 56 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 lution of centuries, the inheritance of our father 
 Abrani, the celebrated matrician of Chaldea; 
 from him the Zabians, or Nabatheans, derived 
 the knowledge of the heavenly bodies ; and 
 from one of the descendants of these, a poor 
 Zabian physician, who practised in Stamboul, 
 1 received the first rudiments of celestial 
 science — (INIichelaki groaned). — You must 
 know, I am the son of a Caffigibashi, who 
 was renowned for selling the best coffee, and 
 keeping the finest chibouques, of any man in 
 the capital. The shop was adjoining the Me- 
 dresse of the mosque of Sofia ; so that the most 
 celebrated doctors of theology frequented our 
 benches, and publicly disputed on such points 
 as are open to disputation. To avoid the 
 scandal which might arise from the appearance 
 of such sanctified persons in a public khan, my 
 father encouraged no other customers but law- 
 yers and divines ; in short, his shop became 
 the rendezvous of the religious. The conver- 
 sations I was accustomed to listen to made a 
 deep impression on my youthful mind ; I be- 
 came inflamed with a holy zeal to spread the 
 law of Islam over the world ; I resolved to
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 57 
 
 become either a soldier or a priest. I at length 
 determined on the latter : my father had suf- 
 ficient interest to procure me admission into the 
 Medresse, beside which we lived, and in this 
 college I continued three years, studying the 
 Koran, and endeavouring to comprehend the 
 inexplicable and innumerable commentaries 
 which have been written on ' the perspicuous 
 book.' An imfortunate accident, however, in- 
 terfered with my ambition ; I was turned by 
 the shoulders out of the College, and all my 
 hopes of becoming an Imam, a Ulema, and, in 
 course of time, even a INIufti, vanished like 
 the smoke of my chibouque. The unforeseen 
 event which blasted my future prospect of 
 preferment, was an amour with the wife of an 
 Imam in the neighbourhood. I verily believe 
 that I was born under the influence of the 
 planet Beltha, which the infidels called Venus ; 
 indeed, the Zabian physician, whose disciple it 
 is my glory to have been, assured me, that the 
 period of my birth corresponded with the ninth 
 month, which is called Ccenum, and is sacred 
 amongst the Zabians to the worship of the 
 planet Beltha. It was my misfortune to at- 
 
 D 5
 
 58 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 tract the notice of tlie Imam''s wife one morn- 
 ing- on her return from the bath ; I thought 
 she elevated a corner of her veil as I passed 
 by, she therefore wished to make my ac- 
 quaintance. I followed her at a respectful 
 distance till she entered a Jew's shop, which, 
 of course, you are aware, is the ordinary place 
 of assignation. While the dog of a Yudi was 
 tumbling about his merchandize, I stepped be- 
 side the lady, and ejaculated in her ear, ' O 
 Guzel Sultanum ! Oh, beautiful Sultana V 
 
 " ' Whose lover are you ?' said she, affecting- 
 displeasure at my words, ' who mistake me 
 for your mistress .''' 
 
 " ' Oh, my soul i'' I exclaimed, ' the light- 
 niHg of your black eyes has set my heart on 
 fire, and dried up my blood. Speak to me, by 
 my head I conjure you, if you would not see 
 me drop dead at your disdainful feet.' 
 
 " ' What can I say ?'' replied my invisible 
 beauty ; ' my husband watches me all day, and 
 if he were to see me speaking to you, he might 
 drown me, and he would certainly shoot you."" 
 
 " ' I laugh at his old beard, my charming 
 bulbul/ said I. ' Tell me, by your soul, where
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 59 
 
 I shall meet you : my sighs are become Hke 
 burning sulphur ; I only live to behold your 
 beauty !' 
 
 " ' Do you know,' said she in a whisper, ' the 
 quarter near Pera, that suburb of the accur- 
 sed infidels called San Stephano ? — There are 
 many Greeks living there, and they have little 
 kiosks in their gardens ; — I have been in one 
 there, before I was the wife of the Imam. 
 The house is called Cesthandi's : to-morrow, at 
 the Asser, I will be there with my black slave, 
 she is nobody.' — ' May your kindness never be 
 less, my lovely Leileh !' I exclaimed : ' your 
 countenance, though veiled, is the light of my 
 eyes ; and your comely person, though en- 
 veloped in your ferigee, is more beautifully 
 sliaped than the full round moon.' To avoid 
 the suspicious eye of the Jew, I instantly with- 
 drew, delighted with the prospect of the mor- 
 row's interview, and heedless of the peril I en- 
 countered in keeping my appointment. All 
 that niglit was I figuring to myself the charms 
 of the Imam's wife, — ' ^Vhat a beautiful face,' 
 said I, ' must be concealed by that fortunate 
 veil which has the privilege of touching her
 
 GO THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 sweet lips ! What a combination of perfections, 
 in shape and size, must that happy ferigee en- 
 viously hide, jealous of the delight of surround- 
 ing her portly figure ! True, I have had a 
 glimpse of but one of her stag eyes, for she 
 modestly hid the other while she addressed me ; 
 but oh, what an eye ! the conflagration of forty 
 .streets was nothing to its fire.' But then I gazed 
 upon her feet, and although her lovely ankle 
 was lost in the yellow boot, which might have 
 contained the extremity of an elephant, I still 
 pictured its beauty to my imagination. In 
 short, I behaved with all the extravagance of a 
 young Mejnoun who had not been in love for 
 an entire fortnight. I counted over the tedious 
 hours till the arrival of the propitious moment 
 appointed for our meeting. I reached the 
 house ; the star of my hopes was shining over 
 my head ; I beheld the treasure, whose beauty 
 in a few minutes was to ravish my eyes, stand- 
 ing at the lattice above the door. 
 
 " Finding; myself unobserved in the street, 
 I rushed into the house, and in an instant was 
 standing in the presence of the adorable planet, 
 whose countenance was to be the light of my
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 61 
 
 soul. She was sitting in the corner of the 
 sofa when I entered, veiled as when I first be- 
 held her, but divested of all her former timidity 
 and constraint. I offered not to sit down, be- 
 fore she motioned to me several times to be 
 seated ; and having thus shown my profound 
 respect, I waved all farther ceremony, and 
 seated myself by her side. ' Ah ! Sulta- 
 num,"" I exclaimed, ' my liver has become 
 water since I gazed upon you ; I have pined 
 away since yesterday till I have lost my shadow ; 
 the lightning of that one eye has scathed my 
 soul. Oh, look on me with the other; remove 
 that veil which conceals your charms, and let 
 the full sight of a mortal houri heal the wound 
 which a partial glance has given.' — ' Patience, 
 my little nightingale,"" replied my enchantress ; 
 ' the rose does not all at once disclose its trea- 
 sures to the bulbul ; they might be too much 
 to encounter suddenly. If the glance of my 
 one eye pierced your young heart, the full 
 blaze of both is more likely to dazzle than to 
 do you any good.' — ' Heavens V I exclaimed, 
 ' what consideration for an astonished lover I 
 May your tenderness never diminish ! may your
 
 62 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 beauty never be less ['' And then, no longer 
 able to svippress the emotions of my tenderness, 
 I burst into tears, clasped the divinity to my 
 bosom, and tore away the envious veil. — Give 
 me a little rakee,"" continued the Dervish, " or I 
 never shall be able to finish the recital." — Hav- 
 ing fortified his nerves with a copious draught, 
 he thus proceeded. " Though you are an in- 
 fidel, Michelaki, you must have heard, that 
 after the day of judgment, both tlie good and 
 the bad must pass the bridge which is laid 
 over the midst of hell, and which is called Al 
 Sirah ; that it is finer than a hair, and sharper 
 than a sword ; and that the good shall pass over 
 it in safety, but the bad shall be hurled into 
 hell. The miserable wretch, who thinks he is 
 entering into the joys of paradise, and suddenly 
 finds himself flung into perdition, is horror- 
 struck, no doubt ; — and not less so was I, Miche- 
 laki, when I gazed on the lineaments of a living 
 Goul, the brightness of whose eyes was derived 
 from shining streaks of kohol, but all the other 
 features were left to their natural deformity. 
 Instead of pressing to my bosom a beautifid 
 young Shirene, blooming like the white blossom
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 63 
 
 of the almond-tree, graceful as a javelin, lan- 
 o-uishins as a gazel ; I gazed on an old woman 
 of five-and-forty winters, withered as a medlar, 
 wrinkled as a dry date, and shapeless as a 
 pumpkin ! I sat before her absolutely petrified 
 with horror. ' I told you,' said she, ' to beware 
 of rashness ; no man ever looked at me all at 
 once without being confounded with the bright- 
 ness of my countenance ; but 1 compassionate 
 your surprise. Guel baccalum ! Come man, take 
 courage," and with these words, laying her hate- 
 ful hand on mine, she pressed me to approach 
 her. I drew back my hand with involuntary hor- 
 ror, — 'How dreadfully ill I feel V I exclaimed. 
 ' Holy prophet, grant that we are not poisoned 
 w ith this wine ; I feel my very entrails torn 
 with dreadful pains — help, help — My beautiful 
 Sultana ! must I abandon her at the propitious 
 moment? Oh, cruel fate! why has it been 
 written so in the eternal book ? that I must 
 part with the crown of my heart, the jewel of 
 my soul ! Oh, dreadful pains ! — farewell, my 
 angel ; by your eyes, let me meet you to-mor- 
 row, any-where you will — at the Jew's shop, 
 if you please ; shall it be at noon ? — horrible tor-
 
 64 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 ments, why do you separate me from my love ?' 
 Writhing as I rose, I rushed out of the room, 
 leaving my astonished Guzel Sultanum to her 
 own reflections on my flight. I returned with 
 even greater haste than I came ; it was only 
 when I reached my apartment, that the vision 
 of the detestable wife of the Imam ceased to 
 haimt me."
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 65 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 He's in his fit now, and does not talk after the 
 wisest. He shall taste of my bottle : if he have never 
 drunk wine before, it will go near to remove his fit. 
 
 The Tempest. 
 
 " If you have a soul for pity,"" continued 
 the Dervish, " and feel for the distress of mind 
 I suffered at discovering the deformity of the 
 mistress whose beauty I had set my heart upon, 
 you will help me to a little rum, to enable me 
 to proceed.*" 
 
 The spirits of the monk were accordingly 
 refreshed with the elixir of life, and he conti- 
 nued his history. 
 
 " You do not imagine, I presume, that I 
 kept my appointment with the Imam's wife the 
 following day ? Heaven forbid ! I avoided the 
 Jew's shop as if the plague had been raging
 
 66 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 in the quarter where it stood ; but my unhicky 
 star prevailed over the benign influence of my 
 natal planet. Three days had not elapsed, ere 
 I stumbled on the path of my soul's torment — 
 the Imam's wife. I attempted to fly, but she 
 placed herself before me : this time, she gave me 
 the benefit of the glances of both her eyes, and 
 never shall I forget their fury. ' Dog of a de- 
 ceiver !' she cried, in a voice almost loud enough 
 to be heard by the passengers, ' as true as there 
 is but one God, and Mahomet is his prophet, I 
 will be revenged of you !' and raising the cor- 
 ner of her veil, she spat in my face. I had no 
 inclination to encounter the fury of a disap- 
 pointed woman in the public street : the words 
 of Imam Ali flashed across my mind ; ' When a 
 woman is moved to anger, she is like a raging 
 lion.' I did not off'er to resent the indignity I 
 suffered. I made a short turn round the cor- 
 ner of the street, and hurried home. It never 
 occurred to me to look behind till I had reached 
 the door of the Medresse ; I then did so, but it 
 was too late : my curse was at my heels, I was 
 dogged to my dwelling, and I trembled for the 
 result. The next morning, I was summoned
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 67 
 
 to the presence of the Ulema, under whose pa- 
 tronage I had entered the college, and there, to 
 my horror, I found the wife of the Imam, and 
 the good man himself. I approached the Ule- 
 ma, and attempted to kiss his hand, but he 
 spurned me like a dog, and said in a voice of 
 thunder, ' What have you to say to the com- 
 plaint of this offended woman?' I trembled 
 from head to foot. ' The humblest of your 
 disciples, venerable pillar of the faith,' I re- 
 plied, ' never set eyes on this woman in his life 
 before this moment.'—' Has your tongue no 
 shame, young man?' cried the Ulema, ' to utter 
 a falsehood in the face of heaven ! Have you no 
 recollection of the blessed words of the theolo- 
 gian Methnevi ? " The infidel who has not the 
 law, causes one of the attributes of the Divinity 
 to become manifest when he tells the truth ; 
 but he Avho lies is far removed from the law, al- 
 though lie calls himself a Mussulman." ' While 
 the Ulema was uttering the maxim, the Imam 
 and his wife looked on me as if they were impa- 
 tient to tear me to pieces ; the wife, especially, 
 was infuriated in her gestures, and it was with 
 difficulty the servants of the Ulema could pre-
 
 68 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 vail on her to avoid interrupting their master. 
 But no sooner had he finished his last word 
 than she gave vent to her pent-up rage. ' Oh, 
 yes, Eff'endi ! this is the villain who insulted me 
 in the street with his wicked proposals ; by my 
 eyes, this is he ! I would know his impudent 
 face in any part of the world : he followed me 
 from the bath ; he told me not to care for my 
 husband — wicked wretch that he was, to bid 
 me wrong the best of husbands ! I turned my 
 head away, like a true and loving wife, but he 
 still pursued rae. ' Your eyes,' said he, ' are 
 brighter than the sun, and your face is more 
 beautiful than the moon ;' but I scorned to 
 listen to him. And then, reverend Ulema, he 
 said he belonged to the Medresse ; or how 
 should I have known where to find him .'' and 
 he swore by your revered beard, that it was no 
 crime to dishonour the Imam, because his supe- 
 riors did as bad. You know you said so. And 
 the only word I spoke to you was, ' Whose son of 
 the Shitan are you, to bring ashes on my head, 
 and shame on my worthy husband's beard? 
 Whose dog are you to speak evil of the pillars
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 69 
 
 of the law, to throw your filth on the burning 
 lamps of Islam, who have other things to do 
 besides running^ after other men's wives ?"" These 
 were the only words I said, Effendi. By the soul 
 of your father ! by the blessed camel of the 
 Prophet ! by the honour of your mother ! give 
 me justice!*' 
 
 " ' Enough, woman,"" said the Ulema, with 
 some impatience ; ' go home and thank Heaven 
 you have a good husband, who, in turn, has 
 reason, I hope, to bless the Prophet (to whose 
 name be honour) that he has so true and vir- 
 tuous a wife.' There was a tone of irony in 
 the words of the Ulema which gave me a mo- 
 mentary gleam of hope, but it was soon dispel- 
 led. ' Culprit,'' said the Ulema, ' if you had 
 your deserts, five hundred stripes would be 
 too little for your bare feet. No less a pu- 
 nishment a wretch deserves who dares to insult 
 a woman in the streets ; but in consideration 
 of your poor father, and for some other 
 reasons, for this time you shall escape the 
 bastinado ; but as you have proved yourself 
 unworthy of the sacred avocation to which
 
 70 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 you aspired, you must not be suffered to dis- 
 grace it. Quit these walls without delay, and 
 never show your face within them.'' 
 
 " I knew that all remonstrance was vain ; 
 the servants thrust me out of doors. I walked 
 about the streets afraid to go home ; my father 
 was the most violent man in the world, and the 
 most particular about women, so I gave up all 
 thoughts of facing his anger. 
 
 " After duly cursing the Imam and his wife, 
 the Ulema, and my evil stars, I found myself 
 much relieved, and had leisure to tiiink where I 
 should look for a night's lodging. I proceeded 
 to the house of a Nabathean doctor, who, al- 
 though his creed was cursed in the Koran, was 
 nevertheless suffered to medicate true Moslems 
 without medicine. He had cured my father of 
 a quinsy by a single consultation with the pla- 
 nets, and the administration of an astharlab, or 
 astrolabe, boiled in vinegar, given at the propi- 
 tious hour, when due regard was paid to the 
 favourable conjunction of the planets. 
 
 " Matotheo!" exclaimed the Greek, " cannot 
 you pass over the heavenly parts of your 
 story ?"
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 71 
 
 *' Had you lived in ' the time of ignorance,"" 
 my friend," replied the Dervish, " before the 
 light of Islam illuminated the earth, you could 
 not have betrayed a more besotted mind than 
 you now do. — My father, (he continued) showed 
 his gratitude to the Zabian, by a handsome 
 present, and moreover, never charged him for 
 his coffee when he frequented the shop, which 
 was generally once in the four-and-twenty 
 hours. As he had often professed a great 
 friendship for me, I resolved to put his profes- 
 sions to the proof: I repaired to his abode, 
 which was situated in the filthiest part of the 
 Jewish quarter, than which I thought there 
 could not be a more unfavourable spot for 
 celestial contemplation. I saluted the old man 
 with the utmost cordiality as I entered his 
 apartment, but of course I did not give the 
 salaam of peace to an unbeliever. He ap- 
 peared rejoiced to see me, and when I told 
 him my sad story, he pointed to a closet ad- 
 joining the divan, he placed his pipe on a 
 Persian carpet which was before us, and then 
 opening a cupboard in which I observed a loaf, 
 a little salt, and a few handsful of rice, he
 
 72 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 said, ' I have nothing more to offer you, but 
 such as these are, you are welcome to them.'' 
 This is poor fare, thought I, for one intended 
 for the Church, but it is freely given, and 
 ■kindness over a frugal meal is better than a 
 feast without it. The room was so gloomy, 
 that I could barely discern the features of my 
 host, which I had not seen for a long time, 
 and the furniture of the apartment, which I 
 had never visited before. The old Doctor was 
 a native of Chaldea, was attired in the costume 
 of his country, and had at least seen sixty re- 
 volutions of his favourite planet. His figure 
 must have once been commanding: — he was 
 tall and well-proportioned, but the stoop of 
 age, and the long white beard of sorrowful 
 experience, (for it never can be joyful,) gave 
 him a venerable mien, which was not a little 
 serviceable to his professional avocations. A 
 great number of manuscripts in some unknown 
 characters, were scattered here and there. 
 The signs of the Zodiac were rudely painted on 
 the ceiling ; — the walls were hung with astro- 
 nomical scrolls, and in an alcove at the end of 
 the chamber, a shrine was placed, covered over
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 73 
 
 with a veil, on which was painted mystical 
 figures representing the powers and properties 
 of the seven planets. This was called the 
 shrine of the first cause, and in it were the 
 four lesser shrines of Mind, Providence, Spirit, 
 and NecessitVi tlie whole enclosed in a case of 
 a spherical form, representing Eternity. 
 
 " Beneath these were silver plates of various 
 figures ; one of six angles to denote Saturn, a 
 triangle to represent Jupiter, an oblong-square 
 to personify Mars, and a perfect square the 
 emblem of the Sun. The three favourite 
 planets, the Sun, Moon, and Mars, had little 
 effigies surmounting the shrine in the metals 
 most consonant to their nature, the Sun's of 
 gold, the Moon's of silver, and Mars' of iron, 
 explaining, as I was afterward informed, the 
 tradition of the names given to metals by the 
 chymists. 
 
 " ' Abou Rassed,' said I, ' I icnow you are, 
 as your name imports, an astronomer ; explain 
 to me, therefore, the meaning of those devices ; 
 enlighten my mind, I beseech you, on the sub- 
 ject of the stars, which seem to be the objects 
 of your worship."* The old doctor very good- 
 
 VOL. 1. E
 
 74 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 naturedly consented to gratify my curiosity ; 
 he had a high opinion of my metaphysical know- 
 ledge, so he made no scruple of letting in the 
 light of celestial science on my understanding. 
 
 " ' My son,' said the star-gazer, ' mock not 
 what you do not comprehend : laugh not at an 
 old man's beard, because it is white ; time has 
 made it so, and time is the father of knowledge. 
 If your Prophet have mingled ' Jews, Zabians, 
 Christians, and Magians,' in a single anathema, 
 why should I be angry with you for his in- 
 justice ? If I profess doctrines which are not 
 yours, why should you curse my father's faith ? 
 But you are many in the world, I am one ; 
 but therefore do not ridicule my creed. Mas- 
 soud tells us, ' He who has truth on his side 
 is the church, although he be alone.' 
 
 " ' What pageantry, you will say, is this I gaze 
 on ? Emblems of the starry host, mystical ensigns 
 of astrology, transcripts of the Sacred Edris 
 scattered around, what Pagan superstitions are 
 connected with these lifeless things. I will 
 tell you, my son ; the worship of those bright 
 orbs which glitter overhead — which give light 
 and heat to earth — which shed their influence
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 75 
 
 on the soil — which govern the motion of the 
 sea, and which communicate their electric im- 
 pulse to the spirits of man ; these are what you 
 deem the superstitions connected with the ob- 
 jects you behold. You smile at my words ; your 
 own poet, Ebn el Wardi, was laughed at for 
 his philosophy, and with him I might say, 
 ' Ah, thou who seekest error in my words, 
 remember the sweetness of the rose is a poison 
 to the Scarabeus.' If you ridicule the worship 
 of the heavenly bodies, am I to renounce their 
 brightness, and bow down before the sacred 
 Sanjak of the Empire, and adore the remnant 
 of a camel-driver's trowsers ? Are these more 
 glorious objects to enshrine, than the emblems 
 of those living fires which roll in the eternal 
 space, and enlighten and irradiate the universe ? 
 What object is fitter for human contempla- 
 tion than the glorious planet of the sun ? Who 
 is not joyful when he shines ? who is not deject- 
 ed wiien he sets ? Have not all nations called 
 him the supreme light ? — he once was the 
 Ourotaalt of your people, the Orosmades of 
 the Persians, and the Mithras of the JMao-i ; 
 but how few are left who understand the sacred 
 
 e2
 
 76 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 symbols of the Mithraic sacrifice. These glo 
 rious and incorruptible planets, which pi-eside 
 over this paltry sphere, we believe to be the 
 mansions of genii, spirits of an ethereal nature, 
 by whose ministry the Lord of Lords governs 
 the world and disposes of human destinies, and 
 by their influences is the supreme will revealed 
 to mortals. We therefore worship the Sun 
 as the greatest of the heavenly powers, the 
 INIoon as the brightest of the celestial god- 
 desses, and the Stars as the inferior deities. 
 Whether we are to rise from the earth, or to 
 be mingled with the soil and go to the forma- 
 tion of new compounds, is in the hands of Him 
 who made us. Whether we are to receive re- 
 wards or punishments for the natural and neces- 
 sary effects of the heavenly influences, we leave 
 to the high will, which our wishes cannot alter, 
 our repinings cannot change. We believe this 
 world to be eternal, because it is not, like our 
 bodies, subject to decay : kingdoms flourish and 
 they fall, empires arise and nations are swept 
 away, but the mountains of Chaldea do not 
 disappear, diminish, or decline.' 
 
 " ' Mashallah, Abou Rassed,' I exclaimed,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 77 
 
 ' Allah is ray witness, you are a wonderful 
 man ! By the great Sun himself, instruct me, 
 I beseech you, in a Uttle Elm-al-Kef, or if 
 you will not teach me chiromancy, initiate me 
 into the mysteries of Elm-al-Nagioum, the 
 science of astrology. But there is one ques- 
 tion I would fain ask you, Abou Rassed. Is 
 it true that, besides the three kinds of sacrifice 
 you offer, namely, bread, a hen, and a sheep, 
 there is a fourth, that of a young infant, beaten 
 to death on the day of the festival of Al Bukal, 
 or the feast of the weeping women, in tlie 
 month Thammuz ? You are aware, father, 
 that many mangled bodies of children are found 
 every year in the secret places of the capital, 
 and that the Jews— (curses on their beards !) — 
 have been charged with the murders at the 
 sacrifice of their Passover. Tell me, by the 
 planets, is it the Jews, or the Mendai of your 
 people, who make these sacrifices ?' 
 
 " * There are three steps of initiation which 
 lead to the mysteries of science,' replied the 
 star-gazer : ' they are gained by patience, 
 prayer, and abstinence, with none of which pre- 
 requisites you have as yet complied ; but Insh
 
 78 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 alltih ! if it please God ! you shall know all 
 things. I have heard of the sacrifice you speak 
 of; I have read of it too; but the law, you 
 know, my son, would punish such bad deeds. 
 God forbid I should be guilty of any such V 
 
 " ' Min Allah ! Abou Rassed,' I replied, 
 * Heaven forbid you should !' " 
 
 Michelaki, who was the picture of horror, 
 no less shocked by the abominable doctrine 
 promulgated by the pagan than by the in- 
 human rite ascribed to his worship, here in- 
 terrupted the Dervish. " To-morrow, if it 
 please Heaven," continued the Greek, " you 
 will finish your history ; to-day, we have a thou- 
 sand logs of wood to pile before sunset." — The 
 Dervish groaned in spirit, vented a few of his 
 customary execrations on his gaolers, and 
 dragged his unwilling limbs to the place of 
 work.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 79 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 By the pricking of my thumbs. 
 Something- wicked this way comes, 
 Open locks, whoever knocks. 
 
 Ifacbetk. 
 
 The following day the Dervish continued 
 his story in these words : — " I soon found out 
 I was in the house of a star-gazer, who watch- 
 ed not the planets — of a physician, who prac- 
 tised without physic — of a fortune-teller, who 
 was most unfortunate in his affairs — of a Za- 
 bian, who believed the world to be eternal, and 
 was yet content to live from hand to mouth. 
 
 " All the learning of the astrologer was de- 
 rived from books. The emblems of the hea- 
 venly bodies were alone consulted, and horo- 
 scopes were made from these with as much 
 accuracy as if they had. been taken from the
 
 80 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 Stars themselves. Every morning he had two 
 or three women at his door to consult him 
 about lost property, to buy a charm to become 
 fruitful, or to purchase an amulet, to lay a 
 spell on an indifferent husband, or a cold lover. 
 On these occasions, I always retired to my 
 closet, fearful of the consequences of being 
 known to be an inmate in the house of a pagan 
 star-gazer. But I had a still stronger induce- 
 ment. I could distinctly hear all that passed 
 between the astrologer and his customers, and 
 throuffh a chink in the window-shutter could 
 even see their faces. One morning, an old lady 
 of fifty came to beg a philtre, to regain her 
 lord's affections, which had fallen on another 
 wife, a giggling inexperienced creature of se- 
 venteen. ' O hakkim !' said she, ' every body 
 venerates your beard, may your science never 
 fail ! I have heard of your wonderful doings : 
 how the pipe-borer's wife was blessed with 
 twins, after consulting you ; how the whole 
 harem of my husband's brother became fat and 
 beautiful, after procuring one of your charms. 
 I have five piastres to offer you, give me some- 
 thing, I pray you, by your soul ! to make my
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 81 
 
 husband love me ; — there is no Moslem here ; 
 — look at my face : tell me, by your eyes ! are 
 these features to be despised ? are these two 
 suns deprived of fire ? is there no beauty in my 
 two black eyebrows? is there no loveliness in 
 my nose, no sweetness in my lips ? O tell me, 
 hakkim, why have I fallen into disfavour ? is 
 it as I suspect ? has my rival, that baby-faced 
 girl, cast a spell on my once loving spouse ? 
 Tell me, O hakkim ! and give me a charm to 
 regain his affections, which I only am worthy 
 to possess.' 
 
 " Her veil was still uplifted, while she waited 
 for the reply of Abou Rassed. Next to 
 the Imam's wife, she was the ugliest woman 
 alive ; the long use of cosmetics had seared, 
 her shrivelled features, and the nose, whose 
 loveliness she dwelt on, I could compare to no- 
 thing earthly but the beak of the monstrous 
 bird Simorg. Abou Rassed raised his pipe to the 
 ceiling, and following the circle of the Zodiac, 
 he went through every sign till he reached that 
 of the Capricorn, and passing the pipe-stick 
 over either horn, he pronounced her husbancVs 
 name three times in an awful voice. Then ad- 
 
 E 5
 
 82 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 dressing the once-loved wife — ' Oh, Narcissus I"" 
 he exclaimed, ' what art thou in comparison 
 with tliis languishing eye ! this lid of beauty 
 only slumbers, but thou art sick and faint. Is 
 the musk of Hadramut impaired by keeping.? 
 does it not dispense its fragrance all around, 
 and diminislies not a grain ? Is the pearl 
 of Oman less beautiful when strung, tiian 
 it was twenty years ago, when hidden in 
 a shell .f* Can time coutrol the lustre of the 
 stars .'* can years swallow up the beauty of 
 the moon .'' No, beautiful Lady ! what gives 
 the mellow amber of perfection to the wine of 
 Cyprus ; what gives a blossom every century to 
 the aloe ; what gives vigour to the oak, matu- 
 rity to the olive, and beauty to the almond, 
 likewise gives, O fair Sultana ! experience to 
 pleasure, softness to beauty, and gratitude to 
 love ! Dry up your tears, you have no cause 
 for sorrow ; this amulet bind over your fore- 
 head, wash off the vermilion from your cheeks, 
 and the antimony from your eyes, and use 
 nothing to your face for three days and nights 
 but the balm of Mecca. Not that it is neces- 
 sary in itself, the amulet being all-sufficient.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 83 
 
 but the tree whicli produces it being sacred to 
 Beltha, the Goddess of Love, her favour may 
 be propitiated. Keep out of your husband's 
 sight for forty days, endeavour to keep your 
 rival exclusively in his favour for half that 
 period, and this handkerchief of yours, which I 
 shall impress with the stars of your astharlab, 
 never remove from the lower part of your face 
 in the presence of your Lord. Go, woman, and 
 be happy.'' 
 
 " The lady of fifty summers, with the mellow 
 amber of perfection on her cheek, kissed the 
 hand of the astrologer with great fervour, and 
 having deposited her five piastres, took her 
 leave. ' May your beauty never diminish !' 
 said I, as she went out, — ' one truth is no less 
 constant than that of death and reproduction : 
 The vanity of a woman never dies !' 
 
 " The next applicant was a young person 
 accompanied by a black female slave. By the 
 quality of lier murlin, or outer veil, and the 
 fine texture of her ferigee, I judged her to be 
 a person of high rank. The moment she en- 
 tered the room, the modesty of her downcast 
 eyes, and the irresolution of her timid step, set
 
 84 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 my heart on fire. But the recollection of the 
 Imam's wife abated the ardour of my expec- 
 tation. ' Heaven only knows,' thought I, 
 ' what features are concealed under that im- 
 penetrable veil."' — ' Sit down, my child,' said 
 Abou Rassed, ' let your slave abide outside, 
 Allah and ourselves are only present ; fear no- 
 thing !' On this assurance, she seated herself 
 in the divan, exactly opposite my chamber ; 
 she threw u}) her veil at the bidding of the old 
 man, and disclosed the features of a houri. 
 Heavens ! how I gazed on the splendour of 
 her face ! I resolved from that moment to 
 abandon the worship of the stars ; all the bright- 
 ness I ever dreamed of was before my eyes. 
 ' Father,' said the lovely girl, in a tremulous 
 voice, but melodious as Israfil's, ' I have come 
 to you in sorrow, for you are said to give 
 hope and comfort to the wretched. If you 
 have any charm to help me to my lost peace ; 
 if you know of any magic to cure the sickness 
 of the fond heart, I will pay you for it, father, 
 whatever be its price. Tell me quickly if you 
 know of any such, for there is no time to be 
 lost.' — ' Softly, my child,' said Abou Rassed ;
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 85 
 
 ' the heavenly bodies are not to be consulted 
 rashly. A horoscope is not the work of a mi- 
 nute : the rising and the setting of the stars, 
 their aspects and conjunctions, and their man- 
 sions among the constellations, are not to be ob- 
 served with an irreverent haste.' — ' Then,' re- 
 plied the earnest girl, ' it is better I begone ; 
 an hour, nay, a moment is of the utmost value.** 
 The astrologer was not at all inclined to let 
 such an applicant slip through his fingers- 
 ' There is another mode,' said he, 'fair daugh- 
 ter, by which I can resolve all your doubts and 
 difficulties, which is attended with no delay, 
 that is by the divining cup. What do you 
 desire to know ?'' — ' Will the cup,' cried the 
 girl, ' tell the business which brought me to 
 you ?'' — ' In shallah !' exclaimed the Astrolo- 
 ger, ' if it please God, the cup shall tell you 
 more than that.' With these words, he pro- 
 ceeded to the shrine, put his hands to his 
 mouth with great reverence, opened the 
 cedar door, and brought forth a brazen goblet 
 inlaid with silver and covered over with verses 
 from the sacred Edris, or book of Enoch, 
 curiously engraved. ' This precious vessel,'
 
 86 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 said he, is the giani, or divining cup of King 
 Suleiman ; the bottom of which is tlie mirror 
 of the world, which will discover all the mys- 
 teries of life.' Having poured a dark coloured 
 fluid resembling ink into the giam, he gazed on 
 it intently for a few minutes, and then setting- 
 it on the ground, exclaimed in a loud voice — 
 * Thanks, wonderful giam ! and praise to the 
 name of Sultan Suleiman, the father of the 
 Magi, the Lord of the Mendai. Listen, young 
 woman, and tremble at the oracle. The busi- 
 ness which brought you here is love, and the 
 evil you would prevent is marriage with the 
 man whom you love not.' 
 
 " The astonishment and the terror which these 
 words conveyed were so great, that I expected 
 to see the poor girl drop down at the feet of 
 the astrologer. ' Oh, wonderful diviner,' said 
 she, ' your words are inspiration ; they are the 
 words of truth, I will pay them with gold. 
 But tell me further, how am I to act ; my 
 father has promised me in marriage to an old 
 Ulema, I have seen him through the lattice ; 
 he has two wives already ; he does not permit 
 them to go even to the bath"; and they have
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 87 
 
 no honour, for they have no children ; I hate 
 him more than the ughest of the infidels ; a 
 buffalo is not more unseemly, a camel is better 
 shaped — all the women swear he is the son of 
 the Shitan."" 
 
 " * Or rather,' said the astrologer, ' the 
 Golam Tohal, the child of Saturn, the coldest 
 of the celestial bodies.' 
 
 " ' Oh, Abou Rassed !' continued the poor 
 girl, ' if you had seen the Sunbul, the beau- 
 tiful hyacinth of my heart, which I must needs 
 tear hence, to sicken over the faint odour of a 
 faded Gul, you Avould pity my sad fate. But 
 you have never been in love, or you would 
 feel what it is to have a nightingale living op- 
 posite to your lattice, sighing all day long for 
 the rose, his mistress, and singing the praises 
 of her beauty. Can you not write a charm to 
 kill the Uiema ? do, father, I beg of you ; let 
 him die to-night if you possibly can. I know 
 a magician like you can do any thing.' 
 
 " ' Heaven forbid, my daughter,' said the as- 
 trologer, ' that I should kill the Ulema, merely 
 because he loves you and you do not happen 
 to love him. Perhaps I can serve you equally
 
 88 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 well without doing murder. I can make liini 
 hate you, I can prevent your marriage.'' 
 
 " Oh, had it been the pleasure of the Apostle 
 to have transformed me into the astrologer, 
 what a transport of joy had then been mine : 
 the delighted girl rushed into his arms, kissed 
 him on the foreliead, stroked his white beard, 
 and called him her preserver. The old man 
 took the cup, pronounced some unintelligible 
 words, and then placing the giam in her right 
 hand, he bade her repeat after him the follow- 
 ing rhapsody, which, as well as I could remem- 
 ber, was taken from Hafiz — ' Give me, O celes- 
 tial cup-bearer ! to drink of the wine of heavenly 
 love, the purest of which is found at the table 
 of the blessed on the borders of Rocnabad, 
 and in the gardens of the sacred Oratory.' 
 
 " ' Enough !' cried Abou Rassed ; ' the charm 
 is done, go home to your father's house, and 
 laugh at the Ulema's beard ; but merely for 
 the sake of employing your attention, I will 
 give you a few hints as to your conduct, not 
 that they are at all essential, the charm of 
 Sultan Suleiman being all-sufficient, but you 
 may as well observe them.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 89 
 
 a i ' 
 
 The man you hate is a Divine — the man 
 you love is a Janissary ; both are, praise be to 
 God ! people of importance. Now, if you were to 
 send your slave to the Ulema, and give him the 
 promise of a meeting in the Greek quarter — 
 not exactly the most respectable of the suburbs 
 — tlie assignation would delight the soul of the 
 Divine, who is no doubt dying to behold you. 
 Your hyacinth, the Janissary, in the mean time, 
 should procure a lady of your size and appear- 
 ance, to personify you, and to meet the good 
 old man. The worst character he can find, 
 will best do. She must be well paid, and, if 
 possible, be notorious to the neighbourhood. 
 Your hyacinth will likewise apprize the Ulema's 
 two wives, by means of a female emissary, of the 
 Ulema''s infamous assignatioii in the most oppro- 
 brious quarter of the town, and they must be in- 
 vited to have the ocular demonstration of their 
 lord's guilt. Your hyacinth will likewise take 
 care to have as many as possible of his friends 
 concealed close by ; and the moment the Ulema 
 is seen with your representative, let them be 
 surprised, first by the two wives, and then by
 
 90 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 your lover and his friends ; and the more noise 
 that is made, the greater will be the mob. 
 
 " If the Ulema be not confounded, it must 
 be your friend's fault ; if his wives do not tear 
 his eyes out, I have no knowledge of woman- 
 kind. If his reputation be not blasted, there 
 is no virtue in the world. If your father give 
 you to him, it is well he did not wed you long 
 before to a Kafir or a Christian. It is easy 
 for the Janissary to let the woman escape during 
 the confusion ; it is his duty as a neighbour to 
 inform your father of the wickedness of the 
 man he meant to make his son-in-law. In shal- 
 lah ! if it jjlease God ! your father will make a 
 friend of your lover, and it may be, force that 
 friend to become your husband.' 
 
 " ' Praise to Allah,"' exclaimed the overjoyed 
 girl, ' who gave wisdom to your lips ! your 
 words have been meat and drink to my soul. 
 My liver, which had become water, is comfort- 
 ed and restored by your sweet counsel ; may 
 your kindness never be less to your poor ser- 
 vant !' And with these words she deposited 
 some money on the divan, and retired. 
 
 " ' The joy of paradise go with you, my
 
 THE MUSSUr.MAN. 91 
 
 little houri !' said I ; 'the hyacinth of your heart 
 is the most fortuTiate of flowers : what astro- 
 loger, save Abou Rassed, covdd refuse to kill 
 a Ulema to oblige you ! That I love you, my 
 little man-slayer, is a truth, than which no 
 other can be greater, except this. No lattice 
 was ever close enough to keep out love.' 
 
