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ASKAROS KASSIS
THE COPT.
A ROMANCE OF MODERN EGYPT.
BY
EDWIN DE LEON
LATE U. S. CONSUL-GENERAL FOR EGYPT.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.,
1870.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.,
i the Clerk's Office of the District Dourt of the United States in and for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
LIPPINCOTT'S PRESS,
PHILADELPHIA.
TO
MY FRIEND
WILLIAM C. PRIME,
OF NEW YORK,
AUTHOR OF
"BOAT LIFE IN EGYPT," AND "TENT LIFE IN THE HOLY LAND,"
WHO OF ALL AMERICAN WRITERS HAS MOST THOROUGHLY
IMBUED HIMSELF WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE EAST;
IN MEMORY OF THE MANY PLEASANT HOURS
SPENT UNDER HIS TENT IN
THE HOLY LAND,
This Photograph of Eastern Life and Manners.
2052380
PREFACE.
AS the East was the cradle of the human race the
fountain whence modern civilization has drawn its
life, its literature and its religion ; and as even to this
day it furnishes the fictions that delight our childhood
so, also, is it the only spot left on the earth's surface,
where romance enters into the daily life of the people,
and the dreams of the Poet ripen into realities.
Haunted by the memories of that dreamy land, in
which I was so long a sojourner, I cannot refrain
from recording and relating some passages from an
Eastern life the facts of which, even without the color-
ing of romance, would seem stranger than fiction and
weaving them into the threads of the tale now offered to
the reader.
If the incidents of this tale be not altogether true of
particular persons, they yet have their foundations in
fact; and many of the most startling revelations of
Eastern life and Eastern habits are reproduced from the
Vi PREFACE.
memory of the writer, with the fidelity of the photo-
graph.
For he enjoyed peculiar facilities and exceptional ad-
vantages for seeing and learning many things, which
must ever be as a sealed book to the tourist, or the
trader, in the East. His official position and long resi-
dence as well as his knowledge of the language and
private life of the people gave him opportunities of
observation, of which the fruits are now displayed in this
book.
Although a perpetual stream of tourists pours into and
through Egypt, each winter from the savant striving
to decipher hieroglyphics, to the "Inquisitive traveller,"
as described by Sterne ; and although books without end
have been, and continue to be, written on Egypt still
as little is known now of the inner life and peculiar
mental characteristics of the modern Egyptian, as of his
mummied progenitors. For the Oriental is a type of
human being as different from the Western, as it is possi-
ble for the imagination to conceive.
Mr. Lane's book on " The Modern Egyptians " proba-
b'.y constitutes the sole exception, as to the prose : as
' Eothen" and W. C. Prime's charming sketches do of
;he poetry of that Eastern life.
The Eastern man comes in contact, but never amalga-
mates with the Western, for whom his nature has no real
affinity but rather repulsion skilfully as he may adopt
PREFACE. VI)
at Stamboul, or Alexandria, the outward usages of Euro-
pean civilization.
He adopts these as he does its dress wears it in
public, but casts it off in private with a sigh of relief re-
suming his own more easy habits, which he has simply
put by, not relinquished.
The traveller and the stranger see him only in full
dress. It is only long and intimate acquaintance that
admits of his being seen in dishabille.
Two things color the whole woof and web of Eastern
society the fatalism of "Islam," which permeates and
blends with every act of its daily life and the isolation
of the Hareem, which establishes the social position of
woman.
The influences of both are depicted in this book. The
fatalism which governs Islam, is already vaguely under-
stood abroad; but the position of woman in the East
and her actual life there, have never been compre-
hended ; the hitherto impenetrable veil of the Hareem
having shrouded its secrets.
It was reserved for the hand of the poet first to raise
that veil; and in the "Palm Leaves" of Richard
Monckton Milnes, may be found the first true pictures
of the inner life of the Orient ever given in the English
tongue as Gcethe's " West- CEstlicher Divan " gave it
in the German many years ago. Truly does the poet of
the ' ' Palm Leaves ' ' sing of woman in the East ; who,
viii PREFACE,
like her sister in the West though in a different shape
wields a power over the destiny of man :
"Thus ever in the closed Hareem,
As in the open Western home,
Sheds womanhood her starry gleam,
Over our being's busy foam ;
Through latitudes of varying faith,
Thus trace we still her mission sure
To lighten life to sweeten death
And all for others to endure."
The realities of the East are stranger than the dreams
of the West ; and yet, since the prose extravaganza of
" Vathek" and the poetical rhapsodies of Lord Byron
more than a quarter of a century ago that rich field
has been neglected by poet and novelist alike.
From that garden, then, let us cull a few flowers ; and
let the reader taking a seat upon the magical carpet of
the Persian Prince, of the " Thousand and One Nights 1 '
be transported to the world-famous city of Old Cairo,
where our story opens. Inshallah!
E. DE L.
NEW YORK, December, 1869.
PA81
CHAPTER I.
GRAND CAIRO 13
CHAPTER II.
ON THE EZBEKIEH 26
CHAPTER III.
THE SERPENT CHARM 39
CHAPTER IV.
A DINNER X LA TURQUE 49
CHAPTER V.
AN EGYPTIAN VICEROY IN PUBLIC 64
CHAPTER VI.
THE VICEROY IN PRIVATE 74
CHAPTER VII.
HAWK AND DOVE 86
CHAPTER VIII.
THE HAREEM OF THE PRINCESS NEZL . . . . . 99
ix
x CONTENTS.
PAG
CHAPTER IX.
UP THE NILE IN A DAHABIEH ..-
CHAPTER X.
I2C
PERIL AND RESCUE . .
CHAPTER XI.
THE BULBUL AND THE ROSE ...... X 33
CHAPTER XII.
NEW LOVE AT OLD LUXOR ....... X 49
CHAPTER XIII.
A NEW FRIEND WITH AN OLD FACE ..... l6
CHAPTER XIV.
THE COPT AND THE HEBREW ...... l6 7
CHAPTER XV.
THE WILD DOGS ........ Z 77
CHAPTER XVI.
THE TIGER TAMER ....... ' l8 9
CHAPTER XVII.
WARNING AND FLIGHT ....... 2 4
CHAPTER XVIII
THE OLD COPT'S SIESTA ....... 2I1
CHAPTER XIX.
A RACE WITH THE KHAMSEEN WIND . . . 216
CHAPTER XX.
THE MODERN FAUST ........ 22 %
CHAPTER XXI.
UNDER THE TENTS OF THE BENI-HASSAN .... 240
CONTENTS. XI
PAGB
CHAPTER XXII.
THE BRIDE OF THE SEA 254
CHAPTER XXIII.
MOUSSA-BEN-ISRAEL 265
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE VICEROY PAYS THE SYRIAN 280
CHAPTER XXV.
" THE OLD, OLD STORY " 289
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE VULTURE SCENTS HIS PREY 295
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE CEREMONY OF THE DOSEH 304
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE SEARCH THROUGH THE NIGHT 314
CHAPTER XXIX.
DAOUD-BEN-YOUSSOUF 322
CHAPTER XXX.
THE DOVE IN THE VULTURE'S NEST 336
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE MAD-HOUSE OF THE MAURISTAN .... 350
CHAPTER XXXII.
A STRANGE FRIEND IN A STRANGE PLACE .... 366
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE LOST MESSENGER 379
CHAPTER XXXIV.
" A LITTLE MORE THAN KIN AND LESS THAN KIND . . 385
Xll CONTENTS.
tttm
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE SWOOP OF THE VULTURE . . . . . . 394
CHAPTER XXXVI.
ORZMUD AND AHRIMAN . . . 403
v
CHAPTER XXXVII.
EL WARDA'S SACRIFICE 412
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE HAWK STRIKES THE VULTURE 423
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE DEAD MAN'S RIDE ... ... 434
CHAPTER XL.
EL WARDA'S VIGIL 444
CHAPTER XLI.
THE SYRIAN'S REWARD ACI
ASKAROS KASSIS.
CHAPTER I.
GRAND CAIRO.
IT was evening at Grand Cairo, in the month of De-
cember ; such an evening as the residents in colder
climes may have fancied, but never felt. Breezes as
soft and bland as those of spring whispered among the
feathery foliage of the palm-trees. A soft, summery
haze was settling down upon the distant range of the
Mokattam hills, which alone broke the monotony of
the view over the surrounding Desert.
Clearly and sharply defined through the lucid air, in
bold relief against the cloudless azure of the sky, rose
the sharp cones of the Pyramids pointing like giant
fingers to heaven, stately and sublime in their severe sim-
plicity sole record left of the great Pharaohs, whose
pride had constructed them as places of sepulture.
Winding like a golden thread between the city and
Great Desert fringed with its stately palms, and bor-
dered by palaces whose latticed windows concealed many
I 4 ASKAROS KASSIS.
a fairy-like form glittered the waters of the Nile
Father of Rivers not only the great fertilizer of the
land of Egypt, but the object of the love and veneration
of her imaginative people, who find saving virtues for
soul and body in its yellow waters.
The Desert, like a great sea with its ever-restless waves
of shifting sand, stretched out its vast billows beyond the
Pyramids to the far-distant horizon, as though repelled
alone from whelming the city under a sand deluge by
those mighty sentinels which, with the Sphinx, stand
keeping watch and ward over the fair "City of the
Faithful."
Within Cairo rose, shrill and frequent, on the evening
air, all those indescribable cries and sounds of man and
beast which make Eastern so different from Western
cities which cause Eastern life to appear so vivid and
so varied, after the hushed repose of noonday, when,
in those fervid climes, both man and nature seem steeped
in profound sleep.
"When the sun goes down all Africa dances," said
an old traveller. He might have said, "All Africa
awakens ; " for dancing is not considered there a mascu-
line accomplishment, but rather regarded as an infamous
employment.
In the very heart of old Cairo stands a huge park,
several hundred acres in area, planted with acacias and
other shade trees, filled with flowering shrubs, and inter-
sected by long avenues and winding footpaths. Rustic
seats are scattered everywhere through it; and coffee-
houses proffer their refreshment of nargileh, chibouque,
coffee, sherbet, and lemonade to its many pleasure-
seekers. This is "The Ezbekich," the public prome-
nade of the citizens, native and foreign a people as
ASKAROS KASSIS. 15
gay, after their own fashion, as the Parisians, and quite
as much addicted to enjoyment in the open air.
Around ' ' The Ezbekieh ' ' are grouped the houses of
the European quarter, for most of the foreigners reside
in its vicinity. Here, too, are the great hotels for the
accommodation of tourists from Europe, and of passengers
to and from India, who pass through Egypt to the number
of several thousand each month, and make it a Babel of
tongues and nationalities while the transit pours through.
At one of the open windows of the " Hotel d 1 Orient"
the best and largest of these hotels there stood on
this particular evening a group of strangers, apparently
watching with amused and curious interest the panoramic
view of desert, sky, mountain, and pyramid in the dis-
tance, and of the varied, many-hued, and pictorial cur-
rent of life in the street below.
The party consisted of a man of middle age, with
portly figure and ruddy, open face, whose florid com-
plexion, clear blue eyes, and square-built frame indicated
Teutonic origin; though, in fact, he was an American
citizen by birth as well as nationality.
Cornelius Van Camp was a fine specimen of that
species, now almost extinct in America, a genuine Knick-
erbocker. His blood yet ran slowly and coolly through
his veins not at that mad gallop with which it circulates
through those of Young America, who eats fast, drinks
fast, lives fast, and dies very fast, indeed. To look upon
him, one might see he was a solid man in all respects ; in
mind as in body a trifle obstinate, perhaps, yet thor-
oughly reliable.
Near him stood a young man and a young girl, in
both of whom could be traced a strong family likeness to
their portly progenitor, though sharpened into American
1 6 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
angularity in the first instance, and softened into rare
womanly loveliness in the second. A tall man, of aris-
tocratic face and mien, whose costume and long yellow
whiskers no less than the many straps that crossed and
recrossed his chest, supporting spy-glass and all the other
paraphernalia of a British tourist spoke him unmistakably
an Englishman, lounged against the window-sill, appa-
rently more occupied in gazing on the fair face near him
than on the strange sights and scenes beneath.
Another female figure completed the group; and it
was one that contrasted strikingly with the fresh and
youthful loveliness of the girl, whose arm was around
her waist. For this lady was neither young nor lovely ;
and there was little freshness and roundness in her face,
or person. On the contrary, she was angular and bony,
with high, severe features, and a sour expression of coun-
tenance her prominent and beady black eyes concen-
trating their rays to a focus through a pair of large round
glasses set in steel frames. Those eyes seemed to look
out scornfully and suspiciously on all external objects ;
while the erect rigidity of the spare form and the pursed-
up expression of the pinched lips indicated a protracted
spinsterhood, which man delighted not nor woman nei-
ther. She looked, as she was, the maiden aunt of the
fair young girl professor of one of the sternest creeds
and possessor of one of the stiffest spines in all unbend-
ing New England. She was a strong-minded woman of
the purest Boston school, which takes its metaphysics
from Emerson, its morals from Theodore Parker, its
manners from the Puritan Fathers ; and which finally
considers there can be no salvation outside of New Eng-
land !
Such was Miss Priscilla Primmins, who on this bright
ASKAROS KASSIS. IJ
evening stood, an unconscious foil, by the side of her
blooming young relative, looking down with grim, de-
fiant austerity on the lively scenes below.
And yet it required a mind severely schooled, to avoid
being interested and fascinated by the combination of the
gorgeous and grotesque in the strange panorama defiling
through the narrow streets beneath the window, and
winding away among the alleys and avenues of the Ezbe-
kieh. Nor were the sounds less varied than the sights ;
from the deep, grunting bass of the complaining camel,
to the resonant bray of the donkey; the hoarse, guttural
imprecations of the Arab men, and the shrill, shrieking
treble of the donkey boys; with the occasional passage
of a marriage or funeral procession, followed by singing
or wailing women. Ever and anon the advent of some
Egyptian noble would be announced by the running sa't's,
or groom, clearing the way in advance for his Arab steed,
by loud cries of " Oa yer Ragl ! Oa yer Bint! ' ' (Get
out of the way, O man ! Get out of the way, O woman !) .
accompanied by sharp strokes of the stick he carried,
if the warning were unheeded.
Jostling each other on the narrow streets were the
most incongruous medleys of humanity Dives and
Lazarus : the haughty Egyptian Bey, or Pasha, on his
fiery Arab, with housings of cloth of gold, and bridle
gleaming with precious stones, side by side with the
Fellah peasant, perched like a monkey on his small
donkey ; or the Arab woman straddling the same useful
but humble animal, man-fashion, her knees almost
reaching her nose, her figure wrapped like a bundle in a
black silk cloak only two glittering eyes visible through
the impervious veil. Then would follow a long train of
hideous, spectral-looking camels ; the tail of each tied to
2* B
18 ASKAROS KASSIS.
the nose of his successor their soft, shapeless splay feet
resembling huge sponges, and making no sound as they
filed past, with their long, crooked necks and serpent-
like heads swaying from side to side.
Next in the midst of this swaying, surging tide might
be seen the sturdy form of some British tourist, perched
on a donkey, almost small enough to permit the rider's
legs to drag on the ground, and followed by the yelling
donkey-boy, clad in his scant blue shirt, and crying
aloud in Arabic, to the infinite amusement of the natives:
"Son of a jackass, ridden by the son of a jackass, go
faster ! " Meanwhile the unconscious traveller is blandly
trustful, and dreams of no insult from the small offender
he imagines in terrible awe of him.
The young girl turned her bright eyes, full of animated
interest, upon the elder maiden, as she exclaimed :
" Oh, aunt ! is not this wonderful ? Does it not look
to you like a page torn from the Arabian Nights ? Why,
these are the very people there described the one-eyed
water-carrier, the veiled woman, the old story-teller under
the tree, and the wicked black man from the Hareem ! "
The rigid face of Miss Priscilla Primmins grew more
rigid still as the young Edith thus appealed to her, and,
in a voice which corresponded with her face, she coldly
answered :
" I think it a very improper spectacle to let a young
lady's eyes rest upon, Edith ! And I only wonder that
a man of your father's good sense should permit you to
witness such indecent exposures of person as these people
make habitually ! It may all be very picturesque, but I
know in Boston we should consider it highly indecent.
Improper sights and bad smells seem to me the leading
characteristics of Cairo."
ASKAROS KASSIS. ig
" But, my dear aunt ! " persisted the younger woman,
who was determined not to share the fate of Cleopatra's
pearl, and be dissolved in the vinegar of her acid rela-
tive, "you must own that it is totally unlike any other
place, or people, in the world : that it is a gay and glit-
tering pageant, not entirely composed of the unpleasant
things you mention. Oh ! look there, for instance !
See that group of Fellah men and women under the
palm-tree, listening to the old story-teller. Is not that
truly Oriental? And it's not the least improper ! "
"Very Oriental, no doubt," grumbled the spinster.
" Half-naked savages squatting in a circle, and smoking
filthy pipes that poison the air! Sir Charles," ad-
dressing the Englishman, "what do yoii think of these
Arabs my niece so raves about ? ' '
"Rum lot of beggars!" growled the Englishman,
languidly. Then, rousing himself by an effort, he
added : ' ' Creatures that possess all the disagreeable
qualities of the monkey, without the useful addition of
being able to swing from a tree by the tail. I have
served in India, and know the Blackies well. All the
same everywhere. ' '
Now Miss Priscilla albeit a staunch republican in
theory adored a live lord with that strange inconsist-
ency common to our countrymen and women abroad.
Still, she felt it incumbent upon her to repel the English-
man's views upon the "man and brother" whom Boston
delighted to honor so she made a feeble protest:
"I fear, my lord, you are prejudiced against the
African ! If you will but read
"A thousand pardons!" hastily broke in his lord-
ship; "I plead guilty, bow to the judgment of the
court, and will admit that you have ' washed the Ethiop
2O ASKAROS KASSIS.
white ! ' for really this climate is too hot for any
mental effort."
The ancient maiden smiled grimly, retired from the
window, took up a volume of Orphic Sayings of Alcott,
and abstracted herself from the contemplation of the
improper external world. Sir Charles glided into the
place she had left vacant, and, with a faint smile, said
to Edith :
" I thought the enemy would retire before my assault
on the strong position ; but you must not imagine I am
insensible to the influences of this place and hour, nor ' '
and his voice softened "to that of her who lends it
its greatest charm by her presence. ' '
"Positively a compliment from Sir Charles the
Cynic!" laughed Edith. "Wonder upon wonder ! I
shall nearly begin to believe in Egyptian magic next ! ' '
"Say rather in American," replied her companion,
adopting her own tone of banter. "But I must tear
myself away, for I see your brother Harry is impatient
to be off to the Bazaars. We pledged ourselves to a
solemn old Arab merchant to repair at sunset to smoke
pipes with him and select some trash. So, au revoir !"
The two young men left the room together ; the elder
Van Camp had thrown himself at full length on an otto-
man in the corner, and was thinking accompanied by
a running bass from his nostrils. The ancient spinster
was absorbed with Orphic utterances, with her back to
the girl. Edith remained alone at the window, her
arms resting on the cushion that covered the sill, and
her eyes sometimes fixed on the scene below, sometimes
wandering over the distant prospect of palm-trees, pyra-
mids, river, and desert. There was nothing sad or
troubled in the reveries into which she plunged as the
ASKAROS KASSIS. 21
sun set and the crowds on the street dwindled into an
occasional passer-by ; for very fresh looked she in her
young loveliness, evidently "in maiden meditation,
fancy-free."
The quick tramp of a horse on the street below her
window, followed by the cry of a running sa'is, " Oa !
Oa/" startled her from her revery. Glancing down,
she saw as gallant a cavalier as ever won bright glances
from the eyes or sweet words from the lips of ladye
faire in the good days of chivalry ; and once having
looked, her gaze was attracted and riveted to its object.
The cavalier was a man in the first bloom of youth, who
sat his magnificent white Arab charger with an easy
grace that spoke of perfect horsemanship. He was
richly clad in the Eastern dress ; but the unshaven head
over which, however, he wore the red Fez cap pro-
claimed him to be no Mussulman. The rich housings
of his Turkish saddle, and the precious stones that orna-
mented the bridle and headstall, proved him to be a
personage of rank and wealth ; a fact equally announced
by the air of command stamped on his face and person.
The sa'is, a Berberi, black as night, with his bare
ebony legs lithe and sinewy as those of a greyhound
clad in a white shirt, with a crimson sash tied round his
waist, and a snowy turban on his head, waved in his
hand a short staff, with which he struck out right and
left to clear the way for his master.
As the long, swinging stride of the Arab horse bore
his rider under the window of the hotel, the latter
chanced to look carelessly up, and as his glance fell on
the bright countenance of the American girl so marked
in such a place he revealed his own face, which was in
perfect harmony with his graceful figure and rich cos-
22 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
tume. For that face was one on which painter or sculp-
tor would have gazed with rapture as a fitting model for
the young Antinous, so perfect was the outline of the
clear-cut delicate features, relieved by the resolute ex-
pression of the mouth, and the calm serenity of the eye.
Though young and beardless, save a slight silken
moustache, the impress of passion, tempered by thought,
was already stamped on the broad brow and the lines
about the corners of the mouth. His complexion was
darker than that of a European a rich, clear olive,
through which the blood seemed to glow, like light
through an alabaster lamp ; while the lips were as deli-
cately chiselled and of as ripe a red as those of a woman.
The gloved hand with which he restrained the fiery
impatience of his steed, who chafed and fretted like a
stag-hound preparing for a bound, seemed equally deli-
cate and muscular. The proportions of his figure were
concealed below the waist by the ample Turkish trow-
sers, falling in heavy folds even to the shovel stirrup
that concealed his foot ; but it was easy to see that the
frame, at once slight and supple, was firmly knit and
capable of great endurance.
But the character of the face was given by the eye
large, black, and lustrous, with slumbering depths of un-
revealed passion lurking in it. Now liquid with tender-
ness, now flashing with anger or mirth, the white pos-
sessing that peculiar opaque hue, like porcelain, seen
only in the eyes of Eastern men, and the iris contracting
and dilating like that of the lion there seemed a hidden
fascination in the glance of this stranger that sent a sud-
den thrill through the fearless bosom of the young girl.
Equally strong seemed the impression produced on
the Oriental by this lovely apparition, so different from
ASKAROS KASSIS. 23
his own dusky countrywomen set, as it were, in the
stone framework of the window. By an involuntary
movement, his contracted arm curbed in his steed so
suddenly and so sharply, that the powerful Turkish bit
tore open his delicate mouth until blood flecked the
foam he champed upon it as he recoiled upon his very
haunches. The rider kept his seat, unmoved by the
sudden and violent shock, but relaxed the rein to relieve
the tortured mouth. Maddened by the pain and by the
sudden check, the gallant horse, snorting with wrath till
his dilated nostrils glowed to a bright red, bounded
straight up into the air, and, by a succession of rapid,
frantic plunges, sought to displace his rider.
The struggle was violent but brief. Vain were all the
efforts of the furious steed to unseat his tormentor, who
inflicted punishment on flanks and sides with the sharp
shovel stirrups, and wrenched his mouth with the terri-
ble bit, till the desert-born, panting, trembling and ex-
hausted, abandoned the unequal contest and stood quiv-
ering in every limb, but perfectly still, his eye glaring
with mingled rage and fear. Then the rider spoke a
few soothing words in Arabic, and patted the arched
neck of his favorite as though in reconciliation, and the
noble beast seemed to recognize the friendly overture
and acknowledge it. With the nearly human intelli-
gence with which the pure-blooded Arab horse seems
endowed, he turned his head toward his master in a
mute response, then stood quiet and still, as if carved
from stone.
With the flush of exertion and excitement hardly
dying from his face, and still lingering in his eye, the
rider once more glanced up at the casement, and their
eyes met; his, full of admiring wonder hers, full of an
24 ASKAROS KASSIS.
interest and sympathy that brightened the usually calm
face into a glory like that of one of Correggio's saints.
That electric spark of sympathy, which can sometimes
flash through the eye from one soul to another in a
second's space, ineffaceable, enduring, eternal rapid
and subtle as the lightning's flash, and sometimes as
blasting passed now between these two existences, but
a moment before utterly unknown to each other even
now strangers. A look, a glance, a moment's vision
how one of these may alter the whole current of a life,
opening fountains of bright or bitter memories all sealed
before ! For in every human experience can be found,
the truth, that the great heart-quakes of our lives have
been preceded by some such trivial incident, unregarded
at the time, yet really the harbinger of the new soul-
birth.
From the large luminous eyes of the Oriental there
flashed upon the maiden a glance full of fire and wonder
of open, undisguised admiration, but still not disrespect-
ful. Then, with one word to his steed, the impatient
animal bounded forward like a deer, and both horse and
rider were lost to the maiden's gaze, in the shadows of
the fast-falling night.
Edith Van Camp was not at all what is- called a roman-
tic girl. She was not prone to indulge in foolish fancies,
or idle dreams, for her organization, mental and physical,
was too healthy, and her Dutch blood and American
training had not been the nurses of sentimentalism. She
piqued herself upon her common sense ; and had laughed
off, hitherto, all attempts to awaken the poetic and dreamy
element slumbering in her nature.
She therefore felt annoyed and irritated at the strange
fascination she had experienced from the momentary
ASKAROS KASSIS. 25
presence and startling glance of the stranger; and still,
as she strained her eyes after horse and rider under the
dim shadows of the trees of the Ezbekieh, she murmured
to herself half unconsciously :
' ' He is like my girlish dreams of Haroun al Raschid ! ' '
Just then from the high minaret of the mosque El
Aksar, near the hotel, suddenly pealed out on the still-
ness of the night the warning cry of the Muezzin, floating
down through the quiet air like a prophetic voice from
heaven: " Allah il Allah! Mohammed resoul Allah!"
(There is no God but God ! and Mohammed is the
messenger of God.)
It startled the girl from her revery. Though con-
scious no eye was upon her, with a bright blush she smiled
faintly at her own fancies ; then frowned impatiently to
herself as she muttered : " I do believe there is magic in
this climate ! ' '
Passing within the chamber, she proceeded to rouse
from his meditations her refreshed sire, whose nasal
melodies were now on the trombone ; and her respected
aunt, whom Orphic sayings had reduced to a perform-
ance on a shriller but similar instrument.
3
CHAPTER II.
ON THE EZBEKIEH.
WHO" that has ever passed a night in Cairo can fail
to recall the memories of the Ezbekieh, and the
glimpses into fairy-land it gave him? Who can forget
that enchanted spot, so thoroughly Oriental in all its
features and surroundings so thoroughly steeped in the
drowsy, sensual spirit of the East?
The streets are silent and deserted ; the hum of labor
has ceased ; the houses are all closed, and a few twink-
ling lights from the lattices alone indicate that this vast
hive of humanity, with its half million of inhabitants, is
not a City of the Dead. For the shops are all closed,
and the prowling wild dogs alone traverse the narrow,
deserted streets, so thronged with eager, noisy life a few
hours before. Occasionally a solitary wayfarer, bearing
a paper lantern in his hand to light his way through the
dark and crooked streets, may be seen hurrying home ;
otherwise, they are empty.
One spot alone is full of light and life, and that is the
Ezbekieh. There all is gayety and animation. Innumer-
able lamps, of varied colors, hang suspended from the
trees and in front of the coffee-houses, which are driving
a roaring trade in coffee, sherbet, lemonade, confection-
26
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2/
ery, and pipes. Crowds of people of every nationality
are strolling up and down the leafy walks, or sitting on
the chairs and benches in front of the chief coffee-houses,
where small, round tables are placed for the refreshments
ordered. The bubbling of the water-pipes, or nargilehs,
makes a peculiar music ; the amber mouth-pieces of
chibouques are pressed by bearded lips of Turk, Arab,
and Christian ; while the foreign fair ones, who are out
in full force, do not disdain to smoke cigarettes in the
intervals of conversation and flirtation ; for the foreign
element at Cairo though not so large at that time as at
present numbered then some four or five thousand
persons, chiefly Greeks and Italians, but intermixed with
every continental nationality. All of these, as old resi-
dents, had contracted many of the strange habitudes of
the country.