 " No sooner had my little planet Beltha 
 ceased to irradiate the room, than Abou Rassed 
 examined his fee ; the liberality of her promises 
 was fresh in his recollection ; but to his great 
 disappointment, he found three of the smallest 
 gold coins of the realm, carefully wrapped up 
 in half .a dozen envelopes. I could not help 
 compassionating the poor astrologer. I formed 
 the resolution, if ever I became a fortune-teller 
 or a physician, to be feed before I spoke ; for 
 no two professions can extort more money from 
 men's fears, and no two avocations commonly 
 extract less from men's gratitude. 
 
 " Abou Rassed having gone out to visit his 
 patients, I was left alone in the apartment ; for 
 the harem of the astrologer was on the upper 
 story. I was disturbed from my reflections on 
 the ilhberality of the little man-slayer by a
 
 92 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 loud knocking at the door. I demanded, who 
 was there ? ' It is a poor afflicted widow,"* an- 
 swered a woman, in a shrill discordant tone, 'who 
 has a present to offer the hakkim bashi, and a 
 few words of comfort to beg from his wisdom."' 
 "'Allah Akbar!' 1 exclaimed, ' there is 
 only one God, Mahomet, Rasur Allah, and 
 INIahomet is his prophet, and, by his beard ! 
 that voice should belong to the Imam's wife. 
 I would know its terrible sound in the re- 
 motest region of the earth. — Stop a little, good 
 woman,' cried I, in a feigned tone, imitating 
 that of Abou Rassed as closely as I could ; ' in 
 a moment I will let you in.' I threw one of the 
 astrologer's outer garments over my attire, and 
 the veil of the shrine over my head, which was 
 of thick silk gauze, richly brocaded with gold 
 and silver stars. I admitted the old fiend, and 
 I heard a few exclamations of surprise and fear 
 as she gazed on my awful veil. Having led 
 her to the divan, I took my seat on the oppo- 
 site side, and, with my long pipe stick, I imi- 
 tated the solemn ceremony of my master, fol- 
 lowing the circle of the Zodiac, till I reached 
 the sign of the balance. ' Behold !' said I, in a
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 93 
 
 hollow sepulchral voice, ' the sign of justice, 
 the planet of retribution, the star of your 
 nativity V 
 
 " ' Is it so, illustrious hakkim ?' replied the 
 afflicted widow — ' God's will be done ! — he 
 took away my poor dear husband. Allah 
 Karim ! God is most merciful ! But, oh, hak- 
 kim, why do you cover your face ? is your 
 servant unworthy to look on it ?' 
 
 " ' This, woman,"* I replied, ' is the month of 
 Thammuz, sacred to Lamaael, the Prince of 
 Darkness, therefore am I veiled. Speak what 
 you would know, and tell me, if you can, that 
 which I know not.'' 
 
 " ' Oh, hakkim P cried the disconsolate widow, 
 ' do not say so ; wiser though you are than 
 Locman — oh, do not say you know all things ; 
 surely you know not who I am, or what brought 
 me to you ?' 
 
 " ' Audacious woman !' I exclaimed, ' do 
 you blaspheme the Goddess Beltha ? do you 
 come here to laugh at my giam ? Behold 
 this sacred cup, the divine vessel of Sultan 
 Suleiman, surnamed the Magician ! behold 
 those mystical characters, written, like the
 
 94 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 blessed Koran, by the unerring finger of Al- 
 lali, before the foundation of the world ! be- 
 hold your name, and read herein all the secrets 
 of your bosom ! Art thou not the wife of the 
 deceased Imam of the Suleimanieh ?"* (A shriek 
 of astonishment pierced my ears.) — ' Wert thou 
 not his true and faithful wife ?' — ' I was, blessed 
 hakkim,' was the reply. ' And art thou not 
 the most afflicted widow on the surface of the 
 globe .^' — ' I am, Eff'endi,"' was the answer ; 
 but the astonishment of the tone was much 
 diminished. 
 
 " ' Then, true and faithful wife, and most 
 afflicted widow,' said I in a slow and solemn 
 voice, ' I find the name of some strange place 
 written in the bottom of the giam which I 
 do not comprehend, the name is San Stephano ; 
 on this point 'tis you who must enlighten my 
 understanding." 
 
 " ' Allah, Allah V cried the widow in a voice 
 almost inarticulate with terror; ' by my mother's 
 soul — by my father's beard — by the Apostle's 
 camel — by the four rivers of Paradise — by my 
 two eyes, I know not what you speak of, — how
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 95 
 
 should I know? why should I know any thing 
 about it?' 
 
 " ' Woman,' said I, ' laugh not at the beard 
 of an astrologer ; though you swore through the 
 catalogue from the most insignificant of oaths 
 to the climax of perjury, you know the name 
 well ; you have been in the place, but the poor 
 Imam was not with you. Do not wring your 
 hands, but listen to my words ; you toyed with 
 your gallant, but you told not the poor Imam 
 of your pastime ; — do not tear your hair, the 
 drizzled plumes of the old ostrich are never 
 reproduced."" 
 
 " ' Oh, magnificent hakkim, illustrious astro- 
 loger I" exclaimed the widow, ' heap no more 
 ashes on my poor head, throw no more burning 
 sulphur on my heart. Do not believe the giam — 
 I mean no offence to it, heaven forbid ! — but as 
 true as the Imam is in his grave, if I went to 
 that place you mentioned, I came home as I 
 went, the true and faithful wife of my poor dear 
 husband — heaven be his bed ! He was a villain, 
 a vile, deceitful villain who persuaded me to 
 meet him there ; I know it was by a spell he
 
 96 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 overcame the strict propriety of my behaviour, 
 for I never consented to meet any other being 
 of the male kind." 
 
 " ' Beware, woman, of the vengeance of the 
 giam,' I exclaimed, ' I see the blush of anger 
 mantling over the surface/ 
 
 " ' Wallah, Effendi,' cried the widow, ' I 
 never consented ; if I ever did meet any body 
 it was always by compulsion."' 
 
 " ' Be it so,"" said I ; ' but let me again con- 
 sult the cup. Oh, wonderful giam ! what good- 
 looking young gallant is this I behold in thy 
 sacred mirror ? what handsome youth is this 
 I gaze on within the walls of a Medresse ? what 
 goul is this who gloats on the beauty of his 
 countenance, now smiling at his approach, now 
 frowning at his departure ? Oh, wonderful giam ! 
 what old daughter of sin and shame is this, 
 foaming with fury, heaping lies and injuries on 
 the head of the object of her appalling love, and 
 laughing like a hya?na at the innocent lamb 
 which has become her prey? Oh, wonderful giam ! 
 what is this ? Speak woman, answer me, by 
 your eyes V If this attestation fail, thought I, 
 the widow of the Imam must be dead. I peeped
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 97 
 
 throucrh my veil, she was lying senseless in a fit. 
 The fear of Abou Rassed's return moderated 
 ray delight, but I still enjoyed the triumph of 
 my vengeance; and when I threw a jug of 
 cold water in her abominable face, it was less 
 out of humanity, than for the purpose of arous- 
 ing her to the torments of her own thoughts. 
 ' Beautiful Sultana !' I exclaimed, as she open- 
 ed her eyes, ' how is this ? why has your soul 
 been troubled ? what unhappy word has wrung 
 your heart and dried up your blood t What 
 have you to do with the vision I described ? 
 you are not the goul ! — INIin Allah ! you are not 
 the daughter of sin and shame, God forbid ! — I 
 was going to tell you the fate of this Simorg, 
 this ill-omened bird of monstrous size, Avhich 
 sits on the mountain of El Caf, and mocks 
 the moon with hideous love-notes. It lay dead 
 before me in the giam ; I saw the corpse visited 
 by the two examiners of the grave, the two 
 black livid angels of terrible aspect, named 
 Monker and Nakir ; I saw the ugly corpse set 
 upright in the grave, and heard it examined 
 touching the sins of incontinence and falsehood ; 
 I saw it beat on the temples with iron maces 
 VOL. 1. F
 
 98 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 by the two livid angels till it roared with agony ; 
 I saw the ashes of the rank grave crammed 
 into its mouth, and then beheld it set on by 
 ninety-nine dragons, with seven heads each, to 
 gnaw its festering heart till the day of judgment ! 
 Nay, think not to budge from this apartment 
 till you hear the entire truth. I then beheld the 
 corpse on the bridge of Al Sirat, which is laid 
 over Hell, and which leads to eternity. I saw 
 the shivering body walking on the path con- 
 ducting to Paradise, on the path which is finer 
 than a hair ; I marked the terror of its steps ; — it 
 trembled, woman, as you do now : it looked 
 bewildered and dizzy, the view of hell beneath 
 was enough to make it so ; it tottered a few 
 steps onward, and then tumbled into the fiery 
 gulph. I beheld the hissing serpents embrac- 
 ing the poor corpse ; I saw the furious dragons 
 lashino; it with their tails ; a million of wanton 
 monkeys mowed and chattered their amatory 
 music in its ears, while it was chained at last 
 to a red-hot rock, and a funnel larger than 
 the universe was placed over its bosom, distil- 
 ling burning sulphur drop by drop. But the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 99 
 
 lightest of the pains which the wretched body 
 endured, was being shod with slioes of fire, the 
 fervour of which caused the skull to boil like a 
 cauldron." 
 
 " ' Enough I enough V cried the terrified 
 widow — ' one drop of cold water if you would 
 save me from death — appease my burning thirst, 
 throw me in the sea, drown me with cold water ; 
 open the windows, I care not who sees me, 
 only give me the fresh air — there, there, that 
 will do; thank heaven for that cold breath; take 
 that terrible giam out of my sight, — a little more 
 cold water — thanks, thanks ; praise be to God 
 who formed the heaven, and raised it without 
 pillars.' 
 
 " I was satisfied, I was revenged. I now 
 set about composing my victim sufficiently to 
 enable her to inform me of the business which 
 brought her to the Astrologer. I assured her 
 she had nothing to do with the terrible appari- 
 tion I had just described: I sought to dispel 
 some of her fears ; and what with flattery, and 
 what with cold water, I brought her to her- 
 self. ' Now, my fair daughter,' said I, ' call 
 
 F 2
 
 100 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 back your soul, and tell me what service would 
 you have of nie ; I will remove the giam. 
 Speak, my little fawn, tell me by your black 
 eyes what you desire." 
 
 " ' Ah, tender-hearted hakkim bashi,' re- 
 plied the afflicted widow in one of her softest 
 tones, ' your compassion is the recompense of 
 all my sufferings ; may your condescension never 
 diminish ! may your house prosper ! I am a 
 poor disconsolate widow, and grief is my only 
 occupation ; if my murlin be discoloured, it is 
 with heaping ashes on my head ; if my eyes 
 have lost their lustre, it is with weeping. You 
 see how I have rent my garments, not only the 
 seams, but the very skirt and body of my 
 feridgee. Oh, why was I born to lose so good 
 a husband ! Ah, why do I live to lament his 
 loss ! If affliction could kill, I would ere now 
 be a dead woman. But, alas ! the best of hus- 
 bands departed this wicked life so suddenly, 
 that he had not even time to make his will. 
 Every body said, ' the Imam is made of gold, 
 his widow will be richer than any woman in 
 Kum Kapi.' But I did not think of riches :
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 101 
 
 I cried with the mourners two whole hours 
 without intermission. I saw the body washed 
 and dressed ; I shut the eyes with my own 
 hands, I tied the toes, and then only I looked 
 after the riches of my poor dear husband ; but 
 oh, hakkim ! judge of my horror, when I found 
 only half a dozen purses in paras, and no gold 
 at all. I redoubled my grief for the best of 
 husbands; I reiterated my lamentations over 
 the remains of the Imam, which were now my 
 only consolation ; I searched every hole and 
 corner for the treasure which I knew must be 
 concealed somewhere or other in the house, but 
 I did not find it. Therefore have I come to 
 you in my distress to give me some consolation 
 for the loss of the best of husbands, and to 
 tell me where can I find the bulk of the 
 Imam''s property, which I have reason to be- 
 lieve is buried either within or without the 
 
 walls of the harem. Oh, hakkim, I am a dis- 
 consolate widow, speak a word of comfort to 
 my soul.' 
 
 " ' Dry up your tears, widow,*" I replied, ' the 
 
 soul of your husband is buried within the walls
 
 102 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 of your dwelling. Your house is an old one, 
 and new floors would be an improvement. Dig 
 them all up from top to bottom, and suffer not 
 the long grass to grow up in the court-yard of 
 your dwelling ; stir up the soil. But, before 
 you commence operations, dismiss your ser- 
 vants ; if you find not the Imam's wealth, I 
 am no astrologer ; if you do not give me a mo- 
 derate portion of it, beware of the giam ; the 
 world may know more of your history than you 
 care to disclose. No words, woman ; remem- 
 ber the giam ! in three days fail not to return 
 here."" I pushed the disconsolate widow out of 
 doors, divested my person of my astrological 
 attire, and congratulated myself on my first 
 essay in the celestial sciences. ' May your stars 
 be propitious, most true and faithful of wives, 
 and most disconsolate of widows' ! said 1 : ' Relict 
 of an Imam, may some Ulema have the bless- 
 ing of your second love, for that second love 
 is less durable than the first is false ; but 
 nothing is more true, than that the sight 
 of a well-stored hasnah, a rich treasury, is the 
 first consolation to a regularly-afflicted widow.'
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 103 
 
 " When you set out on a long journey, my 
 friend Michelaki, you have not only ' to stir the 
 foot of activity, but to mount the patient horse 
 of toil and travel.' — But you are yawning and 
 rubbing your eyes, as if you were fatigued to 
 death : to-morrow, if your soul awake, I will 
 tell you the remainder of my story."
 
 104 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mislike me not for my complexion ; 
 The shadowed livery of the burning sun. 
 To whom I am a neighbour, and near bred. 
 
 The Merchant of Venice. 
 
 "My first astrological feat" (continued the 
 Dervish on the following evening) " let in a flood 
 of light on the darkness of my understanding. 
 I trod this paltry earth with the foot of pride, 
 but my head was in the stars : I thought of 
 nothing but of horoscopes ; I talked of nothing 
 but of astrolabes ; I dreamt of nothing but the 
 Goddess Beltha, the most beautiful of the 
 planets, and more glorious in my eyes than the 
 supreme divinity of the Zabian. I resolved to 
 become a star-gazer ; and, in order to do so 
 with impunity, to enter a convent of Dervishes
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 105 
 
 whenever I could command a few hundred 
 piastres. ]My soul was still ambitious of sa- 
 cerdotal honours ; the repose of a convent was 
 a pleasing contemplation. I had no doubt it 
 was written in the great book above that I was 
 to be a priest ; if not an Imam, at least a Der- 
 vish. I had no doubt but that the discon- 
 solate widow would purchase my silence if she 
 found tlie Imam's gold, and I awaited the three 
 days' expiration with no little impatience. In 
 the mean time, my unlucky star again had its 
 ascendancy in the heavens ; the worship of my 
 favourite planet once more involved me in 
 trouble and perplexity. jNIy worthy master, 
 Abou Rassed, my instructor in heavenly know- 
 ledge, had no less than seven mouths to feed in 
 his harem, so that he seldom had a surplus 
 paras in his purse ; yet he looked to his giam 
 and the stars for his raz kallah, or ' daily 
 subsistence from Providence,' with as much 
 confidence as if the Haznadar of the heavens 
 was his first cousin. One evening, I was gazing 
 on the Goddess Beltha from the AvindoAv of my 
 closet, wliich looked into the court-yard, think- 
 ing of all the love that was necessary to make 
 
 F 5
 
 lOG THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 SO niucli light, when an earthly cough took my 
 attention off" the heavens. By the light of the 
 pale moon 1 could discover the figure of a 
 female on the opposite terrace. I could dis- 
 tinctly see the fair one's hands clasped over her 
 heart ; then raised to her lips, and then pressed 
 on her eyelids. Never did I behold so exqui- 
 site a shape, or so dignified a deportment. ' Ye 
 heavenly bodies,"" I exclaimed, ' shine propi- 
 tiously on my head ! It is the Queen of Love, 
 the Goddess Beltha herself, who has descended 
 from her sphere to bless the sight of the most 
 devoted of her votaries. She calls me to her ! 
 Behold her lily palm extended towards me, 
 beckoning me to approach ! A moss-rose in a 
 milk-pail is not more beautiful than that blush 
 of modesty on her marble cheek. The white- 
 ness of her skin is more resplendent than the 
 silver beams of the moon. Oh that the night 
 was less obscure, or my mistress a little nearer V 
 I come, my divinity, whispered I, as 1 pointed 
 to the door of the harem, which led to the ter- 
 race, and then taking off my shoes, I flung an 
 entire bottle of rose-water over my person, and 
 crept up the stairs without even daring to draw
 
 T[^E MUSSULMAN. 107 
 
 my breath. I heard the astrologer snoring as I 
 passed his room. The door of the harem had 
 been left ajar ; in the twinkling of a planet I 
 was on the terrace — I beheld my divinity, the 
 beautiful lily of my soul, standing at a little 
 distance. I rushed into her arms— (ye hea- 
 venly bodies, enable me to proceed !) — the 
 daughter of darkness pressed me to her bosom, 
 I found myself locked in the embraces of a 
 black ! My head recoiled with horror from the 
 swarthy slave ; yet I endeavoured to conceal 
 my repugnance. ' It is evident,' thought I, 
 ' the Goddess Beltha is laughing at my beard. 
 By all the planets, from this dreadful hour, I 
 abjure her worship !' 
 
 " ' What is he matter with my turtle-dove?' 
 said my Ethiopian charmer : ' Have I found no 
 favour in the eyes of my sweet bulbul .^ Alack ! 
 how unfortunate I am not to please my lord."" 
 
 " ' May the modesty of your speech,' cried J, 
 ' my raven of gentility, meet the reward it merits.' 
 
 " ' Ah, EfTendi !' replieid the girl, ' do not 
 laugh at my amsak, because I am not a white 
 woman ; I know it was very foolish to fall in 
 love with you, but I could not help it ; since
 
 108 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 ever I had a glimpse of you at that little win- 
 dow, I have longed for the sight of you, and 
 now that my eyes are blessed with your pre- 
 sence, my soul has melted into water, for I 
 fear you cannot love me."' 
 
 " While she spoke, I had leisure to examine 
 her more closely." ' Would to Heaven !' thought 
 I, 'it were possible to make her face white ; I 
 would willingly purchase a cantar of the finest 
 soap of Candia to wash her even into an olive- 
 coloured beauty."* She was not above seven- 
 teen, her shape was perfect, and her features 
 pleasing. The mildness of her manner, above 
 all, tended to reconcile me to her complexion ; 
 I resolved to combat a prejudice beneath the 
 consideration of one devoted to the heavenly 
 sciences. I accordingly endeavoured to assure 
 her, that in affairs of the heart, I made no dis- 
 tinction of colour. ' What flower, my sweet 
 girl,' said I, 'is more lovely, than the violet ? and 
 yet a couple of deeper shades would render it 
 beautifully black. ]^o wood is handsomer than 
 ebony, no gem more esteemed than jet. The skin 
 of this soft cheek is more exquisitely polislied 
 than either ; what white woman has so smooth a
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 109 
 
 hand ? so small a foot ? It is no wonder I mis- 
 took you for the Goddess Beltha, and that asto- 
 nishment made me dumb when I first beheld you." 
 
 " ' Oh, Effendi !"* exclaimed my dark divinity, 
 ' your words are like sugar, their sweetness is 
 more precious than the purest honey ; you are 
 the light of my eyes : but Heaven forbid Abou 
 Rassed knew I loved you ! he would flog me 
 to death, as sure as my name is Mahaboobi.'' 
 
 " ' A fig for Abou Rassed !' I replied ; ' whose 
 dog of a pagan is he, to lift his hand to one 
 I please to love ? Is he my lord ? dare he 
 call himself a Mussulman? can he boast of being 
 a true believer ? Am I not a Moslem ? might 
 I not have been a Ulema, had it not been for a 
 small accident ? Fear nothing ! my little jet 
 black beauty, I am your master, and your lover, 
 Mahaboobi ; a fig, I say, for that old star- 
 gazer, Abou Rassed !"■ 
 
 " ' We were stationed under a low stack of 
 chimneys which screened us from the windows 
 of the harem; I cast up-my eyes with a 
 scornful glance, as I finished the last word ; 
 O Mahomet ! prince of prophets ! what terri- 
 ble apparition did my sight encounter ! what
 
 ilO THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 appalling vision made a heap of ashes of my 
 heart ! It was no goul I looked on, no gin, 
 no genii, no spectre of the grave, no spirit of 
 the Shitan : — it was the bald head of Abou 
 Rassed, it was the awful beard of the Astrolo- 
 ger ! there he stood on the other side of the 
 chimneys, leaning on his elbows on the top of 
 the stack, and peering his long neck over the 
 side, listening to our discourse. I thought I 
 should have sunk lifeless on the roof; as for 
 Mahaboobi, she screamed like a wild cat, and 
 fled into the harem. I made no eifort to es- 
 cape ; I thought it was as well to face the 
 anger of my host, then, as in the morning ; the 
 terrible scene was to be gone through ; no 
 doubt it was written so to be, I therefore stood 
 my ground. When the old man came round, 
 he placed himself right before me — he fixed his 
 indignant eye upon me — he looked my proud 
 heart down to the very dust ; he spoke not for 
 some minutes, but there he stood, staring me 
 out of countenani^ ; no expression of fury in 
 his features ; contempt was all I could read in 
 his regard ; and there it was riveted mildly and 
 immoveably on my shrunken face ; it was the
 
 THti MUSSULMAN. Ill 
 
 most terrible reproof a human being ever suf- 
 fered. But when I saw him thrust his fingers 
 into that white beard of his, whose scattered 
 hairs were waving in the wind, and when I 
 heard these words accompany the action — 
 
 " ' Young man, was it to laugh at this you 
 became my guest ?' I could endure the torture 
 of this soul-cutting meekness no longer, I burst 
 into tears. ' Master of my slave,' he conti- 
 nued, in the same low and solemn voice ; ' lover 
 of my servant ; when you came into the house 
 of the old star-gazer, the pagan, the unbeliever, 
 who dared not to call himself a Mussulman, 
 you had no place wherein to lay you down to 
 sleep ; you had no bread to eat, no sherbet to 
 drink, no chibouque to pass away an hour when 
 you were sad, no coffee to refresh you when 
 you were weary. I was a Zabian, as you knew, 
 yet you asked me for hospitality, and I did not 
 refuse you ; 1 was a Pagan to your law, yet 1 
 took you under my roof; I vv^as poor in world- 
 ly riches, yet I shared with you my best fare, 
 liumble as it was. For this you spat upon my 
 creed, you mocked my hoary age, you laughed 
 at my white beard, abused my kindness, and.
 
 112 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 not content with seeking to dishonour an inmate 
 of my harem, you endeavoured to rob me of 
 my slave's respect, and took the pains of teach- 
 ing her to despise me. For this I call no ma- 
 lediction on your head : I pray not the heavens 
 to punish your violation of the most sacred of 
 all human laws, those of hospitality. 
 
 " ' Your punishment I leave to your own 
 thoughts, for in the hell your Prophet has 
 described, there are no torments so painful as 
 the reproaches of a guilty conscience. Go, 
 young man, let your shadow never again 
 darken my threshold.' 
 
 " Abou Rassed pointed to the door as he 
 ended his harangue. I began to feel that it 
 was a manifest weakness to have wept as I 
 had done, I repented of my tears. ' Am I not a 
 Moslem ?'' thought I, 'and what right has a pa- 
 gan to take such liberties with a true believer ?' 
 " ' Abou Rassed,' I exclaimed in a loud 
 voice, and frowning thunderbolts at the star- 
 gazer as I spoke, ' you have used me like a 
 dog ; you have abused me with such foul words 
 as no Mussulman ever endured in the world. 
 I will not put up with the indignity ; besides,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 113 
 
 it is your own doctrines which have perverted 
 my understanding, and made me act as I have 
 done. You told me this world was eternal ; till 
 I heard so, I always fed my imagination on 
 the hopes of enjoying the society of the black- 
 eyed houries of paradise. You told me there 
 was no paradise above, it was therefore neces- 
 sary to make one on earth. I commenced lay- 
 ing the first stone of the edifice this night on 
 the roof of your house, and you tore up the 
 foundation of my happiness. 
 
 " ' You told me the Goddess Beltha presided 
 over my birth ; I therefore deemed it a bounden 
 duty to worship the queen of love how and when 
 I could, but you interfered with my devotion. 
 
 " ' You told me there were no future punish- 
 ments, because all mortals lived under the in- 
 fluence of the stars, and had no free-will. I 
 believed you, like a fool as I was ; I felt an irre- 
 sistible inclination to make love to your black 
 slave, and I seized the earliest opportunity of 
 so doing, believing most piously the impulse 
 was from the stars and not to be controlled ; yet 
 you stepped in and prevented the accomplish- 
 ment of the heavenly suggestions, and now inflict
 
 114 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 on me, according to your own words, a punish- 
 ment more terrible than the torments of hell. 
 Oh, this is unheard-of injustice, this is tyranny 
 not to be endured ! This comes of consulting 
 the stars, a crime forbidden by the Koran. 
 Have you forgotten tlie warning God gave 
 Giafar — ' You govern yourself by the stars, 
 but you forget that Allah is their Creator, 
 and that his will is immutable." Can you 
 deny that Abou Yussuf hath commanded us 
 to study all sciences save three— namely, as- 
 trology, alchymy, and metaphysics ; because 
 the first anticipates experience, which is always 
 sad ; the second consumes our substance ; and 
 the third engenders doubts ? Therefore, look 
 to your beard, Abou Rassed, before you heap 
 injuries on my head. Therefore, bethink you, 
 there are Cadis in the land, before you thrust 
 me out of doors at a moment's notice : all the 
 silver of your shrine will not satisfy the sto- 
 mach of the Cadi, even if you prove your in- 
 nocence ; but if I convict you of blaspheming 
 the name of the Apostle, (to which be glory !) 
 and which you cannot deny you have repeat- 
 edly done in my presence, your head, Abou
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 115 
 
 Rassed, will be too little to pay the forfeit of 
 your impiety. I should not have reminded 
 you of these things, but that you have used 
 me worse than a dog ; thrown all sorts of filthy 
 names in my teeth ; heaped false accusations on 
 my head ; blasphemed the Prophet, and threat- 
 ened to throw me out of doors at this time of 
 night. But out of this house, it is written in 
 the stars, I shall not budge for two days ; or, 
 if I do, the giam will not save you from the 
 clutches of the cadi. Let me, therefore, re- 
 main in peace two little days ; let me part 
 with you as a friend, to whose kindness I have 
 owed both bed and board, whose bread I have 
 eaten, whose cup I have drunk of, and whose 
 hospitality, if I have abused, I am sorry for it. 
 You have given me much, and I have little to 
 offer you ; but still, like the Persian, I can 
 present to you four things which are not in 
 Heaven — my indigence, my unworthiness, my 
 sins, and my regret.' 
 
 " ' Go, my son,' said Abou Rassed ; ' let the 
 two days be ten, if you desire it ; your last 
 words do more honour to your heart than your 
 first ones ?""
 
 116 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 " I took the good man''s hand and pressed it 
 to my lips ; I was ashamed of my words ; and 
 a tear or two, which for the life of me I 
 could not drive back to my heart, fell on the 
 fingers of the old Zabian before I had time 
 to release them. The two following days I 
 avoided his sight, I ate and drank in my little 
 closet ; in fact, I could not face the good man 
 I had so shamefully insulted. The evening 
 of the second day I sent an emissary of mine to 
 the Imam''s widow, to tell her I expected her 
 the following morning, at noon precisely (the 
 hour at which I knew Aboii Rassed should 
 be from home). To give her also to under- 
 stand that she had found what had been 
 missing, and to remember the giara, I direct- 
 ed my messenger to wait for no reply, and to 
 enter into no conversation with the widow. 
 The blessed morrow at length arrived, I heard 
 the muezzin calling the true believers to mid- 
 day prayer; it was noon, I heard a tremulous 
 knock at the door, I had just time to throw 
 the sacred veil over my shoulders and to admit 
 the Imam's widow.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 117 
 
 " ' Peace be on you, fair daughter !' said I ; 
 ' ha\e my words been those of truth, or have 
 they not?' 
 
 " ' Not altogether, most pre-eminent amongst 
 your contemporaries in wisdom,' replied the wi- 
 dow ; ' I have only found a very small portion/ 
 " ' Then must I consult the giam,' I exclaim- 
 ed, ' I '11 soon know the truth.' 
 
 " ' For the sake of the Apostle,' cried the 
 widow, ' talk not of the giam ! Here are fifty 
 piastres, and swear by the blessed camel you 
 will never open your lips on the subject of our 
 consultation.' 
 
 " ' Widow,' said I, ' by the camel and his 
 rider, (both be glorified !) unless I get on the 
 spot four purses, the Cadi shall be acquainted 
 with the whole history of your life before two 
 hours.' The widow remonstrated, I threaten- 
 ed; she became refractory, I produced the 
 giam ; I wrung doubloon by doubloon from 
 the terrors of her soul, till I at length extorted 
 three purses, I then thrust her out of doors, 
 and prepared for my departure. At Abou 
 Rassed's return I thanked him from the bottom
 
 118 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 of my heart for all his kindness, and told him 
 I was going to stir the young foot of acti- 
 vity in the world, to seek my fortune. I also 
 informed him that my stars had been that 
 morning most propitious, and I put into his 
 hand a doubloon, as a token of my gratitude. 
 It was more than payment five times over for 
 my board and lodging in liis house, but I felt 
 some compensation was due to his venerable 
 beard, for the disrespect I had shown its silver 
 hairs. 
 
 " Abou Rassed took the gold, held it to his 
 eyes, turned it over and over, and exclaimed, 
 " God is most wonderful ! a dollar of solid 
 gold ! the planets are most munificent ! Has it 
 dropped from the Sun ? tell me, by your soul ! 
 gold is sacred to that supreme planet ; has it 
 been showering its blessings on your head ? tell 
 me, by the stars '.'' 
 
 " I marked how he turned the large coin 
 over and over; 1 saw the muscles of his jaw 
 alternatel)^ rigid and relaxed, it was the conflict 
 between indigence and generosity ; the latter 
 triumphed ; he thrust the money into my hand. 
 ' Take it, my friend Ali,' said the good old
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 119 
 
 man, ' you are young, and the world is before 
 you ; I am old, and my v/ants are but of short 
 duration : my necessities are those which are 
 easily supplied ; the flickering lamp of age con- 
 sumes but little oil ; youth cannot be satisfied 
 with the mere necessaries of life. The support 
 of nature, is the raz kallah, the care of Pro- 
 vidence ; but the subsistence of the passions is 
 a no less importunate necessity in the spring 
 of life. But whatever be our wants, call them 
 luxuries or necessities, remember they have 
 a term, an uncertain term. Advancement in 
 the world is now the only dream of your 
 existence, it is the supreme happiness which 
 you imagine depends on its realization. Fool ! 
 fool ! could I place you this moment on the 
 pinnacle of your hopes, should I increase your 
 happiness .- far from it. Like Iskander, who 
 wept when he had no more worlds to vanquish, 
 you would only grieve you had an object less 
 to hope for, and the first ot the remaining 
 number of your desires would be of more 
 difficult attainment than the former. 
 
 " ' Of an empire large as Caesar's, how small 
 a portion suffices for our wants ; of an ocean to
 
 120 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 quench our thirst, how small a draught allays 
 our drought. Envy not the Mufti his ex- 
 alted rank, repine not at the prosperity of the 
 Ulema. You are probably happier than either ; 
 you have less care, you have, perhaps, better 
 health : and he who has health should have 
 hope, he only is unhappy who has neither. No, 
 my son, it is not the exalted we should envy ; 
 why should we envy those, whose crimes, per- 
 haps, are to give immortality to their names ? 
 — ' Where are Canaan and Nimrod ? \Miere 
 are they who gave and took away the king- 
 dom of the earth ? Where are they who were 
 lords of the land, and builders of its palaces ? 
 They have all perished, and nothing but the 
 ruins of their monuments remain V 
 
 " ' These are the heroes, my son Ali, Avhose 
 high station you would have envied, had you 
 lived in their time." 
 
 " ' Ah ! but, Abou Rassed,' said I, ' you 
 have omitted the succeeding sentence of that 
 beautiful poem you have just quoted; — 'Where 
 are the masters of eloquence ? the possessors 
 of heavenly intelligence ? the patrons of learn- 
 ing of the former generations ? God will raise
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 121 
 
 all of them from the dead, and reward each 
 according to his deeds V 
 
 " ' Well,' said Abou Eassed, ' if it will be so 
 it hath already been ordained ; if it be not or- 
 dained, it will not come to pass ; and if it do 
 not, I cannot help it ; neither have you any 
 reason to think it would be pleasing to the 
 heavens to have my throat cut for differing 
 with you in opinion on a subject of much 
 doubt and no certainty.' 
 
 " ' Ah ! my father,' I replied, ' there is nothing 
 in the world physically certain but death ; but 
 there is an invisible spirit in our breasts, which 
 lifts our contemplation to the brightness of the 
 heavenly bodies, and suggests the idea of a Crea- 
 tor ; which directs our regards to the beauty of 
 the earth, and points out the blessings of a mer- 
 ciful God. And that same spirit speaks the 
 most certain of all moral truths to our hearts. 
 It tells us the Being who poised the planets in 
 the firmament without pillars, to illumine and 
 irradiate this lower world ; who spread the 
 earth as a garden in the infinite space, and laid 
 it as a habitation for his servants ; who made 
 man the lord of all, and the birds of the 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 air, and the creatures of the deep, and the 
 brutes of the field, his slaves ; who gave do- 
 minion to our puny race over the monstrous 
 Simorg who flaps his immeasurable wings 
 over the mountains of El Caf ; over the great 
 fish Nun, the lobes of whose livers are to suf- 
 fice seventy-two thousand true believers at the 
 day of judgment ; and over the mighty ox 
 Balaam, whose bulk causes the earth to groan ; 
 — ^gave not the advantage to the most perfect 
 of his creatures, for the miserable privilege of 
 living a few years with the knowledge that we 
 were only taken from the soil to be mingled 
 with it again for ever.' 
 
 " ' I have not heard the flapping of the 
 wings of the Simorg,' replied Abou Rassed; 
 ' I have not seen the lobes of the Nun's liver; 
 neither have I tasted the flesh of the ox Ba- 
 laam. But if such animals exist, and that we 
 prey on them, as every living creature does 
 on a Aveaker or less cunning victim, I see no 
 reason why we should arrogate to ourselves the 
 exclusive consideration of the Creator. The 
 perch is a rapacious little fish, but he is de- 
 voured by the kelp el bahr, and this dog-fish
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 123 
 
 in return is swallowed up by the crocodile. 
 But this, you will say, is done by mere brute 
 force ; by one creature stronger or larger than 
 another ; whereas man is infinitely inferior in 
 size and strength to the creatures he subjects 
 to his will by the mere power of his reason. 
 But this great crocodile of the Bahr Nil, who 
 has swallowed up the dcg-fish, who has swal- 
 lowed up the perch, is in his turn kept in 
 terror by a little bird who gobbles up the 
 hopes of a crocodile's family at a meal, I mean 
 the crane, who devours the eggs of the de- 
 stroyer. But the crane would be a very' foolish 
 little bird to say, I have dominion over the 
 monsters of the deep, therefore the universe 
 was created for me alone.' 
 
 " ' Abou Rassed,' said I, 'for a man so pre- 
 eminent in wisdom as you are, you talk great 
 folly. I will not dispute with you about words ; 
 be it reason, or be it instinct, or let both be 
 one ; of that one quality, whether does an ele- 
 phant or a man possess the larger portion ? 
 You do not deny man the possession ; then 
 man being superior in intelligence to all the 
 creatures of the earth, is it arrogating too much 
 
 G 2
 
 124 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 to expect a higher destiny for him than is al- 
 lotted to the worm ? If it be otherwise, the 
 superiority of his intelligence is a curse, for he 
 has constant reason to repine at the brevity, no 
 less than at the vanity, of life. You must now 
 be convinced of your error ; acknowledge it, 
 and repeat after me the only words which can 
 ensure you eternal happiness ! Allah .' lUah 
 Mahomet Rasur Allah !' 
 
 " Abou Rassed was fool enough to smile at 
 my request. 
 
 " ' My friend,' said he, * whenever an argu- 
 ment has the power to change the colour of 
 my beard, perhaps it may alter the complexion 
 of my mind, and both having become of ano- 
 ther hue, it is then possible it may make a ca- 
 meleon of my father's creed.' 
 
 " ' Heaven be with you, Abou Rassed !' said 
 I, ' there is no hope of your salvation; I wish 
 from the bottom of my heart you were a true 
 believer, but I fear you will die as you have 
 lived, a Pagan. Farewell ! Abovi Rassed, if I 
 prosper in the world, I will certainly come and 
 see you."* 
 
 "'If you do not prosper,' replied the old
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 125 
 
 Zabian, ' come, and you will still be wel- 
 come.' — I hurried out of the house, for I felt 
 if I remained much longer, I should again be 
 playing the woman." 
 
 " Well, said Michelaki, interrupting the 
 Dervish, " for one who talks such nonsense 
 about the stars, you spoke very good morality 
 to that abominable pagan : to-morrow, you 
 must continue your story, and I hope finish it, 
 for I am longing to hear the adventure with 
 this new Beltha of yours, who sent you to 
 the arsenal."
 
 12G THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The life of a Dervish is a sure rampart against all 
 public calamities and private afflictions. 
 
 MONTEFI. 
 
 " You are aware, Michelaki," continued the 
 adventurer, resuming his story the following 
 evening, " that the Sofis of Persia, and the 
 Fakirs of Egypt, are the Dervishes of Turkey. 
 Of these there are two principal sects in Stam- 
 boul, the Rowling and the Whirling Dervishes. 
 The former honour their Creator by screaming 
 like jackals for whole hours together ; they 
 assemble in the mosque of their convent, squat 
 themselves down in a circle, and howl the nine- 
 ty-nine names of Allah, rocking their bodies to 
 and fro, and continuing their worship, till their 
 tongues cleave to their palates, and they drop 
 down from sheer exhaustion.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 127 
 
 " The whirling Dervishes are great Theriakis, 
 or eaters of opium, and consequently they have 
 many celestial visions, and are subject to fits of 
 pious fury. In these moments of inspiration, 
 they worship their Maker by whirling their 
 bodies round and round with the most edifying 
 velocity, and gash their limbs, and sear their 
 flesh with red-hot irons. The religious zeal of 
 the latter sect is generally supposed to be the 
 most pleasing to the Apostle, and is certainly 
 the most applauded by the devout of both 
 sexes. 
 
 " ' Now^, whether,' thought I, ' shall I become 
 a howler or a whirler ? both have their advan- 
 tages and their disadvantages. But which way 
 does my vocation lie ? my lungs are excellent, 
 and I never was in better wind, I can howl like 
 a very lion.' I determined to try my powers in 
 that way, and I did so, forgetting I was in the 
 public street; but I had not howled above a 
 couple of the attributes of the Almighty, before 
 I was conscious of my folly. I looked about 
 me to see if any one observed me, and what 
 was my confusion to find the eyes of fifty pas- 
 sengers on me I One said, ' Praise be to God !
 
 128 THK MUSSULMAN. 
 
 he is mad, he is the favourite of Heaven ? 
 ' Blessed be the Pro])het!' cried another; ' lie 
 has lost his senses, he is a saint.' ' Here, good 
 man,"* said an old woman, ' hold your hand, 
 this is for my husband who is sick, pray for 
 a speedy release from his sufferings,' and witli 
 that she put a gold bergoot into my hand. 
 
 " ] commenced mumbling to myself, as if I 
 was praying with might and main for the bless- 
 ings of widowhood for the charitable donor ; 
 but ere I finished, up stepped a well-dressed 
 Effendi, followed by a slave carrying his pipe, 
 and putting a miserable paras on my palm, 
 which the light wind very nearly blew away, 
 he said — ' This is for the sake of the Apostle, 
 and the soul of my father, whose head is just 
 now in jeopardy; pray for his safety.' I mum- 
 bled out two words for the munificent Effendi, 
 and waited to see if there were any other pious 
 passengers inclined to relieve a saint ; but no 
 one came. I set up another howl, longer and 
 louder than the first; the deep intonation of 
 my Allah ! Illah ! was exquisite ; in a moment 
 I observed all the latticed windows around me 
 crowded with women. In the one over my
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 129 
 
 head I could distinctly hear the giggling of 
 young voices; one melodious Israfil cried, ' Oh, 
 my two eyes ! what a well-shaped santon ! what 
 a handsome madman !"* another exclaimed, 
 ' Wallah el Nebi ! by Allah and the Prophet, 
 what a beautiful saint ! Oh that we could get 
 him to pray for us at the tomb of Scheik Ab- 
 driman !' 
 
 " Presently an Abyssinian slave came out 
 of the passage by which I stood, and put half 
 a dozen piastres in my hand ; ' This, my young 
 santon," said she, ' is to beg your prayers for a 
 poor Ulema, in his sixty-seventh year, who is 
 about to enter the married state.' 
 
 " ' God help him V I exclaimed, ' he has 
 much need of prayers, I will do all I can for 
 him ; tell your poor mistress when she comes 
 home to invoke the genius of the giam."' This, 
 thought I, is no other than the house of the 
 old Ulema, who was to have been married to 
 the little man-slayer, (blessings on her fair 
 hand!) — Abou Rassed's counsel has not been 
 followed, or, if followed, it has most likely 
 failed, and this is her destined prison. I will 
 mark the house; who knows what the giam 
 
 g5
 
 130 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 may not do ? I was going away, when I ob- 
 served a miserable object coming out of a 
 mosque on the other side of the street, his 
 lips moving with all the fervour of devotion as 
 he approached, and a remnant of straw mat- 
 ting under his arm, which served for a pray- 
 ing carpet. ' Heaven grant,' said 1, ' it may 
 never be my destiny to know the poverty of 
 that poor wretch !' I was in the act of giving 
 a last howl as he passed by ; the sacred inspira- 
 tion of insanity attracted his notice, and arrest- 
 ed his steps. I saw the beggar fumbling in the 
 pockets of his tattered sherwals ; the miserable 
 mendicant approached me, and, to my utter as- 
 tonishment, put half a piastre into my hand ; 
 ' This, holy man,' he exclaimed, in a tone of 
 the devoutest enthusiasm, ' this is for the law ! 
 . pray for the extermination of the infidels.'' I 
 mumbled as usual till the beggar's back was 
 turned, and then came another application for 
 my prayers. The man who now approached 
 me, was no less a person tlian the Imam of the 
 mosque, which the beggar had come out of. 
 ' Grant, holy Prophet l' said I, ' it be for no bad 
 purpose the Imam is coming to me ; priests are
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 131 
 
 not wont to ask the prayers of santons ; prayer 
 is their prerogative, and they are jealous of it.' 
 While I was thus debating on the purpose of 
 his visit, he accosted me with profound respect. 
 * May your inspiration never be less, santon !"■ 
 said he ; ' oblige me, I beseech you, so far as 
 to honour me with your prayers. It is not one 
 or two simple supplications I require, those 1 
 have leisure to make myself; but a good hour 
 of prayer, and in the very spot where you are 
 now standing. I live close by, I will return in 
 an hour, and pay you four piastres for your 
 trouble.' I bowed my head in token of acqui- 
 escence ; I thought I might as well earn the four 
 piastres, so I set to exercising my jaws, stand- 
 ing, as I had been told, on the appointed spot, on 
 which, unfortunately, the hot sun was glaring 
 with noon-day strength. 1 was almost roasted 
 alive, yet I continued to mumble away the slow 
 minutes of the hour, not daring to move, lest 
 the Imam should be watching from his window. 
 The hour passed away, and no Imam came; 
 another did I wait broiling in the hot sun, but 
 no Imam made his appearance; I cursed liim 
 in my heart, and then wiping away the perspi-
 
 132 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 ration whicli trickled o'er my features, I was 
 preparing to depart, when in the window of the 
 house which the Imam entered, I heard a roar 
 of laughter. I looked up and beheld the shut- 
 ters thrown back, and the fat priest leaning on 
 his elbows, his sanctified features convulsed 
 with merriment. This was too much to en- 
 dure, I withdrew my eyes, and ran off with 
 my utmost speed, endeavouring to escape from 
 the torture of my own reflections. 
 
 " ' It is evident,' said I, ' Heaven intended 
 nie from the beginning of the world to be a 
 howling Dervish :' so I turned my steps to- 
 wards Scutari, one of the suburbs of the city, 
 where there is a convent of this order. Being 
 introduced to the superior, I told him my his- 
 tory in a few words, dwelling much on my 
 studies in theology in the Medresse ; on the 
 nature of my education, being intended for the 
 church ; and also on my proficiency in astro- 
 nomy and medicine, the twin sciences which I 
 had studied under the most celebrated Chal- 
 dean in the world. Such parts of my story 
 as had any reference to the influence of the 
 Goddess Beltha over my destiny, I of course
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 133 
 
 suppressed. I supplicated to be received into 
 the blessed order of Howling Dervishes ; but 
 my supplications would have been in vain, had 
 they not been backed by the all-convincing 
 argument of the widow's gold. This opened 
 to me the door of the convent. I was received 
 into the society, in consideration of my eccle- 
 siastical standing (being already half an Imam), 
 without having to go through the ordinary 
 period of probation. 
 
 " On my reception, the superior read me a 
 long lecture on the duties of a Dervish. I was 
 divested of my worldly attire ; my fine turban 
 was replaced by a coarse felt cap, of a co- 
 nical shape, without brim or border, — to keep 
 off the hot sun being deemed unnecessary, as 
 the sacred Humai, the bird of paradise, was 
 constantly hovering over the unprotected heads 
 of Dervishes, and affording them a sufficient 
 shade. My gay benish was exchanged for the 
 common woollen kirkhah,or Dervish habit, being 
 the torn coat, which the prophet Moses wore. 
 In the reception exhortation, the ordinary ini- 
 tiatory words were used — ' Thy comrades said 
 they would remain a little time in the world.
 
 134 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 but they have left it for good and all, having 
 found in it neither stability nor repose. Rise 
 then quickly, young man, and join us, and take 
 good care to avoid the steps of those who have 
 either lost or abandoned the true path,' 
 
 " The second chief Dervish then asked me if 
 I had read the holy Tessaauf, a book of regu- 
 lation for religious communities ? To which 
 question, having replied in the affirmative, he 
 said, ' Then must you be acquainted with the 
 ten qualities which the blessed Hassan-al-Basri 
 (be his name honoured !) says a true Dervish 
 should possess in common with a dog. To be 
 always hungry — to defile not his master"'s 
 house — to have no certain habitation — to 
 watch by night — to care not for leaving an 
 inheritance behind — to follow one master — 
 to be contented with the humblest station — 
 to put up with bad usage — to love the hand 
 which feeds — and not to snap at that which 
 strikes.' I immediately received the first les- 
 son in howling; and although the practices 
 of the heterodox whirlers were loudly con- 
 demned, I fovmd that many of them were 
 in vogue ; such as rubbing a red-hot iron
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 135 
 
 over the tongue, sticking daggers into the 
 legs and arms, and a few sleight-of-hand 
 tricks, for the edification of the vulgar. On 
 ordinary occasions, we seldom did ourselves 
 any injury ; we used hollo w-bladed daggers, 
 in which was concealed the fresh blood of 
 lambs. But before grandees and women 
 whoses miles we cared for, we mangled our- 
 selves sometimes for their entertainment most 
 piteously. In a little time, my howling was 
 universally admired : pious people came from 
 the ends of the metropolis to hear my in- 
 defatigable roar. We professed to live mi- 
 serably in the convent ; the Uteral meaning of 
 the word Dervish signifies poverty ; but no 
 people fared better. While we preached abs- 
 tinence to those whose alms we solicited, in 
 private we all led the life of giaours ; we 
 laughed at the ramazan ; we drank wine when 
 we could get it ; we swallowed rum when we 
 could not. We were the merriest set of beings 
 in the Sultan''s dominions ; we had no labour 
 but begging. The howling soon ceased to be a 
 toil, it even became a pleasure ; the exercise 
 was a banquet to my lungs. 1 was the only
 
 136 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 member of the community who had not tra- 
 velled ; all the others were ex]ierienced, shrewd, 
 and even polished vagabonds, who had strolled 
 over the world on God's bounty, eating the 
 bread of the poor, the sick, and the indigent. 
 Each man's girdle was decorated with some 
 precious stones, or other natural curiosity of 
 the country he had visited. We had those in 
 our convent who had wandered over the de- 
 serts of Sahara ; who had visited the mines of 
 Samarcand ; vi^ho had w^alked over the coun- 
 tries of the Hindi ; who had made pilgrimages 
 to both the sacred kebles of Mecca and Kl Cods, 
 the holy Jerusalem. But there was one little 
 defect prevalent enough amongst the inmates 
 of the convent, and that was infidelity. Abou 
 Rassed, the pagan, was not more firmly per- 
 suaded that the blessed Apostle was an im- 
 postor, than were two-thirds of our religious 
 community. There was another peculiarity in 
 the brotherhood; they never expressed any 
 hatred towards the infidels ; on the contrary, I 
 observed those who had travelled most were 
 least disposed to curse the Christians, who oc-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 137 
 
 casionally visited our convent. I was the only 
 individual who had virtue enough to pray 
 daily to the most merciful Allah for the exter- 
 mination of all Christians, Jews, and Pagans, 
 with the exception of Abou Rassed. 
 
 " My superior learning soon gained me an 
 ascendancy over many of my brother Der- 
 vishes, and the fame of my astrological and me- 
 dical science was already spread over the ca- 
 pital. I adopted Abou Rassed's system : I 
 gave charms for the cure of every disease, and 
 medicines, merely as adjuncts, whose natures 
 coincided with the stars, and whose properties 
 were indicated for the benefit of any particular 
 organ, by the corresponding shape of the root, 
 or leaf of the plant. I accomplished wonders ; 
 the convent was crowded with my visitors from 
 morning till night. Had I died at that blessed 
 time, my name would now be in the calendar 
 of the saints, instead of being in that of the 
 condemned culprits. Yes, Michelaki, I should 
 have had a tomb with a fine dome placed over 
 my relics, and monthly visited, like Scheik Ab- 
 driman"'s, by all the religious population, in-
 
 138 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 stead of having this chain round my leg, and 
 that confounded chiaous, with his h)ng stick, 
 for my sole visitor. 
 
 " At the time I speak of, I was the most 
 highly reputed dervish in Stamboul. I was 
 on the top of the minaret of ambition. That 
 detestable Goddess Beltha aa^ain shed her cala- 
 mitous influence on my head : I was hurled 
 from the summit of the crescent to the depths 
 of despair. 
 
 " For the third time in my life I fell in love, 
 and for the third time I was ruined. In an 
 evil hour, it occurred to me to visit the spot 
 where I had made my first essay in the way of 
 howling, and where I believed the Ulema re- 
 sided who was to have wedded the little man- 
 slayer. I recognised the house; it was the 
 day on which the women visit the bath ; I re- 
 solved to lurk about the premises till such time 
 as I should see either the slave, with whom I 
 had before spoken, or her mistress. I had not 
 waited above an hour before I saw the slave 
 approaching the house, and beckoning to her to 
 follow me, I entered the shop of a rayah, where 
 I had an opportunity of conversing with her,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 139 
 
 without exciting observation. She told me, 
 neither her mistress nor any of the inmates 
 of the harem were suffered to go out, not even 
 to the bath. I asked her to be the bearer of a 
 message to her mistress. She stared in my 
 face, and then told me she was not mad. I put 
 a ten-piastre piece into her hand, and had an 
 instantaneous proof of her good sense. She 
 said I spoke like a reasonable man : she con- 
 sented to deliver any message I might honour 
 her with the conveyance of to her poor mistress, 
 whose heart was very sick. — ' I was aware of her 
 ilhiess,'' said I, ' therefore have I sought you ; 
 tell her the Dervish said she was very ill, worse 
 than she imagines, but not so bad as she ought 
 to be. Tell her, this night her horoscope indi- 
 cates a sudden indisposition, which, to resist, 
 Avould be to fly in the face of the planets. 
 Tell her, moreover, the physician of her heart 
 is he who reads the stars, and understands the 
 giam, in which her destiny is written. That 
 physician am I, the Dervish Ali, who is to be 
 sought for in the convent of Scutari, and who 
 is known to the husband of every sick woman 
 who desires to be healed.' I endeavoured to
 
 140 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 impress these words on the mind of the slave 
 by several repetitions, and having duly tutored 
 her, I returned to the convent," 
 
 Here Michelaki interrupted the Dervish ; 
 " To-morrow, my friend," said he, " I trust 
 you will get to the end of your interminable 
 story."
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 141 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Alas ! good fathers, human passions 
 Make fools of folks of all professions. 
 
 The Barbaresque. 
 
 The Dervish having resumed his story, pro- 
 ceeded to relate his interview with the man- 
 slayer. 
 
 " The following morning/' continued he, 
 " I was summoned to the house of the Ulema, 
 who was called Abdallah, or the Slave of God. 
 Being ushered into his divan, I seated myself, 
 and after the customary pause, which courtesy 
 has established, to allow a visitor time to draw 
 his breath, the Ulema salaamed me with mark- 
 ed respect. 
 
 " ' Dervish,' said he, ' you cannot be igno- 
 rant of the bad favour in which your commu-
 
 142 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 nity are with the regular ministers of the law. 
 You may therefore wonder at my sending for 
 you. Your fame, however, as a hakkim, and 
 a man of science, is spread over the world, and 
 having a sick wife, I have sent for you to 
 cure her.' 
 
 " ' May your condescension never be less ! 
 venerable Ulema,'' I replied : ' it is very true 
 the slanderers and the liars always seek their 
 victims among the virtuous, therefore have 
 the poor dervishes been misrepresented to the 
 pillars of the faith, your venerable corps. But 
 that my poor name should be known to one 
 who is the burning light of Islam, is truly 
 wonderful. — Alas, Effendi ! I am a simple 
 man, unworthy to kiss your honoured foot- 
 steps ; unfit to be called the meanest of the 
 servants who breathe the air your Excellency 
 respires.' 
 
 " ' Wallah- el- Nebi !' exclaimed the Ulema, 
 ' by Allah and the Prophet ! (blessed be his 
 name !) you speak like a man of understand- 
 ing. You have heard, no doubt, of my name in 
 the world, of the five-and-twenty Commentaries 
 I have written on the first verse of the first
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 143 
 
 chapter of the blessed Koran. You have, no 
 doubt, heard of these celebrated performances, 
 and therefore am I indebted to my reputation 
 for your respect.** 
 
 "' Who has not heard of your commentaries V 
 I replied. ' Are there not four corners in the 
 world ; in which of them, I ask you, is your 
 fame unknown ? Does not El Caf surround 
 the universe ; on which high peak of that vast 
 mountain, I would be glad to know, are the 
 glorious commentaries of my Lord unheard of.'' 
 Allah ! lUah ! is there a human being on the 
 surface of the earth who does not know your 
 name .'''' 
 
 " I said no more ; I had the heart of the 
 Ulema in my right hand, and I squeezed it like 
 a sponge, wringing out its weakness at every 
 grasp, yet feeling the expansion of its flimsy 
 substance whenever I relaxed my fingers. 
 
 " ' God is most wonderful !' said Abdallah. 
 ' How has it happened that two of the clever- 
 est men in the country should have been so long 
 in the same capital, and unknown to each 
 other .^ Now, Dervish," continued he, 'let us 
 talk of the sick woman ; the angel of death has
 
 144 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 been flapping his wings over her couch since 
 last night ; your arrival has been much wished 
 for : if you do not cure her, nobody else can. 
 You need not see her, I suppose, my friend ; it 
 will do to tell you her ailment, will it not ?'* 
 
 " ' Not so, venerable Ulema,'' I replied ; ' I 
 must see her, and speak with her, and find out 
 under what propitious planet the herb flourishes 
 which is adapted to her temperament. I am 
 no magician ; the stars I do study as the Pagan 
 did who wrote the golden verses, and manifest- 
 ed therein what constellations are favourable to 
 the growth of certain plants, and what proper- 
 ties are in those which coincide with certain 
 planets, whose aspects have an influence over 
 the production of certain maladies.' This ela- 
 borate description of my system of medicine 
 delighted the old man, whose only fear was that 
 I professed to work by supernatural means. 
 
 " He immediately accompanied me to the 
 harem. I found the invalid lying on a mat- 
 tress, groaning piteously, and surrounded by 
 a group of women, some with fans flapping 
 away the flies, others with vessels of sherbet 
 pressing her to drink. I motioned these women
 
 T»E MUSSULMAN. 145 
 
 to retire, the slave alone I suffered to remain, 
 and ordered her to support the patient's head. 
 The Ulenia, however, kept his ground ; he 
 stood close by me as I stooped to question the 
 invalid ; I wished him in the bottomless ocean, 
 but I had no plausible excuse for bidding him 
 retire. My patient saw my dilemma, and she 
 found the means of getting me out of it. She 
 made a sudden bounce from her recumbent 
 position towards that part of the couch where 
 the Ulema was standing, and at the same time 
 uttered a piercing shriek, which she had only 
 occasion to repeat to cause poor Abdallah to fly 
 from the couch in great dismay. 
 
 ••' ' 'Tis the crisis,' said I ; ' you had better 
 retire, she is in that excited state in which the 
 sight of those who are best loved cannot be 
 endured. Go down, I will be with you in a 
 few seconds, and bring you, I trust, a good 
 report.' 
 
 " Having led him to the door, I approached 
 the invalid ; slie was perfectly tranquil ; I lifted 
 her veil, every doubt was dispelled by a single 
 glance; it was my little friend the manslayer, 
 beautiful as ever, and blooming as a rose. I 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 146 THE MUSSULMAN, 
 
 felt her pulse, I pressed her hand ; the gentle 
 pressure was returned, but still she gazed on 
 me with an inquisitive eye ; I understood it's 
 question. ' I am one,'' said I, in a whisper, 
 ' who knows the secrets of the giam as well as 
 Abou Rassed ; who loves you better than a 
 legion of Janissaries.' I saw the surprise, min- 
 gled with a softer emotion, as I fancied, which 
 overspread her features. 'Words,' said I, 'my 
 beautiful Katourah,' (for so I heard her called,) 
 ' are now more precious than rubies ; be ill till 
 I tell you to be well ; no shriek can be too 
 loud at the Ulema's approach ; no love can be 
 usefully bestowed on a man you cannot see ; 
 therefore, forget the Janissary, and fix your 
 thoughts on the Dervish.' 
 
 " ' 'Tis easily said,' replied my patient ; ' can 
 one love a Janissary in the morning, and a 
 Dervish the same evening — have you ever seen 
 me before ?'' 
 
 " ' A million of times,' said I, ' have I beheld 
 you in the invisible world. Your beauty has 
 long been the subject of my dreams, your 
 lovely person the object of my adoration. I 
 have pined away, because I could not speak
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 147 
 
 with you, till my body has become shadowless ; 
 I have made sighs and tears my meat and 
 drink ; in short, if you would not see me dead 
 at your disdainful feet, tell me to live, desire 
 me to hope/ 
 
 " ' Oh, live by all means !' replied Katourah, 
 smiling most graciously, ' though you do not 
 seem to have pined away so much as one might 
 have thought who .knew your diet ; but since 
 you have existed so long on sighs and tears 
 for my sake, I suppose I must live on cold 
 water and sherbet a little time for yours, or 
 may I eat a kibab of lamb for my dinner, dear 
 hakkim ?' 
 
 " ' Eat a kibab of lamb ?' said I, ' Heaven 
 forbid! your's is a very serious malady, and 
 lamb is eamb, therefore you must avoid it's 
 flesh. Eating in public too before persons 
 who may throw an evil eye on the repast 
 is very bad, in the dead of the night I have 
 no objection to your takhig a boiled fowl and 
 a pilau smothered in sour milk, but nothing 
 more." 
 
 Now, hakkim,' said Katourah, ' tell me, 
 H 2 
 
 ii. i
 
 148 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 by my soul ! do you love me as well as the 
 Janissary did ? Speak, by the giam !' 
 
 " ' Then, by your soul, and the giam ! and, 
 oh ! by what is more precious than all, by your 
 two black eyes ! no Janissary ever loved you as 
 
 I do; 
 
 " ' Well,' replied Katourah, ' 1 suppose I 
 must love you; I cannot help myself; if you 
 be, as you say, a supernatural man, who read 
 the stars like a kitab, and understand the 
 wonderful giam better than the blessed Koran, 
 what can I say, or do ? You have stolen my 
 heart by your powerful charms, and, perhaps, 
 you had better keep it since you have it, so 
 long as the Ulema is not the possessor, Allah 
 Karim I But now that I love you. Dervish, 
 let me put you on your guard ; there is another 
 wife of the Ulemas here, not so young, per- 
 haps, as I am, but who has bright eyes, and 
 blooming looks, yet sleepless nights. If you 
 are the santon who many months ago made 
 the noise under the wdndow, as the slave in- 
 forms me, it is you who have spoiled her sweet 
 slumbers. Beware of her. Dervish ; for now 
 that I love you, should I find you even glan-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 149 
 
 cing your eye at her, I would tear your soul 
 out, I would be revenged of you, were I to die 
 for it the next instant/ 
 
 '' ' Oh, Allah !' thought I, ' this is indeed the 
 little manslayer. Heavens, what a fury ! better 
 would it it be to enrage a she-tiger, than to 
 rouse the anger of this little woman.' The 
 attendants, whom I had thrust out of the room, 
 now made their appearance, and one of them 
 brought me a message from a sick lady in an 
 adjoining chamber, requesting my immediate 
 assistance. I rose to follow the attendant ; I 
 dared not look for permission in the eyes of my 
 little fury, I knew it would not be granted, 
 and I could not refuse visiting the other invalid. 
 But I had not reached the door, when I had 
 a new symptom of the unabated violence of my 
 first patient's shrieking disorder. The terrible 
 noise which rent my ear was Katourah's shriek ; 
 another, and a shriller followed as I left the 
 room, and then a loud and continuous scream 
 was kept up all the time I w^as in the apartment 
 of the other woman. I would have gone back 
 to have endeavoured to pacify her, but the 
 attendant would not allow me ; she said her
 
 150 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 Other mistress was considerably worse, and 
 woidd probably connnence screaming also if 1 
 kept her waiting. My soul was in confusion ; 
 I saw the clouds gathering in the heavens ; I 
 already heard the tempest, it only remained 
 for the thunderbolt to crush me. I was led 
 to the divan, where my new patient was re- 
 clining ; there was only the attendant and 
 confidant, who conducted me to the chamber, 
 present. The other women were assembled 
 round the couch of the shrieker. I removed her 
 veil with that bold impudence which a woman 
 seldom dreams of combating; and to my in- 
 finite surprise I gazed on a beauty in the 
 prime of life, neither young nor old, but pro- 
 bably about that critical period of beauty, 
 when time has mellowed every charm, and 
 paused for a moment before he suffers a single 
 perfection to be impaired. She was probably 
 thirty, the age, our blessed Prophet has assured 
 us, the houries and their faithful lovers are to 
 attain in Paradise, and to remain at for ever. 
 Fools might have missed in her loveliness the 
 playful innocence of the gazel, the youthful 
 levity of the antelope, the freshness of the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 151 
 
 morning, and the delicate softness of the young- 
 May flower. I missed these not : I found in 
 her perfect features the settled beauty of the 
 full-grown fawn, the matured sedateness of the 
 impassioned dove, the genial glow of the noon- 
 day sun, and the fine bold beauty of the expand- 
 ed rose. For the fourth time of my life I was 
 in love, but deeper, oh, an ocean of the heart's 
 idolatry, deeper than ever. 
 
 Having questioned the invalid, whose name 
 she informed me was Zeinab, concerning her 
 disease, she informed me her heart was sick, 
 and she dated her disorder from a day on 
 which she took cold at the window looking at 
 a young saint in the street. ' I have often long- 
 ed for his prayers, I purchased a few from him 
 at the time for my husband, but now I would 
 be glad to have some for myself, though I am 
 told he is no longer a saint, but a dervish, and 
 a hakkim.'' 
 
 " ' He is, my angel,' I exclaimed ; ' since ever 
 he heard the sound of your sweet voice, his 
 heart has been dried up, his breast a furnace. 
 To attract your attention he made himself a 
 santon, and howled under your window ; to
 
 152 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 gain admittance to your harem, he became a 
 dervish, and a doctor, and put his soul in peril 
 to behold you.' 
 
 " I was proceeding in the expression of my 
 admiration, when I heard the discordant voice 
 of the Ulema in the other room. I had just 
 time to press her fair fingers to my lips and 
 forehead, and to hearken to a gentle hint about 
 the jealousy of Katourah, and the fury of her 
 temper, before the Ulema was at the door. I 
 descended with him to the divan. ' Ah ! my ve- 
 nerable friend," said 1, ' a terrible fever is run- 
 ning over your house ; two of your wives are 
 the victims of the contagion : Heaven guard 
 you from it ! I charge you by your beard, 
 avoid their chambers !' 
 
 " ' What !' exclaimed the Ulema, ' fly in the 
 face of destiny to avoid the evil it hath sent ? 
 Min Allah ! heaven forbid !"" 
 
 " ' Pillar of the faith,' said I, ' is it not writ- 
 ten in the perspicuous book, that when our 
 house is in a blaze, we are to fly from the 
 flames '^"^ 
 
 " ' True,"* replied the Ulema, ' the blessed 
 Koran does say so ; I am glad to find you are
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 153 
 
 acquainted so thoroughly with its doctrines. 
 But what unenhghtened mind can understand 
 them without the lamp of knowledge ; that 
 lamp is the work of my hand, the five-and- 
 twenty commentaries I have written. Behold 
 them/ said he, approaching the divan, where I 
 found he had deposited the valuable volumes 
 for my edification. 
 
 " ' What would you not give, O Dervish, to 
 have the privilege of perusing them ? what trea- 
 sure would you not offer for the loan of them ?' 
 ' I would give my eyes for the blessing,' I ex- 
 claimed, ' but that I could not read without 
 them.' 
 
 " ' You shall have that blessing,' he replied ; 
 ' preserve them, as you would the pearl of your 
 existence, your very soul ! My servant shall 
 carry them to your convent, you may keep 
 them for a week, but you must read night and 
 day. Reckon yourself the most fortunate of 
 men, the most favoured of my friends.' I found 
 the commentaries had banished every recol- 
 lection of the fever and his wives ; so, after 
 making suitable acknowledgments for the loan 
 of the precious books, which I verily believe 
 
 H 5
 
 154? THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 was only made to avoid giving me a fee, I 
 told him I must hurry home to prepare some 
 medicines for the sick women. The servant 
 accompanied me with the commentaries ; I 
 eased him of his burden at the door of the 
 convent : I was soon surrounded by my curious 
 brethren, all eager to know what books I was 
 loaded with. When I told them they were 
 commentaries on the Koran, the performance 
 of a venerable Ulema, they laughed outright. 
 You must know, we Dervishes hold the Ulemas 
 as our mortal enemies : I was therefore not 
 surprised at the ridicule bestowed on the pre- 
 cious tomes ; but I was somewhat startled at 
 the proposal of one mad fellow, whom we 
 called the Delhi Dervish, or the mad dervish, 
 who was very anxious to set fire to the five-and- 
 twenty years' labour of the slave of God, merely 
 to ascertain if so dull a composition as a com- 
 mentary could give out light or heat. I 
 bundled up my books as quickly as possible into 
 my room, for I knew the Delhi was capable of 
 any wickedness. Having deposited them safely 
 as I hoped, I went to the common refectory 
 where we dined, and having done ample justice
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 155 
 
 to an admirable pilau, I retired to my apart- 
 ment. The moment I opened the door, a vo- 
 lume of smoke rushed out which almost suf- 
 focated me. 'Oh, blessed Prophet!' I exclaimed,' 
 ' my room is in a blaze ; I endeavoured to 
 drag out my furniture ; I advanced farther and 
 farther amidst the impenetrable smoke ; I could 
 see no flames, but I distinguished at last a heap 
 of red-hot ashes in the very middle of the 
 room, the carpet having been removed from 
 the stone floor. I opened the window, the 
 smoke at length disappeared. The smoulder- 
 ing ashes were the remains of the five-and- 
 twenty commentaries of the Ulema ! ! ! I Avas 
 in hopes it had been some portion of my own 
 property which had been destroyed. But my 
 horror was complete; the ashes I gazed on 
 were those of Abdallah's soul ! 
 
 " I sought the mad villain, who I had no 
 doubt was the author of the mischief, in every 
 corner of the convent, but luckily for him I 
 found him not. I passed a wretched night 
 thinking of the ruin in which the destruction 
 of these execrable commentaries might involve 
 me. In the morning, according to my promise,
 
 156 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 I returned with a heavy heart to the Ulema's 
 house, for I thought it was better to keep up 
 appearances for a few days, than to excite im- 
 mediate suspicion, by absenting myself al- 
 together. 
 
 " The Ulema received me with greater kind- 
 ness than the day before. He asked me how I 
 liked the commentaries, if tlie interpretations 
 were not rendered Avith great force, if the ar- 
 guments were not full of fire. I thought I 
 should have sunk into the earth. ' Oh, Pillar of 
 the Faith !' I exclaimed, 'they are indeed, as you 
 say, fulh, of fire, and they have been perused, 
 I assure you, with a burning zeal to discover 
 the elements of truth. — How are the sick wo- 
 men ? Shall I visit them alone, or Avill you risk 
 the danger of accompanying me to the conta- 
 gious chamber ?'' 
 
 " ' The slave shall accompany you, my son,' 
 replied the Ulema ; ' but do not be so long as 
 you were yesterday ; these women love to gos- 
 sip with their hakkims.' 
 
 " The slave having made her appearance at 
 the door, I followed her up-stairs. ' Let us 
 first see Zeinab, my pretty conductress,' said I,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 157 
 
 she most needs the hakkim.' I accordingly 
 visited this charmer, and every moment I re- 
 mained with her I became more enamoured of 
 her beauty. She told me that Katourah was 
 enraged with me for visiting her, in defiance 
 of her express command, the shriek, and that I 
 must endeavour to pacify her. I proceeded, 
 with an awful foreboding of some impending 
 evil, to the chamber of Katourah. 
 
 " The little fury was sitting up when I en- 
 tered ; her eyes were like two globes of living 
 flame, flashing lightning on me as I approached. 
 
 " ' Robber of the soul V exclaimed she in a 
 voice of thunder, ' have you visited your mis- 
 tress in the other chamber .'' have you made a 
 mockery of my weaksess .'' have you laughed at 
 my credulity ? Allah ! Illah ! you were the 
 fools to dream of imposing on me. You told 
 me you came here to love me, and me alone ; 
 you swore by my eyes Zeinab was not your mis- 
 tress ; and, like a dog, you lied in your throat, 
 for it was her alone you came to see. Murder ! 
 murder ! Ulema, I say, come to your harem, 
 there is a villain within its walls ! Call the 
 Ulema! — Slave, clap your hands! — Ulema, I
 
 158 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 say, your harem is dishonoured ! there stands 
 the wretch. Help ! for the love of tlie Prophet ! 
 assistance for the sake of our master's beard — 
 help! helpT 
 
 " I was utterly confounded. * Woman i' I 
 whispered, as softly as possible, ' by all the 
 planets ! you are mistaken ; 'tis you alone I 
 came to see: for the sake of Allah -for the 
 honour of your mother' But I was not suf- 
 fered to yjroceed ; the Ulema entered, panting 
 for breath, and foaming at the mouth. 
 
 " ' What words are these V he exclaimed, 
 ' Who talked of dishonour in my house ! 
 Speak ! by your souls ! which of you made this 
 outcry !' 
 
 " ' Pillar of the faith !' cried Katourah ; ' the 
 Dervish is a villain ! he is Zeinab's lover, I 
 swear it by your soul ! I heard their vile dis- 
 course ; I saw them laugh at your white beard ; 
 I could bear it no longer, so I called for help.' 
 
 " ' What words are these !' I exclaimed ; 
 ' the woman is certainly gone mad ! I told you 
 she had a fever ; this is the fury of her disor- 
 der. Heaven restore her ! Pay no attention to 
 her words ; you heard how she shrieked y ester-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 159 
 
 day ; you saw the dreadful attempt she made to 
 fly at you : for the sake of the Apostle keep out 
 of her way!' The Ulema was perplexed, he 
 knew not what to think; I might have carried 
 the day, and, at all events, have been suffered 
 to escape, had not Zeinab most unfortunately 
 presented herself at this critical moment to 
 exculpate herself from the accusations of 
 Katourah. 
 
 " ' Yes, there she is !' cried the latter, ' deny 
 it if vou can, Zeinab ? Did I not see this Der- 
 vish pressing your hand to his forehead ? did I 
 not hear you say how long you loved him, and 
 
 did he not ?' Katourah's voice here was 
 
 overwhelmed by Zeinab's recriminations. 
 
 " ' No, no, Katourah,' she cried, ' it will 
 not do to throw your shame on an innocent 
 head ; it will not do to palm your lover on a 
 true and faithful wife ; it will not do to cram 
 foul falsehoods down my honoured husband's 
 throat. This man, O Ulema ! who calls him- 
 self a Dervish, is her old lover. I swear it by 
 your gracious head ! And now having quar- 
 relled with him, she seeks to be revenged of him, 
 and to throw the odium of her conduct on me.'
 
 160 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 . " ' This is past all endurance !' I exclaimed. 
 ' 1 will not stop another moment in this house, 
 for I find every inmate leagued in a conspiracy 
 against me."' I rushed towards the door, but 
 the Ulema was too watchful of my movements. 
 He seized me by the long sleeve of my kirk- 
 hah, which had a better claim then than it had 
 yet had to the title of ' the torn garment."" 
 The door was already thronged with servants ; 
 there was no possibility of escape ; I submitted 
 to my destiny. I was sent to prison. Oh, 
 vi'hat a night I spent, cursing my folly, re- 
 viling the Goddess Beltha, and abusing the 
 infuriated Katourah, who had brought all this 
 calamity on my head. I expected to be bas- 
 tinadoed to death in the morning ; my ina- 
 bility to produce the unlucky commentaries, 
 I knew, would go hard with me. ' It is evi- 
 dent,' said I, ' the stars are leagued against 
 me; it is in vain to contend with the planets. 
 I must face my misfortunes like a worthy dis- 
 ciple of Abou Rassed."" 
 
 " The follow ino' mornino; I was taken before 
 the Cadi ; I found my case had not only been 
 heard, but decided on before my appearance.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 161 
 
 The Cadi, however, still made a show of justice ; 
 he asked me what I had to say to the charge 
 of the venerable Ulema ? I declared my inno- 
 cence as long as I was able, and with as loud a 
 voice as the occasion demanded. He bade me 
 restore the twenty-five Commentaries of the 
 Pillar of the Faith. I told him I was sorry, 
 very sorry I could not ; but they were unfor- 
 tunately burnt. The Ulema stared at me ; his 
 eyes starting from their sockets ; his mouth 
 wide open ; the cold sweat of despair glisten- 
 ing on his forehead ; his two hands clasped 
 over his head : he attempted to address me, 
 but his voice failed ; he uttered one loud groan, 
 and fainted away. A Chiaous was instantly 
 dispatched to search for the books, and to 
 seize on my effects. 
 
 " ' This comes, Dervish,*' said the Cadi, ' of 
 reading the stars and consulting giams. Did 
 the stars tell you to breed confusion in the 
 harem of this good man, and steal his books ? 
 Do you not remember the words of Zahed — A 
 covetous Dervish is a highway robber ?'''' 
 
 " ' Eff'endi," I cried, ' robber I am none, 
 your messenger will find the ashes of the com-
 
 102 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 mentarics wliicli have been burnt by a mad- 
 man. Neither am I a star-gazer; I study the 
 sciences, it is true, but I am no magician ; the 
 words of Zahed I remember well, and it is he, 
 if 1 mistake not, who says, A Dervish without 
 science, is a house without a door. I was in 
 hopes my words had produced a favourable im- 
 pression on tlie Cadi ; but when I heard him 
 speak of me as an impostor, I had little to ex- 
 pect. He proceeded to pass sentence on me, 
 having prefaced my condemnation with a pro- 
 verb, DerviscJilik Kerkhaden hellu de ghil — it 
 is not the coat which makes the dervish. My 
 punishment, he said, should be a light one, in 
 consideration of my previous good character ; 
 I should only receive three hundred stripes, 
 and be kept to hard labour for ten years. The 
 secretary of the Cadi was standing by me ; I 
 whispered in his ear for the remission of the 
 three hundred stripes, ' the Cadi should have 
 three hundred piastres.' The horrible Chiaouses 
 were grinning at me, fingering their abomi- 
 nable sticks, which I expected to feel every 
 moment on my bare feet ; but the secretary 
 caught the Cadi's eye, I observed him scratch
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 163 
 
 his nose three times, there was some manoeuvre 
 on the Cadi's part which I did not understand, 
 but the secretary said to me in a low whisper, 
 ' You must make it four hundred,' — ' Agreed, I 
 rephed.' 
 