The Eastern man is the most tolerant of human beings,
so that every individual there could indulge his own
peculiarity of costume or manners, without remark ; and
the mtlange on the Ezbekieh, therefore, was something
most curious to contemplate. Independent of the Euro-
pean residents, and the swarm of tourists, Egypt itself
numbers no less than sixteen different races among its
native and transplanted population. Each one of these
is distinguished by some peculiarity of costume or of
manner. There you saw men of all shades of color,
different types of race and variety of costume, from the
half-naked Fellah, or peasant, the stark-naked Santon, or
Saint, the richly-clad Turk, and the straight-laced E^uro-
pean, all blent, mingled, and fused together, under the
leafy canopy, sipping coffee, smoking, and swallowing
sherbets, as they lounged up and down, conversing to-
gether in a perfect Babel of blended tongues of every
known dialect of Eastern and Western language.
28 ASKAROS KASSIS.
Here native jugglers were performing wonderful feats
of sleight of hand, or strength, swallowing live snakes,
and piercing themselves with sharp knives. A little
farther on a blind old man was beating furiously on a drum
of fish-skin, and a wild-eyed Arab girl twanged with her
dusky fingers a darabuka, or rude guitar, droning a monot-
onous chant to the accompaniment, while a dancing-girl
exhibited graceful but most lascivious postures far out-
stripping the modern ballet, over which hang enraptured
now the fashionables both of Europe and America.
Crouched on the ground is the old story-teller, re-
hearsing for the thousandth time some rude version of
the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, to a circle of half-
naked peasants, squatted on their hams around him
moving them alternately to laughter and to tears. Sol-
diers in the Egyptian uniform of tight white jacket and
baggy breeches of the same color, with gaiters reaching
to the knee, shuffle past ; and richly dressed Arnaouts, or
Albanian soldiers, in the picturesque Greek costume
gold-embroidered jacket, with white fustenelles, or plaited
shirts, and sash girded round the wasp-like waist swagger
by. Ruthless ruffians these last ; neither Turk nor Chris-
tian, but a compound of the worst vices of both armed
to the teeth always, with pistol-butts ostentatiously pro-
truding from the sash on each side, and rows of brass
capsules, containing cartridges, ornamenting their breasts,
till they look like walking arsenals.
On that part of the Ezbekieh fronting the Hotel d' Orient
was an open space before the chief European coffee-house.
In this were ranged the seats and tables already spoken
of, and a European band, composed of refugee musicians,
chiefly Italians, from time to time discoursed most excel-
lent music. Around these, as a centre, were grouped
ASKAROS KASSIS. 29
most of the European residents of Cairo, as well as the
visitors ; and among the latter were the party of travellers
to whom the reader has already been introduced.
Miss Priscilla Primmins had preferred remaining at the
hotel, through the double fear of contracting a cold in
the open air, and the secret dread she entertained of
every half-naked Arab, in whom she saw a fanatical
ruffian, who believed paradise his reward for assassinat-
ing a Christian.
"I have never yet passed an evening on Boston Com-
mon," she replied to Mr. Van Camp's invitation; "and
it is a far nicer place than this barbarous grove : so I do
not see why I should disgust myself by mixing with those
dirty savages over yonder. I have a sweet poem of
Whittier's here, which will amuse me until your return."
So the party went without Miss Priscilla, to the great
delight of the young men, who looked upon the spinster
much as Coleridge's wedding-guest regarded the Ancient
Mariner.
Sitting under the acacias, listening to the music and
chatting pleasantly over all the strange sights and sounds
around them, under the silvery brightness of a Cairene
moon, which gave light enough to read by, our new
friends were enjoying themselves thoroughly.
Sir Charles was talking to Edith, who rattled away in
response right merrily, when suddenly she stopped in the
midst of a sentence, and colored so violently, that neck,
brow, and bosom grew crimson, while her eyes wandered
back and forth from one particular acacia-tree. A man
was leaning against it, in the full light of the lamps in
front of the coffee-house.
Her blush and confusion were not noticed by the Eng-
lishman, who was not a quick or accurate observer; but
30 ASKAROS KASSIS.
his glance, following hers, also rested on the face and
form of the lounger under the acacia.
"By Jove ! " he exclaimed, "what a handsome fellow
that Turk is ! He is a perfect stunner ! Never saw a
finer fellow to make a beauty man in a crack corps, if he
only had an inch more, and wore uniform instead of
bags. Miss Van Camp, there is a model Oriental for
you!"
Edith only murmured something in reply. Her eye
had already caught the form and features so strangely
and so indelibly impressed upon her memory by a single
glance. But after a moment she rallied, and replied
rather indifferently :
"Oh, yes ! Good-looking enough, doubtless, but very
probably like most Egyptian views good to look at only
from a distance. The difference between the various
classes in the East, they tell me, consists chiefly in dress,
and the pipe-bearer and the pasha are equally ignorant
and brutal."
"Well, perhaps so," responded the Englishman, "but
that is really a fine animal, nevertheless. Reminds one
of a Bengal tiger ; very agreeable to look at, quite beau-
tiful and gentle in appearance, but a terribly sharp claw
concealed under the velvet paw. I know a man when I
see him, and depend upon it, that fellow yonder is on&^
"Really, Sir Charles," laughed Edith, in her old
manner, "I shall begin to believe you have contracted
an unfortunate attachment for this I cannot say 'fair'
unknown, for he is very dark. But I fear he observes he
is the subject of our remark."
As she spoke, the person whom they were discussing
prepared to move on, throwing, as he did so, a rapid
glance at the young girl, in which she thought there was
ASKAROS KASSIS. 3!
a gleam of recognition. Just at the moment, Harry Van
Camp, who had been smoking a chibouque at a little
distance, sauntered up to where his sister sat.
''Look at that Turk, yonder," Sir Charles said to him.
"He comes up to my ideal of what an Eastern prince
ought to be. Is n't he a crusher? "
But Harry did not answer, and only stared hard at the
stranger with a puzzled expression of countenance.
"Surely that face is familiar to me," he muttered to
himself. "Where can I have seen it often before? It is
not a common one." And after a moment, a sudden
recollection flashed over his face, as he cried:
"By jingo ! it must be my old chum at Eton, Askaros
Kassis ! We used to call him the Egyptian prince over
there. He and a batch of other young highnesses were
sent over to be educated by old Mehemet Ali, and I
always heard he was a great swell in his own country.
I '11 try if it isn't he, at all events."
So, as the Egyptian sauntered slowly off, the younger
Van Camp, making a detour, passed in front of him,
looking full and inquiringly at him as their eyes met.
Over the dark features of the Egyptian passed the same
shadow of doubt and half-recognition that had flitted
across the American's a moment before; but his face lit
up with a sunny smile as Van Camp advanced with out-
stretched hand, and cried :
"Why, Askaros, is it you, old fellow? And have you
forgotten your old friend, Harry Van Camp?"
"No, indeed," replied the Egyptian, in perfect Eng-
lish, but with a slight foreign intonation. ' ' One does not
forget old friends so readily at least in the East," he
added, laughing. " But I had not the faintest idea you
had recrossed the Atlantic since we parted at Eton,
32 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
you for America, I for Egypt. But as you are here now,
you must let me try and do the honors of my country
for you."
Then the young men plunged into a long talk about
old schoolmates, interspersed with reminiscences shared
together, of the past happy college days, when the
younger Van Camp was finishing his education in England.
Their colloquy ended by the Egyptian's promising to
call on the ensuing morning at the hotel, that he might
be presented to his friend's family, and constitute himself
their cicerone while in Cairo, for, on looking around to
find his party, after his long talk, Harry found his father
and sister had left the Ezbekieh, and as the hour was very
late, had probably retired for the night.
Next morning at breakfast, while he was relating to his
sister his discovery the night before, and giving a glow-
ing panegyric on the high qualities of head and heart
of the Egyptian, the latter's name was announced, and
Askaros entered the room. He advanced with easy grace
to greet his friend ; but a new light came into his eye
and a deeper glow tinged his dark cheek, when he found
that the sister was the same lady by whom he had been so
impressed the evening before. She also seemed slightly
confused, although prepared by her brother's revela-
tion, and sustained by that superior tact which seems a
natural gift to women she suffered no sign of it to
appear ; greeting her brother's friend cordially, but with
apparent unconsciousness of ever having seen him before.
Mr. Van Camp, senior, was very cordial in his recep-
tion of Askaros ; but Miss Primmins was so astonished at
witnessing the deportment of this "native" who, as
she afterward expressed it, "actually acted and spoke
like a civilized Christian ! and even understood English !"
A SKA R OS KASSIS. 33
that her usual volubility forsook her, and she sat star-
ing at the young man with eyes and mouth wide open, as
though he were some new and strange specimen of nat-
ural history.
After an animated colloquy, chiefly relating to the
objects of most interest in and around Cairo, the young
man rose to leave.
"From what you tell me," he said to Mr. Van Camp,
"your party have already seen the ordinary sights of-
Cairo, such as dragomen usually show to strangers. You
have seen the Citadel, the Mosque of Mehemet Ali,
Joseph's Well, and the Bazaars. You have spent an
evening on the Ezbekieh; but there are many peculiar
things in this country not on public exhibition, and for
some of these you must permit me to be your cicerone.
Have you yet dined in Turkish fashion? Ah, you have
not? Then honor me by dining with me to-morrow, and
I will show you a specimen of that performance. Of
course I include the ladies ; and we will only dine thus
to gratify your curiosity. As your son has doubtless told
you, I am a Copt and a Christian, and my habits, as well
as my faith, are fashioned after your models."
So saying, with the graceful salutation of the East
touching Avith his right hand his brow, lips, and heart,
with a gesture full of ease and dignity he bowed low
and left the apartment.
There was a brief pause after his departure. It was
broken by the amazed Primmins, whose spell seemed
broken as he left the room ; and whose tongue seemed
suddenly loosened, like the famous frozen horn of the
Baron Munchausen.
"Well ! " she said, with a gasping sigh, " if I write this
to Beacon Street, they never will believe it ! I scarcely
C
34 ASKAROS KASSIS.
can trust the evidence of my own eyes and ears. Why,
this Egyptian Turk, with his baggy what was I going to
say ! I mean dress except that his face is a little yellow,
acts and talks just like any one of the young men you
meet on the Milldam, a fine afternoon, in sleighing-
time ! But I don't believe one word about his being a
Christian, although he said he was. That is all nonsense,
of course."
"Why, aunt, did you not hear him say he was a Copt,
not a Turk or Arab ? ' ' cried Edith ; ' ' and do you not
know the Copts claim to be the earliest Christians, and
look down with contempt on the Greek and Latin Catho-
lic Churches as only upstarts of yesterday?"
"Well, my child, if you only had read that blessed
Theodore Parker's works, you would know that all these
old forms are nothing but superstitions and priestly con-
trivances ; and that the only pure religion on earth is
to be found, not in the East, where it was born, but in our
Down-East, where it has become national and universal.
But your father gets angry when I talk philosophically,
and has old-fashioned notions, so I will say no more.
But I must believe a Turk is a Turk, though he can speak
English and act like a Christian ! ' '
As Miss Priscilla Primmins, with all her philosophy
and philanthropy, got rapidly red in the face and loud
of voice whenever contradicted glaring fiercely through
the glass bow-windows on her Roman nose her niece
thought it prudent to drop the subject.
But the Englishman, who had been an amused listener,
here interposed.
"I am sorry to disagree with Miss Van Camp," he
said gravely. " But you are right, Miss Primmins. How
can men expect salvation, or claim to be Christians, who
ASKAROS KASSIS. 35
live, dress, eat, and sleep in such outlandish fashion as
the Egyptians ? Why, they say their prayers in the
streets, five times a day, instead of going to church once
a week in black dress-coats ; and their religion is made
up of precepts of high morality, which the silly fellows
actually practise as well as preach including universal
toleration : and finally, they have never heard even of
the Puritan Fathers ! ' '
The ancient spinster bridled up with delight at such
commendation from such a source.
"Do you hear that, Edith?" she cried, triumphantly.
"Oh, yes ! aunt, I am listening," answered the younger
woman, half amused, half provoked at the cool irony of
Sir Charles. He saw it, and chose a less serious theme.
"Do you propose accepting this invitation to an East-
ern dinner, Miss Primmins?" he asked.
"Oh, yes, indeed! I am really curious to see how
and what the creatures eat, ' ' answered the lady addressed.
"Has it not occurred to you there may be some risk
in the experiment?"
"Risk! how, or what?" A look of vague alarm
gleamed through the spinster's spectacles. Sir Charles
drew nearer, looked fearfully around, lowered his head,
and in a deep whisper hissed the one word: "Poison! "
"Good gracious! how shocking! what put such a
horrible idea into your head?" screamed Miss Priscilla,
her face becoming ashy pale, while her lips quivered
piteously.
"Queer beggars these hate all Christians fond of
poisoning 'em put it in the coffee. Have you never
heard how common it is in the East? Books of travel
full of it. Why, they think it a passport to paradise to
poison an unbeliever don't think women have any
36 ASKAROS KASSIS.
souls, so less scrupulous about them even than men !
Hope I have n't alarmed you. Thought it only right to
give you the warning. I have an antidote myself; always
carry it in my vest-pocket. Good day."
1 ' But Sir Charles ! Stop a moment ! ' ' gasped the
spinster, strong-minded no longer under this dreadful
idea. "This gentleman Egyptian is a friend of Harry's.
He says he is a Christian. He would do us no harm. ' '
' ' Very true. Had n' t thought of that. But, ' ' he add-
ed, mysteriously, "who can vouch for his cook? He
is no friend of ours. Apoplexie foudroyante they call it
here. Very common, I assure you. Do not be alarmed ;
my suspicions may be groundless. At least, I hope so.
Good day."
And with this parting arrow, serious and solemn as
ever, the Englishman sauntered out of the room, leaving
the chaste bosom of Miss Priscilla a prey to mingled
emotions of terror and curiosity. But the latter part of
this conversation had not been heard by Edith, for Sir
Charles never ventured to quiz her aunt so outrageously
in her presence. The young girl had returned to the
window, and, with her head resting on her hand, seemed
to be gazing out upon the street, while she was in reality
indulging in one of those sweet day-dreams that never
survive the period of early youth. For the cold, harsh
realities of the world soon dispel them, as the morning
mists are chased by the day-god from the mountain's
brow, never to return until the evening shadows set in
dim and gray on the threshold of coming night.
What she was meditating upon would be difficult to
tell perhaps clearly to describe would have been im-
possible even to herself; for the strange and unaccustomed
images of men and scenery around her, as well as the
ASKAROS KASSIS. 37
intoxicating influences of the climate, were developing
the latent romance of her nature, and a confused throng
of strange thoughts and new fancies were flitting through
her brain. Prominent in all these phantasmagoric visions
were the face and form of the young Egyptian. The
music of his low, sweet voice still lingered in her ear, as
she leaned from the casement, and the soft wind fanned
her cheek and stirred gently the waves of her brown
hair.
Edith's life hitherto had been without care and with-
out much thought. She had seen little of society, having
just completed her "finishing" at a fashionable New
York boarding-school; and had merely rushed at tourist's
race through Europe. Her mind and her heart, there-
fore, were both as pure, and had had as few characters
impressed upon them, as a virgin page.
What hand should trace those characters, and whether
they were to be poetic or prosaic, depended much on
chance if, in the government of this world, there be
such a thing as chance under the mysterious ordinations
of Providence: if what we blind mortals call by that
name be not a link of that unseen chain which binds
every creature to the footstool of its Creator.
The mother of Edith had died while she was yet an
infant, and the girl had never known the softening in-
fluences even of an adopted mother's kindness and care.
The rigid Priscilla Primmins had made an attempt to
take charge of her brother-in-law's household after the
death of her sister who was unlike her in every re-
spect but, finding she could not live out of Boston, had
soon abandoned the effort. Edith had no other near
female relative, so all the wealth of her affectionate heart
had been lavished upon her father and brother, who re-
4
38 ASKAROS KASSIS.
paid it with full measure. But this absence of a mother's
watchful care had given the young girl an independence
of thought and feeling, and a decision of character, rare
for one so young. She gave rather than took advice
from her placid, easy-going father and rather fast brother,
who was an incarnation of young New York in its sport-
ing and fashionable phase tempered slightly by his
early English training and was not particularly clever
nor possessed of marked ability of any kind.
Abandoning herself to that dreamy indolence of mind
and body, that perfect rest which the Easterns call " keff,"
and for which we have no distinctive word, because life
with us is a fret, a hurry, a race, a conflict Edith let an
hour slip by, when the clatter of horse's feet suddenly
awakened her. Looking toward the sound, she again
saw the young Copt, on his milk-white Arab, slowly
passing the Ezbekieh. Askaros looked up and bowed as
he passed, with a sunny smile that disclosed under his
silky moustache a row of teeth glittering white. . As she
returned the salutation, Edith blushed, she scarce knew
why, and hastily withdrew, in some confusion, from what
her own heart now whispered her had been a romantic
watch for the Eastern cavalier, who now began to fill a
dangerous share of her maiden meditations.
"Askaros Kassis ! " she murmured. " It is a strange,
odd name, but surely a very pretty one."
CHAPTER III.
THE SERPENT-CHARM.
TWO hours after noon on the ensuing day the
party from the Hotel d' Orient set out to visit the
house of Askaros, and to partake of the Eastern dinner
he had caused to be prepared for them. Their young
host himself had called for them, and with thoughtful
care had caused his sa'is to bring, for the use of Edith
and her aunt, two of those remarkably fine white don-
keys which are more prized in Egypt than ordinary
horses. These, both in size, spirit, and pace, are very
different animals from the wretched little creatures which
alone are seen in Europe. Standing as high as a small
horse, full of life and spirit, carrying themselves with
proud, erect head and arched neck and with gait so
easy you may carry a glass of water without spilling it,
as they amble along they are the best animals imagin-
able for ladies' use ; the European side-saddle being
substituted for the native one when strangers ride them.
The narrowness of the Cairene streets forbids the use
of carriages, except in particular quarters of the city,
and, even in these, is accompanied with inconvenience
and even danger : so, as the house of Askaros was in the
39
40 ASKAROS KASSIS.
narrow and confined Copt quarter, it could only be
reached on horseback or on foot.
It was with great difficulty that Miss Primmins could
be induced to mount the odd and wicked-looking don-
key which was assigned to her ; and it was only on the
solemn pledge of Sir Charles that he would walk beside
her all the way that she finally consented. The men of
the party were all on foot, for the distance was not
great ; and, after passing through the Mooskie, or street
of European shops, and winding through many narrow
by-ways whose houses jutted over their heads, with
each successive story protruding farther forward until
only a narrow strip of sky could be seen between them
at the roof they reached a garden gate set in a high
stone wall. This gate Askaros opened with a clumsy
wooden key, that turned a wooden bolt within, and the
party entered a cool and spacious garden, where the
palm, the orange, and the citron grew amid rich exotic
flowers and shrubs that filled the air with a rich, dense
perfume.
The tall, slender stems of the palms rising to the
height of thirty feet without a branch like Ionic
columns, gave the place the look of a cathedral an
effect heightened by the odor, as if of incense from per-
fumed censers that rose on every side. The illusion,
too, was aided by the solemn silence that reigned in
this retreat, after passing suddenly out of the noisy
streets of the city, where the clamor of man and beast is
perpetual, and the harsh Arabic gutturals rise in a chorus
of discordant sounds around the pedestrian.
Inspired by the resemblance just noted, and deeply
impressed by the sudden silence and solemnity of the
palm-grove, Edith murmured half aloud :
ASKAROS KASSIS. . 4!
" 'The groves were God's first temples ! ' '
The quick ear of the Englishman caught the quota-
tion, and he answered, "Very true, Miss Van Camp.
The quotation is true as poetical ; and this grove does
look deucedly like a cathedral. But the groves have
been the devil's temples, too as witness the Druids
not to mention the witch-burnings on your side of the
water. I verily believe your respected aunt now be-
lieves the long-eared fiend she is riding to be Sathanas
in disguise, leading her into this his domain. We only
need his original snakeship here to make the impression
perfect. ' '
As he spoke this laughingly, walking a few paces be-
hind the young lady's donkey, Sir Charles was surprised
at receiving no other response than a blow from the
sudden recoil of her donkey, so sudden and violent as
to throw him out of the pathway.
At the same moment a stifled shriek broke from the
lips of Edith, who had been thrown to the ground, and
had just risen to her feet. She stood immovable, as
though from terror, trembling in every limb, her lips
parted, and her blue eyes a strange mixture of fascina-
tion and horror in their staring orbs fixed upon a point
in the shrubbery just before her.
At the sound of her shriek, Askaros, who was a few
steps in advance, leading the way, turned suddenly
round ; and his gaze, following hers, was instantly
riveted on the same object, with somewhat the same
fascination.
From the midst of a thick clump of shrubs, at the foot
of a huge palm, gleamed forth what seemed two living
coals! and beneath it coiled in a huge bulk like the
cordage of some mighty ship fold above fold, sinuous,
4*
42 ASKAROS KASSIS.
undulating, writhed the knotted convolutions of a slimy
serpent ! The eye of Askaros bent upon the burning
spots, that made a gleam in the dusky shade of the
shrubs, till he could distinguish the erect head of the
monster its forked tongue moving rapidly backward
and forward in its poisonous jaws while from the
greenish eyes, full of evil fire, sparks seemed to scin-
tillate.
Then, glancing from the grim terror to the maiden,
the heart of the young Egyptian stood still, the hair
bristled on his head, and the blood in his veins seemed
to freeze; for that wondrous influence which the ser-
pent eye exercises over man, bird, or beast commonly
known as fascination, which science may deride, but ex-
perience has confirmed by testimony of many men in
many lands had wrought its strange spell over her
gentle spirit. Her first impulse of terror and flight had
not only been arrested, but changed into apparently far
different sentiments ; and repulsion and horror had been
succeeded by what seemed attraction even pleasure !
Her sudden flight was checked, changed to an attitude
of eager expectation her body bent forward her lips
apart her hand placed to her ear a yearning interest
manifested in each strained feature of her speaking face.
Still her large blue eyes, the pupils unnaturally dilated,
strained into the copse ; and she stood there, under the
sombre shadow of the palm, the living embodiment of
that exquisite creation of the chisel that has made its
sculptor's fame the listening Nydia of Pompeii.
Her parted lips moved slightly, and her hand raised
itself with a languid motion.
"Hush ! " she murmured, as one speaking in a dream.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 43
"Do not break that heavenly music. It sounds like the
song of the angels ! ' '
Then, on the second, a hoarse, hissing whisper grated
through the clenched teeth of the Egyptian, who stirred
not hand or foot, but with a single glance warned back
the astonish d group, who were about pressing forward:
"Stir not. Speak not if you love her! It is the
cobra-di-capello ! They only strike when angered
movement will be death ! ' '
A chill struck to the heart of his listeners as they heard
that dreaded name. They shuddered and obeyed.
Motionless as the rest, but with every muscle braced as
if ready to spring between the girl and the serpent to
interpose his own body as her shield, if necessary and
with his eye riveted upon the monster, the Egyptian
watched its every movement, as the crest rose and fell,
and the scales of the sinuous bulk writhed and twisted
in its dark-brown coils. Large drops of sweat rolled
from his contracted brow, his breast heaved like that of
an athlete after a deadly strain, and blood dripped on his
white silk vest from the lips his sharp white teeth tore in
his agitation. Anxiety strained to agony was stamped on
every feature, but, with marvellous self-control, he stood
still as if hewn out of stone !
Moments, that seemed hours, passed. Twice the
cobra raised his flattened head, projected the ominous
cowl over his red eyes, braced his stiffening coils, and
seemed preparing for his arrowy spring. Then twice the
Copt, bracing every muscle, seemed ready to launch
himself between the monster and its prey.
But twice the serpent lowered his head and relaxed his
coil; and twice a deep gasp from the overburdened
44 ASKAROS KASSIS.
breast of the man proved one peril past one strain
over.
The rest of the group stupefied by the peril, and
sure that the Egyptian knew best what the fearful situa-
tion required implicitly obeyed his warning.
Suddenly, while all remained in this horrible suspense,
there sounded from the other side of the wall the low,
wailing notes of the Egyptian reed-flute, followed by a
peculiar call. As the Copt caught the sound, his face
brightened, and he breathed the deep sigh of relief, for
he recognized the call of the serpent-charmer, so well-
known in the East. The cobra seemed to hear it, too.
Through his vast and sinuous bulk there seemed to run a
shuddering thrill. His uplifted crest sank; his huge folds
sullenly and reluctantly unwound; and, turning his head
in the direction of the sound, he stretched his full length
over the intervening sward. A second and shriller blast
of the flute, followed by a louder call, broke through
the dead stillness ; and then the serpent slowly twisted
round its gross body, and, with a gliding motion, dragged
it off in the opposite direction its course indicated by
the waving of the shrubbery as its slimy folds worked
through it with a rustling sound.
When the cobra first turned his head, and released the
maiden from the spell of his glittering eye, a slight
shudder shook her frame, and she leaned eagerly forward,
as though to follow his movements. The next moment
her eyes contracted, the lids closed wearily, her trem-
bling limbs refused to support her, and she would have
fallen heavily forward, had not Askaros rushed up and
sustained her fainting form on his sinewy arm.
Then the whole group advanced at once ; and even the
acid spinster softened into demonstrative affection by
ASKAROS KASSIS. 45
the fearful peril past and hideous doom so late averted
took the inanimate form in her arms, and bestowed all a
woman's care and tenderness upon it.
The father's heart was too full for words. Tears rose
to his eyes, a red flush conquered the ashy pallor that had
covered his ruddy face the moment before ; he seized the
hand of the young Egyptian and wrung it hard in silence.
But the old man's eye spoke his thanks more eloquently
than any words.
Harry Van Camp was more demonstrative. He poured
out his thanks and praises on Askaros vehemently and
incoherently, swearing he never could forget that to his
coolness and self-command his sister owed her life.
The Englishman to whom danger was familiar in the
tented field and deadly Indian jungles, where he had the
renown of a great tiger-slayer had blenched under this
new peril, in which his experience and his manhood
availed nothing. Undemonstrative, like all his country-
men, he neither by word nor gesture to any of the party
indicated his admiration of the Copt's conduct; but he
muttered to himself under his brown beard:
' ' By Jove ! I said he was a man at first sight, and he
has proved himself one. Any fool could have rushed in,
as I thought of doing ; but it required nerve and will to
do the thing neatly as he did it ! The fellow 's a regular
trump, by Jove ! ' '
Slowly Edith's eyes unclosed. Languidly she raised
her drooping head from the supporting arm of her aunt,
and said wearily :
' ' Why, what has happened to me ? I never fainted
before. The last thing I remember was the sound of
such sweet music ! It seemed to come from aerial
harps, touched by the fingers of angels. Oh, such beau-
46 ASKAROS KASSIS.
tiful sights ! processions of fairies and beautiful beings,
that beckoned me to come ; but I seemed spell-bound,
and could not move. I never felt such strange sensa-
tions before; and now I feel weak and weary, and so
drowsy."
And the fair young head sank passively back once
more, and the eyes closed in quiet slumber.
"Bear her quietly in," said the Copt, pityingly,
"and let her repose an hour. Then she will be per-
fectly well again. We Egyptians understand this ser-
pent-fascination, which you Western people deride as
visionary and unreal ; though I have heard, in America,
also, it is not unknown. But wait a moment, and I will
arrange this matter better."
Turning to one of the Arab sa'ts, who had charge of
the donkeys, he gave some hurried orders in Arabic.