 " ' Away with him to prison,' exclaimed the 
 Cadi, ' we shall have him privately bastina- 
 doed.' They hurried me off to my dungeon, 
 where I was duly visited by the secretary ; my 
 well-stored girdle was soon as empty as my 
 stomach ; after being half famished in that ac- 
 cursed prison, I was sent here. The rest of my 
 miserable story you are acquainted with ; if 
 you would have its moral, think of my ruling 
 passion, and behold my present condition.'
 
 164 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Hub. There is your hand and seal for wliat I did. 
 
 King John. How oft the means to do ill deeds 
 
 Makes deeds ill done ! Hadst thou not been by, 
 A fellow, by the hand of nature marked, 
 Quoted and sign'd to do a deed of shame. 
 This murder had not come into my mind. 
 
 SlIAKSPEAlii;. 
 
 Notwithstanding the length of the Der- 
 vish's story, Michelaki listened with implor- 
 ing patience to every part in which there was 
 no allusion to the heavenly bodies. His soul 
 was sick of stars and giams, he loathed the 
 title of the astharlab, and he never heard 
 the name of that abominable pagan, Abou 
 Rassed, without touching the image of the 
 Madonna which he wore about his neck. But
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 165 
 
 as no man in the world, with the solitary excep- 
 tion of Jean Jacques Rousseau, ever gave an 
 authentic history of his life, however criminal 
 it might be, without propitiating in some de- 
 gree the favour of the patient listener or 
 reader, Michelaki felt a friendship for the ad- 
 venturer insensibly steal over his spirit, in 
 spite of all his efforts to reprobate his prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 When the period of the Greek's redemption 
 approached, even tlie joyful prospect of free- 
 dom was shadowed by the pain of separating 
 from a good-humoured fellow-sufferer. And 
 the poor Dervish, who had still eight long years 
 of slavery before his eyes, and the bitter re- 
 flection of his life's vicissitudes to endure, had 
 still a tear for the loss of a kind-hearted com- 
 panion, albeit he vi^as an unbeliever. 
 
 The term of Michelaki's punishment at 
 length expired, but less than a hundred pi- 
 astres could not bring the fact to the recollec- 
 tion of the Captain of the Arsenal. 
 
 Many of Michelaki's friends were in affluence, 
 but none were inclined to purchase the liberty 
 of a former acquaintance at so dear a price.
 
 IGG THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 The Dervish was aware of the unfortunate pre- 
 dicament in which his companion stood. He 
 was still possessed of fifty piastres, his earthly 
 fortune ; and these he put at the disposal of his 
 friend. He procured the means of sending a 
 letter to Abou Rassed, which was couched in 
 the following pithy terms. 
 
 " Friend of my soul ! the stars have been 
 unpropitious. 1 am in prison, and in want of 
 every thing but your prayers ; as an equivalent 
 for which, send me fifty piastres. They can- 
 not be bestowed on one in greater need of them 
 than your ill-starred friend, All" 
 
 "That very evening the Dervish had a reply 
 from the Astrologer ; these were the contents : — 
 
 " My son, I have no ill-starred friends. The 
 cry of a chastised child is no proof of parental 
 malice. 1 do not blame you, that you repine at 
 what you cannot prevent : why should I ! I 
 only grieve that heaven has not endowed you 
 with a better understanding. I heard of you 
 when you were prosperous, but you did not 
 come to me, nor did I then choose to be your
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 16T 
 
 seeker. But now that you are in poverty, and 
 in a prison, I see no reason why I should con- 
 trol my wishes : if it please the stars, I shall 
 visit you to-morrow. I rejoice you did not ask 
 me for one piastre beyond the fifty, for I should 
 be sorry to refuse you any thing at such a time. 
 Your demand has emptied the purse, but not 
 diminished the friendship, of Abou Rassed." 
 
 The Dervish''s own hand counted down the 
 ransom of the Greek ; the gaoler asked him if 
 he were mad to strip himself of his last paras 
 for the soul of an infidel. 
 
 " I hate the giaours in my heart," replied 
 the Dervish, " in the day of their prosperity, 
 but in the night of adversity they are to be 
 tolerated as the children of Allah : and a com- 
 munity of suffering may even present them to 
 our hearts in the relation of step- brothers." 
 
 The charm which had long linked the Dervish 
 and the Greek was unriveted. The former 
 dragged the clanking fetters at his heels to his 
 dungeon, as the latter was led to the door; he 
 did not wait to see him pass the threshold, for 
 he was ashamed of the tears which trickled
 
 168 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 do\vn his face; he hid himself in his now 
 sohtary cell, while his companion, with the light 
 step and the heedless heart of a Greek ray ah, 
 was turning to the home whose insecurity was 
 unfelt or little cared for. 
 
 In the mean time few changes had taken 
 place in the family of Suleiman : the Aga had 
 continued to ravage his district, Achniet was 
 still the willing agent of his master's passions, 
 but he was about quitting Bournarbashi, being 
 rewarded for all his zeal in the service of 
 Suleiman, with an appointment in the customs 
 of Candia, for which Island he was to set out 
 the following month. The two boys had grown 
 apace, and time had cemented their hatred ; 
 the little Zuleika had become a blooming girl, 
 and every day of sunshine that expanded a 
 petal of the budding rose, put a thorn in the 
 temper of Yussuf's mother. 
 
 Things were in this state, when Suleiman re- 
 ceived intelligence that Michelaki had arrived at 
 the Dardanelles, and was intriguing against him 
 with the Cadi and governor of that place. It 
 appeared that the Greek had as yet no certainty 
 of the fate of his wife ; the worst he knew was.
 
 THE MUSSULiMAN. 169 
 
 Moslem Governor had adopted his little boy, and 
 called him his ahret ogU, or child of another 
 life. Suleiman lost no time in dispatching 
 Achmet, to endeavour by every possible means 
 to persuade the rayah that his wife was in ex- 
 istence, and should be delivered, with her child, 
 into the hands of her husband, whenever he 
 appeared. The crafty agent proceeded on his 
 perfidious mission ; he delivered the lying mes- 
 sage of his master, he pressed the necessity of 
 Michelaki's immediate return, he called him his 
 dear friend, and asked him had he not been a 
 true friend to his family during his absentee ? 
 The Greek shrugged up his shoulders ; Achmet 
 made him drunk, and talked about the descen- 
 dants of Themistocles. Michelaki followed 
 like a lamb, but not before the agent of villainy 
 called down his Apostle from the heavens, 
 (query, did he come ?) to Avitness the love he 
 bore his friend, whom he now led to destruc- 
 tion, avoiding as much as possible all conver- 
 sation about his wife, and shifting the discourse 
 as often as he could do so without exciting sus- 
 picion. ]Michelaki was sober as soon as he found 
 himself in the presence of the Aga ; but his 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 THE MUSSULMAM. 
 
 hesitating step and trembling salaam evinced 
 his fears, and it was only when Suleiman en- 
 couraged him with his perfidious smile, and 
 made mention of his wife and child, that the 
 recollection of the villainy which had separated 
 him from both flashed across his mind. While 
 he bowed his body to the dust, and stooped 
 like an abject slave to kiss the garment of his 
 enemy, indignation struggled in his throat for 
 utterance, and vengeance lurked in the glance 
 which duplicity itself could not subdue. He 
 had yet no absolute certainty of the fate of his 
 poor Avife; various reports were spread abroad : 
 some said that she was dead, others that she 
 had been seen in Stamboul, and some even 
 affirmed that she jvas yet an inmate of the 
 harem. No sooner did he approach the door, 
 than the Aga addressed him in the most con- 
 descending maimer. 
 
 " Ah, is it you, my son !" he cried, mo- 
 tioning INIichelaki to release the robe he was 
 pressing to his lips, (a mark of great kindness 
 to an inferior,) — " how has it l)een with you .? 
 have you been fortunate and happy ? doubtless 
 you have : thank God ! ISlashalla ! Providence
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 171 
 
 has been kind to you. I am told you have 
 fought hke a true believer ; the Sultan in his 
 mercy (glory to his house !) has suffered you to 
 trample on the enemies of God's Prophet ; to 
 shed the accursed blood of the eaters of pork 
 and drinkers of wine. Mashallah, how won- 
 derful is Providence ! 
 
 " I have been a father to your family since 
 your departure ; they have eaten my biead, — 
 and why not ? does it not all come from Hea- 
 ven ? and is it not our duty to feed the very 
 dogs, much more our poor rayahs ? Poor 
 Giaours, when they pay the haratch tax, the Pro- 
 phet, blessed be his beard ! tells us it is not 
 only unlawful to kill them, but it is even com- 
 mendable to throw them the crumbs from our 
 table. God is most merciful ! By-and-by you 
 must see your family. That little boy of yours 
 is fit to be the son of a true believer : I love 
 him as I do my own child, but I suppose you 
 must have him .'* Well, there is no help, but you 
 must let me see the little Kafir often. I fear 
 he is now asleep, so you had better come in the 
 morning and take away your family. (Miche- 
 laki sighed — To-morrow!) Inshallah! if it please 
 
 I 2
 
 172 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 God. You look fatigued ; go along and sit 
 down with my honest Arnaouts to supper ; you 
 are all Roumi, true Greeks : their fare is home- 
 ly, but bread and salt is a holy feast under a 
 friendly roof." 
 
 " It is, EfFendi," said the Greek, with em- 
 phasis. 
 
 " Get along, eat and drink, and to-morrow 
 you shall be merry with your family. Let him 
 have a cup of coffee, Achmet, or even tw^o, if 
 he desire it." 
 
 Michelaki shuddered, his voice faltered ; 
 " Too much honour," he replied, " for the 
 lowest of your slaves ; too much kindness, 
 Effendi, to the poorest of your rayahs ; I 
 cannot eat, my heart is full ; your words, Ef- 
 fendi, have been to me meat and drink : I pri- 
 thee let me go, but not without my child, my 
 wife too, EfFendi — oh no, not without the mo- 
 ther of my child, EfFendi." 
 
 Michelaki was too emphatic in the latter 
 part of his entreaty, his lip quivered, and 
 his features shrank ; the hands he stretched 
 forth in the attitude of supplication were 
 clenched : one could fancy he heard the throb-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 173 
 
 bing of his heart : his head was boAved, but his 
 eye was not humbled ; it rested on Suleiman, 
 and its searching glance penetrated the flinty 
 bosom of the despot. — "I said, my wife, 
 EfFendi," repeated Michelaki, "my virtuous, 
 beautiful Emineh ! I pray thee, let me be- 
 hold her now, this night, most excellent Ef- 
 fendi ; you surely would not keep the wife of 
 your poor servant, of one who is like the worm 
 you would scorn to trample, from the arms of 
 her long absent husband till the morning. Oh 
 no, your excellency is too noble, too merciful, 
 too magnanimous !" 
 
 " Staffer Allah !" cried Suleiman, lifting his 
 two hands above his head, " I keep you from 
 your wife ! Heaven forbid ! Are you wise, in- 
 fidel.'' or have you drunk the hot majoun 
 which makes men mad ? have you smoked 
 the wild hashis which intoxicates the brain ? 
 God's above all, there is no gratitude on 
 earth ! Go, infidel, eat with my servants, un- 
 worthy as you are of such an honour ; and take 
 the beggars from my house this night, Avhom I 
 had the charity to feed when you were far 
 away. Go, dog, from my sight ; never let me
 
 174 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 see you after this night !"" The Aga flung out 
 of the room in apparent choler with the Greek ; 
 and the first smile which rippled on the latter's 
 check, burst over it at the glimpse of hope 
 which the last words of the governor imparted. 
 Achmet congratulated him on his speedy pro- 
 spect of happiness, and silenced all his excuses 
 as he hurried him off to the servant's supper ; 
 there Michelaki was regaled, nialgre lui, with 
 a savory pilau, smothered in yaourt or sour 
 milk : the very sight of such a dish was suffi- 
 cient to make any oriental mouth water. Mi- 
 chelaki first tasted a little for politeness, then 
 for pleasure ; his spirits revived as he feasted ; 
 the rakee bottle went round ; the Arnaouts sang 
 intei'minable songs about Scanderbeg and Bur- 
 rhous, Anglice Pyrrhus, the two great heroes 
 of Epirus ; and in the course of half an hour, 
 the oppressed rayah was merged in the drunken 
 patriot ; the individual wrongs of the Greek 
 were forgotten, and nothing but the glories of 
 Palaeologus were remembered. Coffee was pre- 
 sented to the guest ; he liked it not, but it 
 would be an insult to refuse it ; it would be 
 to suspect the faith of his host : he sipped a
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 175 
 
 little, and then by some accident the cup was 
 upset : a second was called for, he vowed he 
 would not take anotlier drop ; but his worthy 
 friend Achmet would hear of no excuse ; " there 
 was plenty of coffee, thank God ! then why not 
 drink it ?" He had another cup set before him, 
 and Michelaki got no peace till he swallowed 
 it : he said it was a little burnt, and he made 
 some wry faces ; he asked his friend Achmet to 
 taste what he had left, but Achmet thought it 
 needless to do so, for all the coffee had the same 
 burnt flavour ; but malesh ! it was of no conse- 
 quence. Michelaki did not think so, for he 
 rose abruptly and left the house without asking 
 one word about his wife or child. He hurried 
 to his own dwelling, some horrible fancy filled 
 his mind ; he ran to a neighbouring house for 
 assistance, but some deadly terror, or desperate 
 sickness rendered him inarticulate when he got 
 there ; he pointed to a cup, he grasped his 
 vitals as if he suffered unbearable tortures; 
 the leaden hue of death was on his cheeks al- 
 ready, and visible in his glaring eye; he writhed 
 for a few hours in mortal anguish, he groaned 
 the name of Suleiman, and his livid lips were
 
 176 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 moved, but whether it was a blessing or a curse 
 that was winged on his last breath to the throne 
 of justice, no one could distinguish. He ex- 
 pired in convulsions, whose frightful workings 
 were terrible to behold ; and the shocked spec- 
 tators were at length glad to see the wretched 
 man released from such cruel suffering. In a 
 country like Turkey, where every individual is 
 endowed with a lively sentiment of the inse- 
 curity of human life, a sudden death is a very 
 ordinary occurrence, and therefore not a very 
 awful one. 
 
 The Aga had no doubt, from the nature of 
 the melancholy particulars he had heard, but 
 that poor Michelaki had died of apoplexy ; he 
 feared he had been too much addicted to rakee; 
 too intemperate an infidel ; but it was to be ; 
 his end was written in the eternal book, and 
 when the angel of death flapped his sable wings 
 over his house, who was there impious enough 
 to dare to scrutinize the wonderful mysteries 
 of Providence, or to repine at the decrees of 
 Heaven ? No Moslem was impious enough to 
 question the justice of such remarks, and no
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 177 
 
 Greek was foolish enough to sound a suspicion 
 on his tongue of the motives which directed the 
 application of such doctrines. In a little time 
 the fate of Michelaki was forgotten ; the past 
 was buried in silence, if not in oblivion, for the 
 present was seldom without its theme of ty- 
 ranny or terror. The Aga went on in the en- 
 joyment of his petty government as he had 
 done before ; he ate and drank the substance 
 of the surrounding peasantry, and slept well. 
 In his official and domestic relations, there was 
 no better pattern of a perfect Turkish governor 
 and gentleman : he sent presents to the harems 
 of his patrons at the Porte ; he furnished the 
 public Miri with the regular taxes of his dis- 
 trict ; he was indulgent to his wives, humane 
 to his slaves, affectionate to his children, and 
 generous to his soldiers ; no stricter observer 
 of the ramazan ; no more regular performer of 
 the five prayers ; and none, save the unfor- 
 tunate peasantry he governed, and the rayahs 
 he oppressed, had reason to speak of his injus- 
 tice or rapacity ; and what respectable ear ever 
 hearkened to the complaint of the husbandman 
 
 I 5
 
 178 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 in Turkey? In short, no ruler had a more 
 respectable reputation than the Aga of Bour- 
 narbashi, and no true believer slumbered away 
 his life in the enjoyment of a more quiet con- 
 science, constituted as such things are in Tur- 
 key, than Suleiman Aga.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 179 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Sir, I praise the Lord for you, and so may my pa- 
 rishioners ; for their sons are well tutored by you. 
 
 Love's Labour Lost. 
 
 In due time, the two little gentlemen, Yus- 
 suf and Mourad, were sent to school ; they had 
 arrived at that age when the beauty and grace 
 of boyhood are lost in the mawkish diffidence 
 and awkwardness of the stripling state. Up to 
 this period the affection of Turkish parents for 
 their lovely offspring is unbounded. They 
 accustom them to every species of indulgence ; 
 they impose no restraint on their young and 
 innocent desires. Yussuf and his brother were, 
 if possible, more indulged, and consequently 
 sooner spoiled than the children of their neigh- 
 bours. They were lovely little fellows ; their
 
 180 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 beautiful tresses fell in ringlets over their 
 shoulders ; their flowing an tars were of the 
 richest cloth of gold, from the Aleppo loom. 
 The variety of colours in the jebbi and sherwall 
 vied with those of the rainbow, and were min- 
 gled with no vulgar taste. In the harem, each 
 little favourite was daily decked out in all the 
 finery of the fair houries of the Aga. The 
 gems of Samarcand were lavished on the toilet 
 of children ; the pearls of Kolsoum were pur- 
 chased for the playthings of infants; but 
 when they grew a little older, their reign was 
 over in the harem ; they were regularly sent to 
 the day-school of Bournarbashi, whose miser- 
 able mosques, unlike those of the capital, had 
 no Medresses, or public college, attached to 
 them. 
 
 A poor blind Muezzin was the pedagogue 
 who followed the various occupations of calling 
 the faithful to prayers five times a day ; of 
 medicating wounds, even where Machaon plied 
 " his art divine;" and of flogging the know- 
 ledge of the true Prophet, and the mercy of 
 the true God, into the souls of the little Mos- 
 lems, through the medium of their skins. No
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 181 
 
 urchin is flagellated without the prefatory Bis- 
 millah — "In the name of the most merciful 
 God." The schoolmaster was little abroad in 
 the village of Bournarbashi ; being bhnd, the 
 worthy Muezzin stayed as much at home as his 
 avocations would permit. His academy was an 
 open shop in the bazaar, where the future phi- 
 losophers of Troy were disposed on a shop- 
 board to the inspection of passengers, like the 
 inanimate commodities of the surrounding 
 stalls. There the two sons of the Aga of 
 Bournarbashi were seen squatted on a mat, 
 with a crowd of little greasy urchins, the sons 
 of the village barbers, tailors, and shoemakers, 
 jumbled together without any distinction in a 
 circle round their blind instructor. The Muez- 
 zin's son taught the more insignificant parts of 
 education : to wit, reading and writing. But 
 the higher accomplishments, of repeating the 
 Koran, of learning the namez, of recollecting 
 the ninety-nine names of God, these leading 
 branches of erudition the blind old man wisely 
 entrusted to no other teacher. The flogging 
 department, too, he reserved to himself; his 
 extraordinary tact enabled him to wield the
 
 182 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 ferula with unerring accuracy. He knew every 
 gradation of pain by the peculiar cry of the 
 truant ; and the painful necessity of castigating 
 children, which is so thorough a gratification 
 to the choler of the pedagogues of all countries, 
 gratified his ear. The attention of the unwary 
 passenger, as he passed the academic stall, 
 itever failed to be arrested by the deafening 
 hum of the school-hive. There sat the sons of 
 Islam, squatted on a dirty mat, rocking their 
 bodies to and fro; their eyes fixed on a piece 
 of painted deal, which served for a slate, held 
 between their knees, and on which was traced 
 perhaps a chapter of the Koran, to be learned 
 by rote. Every student read his task aloud, 
 in a monotonous sing-song tone ; and, amidst 
 the Babel of confused sounds which over- 
 whelmed the tympanum, how it was possible 
 for the distracted pedagogue to understand the 
 instruction he intended to convey, and which it 
 appeared impossible to hear, it was very dif- 
 ficult to conceive. 
 
 The entire education both of poor and rich 
 was the same ; all were instructed in reading the 
 Koran, in transcribing it on the board, and in
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 183 
 
 learning it by heart ; in practising the most 
 approved postures of praying, and methods of 
 abkition, of sitting on one's heels and covering 
 the tips of the fingers in the presence of a 
 superior, of immerging only the first joint of 
 the fore-finger and thumb like gentlemen into 
 a dish of pilau, or any other fashionable viand. 
 Having passed a couple of years at this ele- 
 mentary school, a learned Eff'endi of Stamboul, 
 who was exiled for some political offence, found 
 a shelter under the roof of his old friend, the 
 Aga of Bournarbashi. He endeavoured to 
 evince his gratitude to his benefactor, by per- 
 fecting the education of his sons in the learn- 
 ing which is only taught in the colleges of the 
 capital. This consisted in a thorough know- 
 ledge of the Turkish grammar ; a smattering of 
 the Arabic and Persian tongues ; an acquaint- 
 ance with the principal Oriental poets, and the 
 possession of an elegant style of writing ; the 
 merit of which consists in cramming the largest 
 number of quotations from the Arabic and 
 Persian poets into the smallest given space in 
 all official letters and diplomatic docviments. 
 The young gentlemen were, likewise, taught to
 
 184 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 read the Koran in the original Koreish ; which, 
 like the Coptic, is still read, but no longer un- 
 derstood. They were initiated into the mys- 
 teries of Turkish theology, concerning the 
 incomprehensible title of " the chapters of the 
 perspicuous book" the Koran : on which sub- 
 ject alone, nine hundred excellent commentaries 
 have been written, and ought to be read by 
 every gentleman who aspires to the name of 
 Effendi, or qualifies himself for the profes- 
 sion of a lawyer, a divine, or a Ulema, who 
 is both. But the one great doctrine of Islam, 
 was never lost sight of in the attainment of 
 Turkish knowledge; it was the Alpha and 
 Omega of all instruction, the object and the 
 end of all erudition : namely, the sacred neces- 
 sity of promoting the glory of God on earth, 
 and the honour of his Apostle on high, by 
 exterminating the common enemy of both, 
 the unbeliever. This pious doctrine was in- 
 stilled into their infant minds, it grew with 
 their growth, it acquired stability with their 
 strength ; and the first manifestation of the pre- 
 mature ambition of their young hearts, which 
 elicited a parental chuckle at the developement
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 185 
 
 of manly courage, was the longing they ex- 
 pressed to steep their little swords in the blood 
 of the abominable giaours. Poor little Mou- 
 rad's eye glistened with delight when Svdeiman 
 would tell him he should one day be a soldier, 
 and slay all the Roumi in the country ; while 
 INIaster Yussuf was consoled with the higher 
 promise of being an Aga of a large village. 
 The heart of the little Moslem was made to 
 dance with joy at the prospect of levying con- 
 tributions on his vassals, and inflicting avanias 
 on his rayahs. The young gentleman dreamt 
 of realizing his golden dreams, before he was 
 twelve years old. Already he began to extract 
 paras from the pockets of the poor little Greeks 
 in the neighbourhood, and to trounce them 
 soundly, when they ventured to complain. On 
 one occasion, a young rayah, more sturdy than 
 his companions, resisted the violence of his 
 young lord, the EiFendi. Fatal resistance! — 
 the little tyrant drew his handjar, — no child of 
 distinction goes abroad unarmed, — and laid open 
 the shoulder of the poor Greek boy. Mourad, 
 to his shame be it spoken, was abetting his 
 brother in his unjust demand; but even a
 
 186 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 Turkish education had not extinguished all 
 the generous feelings of youth : the instant he 
 witnessed the cruel blow, he flew on his cow- 
 ardly companion, wrested the bloody weapon 
 from his hand, and smashing the blade across 
 his knee, he flung the fragments in his brother's 
 face. Yussuf vowed vengeance for the insult, 
 but he dared not lift his hand to execute his 
 threat : he wanted not the will, he possessed 
 sufiicient strength, but Mourad had an ascen- 
 dancy over his spirits, which he tacitly acknow- 
 ledged without knowing why or wherefore, and 
 he hated his brother in his heart for the advan- 
 tage. Mourad stood bolt up before him, ready 
 to tear his turban into flitters, if he attempted 
 to repeat an epithet, which he bestowed on him 
 in his fury. " Call me not a Kafir, Yussuf," 
 he exclaimed, " or the son of a Kafir, or by my 
 father's beard, I '11 serve you worse than you 
 even used that poor dog of a Christian." 
 
 " I did not call you Kafir,"' said Yussuf, 
 " I called you a pessavink, a scoundrel, and you 
 know you are one : what is it to you if I killed 
 the giaour .^" 
 
 " Not much," said Mourad, " but he 's not
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 187 
 
 even your own size, and he had no knife in his 
 -girdle, and therefore you were a spiritless dog- 
 to strike him." 
 
 Yussuf began muttering all the most approv- 
 ed invectives of the language, but he retreated 
 as he elevated his voice ; and Mourad, instead 
 of noticing him, attended to the little howling 
 Greek, whose arm was bleeding profusely, and 
 round it he bound his own handkerchief, for- 
 getting, in his zeal, that it was an embroidered 
 one belonging to Yussuf 's mother, which she 
 valued highly. He gave the poor boy a hand- 
 ful of paras, and then thought himself privi- 
 leged to abuse the obstinate rascal, as he called 
 him, for daring to offer any resistance to a true 
 believer. 
 
 " You were a ray ah once yourself," said the 
 boy sobbing, " and so were your father and 
 mother too, and they would not like, if they 
 were alive, to hear you call yourself a true 
 believer." 
 
 Mourad would have given the little giaour 
 a kick or two for his insolence, if it had not been 
 for his wounded arm. As it was, he bestowed 
 a few curses on his creed, and returned to the
 
 188 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 khan. On his arrival, he was summoned to 
 the presence of the Aga, to answer the com- 
 plaint of master Yussuf. The latter had the 
 advantage of a first statement and a bloody 
 nose, from the violence of the blow of the 
 broken blade. Mourad had nothing to oppose 
 but a plain and artless story, and it carried 
 the day even with the Aga of Bounarbashi. 
 
 " Yussuf," he said, " had no right to 
 strike the rayah with his sword ; it was for 
 him to smite offending giaours; but Mourad 
 was not blameless in openly espousing the 
 quarrel of an infidel. It had been better if he 
 had merely prevented the blow, and done 
 nothing more." A stranger who had only wit- 
 nessed the oppression of a Turkish governor 
 might have marvelled at the justice of Sulei- 
 man's decision ; but he must have been imper- 
 fectly acquainted with the Turkish character, if 
 he imagined that the despot of Bounarbashi 
 did not belong to a very numerous class of 
 Turkish gentlemen, who are seldom if ever un- 
 necessarily wanton in cruelty, and who never 
 perpetrate an atrocity without what they deem 
 a just and necessary cause. Suleiman more-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 189 
 
 over was as just and impartial a governor of 
 his family, as he was a rapacious ruler of his 
 district. If he showed any favour to either of 
 his children, it was towards his adopted son. 
 The father of the boy who had been hurt, 
 had the folly to appear before the Aga with 
 a complaint against his son ; he got nothing 
 for his pains but a torrent of abuse, and was 
 even threatened with the bastinado for the 
 insolence of his boy. He was minutely ques- 
 tioned about the conduct of Mourad; and in 
 the course of the investigation the aiFair of the 
 paras and the handkerchief transpired, and 
 this circumstance, which Mourad had concealed, 
 vexed the Aga more than all the i*est. The 
 Greek was glad to be permitted to retire un- 
 punished ; but Mourad was destined to receive 
 the harshest rebuke he had yet heard from the 
 Aga's lips. 
 
 " So you gave all your money to the infidel !" 
 said Sulieman, in a haughty tone, " and the 
 white handkerchief which you wore for a 
 turban. The distinguishing honour of a Mos- 
 lem''s head, you thought of so little value as to 
 make a present of it to a dog of a Christian.
 
 190 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 You did not think it necessary to tell me you 
 had given this to an infidel. Oh no ! I begin 
 to fear, in spite of all the pains I have taken 
 with your education, tliat you are little better 
 than a Kafir after all. Quit my sight ! I '11 
 listen to no excuses."" 
 
 The word Kafir vibrated on the ear of 
 Mourad long after he left the apartment ; and 
 the memory of it thrilled through his proud 
 heart for many a long month after his offence 
 had been forgotten. He knew that his mother 
 was a Greek, and that she was dead, but he was 
 totally ignorant of her story. He sometimes 
 doubted if Suleiman were his father, but duty 
 and education taught him to revere his suppos- 
 ed parent, and to reverence the religion he had 
 been brought up in the belief of. But why he 
 should be stigmatized witli the opprobrious 
 epithet of Kafir, a name which is the abomina- 
 tion of the true believer and only given to the 
 vilest of the Giaours, he could not imagine. 
 The mysterious language of the women of the 
 harem now daily caused him to question this 
 real claim to the parental affections of the Aga. 
 Most of those who knew the fate of Michelaki
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 191 
 
 Avere no longer in the khan, and those who 
 remained and were acquainted with the truth 
 were too wise to reveal their master's secret. 
 
 Some mystery, he eventually suspected, himg 
 over his birth, but the nature of it he had no 
 means of penetrating, and he thought, perhaps, 
 it might be of little service to his fortunes to 
 give himself the trouble of finding out the 
 secret. His situation became, however, daily 
 more irksome ; he was continually embroiled in 
 quarrels with his wily brother, for between 
 them there was no feeling in common except 
 that of deadly hate. The mother of Yussuf, 
 too, looked upon Mourad with no friendly eye. 
 In him she saw the rival of her son, and the 
 favourite of his father ; and she needed no better 
 reason to take every occasion of prejudicing him 
 in the affection of her husband, and ultimately, 
 she hoped, of ruining him altogether in his 
 esteem.
 
 192 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The edge of the bower is filled with the light of 
 Ahmed ; among the plants, the fortunate tulips represent 
 his companions. Come, O people of Mahomet, this is 
 the season of merriment; be cheerful, be full of mirth, 
 for the Spring passes soon away ; it w ill not last. 
 
 Mesihi. 
 
 MouRAD felt keenly the misery of living 
 under the roof of an unkind hostess. He had 
 now arrived at that time of life when the ingenu- 
 ous bosom is most alive to insult and impa- 
 tient of injustice. The pompous ceremony had 
 been already gone through vv^hich marks the 
 entrance of the young Moslem into civil life : 
 when he publicly professes the glorious faith 
 of Islam, renounces the puerile occupations of 
 boyhood, parts with his flowing locks, escapes 
 from the thraldom of the harem, and is suffered
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 193 
 
 to swagger to the Cafe and the Mosque, bearded 
 like a pard and accoutred Hke a bandit. 
 
 The sudden metamorphose of the long-haired 
 youth into the bald and turbaned Turk is equi- 
 valent to the transition which took place in 
 Ancient Rome, when the manly gown conferred 
 the honour of maturity on the stripling, and 
 the Capitol was the scene of the sublunary 
 apotheosis which in later times is performed in 
 a mosque. This universal Oriental ceremony, 
 whose antiquity was of an ancient date in days of 
 yore, perhaps before the Hebrews sanctioned the 
 Egvptian custom by adoption, is still observed 
 with all the splendour of Eastern magnificence. 
 
 Mourad and Yussuf were made responsible 
 agents of civil life, and partakers in the pro- 
 mises of the law of Islam, the same day. It 
 was a day of joy and feasting ; (he uncles and 
 cousins of the women of the harem were suffered, 
 to pay a short visit to the relatives whom they 
 had not seen for a year before. The Aga gave 
 each wife a new piece of Damascene, each ser- 
 vant a new turban, each soldier an additional 
 mess of rice, and each of his happy slaves a 
 new pair of yellow pay)oushes. 
 
 VOL. L K
 
 194 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 The serfs of the Aga on the other hand, who 
 cursed in their hearts the happy day, sent cus- 
 tomary tokens of their love and loyalty to their 
 master ; and woe be to him who sent an insuffi- 
 cient present ! Within the walls of the harem 
 the ear-piercing cries of the joyous women were 
 heard confounded witli the wild melody of the 
 Turkish lute and tambourine, not musical, but 
 most melancholy. Indeed the same shrill hov/1 
 serves a Moslem lady for the expression of the 
 opposite ecstasies of joy and sorrow. The dan- 
 cing girls were heard beating time with their 
 little hands to " the faint exquisite music ' of the 
 lute, and the imagination of the ravished lis- 
 teners was suffered to pourtray every languish- 
 ing movement in the voluptuous mazes of the 
 dance. Without, after the return from the 
 mosque, festivities prevailed amongst all. The 
 Ao-a feasted his friends on half a hundred dishes 
 in succession, commencing with the dessert, and 
 ending with the soup. Then adjourning to 
 another apartment with the chosen few who 
 were above the prejudices of the vulgar, and 
 below the suspicion of sobriety, the Turkish 
 refections of the Gods began. The rakee-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 195 
 
 bottle, filled with the delectable spirits of Scio, 
 the nectar of the Ottomans, was laid upon the 
 table, but not before the pious guests washed 
 their hands and beards, and turned to the East 
 and prayed. " Wine," said Suleiman, " was 
 wisely forbidden to the true believers ; if we 
 drank it in common, should we not be like the 
 people of Franguestan? (perdition to their race!) 
 but rakee, my sons, is not wine, therefore we 
 may drink it." 
 
 " Undoubtedly wine is not spirits,"" cried 
 every observer of the law. " Neither,"" con- 
 tinued Suleiman, emptying the bottle in a 
 single round, " is wine in itself a bad thing; 
 it is the intoxication which is bad. The Pro- 
 phet (may his name be exalted !) never said, 
 True believers, you must eat no grapes ; no such 
 thing. ' True believers,*' said the Apostle, ' you 
 must drink no wine,' that is to say, you must 
 not become drunken like the giaours. The 
 sin is in the quantity, not the quality of the 
 liquor. The prohibition is then intended for 
 the ignorant and the uneducated, but who is 
 there here who would make himself a beast .'' 
 
 no man."" 
 
 K 2
 
 196 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 " Mill Allah !'' exclaimed all. " God for- 
 bid ! God forbid !" But one old man with a 
 green turban, a descendant of the Prophet, who 
 appeared already fuddled, protested strongly 
 against the impropreity of getting drunk on 
 wine, or, indeed, of tasting it at all. The Aga 
 poured the last drop of the rakee into the glass 
 of his scrupulous friend, and then produced a 
 bottle of the forbidden juice of the permitted 
 fruit, delicious old Cyprus, not quite so sweet 
 as treacle, but almost as thick. The convivial 
 party sat till morning, doing honour to the 
 solemn occasion by discussing many bottles of 
 wine, which none but Turkish stomachs could 
 retain ; and very many abstruse topics of dis- 
 course, which none but Turkish philosophers 
 could handle with adequate absurdity. The 
 two happy youths in the mean wliile were 
 snoring for the first time outside the walls of 
 the harem, dreaming of swords and pistols, 
 horses and fine clothes ; visits to Stamboul, 
 and pilgrimages to Mecca ; of harems on earth, 
 and houries in Heaven ; and all the other joys 
 of that heaven upon earth, and of this earth in 
 heaven
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 197 
 
 " But MoLirad's visions were more terres- 
 trial than otherwise. The image of a lovely 
 maiden in the adjoining harem, with ringlets 
 like the plumage of the raven, and eyes like 
 those of the gazelle, with a form like the slen- 
 der javelin, and a bosom hke the calix of the 
 white rose, full of beauty, and the receptacle 
 of all sweetness, filled his imagination with 
 that species of ecstasy, which is called love. 
 But when he fancied he heard the object of 
 his idolatry call him by the name of brother, 
 he shuddered in his sleep; but suddenly a 
 hideous gowl seemed to point its horid finger 
 at a phantom, and to say, Behold your father ! 
 Many such dreams harassed the peace of poor 
 Mourad, and often sent him from his bed more 
 weary and wretched, than when he laid him 
 down. The ties which bound him to the fail 
 daughter of Suleiman, he long believed were 
 those of nature, but the sentiment had grown 
 into a passion, and the mystery in which his 
 early history Avas involved had nurtured its 
 seeds, and now he liad to struggle with an at- 
 tachment at which his soul revolted; for it 
 sprang from the hebbat al calb, " the very
 
 198 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 grain of the heart," and could no longer be 
 mistaken. Tlie words of the little Greek boy, 
 which had given him so much offence, though 
 spoken some years ago, were now frequently 
 recalled. The oyiprobrious epithet of Kafir 
 not unfrequently bestowed, and the strange in- 
 nuendoes of the mother of Yussuf in moments 
 of anger, were treasured in his bosom. Instead 
 of being; treated with the indifference he for- 
 merly manifested, they were now the all-ab- 
 sorbing subjects of his meditations, and were 
 tortured into proofs of the invalidity of Sulei- 
 man's claims to his affections as his child. The 
 father of the Greek boy, he imagined, must be 
 acquainted with the secret, and he only awaited 
 his return from the fleet the ensuing winter, 
 " to pluck out the heart of his mystery" from 
 the breast of the ray ah, even if it were neces- 
 sary with the sw^ord.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 199 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 "When she comes forth, she eclipses the sun in splen- 
 dour; she moves with the suppleness of the slender 
 
 javelin. 
 
 Ebn El Wardi. 
 
 In the harems of the middle classes of so_ 
 ciety, the unmarried sons have commonly ac- 
 cess to the apartments of the women, so long as 
 they remain under the paternal roof. They 
 very often take their meals with them, as the 
 dignity of the lord of the harem admits not of 
 his eating with his wives or children ; neither 
 have they the privilege of being seated in his 
 presence. Mourad had therefore the entree of 
 the harem, and every time he visited it, he left 
 its sacred precincts with another unerring shaft 
 in his bosom, shot from the deadly level of a 
 soft black eye. Zuleika was the daughter of
 
 £00 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 Suleiman, by a Circassian slave, who, having 
 been publicly manumitted before the Cadi, 
 took her station among the free wives of the 
 harem, and had the gratification of seeing her 
 child possessed of all the privileges of a legal 
 offspring. Zuleika was two years younger than 
 Mourad ; they were brought up together, and 
 they quarrelled less tlian step-children com- 
 monly do ; not that there was any great mu- 
 tuality of minds manifested in the nursery, but 
 as they grew up, there was some community of 
 feeling perhaps produced by the circumstance 
 of both children being equally obnoxious to 
 the sovereign lady of the harem, the mother of 
 Yussuf. She looked upon them as intruders, 
 who had been smuggled into the favour of the 
 Aga, expressly, as she believed, to interfere 
 with the prospects of her son. Mourad and 
 his little playmate had a common interest in 
 defeating, as far as possible, the malevolence of 
 the Queen-mother, by making Master Yussuf 
 accountable for his own mischief, which he 
 generally endeavoured to throw on the shoulders 
 of his young companions. This was the first 
 link of their union, and it would be needless to
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 201 
 
 trace every other which connected the chain of 
 their affections till they arrived at a mature 
 age, and the first fond hopes of their young 
 hearts were bound together. Zuleika was now 
 in her sixteenth year; in the language of the 
 East, beautiful as the moon, and, like that pale 
 planet, living on the light of her brother's coun- 
 tenance. The gorgeous and magnificent cha- 
 racter of Circassian loveliness was displayed in 
 her symmetrical form and splendid features. 
 Her beautifully rounded limbs, the fulness of 
 her languid eye, and the ripeness of her rosy 
 lips, forming a contrast Avith the colour of her 
 complexion, were the characteristic charms of a 
 blooming Oriental girl, such as Titian might 
 have painted, and Moore immortalized in verse. 
 Her long hair fell in voluptuous profusion on 
 her shoulders, from the silver gauze which went 
 round the head, interwoven with her ringlets ; 
 while her flowing garments of spangled Dama- 
 scene betrayed the talent of the artiste, who 
 fashioned the vesture to the shape, which never 
 suffered the constraint of a corsette ; for such 
 an implement of torture is unknown in Turkey. 
 The pretty yellow slippered foot, and well- 
 
 K 5
 
 202 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 turned ankle, in the hosiery of Nature, stole 
 in and out like mice beneath the ample folds of 
 those lower garments, which we seldom see ex- 
 hibited in this country, except by ladies on the 
 stage, and then in a very scanty form. Her 
 majestic gait was common to all her country- 
 women, on whom the toilet imposes no con- 
 straint, and whose movements are consequently 
 easy and elegant, because they are natural, and 
 very different from the constrained and arti- 
 ficial carriage of our European belles, the bu- 
 siness of whose French posture-masters is to 
 outrage Nature in every attitude and move- 
 ment. The Turkish female costume is advan- 
 tageous to a fine figure, and yet is so calcu- 
 lated to make the most of an indifferent one, 
 that probably Zuleika would have done little 
 honour to the skill of Madame le Roi in Paris, 
 or even to the divine devices of Mrs. Bell, in 
 St. James's Place. But although she might 
 have been eclipsed in a ball-room by the blush- 
 ing beauties of Franguestan, Zuleika was a 
 lovely creature to see moving, like a little em- 
 press in the harem, or seated on a divan, in all 
 the elegant indolence of a Turkish lady, " her
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 203 
 
 11 
 
 eyes full of sleep, and her heart full of passion 
 and beauty in perpetual repose on the volup- 
 tuous velvet of her cheek. If her person was 
 larger for her years than that of a European 
 girl, her figure was not less graceful, and the 
 absence of the rose in her complexion, which 
 sun or storm had never been permitted to visit 
 too roughly, offended not the eye with the indi- 
 cation of constitutional robustness. In other 
 climes the pallor of the female cheek is generally 
 the painful evidence of impaired health, but in 
 Zuleika's country, the delicate transparency of 
 the unstained cheek is the natural complexion 
 of the enshrined beauty of the harem, though 
 softened perhaps not a little by the too frequent 
 use of the bath. In large cities the premature 
 decay of female beauty is to be mainly attribu- 
 ted to this cause ; but in the village of Bour- 
 narbashi Zuleika^s charms were in little danger 
 of deterioration from the abuse of this indul- 
 gence of the ladies of the capital. There was 
 no public bath nearer than the Dardanelles, 
 and consequently there was less intrigue in the 
 district than might otherwise have been. Zulei- 
 ka was not only lovely to the eye, but sweet to
 
 204 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 the sense ; her disposition was all gentleness, and 
 her affection was of a constant and noble nature. 
 The little tyrant of the heart never fixed his 
 throne on a more feminine bosom. She loved 
 her brother with such fondness as became a 
 sister ; she was happy when she saw him smile, 
 and dejected when she saw him sad ; she soothed 
 him when he was sick, and she wept when he 
 got well and went abroad, and she knew not 
 why, she only knew that Mourad was her bro- 
 ther, and that she loved him with her whole 
 heart. Her own fair fingers embroidered his 
 handkerchiefs ; she gathered the hyacinths 
 which dangled from his turban or were placed 
 in his ceinture, (for Master Mourad was a 
 fop.) She ornamented the cover of his Koran, 
 and she prayed to the Prophet (for women have 
 souls in Turkey) to make her dear Mourad a 
 great soldier, and if it might be his will, a 
 Pacha, if it were only of two tails. She blessed 
 her stars for giving her such a brother, but of 
 late she was only thankful for possessing such a 
 friend, and sometimes even " wished that heaven 
 had made her such a man," and had sanctioned 
 their union before the Cadi. Mourad the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 205 
 
 mean while was no longer the sprightly youth 
 whose buoyant spirits gave laughter to his Hp 
 and animation to his eye ; a settled gloom had 
 for some weeks past overspread his features; 
 and when Zuleika sought the knowledge of his 
 sorrow, he assured her he was perfectly happy, 
 but the faintness of the smile which was meant 
 to allay her anxiety, sickened her heart with 
 fear. Some terrible emotion she knew it must 
 be, so suddenly to alter his looks, and to change 
 the purple light of youth and health to the 
 haggard hue of grief Her faithful breast had 
 hitherto been the depository of all his cares, and 
 she now reproached him with the unkindness of 
 withholding his confidence when he had most 
 need of a friend to share his sorrows, whatever 
 they might be. She conjured him by the me- 
 mory of their once happy early days to give 
 her a proof of his love by acquainting her with 
 the grief which preyed upon his mind. She 
 clasped him to her bosom, and besought him, 
 if he was still her own dear INIourad, to tell 
 her all, for she was prepared for every ill except 
 the loss of his affection. 
 
 The tears glistened on the cold white marble
 
 206 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 of her cheek as she pressed him to reveal tlie 
 cause of his distress. Mourad was not proof 
 against the contagion of her tears and the sooth- 
 ing influence of her sym]iathy, for he wept hke 
 a child ; they were the first tears of manhood, 
 and they were wrung from his heart. 
 
 " I am still, sweet Zuleika," he exclaimed, 
 " your own dear Mourad. The memory of our 
 early days is not forgotten, but a terrible dis- 
 covery which I have lately made, and Avhich 
 yovi would drag from me, has already lost me a 
 sister, and the disclosure of every horror which 
 now overwhelms my imagination, perhaps may 
 deprive me of the love of that being who is now 
 boimd to me by another and a dearer tie, who 
 is nearer to my heart than the veins which per- 
 vade my breast. Since you will know the only 
 secret which I have hitherto kept from you, 
 listen to me, Zuleika, with a patient ear ; for I 
 have to speak of horrors, unheard of horrors, 
 and coupled with a name which I once pro- 
 nounced with reverence. You already marvel 
 at my words, and well you may, but how will 
 your gentle spirit bear the history which follows, 
 of villainy, remorselessness, and unprecedented
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 207 
 
 villainy, of whose guilt, my Zuleika, murder is 
 not the worst ? You shudder at the sound ; 
 'tis better," continued Mourad, "I do not pro- 
 ceed ; indeed you had better press me no far- 
 ther ; it is too melancholy a story." 
 
 " Mourad," cried the girl, in all the agonies 
 of suspense, " I will hear it all ; I charge you, 
 by your soul, to speak the entire truth, for it 
 cannot be so fatal as my fears, or so intolerable 
 as my suspense." 
 
 " Sooner or later you must know my secret," 
 said Mourad, " and I would not have you re- 
 ceive it from the lips of my enemies. Come 
 closer to me, Zuleika; you shall know the 
 dreadful story, but promise me never to give 
 utterance to a word which you may this day 
 hear."
 
 208 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 They shake their heads 
 
 And whisper one another in the ear; 
 And he that speaks doth gripe the hearer's wrist ; 
 Whilst he that hears, makes fearful action^ 
 ^Vith wrinkled brows, with nods, with rolling eyes. 
 
 King John. 
 
 " You have heard, Zuleika, that my mother 
 was a Greek, and that she died during my in- 
 fancy. In Suleiman, my supposed father, you 
 are aware I found an indulgent parent, wliose 
 kindness was some compensation for the ill-treat- 
 ment I received from the mother of Yussuf. 
 The mysterious expressions she frequently 
 dropped in her anger, concerning my origin, 
 first aroused my su.spicions, and subsequently 
 circumstances only tended to confirm them. 
 I had then only one strong motive, to ascertain
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 209 
 
 the truth. You know that your love was more 
 essential to my being, than the vital air, for 
 I breathed only ' the sweetness of that bower 
 which had made the air so fragrant, that the 
 dew, before it fell, was converted into rose 
 water.' You will therefore wonder not at the 
 interest which entered into the secret inquiry 
 I set on foot in order to ascertain the secret of 
 my origin. 
 
 " I discovered by accident that a rayah of the 
 village, who was then absent, knew more of 
 my history than he was willing to communicate. 
 I waited his return with no little anxiety ; at 
 length, I heard of his arrival, and armed with 
 my yatican, I proceeded to his dwelling, re- 
 solved to rake out the mystery of my birth by 
 any means, fair or foul, and in the event of my 
 failure, of burying the secret in the bosom of 
 the infidel for ever. I found him alone ; I ques- 
 tioned him about the story of Emineh, for such 
 was the name of my poor mother; but a shake 
 of the head and a shrug of the shoulder were 
 the only reply I could extract. I addressed 
 myself to his avarice, I appealed to his pity, 
 but no argument could induce him to meddle
 
 210 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 in the affairs, as he called him, of my father 
 the Aga, whose anger, he said, was more dread- 
 ful than the rage of the lion. ' Then,' I ex- 
 claimed, drawing my bright sword, ' I must be 
 the son of Suleiman, for my rage is no less 
 deadly. Owe then your death, accursed in- 
 fidel,"" I cried, ' to your own obstinacy,' and 
 raising my scimitar, I was in the act of cleav- 
 ing him to the earth, when he threw himself 
 at my feet, and supplicated to be heard. While 
 the brightness of my sword was still gleaming 
 in his eyes, he conjured me, by the name of 
 my honoured father, to deliver him not up to 
 the vengeance of the Aga. (Shrink not from 
 my side, my Zuleika, for betraying the secret 
 of his guilt.) The saddest story that ever a 
 son heard, he told me. I listened without a 
 groan ; my soul was transfixed ; I wept not, 
 moved not, called no curses on the villain's 
 head. The very giaour took compassion on 
 my anguish ; he placed me on the divan, and 
 put a cup of water to my lips. I overcame the 
 weakness of my heart, I breathed again, I felt 
 the cold sweat standing on my forehead. I 
 heard the wretched comfort of the infidel ring-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 211 
 
 ing in my ears. I saw him weep when he 
 pointed out the desolate walls where I drew 
 the first breath of life, and where my unhappy 
 parents saw many days of misery. Oh ! Zu- 
 leika, 'twas no common cause of sorrow which 
 subdued my manhood, in the presence of a 
 dog, a Christian. 'Twas no ordinary grief which 
 played the weak woman with my proud heart, 
 and made the hot blood run cold, and trickle 
 like snow-drops through my veins. In that 
 desolate abode which stood before me, my 
 parents lived exiled from the capital, where 
 they but lately ranked with the exalted of their 
 people. :My mother, my poor heart-broken 
 mother, was beautiful and virtuous, my Zuleika, 
 as thou art ; and her voice, they tell me, was 
 sweet as the musical accents of the angel Is- 
 rafel, the most melodious of the creatures of 
 God. Fallen as she was from the splendour 
 of her former state, she still was happy ; for 
 she had yet a fond husband for a blessing, 
 and an only child, loved even to distraction, 
 for her earthly consolation. Weep not, my 
 o-irl ; the dew of pity can only moisten the 
 surface of the rank grave, but tears of blood
 
 212 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 must find their way to the cold hearts which 
 fester underneath. Talk not to me of patience, 
 tell me not of pity, I know neither, till the red 
 finger of revenge shall write the epitaph of my 
 murdered parents. Oh, Zuleika ! if you shudder 
 now, how will your heart bleed when I tell you 
 the sad sequel. My angelic mother seldom went 
 abroad, but the fame of her beauty had already 
 reached these accursed walls, and Eblis himself 
 — for no other but the author of all iniquity 
 could have suggested such mischief — put his 
 infernal lust into the bosom of a villain, and 
 afforded the long-wished-for opportunity of 
 beholding the intended victim. Yes, Zuleika, 
 the blood-shot eye of infuriated lust glared on 
 the modest matron, and gloated on her beauty, 
 even while the innocent baby was smiling on 
 her breast. He took advantage of the autho- 
 rity of tyranny to tear the husband from the 
 arms of his wife. My wretched mother was 
 forced from her humble dwelling to become an 
 inmate of the khan, a hostage for the faith of 
 her absent husband. No sooner was she in the 
 power of this villain, than he pressed his un- 
 holy suit — the lightning of Heaven scathe his
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 213 
 
 head ! — he breathed his polluted vows into the 
 ears of virtue — holy Prophet, give patience to 
 my heart ! — he laid his sweating palm on her 
 pure cheek — every torment of the seven hells 
 distract him ! — he struggled to poison her 
 sweet breath with his rank kisses — oh, heaven ! 
 was there no vengeance overhead ! He held 
 her trembling hands while he pressed his filthy 
 beard to her white bosom ; but, thank God, she 
 had strength to dash the monster at her feet, 
 though, unluckily, she had no dagger to plunge 
 into his heart. Oh ! you may well tremble, 
 Zuleika ; your hair may well stir with horror, 
 your flesh may well creep at the recital. j\Iy 
 poor mother was left alone, exhausted with 
 terror and fatigue; she would have attempted 
 her escape, but her intentions were foreseen and 
 frustrated. She suffered no farther indignities 
 for some days ; not that the wretch relented in 
 his wickedness. Oh, no ! he had formed the 
 diabolical scheme of depriving the mother of 
 her child for the accomplishment of his infernal 
 purposes. He carried his plans into effect. 
 The child was stolen, and the unfortunate 
 Emineh sunk under the desolation, — she went
 
 214 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 mad with misery. The young, the beautiful, 
 the chaste Eminch, became a woc-begone me- 
 lancholy maniac ; looking with horror on her 
 infant, who was now restored to her sight, but 
 lost to her affections, which reason no longer 
 guided. Young as you were at the period of 
 her abode in this accursed mansion, you must 
 remember that poor spectre of beauty sitting 
 in melancholy silence the live-long day, in the 
 corner of the divan, leaning her wan cheek on 
 her emaciated hand, and fixing her vacant gaze 
 on the withered flowers which were always 
 strewed around her, which none were suffered 
 to remove or to replace with fresh ones. You 
 cannot have forgotten the poor maniac, whose 
 sorrows touched even the flinty bosom of the 
 murderer of her mind. She was my mother, 
 Zuleika; every one felt for the poor creature, 
 save one, and that daughter of the Shitan was 
 the monster who gave Yussuf birth, — the ashes 
 of a mother's hopes be scattered on her head ! 
 She was the immediate cause of the dreadful 
 catastrophe which followed. The wretched 
 Emineh fled from the khan ; part of her attire 
 was found on the banks of the river, where
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 215 
 
 probably she ended her miserable life. Yes, 
 probably, Zuleika, for her remains were never 
 found, and some even pretended that a maniac 
 was seen wandering about the great cemetery 
 of Stamboul, whose woe-begone features bore 
 some resemblance to the once beautiful linea- 
 ments of my angelic mother. What miser- 
 able son ever owed such a debt of ven- 
 geance ! what amount of injury ever made 
 so great a virtue of revenge ! Four years 
 had passed away since the husband of 
 Emineh had been torn away from his family ; 
 and when at length he fled from his servitude, 
 and was returning, as he hoped, to press his 
 beloved wife to his bosom, to hold his infant on 
 his knee, and to listen with delight to its little 
 innocent prattle, his hopes Avere blasted all at 
 once. He received the intelligence that he had 
 no home ; the abode that was such had been 
 robbed of its inmates, the ashes were cold upon 
 his hearth, and the grass had grown before his 
 threshold. The horrid particulars were de- 
 tailed, but the fate of Emineh Avas still left in 
 doubt. The first impulse of his madness was 
 to return to the village, to rush into the pre-
 
 216 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 sence of the destroyer of his peace, and to de- 
 mand his wife and child. But his prudent 
 friends restrained him from so wild an act, and 
 Dersuaded him to abide where he was, in order 
 to purchase justice from the superior of the 
 Aga, the Governor of the Dardanelles. 
 
 " He consented to remain for a few days, but 
 the wily agent of his enemy was dispatched to 
 frustrate his intentions, and eventually my poor 
 father was once more consigned to slavery, and 
 only after two long years of suffering was set 
 at liberty. On his arrival at a neighbouring 
 village, the villain Achmet got intelligence of 
 the circumstance ; he was commissioned by his 
 master to induce ray father to return to the vil- 
 lage, and to promise him the immediate posses- 
 sion of his lost happiness. The deceiver came, 
 ' his feet were clothed with the cunning of the 
 fox, and his tongue was steeped in tlie honey 
 of the bee;' and in an evil hour his perfidy pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 " Fear not, Zuleika ; if I grasped my sword, 
 it was only the involuntary movement of sub- 
 dued revenge. My ill-starred parent returned 
 to Bournarbashi, he was presented to the vil-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 217 
 
 lain who had wronged him mortally ; he smiled 
 at his approach, but it was the smile of perfidy, 
 which tainted the wholesome air about the ly- 
 ing lip it wreathed. He welcomed his victim 
 with fatal civilities, while murder was lurking 
 in his thoughts. He pressed him to eat and 
 drink beneath his roof. What man could fear 
 to do so, even in the dwelling of his mortal foe, 
 when the rites of hospitality vi^ere proffered 
 and accepted, when the sacred morsel of bread 
 and salt was eaten, and the blessing of Heaven 
 invoked on the banquet.^ Oh ! Zuleika, the 
 religion of the heart was wanting, the sanctity 
 of hospitality was unheeded, the faith that was 
 due to the guest was forgotten. The poisoned 
 cup was in readiness, and was offered to my 
 father; he rejected it at first, but a second time 
 was it presented ; he drank it, and in a few 
 hours he was a corpse. Ask not the name of 
 his murderer, my Zuleika. The horrid story 
 was never meant for woman's ear ; but since 
 you have torn it from my heart, hide it within 
 your pitying bosom, if you still love so wretch- 
 ed a being as I am." 
 
 Mourad rushed out of the room as he spoke 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 these words, leaving the sad girl to ponder on 
 the melancholy tale she had just heard. 
 
 " Well, he does best," she exclaimed : " per- 
 haps it were better I should never hear the 
 name my beloved Mourad curses. Merciful 
 God ! forbid it should be that which both were 
 taught to bless ! Oh no, it cannot be ; but 
 whosoever owns its ignominy, that of my belov- 
 ed brother, my more than brother, is written in 
 my breast, and shame or sorrow shall never 
 wipe it out."" 
 
 Poor Zuleika soon found out that Leileh, the 
 beautiful mistress of Eastern romance, never 
 loved the gallant youth Megnoun with greater 
 ardour, and that the affection of all the sisters 
 in the universe could not make up the amount 
 of her fondness for him who ceased to be called 
 her brother. Zuleika loved as if misfortune 
 made the increment of passion, as if the increase 
 of affection grew with every difficulty which 
 arose. She knew that she was adored, but she 
 knew also the depth of the deadly passion 
 which swayed the heart of Mourad, and that 
 no motive human or divine was strong enough 
 to control the vengeance which he deemed a
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 219 
 
 debt to nature, and a duty dictated even by the 
 law of the Holy Prophet. She trembled at the 
 fatal issue of his anger, and she prayed to the 
 Apostle that none but Achmet might fall with- 
 in its dreadful vortex. 
 
 r 
 
 L 2
 
 220 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 You that choose not b}' the view, 
 Chance as fair, and choose as true. 
 Since this fortune falls to you. 
 Be content and seek no new. 
 If you be well pleased with this. 
 And hold your fortune for your bliss, 
 Turn you where your lady is. 
 And claim her with a loving kiss. 
 
 The Merchant of Venice. 
 
 Things went on as usual in the khan for 
 some months after Mourad's discovery of his 
 parent's history. Zuleika began to hope that 
 time had softened the sorrow of her lover, and 
 subdued the fury of his rage. But although he 
 avoided the subject of his wrongs, as she hoped, 
 to banish their memory from his heart, the rosy 
 hue of health returned not to his cheek. If 
 he came to the harem, it was no longer the light 
 step of joyous youth which bounded on the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 221 
 
 stairs. If he sought the plain, it was no longer 
 the bright eye of careless boyhood that glis- 
 tened at the sight of the djereed. Suleiman 
 observed the alteration in his looks ; he talked 
 of sending for the village barber to find out his 
 disorder, but Mourad assured him he had 
 consulted an itinerant dervish of good repute 
 in healing inward aches, and he gave him a 
 charm to wear over his breast, which he trusted 
 would make him well. 
 
 " Inshallah !" said Suleiman, " if it please 
 Heaven, you will get well before the festive 
 day of your sister's wedding." 
 
 "Surely not Zuleika's wedding. Sire .'"ex- 
 claimed Mourad in a tone of astonishment he 
 could not suppress. 
 
 " And why not, boy !" replied Suleiman ; " is 
 she not of an age to make a good man happy ? 
 and what better Moslem could a woman wish 
 for than our good friend Achmet, my former 
 servant, but now the wealthy comptroller of 
 the customs of Canea .''" 
 
 " 'Tis very true. Sire," answered Mourad, 
 " Achmet is, indeed, a Lokman in wisdom, and 
 withal a rich man. 'Tis true, he is not very
 
 222 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 young, but not above five-and-thirty summers 
 older than my sister, but he will be the more 
 prudent. I almost fancy I behold Aniran, the 
 genius of wedlock, presiding over their nup- 
 tials !" 
 
 "'Tisagood word, boy!" cried Suleiman; 
 " and as you have more influence over your 
 sister than Yussuf possesses, you had better 
 acquaint her with her happiness, and convince 
 her of it if she be fool enough not to perceive 
 it. This letter of Achmet's tells me business 
 will carry him to the Dardanelles, and there- 
 fore he may pass this way. These twenty 
 cantars of the far-famed soap of Canea, these 
 twelve good jars of olive oil, are the presents of 
 my worthy friend ; and every year I may ex- 
 pect the same. On his return to Canea, I shall 
 send his lucky bride, accompanied by three 
 women of the harem and yourself, by the first 
 vessel. Fours years ago, he was worth one 
 hundred purses ; he then lent me the fourth 
 part of his fortune, and since that time Heaven 
 has prospered all his undertakings." 
 
 " The truly good, Sire," said Mourad, 
 " are always prosperous, therefore Achmet is
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 223 
 
 SO ; 'tis only the faithless and the vile on whom 
 Heaven never smiles, therefore Achmet has 
 nought to fear from fortune."" 
 
 Suleiman fixed his penetrating eye on 
 Mourad, as if he would have read the thoughts 
 that were written in his heart ; but Mourad's 
 observation was so artlessly expressed, and so 
 naturally suggested, that he evinced no farther 
 uneasiness, or displeasure, than by bidding him 
 in a somewhat louder tone than usual, execute 
 his commands, and see that his sister knew how 
 to estimate her happiness. 
 
 The family of Suleiman at this period was 
 the subject of one of those scherzi of destiny, 
 which is called at the ecarte-iables a vein of 
 luck, when a fortunate individual is permitted 
 to retain the cards a dozen times de suite. In 
 the dispensations of fortune, fate, or providence, 
 the children of all countries in every time have 
 had occasion to wonder at the strange succes- 
 sion of similar events which have visited fami- 
 lies all at once with a multiplicity of deaths 
 or marriages, where the angel of the grave 
 had not hovered over the house for many a long 
 year, and the genius of wedlock had not
 
 224 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 smiled on a single rite for many lustrums. 
 Misfortunes, however it may be, have certainly 
 no tendency to come single, and blessings are 
 not wont to rain without falling in an even 
 down-pour. Ere the preliminaries of Zuleika's 
 marriage were settled, another matrimonial 
 treaty was on the tapis, and the high con- 
 tracting parties were the Aga of the little 
 village of Bournarbashi, on the part of his 
 son Yussuf, and the chief executioner of 
 Smyrna, on the part of his fair daughter Za- 
 rafat. So advantageous an alliance with the 
 family of a great public functionary, Sulei- 
 man duly appreciated ; and he resolved on 
 postponing the happiness of his excellent 
 friend Achmet, till such time as Yussufs was 
 secured. The greatness of the match was the 
 theme of every tongue in the village of Bour- 
 narbashi, and the wonder of every woman, who 
 extolled the cleverness of the youth in gaining 
 the heart of the father in a little moon of time, 
 which he lately spent in Smyrna, without an 
 opportunity of even looking at the veil of his 
 betrothed in her weekly promenade to the bath 
 — without even having been able to throw a
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 225 
 
 hyacinth in her path, or to speed the soft in- 
 tercourse from soul to soul with a single glance 
 from a neighbouring lattice ; or the transmission 
 of a billet-doux, in the shape of a clove, or a bit 
 of charcoal, through the medium of the female 
 shampooers at the bath, who make more mar- 
 riages on earth than in Christian climes are 
 supposed to be made in heaven. Master Yus- 
 suf, in good truth, was not sorry to be spared 
 this unnecessary trouble : he satisfied all his 
 romantic curiosity concerning the charms of his 
 intended with a single inquiry concerning her 
 condition ; and through the medium of a female 
 relative in Smyrna, he received the pleasing 
 intelligence that she was beautifully fat. But 
 Yussuf informed himself well about the sub- 
 stance of her father, and of the probability 
 of the son-in-law succeeding to the enviable 
 station of chief executioner in the second city 
 of the Empire ; and the intelligence he re- 
 ceived on this point was such as almost to turn 
 his head, so glorious was the prospect of one 
 day attaining an honourable career. Indeed, 
 in one of his conferences with the executioner, 
 in the midst of paying his addresses, he had the 
 
 L 5
 
 226 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 imprudence to hint at the strength of his right 
 hand, and, at the same time, to make a back- 
 handed stroke downwards and inwards with his 
 pipe-stick on the divan, the nature of which 
 motion the worthy executioner perfectly under- 
 stood ; but he pardoned the indelicacy of the 
 allusion, and was even somewhat tickled with 
 the pleasing exhibition of the young man's am- 
 bition. Yussuf at length left Smyrna, with a 
 letter for his father, containing the wished-for 
 intelligence of the executioner's assent, and sti- 
 pulating for the provision of a suitable estab- 
 lishment for Yussuf, and the means of furnish- 
 ing his bride with an adequate present of 
 clothes and trinkets, requiring no less a sum 
 than a dozen purses. Every part of the exe- 
 cutioner's proposal delighted the soul of Sulei- 
 man, except the advance of the twelve purses ; 
 but even this unpleasant clause was finally 
 agreed to, and nothing remained but to esta- 
 blish his son in Smyrna, and to procure for 
 him an appointment in the corps of Janissaries, 
 which he doubted not he had sufficient interest 
 to obtain. Applications were made to his in- 
 fluential friends in the capital, and no incon-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN 227 
 
 siderable portion of the soap and oil of poor 
 Achmet accompanied the letters. Out of the 
 number of applications, one proved successful. 
 Yussuf got the post of a subaltern, whose head 
 was at that moment ornamenting the porch of 
 the governor's palace in Smyrna. The ancient 
 law, restricting Janissaries from marrying^ was 
 still in existence, but little observed by the 
 officers of the corps. The young Janissary, 
 accompanied by his father, set out for Smyrna. 
 Mourad was to have gone with them, but an 
 unseasonable attack of illness prevented him 
 the pleasure of attending the nuptial party. 
 He was condemned to a week''s confinement, 
 with no other society to wile away the tedious 
 hours but that of his betrothed sister. Sulei- 
 man and his son, in the mean time, arrived in 
 Smyrna, and were received with distinguished 
 honours bv the father of Zarafat. As Yussuf 
 was entering the porch, he received the first 
 token of invisible affection, in the tangible form 
 of a little ball of twisted silk, thrown from the 
 lattice window of the harem. 
 
 The executioner rose at the entrance of the 
 Aga, and gave him repeated welcomes. How
 
 228 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 is it witli our honoured friend ? is he, and his 
 brothers, and his uncles, and his sons, all well ? 
 his noble house, his stud, his flocks and his 
 herds, are they all well and thriving ? 
 
 Suleiman thanked Heaven and his host all 
 were well, and in turn salaamed him with the 
 same polite enquiries, albeit the worthy ex- 
 ecutioner had but a single horse, and no cows 
 nor sheep at all. Yussuf made the respectful 
 obeisance becoming his position in the family ; 
 he stooped and kissed the executioner's hand, 
 and only took a seat when both fathers repeat- 
 ed thrice the kind command to sit down. The 
 painfully respectful posture of an inferior, of 
 course, was Yussuf's ; he sat bolt upright on 
 his heels, covering the tips of his fingers with 
 exceeding modesty, and affording the numerous 
 young attendants of the high headsman an 
 admirable lesson in genteel behaviour. After 
 half a dozen preliminary pipes, the servants 
 being dismissed, the important subject Avas 
 opened by Suleiman, and the costly presents of 
 Yussuf were given to the bride, and accepted, 
 and that day week was settled for the nuptials. 
 The visitors took their leave, scattering paras
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 229 
 
 among the domestics as they passed, but not 
 darinff to look even at the latticed windows 
 where the ladies of the harem were endangering 
 their necks to have a peep at the young gallant, 
 who walked through the court like one con- 
 scious of enviable observation, swinging his arms 
 with all the grace of a Stamboul exquisite, 
 waddling as he went along, and flinging his 
 jebbee from side to side, with all the awe-in- 
 spiring elegance of a grandee in the Christian 
 quarter of the Capital. Many a Mashallah 
 was ejaculated by lovely lips, as Yussuf swag- 
 gered past the window of the harem : such ex- 
 clamations as, " How wonderful is God ! how 
 beautiful a young man ! how handsome a 
 turban ! how merciful is Heaven !" and others 
 equally relevant, were breathed that morning ; 
 and many an envious tongue congratulated 
 Zarafat on getting such a tall and proper man 
 for her Lord. 
 
 The following week was occupied in setting 
 up master Yussuf in the world, and this was 
 done with so trifling an outlay as might astonish 
 the family economists of Franguestan. A 
 young man was to commence his career with a
 
 230 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 handful of sequins, to furnish a house, to main- 
 tain a harem, to beget a house full of little 
 Moslems, not having the fear of Malthus before 
 his eyes, to feed them too from hand to mouth 
 without any other certain income than a paltry 
 salary of three or four piastres a day ; and was 
 in all probability to continue to make a respec- 
 table figure in the world without any other 
 available resource than public peculation and 
 private extortion. The furnishing the estab- 
 lishment was a trifling expense. On the occasion 
 of a marriage, he must be a friendless man who 
 cannot count on half the materiel of the house- 
 hold in presents. One kinsman sent Yussuf 
 a Persian carpet, another a pipe, a third a 
 Venetian looking-glass, a fourth the furniture 
 for a divan, and so on even to the battery of the 
 kitchen, till nothing was left to purchase but 
 what the bazaar of second-hand commodities 
 without much difficulty supplied. Every thing 
 being completed in the establishment, the happy 
 youth and the uncle of the still hap])ier maiden 
 repaired to the public office of the Cadi, and 
 there signed the marriage articles, which con- 
 tract completed the ceremony, and made Yus-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 231 
 
 suf and Zarafat a married couple. The friends 
 and kinsman of the bridegroom accompanied 
 him to his house, where they feasted till mid- 
 night on pilau and kibab, and were refreshed 
 with coffee and sherbet ; while the blushing 
 bride was conducted to the bath and anointed 
 with several varieties of perfumed unguents. 
 Led back w^ith due solemnity to the paternal 
 mansion, the matrons of the harem admonish- 
 ed her inexperience with suitable advice, touch- 
 ing obedience to her lord, Avhose foot-stool 
 was to be her head, and whose throne was to 
 be her heart. Such excellent counsel could 
 not fail to make a deep impression, more es- 
 pecially as the last of her maiden slumbers 
 were curtailed for such seasonable instruction. 
 At the dawn, every officious hand in the harem 
 was employed at the toilet of the bride. The 
 surmeh was lavished on her eye-lids to give 
 additional languor to her glances ; the henna 
 was liberally bestowed on her hands, to give 
 blushes even to her fingers'' ends. All the 
 finery of her wardrobe was in requisition, and 
 all the colours of the rainbow were displayed in 
 her attire. Her silk gauze under-dress fell
 
 232 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 gracefully over her ])ink Damascene drawers, 
 whose ample folds and border of gold brocade 
 most enviously concealed her instep, and almost 
 hid her embroidered slippers decorated with 
 pearls. Her vest, or antery of rose-coloured 
 silk, showed the beauty of her shape, to which 
 it closely fitted, except where the wide sleeves 
 disclosed her fair arm, ornamented with nume- 
 rous bracelets. The finest gauze of India con- 
 cealed, or rather covered her fair bosom, over 
 which several rows of the beautiful gold chains 
 for which the artisans of Smyrna are so famed, 
 hung down in various lengths. The caftan, or 
 pelisse of blue silk, fitted close to the figure, but 
 open in front, fell over the ankles ; a richly 
 worked ceinture, studded with pearls, emeralds 
 and rubies, went round the waist, while the 
 murlin, or outer veil, and the amsak over the 
 features, completed the costume. 
 
 The coiffure of the bride might have been 
 considered elegant in any country in Europe. 
 A pink handkerchief of china crape, brocaded 
 with leaves of gold and silver, was interwoven 
 with her tresses ; behind, her long hair flowed in 
 innumerable tresses over her shoulders, fastened
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 233 
 
 at the extremities with little knobs of gold. 
 In front there was no lack of diamonds, and 
 the richest gems, disposed witli no mean taste. 
 In short, the bride Avas the admiration of all 
 the men, and the envy of all the women. 
 Every lady was on tiptoe at the lattice looking 
 for the cavalcade for the last hour, and the 
 poor bride's heart was panting with emotions 
 which, at that moment at least, no young damsel 
 might have envied her. At length a troop of 
 horse was heard trampling in the street, and in 
 a few minutes Yussuf was seen at the head of 
 his kinsmen, sumptuously attired, holding his 
 sword in his right hand, while he demanded his 
 bride in a loud voice, thus manifesting his claim 
 to the title of her protector and husband. The 
 father of the bride received his son-in-law at the 
 threshold, the latter exclaiming, " This is the 
 day of true joy ;" to which the executioner re- 
 plied, " Great and lasting be thy joy !" In the 
 lower apartments the bridegroom and his friends 
 were hospitably entertained for some hours. 
 The bride then descended with a host of female 
 attendants decently veiled, to hide their charms 
 from the eyes of the profane. The bridegroom
 
 234 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 again mounted his charger and led the caval- 
 cade ; then followed his troop of friends ; the 
 female cortege came next, the bride walking 
 under a gorgeous canopy, the women in the 
 rear waving their white handkerchiefs, and 
 emitting from time to time a thrilling cry of 
 joy. A band of music followed next, and a 
 merry-andrew completed the procession, whose 
 antics served to draw off the attention of the 
 rabble from the bride. Arrived at the bride- 
 groom's house, Yussuf received his spouse, and 
 seizing on her fair hand for the first time, he 
 conducted her to the door of the harem, en- 
 couraging the trembler with all his eloquence as 
 he went along, and, having consigned her to the 
 women's care, he returned to his friends who 
 were below stairs. There he remained with his 
 joyous kinsmen till midnight, not suffered to 
 approach the door of the harem the whole day 
 long, where the blooming Zarafat was enjoying 
 the splendid misery of hymeneal pomp, seated 
 immoveable as a statue, and no less silent, under 
 a canopy of state, with downcast glance of ex- 
 ceeding modesty, and still veiled, lest a ray of 
 beauty should escape ere he to whom the light
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 235 
 
 of her countenance belonged should remove the 
 invidious gauze ; till that moment when he 
 should turn away his head to avoid the dazzling 
 lustre of her eyes, and should only look again 
 at the encouraging intimation to approach with- 
 out fear — "Guel jacquir benum — Come again, 
 my guardian angel." Forbid it, ye chaste stars, 
 that one of our perusers should linger at the 
 threshold of the temple of Aniran, and seek to 
 view the shrine of unveiled beauty ! What eye 
 could support the dazzling blaze of the divinity ! 
 What lion heart might not dread being scathed 
 by the lightning of her offended majesty ! Al- 
 lah Illah ! if the high-priest of Aniran, in the 
 shape of a husband, and the guardian of the 
 shrine, .in the earthly semblance of a black 
 eunuch, were to catch you at the door of the 
 temple, better had it been you had pried into 
 the secrets of Eleusinian rites and Isian mys- 
 teries ! Within a little hour the bow-string 
 would be twanging in your ears, and the sci- 
 mitar gleaming on your astonished vision.
 
 236 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Arise, black Vengeance, from thy hollow cell ! 
 
 Yield up, O love, thy crown and hearted throne 
 
 To tyrannous hate ! swell, bosom, with thy fraught, 
 
 For 'tis of aspics' tongues. 
 
 Othello. 
 