Both of them started off at a round trot, and soon
returned with a rude litter, on which they placed the
sleeping girl, and trotted off again up a broad avenue
that led to the house ; Miss Priscilla resuming her don-
key, and accompanying them.
The men walked slowly after; and Askaros, turning
to Mr. Van Camp, said :
"I owe you, sir, an explanation and an apology an
assurance that I never dreamed of the possibility of such
peril to your daughter in these gardens. They are too
carefully overlooked to permit the presence of such
venomous things without our knowledge. This cobra
had evidently escaped from one of the snake-charmers,
whose note of recall doubtless saved a sad catastrophe.
The sound that attracted him, you, of'course, heard, and
he is by this time in safe custody again."
" Snake-charmers ! " said Mr. Van Camp ; " who and
ASKAROS KASSIS. 47
what are they ? And are there really men who venture
to keep terribly poisonous snakes like that as familiars?"
"Yes; we have a class who claim and do possess
the power of attracting these venomous reptiles," re-
plied the Copt. " They enjoy a perfect immunity from
the poison of serpents. I have, myself, seen them on
the desert, charming a cobra from his hole, and handling
him with perfect unconcern. But what their secret,
their spell, or their antidote may be, is known only 'to
themselves."
' ' But how do they ' charm ' them ? In what way ? ' '
"By music and a peculiar cry, both of which you
heard practised with success on the truant who appeared,
and really was, so menacing to us. This is a strange
land of ours, and there are many strange things in it
which we ourselves would vainly attempt to explain.
But we cannot shut our eyes to things we see around us,
although they are opposed to probability, or are in defi-
ance to natural laws and to established principles."
"Is the cobra, then, a very venomous snake?" in-
quired Harry.
"Most venomous: to any than those possessing the
spell or secret of which I speak, his bite is certain and
speedy death," was the answer.
Mr. Van Camp shuddered at the idea of the peril his
darling had so narrowly escaped, and felt yet more
grateful to her preserver. For he believed, truly, that
nothing but the coolness and self-possession of the young
Egyptian had averted the danger ; and he further be-
lieved that he had been prepared to risk his own life for
hers, had the cobra made his spring. Askaros divined
what was passing in the old man's mind, and changed
the topic, as well as the current of his thoughts.
48 AS A' A If OS KASSIS.
" Come, let us not dwell on such a disagreeable
theme," he said. "The Eastern philosophy is to live
in and enjoy the present, and leave past and future in
the hands of Allah, our God, as well as theirs. l Kis-
met,' or fatalism, is their buckler and sword against all
the ills of life, and submission to it their religion. Let
us borrow this philosophy; and you, my friends, for-
getting the unwelcome and uninvited guest now disposed
of, turn your thoughts to the novelties I am about to
show you in the way of an Eastern house and an Eastern
entertainment. For, see, here we have safely arrived at
my own threshold at last. Enter, and consider the
house and all it contains your own ! ' '
CHAPTER IV.
A DINNER A LA TURQUE.
THE dwelling of the Copt, which stood in the
midst of this garden, had, in fact, formerly been
a favorite palace of Ibrahim Pasha, the warrior son of
Mehemet Ali. This prince had swept like a conquering
flame over Syria, returned to Egypt, acted as regent dur-
ing the madness which darkened the last days of Me-
hemet Ali, and died before him Abbas assuming the
regency until the death of his grandfather. The estate
of Ibrahim Pasha had been divided among his heirs, and,
as usual, his palaces had been sold. This one was pur-
chased by the father of Askaros, who, in addition to his
hereditary wealth, had accumulated a large fortune by
bold and successful speculations, having figured in the
rdle of Eastern merchant and- banker on a large scale,
and as one of the millionnaires of Cairo.
The external appearance of this vast pile built of
granite stripped from the larger Pyramids, as are many of
the more solid buildings of Cairo was more imposing
than pleasing. It was in the old Saracenic style, with
massive walls rising sheer up, with no door or windows
below to relieve the frowning exterior only broken
higher up by a kind of covered balcony, with lattice-work
5 D 49
5<D ASKAROS KASSIS.
of wood curiously carved and interlaced, admitting light
and air. Standing or sitting behind these lattices, the
male or female inmates could see all passers outside, and
themselves remain unseen.
Nothing but this blank wall presented itself from the
exterior. The dome rose into a cupola, from which
stretched away long wings on either side, making the
building very spacious, while very gloomy-looking. The
tourists could see no door by which to enter ; but their
guide and host, applying a clumsy wooden key to a small
orifice in the wall, shot back a wooden bolt within, and
a small wicket-door swung back. Through this they
entered a large square court, with the palace built around
it, the interior space being open to the top of the cupola,
which let in light through small ovals of glass stained all
colors.
A sort of colonnade, like the cloisters of a convent,
ran around it under the projection of the second floor of
the building, with benches or rude divans, which served
the purpose of seats by day, and of sleeping-places by
night, for the inferior servants of the household; for,
while in Europe the domestics occupy the highest story
of the house, in the East they occupy the ground-floor.
Day and night the Bowab, or porter, sits or sleeps inside
of the gate leading to the entrance of the house. The
Bowab of this establishment was an ancient Berberi, with
a white beard, and his sole duty was to guard the gate
an institution we recognize in a refined shape in the
French concierge.
A broad flight of marble steps led up to the first floor,
and, removing the heavy silk curtains, which were the
substitute for a door, Askaros ushered his guests into an
apartment more truly Oriental than any they had yet seen.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 5l
It was a very long room, its lofty ceilings ornamented
with the most elaborate wood-work, covered with tracery
of the most exquisite patterns the beauty of the work
and the minuteness of its finish being something marvel-
lous. The walls were of a sort of mosaic of inlaid wood,
as were the floors, polished until as slippery as glass, with
narrow strips of the richest Persian carpet running round
the room to walk upon ; heavy rugs of the same Persian
looms being placed before each of the low divans occu-
pying alternate niches in the wall of the apartment.
These divans were of the most luxurious description ;
low not elevated more than six inches from the floor
broad and deep, and covered with rich silk brocade.
A profusion of down pillows, covered in the same way,
was strewn over each of them.
In one corner of the apartment stood a shining brasier
of burnished brass, resting on a low tripod. This was
intended for the reception of burning charcoal, at such
rare times as the coldness of winter rendered a fire neces-
sary, and constituted the sole substitute, in any Egyptian
house, for the European grate. This, with the divans,
constituted the furniture of the room, save a few koorsies,
or hexagonal stands of rich wood about two feet in
height, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl squares intend-
ed for resting small trays of refreshments or glasses of
sherbet.
In the very centre of the room was a marble fountain,
with its broad basin, into which slowly trickled a stream of
pure water through a graceful swan's-head carved in
marble ; for, as it was winter, the fountain was not in
full play. In summer it threw up large jets of water, that
descended into the basin in graceful spray, and cooled
the atmosphere delightfully.
52 ASKAROS KASSIS.
"This is our reception-room," said Askaros, "and
here is my father, to whom I will present you. Unfortu-
nately, he is an Egyptian of the old school, and neither
speaks nor understands any of the European languages. ' '
There were no windows of the ordinary kind in this
apartment, but at a height of perhaps twenty feet were
several large latticed casements without glass, to admit
both light and air, with movable silk curtains, which by
a cord could regulate the supply of each. Following the
direction of the host's eyes through the obscurity of the
darkened room, the travellers saw at the divan, at its
other end, what seemed a large bundle of silk, surmount-
ed by a snowy beard.' This bundle rose and advanced
toward them, displaying the figure and face of a tall and
venerable old man, darker in complexion and more rug-
ged in feature than the young Copt, yet bearing strong
resemblance to him.
The old man was dressed in the ancient Copt costume
a voluminous turban of snowy muslin, a close-fitting
under-vest of striped Syrian silk, over a snowy shirt, with
a long, loose, sad-colored silk gown, open only to the
waist, and there girded with a heavy silken sash. Red
slippers, with pointed toes, completed the costume.
He advanced and greeted his son's guests with that
mixture of grace and dignity so common among the
Orientals, motioning them to take seats on the divans
near him, and reserving the place of honor, next him-
self, for the eldest of the party, Mr. Van Camp. He
was a venerable-looking man apparently of great age,
but neither the fire of his eye was dimmed nor much of
his natural force abated. Pipes and coffee were immedi-
ately brought in by the attendants, and furnished a pleas-
ant substitute for conversation the son in the East con-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 53
sidering it respectful to remain silent in the father's pres-
ence, and the father being unable to converse except
through an interpreter. In this manner the old man said
to Mr. Van Camp:
"My daughter is attending to yours. I have just
received a message stating that she is quite restored, and
that they will soon join us ; for you know that we are
Christians, and do not veil our women, except in public,
nor prevent strangers, properly introduced, from seeing
them."
Then the whole party puffed vigorously at nargileh, or
chibouque, exchanging but a few words, and in low tones.
Then attendants came in, bearing trays, on which were
sweetmeats in a large saucer ; each guest took up one of
the many spoons upon the tray, dipped it in the saucer,
took a mouthful of the confiture, then laid down the
spoon. Glasses of sherbet, lemonade, and different-
colored liquids were also proffered from time to time,
as were fingans, or egg-shell cups, of delicious Mocha
coffee.
In this way an hour passed ; and thus we will leave
them, while, making use of the spell-words that opened
the cave for Ali Baba, we penetrate into the Hareem, or
women's apartments, on the floor above, in the western
wing of the palace, and see who the fair inmates are, and
how employed. Passing up the stairway which on
this flight was narrower and built of stone instead of
marble and taking a few steps through an antecham-
ber, we pass under a crimson silk curtain into a long,
narrow apartment, slightly smaller than that below, but
finished and furnished much in the same style. This
room is one of a suite. Divans are scattered around it,
and the marks of female occupancy are distinctly visible
S*
54 ASKAROS KASSIS.
in the oval mirrors, combs, and brushes scattered over the
koorstes, or little pearl-inlaid stands already described.
On one of the divans, half reclining, half supported
by the silken pillows, was stretched the graceful form
of Edith. The languor of her late swoon had almost
passed from the expressive face, and the blue eyes were
gazing into the dark orbits of a young girl kneeling near
her, with her elbows resting on the divan, and a gaze of
mixed curiosity and shyness fixed upon the fair stranger.
This was the young El Warda, the adopted daughter of
the elder Askaros, whose face and figure, while equally
lovely and attractive, contrasted singularly with those of
the American girl.
She was a true Eastern beauty a type of the women
who, though "soft as the roses they twine" to all out-
ward appearance, yet conceal under that lazy languor
passions volcanic in their fierceness, when once awakened
by love or jealousy. Although scarcely more than a
girl in years, her face and form had the ripened maturity
of perfect womanhood ; for in the East all fruits ripen
far earlier.than in colder climes, and women mature and
fade more rapidly too. The girl who now knelt by
Edith's divan was really but fourteen years of age, but
she seemed six years older; for her full, lithe form was
fully developed, and the neck and bust moulded in perfect
symmetry. Her face was round and full, and the warm
kisses of the Syrian sun had given a deep brown tint to
the skin, which was yet clear and smooth, with a rich
sunset glow suffusing it. Her eyes large, almond-
shaped, and lustrous, with an expression of dreamy
melancholy in them would have given an air of inde-
cision to the countenance, but for the long firm slope of
chin and lower jaw, which told of resolute will. The
ASKAROS KASSIS. 55
features were refined, small, and chiselled; the lips full,
pouting, and voluptuous.
She wore a tight-fitting crimson velvet jacket, richly
worked in gold, over a white satin chemisette, likewise
heavily embroidered, and with a row of small gold
buttons up the front, which was cut very low, and open
enough to "display much of the lovely neck and bosom.
She also wore a shintyais, or pair of full Turkish trowsers,
of rich silk; and falling loosely over these was a straight
skirt, or petticoat, of the same material, which terminated
in a train behind, and gave much the same effect as the
European skirt. Round the slender waist passed a golden
girdle. The perfectly shaped little feet were thrust into
dainty little slippers, and on her head was set a little
round cap; both cap and slippers being of crimson
velvet, embroidered in gold to match the jacket. Her
lustrous black hair, soft and fine as silk, but in thick and
heavy masses, was plaited and hanging down her back
in two long braids, the ends being fastened with gold
coins, pearls, and bright bits of ribbon.
Both in face and figure, dress and carriage, she pre-
sented a most striking contrast to the blonde Edith : and
even a greater one to the spare spinster, whose angular
proportions were unrelieved by crinoline, and whose
bombazine dress clung to her thin figure with affectionate
tenacity.
Though far from ungraceful in her movements, there
was a startled shyness about the girl that made her almost
seem awkward, in spite of the natural undulations of her
lithe form. She resembled rather a half-tamed fawn,
half sportive, half terrified, than a well-conditioned young
lady.
The orphan child of a near relative, adopted by the
56 ASKAROS KASSIS.
elder Askaros many years before, when the absence of
his son in Europe made a void in his house and heart he
found it necessary to fill, El Warcla had gradually grown
to be considered a real daughter by him, and a sister by
the young man. Whether it was a sisterly affection which
brought the hot blood to her face whenever the name of
the latter was mentioned or his step sounded on the
stairs, she herself would have found it difficult to tell, for
she was as yet too young, too happy, too inexperienced
to analyze her own sentiments and emotions. Her edu-
cation had been perfected by an old Frenchwoman, long
resident in the East, and she had thus obtained some in-
formation on general topics, and a sufficient mastery of
French to speak it fluently, and chat away with Edith, in
a shy, constrained manner at first, but finally in a more
cordial and unreserved strain.
During this careless talk, in which Edith asked ques-
tions and El Warda answered them, the young Ameri-
can first learned, to her surprise, how utterly different
and repugnant were an Eastern and a Western woman's
ideas both of propriety and of pleasure. For the native
Christian of the East, though differing in faith from the
Mussulman, yet carries into his life, manners, and morals
many of the peculiar customs and prejudices of the
Turk, especially as regards his estimate and treatment of
women.
With all of them the woman occupies a subordinate
position is not regarded as an equal or a companion, so
much as a plaything, to be petted in the homes of the
higher a kind of upper servant in the households of
the middle classes. The wife of the Copt, Armenian,
Syrian, or Greek Christian, brings in with her own
hands the tray of refreshments, and, after meekly
ASKAROS KASSIS. 57
serving guest and husband, retires or remains quietly in
a corner, without expecting to be addressed or to take
part in the conversation. If spoken to, she glances at
her husband to respond for her ; and seems so fearfully
embarrassed, no stranger repeats a second time the well-
meant but painful politeness.
When these women go abroad, they also veil them-
selves, and it is considered a high compliment for a
strange man, even in the house, to be permitted a sight
of the face of an unmarried woman.
El Warda had, however, obtained some information
as to the habits and manners of the Western women
from her old French governess, and, to Edith's surprise
and amusement, plied her with questions such as an
intelligent child might be supposed to ask. Miss Prim-
mins, who understood no language but her own, and
who was troubled with dire apprehensions concerning a
cramp in what she termed her "limb," in consequence
of the unaccustomed contraction of that member from
sitting crouched so long upon the divan, sniffed audibly
and defiantly as she breathed an inward vow never
again to subject herself to such trials.
There were several female servants, black and coffee-
colored, standing in respectful postures and absolute
silence around the room, and one of these, now ap-
proaching El Warda, informed her that the dinner
awaited only the coming of the ladies.
Passing down the steps, and turning into a small but
lofty apartment adjoining the great saloon of reception,
they found the party already awaiting them, and the
ceremony of a dinner a la Turque commenced. But
as there was no table visible, nor any preparation for
dining, our travellers were greatly mystified.
58 ASKAROS KASSIS.
In the centre of the room, however, Edith observed a
large souffra, or stand, around which were ranged
cushions to the number of their party. Upon an invita-
tion from Askaros, she seated herself upon one of these,
El Warda taking that next to her, and the rest of the
party assuming their places, with the exception of Miss
Priscilla. She, indeed through the double apprehen-
sion of poison and of cramps strenuously resisted all
invitations to join the circle, alleging sudden indisposi-
tion as her excuse.
The party being seated, a slave passed noiselessly
around, distributing rich damask napkins with gold bor-
ders, which each guest, following the example of his
host, gravely tucked, bib-like, around his neck. Then
two other slaves followed, one bearing a large silver
basin with perforated bottom and a reservoir beneath,
and carrying on his arm a very soft and fleecy Turkish
towel ; the other holding a large silver pitcher of fresh
water.
Instructed what to do, Edith first held out her hands
over the basin while the slave poured water over them
the Easterns, with a refinement of cleanliness we might
well imitate, always washing hands and face in running
water. Then, when she had dried her hands upon the
towel, the slave sprinkled a few drops of rose-water, or
other delicate perfume, over them. The same cere-
mony was gone through by all the party ; and then and
there the slave deposited a large silver tray upon the
souffra round which the guests sat. This was the soup,
which was served in little bowls, a large, round, and flat
piece of bread being also placed before each guest, like
a plate. The soup finished, the next dish was brought in.
"Behold your dinner ! " said Askaros.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 59
The guests looked, but their faces lengthened per-
ceptibly, for this dish was only a young lamb, roasted
whole.
Neatly turning up his right sleeve, the master of the
house, with his thumb and finger, tore deftly off large
flakes of the flesh, and deposited them upon the pieces
of bread before each guest, that being the only plate
furnished ; and for knife and fork, only those that nature
had provided for the primitive man. The lamb was
roasted with pistachio-nuts, and was tender and delicious
in flavor. It struck the strangers with wonder to see
how skilfully and how gracefully the old man managed
this peculiar carving, and how daintily he selected the
best tidbits for his neighbors. But what astonished them
still more was the perfect cleanliness with which the
Egyptians ate, while the Europeans presented greasy
faces, and greasy fingers too.
Upon tearing open the lamb, by seizing his two fore-
legs, the opening disclosed a roasted turkey; tearing
open the turkey, behold a roasted fowl ; and within the
fowl a pigeon was discovered ! Then the guests sup-
posed the tale was told. But no ! Within the pigeon
was an egg in the shell. Surely it is over now, thought
the guests. But fresh surprise awaited them, for, on
breaking the egg, in the very centre was a ring, of the
rich uncut ruby, more prized in Egypt than the dia-
mond. This, with courtly grace, the venerable host
proceeded to place upon the finger of Edith, despite her
protestations and reluctance at accepting a gift she knew
must be of such great value. But Askaros having assured
her his father would feel both hurt and offended if she
persisted in her refusal, she felt compelled to accept the
princely offering.
60 ASKAROS KASSIS.
A brief pause ensued, after these labors of the table,
before the second course consisting of an infinite variety
of made dishes, cooked with a skill and cunning that
astonished the strangers succeeded. Then came sweets
and ices.
The banquet was concluded by the appearance of the
head-cook, bearing in his arms a great palace in confec-
tionery, which as a work of art rivalled anything they
had seen before the Easterns being as perfect in their
manufacture of such things as even the best French chefs,
At a sign from his master, a slave handed Edith a long
willow wand ; and at the same instant El Warda rose
from the cushion next Edith, and passed to the other end
of the room, where the ancient spinster sat chewing the
cud of sweet and bitter fancies, and watching the pro-
ceedings with mingled sensations of suspicion, scorn, and
curiosity, sharpened by hunger, which the savory fumes
from the dishes had aggravated.
Edith took the wand, and, prompted by Askaros, struck
smartly one of the towers of the castle of confectionery.
It fell in fragments, but the girl started back in alarm,
for something living struggled out from those fragments
with a whirring of wings, and a snow-white bird rose into
the air above their heads. Circling around the table, it
hovered over them, and finally settled down on the left
shoulder of Edith, pressing its soft head caressingly
against her cheek. She saw it was a beautiful carrier-
dove, and commenced to fondle it and smooth its ruf-
fled plumes. But the bird seemed restless, and pecked
at her gently with his beak, as though impatient, and
seeking to attract her attention.
" He brings a message from the Genii," said Askaros;
"or, as you would say, from the Queen of the Fairies.
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 6 1
If you wish to find it, detach the ribbon from his
neck."
The girl obeyed, and when the ribbon was detached,
she drew by it, from under the carrier's wing, a small
silken bag. Opening this, she saw a scroll of white satin,
with Arab characters emblazoned upon it in gilded letters.
"Translate it for me!" she cried ; and Askaros re-
peated :
"This house and all it contains is yours. Salaam
Aleikoum! (Peace be with you!) Search again in the
bag," he added ; "there may be something more."
As she plunged her fingers into it, they encountered a
hard substance, and, drawing them out, she saw what re-
sembled two lockets of gold. On the back of each, in
a circlet of precious stones, were traced Arabic letters
set in the front of each a dull yellow stone, not unlike an
amethyst, but more cloudy and less brilliant.
"The Arabic letters," explained Askaros, "are your
name and your aunt's. These are amulets to be worn
over the heart as a protection against the Evil Eye the
stones come from Mecca. This is a Turkish superstition,
and yet, I regret to say, that most of the native Chris-
tians, and even many of the foreigners who have been
long here, believe in it. Will your aunt and yourself
condescend to accept them, in my father's name, as sou-
venirs of the honor you have done him by this visit
to-day?"
"Really," said the young girl, smiling, as her aunt,
coming forward, accepted the gift in her own and her
niece's name, and both bowed their acknowledgments to
the elder Askaros, who bent low his head and laid his
hand upon his heart "Really I shall begin to believe
that this is an enchanted castle, and that you are a fairy
62 ASKAROS KASSIS.
prince, and your father the old Caliph Haroun in dis-
guise. But tell me one thing : how came the bird to
perch on my shoulder, in preference to another's? "
"Nothing more simple," responded the young man.
" He was trained to perch on El Warda's shoulder, and
a small red ribbon, which you will now see pinned on
yours, was his lure where to perch. El Warda left her
cushion by your side, not to confuse him."
"Very clever dodge, by Jove!" said Sir Charles.
"That really did puzzle me. Perfect sell! Begun to
believe myself that our charming host and his venerable
father were a pair of wizards, and might fly away with
the ladies through the top of the roof. But my fears are
now dispelled. Pity to spoil the romance of it by an
explanation, however. Curse of the age everywhere ! "
The slaves now approached once more with basin and
goblet, and the same ceremony of bathing in running
water, which had prefaced the dinner, closed it.
Then the head of the household gravely rose, his flaw-
ing robes and long white beard giving him the dignity of a
patriarch, and, extending his hands, asked a blessing in
Arabic for all around the board.
Then all his guests rose also, the female portion re-
ascending to the upper apartments, where sherbet and
coffee were served ; the men reclining at ease on the
luxurious divans, and inhaling the fragrant latakia, or
stronger tumbac of Persia, from chibouque and nargileh
the latter made of silver inlaid with gold, in rich ara-
besque of fruit and foliage traced upon the stands. They
were four feet high, and the bowls, containing rose-water,
were made in some of them of ostrich eggs set in silver,
and their flexible tubes were ten feet in length.
It was near midnight when the whole party returned
ASKAROS KASSIS. 63
to the Hotel d* Orient, bewildered and delighted by the
strange scenes that had passed under their eyes during
the last few hours. But before they left the house, the
younger Copt had laughingly said :
" I have kept my promise, and given you an entertain-
ment thoroughly a la Turque. Such is the way our
people habitually live : such is the ordinary life of my
father's family, but with one exception. Such is not my
life ; for, as the spoiled child of the household, I am
allowed the privilege of living a la Franque, as they term
it, or like a European. The jealous temper of Abbas
Pasha, our Viceroy, and his hatred of everything Eu-
ropean, make conformity to Eastern usage in dress and
mode of life essential as well as politic."
Lifting the curtain of the door, he passed out, followed
by the foreigners, and led the way through many long
and winding passages, that indicated the vast extent of
the building. Suddenly applying a key to a small, low
door, he passed another narrow passage, and, lifting a
curtain, displayed a spacious suite of rooms. They con-
sisted of parlor, library, bed and bath-rooms, and were
perfect and elegant in details of appointment, being fitted
up in the most luxuriant European style.
"This is my home," he said. "Here I venture to
assume my English habits and tastes, with my English
toilet and studies. I should otherwise have relapsed into
a barbarian, as have many of my old classmates since
their return from Eton. So you see, my friends, I live
two lives an outer and an inner one. To-day shall be
marked in my calendar with a white stone, for to-day
Europe has come to me, instead of my pretending thus
to go to it."
CHAPTER V.
AN EGYPTIAN VICEROY IN PUBLIC.
ABBAS PASHA, grandson of Mehemet Ali, sat on
the throne built up and cemented by the craft,
cruelty, and courage of his great progenitor, so aptly
termed the "Napoleon of the East."
The line thus far had been an ominous one ; the race
seemed destined to be as fated as was the old classic
house of Pelops, in the Greek tradition, on which the
gods had hailed down all and every species of woe and
horror, and all those ghastly terrors which have come
down to us through the tragedies of Sophocles and Euri-
pides.
For the visitation of God had first fallen upon the
great head of the house himself, in the fearful doom of
madness; and the chosen instrument of that visitation
was said to have been none other than his own daughter,
Nezle Khanum an Egyptian Helen of Troy for from
her hand came the love-philter which was to renew his
waning powers, which shattered his reason. The even-
ing of the great monarch's eventful life alternated between
moftdy melancholy and violent insanity, until he was de-
posed, and his son, Ibrahim Pasha, made Viceroy over
the kingdom.
64
A SKA R OS XASSIS. 6$
Ibrahim did not long survive his new dignity,. Whether
from his excesses or from poison, as many supposed
the warrior's funeral procession followed close upon the
pageant of his installation; and Abbas Pasha became
Regent for a few months, till death released his grand-
father, and made him Viceroy in name as well as in fact.
The father of Abbas had met even a more tragic fata
than his sire. Sent to subdue the fierce Wahabees of the
Soudan, he had been captured, and burned to death,
over a fire of green wood, by those implacable fanatics.,
who boast themselves the only true followers of the
prophet, and are aptly styled the ' ' Puritans of the East. ' '
Cruelly was this savage act avenged ; for Mehemet Ali
sent the Defterdar, surnamed "The Tiger," the husband
of Nezle Khanum, to carry fire and sword through the
Soudan; a commission he fulfilled with all the blood-
thirst of the fierce wild beast whose name and nature
he shared. He too was said to have perished from
poison administered by the fair but fatal hand of his
beautiful spouse a tigress fiercer and more fell than her
savage mate.
So when Abbas Pasha ascended that throne, reeking
already with blood and crime, and tainted with the sickly
odor of poison, well might he suspect and fear those who
should have been nearest and dearest to him in blood and
affection, and have watched for his deadliest foes among
his own kindred. Popular superstition also had centred
upon him as one possessed of the ''evil eye" con-
sidered a fatal gift in the East; and whispered predic-
tions of the dreadful doom awaiting him were already
made.
And the character and nature of Abbas were such as
to allow bad seed to swiftly germinate and fructify.
6* E
66 ASKAROS /CASSIS.
Sullen and suspicious, grasping at and hoarding wealth,
solitary as some wild beast of the desert he was known
only to his people from his exactions and his cruelties ;
for his was truly a ''Reign of Terror," in which neither
the life, liberty, nor property of any subject was safe.
His nominal suzerain, the Sultan, had really no control
^over his powerful vassal, and seldom attempted to exert
any, satisfied with the yearly tribute punctually paid. So
Abbas was free to work his own wicked will over the
fertile land and over the people of Egypt, even as he
listed. Such was the actual condition of the country,
and such its sovereign, at the period of this tale.
Some days subsequent to the visit to the house of the
Copt, as the tourists were sitting at breakfast at the Hotel
(F Orient, they were visited by their late host, who bore
in his hand a bouquet of rare exotics, arranged with that
skill which seems the special gift of the Eastern man.
After presenting these to Edith, he informed his friends
that on this day the formal presentation to the Viceroy
of one of the newly-arrived foreign consuls-general
was to take place at the former's palace, the Helmea.