 The nuptials were no sooner celebrated, 
 than Suleiman bade adieu to his son, giving 
 him a great deal of advice about working him- 
 self into the favour of the executioner, whose 
 place he might one day hope to fill. Yussufs 
 countenance brightened up at the prospect. 
 " Would to Heaven, Sire," he exclaimed, " that 
 an opportunity were afforded me of showing 
 my dexterity to my worthy father-in-law. I 
 have attended of late every public exhibition 
 of justice, and I think there is much bungling, 
 both in head and feet affairs. I mean, with the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 237 
 
 assistance of the Prophet, to avoid such errors, 
 and to rival the skill of the chief executioner 
 himself, who is certainly a truly great man in 
 cutting off heads ; his coolness is only exceeded 
 by his courtesy, so that even the rayahs think 
 it a personal favour to fall under his hand : no 
 unseemly flurry in his manner when the victim 
 is dragged forth ; no undignified violence in 
 pushing him on his knees, when he seizes the 
 tuft on his crown with his left hand ; and re- 
 peats the bismillah in so gentle a voice, that 
 the very culprit is involuntarily following his 
 words, " In the name of the most merciful 
 God V when he just perceives the edge of the 
 sword touching his bare neck, and then feels 
 his head tumble into his lap in the twinkling 
 of an eye. It would delight you, father, to 
 witness the inimitable stroke, the obliquity of 
 the gash, half cut, half thrust, and the rapi- 
 dity of the motion ; it is truly gratifying ! But 
 I cannot say so much for the happiness of his 
 style in the employment of the bow-string ; 
 there is not sufficient energy in the turning of 
 the stick bcliind, or the twisting of the cord, 
 which admits of ijconvenient struggles with
 
 238 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 the half-strangled offender, till a good vigorous 
 effort gives composure to the sufferer and relief 
 to the executioner. Any interruption on the 
 part of the culprit during the operation, you 
 will confess, father, is very troublesome ; it is 
 annoying to have his black and swollen features 
 turned towards you, streaked with livid crim- 
 son, and mingling into deeper leaden hues as 
 life is ending ; unless, indeed, it be one''s deadly 
 foe, — (no recollection of Mourad, it is to be 
 hoped, suggested the exception,) — and then one 
 cannot help it, if the staring blood-shot eye- 
 balls of the expiring villain are glaring before 
 one, if every convulsive twitch of his distorted 
 features is witnessed, I won't say enjoyed." 
 
 " Min Allah !" exclaimed Suleiman, " no 
 man can enjoy the last agonies even of his 
 enemy ; his death may be necessary to our 
 happiness, but his groans should only be disre- 
 garded, not enjoyed, my son. It would be im- 
 moral and sinful, Yussuf, to think otherwise." 
 
 " I hope you will find Mourad better. Sire," 
 said Yussuf, " on your return, and my sister 
 in good health, and rejoicing in the prospect 
 of her approaching happiness. Pray Heaven
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 239 
 
 you may !" he continued ; " I love my bro- 
 ther Mourad dearly, and Zuleika, my amiable 
 sister, still better. Heaven grant, Sire, you 
 may find them both well and happy !"" Su- 
 leiman gave an Amen to the sweet prayer, 
 albeit he had some misgivings of its sincerity. 
 He set out for his little seat of government 
 with a damp upon his spirits, which he could 
 not account for. He had seen his son happily 
 settled in the world, he was on the point of 
 providing his daughter with an affluent hus- 
 band, and happiness, like the great mountain 
 El Caf, which surrounds the habitable globe, 
 seemed to hem in his prospects on every side. 
 But still Suleiman approached his dwelling 
 with a feeling of disquiet, a foreboding of 
 some impending danger, suggested, perhaps, 
 by Yussuf's insidious innuendoes, and Mou- 
 rad^s late observations on the merits of Achmet, 
 his intended son-in-law. Perhaps the sight of 
 INIichelaki's desolate abode, as he approached 
 his own noisy mansion, meddled with his peace, 
 and recalled the recollections of the once beau- 
 tiful Emineh, her grief, her madness, the ar- 
 rival of the husband, the meeting in the khan,
 
 240 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 and the murder. But the joyful faces of his 
 servants, who thronged around him as he en- 
 tered his dwelling, dispelled his gloom. Mou- 
 rad was there to give him welcome ; he still 
 looked pale, but his spirits were improved ; 
 and his filial love never appeared more strongly 
 marked, than on the present happy occasion 
 Achmet, he was informed, had not yet been 
 heard of ; but Zuleika was well, and her duty 
 had taught her to repress the repugnance she 
 had at first evinced to the proposed union, 
 and now she only longed to behold the day 
 which was to bless her with so discreet a 
 husband. This was as it should be ; the me- 
 lancholy of the morning was forgotten, and 
 Suleiman was again a happy man. The in- 
 telligence too, tliat Mourad had been success- 
 ful in collecting in his absence the imposts of 
 the district, pleased him not a little, and that 
 in a couple of days at farthest the remainder of 
 the taxes should be gathered in, and the whole 
 amount should be in immediate readiness for 
 the receiver of the imperial miri. Mourad's 
 assiduity was rewarded with suitable encomiums 
 on his zeal for the interests of his father. But
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 241 
 
 to account for such a happy change in his ac- 
 tivity, as well as in his health, it is necessary 
 to recur to the period of Suleiman's departure 
 for Smyrna Avith his son Yussuf. Since 
 Mourad's discovery of the wrongs of his pa- 
 rents, every faculty of his soul was concentrated 
 in one sentiment, whose headlong impulse was 
 revenge. The voice of religion and education 
 accorded with that of his ungovernable pas- 
 sions, and prompted him to the duty he owed 
 to the spirits of the dead; and nothing but 
 blood, he believed, could cancel the heavy debt. 
 The means were constantly the subject of his 
 thoughts, but no definite plan presented itself to 
 his mind. Whether it should be accomplished 
 by perfidy or open violence mattered little, so 
 far as the duty he held sacred was concerned ; 
 but no principle of Turkish honour was vio- 
 lated in consulting his own safety in whatever 
 bloody proceeding he embarked. At length 
 he resolved on making Achmet his first victim, 
 in such a manner as might " trammel up the 
 consequences" in impenetrable mystery ; and on 
 seizing some future opportunity to commend 
 the ingredients of the poisoned cup back to 
 VOL. 1. M
 
 242 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 the lips of Suleiman. His education had been 
 too complete to clothe the suggestion with any 
 other horror than the fear of failure. Had it 
 been his destiny to have drawn the breath of 
 life in the countries of Franguestan, he might 
 have slain his mortal enemy in open day, and 
 even have derived honour from the privileged 
 assassination of his adversary. But Mourad 
 was in Turkey, where honour is not satisfied 
 with a public rencontre and a couple of simul- 
 taneous shots at any given distance. Moreover, 
 the forgiveness of an injury was no tenet of his 
 creed ; on the contrary, in no part of the Koran 
 was the Judaic origin of " the perspicuous 
 book" more apparent than in that portion of 
 it where blood for blood, an eye for an eye, 
 and a tooth for a tooth, are literally rendered, 
 without the decency of concealing the plagia- 
 rism in another garb of words. Mourad"'s dis- 
 covery of the religion of his parents was no 
 check to his vengeance. He was too steadfast 
 in the creed which chance liad given him and 
 education riveted into his heart, to be shaken 
 in his belief even by the turpitude of Suleiman, 
 to whom he owed the glorious name of Moslem.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 243 
 
 He still continued to believe that as there was 
 no God but one God, Mahomet must be his 
 Prophet, but, at the same time, he became less 
 convinced of the sanctity of the necessity of 
 exterminating those who turned their faces to 
 another keble besides that of the holy city of 
 Mecca. He now looked with more contempt 
 than indignation on the unfortunate infidels 
 who practised no ablution, repeated no namez, 
 and fasted no ramazan ; but he was no less a 
 Moslem in petto. One circumstance, how- 
 ever, interfered with his deadly purpose of re- 
 venge, and that was his love for Zuleika. Ever 
 since her father's departure, he had daily op- 
 portunities of conversing with her. The dread- 
 ful prospect of her approaching nuptials with 
 Achmet, if possible, bound her closer to his 
 heart, and the endearment was reciprocal, for 
 on either side the passion was strengthened by 
 despair. How often would she exclaim in her 
 stolen interviews with Mourad, " Whose dos; is 
 he who would make these eyes his looking-glass 
 to see his dotage .'' what grey-bearded son of a 
 Shitan is he who would break into my Mourad's 
 ])alace, and tear his image from my breast ? I 
 
 M 2
 
 244 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 warn him to beware of a distracted house ; a 
 Moman's tongue is sharper than a sword, her 
 heart is deeper than the Bosphorus, her hate is 
 deadlier than either :"" and then weeping over 
 the impotency of her raihng, she would wring 
 Iier poor hands, and ask of Mourad if there 
 was no resource, no hope left. In such mo- 
 ments it is not to be wondered at, if the me- 
 mory of father, mother, injuries and all were 
 forgotten, and nothing but the loss of his be- 
 loved Zuleika before his eyes. At length, a 
 letter came from Achmet announcing his arrival 
 at the Dardanelles, and his intention of visiting 
 the khan in a few days. Mourad, who in the 
 absence of Suleiman had charge of his corre- 
 spondence, replied in the customary style of 
 compliment befitting such an occasion. The 
 epistle ran thus : — 
 
 " To our most venerated and highly es- 
 teemed friend, the wisest among the wise, the 
 most learned among the learned, the discreet 
 friend, the munificent companion, Achmet Ef- 
 fendi, a thousand salaams. The holy Prophet, 
 whose name be glorified ! shine propitiously 
 on your footsteps to our khan, where your
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 245 
 
 place has long been empty, and your presence 
 desired, but more especially by the unmention- 
 ed, whose sighs have struggled with the adverse 
 winds which have delayed your arrival, and 
 who pines to make the dust of your feet the 
 surmeh of her eyes, and to drink unseen the 
 sweet sherbet of your discourse in the hidden 
 place. May your meeting be propitious, and 
 our alliance holy ! How, indeed, can it be 
 otherwise, when our friend is a Locman in wis- 
 dom, a Megnoun in his affections, and whose vir- 
 tues make him a planet among stars ? These we 
 number not, because they are innumerable, and 
 discretion becomes the lips of happiness, as the 
 poet saith, ' The heart of the fool is in his 
 mouth, but the tongue of the wise man is in his 
 heart."" Therefore, come when you will, the 
 threshold longs for the shadow of the friend of 
 our house. This salutation comes from the son 
 of Suleiman, in the absence of his honoured 
 father ; from Mourad, who is desirous of having 
 the counsel of his enlightened friend (having no 
 other now near him) concerning the discovery 
 of a hidden treasure which has come to his 
 knowledge this morning in the vicinity of the
 
 •24:6 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 ruins of Chiblak, Troy of Scander, known as 
 yet to no earthly individual, save a Frank in- 
 fidel, who has been digging for old stones in 
 this neighbourhood, and who is willing to fore- 
 go all claim to the gold if suffered to carry away, 
 without molestation, some of the fragments 
 of granite, with strange characters thereon, no 
 doubt of sorcery. It is on this account that 
 Mourad, the most faithful of his superior's 
 friends, would be glad to-morrow night, three 
 hours after the Mogreb, to meet Achmet on 
 the spot beneath the ruins of the palace of 
 Scander (the temple of the sun) alone ; there 
 to advise what had best be done with the in- 
 fidel, and if it be expedient to carry away the 
 treasure before the dawn. A small sack or two 
 will be required to carry away the money. 
 But one thing more is necessary, which need 
 not be mentioned to the wise ; and who would 
 think of hinting at secrecy to one who knows 
 that a silent tongue is a secret treasure ?" 
 
 This epistle being dispatched, Mourad appear- 
 ed a new man ; the colour came to his cheek, 
 his eye brightened, the smile of his happy youth 
 played about his lips ; he kissed the pale fore-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 247 
 
 head of Zuleika, and bade her hope for happy 
 days. " Cheer up, my angel,"" he cried ; " the 
 cloud which obscured our prospects shall be dis- 
 pelled ; another and a more distant view must 
 meet our eyes. But God is great ; the world 
 is wide enough for two to walk together, whose 
 souls are vmited, and Providence is larger than 
 our footsteps, wherever they be imprinted. 
 Allah Karim ! we '11 leave old Achmet to laugh 
 at his own beard ; we '11 leave these accursed 
 walls, my Zuleika. May they crumble into 
 dust at our departure ! I will find means to- 
 morrow of getting rid of the importunities of 
 Achmet for a little time at all events ; and if 
 Suleiman returns not the day following the dis- 
 posal of our friend, a Greek caique, from the 
 opposite island, shall be in readiness at mid- 
 night, mider the Cape Janissary, to convey us 
 to Tenedos. An Ionian shatoor, bound for 
 Damietta, is in the roads, and once arrived 
 in Egypt, the country of the Giaour Pacha 
 Mohamed Ali, farewell to fear ! We shall 
 sleep, my Zuleika, on the carpet of security ; 
 peace shall be our ])illow, and love, like the 
 Bahr Nil, which overflows the land, shall inun-
 
 248 
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 date our hearts. Oh ! we shall be so joyful, 
 my angel, that even our enemies shall say, they 
 are happier than Shireen and Kosrue — all true 
 love is not buried witli Megnoun, neither is 
 beauty dead, because Leileh breathes not. 
 The mother of Yussuf shall no longer be 
 your tyrant — my father's murderer shall no 
 longer be my benefactor. Curses on his fa- 
 vour! Though alone in the wide world, 
 we shall be the world to one another, my 
 Zuleika: the nightingale shall not warble his 
 affections to the rose with more constant music 
 than I shall whisper my true love's vows into 
 your ears. The sycamore shall not joy more 
 in the twining tendrils of the vine, than 1 shall 
 delight in the gentle pressure of your arms. I 
 shall gaze without fear on those beautiful stag 
 eyes, swimming in love's own liquid lustre. 
 I shall taste the sweetness of the cleft pome- 
 granate on your lips; and these fingers shall 
 lead the straying ringlets over your bosom, 
 and teach them to flow there, like the silken 
 web of a gossamer over the smooth white sur- 
 face of the ostrich egg.'''' 
 
 " We shall indeed be happy," cried Zuleika,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 249 
 
 "if we have the good fortune to escape with- 
 out detection : whatever be my dear Mourad's 
 fate, holy Prophet, let me share it ! wherever 
 he go, let it be my destiny to follow ! In grief 
 or gladness he has still been mine, and now 
 in wealth or want, in the gardens of Stamboul, 
 or in the desert of El Masr, let it be my lot 
 to dwell with my lord, my beloved Mourad. 
 But let no peril come to my father ; promise 
 me, Mourad, that a hair of his white beard 
 shall not be harmed." 
 
 "Fear not for his life," replied Mourad; 
 " I swear by the blessed camel of the Prophet, 
 I have consented to receive the price of blood. 
 Another victim's life shall expiate the crime; 
 but Suleiman's substance must pay the debt, 
 which nothing but his heart's gore could eke 
 have satisfied." 
 
 Zuleika was glad to secure her father's 
 safety on any terms; she dreaded Mourad's 
 vengeance, although he had never openly 
 avowed the name of his father's murderer. 
 Mourad took his leave, but not before he 
 had enjoined the strictest secrecy and circum- 
 spection on the part of Zuleika. 
 
 M 5
 
 250 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Angels and ministers of grace defend us ! 
 
 Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damned ; 
 
 Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell ; 
 
 Be thy intents wicked or charitable. 
 
 Thou comest in such a questionable shape. 
 
 That I will speak to thee. 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 Our hero had ah'eacly provided the male 
 attire of a Greek sailor for his mistress, and a 
 similar costume for himself; these were depo- 
 sited in a subterranean chamber in the ruins of 
 Chiblak. Here also were concealed the riches 
 of the rifled treasury of Suleiman ; the precious 
 gems, the gold and silver ornaments, the dia- 
 mond-hafted dagger, and the magnificent amber 
 mouth-pieces of the Aga. No small portion of 
 the taxes which had been collected were expend- 
 ed in providing the caique and the shatoor ; and
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 251 
 
 Zuleika was already informed of the signal wliich 
 she might expect at midnight on the appointed 
 evening. All the arrangements had been made, 
 she was to ascend the terrace, and with the 
 assistance of Mourad to gain the roof of the 
 adjoining stables. From this low building the 
 descent to the garden was easy enough, and 
 the latter being only surrounded by a low wall, 
 there was no formidable impediment to en- 
 counter. In short, every thing was settled, 
 and the energy which marked the preparations, 
 and the precaution which provided for every 
 possible mischance, showed that other besides 
 Turkish blood flowed in the veins and in- 
 fluenced the counsels of Mourad. 
 
 The night at length arrived, on which he was 
 to meet Achmet amongst the ruins. He set out 
 for the unfrequented rendezvous at sunset, 
 some hours before the appointed time ; his 
 pistols were in his girdle, and his yatican 
 slung over his shoulder as he went forth. 
 The servants of the khan were informed 
 he was going to pass the night in an ad- 
 joining village, in order to look after the 
 Valonia produce of the place, without the
 
 2 52 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 publicity a number of attendants would give 
 to his visit. At night-fall he reached the 
 solitary spot where he expected Achmet ; he 
 visited the subterranean chamber, which was 
 situated beneath the ruins of the temple where 
 he had deposited the spoil. Having struck a 
 light, he proceeded to examine his plunder ; the 
 la)np gave but a miserable gleam in the gloomy 
 chamber ; he cast his eyes around, but what 
 was his astonishment to find the effects he had 
 secreted under a broken marble slab, strewed 
 over the mouldering pavement, the costly 
 dagger of Suleiman and the precious jewels of 
 his harem scattered on the damp floor, as if 
 some supernatural being, in contempt for the 
 baubles of the earth, had dashed them here and 
 there with reckless scorn ! He seized on his 
 pistol, looked with breathless haste in every 
 corner, but no one was seen ; again he examined 
 his plunder ; not one article had been removed ; 
 he found every thing he had left there; not 
 even a paras had been taken from the money 
 bags. The terrible suspicion flashed across his 
 mind that his unhallowed steps had penetrated 
 the precincts of a charnel, that he was stand-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 253 
 
 ing in the receptacle of the ancient dead, and 
 had probably disturbed the inhuman orgies of 
 a soul. He called on the name of the blessed 
 Prophet ; three several times he repeated aloud 
 the profession of faith ; but at length, terrified 
 at the sound of his own voice, he prayed in 
 silence to be spared the sight of the horrible 
 banquet, when he momentarily expected to see 
 a hideous spectre rise and batten on some man- 
 gled corpse hitherto concealed. Overcome with 
 terror, he sank on the steps which led to the 
 chamber. The rain which only drizzled when 
 he entered was now pouring down in torrents, 
 and pattered on the marble pavement overhead ; 
 a gleam of lightning every now and then lit 
 up the narrow entrance to the chamber, and 
 then the loud peal of thunder followed and 
 rumbled amidst the ruins, while the echoes 
 were reverberated from one shattered column 
 to another. The loud wind whistled in the 
 interval, and the elements expended their fury 
 on the ancient structures which had survived 
 the tempests of five and twenty centuries, with- 
 out hurling that awful night one solitary column 
 or its nodding capital to the ground. It was
 
 254 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 a terrific night ; the liorror of it still lives in 
 the memory of the inhabitants of the surround- 
 ing villages. Trees were uprooted, houses un- 
 roofed, chimneys demolished, but the ruins of 
 Chiblah resisted the storm, as if the slow hand 
 of Time spurned at the rude fellowship of the 
 tempest, and was jealous of its own destruction. 
 Mourad listened to the terrible contention with 
 no little alarm ; all nature seemed leagued 
 against his purpose; Heaven he believed had lent 
 the storm for his especial warning, to convince 
 him that robbery was not the vengeance which 
 his murdered parents demanded at his hands. He 
 rose from the ground, collected the scattered 
 plunder, and resolved to carry it back to Bour- 
 narbashi. His heart, subdued with fear, attri- 
 buted every gust of wind to divine wrath ; every 
 flash of lightning was an indication of offended 
 justice, every clap of thunder the voice of divine 
 retribution. The act which he had endeavour- 
 ed to palm on his own heart as one of justifiable 
 revenge, now presented itself to his view in all 
 its real infamy. To shed the blood of his ene- 
 mies as a duty, appeared more than ever sacred 
 in his eyes ; but to steal like a thief into the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 255 
 
 hasnah of his victim, and rifle his treasures in 
 the dark, smote his conscience to the quick. 
 He had liardly formed the resolution of restor- 
 ing the property of Suleiman, when he was start- 
 led by the noise of footsteps at the mouth of the 
 entrance over-head ; he hearkened with breath- 
 less anxiety to the sound. " Good heavens !" 
 he said, " who can it be ? Can it be Achmet 
 already, and yet it wants one hour to the time ? 
 Holy Allah, grant it be him ! But I fear it is 
 no human being. Defend me. Heaven, from 
 the spirits which walk the lonely places of the 
 earth ; if this be their infernal haunt, save me 
 from their sight." 
 
 The same slow step continued to pace over- 
 head, and now and then a sigh was heard as the 
 being approached the entrance, and then a laugh 
 wild and involuntary, which seemed like the 
 very mockery of mirth. The cold sweat pour- 
 ed down the forehead of Mourad ; he resolved 
 to steal a glimpse at the object of his terror. 
 He crept as gently as possible up the stairs ; 
 the rain had now ceased, and the moon was 
 shining in all her Oriental splendour. The 
 clouds had passed away, and the shadows
 
 256 THE MUSSULMAN, 
 
 of the majestic pillars were projected over the 
 pavement of the temple. Seated on a broken 
 sarcophagus, a few yards in front of the subter- 
 ranean chamber, Mourad beheld a female form, 
 wrapped up in a white garment, which flowed 
 on the ground and concealed every part of 
 her person but her wild and haggard features. 
 On these the moonlight had fallen, and had 
 rendered the aspect of the appalling spectre but 
 too visible. Mourad stood motionless with ter- 
 ror in the corner of the staircase, gazing on the 
 frightful goul. He was no coward, but his 
 knees knocked at every contortion of that 
 dreadful countenance, his heart beat against 
 his ribs at every sudden glance of those sunken 
 eyes, the blood throbbed in his temples at every 
 inarticulate sound that issued from those parch- 
 ed lips, the perspiration trickled from his fore- 
 head as he marked the waving motion of that 
 shrivelled arm which she occasionally thrust 
 forth, holding a living serpent in her hand, 
 and suffering it to twine round her person. 
 From time to time she threw a handful of earth 
 in the air, and pointed with a threatening mo- 
 tion to the distant village of Bournarbashi.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 257 
 
 At length, leaning her wan cheek on her skinny 
 fingers, she burst forth into a wild song : the 
 voice was broken, but not altogether devoid of 
 melody. The following strange words were 
 intelligible enough to the terrified listene r. 
 
 l-jfie watch-dog growled^ 
 
 The night wind howled. 
 Not a lamp in the village was gleaming, 
 
 Nor a sound nor a breath 
 
 Broke the silence of death, 
 Save the jackal at intervals screaming. 
 
 The moon shed no light 
 
 On the earth that night. 
 But the lightning illumined the grave, 
 
 Where the murderer stood. 
 
 With the grumous blood 
 On the fingers which hollowed the cave. 
 
 I marked the red eye 
 
 Of a goul, stealing by. 
 As it gloated with horrible glare 
 
 On the blood-stained shroud, 
 
 WTiile it mumbled aloud. 
 And then shrieked as it snuffed up the air. 
 
 'Twas ecstasy wild. 
 
 At discovering a child, 
 'Twas imi)atience to ravage its tomb, 
 
 To feast on the gore 
 
 Of the festering core, 
 And to suck the green corpse in the gloom .
 
 258 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 But I lingered afar, 
 
 The foul banquet to mar. 
 Though I looked on the scene with delight, 
 
 And 1 laughed in my joy 
 
 At the corpse of the boy. 
 As he lay stiff and cold in my sight. 
 
 I heard the dull sound 
 
 Of the death-cold mound. 
 As it fell on the little one's breast ; 
 
 I saw the earth piled 
 
 On the innocent child. 
 And I knew that his slumbers were blest. 
 
 How grateful I felt 
 
 When the murderer knelt 
 On the grave, the green sod to spread o'er ; 
 
 I wept, for I ne'er 
 
 Met compassion elsewhere, 
 I never knew kindness before. 
 
 But from the fresh mound. 
 
 As he quitted the ground, 
 A vapour of crimson arose ! 
 
 And curling on high, 
 
 As it pierced the blue sky, 
 I saw Heaven's portals unclose. 
 
 The firmament shook. 
 
 The Omnipotent spoke : 
 " Yes, vengeance is mine !" said the Lord ; 
 
 And the thunderbolt fell, 
 
 I remember it well. 
 On the murderer's head at the word.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 259 
 
 MoLirad's emotions, while he listened to this 
 lugubrious ditty, it would be difficult to de- 
 cribe ; one moment he deemed the poor song- 
 ster some wretched being deprived of reason, 
 but endowed with superhuman knowledge, such 
 as wander over the earth, expounding the mys- 
 teries of fate, and whose home is in the deso- 
 late places of the universe. Again, he believed 
 he was gazing on a spirit of higher order than 
 the gins and gouls of the reeking charnels. In 
 short, he knew not what to think ; but it was 
 evident there was some horrible mystery in the 
 words of the strange being, whether goul or 
 gipsy, and if of the latter class, he fancied that 
 as a fortune-teller, (and the exhibition of the ser- 
 pent favoured the latter idea,) that the words of 
 insanity had all the sanctity of inspiration, ap- 
 plied to him alone, and were meant as a reproof 
 for the delay of vengeance. He summoned 
 courage to issue from his hiding place, for the 
 purpose of addressing the extraordinary being 
 whose song had just ceased, but not before 
 practising the precaution which all good Mos- 
 lems adopt before they cross the heath or de- 
 sert which is the haunt of gouls ; he fired his
 
 260 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 pistol in the air as he emerged from his conceal- 
 ment. It had the desired effect, for he heard 
 an appaUing shriek, and then beheld the white- 
 robed figure flying before him with the velocity 
 of the wind. He caught the last glimpse of 
 it among the ruins, where it apparently sunk 
 into the earth, for, on approaching the spot, no 
 trace of any human being was to be seen.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 261 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Beware of thy enemy on the day thou see'st him 
 smile, for the lion shows his eye-tooth when his rage is 
 deadly. The Cassida. 
 
 As he returned to the temple, wearied with 
 conjectures and exhausted with apprehension, 
 he heard his own name distinctly uttered at no 
 great distance, and immediately discovered Ach- 
 met's person. " Thank Heaven !" cried he, 
 " for the sight of any human being, friend or 
 foe, though ill adapted are these tottering limbs, 
 these trembling hands, these unstrung nerves, 
 for the encounter of one's enemy at such an 
 hour." 
 
 " The peace of God be on your head, Mou- 
 rad !"" said Achmet, approaching him. " What 
 a terrible night is this !""
 
 262 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 " It is indeed," replied Mourad, " a bad 
 niglit, a dreadful night for honest men to be 
 abroad. You heard the signal shot that I 
 fired ?" lie continued. 
 
 " I did," said Achmet, " but did not think it 
 was very prudent to risk being heard by the 
 Avatchful muezzins of the adjoining village. 
 How is it with you, my good friend ? we have 
 almost forgotten to exchange salaams ; such 
 nights as these one might forget one's name. 
 Holy Prophet ! what a night to visit such a 
 place ! For all the treasures of King Suleiman 
 I would not again face such a tempest, to be 
 drenched in the rain, frozen with cold. Allah ! 
 Illah ! Hwas madness to be abroad. But how 
 little did I mind the tempest when, hiding 
 behind these crumbling walls, I saw a terrible 
 apparition, my friend, the sight of which near- 
 ly sunk me into the earth ! I saw something 
 white ; by the beard of the blessed Prophet ! I 
 swear I saw it flying over the surface of these 
 disjointed stones. It was a goul, an infernal 
 goul, Mourad ; for I saw the Uvid lips red with 
 human blood ; I saw the head of a true believer 
 in its hand ; I am sure I saw it. I trembled, I
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 263 
 
 confess, and my liver melted into water, but 
 I 'm certain it was the head of a Moslem ; I 
 knew it by the tuft of clotted hair."' 
 
 " Stafar Allah !" exclaimed Mourad, " this 
 is a foolish word ; it was your fear, Achmet, 
 which converted a flash of liglitning into a 
 goul, nothing more." 
 
 " Well," replied Achmet, wringing the water 
 out of the sleeves of his cloak, " God knows all 
 tilings ! if it was not a goul, it was the light- 
 ning. Why should I be afraid ? But what 
 makes you tremble, Mourad .'' Your face is 
 white, and your eyeballs roll. Have you seen 
 any thing strange .'* Answer me by your mo- 
 ther's soul, by your father's beard, tell me the 
 truth !" 
 
 " Who would not tremble," cried Mourad, 
 " such a cold night as this .'' what eyes would 
 not be scathed with such terrific lightning ? 
 We are not boys, Achmet ; you know what 
 brought us here. In yonder cave the treasure 
 lies I wrote to you about. The Frank, (ill for- 
 tune to his race !) who discovered it, is now slum- 
 bering in the village, but he will be here at the 
 dawn, and no time is to be lost.""
 
 264 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 The eyes of Achmet brightened up at the 
 intelligence ; he rubbed his frozen hands, he 
 quickened his pace as he approached the tem- 
 ple. " Ah ! Mourad," he exclaimed, " I al- 
 ways loved you, Wallah ! dearly. I call God to 
 witness how dearly. If I did not, would I 
 have come out such a night as this, merely to 
 serve you ? Heaven forbid your father should 
 ever hear a word of this : you know he is my 
 friend, the crown of my head, the light of my 
 eyes ; but he loves money too much, God for- 
 give him ! If he were to know you found this 
 treasure, which of right is yours, and may one 
 day make a man of you, God knows the conse- 
 quence. I always grieved that he loved Yus- 
 suf, that sneaking buffalo-headed fellow, who 
 has no more brains than a water-melon, better 
 than you. Every ounce of gold that you found 
 by your wit would be lavished on his pet son, 
 who hates you, Mourad, as he does the son of 
 the Shitan himself. God is great ! this must 
 not be. I must take care of it for you ; some 
 little portion I will consent to take for the trou- 
 ble I have had, for the fear which has dried up 
 my heart this night; but a very little portion it
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 265 
 
 shall be. The bulk is yours ; God has thrown 
 it at your feet, and, Inshallah ! it shall be yours 
 in spite of Yussuf and his mother, who used to 
 call you kafir, Mourad ; you know how often 
 she gave you that bad word. May the shadow 
 of her face become less than a filbert's ! Oh ! 
 Mourad ! I always said you were born to be a 
 great man, a planet among stars, a lamp among 
 rushlights !"" 
 
 " jNIay your kindness never diminish, Ach- 
 met !" replied Mourad ; " I am the least of the 
 servants who desire to rub their foreheads in 
 your footsteps. Your counsel is to me more 
 precious than gold, and your friendship is better 
 than riches. But I pray you enlighten my 
 understanding on the subject of the infidel 
 who acquainted me with his discovery ; what 
 is to be done with him, when he finds the 
 treasure gone ? Though we give him the old 
 stones which his heart is set on, what is to 
 prevent him disclosing the secret .'* My father 
 will return in a day or two ; the walls of Bour- 
 narbashi have ears ; the people of the khan have 
 tongues; the Aga has strong-armed ferashes, 
 and the bastinadoes have sticks ; I pray you 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 266 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 throw a little of the sunshine of wisdom on my 
 poor brains : what is to be clone with the in- 
 fidel ?" 
 
 Achmet had a trick of ])utting the fore- 
 finger of his left hand into his mouth in cases 
 of perplexity, and of reposing the fingers of 
 his right hand on his pistol while he pondered. 
 He stood for about five minutes in this attitude, 
 looking on the earth without uttering a syl- 
 lable. 
 
 " Is your soul in Candia, Achmet, " said 
 Mourad, " and your meditations on the cus- 
 toms, that you stand in silence, when I ask you 
 Avhat is to be done with the infidel ?"" 
 
 " Ah, true !" replied Achmet, " I was think- 
 ing of other matters ; but tell me, my good 
 friend, have you seen the treasure ? is it in gold 
 or silver, and how much is there of either ?''"' 
 
 " V^ou shall see it with your own eyes," 
 said Mourad ; " but one journey will not suffice 
 to carry it to your haznah." 
 
 Achmet's gaze was riveted on the face of 
 Mourad, as if he would have perused his heart. 
 " Is it so ! " he exclaimed : " then leave the in-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 267 
 
 fidel to my care ; we shall have a pipe togctlier 
 and coffee too : you understand me ?" 
 
 " I do," said Mourad ; " you are my friend, 
 iny father, your words are wisdom ; he is an 
 infidel, destruction to all his tribe !" 
 
 "For the love of Allah," whispered Achmet, 
 " do not elevate your voice ; curse his father 
 in your heart, but do it with discretion. Be 
 prudent, my dear Mourad ; by the Prophet I 
 conjure you, by your soul, by your eyes, be 
 prudent, and henceforth fold up your heart in 
 silence.'" 
 
 " Trust to my discretion," rejoined Mourad. 
 " We have reached the spot ; this narrow aper- 
 ture leads to a secret chamber ; we must now 
 descend; will you go down first, or shall I 
 conduct you ?" 
 
 " Softly, Mourad," exclaimed Achmet. " It 
 is not that I am afraid of shrieking gouls, or 
 bloody spectres, that I like not this subter- 
 ranean tomb ;— why should I fear ? whom have 
 I harmed .^" 
 
 " Nobody accused you," said Mourad, " of 
 mortal injury. Min Allah ! you are no robber 
 
 N 2
 
 268 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 to startle at a shadow ; you are no traitor to 
 tremble at a sound ; you are no murderer to 
 shudder at tlie sight of a charnel. Mash Allah ! 
 God is powerful ! why should you fear ?" 
 
 The word murder was a grating sound to 
 the ear of the Candiote ; his cheek became of a 
 hue more cadaverous than wonted, his little eye 
 twinkled more brilliantly than usual, some hor- 
 rible suspicion seemed to flash across his mind, 
 for he involimtarily retreated from the spot, 
 while Mourad pressed him to descend, and all 
 the arguments of the latter were long of no 
 avail. The wily Achmet was deaf to all en- 
 treaty ; and while he expressed his disinclina- 
 tion to enter the gloomy charnel, for he either 
 deemed it such, or likely to be made one, his 
 hand never quitted his pistol for an instant, and 
 his eye never glanced from that of Mourad. 
 But when he heard the intention of his friend 
 to return to the village, and to acquaint his 
 father with the affair, he became irresolute, his 
 suspicions wavered, he consented to descend to 
 the chamber; but he would only follow Mourad, 
 and as they had to carry out the treasure, he 
 said it would be as well ere they entered to rid
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 269 
 
 themselves of their cumbrous weapons, and to 
 deposit all their arms at the entrance where 
 they stood. 
 
 Mourad, to use a nautical expression, was 
 taken aback at the proposal ; but his usual 
 self-possession did not long forsake him. " I 
 confess," he said, " I do not much like entering 
 strange places in the dark unarmed ; but per- 
 haps you are in the right, for we shall certainl}' 
 require our ceintures as well as our turbans to 
 stow away the treasure." 
 
 The two wily Moslems commenced stripping 
 themselves of their arms ; weapon by weapon 
 depositing at the same instant, watching every 
 motion of each other, and withdrawing their 
 looks from time to time, as if their glances had 
 only accidentally encountered. Mourad then 
 led the way with an air of frankness, and an 
 expression of good-humoured raillery, which 
 raised the spirits of Achmet, and made him 
 smile at his suspicions ; they conversed as they 
 descended, jesting at their apprehensions, and 
 making light of their own fears. 
 
 Mourad retrimmed the lamp which had 
 neai'ly burned out during his absence; but he
 
 270 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 took care, as he did so, to kick the diamond- 
 hafted dagger of Suleiman out of its glare. 
 " Behold," said he, throwing one of the money 
 bags containing the plunder of the Aga at the 
 feet of Achmet, " behold a small portion of 
 the treasure ; undo that string and satisfy your 
 soul." As he stooped to pick up another bag 
 similar to the former, he contrived to seize hold 
 of the dagger. " And moreover,'' continued 
 he, (as he passed behind Achmet, who still kept 
 tugging at the cord,) " I will show you in 
 this corner when you have done there, — I was 
 saying I would show you in this corner ■' 
 
 " What, my dear friend, would you show 
 me ?"" replied Achmet, still gnawing the string 
 which tied the bag, with all the eagerness of 
 cupidity. 
 
 " Vengeance, villain !" roared Mourad, 
 plunging his dagger the same moment in the 
 side of the unfortunate man : — " the vengeance 
 of Michelaki''s son !" he thundered in the ears of 
 the groaning man, as he thrust his reeking 
 blade into his body a second time. The first 
 blow had probably reached no vital organ, for 
 he kept on his legs, though he reeled, as he
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 271 
 
 endeavoured to seize on the weapon of the as- 
 sassin, but his fingers were mangled in the 
 attempt, and the second wound went home to 
 his breast : he tottered only a moment on his 
 feet, then fell headforemost on the marble floor: 
 — life was still in him, — he drew up his legs, 
 moaned, and breathed hard ; he was lying on 
 his side, but as he writhed in the agonies of 
 death, the hand which grasped the wounded 
 part tumbled from his side, he moved his head 
 backwards, and then altogether fell upon his 
 back. His mouth was bloody, his eyes half 
 open, and when he endeavoured to articulate, 
 the stream of life was gurgling in his throat, 
 and all that was audible, was the word Imam, 
 Iman, which he still reiterated — mercy, mercy, 
 mercy ! till it died away, and a bubbling noise 
 in his breast and throat alone was heard. 
 
 All this time the assassin was standing over 
 him with the bloody dagger in his hand, 
 triumphing in his vengeance, and answering the 
 dying call for mercy with these words: — 
 " The mercy, villain, you showed my father, 
 when you murdered him at the command of 
 your friend Suleiman, that mercy you may now
 
 272 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 expect ; — such pity as you showed my mother, 
 when you ministered to the lust of your master : 
 curses on both your heads ! when you put the 
 innocent wife of him you called your bosom 
 friend into the arms of that licentious beast, 
 and subjected her to the abomination of his 
 reeking kisses : the angels of retribution tor- 
 ment you in both your tombs ! when you 
 stole her child, robbed her of reason, and pol- 
 luted her pure name ; such pity, inhuman 
 monster, as you then dealt, receive. — My soul 
 laughs at your entreaties, I spit upon your 
 beard !" 
 
 Groan after groan was the only reply of the 
 dying man ; he still w^as sensible, and every 
 word that was uttered was another dajrser to 
 his heart ; at last one deep-drawn sigh was 
 breathed, it followed some pang of mortal 
 agony, for his body was raised from the ground 
 for an instant, supported on his convulsed arms, 
 he then sunk back a stiff and lifeless corpse. 
 The glow of strong excitement was on the 
 cheek of the avenger as he surveyed the ghastly 
 features of the dead man, but the inward satis-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 273 
 
 faction wliich filled his soul with horrible plea- 
 sure, was written in no outward smile. 
 
 " Praise be to thy name, O blessed Pro- 
 phet !" he exclaimed ; " 'twas thy propitious aid 
 which gave strength to my arm, and success to 
 my undertaking. Half the load which weighed 
 upon my heart is taken away ; I now can 
 breathe, can think of my murdered parents 
 without reproach ; can say to the accusation of 
 my own heart, 'Be still, revenge has slum- 
 bered, but it sleeps no longer ; vengeance has 
 had one victim, and justice shall not long be 
 cheated of another.'' " 
 
 He dragged the corpse into a corner of the 
 chamber, to enable him to collect the plunder 
 which he had taken from the khan. In the 
 act of so doing, the turban rolled off the dead 
 man's head, and a bundle of papers tumbled 
 from the skull-cap. These Mourad carefully 
 deposited in his bosom, and then commenced 
 removing the apparel. From the inner girdle, 
 in which it is customary for most persons, tra- 
 vellers especially, to carry the bulk of their 
 ready money, a leathern belt, strapped round 
 
 N 5
 
 274 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 the body, ])resented itself to view, which he re- 
 moved, and its weight convinced him that it 
 was well-lined with gold. " The jackalls," said 
 he, " will have less difficulty with the corpse," as 
 he ripped open the belt, and thrust a handful 
 of Mahmoudies and doubloons into his bosom.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 275 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A man, young lady ? lady, such a man, 
 As all the world — why he's a man of wax. 
 
 Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 The day following the murder was one of 
 festivity in the khan. The ladies of the harem 
 had taken advantage of their lord's absence to 
 invite their female friends to an entertainment ; 
 and Mourad, who had the management of af- 
 fairs in the absence of Suleiman, readily enough 
 consented to the feast, and promised to keep 
 the fantasia a secret from his father. When 
 he arrived at the khan, the animated note of 
 preparation had already commenced in the ha- 
 rem. Some of the women were screaming the 
 thrilling ulalu of joy ; others were singing love 
 songs and beating their tambours, while the
 
 276 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 more industrious were running to and fro, set- 
 ting the sweetmeats on the trays, sprinkling the 
 divans with rose-water, and burning incense in 
 the different apartments. 
 
 The scene which Mourad had just quitted, 
 ill accorded with the merry-making he found 
 going forward. The groans of his victim were 
 still ringing in his ears, and their horrible vi- 
 bration turned the sound of music and the voice 
 of revelry into hateful discord. While he was 
 yet standing at the door of the harem, the slave 
 of the first set of guests made her appearance 
 at the gate, to warn the men of the approach of 
 the veiled ones, in order to give time to every 
 male in the house to get out of the way of the 
 visitors. Mourad was obliged to relinquish the 
 hope of seeing Zuleika that morning ; but before 
 he retired, two or three of the ladies were on 
 the stairs, and as he passed them by, a few 
 very faint shrieks were uttered, befitting the 
 outraged modesty of the giggling damsels. It 
 was only one of the elderly matrons, who be- 
 stowed a good round malediction on the head 
 of the young offender. Mourad made a pre- 
 cipitate retreat, and the ladies were received at
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 277 
 
 the door of the harem with a thousand caresses 
 and salaams, and repeated ulalus, accompanied 
 by the music of the tambour and castanets. 
 All the women of the harem thronged about 
 the guests to remove their amsacs and fe- 
 rigees, and then led them to the divan, while 
 they were sprinkled with perfumes, treated 
 with sherbet of syrup and pomegranate juice, 
 and finally presented with pipes and coffee. In 
 the mean time the other guests flocked in, and 
 before noon, had the master of the house sud- 
 denly made his unexpected appearance in his 
 harem, he might have imagined he had been 
 ushered into paradise, and stood in the midst 
 of the seventy-two beautiful houries who mi- 
 nister to the felicity of each true beheving 
 Moslem. 
 
 The divan, which extended the whole length 
 of either side of the room, was entirely oc- 
 cupied ; and now that the veils were laid aside, 
 and the ceremony of greeting over, it was only 
 to be wondered at how the small district of the 
 village of Bournarbashi could furnish so many 
 buds and blossoms of beauty and gentility, as 
 were there collected into one bouquet of arid
 
 278 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 loveliness. The graceful attitude of each fair 
 one, in the act of holding her chibouque, dis- 
 played to the greatest advantage the symmetry 
 of an arm, which might have vied with that of 
 the Venus of the giaours, or the Beltha of the 
 Zabians. But amidst the galaxy of light and 
 loveliness which streamed from the cluster of 
 little stars, there was one full moon of beauty, 
 the mild lustre of whose splendour surpassed 
 the gorgeous rays of every other glittering orb. 
 That planet among stars was the fair Zuleika ; 
 though the pensive melancholy of her look was 
 contrasted with the mirth and gladness of the 
 joyful features around her, still she was beau- 
 tiful ; though her heart was far away while she 
 conversed with those about her, yet the sweet- 
 ness of her voice, and the affability of her man- 
 ner, delighted all, save the young ladies who 
 envied her good fortune (for the rumour of 
 her approaching nuptials had got abroad), and 
 who wondered what was in her pallid features 
 to captivate so rich a man as Achmet. Indeed 
 the subject of her marriage was the prevailing 
 topic of the guests. Poor Zuleika had to listen 
 to their innumerable congratulations, and to
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 279 
 
 thank them for good wishes, which went like 
 dagsfers to her heart. 
 
 " Ah, Zuleika !" said one, " I always said 
 that stag-eye of yours would one day shoot a 
 glance through a lattice, that would find its 
 way to the soul of an EfFendi, who had a 
 haznah in his house, and money in his purse 
 to buy shawls for his harem. Allah has been 
 most kind to you ; he has given you a man of 
 wealth for your husband. May his riches in- 
 crease ! and Heaven has been propitious to the 
 man, for it has given him possession of as fair a 
 maid as was ever led by the Kizlar Aga to the 
 footstool of the Sultan. You need not blush, 
 girl. Wallah el Nebi ! you are a bride for a 
 Pacha ; and if it please God, in a very little 
 time you will be as fat as I am. Do not de- 
 spair ; young women cannot be perfectly beau- 
 tiful all at once ; it is only after they are mar- 
 ried, and eat kibabs and caimac for breakfast, 
 that there is any chance of their increasing 
 in loveliness." 
 
 Another matron, of a graver deportment, pre- 
 faced her felicitations with a long harangue on 
 the duties of the married state ; she told her, if
 
 280 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 she wished to keep the first place in the affec- 
 tions of her lord, it was necessary to submit to 
 his caprices, however unreasonable they might 
 be, in order to obtain that ascendancy over his 
 soul which every wife ought to have. She 
 said, she had been only married three times her- 
 self, and had so managed her master each time, 
 as to reign in the harem, and to make every 
 inmate dependant on her favour for the smiles 
 of their common lord. 
 
 " Foolish brides," continued the experienced 
 lady, " imagine they can never give too much 
 of their company to their husbands ; I always 
 thought I never could give too little. 1 let my 
 amiable husband enjoy the society of all his 
 wives, for there is no good in jealousy ; and let- 
 ting my rivals squabble among themselves, I 
 suffered them to harass one another, to embroil 
 the harem, and to disgust their husband. I 
 had the more merit for obtaining my high sta- 
 tion, and preserving it, for I had very little 
 honour as a mother ; I had only one child, and 
 that one, as ill-luck would have it, was a girl, 
 and she did not live long. Inshallah ! you will 
 have a house full of titles to respect ; hold up
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 281 
 
 your head, child ; please God ! you will be the 
 Sultana of your harem. And when you do 
 arrive at that dignity, remember, however long 
 be the duration of your reign, the earliest part of 
 it is that in which you are to expect the most ho- 
 mage to your charms, and the largest tribute of 
 presents to your toilet. Cachemere shawls, bro- 
 caded trowsers, velvet talpacs, silken curdees, 
 bracelets of gold, tiaras of precious stones are 
 lavished on young wives, but never on old ones ; 
 therefore, never let a biram escape without ex- 
 tracting a new dress from your lord's generosity, 
 and never suffer the anniversary of your marriage 
 to pass over, without demanding the customary 
 present of a gold chain or two from his justice." 
 " By the soul of my husband !" cried an- 
 other lady, " the daughter of Suleiman is a wife 
 for a Vizier ; if she was only a little fatter, she 
 would be just what I was, of all days of the 
 year, on that blessed morning when I first 
 raised my veil in my lord's harem. But praise 
 be to Allah ! my husband was a man to look 
 on ; he had youth and health on his side, and 
 if he had not the wealth of a Candiote, he had 
 wherewithal to make me happy. Who is this
 
 282 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 Achmet, whose riches are in every one's mouth ? 
 who ever heard of his father ? who ever was 
 the better for his generosity ? Staffer Allah ! 
 if I were Zuleika, I would sooner marry the 
 poorest fellah who digs the soil, than a dog 
 like this Achmet." 
 
 " Why do you call the Effendi a dog.''" said 
 an old lady, taking up the cudgels for the in- 
 tended bridegroom ; " is he not rich ? and has 
 he not a house and a harem fit for the finest 
 lady in the land ? what more do you want .''" 
 
 " Not much," replied the other lady ; " I 
 have only nine hundred and ninety-nine objec- 
 tions to the man : the first nine hundred are 
 that he is old, the other ninety-nine are, that 
 he is ugly as Ashab, and decrepid as the dun 
 camel of Aad. Does a girl with a cold take 
 a pleasure in moonshine ; does a man with a 
 fever like the heat of the sun ; and does the soul 
 of a woman of sweet eighteen, rejoice in the 
 union with a cross old man .'""' 
 
 " Wallah el Nebi !" said the other, " these 
 are no words to speak before an inexperienced 
 girl ; people should be cautious how they injure
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 283 
 
 the morals of young women, who are fools 
 enough to turn up their noses of their own 
 accord, at the bare mention of a match with 
 an old hawadgi, no matter however rich he 
 may be. Poor fools ! they never consider that 
 the older he is, the sooner it will please God 
 to release him from his earthly troubles." 
 
 The woman who inveighed against age and 
 ugliness, was so pleased with the humanity of 
 the latter observation, that she evinced a mark- 
 ed deference to the succeeding remarks of tlie 
 lady who talked of morality with such ardour. 
 " The duties, my dear child," she continued, 
 addressing Zulieka, " of the married state, it 
 is incumbent upon every experienced matron 
 to teach poor creatures like you, who have nevei: 
 been out of their father's harem, and have no 
 knowledge of things in general. There are 
 twelve nuptial precepts, my good girl, which, 
 if you hope to make a happy wife, you must 
 follow implicitly. 
 
 " 1st. Obey your husband, for he is your law- 
 ful master; he paid your price, and made you 
 presents, therefore is he your sultan ; his right
 
 284) THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 arm is your protection, and the edge of his 
 sword, if needs be, )^our punishment. 
 
 " 2nd. Love your husband if you possibly 
 can, and if you cannot, do not hate him ; for it 
 is your duty to cherish and make much of liim. 
 " 3rd. Be mindful ever of the respect you owe 
 him, for he is your lord ; salaam him in the 
 morning with a respectful greeting, and when 
 you present his first pipe to him, kiss his hand 
 and bend your knee, and sit not in his presence 
 till he has twice desired you to be seated. 
 
 " 4th. When you quarrel with the other wo- 
 men, do it behind his back, and if they rival 
 you in his favour, let him not see your jealousy, 
 that he may not hate you, for jealous wives are 
 always hated. And if he smile on the slaves 
 while you are rubbing his feet, still do it gen- 
 tly, and let him not feel that you are weary of 
 pleasing him. 
 
 '' 5th. When you dance before him, move not 
 your limbs too much, like the Almes, whose 
 voluptuous movements you have no occasion to 
 imitate, but dance like a modest wife and not a 
 wanton. 
 
 " 6th. Remember your face was made for your
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 285 
 
 * 
 
 husband, therefore let no human being but him 
 behold it ; for it is only the Christian women, 
 who have no shame, who show their features, 
 and are inconsistent enough to conceal their 
 necks, and expose their bare visages. 
 
 . " 7th. Neither, like these unfortunate women, 
 be seen in the street with strangers ; do you, 
 who are a Moslem Avoman, and know what is 
 modesty, when you are addressed by an impu- 
 dent passenger, never lift your veil but to spit 
 on the wretch who mistakes you for the wife of 
 a Frangi. 
 
 " 8th. If your husband be old, it is needless 
 to plague him ; pray to the Apostle to endow 
 you with patience ; and though you are entitled 
 to more recreation than other women, do not 
 frequent the bath too much before the good 
 man has made his will. 
 
 " 9th. If a foolish Effendi throw a sunbul in 
 your path, you must not stoop to pick it up, 
 nor tell your slave to do so, — that would be un- 
 worthy of a virtuous wife ; but slaves will pick 
 up flowers, and Jews will deliver impertinent 
 messages, and bath-women will convey insolent 
 love-letters of cloves and charcoal, and a woman
 
 28C THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 of discretion ought never to be accused of re- 
 ceiving any present or communication of the 
 sort. 
 
 10th. Make your breast the sole depository 
 of your own secret, and if it be possible, make 
 it that of your husband's also ; the more you 
 know of his secrets, the more power you pos- 
 sess; the less he knows of yours, the smaller 
 is the risk of your confidence being abused. 
 
 " 11th. If your husband beat you, and your 
 lungs be healthy, rend the air with your 
 screams ; lift the roof of the house with the 
 loudness of your shrieks, and cry murder, and 
 rapine, from the street windows ; and if all fail 
 to collect the rabble and shame your lord, 
 shout the zangenvar, till the guard and fire- 
 men fill the house, and refuse to go till they 
 are paid for their trouble. 
 
 " 12th. If he threaten to drown you, make a 
 friend of the Cadi's wife, and if she cannot 
 assist you, nobody else can : if he threaten the 
 sack twice, it is time to think of a divorce — 
 a separate maintenance is a great calamity, the 
 allowance is always small, but some women 
 think it pleasanter to be divorced than drowned ;
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 287 
 
 it is a matter of taste, my child, in which it is 
 difficult to advise." 
 
 " Praise be to Allah !" cried all the women, 
 " these are words of more value than strung 
 pearls !" each recommended Zuleika to treasure 
 the precious counsel in her heart, and by doing 
 so, and paying proper attention to her diet, in 
 order to arrive at the standard size of beauty, 
 there was no doubt but she would become a 
 great sultana, a mistress over innumerable 
 slaves, and pre-eminent amongst many wives, 
 and still more women who were not. 
 
 Zuleika behaved as any other poor girl would 
 have done in any part of the world, whose in- 
 experience was admonished by every matron of 
 her acquaintance a day or two before her wed- 
 ding; she listened in silence, she wished her 
 counsellors at the bottom of the sea, and when 
 she blushed, modesty had only half the merit 
 of the bright effusion. In the mean time, the 
 ladies, who were tired of smoking and drinking 
 coffee, regaled themselves with sweetmeats and 
 sherbet ; and when these were swallowed, lumps 
 of sugar were crunched, till a hakkim, had such 
 been present, might have dreamed there were no
 
 288 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 such maladies in Turkey as tooth-ache and 
 indigestion. 
 
 But when more pastry and honey were eaten 
 than any but Pagan stomachs could have re- 
 ceived with impunity, dinner was laid on the 
 carpet, and the fair gourmands sat down to 
 the capacious tray, where no time was lost in 
 tucking up sleeves, from which our manches a 
 la Mameluke were certainly not borrowed. If 
 this volume were not written by a serious au- 
 thor, the dignity of whose descriptions admit 
 not of detailing " modes," whatever he may have 
 to do with customs, he would leave his beau- 
 tiful gastronomes in the harem, discussing the 
 merits of a pilau of rice and kibabs, and a de- 
 lectable dish of curds and garlic, to devote a 
 chapter to the exclusive subject of a manche 
 a la Mameluke, and if possible to rescue the 
 character of the Turkish toilet from the odium 
 which a Madame Girardot and a Mrs. Gill have 
 cast upon it. But it becomes not so grave a 
 personage as " The Mussulman " to meddle 
 with a lady's sleeve; but he may be per- 
 mitted to say, that had it pleased Allah to have 
 given these Christian milliners a sight of a real
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 289 
 
 Mameluke sleeve, they would not have copied 
 the fashion so abominably as they have done. 
 
 When half a hundred dishes were laid down 
 and removed in rapid succession, the ladies 
 began to wipe their fingers, and to praise the 
 Apostle for making a good dinner. There 
 were no ridiculous assertions on the part of the 
 hostess, that her guests had not eaten ; they 
 looked as if they had done ample justice to the 
 comestibles ; their hands were placed where Lis- 
 ton's usually are when he is describing the 
 pangs of the tender passion ; and some were 
 reclining on the divan, with their slaves stand- 
 ing over them, fanning the sultry air from their 
 faces, and sprinkling their delicate lips with 
 rose-water. Little Venetian glasses, beauti- 
 fully gilt, were handed round with rosoglio ; 
 but some of the matrons more advanced in 
 years complained of faintness, and the hostess, 
 who kept no smelling-bottle in the harem, re- 
 tired to fetch a restorative, and returned with 
 a phial of inordinate dimension — it was the rakee 
 bottle : the good woman had never heard of 
 Brown or Brunot, but she held that a stimu- 
 lant was the same in its effect, whether ap- 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 290 THIi MUSSULMAN. 
 
 plied to the gastric or olfactory organs. Pains 
 in the stomach will trouble people in all coun- 
 tries, and cordials will remove them ; and poor 
 women, who have a mortal hatred to spirituous 
 liquors, will take a stomachic tincture in any 
 reasonable quantity to relieve them. The win- 
 dows were thrown open ; the fountain was set 
 playing ; they who were heated felt refreshed, 
 and they who were faint recovered from their 
 languor. The silence of rumination ceased, 
 and every one in a little time was as animated 
 as ever ; the old lady who gave " the twelve 
 good rules" to Zuleika, took the lead in the 
 conversation, every one bowed to her experi- 
 ence, and when she vaunted of being three 
 times married, of having buried one, divorced 
 a second, and abandoned a third ; of having 
 preserved her jointure through every vicissi- 
 tude of matrimonial life, the auditors Mash 
 Allali'd her ability ; Yussuf's mother, in par- 
 ticular, applauded her cleverness, and entreated 
 of her to favour the company with the history 
 of her eventful life, a request which the old 
 ladv very readily consented to comply with.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 291 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 None wed the second, but who killed the first. 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 " I WAS the daughter," said the old lady, 
 " of one of the richest bakers in Stamboul, 
 whose head was unfortunately taken off his 
 shoulders for sending by mistake a light loaf 
 to the house of the Janissary Aga, which had 
 been intended for one of the poor customers. 
 My mother, to whom God be merciful ! was the 
 wisest of women ; she was prepared for the 
 event, for the ears of my revered father had 
 been nailed to his own door five times, and 
 there was no lobe left for another operation. 
 Therefore, my worthy mother no sooner be- 
 held him in the gripe of the Janissaries on 
 the last occasion, than she fled to the haznah, 
 
 o 2
 
 292 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 carried away all the wealth she found there, 
 and buried it in the court-yard behind the 
 house. The soldiers returned in the evening 
 witli the remains of my poor father, they of- 
 fered them to my mother for four purses, but 
 she suspected it was only a device to ascertain 
 her circumstances, and as the trunk of her 
 ])oor husband was of no value, she thought 
 she might as well shift the expense of his 
 burial on his enemies ; she pleaded poverty, 
 and declared her inability to give the last 
 rites to the remains of her dear husband. 
 The following day the house was ransacked 
 from top to bottom, but no treasure was 
 found, and the corpse of my excellent sire, 
 after remaining three days at the door, Avith 
 the head under the arm, was thrown into the 
 Bosphorus. 
 
 " After the customary time of mourning, we 
 began to forget our loss ; we visited the bath, 
 and there, as fate would have it, I made 
 the acquaintance of the wife of the very Ja- 
 nissary Aga who had taken off my father's 
 head. She was a beautiful young Georgian,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 293 
 
 about luy own age; and had it not been that 
 her eyes M^ere not quite so brilliant as mine, 
 we miffht have been taken for two sisters. 
 We clubbed our sweetmeats at the bath, and 
 dined together ; we became so intimate that 
 I soon discovered my young friend hated 
 lier lord, with all the ardour of a moon-shaped 
 maiden married to the man she did not love. 
 
 " The fair Fatimah and I parted on the best of 
 terms. It was her husband who had deprived 
 me of my father, therefore why should I be in- 
 censed against her ? Neither was I. She visit- 
 ed me next day, and assured iTie of the interest 
 she took in my welfare, by proposing to bring 
 about a match between her husband and myself. 
 I shuddered, of course, at the proposal ; but 
 when she informed me that the fame of my 
 beauty had already reached his ears, and that 
 her description of my person had set his heart 
 into a flame, I began to think that my poor 
 father was not the honestest baker in Stamboul, 
 and that the Aga had some plea of justice to 
 offer for cutting off his head. It was not every 
 baker's wife who had a Janissary Aga thrown
 
 294 THE MUSSUI-MAN. 
 
 in her path ; it therefore behoved me to pause 
 before I refused to pick up the pearl which 
 thousands were ready to snatch at. 
 
 " Fatimah pressed nie to consent to receive 
 her lord's advances. ' He is the best of men,' said 
 she ; ' and if I could only love him, I should be 
 the happiest woman in the world. As it is, I 
 have no reason to complain ; I am as yet his 
 only wife, and command the harem ; but I fear 
 my reign is not destined to be of long duration. 
 The Aga, I know, is on the look-out for another 
 wife, and my only dread is that he may get 
 one I should not like. This, I confess to you, 
 is my principal reason for inducing you to take 
 the empty place in the Aga's heart. I am sure 
 you and I should agree amazingly well ; and, 
 allied in friendship, we should be able to do 
 whatever we pleased in the harem.' 
 
 " I spoke to my mother on the subject, but 
 she shook her head. She said the baker's gold 
 was all the Aga wanted ; and, moreover, that 
 my father's blood being on his head, I could not 
 marry him. For three whole days my mother's 
 respect for the memory of her excellent husband 
 rendered her deaf to all entreaties. The more
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 295 
 
 I begged of her to return a favourable answer 
 to the Aga's advances, the more inexorable she 
 appeared to be ; but at length she relented, 
 and promised to consent, provided the money 
 she meant to leave me was settled on myself. 
 The Aga was no longer master of his soul ; at 
 first he only loved me for my money, at last he 
 loved me altogether for myself. He acquiesced 
 in my mother's proposal after much discussion 
 on the subject, and I became the wife of the Ja- 
 nissary Aga. 
 
 " I pass over the transports of the first two 
 months ; the Aga was a pattern of kindness to all 
 good husbands, Fatimah was the most indifferent 
 of wives, and I, for upwards of eight weeks, was 
 the happiest woman in the world. I verily be- 
 lieve the Aga loved me for that time, and might 
 have done so for God knows how much longer, 
 had not an impudent slave robbed me of the 
 light of my lord's countenance, and deprived 
 me of his favoui-. I was then inexperienced in 
 the affairs of the harem ; I taxed my husband 
 with neglect, my mother talked of the Cadi, of 
 my marriage contract, of the guim a guin, and 
 the imperative nature of domestic felicity on
 
 296 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 that day. The Aga turned my mother out of 
 the house ; I was revenged on the slave, I beat 
 her daily ; there was no tranquillity in the ha- 
 rem. My mother found means of instructing 
 me in every annoyance it was possible to prac- 
 tise on the Aga's peace. I broke his pipes ; I 
 let the lamps fall on his garments ; spilled water 
 over his pistols ; sowed discord in the harem, 
 and imbroiled the inmates. I led the Janissary 
 Aga the life of a dog. 
 
 " The awe-inspiring functionary, at whose 
 appearance the people trembled, in whose pre- 
 sence the fiercest soldier dare not call his soul 
 his own, at whose nod the head tumbled from 
 the shoulders of the victim, at the sound of 
 whose voice the Sultan himself felt the insecu- 
 rity of existence, entered his own harem Avith 
 fear and trembling, and for his recreation was 
 regaled with the perpetual squabbles of its in- 
 mates. 
 
 " The poor Aga was naturally fond of domes- 
 tic tranquillity ; he tried to establish peace ; he 
 offered the terms, and I accepted them on the 
 condition of my mother being recalled to the ha- 
 rem, where she had resided since my marriage
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 297 
 
 till the unfortunate difference which drove her 
 from it. The Aga hated my mother as he did 
 the Shitan, but for ray sake he consented to her 
 return ; and she was not three days within its 
 walls before she turned the harem upside down, 
 and spread confusion over the whole household. 
 At this period the poor Aga was confined to his 
 bed with a slight cold ; my mother insisted on 
 being his doctor, she knew the properties of 
 herbs like any hakkim, and had a green hand 
 for a fresh wound or an old sprain. She tried 
 to persuade my husband that his disorder being 
 cold, he needed a hot remedy ; she had there- 
 fore prepared a compound for him of brimstone 
 and gunpowder, mixed with honey, which 
 would be sure to drive avv^ay the cold air which 
 had settled on his heart. 
 
 " After a great deal of difficulty, the Aga was 
 persuaded to take the remedy, but unfortunately, 
 in spite of its efficacy, he grew worse and worse, 
 and the more he took, the less comfortable he 
 felt. But my worthy mother was indefatigable 
 in her attentions ; since one spoonful had failed 
 to cure him, she gave him two, and when two 
 proved insufficient — she gave him three; and the 
 
 o 5
 
 298 THE MUSSULMAN 
 
 fourth was at his Hps when he unfortunately 
 expired. The only consolation of poor Fatiniah 
 and myself was, that nothing had been left 
 undone ; and our only satisfaction the day after 
 he was buried was, that we had made as good 
 a mourning over his remains, as the wives of 
 the Pacha of three tails could have made over 
 their lord. 
 
 "The Aga being an officer of the state, the 
 Sultan became his heir, and Fatiniah and myself 
 were thrust out of doors with ten purses each, 
 being about the twentieth part of the Aga's 
 substance. My mother and myself returned to 
 our own abode ; Fatimah sought a refuge in a 
 neighbour's harem, and having gone through 
 the duties of widowhood for an entire week, she 
 married her old lover at the expiration of that 
 period. 
 
 " For my part, I resolved never to change 
 my condition again. An opulent widow, when 
 her grief is over, is the most enviable woman 
 alive. The solemnity of her amsack, the dig- 
 nity of her deportment, and above all, the 
 freedom of her gait, proclaim her condition 
 wherever she goes, and procure her respect.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. :^!)9 
 
 There is an amiable self-sufficiency in her look 
 which it is impossible to mistake, however 
 young she may be ; there is a world of expe- 
 rience in her full black eye ; and on the gulistan 
 of her ruby lips, enjoyment in sweet repose 
 reclines, as if so enamoured of its bed of roses, 
 that it scorned the trouble of getting up. 
 
 " When my poor husband was a month dead, 
 I repaired to the cemetery with all my slaves, and 
 held the feast of mourning over the remains of 
 my lord for three whole days, and I left not 
 the tomb before I made a vow to the Prophet 
 to continue a widow all my life. I returned 
 home on the morning of the fourth day, and as 
 I passed by a cafe, a young man who sat at 
 the door touched my elbow as if by accident, 
 and then followed me till I reached my own 
 house. It would be a long story to tell how 
 mv slave was bought over to speak well of the 
 Effendi, to convey love-letters and sugar-plums, 
 which at first only excited my rage, then pro- 
 voked laughter, next produced pity, and lastly 
 elicited love. 
 
 " In one month from the day I made the 
 vow of perpetual widowhood, I was the wife of
 
 300 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 the young Effendi whom I met at the cafe on 
 my way home from the tomb of the lamented 
 Aga. No doubt, it must appear a manifest 
 weakness to have broken a resolution so wisely 
 formed ; but women ought to know that fate is 
 fate, and if it be decreed that tlie empty place 
 in their hearts is to be filled up by a new 
 attachment, all the vows in the world will not 
 long keep them widows. But the history of 
 my second marriage is so important a subject, 
 and teems with so much instruction, that to do 
 justice to it, I must endeavour to fortify my 
 stomach with another spoonful or two of tliat 
 excellent cordial."
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 301 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Have you eaten of the insane root. 
 
 Which takes the reason prisoner ? Macbeth. 
 
 ''My new husband was a son of the hakkim 
 bashi of Stamboul, the chief physician of the 
 state, and was himself a doctor, so that my 
 mother's skill was unlikely to be put to the 
 proof in any emergency of my lord's illness. 
 That worthy woman had not suffered me to 
 marry before a marriage contract similar to the 
 former had been made out and duly signed 
 before the Cadi, so that my husband had no- 
 thing to gain by a divorce. 
 
 " The hakkim being a man of science, whose 
 divine inspiration comes from a sacred source, 
 I flattered myself that there was no question of
 
 302 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 (Uir hap})iness. My husband was a man of 
 the most becoming gravity, he was there- 
 fore sure to be a man of discretion and 
 sobriety. My former hnd was unfortunately 
 addicted to rum-drinking, and much of our 
 discord had arisen from that cause. The hak- 
 kim drank notliing but water ; I was delight- 
 ed with his temperance, yet after a little time 
 lie beo-an to look and act like a drunken 
 man ; I watched him closely, I set spies over 
 him when he went abroad, and strange, he drank 
 neither wine nor spirits, but he chewed opium ; 
 he was a confirmed Theriaki. Every day, when 
 he had seen his unfortunate patients, he strolled 
 to the Suleimanieli, and there he sat till even- 
 ing, smoking intoxicating hashis, and swallow- 
 ing pills of maddening aphioun, till his brains 
 were steeped in drunkenness ; then would he 
 return home, his eyes rolling, his features flush- 
 ed, his antcree flying open, his turban awry, 
 and commonly his jebee turned inside out. 
 My soul was petrified with horror ; one day he 
 would mistake me for a houri of Paradise, clasp 
 me in a transport of madness to his bosom, 
 squeeze me almost to sufi'ocation, ask for my
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 303 
 
 companions, and fly after my handmaids, who 
 he imagined were the remaining seventy-one 
 celestial maidens allotted to him by the Apostle. 
 Stupified with rage and terror, I would then 
 behold him returning from the chase, and seiz- 
 ing on my hand, he would implore me to con- 
 duct him to the hollow pearl which formed my 
 kiash on the borders of the Prophet's pond. 
 
 " This delusion offended me not so much as 
 many of his other drunken visions, for his mis- 
 take was one which even a sober man might 
 have made, so houri-like was the splendour of 
 my large black eyes. 
 
 " Another day would he come home with the 
 idea that he was furnished with wings, and had 
 flown over mosques and minarets on his way 
 home. Then would he glide round the room 
 with a sliding motion, and assure me he was 
 making the tour of the universe, and was im- 
 pelled by the wind which blew direct from the 
 throne of the Prophet. In the midst of his 
 frenzy lie would stop to beg me to fasten on 
 his wings, which had become loosed, and then 
 set on his travels, jumping over stools which 
 he mistook for mountains, and stepping over
 
 304 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 chibouques, which he believed to be the pipes 
 which convey the water of the river of Paradise 
 to the sacred pond of El Cawther. 
 
 " I was sickened to death with his absurdities. 
 
 " Next day, he would return with the impres- 
 sion that he was the great planet of the hea- 
 vens, the sun himself, and that I was the moon 
 his mistress, and the stars around us the little 
 pledges of our affection. One moment he 
 would bid me flog the children with the tail of 
 a comet, and threaten to throw a planet at my 
 head if I refused. The next, he would accuse 
 me of stealing his substance, the light of his 
 body, and of bestowing my smiles on his para- 
 mour the earth ; then would he rail at me for 
 lifting the corner of my veil of clouds to peep 
 at my lover, and swear he would give me an 
 eclipse for my amsack to hide my beauty. 
 Then would he fall to abusing my inconstant 
 nature, taxing me with my changeable dispo- 
 sition, and the coldness with which I returned 
 his ardent passion. 
 
 " ' Pale-faced wench V would he exclaim, ' I 
 am weary of you ; your days are spent in mo- 
 ping about the heavens, your nights in weep-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 305 
 
 ing ; the waters of your eyes have already 
 drowned a world ; there is no joy in your coun- 
 tenance, no constancy in your soul, no warmth 
 in your bosom. The disk on my face is not 
 the shadow of my nose, if I do not divorce you 
 from bed and board. Remember the blessed 
 Prophet of Islam has already slit your cheek 
 with the edge of his sword ! Beware of the 
 other side, I may send for the Apostle to give 
 you another gash. Get out of my sight, planet 
 without shame ! hide your horns in the clouds ; 
 take your broad impudent face from before 
 me ; to bed, I say ! and when you rise again, 
 wipe the spots from your countenance which 
 disfigure your beauty, and teach your children 
 some other occupation besides winking at the 
 lewd world.' 
 
 " 1 knew not what to say or do, my vexation 
 deprived me of the power of utterance. 
 
 " The following evening he reeled into the 
 harem with a new vagary in his head : he was 
 the Sultan of the universe, I was his Sultana. 
 He assembled the household ; my seven slaves 
 were the seven hundred women of his seraglio ; 
 the cook was his Grand Vizier, a greasy scullion
 
 306 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 his Reis EfFendi, my poor mother his Mufti, 
 the water-carrier his Capitan Pacha, and a 
 decrepit negro his Kislar Aga. He ordered 
 my only child to be drowned because it was a 
 girl — it was the law of the land, and could not 
 be avoided : he talked of the Sultan's attributes ; 
 he was the imperial man-slayer, and was en- 
 titled to slay forty men a day without render- 
 ing any account to the judges. He commenced 
 the exercise of his high prerogative by pointing 
 to my mother, and then nodding to the negro. 
 But Sultan as he called himself, the hakkim 
 was seen in his decrees, for when he deposed 
 the vizier, and sentenced the rest of the minis- 
 ters to death, he committed the execution of 
 the warrant to the cook, and handed him the 
 key of the apartment where he kept his drugs. 
 As for me, the fate of the Mufti was destined 
 to be mine. I was found guilty of having been 
 looked at by a man who passed under the 
 lattice, and I was sentenced to be pounded in 
 the same mortar with my mother, and an order 
 given to fill the bottle of mummy powder in 
 the pharmacy when we were sufficiently pul- 
 verized.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 307 
 
 " I endeavoured to conceal my indignation as 
 long as I could ; but when I could no longer 
 control my rage, I took the slipper off my foot, 
 and fluni; it at the head of the drunken doctor. 
 " I had hoped that the indignity he had suf- 
 fered in the face of his menials, would have 
 had some effect in cliecking his dissolute habits ; 
 but the next day he was as bad as ever. I 
 found him in the harem absorbed in a reverie 
 more monstrous than any former one. He was 
 sitting on the divan with an umbrella extended 
 over his head, which he believed to be the 
 shadow of the blessed Tuba which grows in 
 Paradise, and presents all sorts of delicious 
 fruits to the hands of the true behever. He 
 imagined himself surrounded by every species 
 of delectable food which the sacred volume pro- 
 mises the gratification of to the palate of the 
 faithful. The moment my ])oor mother en- 
 tered the room, he seized on her portly person, 
 and would have it she was the ox Balaam, 
 whose flesh was formed for the universal 
 stomach of the family of Islam. The terror of 
 my amiable parent may be easily conceived ; I 
 ran to her assistance, but no sooner did I get
 
 308 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 within reach of the madman, than he grasped 
 my wrist, and turning up his eyes, he gave 
 thanks to the Apostle for providing his repast 
 with the great fish Nun, the lobe of whose liver 
 is the most delectable of celestial viands. 
 
 " When I wept with rage, he swore that my 
 salt tears were the sweet waters of Rocknabad, 
 and called to the servants to catch the drops in 
 silver goblets. In the mean time the opium 
 appeared to be working more strongly on his 
 brain, his staring eye-balls glared on my mo- 
 ther and myself with the expression of a can- 
 nibal, he clenched his fingers and moved his 
 jaw, as if he were already masticating us both. 
 I was frightened out of my wits ; I made a sud- 
 den effort to extricate myself from his grasp, 
 and fortunately succeeded in getting to the 
 door. The liver of the fish Nun was lost to 
 his repast, but the flesh of the ox Balaam 
 was still quivering in his liold, and Oh mighty 
 Allah ! what a thrill of horror went through 
 my soul, when I beheld the Theriaki gnawing 
 at the great arm of my screaming mother. I 
 once more had recourse to my papoush, I sum- 
 moned up my courage and flew at the cannibal.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 309 
 
 and partially restored him to his senses by re- 
 peated blows of the slipper ; he relinquished his 
 hold of his victim, and with her I was glad to 
 make a precipitate retreat from the apartment. 
 But we had not long been absent, when it oc- 
 curred to me he would be at some farther mis- 
 chief, so long as he was under the influence of 
 the cursed opium. I returned to the chamber, 
 peeped in at the door, and found the room 
 empty. To my horror I observed the box in 
 Avhich my trinkets had been deposited broken 
 open, and on examining it every gem was 
 gone. I heard the sound of the madman's 
 voice in the kitchen, I rushed to the door, and 
 there I beheld my beautiful trinkets scattered 
 before the eater of opium, with a saucepan in 
 one hand, and a pearl necklace in the other. 
 I became reckless of existence, fear departed, 
 and fury took possession of my heart. 
 
 " ' Son of a drunken Theriaki !' I exclaimed, 
 ' What, in the name of the Prophet, are you 
 about 'f' 
 
 " With all the composure in the world, the 
 maniac informed me that he was preparing a 
 pilau of boiled pearls, which he meant to gar-
 
 310 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 nish with stewed rubies. The water in which 
 he meant to boil the pilau, he gravely told me, 
 was composed of melted crystals. 
 
 " My heart died away at the words of the 
 madman ; I snatched the pearls from his hand, I 
 tore the saucepan from his grasp, and rescued 
 my jewels from the fatal process which awaited 
 them. 
 
 " The following morning I accompanied my 
 mother to the Cadi, and the moment I entered 
 the hall of justice, I took my slipper, and turn- 
 ing the sole upward, I called for justice, and 
 demanded to be divorced from a bad husband. 
 
 " ' Effendi !' I exclaimed, ' it has been my 
 misfortune to have married an opium-eater, 
 whose daily intoxication is the terror of my 
 soul. One day he fancies himself a Sultan, and 
 calls his slaves the ministers of state ; the next 
 day he pursues my handmaids, whom he sup- 
 poses the houries of Paradise ; another day he 
 mistakes my mother for the Ox Balaam, and 
 your poor servant, Effendi, for the great fish 
 Nun, and attempts to eat us both ; and when he 
 is disappointed of his repast, he seizes on my 
 jewels to make a pilau of strung pearls, and a
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 311 
 
 garniture for the dish of stewed rubies. But 
 that is not the worst, EfFendi ; his imagination 
 is so taken up with houries, that he has for- 
 gotten he has a wife; and I, Effendi, have no 
 reason to remember I have a husband, though 
 I have cause to recollect tliat I am tied to a 
 Theriaki, who has the name of one.' 
 
 " I produced my marriage contract, and the 
 Cadi immediately sent a chiaous for the hak- 
 kim, who was forthwith taken from his bed and 
 brought before the judge. 
 