He proposed taking them to this ceremony, which would
afford an opportunity of their seeing and being enter-
tained by the Viceroy.
"I can only invite the gentlemen," he said, with a
smile, "for you know, in the East, woman has not yet
emerged from the seclusion of the hareem. She cannot
figure in such ceremonies, as in more civilized countries
yours for example," he added, bowing low to Miss
Priscilla Primmins.
"Very true, young man," replied that ancient female,
flattered by the appeal. " There never has been a gov-
ernor inaugurated, nor a public meeting held at Faneuil
ASKAROS KASSIS. 6/
Hall, to which the ladies of Boston were not welcomed
by the gentlemen. Some even have gone so far as to
speak in public ! Now, I do not quite approve of that,
nor of woman's voting ; but, as nobody votes here, I
suppose that doesn't matter."
" The ladies of Boston figure, too, in the learned pro-
fessions, do they not?" asked Sir Charles; "preach,,
and practise law and medicine ? Am I right ? ' '
" Certainly they do ! And why not?" responded the
spinster.
" Oh, certainly ! Why not?" responded the English-
man, carelessly; "Cela dtpend du gout ; but if I were a
married man, Miss Primmins, even at Boston, I should
seriously object to my wife's getting up at night to go
out and see another man, professionally or otherwise ! I
am not quite sure but our friends the Turks are quite
right in putting some restraint on female liberty."
A wrathful answer rose to the lips of Miss Primmins
at thus hearing woman's rights and Boston theories so
summarily disposed of; but she remembered it was a
lord who spoke, and her reverence subdued her wrath.
She sniffed, stiffened her spine, bit her tongue, and was
silent, somewhat to the detriment of that useful organ.
Turning to the Van Camps, Askaros resumed :
"You will naturally wish to know how it is in my
power to give you this privilege, for such it is ; and it
will surprise you to learn that I am an employe* of the
consulate whose representative is to be received to-day.
I am its official translator, not for the sake of the salary,
but for the inestimable privilege of the protection it con-
fers; for each and every employe, or official, of a foreign
consulate here is, by usage, which is stronger than law,
entitled to claim and exact protection for person and
68 A SKA OS KASSIS.
property, even against the Viceroy himself. My having
accepted this protection has greatly incensed the Viceroy,
whose government have thus far denied it. But I have
strong friends in the consulate," he added, "and shall
go to-day, in spite of a warning from the master of
ceremonies to the contrary. My family were great
favorites with Mehemet Ali, under whom my father held
high office. Hence we are hated by Abbas, who fears
and suspects all who loved his grandfather."
The Americans and the Englishman listened in silence
and with much surprise to this strange explanation, which
showed them that other serpents than the cobra might
lurk among the sunny pathways and rose-covered gar-
dens through which, to the casual observer, the feet of
the young Egyptian seemed destined to tread. But no
further comment was made on either side ; and, re-
questing them to be ready after midday to accompany
him to the foreign consulate, whence the procession was
to move, the young man placed his hand over his
heart, cast an admiring glance on Edith, and gracefully
withdrew.
At midday he returned, and accompanied the party
to the consular residence, a large house fronting the
Ezbekieh, with the national arms conspicuously painted
on a shield over the doorway, and the national flag
floating from a flag-staff high above the dwelling. For
in the East each embassy, or consulate, protects the
ground it covers by the virtue of its own flag, and is an
inviolate asylum, free from all intrusion by the local
authorities or the Egyptian Government.
Formal notice of the new consul-general's intention
of presenting his credentials had been given, and as
formal an answer, in French, had been returned by
ASKAROS KASSIS. 69
" His Highness, the Viceroy," announcing the time and-
place fixed for such reception. The hour after mid-
day was the time, and the place one of the Viceroy's
numerous palaces at Cairo, called the Helmea. An
hour before the time fixed for the reception, there
arrived and passed before the consulate-general a long
line of carriages, escorted by some two hundred cavalry;
the men and horses most gorgeously dressed and capari-
soned, and the state carriages lined with crimson damask
and blazing with gilt decorations. From these car-
riages descended the Viceroy's chamberlain and intro-
ducer -of -ambassadors, both of whom spoke French,
and, on being introduced to the consul-general by his
dragoman, or interpreter, they announced, with much
form and ceremony, that they had been sent to accom-
pany and usher the foreign representative into the pres-
ence of their august master. Pipes and coffee were
offered these officials, who partook of both, and then,
expressing their readiness to set forth, the consul-gen-
eral, accompanied by his suite of consular officials, some
eight in number, was heralded out by two janizaries, or
guards, magnificently attired and armed in Oriental
fashion.
These ranked with captains in the Egyptian service,
and were responsible to no one but their chief. In ad-
dition to their crooked Turkish scimitars, with silver
scabbards, they bore long white staffs, six feet long,
tipped with silver, and having silver heads six inches in
length ; with which, preceding the consul-general, they
struck at every one who impeded the way, with the most
reckless impartiality. The functionaries of the Viceroy
seated the suite of the consul-general, including several
strangers whom he had invited, in the state carriages,
7O ASKAROS KASSIS.
according to precedence, and then the whole cavalcade,
escorted by the cavalry, set out for the Helmea.
Slowly the cortege wound its way through the crooked,
narrow, and crowded streets of Cairo ; the people scat-
tering right and left, as the wheels almost grazed them,
and escaping from being crushed to death, or flattened
into pancakes against the walls, by what seemed a
miracle. Sal's, or couriers, armed with stout sticks, ran
on before the horses' heads, and struck all who did not
get quickly enough out of the way ; so that they were
followed by what seemed a chorus of curses, until
reaching the palace gates. Here another troop of horse-
men were drawn up to receive them ; and, alighting in
front of a most imposing structure, abounding in marble
fountains and latticed windows, they ascended the broad
steps, passed through long suites of spacious apartments,
magnificently furnished in a m/lange of Eastern and Eu-
ropean splendor, and were ushered into the presence of
Abbas Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt.
He was sitting on a divan, with his feet coiled up under
him in true Turkish fashion, as they entered, but rose and
advanced a few steps forward to meet the consul-general.
As he did so, he saluted, by placing his hand upon his
brow, and courteously motioned his guest to take a seat
by his side. The Turkish gentleman never shakes hands
like the Englishman or American, nor embraces and
kisses like the Frenchman or Italian. He salutes his friend
by touching his own heart, lips, and brow, with a gesture
full of grace. The common Arab is more demonstrative.
He seizes his friend's thumb and.squeezes it; then slaps
the other's open hand several times with his own. The
ladies you are not expected to salute, as you are not sup-
posed to be allowed the privilege of ever seeing them.
ASKAROS KASSIS. /I
The consul-general took the proffered seat by the
Viceroy's side, his s^ite being assigned places on the
divans at some little distance. Then he glanced curiously
at his companion, and saw a man apparently of middle
age, of swarthy complexion, and with little beard, short
and stout of figure, with bloated, sensual face, and dull,
cruel eyes one to inspire distrust, not admiration. He
wore the Eastern dress, but without ornaments, except
that the tassel of the red/<?z he wore instead of a turban,
was looped up by a magnificent diamond ; and on his
finger sparkled a ruby of great size and value.
His manners, like those of all high-born Turks, were
bland and polished ; for in ease, courtesy, and all that
constitutes deportment, the Eastern certainly excels the
Western man. He may be unable to read or write, his
conversation consists of bald commonplaces about the
weather, and the most agreeable part of the visit, after
taking pipes and coffee, is the moment of departure ; but
Lord Chesterfield himself could not improve the manners
of the courteous gentleman, who, in his inmost heart,
looks upon you as less than the dust beneath his feet as
" a dog of an unbeliever ! "
Abbas Pasha, unlike the rest of his family, knew no
European language ; so the conversation after the
formal reception-speeches had been disposed of passed
through the interpreter, French being the medium of com-
munication. This the interpreter translated into Turkish,
the Court language, in preference to the Arabic. No
one who has not tried it can tell how embarrassing it is
to have his simple remark of its ' ' being rather a warm
day," gravely announced in French, to an obsequious
gentleman covered with gold embroidery, who imme-
diately dilutes it into Turkish for the edification of the
72 ASKAROS KASSIS.
Viceroy, who, through the same medium, and with many
changes of tongue, solemnly responds "he thinks it is."
Pipes and coffee, however, such as can never be had out
of the East, agreeably fill up the intervals of conversa-
tion ; for your Turk is a taciturn animal, and considers
much talk undignified.
The pipes on this occasion were chibouques, with
stems of jessamine, or cherry-wood, six feet in length
the mouth-pieces being amber, with circlets of precious
stones. Some of the stems, also, had serpents of jewels
winding round them. The zarfs, or coffee-cup holders,
were also incrusted with diamonds and rubies; the cups
themselves being egg-shells of porcelain, transparent as
glass.
Having disposed of three relays of pipes and coffee
for as fast as one was finished, the silent, swift domestics
replenished it and having exchanged complimentary
speeches with the Viceroy on their respective countries
to mutual satisfaction, the consul-general rose to go.
Then, at a sign from his master, one of the officials
rushed up and threw over his head a gilt cord, to which
was attached a Damascus scimitar thus investing him
with the sabre d' honneur, as a compliment from the
Viceroy. Thus doubly armed, for he wore his own
Court sword as a part of his uniform, the consul-gene-
ral exchanged parting salutations with the Viceroy, and
passed into the court-yard.
Here he found the carriages and escort drawn up to
receive him ; and he also beheld a handsome horse, gayly
and richly caparisoned another gift from his princely
entertainer. He had been previously notified that such
was the usage on the presentation of a representative of
one of the Great Powers ; of which there were, in
ASKAROS KASSIS. 73
Egyptian reckoning, five only, England, France, Russia,
Austria, and America neither Prussia nor Italy having
at that time risen to the dignity they have since obtained.
On returning to his consulate, the new functionary
found he was expected to pay for these gifts not to the
Viceroy, but to the guard of honor in the shape of cus-
tomary presents to the amount of a hundred pounds ster-
ling. This was distributed by his dragoman, according
to a well-understood tariff, each officer and private re-
ceiving so much per head, and regarding it not as a favor
but as a right wrangling fiercely with the dragoman as
to the amount, and paying not the slightest attention to
the bleeding victim, who that day learned what Eastern
presents cost.
Throughout the East this system of making presents
and expecting much more valuable ones in return pre-
vails, from the highest functionaries of the state to the
lowest servants in your household. It is not improbable
that the same system is sometimes adopted in the West
also, but not so openly.
The demeanor of the Pasha throughout this interview
was not only dignified and courteous, but most flattering
to the recipient, who had every reason to suppose he had
produced a most favorable impression so smiling and
almost affectionate was the Viceroy's adieu. He there-
fore returned to receive his colleagues who, according
to etiquette, were to pay him a formal visit in full uniform
and state well satisfied with the potentate of Egypt and
with himself.
7
CHAPTER VI.
THE VICEROY IN PRIVATE.
THE heavy curtains of the doorway had scarcely
fallen after the last of the consul's cortege, and
the sound of retreating footsteps had not ceased to echo
in the corridor, when a sudden and striking change came
over the mien and aspect of the Viceroy, who had played
the courteous host so well. He stretched himself wearily,
like an actor who has finished rehearsing a tedious part ;
the smile faded from his face, and he scowled savagely
after his departing guests. The countenance, so pleasing
the moment before, darkened, and a frown contracted
the heavy brows over the dull, blood-shot eyes, out of
which gleamed an evil light. The ease and dignity of
demeanor which had characterized him during the late
interview, were replaced by irritable impatience and un-
restrained ill-humor.
He hurled away from him the chibouque he had been
smoking, so violently that the precious amber mouth-piece,
surrounded by brilliants, was detached and rolled upon
the floor ; bounded from his divan like a wild beast, and
poured from his lips a volley of terrible Eastern impre-
cations upon the bodies and souls of his terrified and
cowering officials ! When the first storm of his passion
74
ASKAROS KASSIS. 75
had subsided, he threw himself back upon his divan, and
commanded his master of ceremonies to be summoned
again into his presence.
The cowering official appeared, his knees trembling,
his body bent almost prostrate, and his face exhibiting
the extreme of abject fear, as he knelt down to kiss the
hem of his master's robe.
Brutally repulsing the kneeling man, with a violent
kick from his foot Abbas sent him rolling backward on
the floor, while he screamed out mixed curses and orders
that his sword and insignia of rank should be take?: from
him. These insults were received with true Oriental
submission by the disgraced functionary, who again
prostrated himself, and asked in humble tones :
"O Effendina! (great lord) may the meanest of thy
slaves dare ask how he has incurred thy sovereign dis-
pleasure, that he may show his repentance, and strive to
atone for his fault ! ' '
''Son of a dog ! grandson of an ass ! whose mother's
grave may swine defile ! how hast thou dared to admit
into our presence, under foreign protection, that dog of
a Copt Christian, Askaros? He has dared to defy me,
and laugh at my beard in disobeying my orders not to
seek that protection ! By the soul of the Prophet ! he
shall rue it. And explain why thou shalt not be sent to
Fazougli, for thy share in this insult ! ' '
"The life and fortunes of thy slave are thine, O
Effendina!" was the trembling reply: "and thy wrath
is just. But let it not fall on the head of the innocent.
The fault was not mine ; for the Copt had warning from
me as to the will and pleasure of my sovereign lord, and
so had the consul-general ; but ' both disregarded my
warning and thy slave dared not, without thy special
76 ASKAROS KASSIS.
orders, refuse admittance to any one in the company of
the consul."
"Peki! " ('T is well !) answered Abbas, whose first burst
of wrath seemed passing over. ' ' Still, thou shouldst have
shown better management, and impressed my wishes
more strongly. My sight has been offended by the pres-
ence of this dog ! and his presumption must be punished.
Thou canst only regain my favor by showing me how
this may be done."
"If his Highness will permit, his slave may be able
to do this thing. Already steps have been taken to
avenge my lord for this outrage, ' ' replied the still kneel-
ing official.
"Come with me, then," said Abbas, suddenly re-
membering that the audience-chamber, filled with the
high dignitaries of his empire, was not the proper place
to discuss such matters. "Come with me, and I will
listen in private to thy explanations." And rising up,
attended on each side by an obsequious functionary who
supported his elbows, he shuffled out of the room,
followed by the master of ceremonies, whom all the
other courtiers carefully avoided in this hour of his dis-
grace. Abbas passed on to his own private apartment,
at the door of which was stationed a guard, commanded
by one of his most trusted officers ; and, making a sign
to the rest not to enter, permitted only the master of
ceremonies to pass within. Then throwing himself on
a divan, he cried with fierce impatience:
"Explain thy meaning ! What steps have been taken
to punish the Copt dog, who has strewn filth on my
father's grave ! "
"Lord of my life! We have discovered his secret
foe in the person of his most trusted friend, who pos-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 77
sesses all his secrets and those of his family, and whose
hate can be made to minister to the justice of Effendina.
That man now awaits the pleasure of my lord, who can
himself question him, and learn all he has to tell."
"Admit him!" was the brief response. "But first
tell me who and what he is, and how he can be useful in
this matter."
"His name is Daoud-ben-Youssouf, " answered the
official. "During the absence in Europe for several
years of the young Askaros, he was the confidential
secretary of his father, and the inmate of his house ;
only resigning that position when the young man re-
turned, eight months since. He* still possesses the con-
fidence of both father and son, and is the most intimate
associate of the latter ; for, though not educated in Eu-
rope, he knows much of the language and habits of the
Franks."
"Has he been badly treated by father or son?"
asked the Viceroy.
"On the contrary, Highness; they have overwhelmed
him with favors ! ' '
" Why, then, does he hate them, and seek to do them
injury?"
" Highness, it is the same cause which ruined our
great father, Adam. They say the daughter of the old
Askaros is fair to look upon ; and these Christian dogs
permit their young men to look upon the unveiled faces
of their women. So the young Daoud sought to gain
her in marriage, and attributes the rejection of his suit
to the young Askaros. So did I learn through a trusty
spy I have had among the servants of that household for
some time past. Therefore did I seek this youth, and
had many conferences with him. Now we understand
78 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
each other. Did I dare to name such a worm of the
dust in the same breath as your Highness, I should say
his hatred of the Copt, Askaros, equals that with which
your Highness has deigned to honor the unbelieving
dog ! But he insists upon seeing your Highness per-
sonally."
"He is over-zealous, or over-bold," answered the
Pasha, frowning darkly. But the next moment a cruel
smile wrinkled the corners of his mouth, as he added :
"Doubtless, Mahmoud Bey, he is dissatisfied as to your
power or authority fitly to reward him, and seeks the
assurance from myself. By the tomb of the Prophet !
he shall have it. Admit him."
The suddenly disgraced and as suddenly reinstated
official retired backward from the presence of his mas-
ter ; but the moment after returned, accompanied by a
slight, tall young man, clad in the Coptish dress. He
made a profound, but not abject salutation, to the Vice-
roy, -without prostrating himself, or kissing the hem of
his robe ; then folding his arms over his chest, seemed
to await the latter' s pleasure.
Abbas gazed upon him with surprise, so young and
girlish-looking was the face, so gentle and subdued the
expression of the young stranger's countenance ; the
oval outline, soft and beardless, save the mere pencilling
of a dark mustache ; and the smooth, fair skin, unfur-
rowed by a single strong line or wrinkle. But Abbas
Pasha, like all Turks, was a skilful physiognomist, and
he looked again and more closely upon the face be-
fore him. The Syrian suddenly looked up, and the
Viceroy caught his eye and was satisfied the face was
only a mask. For at that moment the passions which
agitated the heart shone through the windows of the
ASKAROS KASSIS. 79
soul, and the real nature of the man was revealed, as
though by a lightning flash, to the great adept in evil
before whom he stood. The expression swiftly passed
from the telltale mirror, and the next moment the eye
was as calm and expressionless as the other features.
"A real young tiger-cat!" muttered the Viceroy,
under his beard ; and there was something in the gliding,
elastic movement of the body, and in the sleepy softness
of the greenish-brown eye of the young Syrian, that
made the comparison an apt one. His dress was that
of the ordinary Coptish accountant a full black turban
over a closely-shorn, but unshaven head ; a long gown
of striped Syrian silk, falling like a robe to his feet, and
a white under-vest, with a row of small silken buttons,
coming up high on the neck, around which he wore no
covering of any sort. A Syrian sash wound around his
waist ; and into this was thrust a large silver inkstand,
supported by its handle within the folds, and a large pen
of the same material. The only ornaments he wore were
the signet ring on the forefinger of his right hand, and a
large diamond on the little finger of his left. After
gazing on him some time in silence, the Viceroy spoke :
" Mahmoud Bey tells me you know something which it
befits me to hear," he said. "You are permitted to
speak."
Steadily and calmly the Syrian replied :
" May the shadow of Effendina never be less ! I am
told by Mahmoud Bey that your Highness seeks some
information as to the public administration of Askaros,
the elder, whose private Wakeel (secretary) I was, when
he was Khasnadar, (treasurer,) under the reign of his
late Highness, Mehemet Ali. Although Askaros was
my employer and my patron, yet, Highness, my first
80 ASKAROS JCASSIS.
duty is to my Viceroy, and I am ready to reveal all I
know. Ask, then, and it shall be answered."
A red flush passed over the face of Abbas, partly of
pleasure at securing so useful a tool ; partly of anger at
the calm audacity of the beardless boy, whom he con-
sidered as less than dust beneath his feet, in thus daring
to assume community of purpose between them. He
did not, therefore, deign to reply to the Syrian, but,
turning to Mahmoud Bey, coldly said :
" Tell him that I approve of his zeal, and that it shall
not go unrewarded. I doubt not there have been grave
abuses in that administration; and he who furnishes
proofs of them merits and shall have rich compensation.
I shall instruct you when and how to interrogate him on
the subject. Now he may go."
The calm face of the Syrian manifested no emotion,
either of pleasure or confusion, as the Viceroy uttered
these words. He allowed Mahmoud Bey to repeat them
to him, as though he had not heard them; then courte-
ously, but firmly, responded through him.
" Say to the Effendina, that it is to him alone that I
can communicate these matters in the first instance ; and
that without a witness. Otherwise my lips are sealed.
My life is his, but my secret is my own ; and I have that
to repeat to him, I may say to none beside himself."
The face of Abbas underwent a sinister change as the
daring youth uttered these words. His swollen features
grew purple with passion, and the veins rose like cords
upon his temples. He clutched at the band around his
neck as though it were stifling him ; and his broad chest
heaved as he panted for breath. His eyes seemed to
emit a dull red flame, like that of the cobra, as he fastened
it upon the rash speaker who thus braved him, and dared
ASKAROS KASSIS. 8l
to propose terms, as though to an equal. But ere the
torrent of invective and wrath, which these signs pre-
saged, burst forth, the young man spoke again to avert it ;
and this time with far greater show of reverence in his
manner than he had yet assumed.
"Let not the wrath of my lord, the Effendina," he
said, "be kindled against the humblest of his slaves, who
means no want of reverence, nor dares disobey his sover-
eign will. But there are things which it befits his private
ear alone to hear ; and I, therefore, humbly crave a few
words alone."
So saying, the Syrian bent his knee and bowed his fore-
head in the dust, in Oriental reverence. The cloud
passed from the brow of Abbas, though the hatred rose
in his heart against this astute plotter, who dared thus, as
he plainly saw, to play with him. But he thought it best
to extract his secret, and use before he punished him.
Therefore he spoke again to Mahmoud Bey :
" I pardon the rudeness of this youth, in consideration
of his ignorance, and because his lack of discretion may
be compensated by his zeal. As this concerns grave
public interests, I will permit him to impart it to my
private ear but stand just outside the door, and should
I clap my hands, enter immediately. Come hither first. ' '
And, bending his head, he whispered in the ear of Mah-
moud, "Tell Ruschid Pasha, captain of the guard, to
post himself at the secret entrance just behind me ; and,
at the least sign of danger, to shoot this stranger. He
may mean misceief. ' '
Mahmoud Bey made his reverence, and withdrew.
"Now speak," said the Viceroy. " Why did you ask
to tell your tale alone ? ' '
F
82 ASKAROS KASSIS.
" Highness, may I speak fearlessly without giving
offence ? ' '
" It is permitted you to speak ! "
"Highness, I could do a great service I can .rid
you of a dangerous enemy and give you a fair excuse to
confiscate his great estates and his vast wealth. And I
can, moreover, tell you where to find that wealth. But,
Effendina, you must let me name my price ! ' '
"Slave!" roared the Viceroy, "do you dare pro-
pose a bargain to me, your lord and master ! Do you
not know that for less insolence I might have you flayed
alive ! scourged to death ? or that at a word from me
the rest of your life would be passed in a dungeon? Do
you not know your living tomb may be gaping for you
even now ? ' '
A shudder ran through the slight form of the Syrian,
but still he answered firmly :
"All this I know, O Effendina ! All this I thought of
before I came ; but my mind is made up, and wild horses
cannot tear my secret from me, except on my own terms. ' '
The very audacity of the reply, coming from such a
source, was not without its charm for Abbas, whose com-
plex character often puzzled those who thought they knew
him best. Looking over the slight figure before him,
from head to foot, he burst into a roar of laughter, as
though the contrast between the speaker and his words
had been too much for his gravity.
"By the beard of my father!" he cried. "Who
would have thought to find the soul of the Persian Antar
under the frock of a Syrian scribe ! who, with no other
weapons than his pen and ink-horn, braves Abbas Pasha
to his very beard ! Ho ! ho ! ho ! " and he laughed
again, until the tears trickled down his cheeks and he
ASKAROS KASSIS. 83
stopped from sheer exhaustion. "Name thy price, then,"
he added, on recovering his breath, as though he were
still humoring a capital joke.
" My price," answered the Syrian, boldly, for he saw
he could not long depend on the changing moods of the
capricious tyrant "My price for my secret is death
or banishment for father and son ! and that the daughter
may be given to me as my wife, with a dower of two
hundred purses, when the work is done."
"Is she then so lovely, this maiden?" asked the
Pasha, scoffingly, fixing his small eyes over which a
dull film seemed to pass, as over those of venomous rep-
tiles full upon his rash interlocutor, whose cheek paled
visibly at the question.
' ' Highness, no/" the Syrian answered quickly. ' ' She
is not ; nor in any way attractive ! It is hate, not love,
which prompts me. I seek that the daughter of mine
enemy may serve as my handmaid ! ' '
Abbas laughed again ; but there was more mockery
than mirth in this explosion.
"Fool, as well as liar!" he cried; "why seek to
deceive me ! I know now the secret of thy heart, but it
matters not to me ; I covet not thy maiden. Give my
council the proofs, or put them in the way to do the
things thou hast promised, and I swear by the tomb of
the Prophet, and by my own soul, the wishes of thy heart
shall be granted. But mark me well ! " and his voice
sank into a savage snarl "if thou deceivest me if
thou seduce my council into commencing a prosecution
that cannot be sustained and carried out without creating
scandal, here and at Stamboul better far for thee hadst
thou never been born ! For living thou shalt taste the
84 ASKAROS KASSIS.
pains of Eblis, and pray for death as deliverance from
the doom that awaits thee !
"And now, false hound, that hath turned to bite the
hand that hath fed thee, go ! Among all the Nazarene
dogs that blaspheme the name of the holy Prophet, can
be found none so vile as thyself; but remember ! thy
sleek head now is under the paw of the tiger ! Go now
and do thy work ; but do it not negligently, or woe unto
thee ! Thou art warned !
"Pollute my sight no longer with thy presence, and
thy rottenness. Strange ! that Allah should have put so
smooth a mask over so black a soul ! ' '
As he closed, he clapped his hands, and several attend-
ants entered.
"Mahmoud Bey," the Pasha said, "take your friend
away. And," he added, in a lower tone, "bid him be
silent as to this interview."
His orders were obeyed.
While the Viceroy had been giving his parting bene-
diction, the Syrian's head had been bowed down on his
breast, as though in deep abasement or contrition. Not
a muscle of his face changed, not a nerve of his frame
quivered ; but his pride, which was great, writhed within
him under each stroke of scorn, like a fierce lash lacerat-
ing his soul. And all the more because he knew the
tyrant's words were just, did the barb fasten the arrow
in the wound, to remain there festering for ever ! The
Viceroy but echoed the voice of his own conscience.
But as Saul wrestled in vain with the evil spirit, so did
his descendant tempted as sorely as he; and the evil
elements in his nature hardened under the fire which
should have melted them.
With eyes downcast, that the lurid fires that blazed in
ASKAROS KASSIS. 85
them might not be seen, and with hell raging in the heart
that seemed scarcely to beat under his silken mantle, the
Syrian stripling registered another vow of vengeance,
when his first debt should have been paid and this
time it was against his accomplice and his king !
And so, after having made their evil compact, prince
and subject parted with hate and scorn rankling in the
souls of each ; and the seeds of mutual sin sown in two
souls that day, were destined to bring forth bitter fruit in
the future.
8
CHAPTER VII.
HAWK AND DOVE.
ON a bright morning of the succeeding week, in one
of the oldest and dingiest of the tall stone houses
fronting the Ezbekieh, sat the young Syrian, diligently
engaged in writing. He was squatted on a divan covered
with torn, faded, and dirty chintz, and, crouched among
the cushions, wrote upon his knee, in place of book or
table. Long, narrow strips of paper were strewn round
him on the floor, with Arab characters and numerals
traced upon them; and everything in the small room
seemed dirty and disorderly, except the occupant, who
looked as sleek and spotless as was the animal to which
the Viceroy had likened him.
The contrast between the appearance of the man and
the poverty-stricken squalid appearance of the room, was
very marked ; and the noises from the street would have
disturbed any less concentrated attention, not to mention
the fact that contiguous to this room was the stable of
his donkey, whose proximity was made evident to several
senses at once.
Unmindful of these various annoyances, that use had
made second nature to him, the young scribe worked on ;
and so absorbed was he in his labors, that he only became
86
AS A' A It OS KASSIS. 8/
aware of the presence of a visitor when a clear, familiar
voice sounded close to his ear, and caused him to start,
till he almost upset the inkstand he had taken from his
girdle and placed on the divan beside him.
"Salaam Aleikoum!" (Peace be with you!) said the
new-comer. "The bee is busy, as usual, I see, but I
much doubt if it be honey he is making."
" Aleikoum es Salaam /" (Peace be also with you !)
was the response. "I am making bread, not honey, for
my labors are anything but sweet."
"Your workshop certainly is not," said Askaros, laugh-
ing. "So, unless you prefer your donkey's society to
mine, or are too busy to smoke a chibouque with me,
come up stairs to your sitting-room, for it is long since I
have seen you, and I have many things to say. ' '
"Most willingly will I exchange this dull work for
your pleasant society," replied the young Syrian, whose
manner, though deferential, was not humble toward his
more fortunate friend. "I rejoice that you have visited
my poor house, for I long to talk with you. You know,"
he added with a bitter smile, "I might as well converse
with my long-eared friend in the next room as with most
of my ordinary companions, who twit me with being two-
thirds a Frank thanks to your example."
So saying, he arose, and, leaving the papers strewn
over the divan, locked the door, and motioned Askaros
to precede him up the steep and winding stone steps which
led to the upper apartments. At the head of these steps
the young men passed into a good-sized room, over-
looking the Ezbekieh, in which was none of the dirt and
squalor visible below, though it contained no other furni-
ture than long divans covered with chintz, running round
its sides. It had, however, glass windows without cur-
88 ASKAROS KASSIS.
tains, which gave it a more civilized air. Daoud clapped
his hands, and a servant appeared, who immediately pro-
ceeded to fill pipes; and, seating themselves on the divan
in front of the window, the two young men coiled up
their legs, and commenced smoking vigorously. Askaros
spoke first.
"You do not ask me, O Daoud," he said, "the cause
of my infrequent visits to you of late. Are you not
curious to know ? ' '
"Curiosity is the quality of a woman, not of a man,"
the other answered. "Far less does it become a friend
to pry into the secrets of one so high above him. I was
satisfied your absence did not arise from any offence I
could have given you; and, therefore, though I missed
much your society, I was satisfied with that."
"Spoken like a sage!" cried Askaros, laughing
again. " But you would like to know, nevertheless, and
I want to tell you."
"Of course some fair Houri has caused your ab-
sence," replied the Syrian. "I well know the tempta-
tions to which you are exposed, and the facility with
which you yield to them. But I fear to give offence,
else I would ask, do you not fear to anger the Khanum,
(great lady,) whose eyes are everywhere, and whose
jealousy is as fatal as her love?"
" No fear of that ! for two reasons," Askaros hastened
to answer. "For, though you are right, and there is a
woman at the bottom of it, yet it is not the usual thing at
all ; and the woman belongs to and moves in a different
world from ours and the Khanum's."
" One of the genii, or a fairy princess, perhaps," said
the Syrian. "But cease your transports, and tell me
ASKAROS KASSJS. 89
who, what, and where she is, that my senses also may be
gladdened by glimpses of paradise and the Houris."
"I can answer all of your queries in one word,"
responded Askaros, pointing with his finger toward the
Ezbekieh. "Behold!"
The Syrian's eye followed the direction of the finger,
and he saw the party from the hotel slowly strolling
down the broad path in front of the coffee-house.
"Ingleezef" he said. " Sitta Miriam! (Holy Vir-
gin!) but the young one is lovely. Binta quiesa, quiesa
kitteer ! (A beautiful maiden very beautiful !) but more
like a fairy than a woman, to my taste."
" Well, is she not sufficient apology for my absence?"
laughed Askaros, gayly. " I have been actually playing
dragoman to the whole party for the last two weeks !
You, who know how tame and tiresome sight-seeing is
to me, can guess how pleasant must have been my pay-
ment, to make me go through with it."
The Syrian did not reply, but he fixed his eyes upon
the young girl with a strained intensity, as though to
make a mental photograph of every line in her face and
figure, for some minutes. Then again he only repeated :
' ' Quiesa kitteer kitteer ! ' '
Briefly, but with much animation, did Askaros de-
scribe to him the incidents of their acquaintance and
intercourse ; to which the other listened in silence until
he had finished.
' ' Have you seen the Khanum in the interval ? " he
then asked again. "I tell you, her eyes never close,
and she has heard of your Frank fairy long ere this.
She is not to be trifled with ! Those who play with
panthers, must keep the fur smooth by rubbing it the
8*
gO ASKAROS KASSIS.
right way. And no panther was ever more treacherous
or more deadly than she."
"I know! I know!" said Askaros, impatiently.
"Trouble not yourself about that; nor couple in the
same thought, nor name in the same breath, two crea-
tures as widely apart as the good and evil genii ! The
Khanum may be a panther, but I know a spell can tame
her."
The Syrian bowed his head, as though in apology,
and changed the subject, which he saw was not an
agreeable one.
"Why, O my friend," said Askaros, affectionately,
"will you persist in your false pride, and refuse my
father's offers of service, so earnestly and so pressingly
made ? Why live this hard life in this squalid house, so
repugnant to your delicate and fastidious nature, as well
as to your training, while my father's Wakeel, during
the years of my absence ? He again charges me to
tender to you enough of capital to establish yourself in
commerce, at which you can surely accumulate a rapid
fortune ; and, to spare you any sense of obligation, he
consents to accept a share of the large profits he is sure
you will make. Come, my friend, be reasonable. Ac-
cept this offer. ' '
Tears came into the eyes of the Syrian. His impress-
ible nature was deeply moved. He shook his head
slowly :
"I cannot!" he said. "But do not think me un-
grateful, nor foolishly proud, that I do not. When I
was your father's Wakeel, had I accepted what was
offered me, I might have been rich to-day ; but I came
poor out of his service rich only in a good character
and in your friendship ; and I believe and know I can
ASKAROS KASSIS. QI
work my own way to fortune. Even now I am not so
poor as I appear to be, and prefer working my own way
still. So give my best thanks to your father, and tell
him this from me. ' '
There was a pause, before assuming a graver tone,
and, with an air of great concern, he spoke again, more
slowly and with hesitation.
"Askaros Effendi," he said, "both, you and your
father know my affection and fidelity to your house, and
that affection may make me nervous when there is no
need ; but I think it my duty to warn you that there is
danger in store for you both."
"How, and from whom?" asked Askaros, impressed
by the tone and manner of the Syrian ; for he knew him
to be no idle babbler, nor given to foolish fancies.
"From Abbas Pasha!" responded Daoud, in a
whisper, and glancing cautiously round, to be sure he
was not overheard ; ' ' and the danger takes the double
shape of assaulting your father for his administration as
Khasnadar, and of punishing you for daring to accept a
foreign protection."
' ' How know you this ? or what induces you to sus-
pect it ? "
"Your friend, Zoulfikar Pasha, who, although not in
favor, yet keeps his position near the Viceroy, and who
loves you much, sent his confidential Hakim (physician)
here to me, that I might warn you. I know of nothing
further."
"You have a clear, cool head," Askaros answered,
thoughtfully. "What is your counsel? What do you
advise ? ' '
" I would advise, firstly, that your father should pray
the Grand Council to open and examine his accounts
92 ASKAROS KASSIS.
of the vouchers for which you know I have duplicates.
In the next place, I would counsel you to resign this
place in the foreign consulate, and thus propitiate the
wounded pride of the Viceroy. Thus may you both
escape the wrath of Abbas, and be taken into his favor ;
otherwise I fear trouble is in store for you both."
"You astonish me!" exclaimed Askaros, opening
wide his eyes, in amazement ; ' ' you actually would
counsel us to put ourselves our lives and our fortunes
absolutely without recourse into the hands of Abbas
Pasha ! What sudden blindness has stricken you that
you cannot see the greater perils yawning under that
course ? Do you believe that Abbas has suddenly become
just, generous, and humane that to the wolf can be
safely confided the keeping of the lamb?"
"My opinion of the Viceroy has not altered, nor do
I think any better of him than when we last spoke,"
answered Daoud, without raising his eyes. "But I do
believe the plan I propose is the best, to disarm him.
You best know how far you can count on the protection
of your consul-general, in case of violent measures on
the part of the Viceroy. With reference to your father's
accounts, that is a matter in which your foreign protec-
tion cannot intervene. Think on these things seriously;
for I believe the necessity for your action may arise
sooner than you imagine. But count always on my aid,
and command my services at all times," he added,
slowly; "for the debt I owe you and your father, I hope
I may live to pay ! ' '
He turned his head away as he spoke, as though over-
come by emotion, and struggling to suppress the strong
manifestation of his gratitude. But had Askaros seen
the cruel, sinister smile that writhed the thin lips, and the
ASKAROS KASSIS. 93
evil glare in the downcast eye, veiled by its long, femi-
nine lashes, he would better have understood the equivo-
cal promise that had just been made him. That promise
it was Daoud-ben-Youssouf's intention to keep to the
letter, if not to the spirit, with his too confiding listener
for in his heart at that moment he felt a foretaste of the
pains of Eblis, racked and torn as it was by the conflicting
demons of Jealousy and Shame Hatred and Remorse!
But the brow was as smooth and the face and form as
still, as though no moral tempest were making havoc
and howling wildly through his soul. For, strong as was
his trial, his strength to master it was greater still. Though
his pulses bounded through his arteries at fever -heat;
though his brain rocked and reeled under the strife of
the conflicting emotions that rent and tore him, like the
man possessed of devils in Holy Writ still his external
calm was not disturbed ; though he listened like a man
in a dream, and without comprehending the meaning of
the words which his friend poured into his ear.
Until the day of his death, Daoud never knew what
that friend said, at the close of their interview. He
heard the sounds, but they conveyed no meaning to his
mind, as they passed to it through the ear. He answered
mechanically, and must have done so fitly, for no suspi-
cion of his preoccupation seemed to cross the mind of
his friend; and when the conversation flagged, and
Askaros rose to take his leave affectionately rallying
Daoud on his seriousness and anxiety the Syrian seemed
to awaken as though from a trance.
As soon as he was alone, he sighed heavily, and
grinding his teeth, muttered :
"Is it worth the price? Is it worth the price? And
is the Book right, when it asks : ' What will it profit a
94 ASKAROS KASSIS.
man to gain the whole world, if he lose his own soul?'
If it be so, as the priests say, then woe to me here and
hereafter! But" and the lines of his feminine counte-
nance suddenly hardened from softness into ferocity
' ' but woe ! double woe ! to the fools who have driven
me to this damnable treachery to gain her, without whom
my life would be but one hopeless longing! one wak-
ing and breathing death ! ' '
A moment he paused, with set teeth and laboring
breath; then an expression of subtle malignity crept
over the face, and blent with the ferocity that covered it
like a veil.
"But can I trust the promises of Abbas? I have read
in the parchments that the fathers loaned me, that the
Evil One never kept faith with his servants, nor paid the
price for which they sold their souls; but by some cun-
ning juggle exacted the service, and enforced the penalty,
without fulfilling the desire of their hearts. If ever in-
carnate devil was allowed to plague this earth, it is Abbas
Pasha ! And neither Allah nor Eblis have any sway
over him. Can I trust him? Can I trust him? And is
it yet too late to tell Askaros the truth, and save father
and son? No! no! I cannot now, if I would. For, did
not Abbas say my head was now under the paw of the
tiger? And said he not truly?"
Again a fleeting cloud from his changing mood swept
over the face, growing ever darker and ever older in its
wrath. There was bitter mockery in his tone as he spoke
again :
"My fortunate young friend, by his riches and his
influence, can secure foreign protection ; but who would
trouble himself what Frank consul would lift a finger
if Abbas desired to crush so mean a worm as Daoud-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 95
ben-Youssouf? But he cannot say I did not warn him
even more strongly than I intended ; for my purpose was
only to hint, not speak out, so as to keep his confidence
after his father had been summoned to the council. Had
he taken my advice, my path would have been easier.
As he did not, it is a steep and slippery one but I shall
climb it I shall climb it! And then O El Warda
star of my youth ! inspiration of my manhood ! for
whom I long more than ever did Mussulman for the
green-sleeved Houris of Mohammed's heaven! though
by crime I may win thee yet thou shalt be mine ! Yes,
in spite of earth, and heaven, and hell ! Even though I
sell my own soul to clasp thee ! ' '
As he spoke thus his face kindled into a glow of pas-
sion, and he turned his face again toward the window.
But this time his vision was attracted, not by the sights in
the Ezbekieh below, but fixed on some moving object
high up in air, and sharply defined against the back-
ground of the clear blue sky.
Far up in the cloudless atmosphere reduced to a
mere speck one of those wide-winged Egyptian hawks,
half bird of prey, half vulture, was balancing itself motion-
less in the air, preparatory to its descent upon a terrified
Barbary dove, which with the rare instinct of self-
preservation instead of flying away in a straight line,
was circling round and round, to confuse the vision and
aim of its deadly enemy.
The Syrian, though a skeptic in religion, yet, like all
Easterns, was a slave to superstition, and a great believer
in signs and omens. Fixing his unwinking eyes full on
the two birds in the broad glare of the midday, he held
his breath, and hoarsely muttered, in his eager anxiety :
" Yes ! I will accept it as an omen ; I am the hawk,
96 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
El Warda the dove ! Whichever wins will show me my
chance of success ; and I feel in my spirit that my good
star will prevail."
As though in answer to his cry, he could see, high in
air, a gleam on the feathers of the hawk's wide wings,
as he slanted them close to his sides, and with an arrowy
rush, dropped sheer down, like a plummet, through the
yielding air, his outstretched neck and contracted talons
ready for the blow. Swift as was the plunge, it was met
by a counter movement on the part of the destined victim ;
for, as the hawk flashed down toward it, the dove ceased
its circling movement, and darted off in a straight line
just in time ! for the strained eye of the gazer could
scarce mark the space which intervened between the
dusky bird and his snowy quarry, as he shot down far
below, almost grazing it in his swift descent.
But, though baffled, the bird of prey was not beaten ;
and Daoud smiled grimly to see how savagely and how
swiftly he checked his downward rush, opened his fan-
like wings, and soared upward again in chase of his
victim. Then ensued a trial of skill and of stratagem
between the two birds, each circling round and striving
the one to rise, the other to keep above its enemy
for in so doing was the sole hope of the smaller bird.
" Courage and force must win ! " muttered the Syrian,
as he saw the hawk, with each sweep of its strong wings,
rise higher and nearer narrowing the distance while
symptoms of distress and weariness were beginning to
show themselves in the smaller bird. At length, by one
final and powerful sweep, the hawk shot up into the air,
hovered a second over his struggling quarry, and poised
for the final swoop. The dove's terror seemed to have
mastered its strength. Paralyzed by its failing hope and
ASKAROS KASSIS. 97
coming doom, its wings almost closed, and, with a
piteous piping cry, it flew straight downward, seeking
shelter among the trees of the Ezbekieh.
With a shrill shriek, again the hawk launched himself
down upon his prey, which, forgetting its fear of man in
its greater terror of its foe, dashed blindly down into the
bosom of Edith, where it clung convulsively ; the fiercer
bird swooping so close as almost to brush the face and
shoulder of Edith with his wings, in the ardor of pursuit ;
then, baffled and disappointed, suddenly sailing away,
with a clanging scream, toward the barren range of the
Mokattam hills.
" Poor bird ! ' ' said Edith ; " how glad I am he sought
my protection, and that I was able to save him."
' ' You are his guardian angel, ' ' answered Askaros, who
had joined her ; ' ' and many would run as great a risk for
the privilege of your sympathy. But he seems very tame
for a wild dove."
"He differs from men," answered Edith, laughing.
"He knows his friends, and he trusts them at sight."
"Pardon me!" answered the Copt, looking more
closely at the bird ; " but he is not a new acquaintance :
he was introduced to you two weeks since at my house.
It is one of my carrier-doves, that has come wellnigh
paying dear for its truant propensities. His grave was
almost ready in that hawk's maw."
While this gay badinage was passing on the Ezbekieh,
and frivolous words were exchanged between light and
innocent hearts, the solitary Syrian, on his unseen watch,
was moved by far other sentiments. To him the omen
he had invoked was a serious thing ; and the superstitious
element in his nature was strongly worked upon by the
issue of the trial he had set up as the symbol of his suc-
9 G
98 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
cess or failure. He knit his brow savagely, and, gnaw-
ing his nether lip with his sharp white teeth, flung out
his clenched hand in a gesture of menace to the uncon-
scious pair beneath, whom he identified with that failure.
"An idle story ! An old woman's tale ! " he growled
scornfully and impatiently to himself. ' ' Why am I fool
enough to feed such fancies, or to dream such dreams ?
What have the birds of the air to do with the thoughts of
man's brain, the wishes of his heart, or the works of his
hand ? Why should I, who laugh at the mummeries of
Mussulman imaum and of Christian priests alike, believe,
even for a moment, in the divinations and the omens of
the old pagan time, that I read of in Roman books?
Folly ! Folly ! So once more to hard work, to forget
such fancies ; but not to forget both the love and the hate
I bear the house of Askaros."
And descending below, the once more remorseless
plotter plunged into his interrupted labors, weaving those
webs, fine as spider's threads, yet perhaps as strong to
bind his enemies as links of steel.
And so, as often happens in life more often, perhaps,
than even in fiction within a few short steps of each
other, three beings were busy weaving the threads of
their destinies threads to be intertwined inextricably
one with the other. While, all unconscious of her secret
influence over the most dangerous of these busy workers,
in the hareem-chambers of the old palace in the Turkish
quarter, sat the gentle girl, El Warda thinking, not of
him who thought of her, but of that other, who had for-
gotten for the moment her very existence, in the thrill of
a newly-awakened passion.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE HAREEM OF THE PRINCESS NEZLE.
GO with her to visit a hairrum ! ' ' cried Miss Pris-
cilla to her niece. "Trust ourselves, without
the gentlemen, to be shut up among those nasty black
men and those wicked women ! who spend their lives
in eating sweetmeats, and ogling the men from the lat-
tices ; and whose poor husbands have to lock them up
at home, and send guards to watch them when they go
out ! I really do not believe, Edith, it is either safe or
proper for us to go to such places to visit such people,
whatever your father may think or say ! ' '
" But, aunt, El Warda sends me word we are to go to
the hareem of a princess a lady of the royal blood.
It will be a kind of reception, like Queen Victoria's, or
the Empress Eugenie's not like visiting a common
person's hareem, by any means."
The cunning little puss, with true feminine tact, had
pierced the weak point in the spinster's armor. She
could not refuse to visit a princess : so, with many
internal qualms, and with a miserable retrospect of what
she endured in the first essay to enjoy the hospitality of
Askaros, she reluctantly made up her mind for the
martyrdom.
99
IOO ASKAROS KASSIS.
The permission to visit the hareem of the Princess
Nezle Khanum, whose name has already been men-
tioned, was obtained for El Warda by the old French
governess, who was intimate with that high lady. The
astute Frenchwoman had remarked, with some surprise,
the eager interest manifested by the princess at the men-
tion of El Warda' s name, and that of the young Ameri-
can ; and the questions with which she plied her as to
the age, appearance, figure, and features of the latter.
For Nezle the Sitta Khanum, (great lady,) as she was
generally termed did not usually display much interest
in her own sex. Her time and attention unless the
gossips of the hareem and of the coffee-house belied
her was principally devoted to the male population.
Even among that evil family she bore a name exception-
ably evil ; but such was her craft and talent, so great
was her energy and her influence, even over Abbas, that
she wielded a power and inspired a dread in Egypt,
second only to that entertained for him.
The old Frenchwoman, who, if rumor lied not, knew
more of the private life and thoughts of the great lady
than most people, left the hareem. Hardened and
unscrupulous as she had grown during a long life as an
adventuress in the East, she yet retained some germs of
the better feelings of her youth, before becoming a social
outlaw who had fled from her country. She felt a true
affection for her former pupil, "Warda," and feared
that the anxiety of the princess to see her and her Frank
friend meant mischief of some sort. For she knew that
the feminine vice of curiosity found small place in the
plotting brain and masculine will of Nezle Khanum.
But this she dared not tell even her former pupil, or
hint to the self-willed princess. She only made an
ASKAROS KASSIS. IOI
inward vow to keep watch, and fathom the mystery if
she might ; and therefore she solicited permission to
accompany the party on their visit, which was cheerfully
accorded her.
The next day was fixed for the reception, and, at an
early hour in the morning for early rising is a com-
mon habit in the East, the noonday being devoted to
the siesta the ladies of the party, escorted as far as the
gates of the princess's hareem by the gentlemen, pro-
ceeded in carriages to the rendezvous. The road was
a fine, broad carriage-way, shaded by palm-trees and
acacias, leading to Boulak, the port of Cairo on the
Nile ; which at that time before the completion of the
railways was a place of some importance as the port
of embarkation by steamer to Alexandria, and the de'p&t
of goods transported thence by the river, then the only
means of transit. About half a mile below Boulak was
situated the palace of the princess, overlooking the Nile,
and with large gardens, surrounded by a high stone wall,
stretching back from it. Through this garden entrance,
guarded by a file of soldiers outwardly, and by a number
of eunuchs and female slaves within, the ladies of the
party were now conducted, bidding adieu to their cava-
liers, who were to return for them in the afternoon.
Ushered through these extensive and lovely gardens
by the obsequious slaves, who glided on before them,
uttering no word, the imagination of Edith was power-
fully affected ; and all the strange stories of the strange
woman she was about to visit that she had heard
vaguely whispered rose to her memory.
She expected to behold a witch-like, withered woman,
with a harsh voice, forbidding face, and a wicked eye, in
the person of the princess. What, then, was her sur-
IO2 ASKAROS KASSIS.
prise on being presented to a lady of most prepossessing
face and figure, apparently not past the middle age ;
whose voluptuous form the Eastern costume enhanced,
whose soft voice was most musical and winning, and
who seemed the incarnation of gentleness and womanly
grace.
Nezle* Khanum was not tall ; but her figure was per-
fectly rounded, and her hands and feet small and sym-
metrical as those of a child. Her arms, bare to the
shoulder under her wide sleeves, were perfectly moulded ;
and her every gesture and movement full of grace. The
face was round and full, with small, delicate features,
perfectly chiselled the lips, perhaps, a trifle too full
and sensual, as was the chin and lower part of the face.
The eyes, smaller than usual in Eastern women, were
jet-black, penetrating, and very bright, with none of that
lazy languor in them common to her countrywomen.
Her arched eyebrows were united in a straight line by
kohl, and the same pigment, traced under her eyelids,
gave additional lustre to those shining orbs. Her finger-
tips and nails were tinged by henna to a rosy hue ; and
her small, plump fingers were covered with rings of great
price. The manner of the princess was as bright and
sparkling as her eyes. She spoke no European language,
so the old Frenchwoman and El Warda acted as her
interpreters with the strangers.
As the party entered, the Khanum rose from her divan,
and came forward to meet them with mingled grace,
dignity, and cordiality. The old Frenchwoman watched
her closely, and saw that while her eye ran rapidly and
carelessly over the persons of the others, it fixed itself with
a penetrating and exhaustive regard on the young Ameri-
can. Face and figure, even to the slightest details of both,
ASKAROS KASSIS. IO3
that eagle eye fastened upon, as though to make a mental
inventory of all ; yet not rudely, so that the fair object of
her scrutiny was herself unconscious of its minuteness.
Then the princess, motioning her guests to be seated,
made the usual compliments of welcome ; and, slaves
entering with refreshments, she pressed all the dainties in
sweetmeats, confectionery, and fruits upon them, together
with sirups of various kinds, pink, rose - colored, and
green,
To these succeeded dainty - looking chibouques with
velvety amber mouth-pieces and slender jasmine stems,
inlaid with precious stones ; a delicate, fragrant perfume,
wonderfully unlike the strong odors of tobacco, rising
like incense from their graceful bowls, that rested on
silver salvers. Seduced and tempted by the shape in
which the invitation came, even Miss Primmins forgot
her usual caution, and partook freely of the refreshments.
She even essayed for the first time to smoke a chibouque,
which feat she performed with a seriousness and severity
of aspect at variance with the employment and the oc-
casion ; but not without a certain serene contentment,
nevertheless.
Leaning forward toward El Warda, the princess, in her
soft tone, said :
" Thou art the daughter of Askaros Kassis, the ancient
Khasnadar of my father, Mehemet Ali to whom may
Allah grant peace ! Thy father and mine were friends.
So let it be between their children. Thy face and thy
presence in my hareem will ever be pleasant to me. I
hope to see them often here, now that thou hast found
the way."
To this graceful speech the young girl made fitting re-
ply ; but the brow of the old Frenchwoman grew still
IO4 ASKAROS KASSIS.
darker at the unusual courtesy. Then, turning toward
Edith, the princess said :
"Thou hast visited hareems before ? No ! Then must
I show thee something of our way of passing time ? ' '
She clapped her hands thrice sharply together, when a
curtain was suddenly pushed aside at one corner of the
apartment, and three Ghawazee, or dancing-girls, bound-
ed into the room, and commenced the wildest dancing ;
unseen musicians, behind the curtain, accompanying'their
movements with the wailing music of the fife, and of the
darabouka drum. To describe their dance would be next
to impossible, for it had in it more of St. Vitus or of
St. Anthony than of Terpsichore.
The movement was at first slow and measured, like the
opening of the Tarantula ; but soon the music grew faster
and more furious, and, with the rising din, faster and
more furious grew the posturings and contortions of the
Ghawazee. They writhed and twisted their lithe bodies
and sinuous limbs in strange muscular contortions into
almost impossible positions keeping time to the music
with every motion. They advanced and retreated ; one
personating a man, another a woman, in every attitude
of timid supplication audacious wooing, rejection, de-
spair, angry violence, consent, successful love, rapture,
agony ! and closed the strange performance with gross-
ness too revolting for description,
The visitors, fascinated at first by the wild novelty of
the performance, were soon disgusted by its coarseness ;
especially in the great feat which was the crowning per-
formance, the " Naklf a ho" or "bee-dance;" for
the conception and execution of this dance surpassed any
indecency of the French or American ballet corps
very far exceeding the bounds of the most lax propriety.
A SKA R OS KASSIS. 10$
The young girls and the ancient maiden averted their
eyes, and fixed them upon their pipe-bowls, while this
more than Bacchanal frenzy was gone through with, to the
infinite amusement as well as the unutterable scorn of the
princess, who regarded their behavior as hypocritical pru-
dery. She herself applauded warmly the strongest and
most indelicate parts of the performance, stimulating the
dancers to yet more frantic indecencies ; and when, pant-
ing, exhausted, and in sheer breathlessness, they ceased
divested almost entirely of the voluminous wrappings
with which they had begun the dance dusky models of
the Eastern Venus, whose priestesses they were ! Nezle
flung to each of them a purse of gold, as her parting
benison. Prostrating themselves with lowly reverence,
the Ghawazee collected the garments they had flung off
while searching for the bee, and retired backward behind
the curtain.
The wrath of Miss Priscilla was too great for words ;
else and had she spoken any language the princess
could understand she undoubtedly, then and there,
would have given her what she termed "a piece of her
mind." Outraged womanhood asserted itself in that
withered bosom, at witnessing such sights herself, and
permitting her niece to see them. She almost choked
with indignation, and twice or thrice attempted to rise,
with the intention of taking the latter from the room.
But the strong hand of the vigilant old Frenchwoman,
who sat next her, grasped her as in an iron vice. She
could not free herself from it, struggle as she might ; and
a moment's reflection convinced her that she must not
insult the hostess.