 " The appearance of the man as he tottered 
 into the room, manifested the truth of my com- 
 plaint. The effects of the previous evening's 
 intoxication were visible on his haggard fea- 
 tures ; his limbs trembled, his eyes were dim 
 and sunken, his skin was shrivelled, and his 
 whole countenance ghastly. 
 
 " The Cadi asked him what he had to say to 
 my complaint, but his voice was so tremulous 
 when he attempted to reply, that it was im- 
 possible to distinguish the words he uttered. 
 The Cadi stared at him for a few seconds, 
 shook his head, and told him he was a drunken 
 Theriaki, and would come to an untimely end.
 
 312 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 " My prayer was heard ; I obtained a divorce 
 forthwith, and a separate maintenance of three 
 piastres a day, and then retired with my ami- 
 able mother, delighted at the result of our 
 application to the Cadi."
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 313 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Whoever fights another's foe, 
 
 Does that which none but fools would do ; 
 
 He's seldom thank'd, he's often thrash'd. 
 
 Gets kick'd and cuff'd and sometimes lash'd. 
 
 And rushes headlong into strife ; 
 
 Like him who goes 'twixt man and wife, 
 
 Drawing upon him all the anger. 
 
 Both of the bang'd and of the banger. 
 
 The Barbaresque. 
 
 " Once more a widow," cried the fortunate 
 old woman, " I resolved, with the assistance 
 of the Prophet, never again to change my con- 
 dition ; — I say with the Prophet's assistance, for 
 what resolution can a poor woman keep with- 
 out the aid of Allah, or El Nebi ? But this 
 time I took no oath, as I had done before, and 
 it was well I did not, for I should have per- 
 jured myself if I had sworn to remain single. 
 " In the Bezesteen frequented by Arab 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 314 THK MUSSULMAN. 
 
 mercliantS) I one day made a purchase of a 
 piece of linen of a young Egyptian, whose 
 courteous manner and sprightly conversation 
 pleased me no less than his sparkling eyes 
 and handsome features, notwithstanding the 
 swarthiness of his complexion. I frequented 
 his stall, bought goods I did not want, and 
 had them carried home by the merchant him- 
 self, and in due time I set his heart in a blaze, 
 and my own also. 
 
 " Foolish people think that the first flame of 
 love is the most ardent ; I found it otherwise. 
 Each time I married, the present passion vv'as 
 stronger than the former ; it appeared to me 
 as if my heart had become enlarged by each 
 previous engagement, and was made capable of 
 holding a greater quantity of love. 
 
 " But there was one difficulty in the way of 
 my marriage with the merchant. He had his 
 legal number of wives in his own country ; he 
 had already made four women happy, so that I 
 was destined to remain miserable, unless I con- 
 sented to enter into that species of wedlock 
 which is called hakabin, and which is adopted 
 only by strangers who mean to sojourn but a
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 315 
 
 limited period in the place they visit. It is 
 not, I must allow, the most respectable mode 
 of invoking the genius of Aniran, but what 
 could I do ? — I was in love with the Egyptian, 
 my heart had become like a red-hot coal, and 
 as violent passions have sudden ends, I thought 
 I might as well try a twelvemonth's marriage. 
 
 " I accompanied my suitor to the house of 
 the Cadi, where he entered into a compact, 
 signed and sealed, in the presence of the magis- 
 trate, to maintain me as his true and lawful 
 wife for one year. 
 
 " I never entered into the married state with 
 so much alacrity ; the very idea that I was not 
 going to be tied for life to a man who might 
 turn out to be a Theriaki at the end of three 
 weeks, like my last lord, or at the expiration of 
 two months pat the cheeks of my handmaids, 
 like my first worthy husband, was a source of 
 endless gratification to me ; and I felt as if no- 
 thing was wanting to render men completely 
 happy, but the general adoption of annual 
 marriages. 
 
 " What a blessed thing is it, thought I, that 
 two poor people of opposite tastes are at liberty 
 
 p 2
 
 316 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 to part before their individual caprice has time 
 to become a mutual curse. How delightful it 
 is to see an lioncst couple, who were fools 
 enough to think that their souls were united 
 when their hands were joined, discover their 
 error timely enough to redeem their happiness, 
 instead of sitting all their lives mowing and 
 chattering at one another, like two monkeys 
 attached by the middle. 
 
 " How happy a thing it would be, if it would 
 but please Allah to reprieve poor mortals from 
 the sentence of discord for life, and suffer their 
 souls to walk at large after a twelvemonth's 
 imprisonment. I loved my husband ten times 
 more than 1 could have done had I been 
 united to liim for ever ; I talked of nothing 
 but the blessings of the hakabin, and for three 
 whole montlis it was impossible to be a happier 
 woman than I was. 
 
 " I already began to think of renewing the 
 contract at the expiration of the year ; there 
 were only three quarters of it to come, and 
 it would be impossible, I thought, to feel 
 otherwise then than I did now. But towards 
 the beginning of the fourtli month, I discovered
 
 THE I\IUSSULMAN. 317 
 
 a few trifling imperfections in my lord, which 
 had previously escaped my observations. Be- 
 fore the close of it, I found as many flagrant 
 faults as I had hitherto found virtues ; and in 
 the course of the fifth I had reason to believe, 
 that had I been married, for life, I could not 
 have hated my husband more heartily than I 
 did my twelvemontJi spouse. 
 
 " The soul of the merchant was altogether 
 wrapt up in his Egyptian commodities. A 
 piece of the linen of El Masr was more pre- 
 cious in his sight than any earthly object. 
 Morning, noon, and night, I heard of nothing 
 but linen. He spoke, thought, talked, and 
 dreamt of nothing else. At breakfast, dinner, 
 and supper, his eternal theme was linen ; and 
 even when he was repeating his five prayers, 
 instead of turning his face to the keblr of 
 Mecca, he used to plant himself opposite a 
 pile of his favourite commodity, at the end 
 of the room. 
 
 " It was in vain I tried to get him oif the 
 inexhaustible to])ic. If I spoke of flowers, he 
 talked of flax-seed ; if I asked what grew in 
 El INIasr, I was answered, hemp. If I en-
 
 318 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 (juired about the dress of the Arab women, 
 the reply was linen. 
 
 " All day long the word was ringing in my 
 ears, and in spite of all my endeavours to 
 banish it from my mind, I still found linen ! 
 linen ! linen ! jingling perpetually in my head 
 like the fag end of a hacknied song. 
 
 " If I succeeded at all in turning the conver- 
 sation, it was only to make aj)parent another of 
 the amiable ]:)ropensities of my lord. He had a 
 thorough contempt for every thing that came 
 not from El INIasr ; and no matter what was 
 spoken of, it was sure to be made an object of 
 comparison with something similar in his land 
 of linen. El Masr was the standard by which 
 the value of all sublunary things was deter- 
 mined previous to their being decried. If I 
 talked of the beauty of Stamboul, it was no- 
 thing to that of El Masr : if I spoke of the 
 sun, moon, or stars, those of El Masr were 
 sure to get the preference. In short, there was 
 no uttering a syllable on any earthly subject, 
 without having the detestable name of El Masr 
 dragged in some way or other. 
 
 " The annoyance became so intolerable at
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 319 
 
 last, that I would have willingly exchanged the 
 society of the worrying son of El Masr for 
 that of the mad-brained Theriaki ; for the con- 
 tempt I felt for the former was infinitely more 
 irksome than the terror the latter inspired. I 
 cursed all hakabin weddings in my heart. ' Had 
 I taken the man,' said I, ' for good and all, for 
 the sake of his peace he would have endea- 
 voured to render himself agreeable. If two 
 strange people get into a boat to cross the 
 Bosphorus, they are sure to quarrel about 
 the balance : put them into a ship to make a 
 voyage to Scanderia, and they are likely to 
 agree ; the annoyance they cannot escape from, 
 they try to put up with as well as they can. 
 
 " The eiffhth month of the hakabin had not 
 expired before a fracas occurred in the harem, 
 in which my poor mother, as usual, took a 
 leading part. I don't know how it was, but 
 every man I married hated my mother ; each 
 of them objected to her, or any relative of mine, 
 beino" an inmate of the harem. I must confess 
 they had reason on their side ; the relatives of 
 wives ruin the peace of every house they fix 
 their abode in. It is their business, out of the
 
 320 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 purest motive of friendsliip, to seek for imper- 
 fections in the husband, which the wife is too 
 blind to see, and then to acquaint her with 
 them. One who is eating the bread of the 
 man she tries to lower in the aflTections of his 
 wife, says, ' Ah, my dear cousin ! are you and 
 your husband happy ? Pray Allah you are 
 so ! but doubtless there are some little misun- 
 derstandings between you now and then, as 
 there always are in married life. 
 
 " ' How is his temper, dear ? does he treat 
 you well ? does not scold at all, never bawls at 
 you ? You know, love, I am your cousin, and 
 only ask you these questions because I am in- 
 terested in your happiness. Ah ! these hus- 
 bands, dear, are great brutes when they are 
 allowed to get their own way ; they impose 
 upon poor women's patience and humility ; 
 does he on yours, dear .? You are sure he never 
 frowns when you are alone with him, and looks 
 cross and surly, and bids you go to the Shitan, 
 when you ask leave to go to the bath ? Well, 
 I am sure I am glad to hear he is not like other 
 men : Heaven grant you may always find him 
 good-tempered and kind to you ! but I have
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 321 
 
 my fears; he is a very fierce-looking man, 
 dear."* 
 
 " Another says, ' Well, my poor niece, how 
 do you get on ? do you still think your husband 
 loves you ? You believe he does : how wonder- 
 ful is Allah ! I trust he always will love you, 
 child; but he is a very young man: there are 
 too many pretty slaves about the harem, and 
 he talks to them, child, when they fetch his 
 pipe or remove his beneesh — I don't like that. 
 Have you observed any thing, child ? Is it 
 possible you have remarked no change in his 
 affection, no coolness in his manner, no hasti- 
 ness in his reply to your expressions of endear- 
 ment ? Masters, my child, will wink at their 
 wives' handmaids ; they will toy w4th their 
 fingers and play with their curls, and whisper 
 with the giggling jades in the passages. Ah, 
 child, you do not know these husbands as I do ; 
 if you did, you would have an eye on yours. 
 
 " ' I fear he is a bad one ; that eye of his, my 
 dear girl, is too watery for the abode of con- 
 stancy ; his hand is too moist for an honest 
 husband's ; it is greatly to be feared he will 
 make you miserable. I trust in the Apostle he 
 
 p 5
 
 322 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 shows no preference to his other wife ; that you 
 have no cause to be jealous. Min Alhili ! Heaven 
 forbid lie should so far wrong my poor child as 
 to rob her of that which the law entitles her to, 
 the full half of his affections ! There are only 
 two of you, and the equal division of his love 
 is a duty he owes each of you. If lie defravid 
 you, as I fear he does, of that portion of his 
 society which is your due, you are an injured 
 wife, and must resent the injustice done you." 
 
 " Then comes an old lady with a discontented 
 face, who says : — ' Alas, my daughter ! you 
 are married to a man who is not able to keep 
 you as other women of your rank are kept : 
 your husband is a poor scurvy fellow, he has 
 never given you a ride in a gilt coacli but once 
 since your marriage. Our neighbours' wives 
 eat roast lamb and marsh- mallows for a salad 
 every day ; we are fed like porters' wives on 
 beans and buffalo, and if we do have a pilau, it 
 is never garnished witli a boiled fowl and saf- 
 fron sauce. Why did I marry you to a wretch 
 without a haznah ? better I had given you to 
 the last scullion in the house of ' God's poor 
 servant' the Mufti. What honour can he ex-
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 323 
 
 pect in his harem who cannot afford a Beiram 
 present to his wife's mother ? What love is a 
 husband entitled to, who cannot dress his wife 
 as well as his neighbours are attired ? What 
 right has he to lift his voice in the harem who 
 is not able to buy a single cachemere shawl 
 when the poor woman, who is tied to his poverty, 
 is pining for a new one ? Staffer Allah ! what 
 does a woman marry for? Is it not to live 
 like a lady upon dainty food ; to visit the bath, 
 like an Effendi's wife, in suitable garments of 
 silk and satin ; to ride in a coach drawn by 
 beautiful oxen ; to sit in the poop of a carved 
 caique, and every boat that passes to hear the 
 delightful sounds of — ' Whose Sultana can that 
 be ? Who ever beheld so elegant a ferigee ? 
 Who but the Reis Effendi can be the owner 
 of so much splendour ? Who else could afford 
 his wife such a magnificent murlin ? What 
 fashionable trowsers ! how large and elegant ! 
 It is only in the harem of the Defterdar, the 
 treasurer of state, that such a pair is to be 
 found;** — and a thousand other expressions of 
 charming envy and gratifying admiration. 
 But you, my dear daughter, have no such
 
 324 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 pleasures ; you are thrown away on a man who 
 has no soul, an Effendi of no substance. It is 
 very true, he says he loves you, but what sig- 
 nifies his love without adequate proofs of his 
 affection ? one present, my child, is worth a 
 thousand protestations. You do not seem to 
 feel how truly unfortunate you are, but it is 
 my duty to open your eyes to your unhappy 
 condition. 
 
 " ' Do you not lead the life of a Santon's 
 mistress.'' You who were so tenderlv brouHu 
 lip, so delicately reared, fed with a spoon of the 
 finest ebony, served out of dishes of the rarest 
 China, and seated on carpets of the finest tissue — 
 Oh ! what a change has taken place ! A com- 
 mon wooden spoon is the best in the harem ; 
 the pottery of Kenah is the choicest in the 
 house, and a coarse rug of Caramania is the 
 softest seat for my poor daughter. Ah, child ! 
 I fear you forget what is due to your dignity ; 
 it is incumbent on you to show this poor hus- 
 band of yours that you are aware of his 
 poverty, and that you despise him for it. It is 
 absurd to talk to me of your happiness; you 
 cannot, nor ought you to be happy. You
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 325 
 
 are not maintained as a woman of fashion ought 
 to be maintained, and you are therefore devoid 
 of your mother's spirit if you do not worry 
 the wretcli by vmceasing demands for clothes 
 and trinkets, befitting a lady of your rank, 
 till you drive him mad, and then perhaps 
 riches may pour on the head of the favourite 
 of heaven.' 
 
 " Then comes a little mawkish sister, whose 
 head is filled with nothing but Megnouns and 
 Khosrues, and who dreams of nothing but 
 beautiful Eff'endis and love-sick striplings. 
 
 " ' Ah, sister !' she exclaims, ' what a fine 
 thing it is to be married to a handsome man 
 who wears embroidered clothes, and rides high- 
 couraged horses ; on whose shining sword the 
 sunbeams glitter, and whose costly pistols are 
 resplendent with gold and silver ! Heigho ! I 
 wonder, shall I ever get such a husband ? Allah 
 is merciful ! if it please him, some young EfFendi 
 may fall in love with me ; some charming youth, 
 with his turban on one side, and a hyacinth 
 danelinff over his forehead. 
 
 " ' Was your husband ever handsome, my 
 dear sister ? did he ever look better than he
 
 326 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 does now ? was he always so meagre in his per- 
 son ? were his features always so melancholy ? 
 Poor dear man ! he is so kind, so good-natured, 
 that it is quite a pity he is so much disfigured 
 by the small-pox. But the ugliest men are 
 sometimes very good-tempered ; he can no more 
 help being ill-favoured, than the deformed 
 camel of Aad. Did you ever see him smile, 
 sister .-^ how does he look, pray, when he is 
 happy ? I often thought of asking you if it 
 was possible to love an ugly man ; I am sure 1 
 could not : had I such a husband as yours, I 
 would be sure to hate him. I think I could 
 even tear his eyes out.' 
 
 " Such is the language which the relatives 
 hold who are suffered to live in the liarems of 
 their newly-married friends ; and very possibly 
 it was on account of hearing my amiable mo- 
 ther lecture me in a similar strain, that my 
 Egyptian lord gave her twelve hours' notice 
 to quit his house, and forbade her ever darken- 
 ing the threshold of his door again. The fol- 
 lowing morning I was to be deprived of the 
 society of my revered mother ; she employed 
 the interval, in throwing the entire household
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 327 
 
 into disorder, and when the merchant ventured 
 to remonstrate, he drew a shower of invective 
 on his head, such as no otlier woman in the 
 world but my mother was capable of pouring 
 forth. The merchant listened patiently to the 
 abuse which no human power was capable of 
 controlling; but when she uttered an impreca- 
 tion on El Masr, and all its linen, he could no 
 longer restrain his fury ; he flung every cushion 
 of the divan at the person of my amiable pa- 
 rent, one only took effect, which sent her to 
 the fcirthest corner of the room, and caused her 
 head to come in contact with the wall with such 
 violence, that 1 thought the shock would have 
 been fatal to her ; she appeared, however, to 
 be not even stunned by the blow. I observed 
 her give a glance at the pile of linens which 
 stood by her side ; I marked her awful eye 
 glaring round the room as if in quest of some 
 object wherewith to wreak her vengeance. Her 
 gaze at length alighted on the capacious ink- 
 stand of the merchant ; in the twinkling of an 
 eye it was in her grasp, and before the hor- 
 rified Egyptian had time to bid her hold her 
 Infuriated hand, the jar was dashed to pieces
 
 328 THR MUSSULMAN. 
 
 on the linens, and its contents streamed over 
 the whole surface of the pile. 
 
 " Never shall I forget the look of agony of 
 the Egyptian ; he stood absolutely petrified with 
 horror, whilst I and my revered mother fled 
 screaming from the house, calling out murder 
 at every step till we reached the street. 
 
 " I passed the unexpired period of the haka- 
 bin in the seclusion of a second widowhood. I 
 could not help thinking my amiable mother was 
 a little to blame in her late conduct, and, had it 
 pleased Heaven to have mitigated her fury on 
 the last awful occasion, that it would have been 
 better for all parties. 
 
 " During my residence in the harem of the 
 Janissary Aga, I made the acquaintance of 
 many women of high rank, and amongst the 
 number, of the Avife of the Etchi Bashi, or chief 
 Cook of the Janissaries. Our intimacy had be- 
 come a friendship, and one day, on passing her 
 door, I thought 1 might as well make an in- 
 quiry after her health, so I proceeded to the 
 harem and souoht its mistress, but the first 
 slave I saw, informed me that my poor friend 
 had been six months in her grave.
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 329 
 
 " I could not do less than set up a lamenta- 
 tion for the poor woman, and whilst I was per- 
 forming this act of civility, the noise of my 
 grief brought the Etchi Bashi himself to the 
 door. I instantly covered up my face, but be- 
 fore I had time to pull down my veil, which 1 
 had removed for the purpose of making the 
 lamentation, the Etchi Bashi had a full view 
 of my features. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the excessive rudeness of 
 a master of a house making his appearance at 
 the door of his harem when a female visitor 
 was announced, I was in no hurry to escape 
 without hearing a few words concerning the 
 death of my poor friend. The widower invited 
 me to enter ; there were no strangers, he said, in 
 the house, and he would be able to tell me 
 every thing I desired to know about his la- 
 mented wife, without any fear of interruption. 
 It would have been highly improper for any 
 inexperienced young woman to have accepted 
 his invitation, but a thrice-married woman may 
 
 go anywhere with impunity. 
 
 " I pass over the melancholy details I was 
 
 obliged to listen to during the early part of my
 
 330 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 visit, and tlie more interesting ones which fol- 
 lowed them. One visit paved the way to ano- 
 ther ; one gentle topic led to a second ; from the 
 language of lamentation we proceeded to that 
 of love ; in a fortnight I was the wife of the 
 chief Cook of the Janissaries. 
 
 " My mother was delighted with the mar- 
 riage ; I myself overjoyed at my good fortune. 
 I was the mistress of the harem of one of the 
 greatest functionaries in the empire, and had 
 no rival within its walls to share the smiles of 
 my husband. My mother, as usual, insisted on 
 becoming an inmate of the house, of which her 
 daughter was the Sultana, and the illustrious 
 cook consented to any arrangement which I ap- 
 proved of. 
 
 " Whether it was owing to my great expe- 
 rience, or to the little care my new husband 
 took to conceal the leading passion cf his soul, 
 I know not ; but in the course of a little week, 
 I was as well acquainted with every weakness 
 of the heart of the chief Cook, as if he had 
 a glass-window in his bosom. Though the 
 public exercise of his profession occupied little 
 of his time, its private duties engrossed all the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 331 
 
 faculties of his soul. The great business of his 
 life was eating, and the first of all human plea- 
 sures he believed to consist in cooking ; he 
 spent half his time in the kitchen, and boasted 
 of having a dinner for every day in the year, 
 each day''s repast different from that of the 
 former, and every dish an invention of his 
 own. The first day we sat down to dinner, I 
 thought my poor mother would have died ere 
 the repast was over. 
 
 " The moment the dishes were set down, 
 the nauseous effluvia that arose from the viands 
 was quite overpowering ; drugs which were 
 never used except by hakkims, were here em- 
 ployed as condiments. Turmeric and carra- 
 ways, cumin-seed, and assafoetida, had been em- 
 ployed in the composition of the sauces with 
 no unsparing hand, and the odour that was 
 emitted from these horrible compounds was 
 more than could be endured by any stomach 
 save that of the chief Cook. My poor mother 
 tasted one dish after another, every morsel was 
 accompanied by a wry face, and when at last 
 she put her fingers into a dish of bananas 
 stewed in boiling oil, and drew them forth
 
 332 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 screaming with agony, and exclaiming that she 
 was burned to death, I trembled for the con- 
 sequence ; I expected to hear her every moment 
 utter an imj)recation, not only on the dinner, 
 but on the cook, and I was not disappointed. I 
 thanked the Prophet tliat my husband was 
 not present, and I endeavoured by every means 
 in my power to soothe her, and to assure her 
 that a dish of scaldino- oil should never again 
 be set before her. Next day we entreated 
 permission to cook our own dinner, but the 
 reply I received was such as little disposed me 
 to ask a similar favour. In a short time after 
 this, the Etchi Bashi condescended to dine with 
 us ; it was with difficulty I could get my poor 
 mother to sit down, and before she did so, I 
 entreated her, for the sake of the Prophet's 
 beard, to avoid giving offence to my husband. 
 She promised to be discreet, but every time I 
 saw her put fingers to her lips, I trembled for 
 the result. Nothing could exceed the ])olite- 
 ness of the chief Cook ; with his own fingers he 
 helped me to the choicest bits, but I found it 
 impossible to swallow them, the odour of the 
 assafoetida was in my nostrils, and my heart was
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 333 
 
 in my throat. I thought I should have dropped 
 every moment ; once only I dared to give a 
 glance at my suffering mother. I beheld the 
 Cook pressing her to eat a roasted badingan, 
 stuffed with forced-meat, turmericj, and anise- 
 seeds; the more she declined the proffered dish, 
 the more was she solicited to taste it : at last, I 
 saw it raised to her lips, it disappeared ; but 
 the jaw never moved, the throat never stirred, 
 her features became fixed, her eye-balls rolled, 
 the perspiration poured down her forehead, she 
 appeared to be in the agonies of death. But I 
 was relieved from the fear of her dissolution, by 
 the sound of a suffocating shriek issuing from 
 her lips as she made a sudden effort to spring 
 upon her feet. In her endeavour to arise, her 
 dress got entangled in her feet ; she tried to ex- 
 tricate her garment, but in doing so, she trod 
 on it in front, and this unlucky accident pulling 
 her forward, she lost her balance. I saw her 
 going two minutes, at least, before she fell, but 
 I had not the presence of mind to give a hand 
 to save her ; and as for the chief Cook, he was 
 so bewildered with astonishment, that he was 
 incapable of motion.
 
 334 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 " I found it impossible to keep my eyes on 
 the falling figure of ray venerable parent ; but 
 I could not shut my ears against tlie tremen- 
 dous crash which followed — when the Prophet 
 split the moon, the uproar in the ])lanet could 
 not have been greater. I cast my eyes in the 
 direction of the tumult, and the first object my 
 sight encountered, was the botly of my amiable 
 mother extended across the dinner-tray, floun- 
 derino; in a confused mass of sauces and sweet- 
 meats, pilaus and kibabs, all jumbled toge- 
 ther, and my parent in the midst. 
 
 " The dinner-service was utterly demolished ; 
 the chief Cook stood aghast, gazing on the ruin 
 of a repast which had occupied his whole 
 morning, and on which his woe-begone features 
 showed how much he had set his heart. 
 
 " ' If you have a spark of pity,"* said I, ' in 
 your bosom, assist me to raise my venerable 
 parent ; she is in the agonies of death, and the 
 horrible compounds that are reeking under her 
 nose will hasten her dissolution. 
 
 " ' Shadow of the sacred stew-pan of our 
 corps !"* cried the chief Cook, ' have I lived to 
 see a dinner which might be classed among the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 335 
 
 noblest efforts of human ingenuity, destroyed 
 in the twinkling of an eye by an old wretch 
 without taste or breeding ? have I married a 
 daughter of the Shitan, who has the insolence to 
 give the name of horrible compounds to the 
 most delicious dishes that were ever cooked ? 
 Your goul of a mother may rot where she lies 
 before I give a hand to raise her ; let her die 
 where she sprawls, and the sooner you follow 
 your venerable parent, the better pleased shall 
 
 1 he: 
 
 " The unfeehng Cook, with these words, flung 
 out of the room ; I immediately ran to the as- 
 sistance of my mother; I was just in time 
 to save her from suffocation : her face was bu- 
 ried in a dish of pilau, one hand was in a tureen 
 of soup, the other was extended over a plate of 
 kibabs. When I succeeded in getting her on 
 her legs, it was impossible to behold a more 
 deplorable figure ; masses of clotted rice were 
 spattered over her features, and one side of her 
 face was dyed completely yellow with the saf- 
 fron sauce which came in contact with it. 
 
 " I led her to her chamber, groaning every 
 step she went, and muttering curses on the head
 
 336 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 of the chief Cook and all his tribe. She swore 
 that she was poisoned, and that the steam of 
 the assafoetida was still in her nostrils. For all 
 the treasures of the universe, she said, she 
 would not remain another night under the roof 
 of a wretch who must have inevitably studied 
 the black art, for nowhere else could he have 
 learned the composition of such horrible messes 
 as had been that day set before them. 
 
 " I endeavoured to persuade her to remain in 
 the house till the following morning, but all my 
 entreaties were of no avail, she even threatened 
 to bestow a malediction on my head if I stayed 
 behind. 
 
 " The Etchi Bashi cut the matter short, by 
 rushing into the room with a long stick of a 
 chiaous in his hand, with which he threatened 
 to break every bone in the body of my poor 
 mother, if she did not immediately leave the 
 house. He had evidently sallied from the kit- 
 chen, for in his left liand he held a saucepan, 
 smoking as if it had been just taken off the fire, 
 which probably contained the ingredients for a 
 new dish. 
 
 " At the sound of his threat, I saw the blood
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 33T 
 
 rushing into the cheeks of my worthy mother. 
 I observed how her eyes began to ghsten, how 
 her fingers began to stir ; I whispered in her 
 ear, Patience, Mother ; for the sake of the Pro- 
 phet, keep your temper ! — but I was talking to 
 the winds. My mother was deaf as the howl- 
 ing tempest, but she was not dumb ; she let 
 loose her tongue on the Chief Cook ; for ten mi- 
 nutes her fury ceased not, but its termination 
 was followed by a more aggravating insult than 
 any she had yet offered ; she spit in the sauce- 
 pan which the Etchi-bashi held at arm's length 
 to keep her from his person. 
 
 " The scene that followed was the most terri- 
 ble I ever witnessed, the saucepan and its scalding 
 contents were flung at my poor mother's head. 
 The shrieks that followed were truly awful ; the 
 sufferer ran rovmd the room yelling the terrific 
 Yangenvar, while the Cook, regardless of the 
 fire-cry, followed up his brutality by beating 
 my poor mother from the top of the stairs to 
 the bottom, and then thrusting her into the 
 street. I was half dead with terror, and would 
 have given the world to have got out of the 
 house. I expected every moment to see the en- 
 
 VOL. 1. Q
 
 'S'Sii thl; mussllman. 
 
 raged Ktchi-bashi, enter with another niurtler- 
 ous saucepan to scald me to death ; but, luckily, 
 the recollection of the stewpan he had left on 
 tlie fire called him back to the kitchen, and while 
 lie was occupied there, I contrived to slip out 
 of the harem and make my way to the outer 
 door. When I crossed the threshold, I consi- 
 dered myself the most fortunate of women ; I 
 immediately returned to my old habitation, 
 where I found my mother in the hands of a 
 barber, who was pouring linseed-oil over her 
 scorched features. She was not so bad, how- 
 ever, but that she was able to lay all her misfor- 
 tunes to my account, and I, in return, all mine 
 to hers ; in short, my amiable mother and my- 
 self did nothing for three whole days but quar- 
 rel. The fourth we were fatigued : — my mother 
 had lost the skin of her nose — I had lost my 
 husband ; we condoled with one another, and 
 became, as affectionately attached as ever. 
 
 " In the mean time an vmfortunate circum- 
 stance arose which drove us from Stamboul. 
 A servant of the late Janissary Aga's called one 
 day at our house, and asked to have a private 
 conversation with my mother. I stationed my-
 
 THK MUSSULMAN. 339 
 
 self at the door of the adjoining room, and, to 
 my utter astonishment, heard the menial de- 
 mand ten purses of my mother as the price of 
 his silence toucliing the murder of his deceased 
 master. It was in vain my mother protested 
 that the Aga died a natural death, that the 
 physic she had administered might have been 
 given with impunity to a new-born infant; but 
 it was all to no purpose, the wretch would 
 have it that my mother had murdered the Aga, 
 and he only gave her one week to prepare the 
 money or to abide the disclosure. 
 
 " At his departure, my poor mother of course 
 protested her innocence of the foul deed ; but 
 such was the terror the bare accusation had 
 caused her, that she made up her mind to leave 
 Stamboul before three days. All my endea- 
 vours to dissuade her were ineffectual ; she had 
 a sister settled in Bournarbashi, and there she 
 would go to see her, whether I accompanied her 
 or not. 
 
 " My amiable mother always kept the money ; 
 duty and affection bade me not suffer her to go 
 alone. In three days time we were on the high 
 road to Bournarbashi, where we arrived in
 
 34jO the MUSSULMAN. 
 
 safety, and ultimately fixed our abode ; my 
 poor mother, an eternal one ; she died in a fit 
 of passion, induced by a charge brought against 
 her of interfering in the domestic concerns of a 
 neighbour's harem. 
 
 " I gave my revered parent the finest funeral 
 that was ever seen in Bournarbashi. She has 
 been now ten years in Paradise, and in that 
 space of time I have had five offers of marriage, 
 but I have refused them all. I have been only 
 married to four men, and three of them are 
 living. With all, save one, I might have been 
 happy, had it pleased Allah to have called my 
 amiable mother to his bosom a few years 
 earlier; but I do not repine at my fate. I 
 have lost four husbands' affections, and gained 
 four wives"* experience ; and the result of all that 
 experience is the conviction that no Avorse 
 enemies to the peace of a husband can abide 
 in his harem, than the female relatives of his 
 wife." 
 
 The old lady terminated her story amidst a 
 thousand Mashallahs ; every body praised Al- 
 lah for her experience. 
 
 The guests began getting their veils in order,
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 341 
 
 the sun was setting, and no ladies' party ever 
 breaks up much later. The ceremony of sa- 
 laaming was gone through for a good half hour, 
 and at length the last visitor was past the 
 threshold of Suleiman. 
 
 Q o
 
 342 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 1 doubt some danger does approach you nearly : 
 
 If you would take a homely man's advice^ 
 
 Be not found here. Macbeth. 
 
 MouRAD was now busily employed in arrang- 
 ing his plans. Suleiman had not yet arrived, 
 and ere another day he hoped to be far beyond 
 his reach. The deed he had just committed left 
 him little inclination to pursue his vengeance 
 any farther for the present. The possession of 
 Zuleika and his own safety now engrossed his 
 sole attention. But the day, he endeavoured 
 to persuade himself, would come, when the su- 
 pernatural warning he had received at Chiblak, 
 should not be thrown away. In the mean time 
 he visited the harem, put Zuleika in possession 
 of all his plans for their escape, obviated every
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 343 
 
 difficulty which the timorous girl suggested, 
 and sought to dispel her fears. But Suleiman 
 was at the gate while he was yet explaining all 
 his schemes for their escape, and the news of 
 his arrival came like a thunderbolt on both. 
 In the consternation of the moment, Mourad 
 whispered in her ear, " Whatever happen, an 
 hour after midnight be on the terrace : fail not, 
 for your soul." 
 
 He rushed from the apartment to meet the 
 Aga, who had just passed the threshold; the 
 warmth of Mourad's greeting, the improvement 
 in his looks, (how often is the flushed cheek 
 wrongly interpreted!) have been already noticed. 
 Every thing required from the hasnah he took 
 care to fetch with his own hand ; every time the 
 taxes were alluded to, he referred to the cer- 
 tainty of collecting the remainder in the morn- 
 ing ; every time that Achmet was spoken of, he 
 expressed his w^onder at his absence. In short, 
 till vv^ithin an hour of midnight he managed to 
 draw off the attention of the Aga from every 
 subject likely to lead to a discovery of his pro- 
 ject ; and only took his leave for the night when 
 Suleiman was going to repose.
 
 344 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 Mourad retired to his chamber to count over 
 the minutes of the most anxious hour of his 
 existence, the last he was destined to pass in 
 the place which had hitherto been his home. 
 The occurrences of the last four-and-twenty 
 hours were crowded on his mind, but in the 
 feverish confusion of a sickly dream. The 
 plunder of the khan, the terrific tempest of the 
 night, the apparition, and the murder, and now 
 the unexpected appearance of the Aga, and 
 the immediate flight of Zuleika and himself, all 
 these strange circumstances filled his mind with 
 astonishment. The watch was before his eyes ; 
 another little hour, and he and his beloved 
 Zuleika were to be happy, and ei*e the morning 
 dawned the wide world was to be all before 
 them. Such were the visions of Mourad, the 
 air-built castles of youthful hopes, but raised 
 only to crumble into ashes. 
 
 A sudden cry from the apartments of the 
 Aga burst on his ear : — Murder ! rapine ! rob- 
 bery ! were the only sounds he could distinguish ; 
 and hardly were they repeated, when Suleiman 
 rushed into the room sword in hand, and seized 
 on the throat of the astonished culprit. The
 
 TrtE MUSSULMAN. 345 
 
 fury of his rage glowed in his eye-balls, and 
 convulsed his lips ; his fingers grasped the neck 
 of Mourad, he trembled from head to foot, his 
 lips moved but he could not articulate a word, 
 the sword was close to Mourad's breast, and 
 every moment he expected to have it plunged 
 into his lieart. At length the fingers of the 
 Aga relaxed. 
 
 " What, in the name of the blessed Prophet, 
 is the matter !" cried Mourad. 
 
 " Villain V exclaimed Suleiman, recovering 
 his breath, " where are my treasures.'' produce 
 them in a moment, or die like a dog, ungrate- 
 ful kafir ! Son of an accursed infidel, restore 
 my jewels ! Madman, fool, to think to laugh at 
 my beard !" 
 
 " Allah defend my soul !" said Mourad, 
 seizing on the interval between the fury and 
 the exhaustion of the Aga, — " am I alive .'' is 
 this my father ? what do I hear .'' are you 
 dreaming. Sire, or am I in my senses ? Kill 
 me if you please ; I bow my head before my 
 honoured parent. How have I deserved this 
 shame ? — I, whose only fault was too much care. 
 Why did I place the treasures in the secret
 
 346 THE MUSSULMAN. 
 
 recess of the hasnah for greater safety ? Go and 
 see them with your eyes. Why did I not 
 leave them in the accustomed spot, fearing as 
 I did some thief taking advantage of your 
 absence .'' Oh vile world ! kill me, I beseech you; 
 heap ashes on my head, blacken my face for 
 ever in the presence of my enemies. This comes 
 of too much care. But let me clear my reputa- 
 tion before I die. Come with me to the chamber 
 that I may put your treasures before your eyes ; 
 follow me to the hasnah, — oh woeful day ! oh 
 cruel destiny ! — let me prove my innocence to 
 the world." 
 
 " Stir not, for your soul," cried Suleiman, 
 with a voice of comparative composure. " Are 
 they all there, the gold and the jewels .'' — swear 
 it by your eyes, — you are sure they are all 
 there, nothing wanting .'' Stir not from my side; 
 moderate your voice ; if it be as you say, I 
 want not these slaves who are crowding at the 
 door to look on you with contempt." 
 
 By this time the whole khan was arisen, the 
 very women were mingled with the soldiers, 
 all anxious to know the cause of the alarm. 
 
 " Away, slaves !" said Suleiman, going to the
 
 THE MUSSULMAN. 347 
 
 door of the apartment, " look well to the gate, 
 and see that no one leaves the khan." — " Now, 
 Sir, come along,"" he continued, addressing 
 Mourad, seizing him at the same time by the 
 shoulder. " If I have been dreaming, you 
 shall have reason to rejoice." 
 
 " There are many words in falsehood," re- 
 plied Mourad, " but truth has only one, and 
 I have said it." 
 
 They walked out of the room ; the women 
 fled before them as they approached the harem. 
 They reached the door of the hasnah. " Enter," 
 said Suleiman, pushing Mourad before him into 
 the treasury, a dark room without any windows 
 and with no door beside the entrance, but one 
 which formerly communicated with the women's 
 apartments and was now closed up. The 
 instant Mourad entered, holding the door as he 
 did so, with the velocity of lightning he turned 
 round, thrust the burning lamp he held into the 
 face of Suleiman, and banged the door on his 
 assailant. He had arranged the whole pro- 
 ceeding in the interval between his exit from 
 his own chamber and his reaching the hasnah. 
 The lamp was extinguished, the Aga prostrate,
 
 348 THK MUSSULMAN. 
 
 and ere he had arisen, a tremendous crash was 
 heard and then a luindred female shrieks. 'Twas 
 the demolition of the door leading to the harem, 
 and the exit of the robber, rushing amidst a 
 host of screaming women, many of whom 
 measured their length as he dashed onwards. 
 He gained the terrace, a single bound brought 
 him on the roof of the adjoining stables, in 
 an instant he was on his feet in the garden, 
 stunned for a moment, but that moment gave 
 him breath. The low wall was no impediment, 
 the night was dark and he was in the open 
 plain, lights gleaming in every window of the 
 khan, women screaming the terrific Yangenvar 
 on the house-top, and a host of soldiers issuing 
 at the gates. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, 
 Dorset Street, Fleet Slitei.
 
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