So, chafing and fuming inwardly, she sat still, and, to
pacify her mind and tranquillize her nerves, puffed vigor-
IO6 ASKAROS KASSIS.
ously at the chibouque, which an attentive slave replen-
ished from time to time, without the spinster's knowl-
edge. Gradually she felt creep over her a serene indo-
lence, followed by a slight drowsy sensation ; then, just
as the dancers retired, horror of horrors ! she experienced
a slight nausea, quickly succeeded by a deadly sickness !
Cold perspiration broke out upon her brow ; her body
felt clammy as that of a corpse ; and her brain reeled so
that she could scarcely sit upright. With a convulsive
clutch she seized the arm of Edith, who sat next to her,
and in a sepulchral tone gasped: "Oh, Edith! I am
poisoned ! Get me away, or I shall die ! ' '
The girl looked round in alarm, and the livid face that
stared into hers terrified her.
"Great heavens!" she cried to the Frenchwoman.
"What can be the matter? Look at my aunt! What
can have happened to her?"
"Pas extraordinaire!" replied the person addressed,
with a true French shrug, that almost concealed her head
between her shoulders. "Madame has eaten much con-
fectionery, and smoked many pipes; and many persons
suffer from Eastern hospitality the first time, before they
are used to it. She will not die this time ; soyez tran-
quille. ' '
When the illness of Miss Priscilla was imparted to the
Khanum, she was graciously pleased to insist on the vic-
tim's being removed to an inner apartment, to repose.
So the spinster was led off, passive and unresisting from
nausea, but firmly convinced in her own mind that she
never more would behold her friends. More confirmed
was she in that impression, when she not only was laid
out on a divan in a secluded apartment, but beheld,
every time she opened her swimming eyes, two Nubian
ASKAROS K ASS IS. IO/
female slaves black as night, and with great, glaring,
rolling white eyes sitting immovable as two sphinxes on
each side of her couch, and gazing with stony stare full
upon her. Shuddering, she closed her eyes, and, mur-
muring a short prayer, resigned herself to her fate.
In the mean time the princess continued to do the
honors to her remaining guests. After the dancing
succeeded the singing-girls, who droned out a melancholy
and monotonous chant, to the accompaniment of a kind
of rude guitar, called the "rahab." There was little
melody and less music in the sounds to foreign ears ; but
they seemed to please the native listeners.
Then, rising from her seat, the princess proposed to
show the house to her guests, and took them through the
bath-rooms, with marble floors and fountains of marble,
walls inlaid with red Egyptian alabaster, and a dome of
stained glass, that threw a blood-red light into the apart-
ments, which were heated to a temperature almost in-
supportable to the Europeans. Then she carried them
through the various rooms dedicated to her own use, and
that of her numerous domestics and slaves. Her own
apartments were sumptuously decorated and fitted up
with every costly luxury ; those of the others, with a bare
simplicity, divested even of the common comforts of the
toilet or dressing-room.
The whole palace presented a strange melange of
lavish extravagance, costly trifles, and squalid discomfort.
Though in the chief apartments French mirrors of the
largest size were fitted into niches in the walls, magnifi-
cent chandeliers hung from the ceilings, and the cover-
ings of the cushions, the tapestries, and the curtains over
the doorways were of the richest materials; yet in the
smaller chambers the coverings were of coarse chintz,
IO8 ASKAROS KASSIS.
and the frames of the divans of common wood ; while
large glass lanterns, containing tallow candles, gave light
to the ladies of the Court.
The dress of the princess herself was of the richest
description, and her hair, bust, arms, and fingers glittered
with precious gems ; while her attendants wore materials
of the commonest and coarsest kind, in many instances
torn, and not overclean.
The impression produced on the mind of the visitor
was that splendor and luxury were compatible with ha-
reem life, but that comfort was not. The princess and
her attendants examined without scruple, and with the
utmost minuteness, the details of Edith's costume; asking
her a thousand questions about the smaller articles of
feminine attire, and carrying their researches as to names
and uses so far, that the fair girl was apprehensive of
being reduced to the disrobed condition of the dancing-
girls. Seeing that she was becoming flushed and an-
noyed by their investigations, the princess checked the
curiosity of her attendants, and dismissed them all, that
she might converse alone with her guests.
"You will pardon the curiosity of my people," she
said; "but Franks are very rarely admitted into my
hareem, and the Frank costume is a novelty to them ;
and our manners are so different from yours, that I fear
they may have annoyed you."
Edith made a courteous disclaimer of such feeling,
and expressed her thanks for the honor accorded her.
The princess then asked her a great variety of questions
as to the customs and habits of foreign women ; from
which, and from her comments upon the answers, Edith
was surprised to observe that she rather compassionated
them for the liberty allowed them, which she seemed to
ASKAROS KASSIS. ICX)
construe into indifference of the men toward them.
The immodesty of the unveiled face in public also
seemed to strike her much ; and she declared the ani-
mated pictures Edith drew of the life of American
women only confirmed her idea of the superior advan-
tages and pleasures of the Eastern, who substituted the
bath on Friday for reception ; had their shopping
brought to them, and enjoyed their gossip at home ; and
had abundant leisure to eat, drink, dress, sleep, and
make love, which she seemed to regard as the whole
duty of woman.
El Warda took but little part in the conversation,
though the Khanum treated her with marked courtesy.
Refreshments, such as sweetmeats and sherbets, were
brought in at intervals ; and at parting a bouquet of rare
flowers was given to each lady. Before they took their
farewell, Miss Priscilla rescued from her sable watch-
ers, but still looking very pale, haggard, and wretched
rejoined them.
The princess, turning to the old woman, said in
Turkish, in a low voice :
"Why did you tell me the Ingleeze was beautiful?
She is as colorless as a scentless white flower beside a
damask rose, when compared with the sister of Askaros !
She is as thin as a starved camel, and has no figure"
and she glanced complacently at her own plump propor-
tions, as though to point a contrast. "He never can
fancy a stick like that ! I am well content to have seen
her. As to the old bean-pole" nodding toward the
chaste Priscilla ' ' she should be set up as a scare-
crow ! Now relieve me of the presence of these Giaours,
for I am weary of them. Say something flattering to
them in translation of what I have just said to you ; and
10
IIO ASKAROS KASSIS.
then take them away, in the name of Allah ! or I shall
get as sick at the stomach, soon, as that old scarecrow
who swallowed so much of my smoke."
In compliance with this mandate, the old French-
woman made a complimentary speech of the most
flowery kind to the unsuspecting guests, winding up with
an intimation that they might now take conge ; and the
princess, with many smiles, dismissed them.
CHAPTER IX.
UP THE NILE IN A DAHABIEH.
WILL you do me the honor of taking a sail up the
Nile in my dahabieh ? ' ' asked Askaros, drop-
ping in on the hotel party a few mornings after the
harem visit. " We can take donkeys down to Boulak,
where the boat lies, and do old Father Nilus in fine
style a short distance up, at least."
The proposal was at once seconded by the young
men, and received a smiling assent from Edith. Mr.
Van Camp pleaded business with his consul, having had
a difficulty with his dragoman : but Miss Priscilla alone
interposed an objection.
' ' I am told the Nile swarms with those horrible crea-
tures, the crocodiles," she said ; " and the wife of one
of our missionaries was yesterday entertaining us with
some horrible cases of young infidel converts having
been devoured by them when going in to bathe. At
least, to that she attributed their sudden disappearance ;
for three of them went off to bathe in the Nile, after
having been well clothed and fed out of our fund for
several weeks, and showing a most, hopeful and edifying
spirit, and they have never been heard of since. The
mothers came howling and wailing to tell the sad story ;
112 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
but they likewise offered three of their younger children,
very ragged and dirty, to instruct in their stead ; and
they were taken of course."
A peculiar expression, surely not of sympathy, flitted
over the face of Askaros. Strange as it may seem, it
more resembled amusement : though he said nothing in
direct reply. But Sir Charles did.
"Very affecting tale, indeed, Miss Primmins. Re-
markably well told, too ; only I do not see the crocodile
in it, or under it. More like a fish-story. These Arab
beggars remind one wonderfully of the Indians, in the
way they impose on the missionaries ! I have not the
shadow of doubt, the same crocodile will devour the
three other children, just so soon as they are sufficiently
clothed and fattened to make it an object."
"Shocking, Sir Charles! How can you talk with
such levity on such serious subjects ! What do you
think, Mr. Askaros? Are there not crocodiles in the
river near here?"
"As to your first question, madam," answered the
young man, gravely, "I would prefer not to answer it;
for I really know nothing of the matter. But I can
assure you, on my honor, you will see no crocodiles
where I propose taking you to-day. And when you see
my dahabieh, you will be satisfied that on board of her
you will be as safe as on one of your fine American
steamers. She is more like an English yacht than a
row-boat. ' '
" But is there no danger of of sea-sickness?" per-
sisted Miss Priscilla. "My poor head cannot stand
much rocking, especially since my visit to that horrid
hareem."
" None whatever," was the comforting reply. "The
ASKAROS K 'ASS IS. 113
river will be as smooth as glass, and you will glide over
it with almost imperceptible motion. So I hope you
will discard your fears, now that your doubts are dis-
pelled, and give me the pleasure of your own and your
niece's company."
A pleading look from E^ith settled the question with
the spinster, who was very good-hearted at bottom, and
really very fond of her niece ; so she promised, with a
sigh, to matronize the excursion, and followed the young
lady up stairs to make preparations for it.
"Why didn't you answer my aunt's question about
the crocodile story ? ' ' young Van Camp asked Askaros.
" It was a heavy sell on the missionaries, of course ; but
why did n't you say so ? "
" It is a delicate subject to speak of, for us especially,"
answered the Copt. "We native Christians of whom
the Copts claim to be the oldest branch, the original
Church are not on good terms with the missionaries.
They regard us as little better than the heathen ; while
we dispute their right to come to Christ's own birth-
place the cradle of His Church to teach us points
of doctrine or discipline, and give us lessons in faith.
Hence we rarely meddle in any way, either for good or
bad, with the well-meaning people who come out as
missionaries. Their efforts to ' convert ' us we look
upon as very curious. Yet they try it.
"The Arabs practise all kinds of impositions upon
these poor missionaries. Of this you have had a speci-
men to-day ; and really they are so plausible that any
new-comer, or person unfamiliar with their ways, would
be deceived by them. The Fellah women, especially,
are the best natural actors I ever saw. What wonder,
then, that they deceive these foreigners ? ' '
10* H
114 ASKAROS KASSIS.
"You had better not say all this to my aunt," an-
swered Harry, smiling. "The old lady believes in
these missionaries, even though they do not bring out
rum with the Bibles, as was the universal custom of
our New England Puritans, in their conversion of the
heathen. ' '
"No, I shall not," answered Askaros ; "for these
poor people would have a hard time to live, were they
not supported by the contributions of their countrymen,
since they all have many children and large families,
which is a scandal also to the Latin Christians. ' '
Here the conversation was interrupted by the appear-
ance of the ladies, equipped for the expedition; and,
sallying out of the hotel, the party soon found them-
selves the centre of an animated, struggling mass of
donkey-boys and donkeys, the former noisily and vehe-
mently competing for their custom.
"Berry fine donkey, mum! him John Bull!"
"Mine Yankee Doodle, miss! nebber fall down!"
" Dis one Slow-Coach! lady name him so yesser-
day!"
Such were the cries and invitations which rose from
the ragged rout of dirty boys, whose knowledge of
scraps of all spoken languages is one of the most
remarkable things in Cairo. And this knowledge is
coupled with immediate detection of the nationality of
the stranger, which they flatter by addressing him in his
proper tongue.
Selecting some of the most desirable specimens of
these sagacious brutes resembling exaggerated rabbits
the party galloped off toward Boulak ; each animal fol-
lowed by its owner, who persuaded it along with a sharp-
pointed stick in the flanks when it relaxed its speed.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 115
The dahabieh lying at Boulak was a very pretty speci-
men of these Nile craft, having been freshly refitted and
painted, with its large sails white and spotless as snow.
She carried a crew of ten men, to row or push her along,
when the wind was not sufficient to fill the sails. She
had an upper cabin, running half the length, fitted with
divans ; and an upper deck, with cushions strewn over it
for seats, and an awning to keep off the sun. Askaros
welcomed them on board, gave his orders, and they were
soon running rapidly up the placid stream of the Nile,
propelled with arrowy rapidity by the large sail.
The shores, fringed with date-palms, seemed to glide
away from their view through the soft haze which over-
hung earth and sky : the long lines of camels, plodding
along the banks, and the awkward water-oxen their
bodies hidden under the water, and only their hideous
heads protruding from it seemed sliding off from them,
as in a panoramic picture. Earth, air, and sky were all
so hushed and still, that the only sound breaking the
breathless calm was the melancholy, creaking sound of
the sakkia, or rude water-wheels, turned by oxen, on the
shore, or the ripple of the water, as the swift dahabieh
cleaved its way through, against the strong current.
These soporific influences of the scene and hour, as-
sisted by the fatigue of the long donkey-ride, and aggra-
vated by the lunch with pale ale proffered by Askaros
after first coming on board proved too much for Mr.
Van Camp and his sister, the elders of the party. Both
gently closed their eyes, to shut out the glare, and both
were soon steeped in oblivious slumber. Harry and Sir
Charles went to the upper deck to enjoy the scenery, a
long pull at their nargilehs, and an occasional shot at the
wild ducks, which roused from the shady nooks in
Il6 ASKAROS KASSIS.
which they were disporting constantly flew over the
passing boat.
The young Copt and the American girl were left alone.
They were just passing one of those Arab villages that
look so picturesque at a distance, so squalid and filthy on
near approach; and, passing out of the cabin-door, they
stood together near it and gazed upon the picture. The
dome and minarets of the mosque crowned the centre of
the village ; around it grouped the mud huts, shaded by
the drooping boughs of clustering palm-trees ; while the
bright blue dresses of the women, and the even gayer
costumes of the men, with the shapeless forms of the
sleepy camels, constituted a scene never presented but in
the Orient.
But though the maiden's gaze was riveted on the pic-
ture, so novel and so striking to her, the eye of Askaros
rested not on earth, or sky, but on the face and form
beside him, with an intensity that caused her to blush and
turn uneasily toward the door, as soon as she observed it.
But the young man arrested the movement by a pleading
look; and said, in a low tone:
"Stay one moment, I implore you! For I must tell
you that I no longer have power to conceal within my
breast. Scorn me ! crush me, if you will, with your con-
tempt ! that one so far beneath you in all things, yet has
dared to lift up his eyes to one so far above him. But
I must tell you that I love you ! Not with the calm,
tame love of your cold West; but with the fiery, burning
heat of my own East, where the blood rushes from eye
to heart like the swift current of the Nile !
"Pardon my presumption and pity my folly ! but, oh !
lady, fairer far than the wildest dreams of our romancers
AS /CAR OS KASSIS. II?
have pictured give me one ray of hope, or I shall
die!"
Had a lightning-flash broken suddenly from the serene
blue vault above them, it could not more have astonished
the maiden than this sudden and unexpected avowal.
A red flush crimsoned brow, neck, and bosom, then left
her deadly pale: her lips moved, but no sound came
from them ; and she cast a look, half bewildered, half
beseeching, on the young Egyptian. Gathering hope
from her silence and agitation, and mistaking their mean-
ing, he again burst forth into an incoherent rhapsody of
mingled adoration and entreaty, as though beseeching
some being from a higher sphere.
"I know how different are your usages from ours!"
he cried. "I know how far inferior in all things am I
untrained, half-educated barbarian to you! perfect
flower and rich fruit of the highest civilization ! I know
how your maidenly modesty must be shocked by such
words, from the lips of one but yesterday a stranger
unworthy to unloose even the latchet of your shoe ! But
as yonder glorious sun deigns to send down his rays,
giving light and life to the meanest of created things
so, from your height far above me, give but one little
ray of hope to this heart, that now and for ever must
beat for you alone ! God has given me some gifts with
which he has endowed your more favored race. I will
devote all my energies, all my powers, to make myself
what will be pleasing in your sight! I will abandon
home, country, friends everything! and adopt that
home and that career which pleases you. All that I
have all that I am body soul brain heart!
all I offer to you absolutely, to control and dispose of
Il8 ASKAROS KASSIS.
more than repaid, if one approving look, one smile from
you will recompense me for it ! "
He ceased from sheer exhaustion of overwrought
heart and brain; his eye full of unspeakable devotion
strained with the intensity of passion upon her own.
In reply came the soft, low tones from her lips, in
accents faltering and tremulous with mingled sorrow and
shame :
' ' God forgive me ! ' ' she said, ' ' if any word, or look,
or act of mine has raised false hopes in a heart so noble,
and so fresh as yours. For I never dreamed that such
wild visions had entered your brain, else I should have
dissipated them at once and forever. What you have
said is madness. Our lives our thoughts our desti-
nies have, and can ever have, no link to bind them
together ! In race and character, habits and ideas, we
are and must ever be as utterly dissimilar, as though we
inhabited different worlds !
' ' I can pardon and forget the insult you have offered one
you scarcely know, by speaking thus, only on condition
of its never being offered again ; for it is an insult to speak
such words to a young girl, who three weeks since had
never seen your face, or known of your existence, and
who even now knows almost as little of you. These may
be the customs of the East, where women are but servile
playthings mere toys for men ! They are not of the
West!"
Recovering her self-possession as she spoke these words,
and almost warming into indignation as she proceeded,
she once more moved toward the cabin-door. But the
Egyptian gently, though firmly, detained her ; laying his
hand upon her arm with a gesture of entreaty, and with
despair stamped upon his speaking features.
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 119
"Lady, you do me wrong ! " he said. " Sooner than
utter one word that could give you pain, or one syllable
that savored of disrespect, I would pluck out my tongue
from its roots. If I sinned against your maiden modesty,
by aught that I have said or done, punish me by banish-
ment from your presence no crueler torture could be
inflicted on me. But the tongue of Askaros has never
lied ; and I swear to you by my mother's grave ! that in
this thing I have sinned through ignorance of the ways
and usages of your people, which I thought allowed free
utterance between man and woman of the thoughts of
their hearts, when they were pure and deemed it no
shame.
" In sorrow and contrition now do I see how great was
my folly, to dream that you had ever for a moment
viewed me other than as a creature of another race, and
of another nature than your own. In that knowledge
lies my heaviest punishment the atonement of my wild
frenzy ! Pardon and forget it ; and never again by word,
or look, shall any repetition of it offend you ! But banish
me not, I pray you ! from your presence hereafter. That
is all the boon I ask ! ' '
As he uttered these words in proud humility, the young
Egyptian knelt down with a movement full of grace and
gentleness ; and taking Edith's passive hand, pressed his
lips lightly upon it. Then laying his own right hand upon
his heart, he bent his head in lowly reverence, as though
to an empress, and glided swiftly to the other end of the
boat, leaving the young girl too rapidly to permit a reply.
Slowly, and moving like one in a dream, the young
girl whose virgin heart had been, for the first time, so
suddenly and so painfully stirred from its repose into
womanly consciousness and introspection moved back
I2O ASKAROS KASSIS.
into the cabin, and sank upon a divan with her face buried
in her hands, vainly striving to collect her scattered
thoughts.
Had she spoken truly to Askaros ? And did she really
feel the indignation she had expressed at his avowal?
No ! she felt within her inmost soul the confession he
had made her was not without a subtle and secret charm ;
and that the recollection of it had sent a pleasing thrill
through her heart, that still fluttered as wildly as an un-
tamed bird, first clutched by the hand of its captor.
Did she return his passion ? No ! she felt that she did
not; and she was terrified by the vehemence of his
language and the violence of his feelings, which his
Oriental fervor had exaggerated. But she also acknowl-
edged to herself that she was not fancy free ; though, as
yet, she had nourished only romantic dreams and shadowy
visions, into which no thought of reality had entered, no
plans for the future, with her as yet a blank.
Was what he proposed possible? Could the time ever
come, when this young Eastern Antinous could be more
to her than one of those bright memories of her brief
Egyptian experience, blending in the picture of mosque
and. minaret, palm-trees and camels, veiled women and
turbaned men ; like the figures in the foreground of some
painted landscape, which the eye loves to rest upon a
thing of beauty and a joy forever ! No, a thousand times
no ! He was, and must be ever to her, what she had
named him at first sight Haroun el Reschid ; a revival
of the enchanted tales which had bewitched her child-
hood, but, like them, never entering the domain of actual
life.
Had she encouraged his hopeless passion ? She ac-
quitted herself on that score ; for she had carefully
ASKAROS KASSIS. 121
suppressed any indication even of the romantic interest
she felt in him. She was still weaving the threads of her
fancies and thoughts in her newly awakened conscious-
ness, when the two other young men came tramping
noisily into the room, talking and laughing loudly enough
to awaken the elders from their profound slumbers ; and
created a diversion in her thoughts, bringing her back
from her dreamland into that of reality.
"Great sport!" cried Sir Charles. "Lots of wild
fowl ! Supplied our larder for a month with ducks, not
to mention a pelican Harry shot, ' which hath an ancient
and a fishlike smell,' as the divine William expresses it."
"Were you only shooting at ducks?" inquired Mr.
Van Camp, stretching himself. "I fancied I heard a vol-
ley followed by a scream, just as I was losing myself in
a doze. I thought you had killed some larger game than
wildfowl."
" Harry shot at a buffalo, mistaking him for a croco-
dile," answered the Englishman. "Beast was in the
water, with his head hidden in the rushes. Harry took
his back for the god of the ancient Egyptians, peppered
him badly with small shot, and made him scamper up the
bank in double quick. I'm not quite sure he did 'nt bag
an Arab woman too, she screeched so. Suppose, how-
ever, it was only sympathy for the beast, though, whose
hide much resembled hers in color and toughness, as she
stood knee-deep in the rushes where the fellow broke
cover, wringing linen and her hands ! ' '
"You fired at the buffalo, too ! " cried Harry, rather
sulkily, nettled as well at the imputation on his sports-
manship as at the laughter that greeted Sir Charles's
recital. "Why, you shot first ! Why do you put it all
on me? and you missed the thing, besides."
122 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
"Very true, my dear boy," was the serene response.
"So I did ; but I shot at him on the same principle as
your American novice did at the calf he mistook for a
deer to miss it if it was a calf, and hit it if it was a
deer. On the same principle I proceeded to miss the
buffalo that was not a crocodile, and now make game of
you for not doing likewise. But where is our host, and
where is dinner ? for smoke and coffee sit lightly on the
stomach ! ' '
Sir Charles's spirits seemed to carry him away as if he
had been a schoolboy rather than a six-foot soldier ; for,
with a deep salaam, he turned to Edith before any one
could answer.
"Ah! fair lady, hast thou sent away the Egyptian
prince on some impossible errand to remote Bagdad ! ' '
he said; "and wilt thou not summon him back, that
the humblest of thy slaves may partake of the dinner of
expectancy on the cushions of contentment ; and subse-
quently smoke the chibouque of digestion on the divan
of postprandial repose?"
As though in response to this invocation, and before
Edith had made up her mind what badinage to reply,
Askaros glided into the room, with that noiseless step
characteristic of Orientals. Short as had been the time
since Edith had seen that countenance convulsed with
strong emotion, it was now as serene and as placid as
ever, although she thought she could detect a shade of
deeper gravity than ordinary lurking under its repose.
He studiously avoided her eye, and did not approach
her, but answered Sir Charles in his own vein, an-
nouncing that dinner, a V Arabe, would soon be served,
as he had received an intimation to that effect from his
favorite Nubian attendant, Ferraj.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 12$
Almost immediately the Nubian entered, bearing the
tray, and the guests did full justice to the viands of
Hajji Mohammed, the Arab cook, who had exerted all
his skill to subdue the palates his dainty viands and
peculiar plats excited. For in the concoction of sauces
the secret spell of all cookery the Arab cook equals,
if he does not excel, the French, whose artists have
stolen from the East many of their secrets in this science,
as well as others, without acknowledgment. The people
to whom Europe and America owe their numerals, their
algebra, and their metaphysics, have bequeathed many
culinary discoveries, whose first professors have slept the
sleep of the embalmed many thousand years, beside the
mummies of Pharaoh and Rameses.
The Nubian, Ferraj, who served the repast, was the
favorite slave of Askaros, to whom he was devoted with
a spaniel-like affection and fidelity. As he moved about
the cabin he attracted the special attention of Sir Charles,
who, turning to Askaros, said :
"Fine creature, that of yours ; splendid specimen of
ebony carving ! He 's the best I ever saw, with none of
the peculiarities of the Simian species about him. No
more like the ' man and brother ' Boston and Exeter
Hall howl over, than Harry's crocodile was like the
genuine article. Must have been painted black ; he
could n't have taken it the natural way. Our niggers in
India are better than the ' Eboskins,' but don't come up
to this standard. Where and how did you pick him up?
Would like his duplicate amazingly ! "
"He is my friend as well as my favorite slave; one
of nature's own noblemen," replied the Copt. "I
bought him, when a boy, from one of the Jellabs, (slave-
dealers,) for a hundred piastres. He is a Nubian, not
124 ASKAROS KASSIS.
what you term negro ; and, in his own way, has the
pride of a prince, and much better principles than many
who own that title. Truthfulness, courage, and fidelity,
are his great characteristics. His value to me is above
rubies, for I could safely trust my life in his hands. As
you see, his slavery does not sit heavily upon him, nor
his chains gall him much."
" I can understand," broke in Miss Priscilla, severely,
"how the heathen and benighted Turks, who worship
cats and crocodiles, can hold their brother men in
bondage ; but how you, who profess to be Christians,
can reconcile yourselves to practise or to countenance
such a sin, is beyond my comprehension ! Why do you
not liberate this unfortunate young man? who is your
brother, though his face is black ! ' '
"Can't see the family likeness; can't, 'pon my
soul!" muttered Sir Charles to Harry. "But must
have been by another mother. Miss Primmins knows
no scandal, I hope, about the respected father of our
respected host, whose family affairs we should not pry
into."
" Sir Charles, you must certainly have drunk too much
of that arrackee ! ' ' cried the spinster, whose sharp ears
had caught the remark; "and I shall retire if you con-
tinue this vein of conversation."
"My dear lady," replied the Englishman, courte-
ously, " I beg a thousand pardons ; but I really did not
intend my remark to reach your ear, as you seem to
suppose. ' Honi soit qui mal y pensej you know; but
let us change the subject."
CHAPTER X.
PERIL AND RESCUE.
WHILE they were dining, the dahabieh had turned,
and was rapidly descending the stream on her
return. The sail was lowered, and they dropped down
with the current, which, as it was the season of high
Nile, ran at the rate of some five miles per hour. The
crew put in their oars and pulled lustily, keeping time in
a sort of rude chant, its words improvised by one of
their number, while the others joined in the burden of
the song in a sort of chorus. This scarce awakened an
echo from the flat banks of the river, but sounded musi-
cally over the water. The boatmen wore only the coarse
blue shirt and fez cap of the country, their brawny arms,
chests, and legs bare, and resembling bronze statues more
than men moving backward and forward all together,
with the regularity of machinery, at the dip and stroke
of their oars.
And so the dahabieh glided down the current with her
freight, until, near Boulak, the whole party came out upon
the upper deck to enjoy the fresh evening air; for the
sun was rapidly declining, and the fiery splendor of
noonday was succeeded by the softened shadows of com-
ii* 125
126 ASKAROS KASSIS.
ing night. Suddenly Edith uttered an exclamation of
surprise and pleasure.
"Oh, how lovely ! " she exclaimed, pointing to Rhoda
Island, just then coming into view. " Is that the mirage
we have heard of, or is it a real island ? It more resem-
bles a glimpse of fairy-land. ' Uno pezzo di cielo caduto
in terra,' as the Italian poet says. What is that lovely
spot, and how is it named? "
"That is Rhoda Island," Askaros responded j "and
very lovely indeed it is, for both nature and art have
rivalled to make it a little paradise. The marble palace
you see gleaming yonder, with its steps sloping down to
the water, and its terraced gardens of rare exotics in
front and rear, is the favorite retreat of Ismail Pasha
now, as it was of his father, Ibrahim, formerly. Every
inch of this little island of the Nile has been beautified,
and all the resources of our Eastern gardeners exhausted.
Look at the tasteful little kiosks and pleasure-houses
scattered at intervals, and gleaming white through the
vistas of trees ! Is it not really, as you have said, a fairy-
looking spot?"
"It is indeed," answered Edith. Then clasping her
hands impulsively together, she said, as if to herself, and
unconscious of a listener: "Oh! how I should love to
visit it."
"Nothing can be easier," returned Askaros, as though
in reply to a remark made to himself. "My dahabieh
draws too much water to approach the steps, and the
ordinary gate of entrance is closed ; but I have attached
to this boat a light caique, made on the model of those
at Stamboul, in which I can easily take you to Rhoda, if
your aunt will accompany you. It will only accommo-
date four persons, so one of the gentlemen and myself
can row vou."
ASKAROS KASSIS. \2J
A look of sweet entreaty from Edith to the spinster
extracted from her a grim assent to the proposal ; and
Sir Charles insisted on being second oar, having been
famous in former days as the crack "stroke" of the
"Oxford U. B. C."
This being settled, the dahabieh was soon run into the
farther shore and made fast, while the graceful caique
looking like an Indian bark canoe, only sharper, shal-
lower, and slighter was soon floating like a cork upon
the water.
Shutting her eyes, and resigning herself to the inevi-
table drowning she saw awaited her, Miss Primmins hero-
ically stepped into the frail skiff, which rocked fearfully
as she did so, and crouched with Edith on the cushions
in the stern. Askaros and the Englishman took the
light oars, turned their backs to the ladies, and, with a
warning from the Egyptian that neither of them was on
any pretence to move from her position, as the caique was
very easily upset, they shot out into the stream, struggled
a moment against the current, then darted, with bird-like
movement, over the rippling waters.
"Very nice, indeed!" said Miss Primmins, leaning
forward as she spoke, but suddenly recalled to herself by
a dip of the frail bark that almost emptied her into the
river. "Good gracious, what a cranky little thing ! "
"Be careful ! " cried Askaros; "you came near over-
setting us that time, Miss Primmins. Sit still, if you wish
to cross safely ; for a dip in the Nile at high water is no
joke, I assure you."
Thus admonished, the spinster sat pale and trembling,
and her apprehensions were aggravated by the next re-
mark of Sir Charles, who sought to play upon them.
"You asked about crocodiles this morning, Miss
128 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
Primmins,' ' he said, "but you forget a far more dangerous
creature the Nile often conceals. I mean the hippopota-
mus ! Have seen him in menageries ; would be a mighty
ugly customer to meet in such an egg-shell as this. ' '
"Good heavens!" almost screamed the terrified wo-
man. "You don't mean to tell me that hideous and
terrible creature lives in this river? Turn back, oh, good
young men, turn back ! Put me on shore anywhere ! ' '
and she wrung her hands in hysterical terror, not daring
otherwise to move.
Askaros was about to reassure the trembling victim,
whom the strangeness of her situation, and superadded
nervous excitement, deprived of her usual common sense,
hard, shrewd, and not to be imposed on. But before he
could speak, shrill, high, and keen rang a shriek from
Miss Priscilla; and, turning their heads simultaneously,
both men beheld her staring fixedly on a monstrous
head, with broad flat nostrils, and wild, rolling eyes, that
rose slowly above the surface of the stream close to the
elbow of the terrified spinster. Then, ere Askaros could
shout, "A water-ox! sit still!" he saw the gaunt form
of Miss Priscilla precipitate itself forward frantically, felt
the frail caique tremble from stem to stern, and the next
instant all four were plunged into the swollen and turbid
waters of the Nile.
Sir Charles, too, saw the peril at a glance, and turned to
clutch at Edith, to save whom, at that moment, was his
sole thought, utterly regardless of the peril to his own life.
As though by a lightning-flash, at this instant of supreme
peril, his own love for her stood revealed for the first
time to himself. He would save her or perish with her.
But his heroism was frustrated ; for, as he turned, he
suddenly felt the bony arms of Miss Priscilla tightened
ASKAROS KASSIS. 1 29
around his neck to the verge of suffocation, while the spare
form clung to him with the desperate tenacity of a drown-
ing woman, as they went down together under the turbid
waters of the rushing river. Wrenching himself free
from her desperate death -grip, as the fainting fingers re-
laxed, but retaining his hold of her hair, the practised
swimmer rose again to the surface, supporting the head
of his burden above the water. His eye, thrown despair-
ingly around, could see no other struggling forms upon
the surface of the stream ; but the next instant his dreadful
suspense was relieved. The surface bubbled, broke, and
the form of Askaros rose from the depths, bearing on his
arm the sunny, but dripping head of Edith, its wealth of
dishevelled curls floating over the breast of her rescuer
from the slimy mud of the Nile bed.
The fair girl was insensible, hanging like a dead weight
on the supporting arm of the Egyptian, who floated him-
self and his precious burden as easily as though in his
native element; and, with a deep sigh of thankfulness,
the Englishman saw that she was safe from immediate
peril, under that protection.
"Beware of the under-tow ! " shouted Askaros, per-
ceiving him. " Do not try to swim ashore, or turn back.
The deep mud is as treacherous one way as the strong
current the other. Keep tvfloat only, and rescue will soon
reach us from the dahabieh. They must have seen our
accident. ' '
He was obeyed and his prediction verified before even
he expected ; for no sooner had the caique overturned
than half a dozen dusky forms plunged from the side of
the dahabieh into the water. Seizing on a small boat
attached to her stern, they manned it, grasped their oars,
and pulled lustily to the rescue ; Ferraj, the Nubian, acting
I
130 ASKAROS KASSIS.
as steersman, and exhorting the rowers to renewed effort
with such vigor that his black face glistened with the
moisture that gathered over it.
Only a few seconds which seemed hours to the
anxious but intrepid men supporting their frail and faint-
ing charges in the water and they were dragged on
board the boat ; the women wrapped in shawls, brought
by the thoughtful care of the Nubian, and restored to
consciousness.
The languid eyes of Edith rested, as they opened, first
upon the anxious faces of father and brother ; and she
smiled a wan smile to reassure them. Then turning her
glance to the other side of the boat, where stood the
dripping figure of Askaros his face still pallid from
emotion, and his form still trembling from the violent
exertions he had made so lately she stretched out her
hands in mute gesture of supplication and gratitude
toward him, and murmured :
"Twice saved from a dreadful death ! How can I ever
be grateful enough ? ' '
The quick ear of Sir Charles caught the low tones, and
partly their meaning, and a fierce pang of jealousy thrilled
through his awakened heart; but his native generosity
of soul conquered. He turned to Mr. Van Camp with
more dignity and gravity of manner than he habitually
assumed, and said, pointing to Askaros :
"Sir, your thanks are due to that gallant gentleman,
for having saved the life of your daughter, imperilled
through my thoughtless folly and ill-timed jesting. For
it I ask pardon of both the ladies, but more especially of
Miss Primmins, to whom I owe a double apology ; though
I never dreamed my silly speech could lead to serious
ASKAROS KASSIS. . 13!
consequences, till that hideous water-ox rose, and the
mischief was done."
Miss Priscilla, from her mummy - like swathing of
shawls, feebly twittered a pardon to the frank English-
man, mingled with protestations that he had been "her
saviour," etc., while Edith flashed upon him a bright
glance of approval, that sent sunshine to his soul. Mr.
Van Camp and his son wrung the hand of Askaros in
true American fashion, even to the infliction of physical
pain. Edith only looked her gratitude; but it cannot be
doubted he preferred that mute recognition to the more
violent demonstrations of father and son ; or even to the
flattering testimony of the Englishman, whom, with the
quick eye of love, he recognized as his rival.
Sobered and rendered serious by the almost tragical
termination of their day's pleasure-excursion, there was
little said by any of the party on their ride back to the
hotel. On reaching it, the ladies retired to their rooms,
and Askaros to his home, to change their still wet cloth-
ing, and adopt the necessary precautions after their unex
pected cold bath in the waters of the Nile.
But that day was the turning-point of three lives ; and
the after destiny of each and all the three was first shadow-
ed and commenced with that sail on the dahabieh. Each
of the three had learned many new things, and awakened
to new self-consciousness within a few hours ; but none
of them could conjecture, even dimly, the future of the
others, nor their relative relations one to the other in the
coming years. Time alone a greater reader of riddles
than the Sphinx could solve the problem of what those
future destinies might be.
As Askaros stood on the threshold of his home, he
paused, turned his eyes upon the spot where the serpent-
132
ASKAROS KASSIS.
charm had manifested itself upon the young girl then
a stranger to him, but now the very light of his life and
muttered :
"Were I a Mussulman, I would say it was kismet
(destiny) ! Twice have I been made to save her life at
the risk of my own ; yet my passion only excited her
scorn to-day ! But the look she gave me this evening
almost repaid me for the morning for all ! "
So, with the blind fatuity of all real lovers pressing
deeper into his heart the barb that rankled there
clutching at the shadow of a hope where there seemed
really none, and confounding gratitude with^ affection
the young Egyptian, with a lighter heart, entered the
house and passed into his father's presence.
CHAPTER XL
THE BULBUL AND THE ROSE.
NIGHT had fallen upon the city of Cairo, and the
shadows projected from the tall houses into the
narrow streets looked like solid masses of black stone,
so clear and brilliant was the moonlight. The stars,
large and lustrous, like great lamps suspended from an
azure dome, shone with that clear, white light peculiar
to their lustre in Eastern heavens unknown to the
watchers of the cloudy skies of Europe or America.
It was on such nights, and through similar streets and
scenes, that the good Haroun el Reschid was wont to
take his rambles with his vizier Giaffir, in search of
strange adventure. So let us now follow the footsteps
of one of his innumerable imitators in nocturnal rambles
under Eastern skies, whose mission was very dissimilar
to that of the famous caliph, though not without its
romance and its danger, too.
About midnight might have been seen a man, ap-
parently young and vigorous, wending his way through
the outskirts of Boulak, choosing the most obscure
streets, as though to avoid observation, until he reached
the high stone wall of the palace of the Princess Nezle*
12 '33
134 ASKAROS KASSIS.
Khanum, which, as before described, faced on the Nile.
There was nothing in this man's appearance and dress
to distinguish him from one of the ordinary occupants
of the quarter, except that, on his left hand, when he
raised it, there sparkled a precious stone, and that the
hand itself did not resemble that of the common laborer.
What was unusual was that he bore no lantern to light
his way ; which both law and custom, as well as safety,
required.
Concealed under the shadow of the wall, he carefully
groped along in the obscurity, occasionally disturbing
some prowling or slumbering wild dog, which, snarling
fiercely, and menacing the intruder with its sharp white
teeth, sullenly and reluctantly retreated before his steps.
But as the Egyptian wild dog never barks partaking
of the savage nature of his ancestor, the wolf, in that
respect no warning of the visitor's stealthy approach
was given to the guardians of the hareem, if, indeed,
any person in its vicinity was awake at that late hour ;
the Orientals all retiring early to rest.
At length the man stopped, and tapped three times at
a particular spot on the wall. Immediately a small gate,
invisible before, swung within noiselessly, opened by an
unseen hand ; and, as he stepped into the garden, the
door closed as swiftly and noiselessly as it had opened
indistinguishable as before from the wall. The man
softly clapped his hands three times, and suddenly ap-
peared before him a veiled female figure, shrouded from
head to foot in the abba, a voluminous black silk cloak,
worn by the Cairene women in the streets.
" Salaam Aleikoum! You are waited for," she said,
in Arabic. ''The Sitta has long been expecting your
arrival. Come quickly, for you know she likes not to
ASKAROS K 'ASS IS. 135
be kept waiting, and, if her impatience rises to wrath, it
is a consuming fire ! "
The untimely visitor returned her salutation, but fol-
lowed her footsteps in silence through the solitude of the
garden, to which the black shadows of the trees gave a
gloomy and sinister aspect that reflected the shadows in
his own soul. For his was not the mien, the bearing, or
the step of an impatient lover hastening to his mistress ;
but rather that of one who reluctantly performs a duty
not to be avoided, or who responds to an invitation he
may not refuse. They passed through the shrubberies
into the palace by a small door, which his conductor
opened with a wooden key, followed many winding
passages, and ascended a narrow stairway, when the
visitor found himself alone in a lofty chamber, furnished
with all the luxury of the East a chamber which he,
unfortunately, knew only too well.
It was the private boudoir of the mistress of the ha-
reem ; and the latticed window, overlooking the rushing
torrent of the Nile, was open, giving glimpses of the
waters which boiled and bubbled below, as they raced
hoarsely past, glittering like gems in the bright moon-
light. The man cautiously approached the open lattice,
and peered curiously for an instant on the rushing river
below, whose waters, as it was high Nile, rose to within
twenty feet of the window.
He turned away after a moment, however ; and, seat-
ing himself on one of the silken divans, was soon sunk
in so deep a revery, that he did not hear the rustling
sound that announced a woman's presence, and started
when a soft hand was laid caressingly on his brow, and a
soft voice inquired :
136 ASKAROS KASSIS.
"Is my young Antar dreaming, or asleep, that he
needs waking?"
The young man, starting up, made a profound and re-
spectful salutation, as he answered :
"The night is always dark for me, until the evening
star comes to light it with her presence. But one thought
can fill the soul of any mortal happy enough to be ad-
mitted here; and that is of her I now see before me."
"Well sung, my bulbul ! " said the lady, unveiling as
she spoke, and disclosing the imperious beauty and bold
bright eyes of Nezle Khanum herself. ' ' But thou shouldst
not compare me to aught so cold and distant as a star !
The bulbul ever chants his love-song to the rose. And
am I not worthy to be deemed a rose?" she added
softly, glancing down over her own voluptuous form,
and fastening upon him the unholy light of eyes full of
sensual fire.
"A rose thou art, indeed!" cried the youth, with
genuine passion in his voice. "A rose, indeed ! a full-
blown rose, whose perfume and whose loveliness intoxi-
cate the senses and the soul ! The song of the bulbul
must ever be addressed to thee, O light of mine eyes and
blood of my heart! "
The face of the princess glowed with gratified vanity
at these impassioned words, poured out with burning
ardor either felt or feigned by the lips she loved
best. With all the abandon and recklessness of an
Eastern woman who flings all modesty and all reserve
to the winds, and whose sense of shame seems utterly to
disappear with the veil that has concealed her face she
threw herself on the divan beside her lover, and lavished
upon him all those terms of endearment of which the
Eastern tongue is so profuse. She removed the fez cap
ASKAROS KASSIS. 137
that he wore, and toyed with the short, clustering curls
of his hair; and, reposing her head upon his breast,
looked up into his face with a soft glow on her features,
and a tenderness in her eye, that transformed her into
another woman from the eagle-eyed and imperious Nezle
Khanum of every day. She seemed to renew her own
youth with proximity to this young lover, the beauty of
whose face and form were well calculated to inspire ad-
miration in the heart of woman.
The hours glided away, and the interview had been
prolonged until the first faint streaks in the Eastern sky
heralded the approach of dawn. The young man glanced
up through the open lattice, and said :
"The morning hour approaches, and I must tear my-
self away from paradise before the dawn : and the bulbul
has not yet been told, why the rose summoned him to
her bower so urgently on this most favored of all the
days of his life."
As he spoke, the face of the princess, so radiant and
so loving until now, suddenly changed its expression.
The smile faded away from her lips, the light of love
from her eye, and the soft glow of gratified passion was
succeeded by the red flush of anger. She half withdrew
her form from the encircling arm of her lover, and re-
moved her hand from his brow, where it had rested
caressingly. Then a cold, cruel expression crept over
her countenance, and gleamed out of her glittering eyes.
She seemed suddenly to have recalled some painful and
irritating memory, which the presence of her lover had
caused her to forget, but which his words recalled. Her
tone grew measured and hard as she replied :
"There was a time when the bulbul needed no mes-
senger to summon him to the bower of the rose ! when
12*
138 ASKAROS KASSIS.
the garden where she dispensed her perfume was haunted
by his presence ; and when his wings could not bear him
swiftly enough back to her, from other wanderings. But
now it is different. The bulbul must be lured back; and
no sooner has he been snared, than his wings flutter im-
patiently to fly again. But the pretty bird should know ' '
and she cast upon him a look full of menace and of
mockery "that this cage is strong, and he may be
made to sing in captivity, as other birds have before him.
For the rose has thorns as well as sweetness ever; and
those who have tasted the one, may feel the other too ! "
There was no love now in the face or in the eyes that
looked upon him, and the man felt his peril saw, too
late, the trap into which he had walked blindfold. But
he summoned all his courage and his craft to meet the
emergency and baffle the danger.
' ' Why is the star of my night so suddenly overclouded ? ' '
he asked, with real or feigned anxiety. "Why is her
light withdrawn from her worshipper? What sin has her
servant committed, that the ire of the great lady should
visit him? He is innocent of intending offence igno-
rant of having given any and why should the Khanum
speak as though to one who had provoked her displeasure?
If his visits have not of late been frequent, it was because
he feared to intrude without invitation ; for it needed but
the intimation that he would be welcome, and behold
him at the feet of her who has honored him with her
favor ! '
"Thou hast the tongue as well as the sleek skin of the
serpent," answered the princess, half relenting, half
offended. "But thou knowest I possess the serpent-
charm, and can handle thee with impunity. Thou hast
not spoken truly to me ; thou hast acted falsely and
ASKAROS KASSIS. 139
treacherously, too. And to the pale, scentless Ingleeze
lily thou hast chanted thy love-lays, in place of the full-
blown rose ! Lie not to me, for I well know how the
shameless face of that unveiled woman hath been seen
with thine on the Ezbekieh, day after day ! To the scorn
and shame of womanhood, she hath cast love-looks on
thy dainty face in the sight of all men ; even to the mock-
ery of the donkey-boys of the streets. Further do I
know, how the shameless Infidel, in defiance of all
modesty and decency, hath passed a whole day in thy
house ! " and the princess spat upon the ground in
token of loathing. " I know, too, the story of the tame
serpent, with which thou didst deceive the poor silly
Ingleeze, and that other trick of upsetting the shameless
thing in the Nile mud, to parade thy bravery again before
her ! Yet, with her kisses warm upon thy false lips, thou
darest come and talk of love to me, while I am weak
fool enough to listen, forgetting all these things, and all
my just resentment, like a silly girl ! Have I not spoken
truly? Answer, O man of double face and forked
tongue ! ' '
Over the face of Askaros for it was he to whom the
princess spoke there had, in spite of his self-control,
passed many changes, as the furious woman went on.
Apprehension, indignation, rage, shame, and disgust
rapidly chased each other over his expressive features ;
and when the princess ceased, from sheer exhaustion,
overpowered by the passions that raged within and tore
her like so many devils, he raised his crest haughtily.
No trace of humility or of reverence in his face or
voice now, but, with a steadfast light in his eye, and re-
solve written on his dilating nostril, he stood like some
140 ASKAKOS KASSIS.
wounded lion brought to bay, and confronted the proud
princess with a pride equal to her own.
"Lady," he said, " for the first time since we have
known each other, you have spoken words of scorn and
insult to me, which no man might utter and live. Those
words I might forget and forgive, possibly pardon, for I
know they spring from a jealousy fierce as it is unfounded.
But you have coupled with my name that of another,
which has no connection with either of us the name of
one, the purity of whose life and thoughts neither of us can
imitate, scarcely comprehend one as widely apart from
us and ours, as though she were one of the Houris of
whom your imaums speak ! I swear to you, by my life
and soul, that your suspicions are unfounded ; for I am
nothing to this Ingleeze woman, nor she to me. And
furthermore, if that will not content you, let me tell you,
that when I, in my mad folly, dared to speak of my ad-
miration, she repulsed it, as you would that of the meanest
of your slaves ! If, then, I have had a short madness, and
been unfaithful to you for a few brief moments, the folly is
past and gone. Now I resume my allegiance, and ask
forgiveness from the most enchanting of her sex. Well
do you know, fear never could move me, or I never had
entered here ; or, having once entered and escaped, would
never have returned."
Neither by word nor gesture did the princess interrupt
him while he spoke, but she drew a deep, long breath
when he had finished, as though her patience had been
sorely tried, and again burst forth in stormy wrath.
" Dog of a Giaour ! and son of a line of dogs ! " she
screamed. "Rightly have I been punished for stoop-
ing to defile myself with the society and presence of a
wretched Copt, lowest, meanest, and basest of the mongrel
ASKAROS KASSIS. 141
spawn of Nile, which my great father trampled under his
victorious foot, and used as men use other rubbish, to aid
in building the empire which his line rule to-day. Was
it not enough, that my condescension should be abused
and my kindness betrayed, but that thou shouldst dare
compare to my disparagement, thy Infidel paramour from
the barbarous lands of the West, here to my very face,
and in my own palace ? Dearly shall that insult cost
thee ! I am a woman, it is true, but a woman of the
blood of Mehemet Ali ; and never did man or woman do
him wrong, and live to boast it ! Never again will thy
pale-faced mistress, with her hair of withered straw, look
on that girlish face of thine, or kiss those dainty lips.
The Nile, from which thou rescued her but yesterday,
shall sport with thy graceful form, and be thy bed to-
night ! An Infidel like thee, whose doom must be the
fall from the Narrow Bridge of Al Sirat into perpetual
fire, needs no time for prayers, as a Mussulman might."
She paused again, exultant malice and fiendish hate
stamped upon every feature of the face which seemed
suddenly to have sharpened and grown old, under the
fiery heat of the simoom blast of passion sweeping over
her soul.
Her destined victim did not quail. He felt his peril,
but, like a brave man, braced himself to meet it worthily,
if he could not avert it. Yet he did not seem utterly
desperate, and as his eye glanced warily round the room,
it rested for an instant on the open casement, and he
drew nearer the princess, who, pacing rapidly up and
down the room like an enraged tigress, had now paused
near the window ; and through it now softly came the
first fresh breath of the awakening morn.
"Khanum," said Askaros, "are you very sure your
142 ASKAROS A'ASSIS.
spies have not deceived you ? that the things they have
told you are not lies, coined out of their own false hearts,
to win gold and favor frpm you, and to destroy me,
whom they hate for many reasons known to you ? ' '
A cruel smile convulsed the lips of Nezle'.
"There spoke the craft of the Copt!" she snarled;
"ever more resembling woman than man, and striving
to escape by artifice dangers he has not the courage to
avert ! Know then, O wise youth ! that my informants
were not my spies, but of thine own household ay,
even supposed to be of thine own base blood ! The girl
El Warda, whom the world deems thy sister, was my
informant ! She came to me ' ' and a derisive smile
again curled the cruel lips "to pray me for a love-
philter to win back thy most precious affections, stolen
away by this Ingleeze, as the silly child believed. I gave
the philter to the fool ; but I repaid myself by obtaining
all her secrets, and thine ! "
This revelation fell on the young man with a stunning
shock. For the first time, as by a lightning-flash, he
saw the real state of the heart of his reputed sister. Of
this he had never dreamed.
But at the same time he saw how the danger of his
position was aggravated ; and how useless, after all she
had heard and knew, would be any attempt to conciliate
or mystify the princess. Rapidly he made his resolve,
and prepared to act.
"Princess," he said, drawing still nearer, until he
stood close beside her, "these recriminations and ex-
planations are useless, and can only tend to make us
both say words we shall regret hereafter. I have made
confession of my fault, and implored thy forgiveness.
Give it to me, by the memory of our past love, which
ASKAROS KASSIS, 143
will renew itself, warmer and fresher after this short
storm, and then let me go, for the day already begins to
dawn in the East."
''That day thou shalt never behold!" fiercely an-
swered the princess. "Slave! dog! Giaour! thy blood
be on thine own head ! An hour 'hence, and thou shalt
feed the fishes of the Nile, and thy vile name and viler
treachery be washed away from my memory, even as thy
carcass shall be washed from my palace-door by those
rapid waters ! ' '
And she pointed to the window, where the rushing
tide, swollen and turbid, raced past in its sullen flow.
Swiftly she turned away from the window, confronted
the Copt, and raised her two hands, as if to clap them
together to summon her slaves. But rapid as was her
movement, the young man's was more rapid still. Ere
she could bring the hands together, he had seized her
left wrist and held it, as in an iron vice, close down to
her side, preventing the meditated summons. Her next
movement was as sudden as his had been. Her right
hand flew to her bosom, and a small, keen poniard
flashed over his head, aimed full at his heart, ere he had
time to suspect or avert the act. Instinctively he threw
up his left arm to protect his heart. Down upon that
guard the sharp steel descended, driven with the whole
strength of maniac fury rent its way through outer
jacket of thick cloth, and through the folds of shirt and
undershirt; then, grazing, tore open the fleshy part of
the muscular forearm, round and white as that of a
woman.
The blood spouted from the wound, as hand and
dagger dropped to the side of the baffled murderess.
Her face changed from rage to fear, as she cowered
144 ASKAROS KASSIS.
before the roused wrath of her destined victim the
feverish, fitful rage of woman yielding to the more con-
centrated wrath of man. For the face of Askaros had
undergone an alteration as startling as that in her own.
The devil that slumbers in the depth of every human
heart had been unchained ; and the magnetic contagion
of evil had been communicated from her leprous soul to
the hitherto generous heart of the young man, stained
already by her with sin, and now on the verge of being
blackened by irremediable crime !
From the predestined victim, he suddenly rose over her
as the doomsman the avenger. And, with the light-
ning-like rapidity with which thought can travel in
moments of immediate peril and impending death, the
long catalogue of her crimes rose like accusing angels
before the mental vision of the wicked woman, whose
life had been a long defiance to the laws of God and
man a warfare against humanity.
For in the set and rigid face, with contracted brow
and pitiless eyes, that bent above her, she saw no
mercy no hope ; and in his right hand was raised the
dagger wrested from her, ready to strike the moment he
apprehended treachery in any call, or gesture, or effort
to summon aid.
So stood these two beings, whose criminal tie had
been so suddenly and so violently severed lovers,
lisping endearment to each other in softest whispers but
a moment since now foes, whom the death of one, or
both, could only separate to all human seeming ; one a
baffled homicide in act, the other a predestined murderer
in intention, with the shadow of their mutual crime
hanging like a pall over both.
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 145
Askaros spoke first, though the silence, seemingly so
long to both, had been of scarce a minute's duration.
' ' Is the dagger poisoned ? " he hissed into her ear.
' ' Is this wound of mine mortal ? I must know, for two
lives depend upon the truth."
"It is not /" she sullenly responded; "though I wish
it were. I had meant my stroke to be too sure to need
poison, else had I supplied it, to make my vengeance
certain ! ' '
"Will you swear it? Will you but, folly! What
oaths are not worthless to you? What in earth, or
heaven, do you hold sacred ? Will you hold out your
arm and let me scratch it, to prove the truth of what you
say?"
With a return of her former haughty and defiant bear-
ing, the princess silently stretched out her right arm for
the test; a slight, scornful contraction of her mouth in-
dicating her contempt for what she considered the Copt's
cowardice. But the movement seemed to satisfy him
without further proof.
"I will not shed one drop of your blood," he said.
"I am satisfied there is now no other poison running riot
in my veins, save what my unholy love for you has left
there. No ; the dagger was not prepared with your usual
forethought. Had it been otherwise, two corpses instead
of one would have been found in this chamber; which
has doubtless heard the death-groan of many men better
and braver than I ! For now I know that Cairene gossip
lied not, when it told those tales of Nezle Khanum, that
I disbelieved until now. Princess, farewell ! for never
will we look upon each others' faces in this world
again. ' '
"You speak confidently," replied the Khanum, whose
13 K
146 ASKAROS KASSIS.
audacity rose as the immediate danger receded; "you
seem to forget that egress from this palace is not so easy
without my permission. As well might a lost soul cross
the bridge of Al Sirat over the fiery gulf, as any strange
step pass in safety through this palace, or those gardens,
to the outer world. You may slay its mistress a daring
act for a brave man, opposed by an unarmed woman !
but hence you cannot and you shall not pass, by my free
will, or orders! "
"Trouble not yourself for my safety, O charming
hostess!" answered the young man, calmly cutting a
strip of linen from his sleeve, and binding his bleeding
arm as he spoke: "I know my path, and need no pass-
word from you. Nor fear I any peril from your armed
mercenaries, to travel it if not in safety, at least unmo-
lested by you, or yours. Repent your past life, and strive
to amend it, that the rude lesson I had to give you may
not be lost. Neither in love, nor in hate, shall you look
upon the face of Askaros again who now shakes from
his feet the dust of this palace of abominations, and bids
it and you farewell forever ! ' '
As he ceased, and the astonished woman stood spell-
bound and bewildered by his words and meaning, he
vaulted lightly on the framework of the open lattice,
stood for a second, and then plunged headlong into the
raging and rushing flood that howled beneath !
Recovering from her stupor of astonishment at the
suddenness of his disappearance, the princess rushed to
the window, and by the uncertain light of the early dawn,
peered with mingled curiosity and anxiety on the flood,
into which the daring youth had so rashly precipitated
himself. She strained her vision to discover aught beside
the turbid surface of the stream, whose current swept
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 147
down rapidly, with a hoarse murmur, some few floating
pieces of drift-wood ; but she did not see anything re-
sembling a human head or a human form, within the
range of her vision.
Wearied by the useless search, and chilled by the raw
morning air, with a shudder she turned from the window
and closed the lattice, as though to shut out the memory
as well as the sight of what was passing below. A soft-
ened sentiment, almost of pity, blended with her exulta-
tion at her own escape from peril, and the destruction of
her old lover and new foe, who had thus executed her
vengeance on himself, and spared her a new crime.
"Poor boy!" she muttered, "he was very young to
end so soon; and so handsome, too," she added, regret-
fully, "while the men seem to me to grow uglier and
more stupid every day. Was he mad, to take that leap?
No living lover of mine took it before though many
have passed through it without their knowledge or con-
sent!"
She yawned wearily ; then, after a moment, added :
"But he will keep my secret now, that is a consolation ;
though I do feel a foolish softness about his fate, I never
felt for another's. But Allah made this world for the
living, not for the dead: so 'tis useless to think; and,
doubtless, it was his kismet to die. Ingleeze can never
steal him from me now ! But I shall look like a witch
from want of sleep; so now for a pipe of hashish, a
good sleep, and to commence a new experience and look
for a new lover to-morrow ! ' '
Then yawning again, and wearily stretching her grace-
ful limbs, the Egyptian princess glided to her own private
chamber, to forget in the fumes of hashish and the
death-like slumber it would summon the agitations of
148
ASKAKOS KASSIS.
the last few hours ; to forget the tragic fate of the youth
she had first tempted and seduced, made a plaything of,
and finally hunted to his doom.
Let us drop a veil over the waking and sleeping
thoughts of that incarnate evil in woman's form, to whom
sin was a solace, and crime a pastime a Circe, who
brutalized the souls as well as the bodies of men, yet
who died peacefully in her bed at last.
CHAPTER XII.
NEW LOVE AT OLD LUXOR.
EVENING at Luxor, on the Upper Nile : the rays
of the setting sun gilding and softening her majestic
ruins with a glory that seemed a reflection of the past,
when the City of the Hundred Gates was without peer or
rival in the ancient world when, through those long
avenues, guarded by their grim stone sphinxes, poured the
subjects of the Great Rameses, many of whom the trav-
eller sees as mummies to-day.
For, amid the ruins of the city we call Thebes, still
enough remains to excite the wonder of the modern
world ; so gigantic is the scale on which her structures
were erected so colossal the fragments which even the
ruthless hand of Time has failed utterly to destroy.
Standing on the threshold of that vast temple, which
still overlooks the eternal Nile, and looking across the
yellow waters of the Great Father of Rivers far away
we see towering the mighty statues of Memnon and his
tnate, like twin giants keeping watch and ward over what
is left of Luxor on the one shore, and the Memnonium
on the other.
Over earth, air, and sky over the half-buried relics
of the ancient city, and the mud-huts crouching under
13 * H9
ISO ASKAROS KASSIS.
the columns of its colossal ruins even as the Egyptian
of to-day is dwarfed by comparison with his predecessor,
though not his progenitor, in that land over all these
brooded a solemn silence.
The influence of the scene and of the hour was strongly
felt by a party of tourists, who had spent the day ram-
bling among the ruins of those mighty structures ; and who
were now grouped together in the great hall of the temple,
sitting on fragments of fallen columns and the shattered
statues of colossal kings fallen from their high estate in
their temple, as in history.
In the party we recognize the familiar faces of our
friends of the Hotel d' Orient, who for several weeks
have been making the usual Nile trip, and are now about
to retrace their steps. They have almost determined to
ascend the river no farther, in consequence of the receipt
of letters from Europe which compel the speedy return
of at least one of their party. A passing steamer, bound
for the First Cataract, had that morning brought these
letters, forwarded from their Cairene banker ; and to Sir
Charles especially their tidings were most important.
They gave him news of the sudden death of his elder
brother, who had been killed by a fall from his horse
while hunting, making him the presumptive heir to the
family title and estates.
Miss Primmins had been profuse of expressions of
sympathy and tearful condolence when the news was
imparted to her ; but Sir Charles, with characteristic
frankness, had declined to wreathe his brow with weep-
ing-willow. He had explained the matter to his Ameri-
can friends with his usual candor.
"It may, perhaps, seem unfeeling to you," he said,
" but really I cannot affect any great grief at my brother's
ASKAROS KASSIS. 15 I
death ; for I scarcely knew him. A poor devil of a
younger son, I was sent out to India as a cadet when
quite a boy, and have never set eyes on him since our
lines in life and all our associations being widely apart.
And I do not believe, from all that I have heard of him,
that he was a very lovable person never married; and,
as my father is very old and infirm, I may expect soon
to come in for the family title and estates. The latter
are very large indeed ; and, though I am more of a
Bedouin than of a country gentleman, still my birth and
descent make me feel I am fit for something better than
nigger-killing and tiger-hunting. So, under the circum-
stances, you must not think me a brute, if I am not over-
whelmed with grief. ' '
''Brute'" screamed the spinster in shrill denial. "The
heir to a coronet and twenty thousand a year a brute !
Noble young man ! I honor your fortitude in bearing
this blow with such composure ! "
A singular smile passed over the Englishman's face as
he answered, with a half-shrug :
" I must hurry back to England therefore, for my
presence will be essential there now. But, ' ' he added
more seriously, and with a slight hesitation in his usually
blunt manner, ' ' but I can sincerely say I do grieve at
leaving, unfinished, this delightful excursion, and at losing
the society of friends for whom I entertain so warm
a regard ! ' '
So it was settled Sir Charles was to leave them next
day taking passage for Alexandria on the steamer that
brought the letters while the Americans continued their
upward voyage in their dahabieh as far as Assouan and
Philse perhaps as the Second Cataract and Nubia.
152 ASKAROS KASSIS.
SITTING together on the fallen granite statue of sqme
great Egyptian king, who had lived and loved two
thousand years before, on this sunny evening, were the
Englishman and the American woman so oddly thrown
together in this remote corner of the earth, from homes
so widely separated.
Sir Charles was unusually subdued and silent even
absent ; his usual gay insouciance was gone, and an un-
wonted seriousness, amounting even to sadness, showed
in his face and manner and even in the inflections of
his voice, when at rare intervals he made brief and irrel-
evant remarks. At length, after a long pause, which
seemed equally embarrassing to both, and which both
seemed equally desirous and powerless to interrupt, he
broke the awkward silence.
" Miss Van Camp,." he said, gravely, "you know I
leave you to-morrow, and the chances and changes of
this world are such that God only knows when we shall
meet again."
"Yes," answered Edith, softly; "but I hope we may
meet again, and before very long."
" It may be a matter of indifference to you it doubt-
less is so!" the Englishman went on, warming as he
spoke. " But before I go I must tell you it is far from
being such to me. It is true you have known me but a
little while, and I am not vain enough to believe you
care much about me ; but it will be a source of more
than pleasure of infinite joy to me, to hear from your
own lips that I am more than a mere stranger ! ' '
He refused to notice, if he even saw, the sharp, quick
start she gave, and sudden gesture of her hand, raised as
if in warning, and continued: "Tell me I am more
than a passing acquaintance, and that I may be allowed
A SKA R OS KASSIS. I$3
to return and perfect a friendship which, to me at least,
has been so delicious a privilege ! ' '
A glowing blush overspread the fair face of the girl,
more at the tone in which this speech was made than at
the simple words themselves. She fixed her eyes steadily
upon the ground, and, after an apparent struggle with
her voice, spoke with much hesitation :
"I assure you, Sir Charles, that I that we all shall
miss you very much. I do not look upon you as a
casual acquaintance at all, and nothing would give us
greater pleasure than to continue the intimacy I we
formed in our wanderings together."
He made no immediate answer, and another pause,
longer than the first, ensued. Edith seemed to be exam-
ining with great minuteness the rubbish strewn around
her feet, the toe of her tiny boot turning over the peb-
bles ; while her companion, his eyes fixed full upon the
stony orbs of the giant king opposite, sunk into a deep,
motionless revery.
And the voiceless spirit of the dead past seemed to
brood over its shattered temple, and sink down upon
those intruders of to-day in an enveloping and almost
palpable hush. Suddenly, sharp and clear, cut through
the heavy stillness the man's voice ; and this time he
spoke as if he had made up his mind and knew precisely
what he meant to say.
"I doubt not that both you and your friends," he
said, "have looked upon me as a careless, reckless,
eccentric creature, without feeling or sentiment ; without
even much depth of character. You were but just in so
judging, for such was the impression I sought to convey.
Am I right in my belief?"
Edith still examined the pebbles at her feet, and,
154 ASKAROS K AS SIS.
without lifting her eyes, murmured some reply, almost
inaudible, but seeming to imply dissent.
"My position and prospects as a younger son," the
other resumed, steadily, "with only my commission and
career in the Indian service, were not such as to justify
me in forming any plans for the future. I therefore
sought only to live in the present. But my philosophy
was not strong enough to protect me against myself!
For some time past I have thought only and always of
another. Need I tell you that that other is yourself?"
Still the girl responded not a word, nor looked up
from the ground, though the flush on her face grew
deeper, and the small foot nervously tapped the sand,
still faster than before. The Englishman rose from the
stone at her side, and stood before her with a mien of
mingled dignity and dread, while his voice was still
steady, but with a thrill of longing, yearning entreaty in
it, as he asked :
' ' Does my avowal offend you ? Are you wounded
that he you deemed an idle jester, to whom you gave
no encouragement to justify his speaking thus, should
dare declare that he admires you that he loves you ? ' '
Once more the quick, sharp thrill passed through the
frame of the young girl ; the flush upon her cheek deep-
ened to a crimson flood that swept over brow, neck,
and bosom ; the little foot ceased its beat upon the sand,
and once more she raised her hand with a warning
almost imploring gesture.
But the man saw it not; for the mighty torrent of his
pent-up passion had broken the barriers of habit, of con-
vention, and of race, and now swept him on like the
flood of the mighty river near, when its rushing tide sends
it downward with resistless rush toward the sea.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 155
"Yes, who loves you!" he cried; "loves you with
the wild passion of a heart that never loved before ! with
the deep, strong passion of a man who is no trifler ;
whose very soul feels, a thousand times more than words
can tell, those nameless charms of person, mind, and
heart, that have linked his every thought to you forever !
I have seen, though I cannot tell, how pure, how good,
how beautiful you are ! I have seen your thousand
priceless gifts of mind and heart, and have been mad
enough, selfish enough, to dream of securing all these
for myself! Oh, Edith, will you share the title and the
rank soon to be mine? worthless without you whose
possession alone permits me to reveal the secret I else
had carried to my grave the secret of my deep, de-
voted love for you ! " And, throwing himself once
more by the young girl's side, he sought to seize her
hand and press it in his own.
Edith withdrew her hand, but very gently, from the
ardent clasp of her lover's, and, for the first time, looked
up. The hot flush had given place to deadly paleness,
the eyes were suffused with tears, and she showed painful
agitation in her face and manner, as well as the broken
voice in which she answered :
"This is so unexpected, so agitating, I really know
not how to answer without wounding you, for I never
dreamt that you cherished such feelings for me, and I
have never once thought of the subject you speak of so
seriously. Oh, Sir Charles! let us still be friends"
he made a quick, impatient gesture at the word " for,
indeed, I do not look on you as a stranger. I esteem
you, and and admire you more than any man I ever
met before. I mean," she added, blushing brightly at
her own words, "of course, as a friend."
156 ASKAROS KASSIS.
Once more he made the impatient gesture of denial,
and again he rose and stood before her.
"We can never \>z friends /" he said, quietly.
"We shall meet again in Europe," she said, more in
continuation than in answer, "and shall, perhaps, even
make another tour together. Then, after knowing each
other longer after studying each other's characters
better we might determine if if whether we are
really suited to each other. For you know," she added,
hastily, to cover her confusion, "our educations and as-
sociations have all been so different! "
The light faded from the eyes of the young man, and
the glow of passion passed from his cheek, as the girl
spoke thus in an almost pleading tone, and he answered
sadly:
"I understand you now. You seek to spare me the
bitterness of a direct refusal, which your kind heart
would be pained to give. My folly in supposing I could
win a virgin heart like yours, without proving myself
worthy of it, is rightly punished. This is your mean-
ing?"
She made a faint gesture of dissent, but he caught it,
and the embers of hope, almost dying in his heart, glowed
under it into a fresh blaze.
"You will give me at least some hope? Oh, Edith,
tell me, if you do not love me, that at least you love no
other ! For I confess I had my doubts, and that is one
reason I have hastened this precipitate avowal."
"Your question is an unfair, and might be an indelicate
one," the girl replied promptly, and with some spirit;
"but I do not hesitate to tell you that such is not the
case. I do not hesitate to accept your affection because
of a warmer feeling for any one else, nor can I explain
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 157
the sentiments I really feel for you. For until the last
few moments, I have never asked my own heart the ques-
tion, and now I feel too bewildered even to think."
Then she blushed brightly, and cast down the candid
eyes, until now bent upon him, as she added softly:
"But tell me whom you thought your rival."
Sir Charles hesitated but a moment, ere he answered :
"Your candor merits the truth from me. When the
caique overturned you into the Nile, for the first time my
own heart stood revealed to me in my agony at your
danger, and, I must add, my jealousy of your rescuer.
That young Egyptian has much in his favor to win a
maiden's heart rare personal beauty, courage, honor,
and high intelligence. He has, besides, the romance of
his life and habits, and I feared your fancy might have
been captivated by these; but, above all, he has twice
saved your life at the risk of his own ! Hence I was, and
am, jealous of the Egyptian not for my own sake, but
because I do not believe so incongruous an alliance would
insure your happiness."
The shifting color of Edith betrayed some emotion
while Sir Charles said these words, but she soon recovered
herself, and when she answered, there was no tremor in
her voice, her clear blue eyes sought his fearlessly, and
spoke the soul of truth, but on her lip there was a curl
of scorn.
"Sir Charles," she said, calmly, "you may dismiss
your fears for me, and your jealousy on your own ac-
count ; for Askaros is not, and can never be a rival of
yours with me, and that he knows, I am quite sure, as
well as I. That my girlish fancy was taken captive for a
time by the graces of this young Haroun el Reschid may
be true ; that my heart or my judgment have ever been
158 ASKAROS KASSIS.
influenced by him, is not so. I owe him a debt of grati-
tude ; but I have never dreamt of paying him such a
price for it as to unite my destiny with that of one of
different race to renounce my country for a barbarous
land like this. Believe me, an American girl, however
young, has too much common sense to turn her dreams
into realities."
It was strange to see how the role of the two speakers
was reversed as the interview proceeded ; how the strong,
intrepid, reckless man became more confused, and the
timid, gentle girl calmer and more self-possessed. For
Sir Charles answered her almost indignantly:
"Oh, Edith, you are calm and cold as a marble
statue ! It almost maddens me to hear words of caution
from your lips ! What has caution to do with love
with affection ? which converts even me the worthless
idler into the earnest man whose whole happiness or
misery hangs upon your lips ! God never gave you
beauty, and soul, and tenderness, to be wasted on the
barren pursuits of fashionable life ! to wither and fade
without ripening into affection for some congenial heart !
Trust yourself to me. Let mine be the task to warm
into life those softer feelings that change the girl into the
woman. For truly has a woman said, 'We pass not over
the threshold of childhood until led by love.' Let mine
be the hand to lead you over that threshold ; and my life
shall be one long effort to secure your pleasure and your
happiness. ' '
He paused for a moment, but the girl only looked
fixedly upon the ground, and his lips trembled with the
strong passion that rent and mastered him, as he re-
sumed :
"I can offer you now rank, wealth, high social posi-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 159
tion. These, others can offer you, too; but I can give
you, besides, the devotion of a heart that has never
throbbed for woman before. In you I see the fulfil-
ment of my boyhood's dream, my manhood's search a
perfect woman ! Oh, Edith ! send me not back into the
dreary desert of indifference, whence you rescued me ;
reject not a love such as is seldom laid at woman's feet
twice in a life ! Do not give me your answer now. Re-
flect upon it; look well into your heart, and see if the
electric thrill of mine has not reached it. And then, at
least, give me hope ! tell me that I am not quite indiffer-
ent to you ! that my devotion may yet win you to be my
bride the mistress of my destiny ! ' '
Speaking thus, he stooped down and pressed his lips
upon the passive hand of the young girl, who sat still and
mute, as though overwhelmed by the rushing torrent of
his passion.
Then, rising, he strode rapidly away.
CHAPTER XIII.
A NEW FRIEND WITH AN OLD FACE.
EDITH did not offer to detain her lover by word,
look, or gesture. She remained sitting at the foot
of one of the huge and ancient kings, with statue-like
immobility ; the shifting color in her cheek, and the un-
equal heaving of her bosom, alone showing that she pos-
sessed more life or motion than they. Towering up to
the height of sixty feet, those massive monarchs of the
past sat upon great thrones hewn from the immemorial
rock, ranged at equal distances around the hall.
The contrast between the fair, fresh beauty of the young
girl as she sat there with the framework of ruins behind
her, the grotesque sculpture of Egyptian antiquity upon
the walls, where were mingled ox-headed and ape-headed
human figures with other fantastic devices of that dead
time, and the passionless faces of the stone Colossi gaz-
ing down upon her was very striking. It looked, as it
was, a reunion of the present with the past the new
with the old the living with the dead the connecting
link which, in all ages and forever, must bind all human-
ity and its works in the great chain of creation, which
stretches to earth from God.
Left thus entirely alone for the others were now ex-
160
ASKAROS KASSIS. l6l
ploring a distant chamber of the ruin the young girl
leaned her head upon her hand, striving to collect her
wandering thoughts and analyze her feelings. The task
was a more difficult one than she had imagined, for the
thoughts were rebellious, and in her mind and heart a
confused chaos of feelings and fancies struggled for the
mastery.
Was she indifferent to Sir Charles? or did she love
him enough to accept his offer ?
She could not answer even to herself, so suddenly had
the question been presented to her decision.
In the ordinary course of social life, seeing so much of
a young man, and being thrown so much into his society
even without coquetry, or her vulgar sister, flirtation
the idea might have suggested itself to her. But in this
Eastern tour, with its strange phases of daily life, seem-
ing more like dreams than realities, she had forgotten
the usual formalities of intercourse, and restraints of
society. She had accepted the constant society and in-
tercourse of Sir Charles, almost as she had that of her
brother, forgetting for the time that he was a stranger,
and she an attractive young girl.
She knew she liked and admired him, as she had so
frankly avowed to him, more than any man she had
ever met ; but was this love ? Did she really love him ?
She was unable to solve the question to her own satisfac-
tion ; and she recalled with a strange thrill the sensa-
tions she had experienced in her intercourse with the
young Egyptian at first sight during his wild avowal
of his burning passion after her rescue from the river.
And this, she confessed to herself, had been, for the
moment, a much warmer and more engrossing feeling
than she now experienced for Sir Charles ; though he
14* L
l62 ASKAROS KASSIS.
was certainly more congenial to her in thought and feel-
ing than his unacknowledged rival.
She had scornfully repudiated the idea that Askaros
could ever be anything to her ; but at that moment her
heart belied her lips, and she clenched her small hand
and stamped her foot impatiently, in sudden anger at the
consciousness. Was he not, as she had said, alien to her
in every particular of birth, blood, breeding, and associa-
tion ? Was he not although as a Copt he boasted his
descent from the old Egyptians, to whom her race was
but a thing of yesterday was he not the countryman
of those squalid and ignorant natives she saw around her,
scarcely elevated above the brute creation in comfort,
condition, or culture ? What was this boasted descent,
then, from the mighty people of that past which be-
queathed to the world its poetry, its science, its prophecy
even the forms of its religion?
Impatient at her own thoughts, and tired of the con-
flict in her own heart, she raised her eyes and fixed them,
to distract her thoughts, upon one of the colossal sculp-
tured kings, which had sat immovable in his niche for
thousands of years the giant hands resting on the
massive knees, and passionless and godlike calm stamped
upon the still features of the grand, beardless face.
Was she haunted by one thought? For as she looked,
she seemed to trace in the features of the granite giant a
shadowy resemblance to those of the young opt of whom
she had been thinking ; and the more closely she scruti-
nized, the stronger the likeness grew.
She rose impatiently to seek her companions, half
terrified by the strange coincidence still distrusting her
own senses.
"This is indeed the land of marvels and of mystery,"
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 163
she said, aloud. "Will I ever be able to get back to
real life and common sense again ? ' '
That night Edith confided to her father the offer of
the Englishman, as well as the uncertain state of her own
feelings. She admitted that she did not feel inclined
either definitely to accept, or to reject him ; but made no
allusion to her strange fancies concerning the Egyptian.
Mr. Van Camp, who was devoted to his daughter, and
would have been pleased at no offer which could possibly
take her from him, was thoughtful enough of her welfare
to see how advantageous such an alliance would be in all
respects ; and, besides, he entertained the highest respect
and regard for the Englishman personally, irrespective
of his newly acquired wealth and title.
He proposed calling Miss Primmins into consultation :
"For," he said, " although Priscilla is very eccentric in
some respects, still she is a strong-minded woman in
worldly matters, and has a vast deal of common sense
and shrewd observation. And, my dear, you know mar-
riage is a serious thing, and not to be contracted with-
out proper prudence and reflection. Let us consult your
aunt, therefore, and see what her opinion is."
Edith consented, although not exactly considering the
spinster the proper arbiter of affairs of the heart. When
the matter was unfolded to the chaste Priscilla, the sur-
prise of that ancient maiden was only equalled by her
delight.
" Who would have expected it ! " she exclaimed, with
a look of beaming approval cast upon her niece. "What
a sly little puss you are ! and what a knowing fellow Sir
Charles is ! Where could my eyes have been ? Ah !
you artful little minx, to keep so demure, and pretend to
be so unconscious ! just as if any woman can have love
164 ASA'AXOS KASSJS.
made to her a month without finding it out ! Thank
heaven ! /never was bothered that way. The men knew
better than to talk nonsense to me .' But it suits Edith
very well. And, of course, you accepted him, my dear;
and I will soon call you Lady Aylmer. It sounds very
nice, don't it? 'Lady Aylmer's carriage stops the
way ! '
" I think now I can see you coming from the Queen's
reception-room, for you will go into the best society in
London. You must make Lord Charles get a foreign
embassy. It gives one the entree into the best circles
abroad, and he can get a secretary who can do all the
diplomacy, except the dining-out and reception business.
When is it to be ? Very soon, of course ; and I suppose
we shall have to hurry back to Europe now. And
goodness knows / am sick enough of fleas, and bugs,
and beetles, and crocodiles, and broken-nosed statues,
and mummies, and undressed men ! I shall be glad
enough to breathe pure air, and sleep in clean sheets
again ! ' '
Here the spinster paused, from sheer want of breath,
allowing Edith to say :
' ' But, aunt, you run on too fast. I have not even
accepted him yet."
Miss Priscilla's lower jaw dropped, in her astonish-
ment her eye glazed she gasped for breath.
' ' Not accepted him ! A real lord ! with heaven knows
how many thousands a-year, and a house in London
and another in the country ! A member of Parliament,
too ; and as fine a young man, besides, as could be found
even in Boston ! Is the girl mad ? Brother, what
does this mean ? Surely you will not encourage such
folly!"
ASKAROS KASSIS. 165
"But, aunt, I am not sure I love him enough to ac-
cept him."
" Love him ! fiddlesticks ! " retorted the exasperated
Primmins. "Who expected you would, or ought to,
before he asked you ? The very idea is highly indelicate
and immodest ! But now that he has proposed to you,
you have a right to esteem him ; and in time, I do not
doubt, you will learn to do your duty as a wife love,
honor, and obey him after you have made that promise
at the altar. I hope those silly romances you are so
fond of reading have not turned your head, and made
you believe you are going to find knights and heroes in
real life, and devoted love, and all that sort of stuff; or
we may expect, some day, to see you running away with
that good-looking Egyptian, living in a stone barrack
without furniture, being bitten by snakes, and drowned
in a river, in this horrible country ! ' '
This unforeseen echo to her own thoughts did more to
convince the girl of the folly of her fancies than greater
eloquence could possibly have done. Her native com-
mon sense came to the aid of regard for the Englishman,
and her wavering will was decided.
After much more conversation it was decided that,
when Sir Charles renewed his suit the next morning as
he certainly would do he should be referred to her
father, who would consent to a provisional engagement
for the term of one year, that they might better study
each other's characters and dispositions before entering
into an irrevocable bond. Kissing his daughter fer-
vently, and giving her his blessing, Mr. Van Camp dis-
missed her to the most restless and uneasy slumbers her
unclouded life had ever known.
Next day, Sir Charles renewed his proposals, accepted
1 66 ASKAROS A' ASS IS.
gladly the terms imposed, and took his leave of the
party, whom he was to rejoin in a month's time at
Venice, a proud and happy man. But he left Edith
scarcely knowing whether she felt most happy or miser-
able ; but, on the whole, rather dazzled by the bright
visions of the future, which her lover painted for her in
vivid language, and with an ardor not to be mistaken.
Let us now accompany the successful suitor down the
Nile, and, leaving him at Cairo, see how it .has fared
with his less favored rival in the interval.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE COPT AND THE HEBREW.
THE day succeeding the disappearance of the younger
Askaros whose absence did not alarm the house-
hold, as it was his habit occasionally to absent himself
for short periods was marked by another menace of
danger to his family.
His father received a formal summons to attend the
Grand Council within ten days' time, to undergo a formal
examination of his accounts as Khasnadar under Mehemet
Ali; a summons which he knew boded him no good,
that council being composed of the creatures of Abbas,
and only the instrument of his oppressions and confisca-
tions under form of law. The old man, conscious as he
was of his own rectitude, was greatly troubled in mind,
and apprehensive of danger; and he regretted the ab-
sence of his son, whose counsel he needed, and on whom
he depended in all matters of doubt and trouble.
Feverishly impatient, he could not remain in his house,
and went forth to visit the young Syrian, on whose testi-
mony, together with the duplicate vouchers and receipts,
which, as Wakeel, he had.made out and retained in his
possession, he relied to acquit him.
The visit was not a reassuring one : for Daoud, while
167
168 ASKAROS KASSIS.
expressing the greatest devotion and readiness to serve
his patron, increased his apprehensions by the evident
anxiety he manifested, and the seriousness with which he
treated the subject; both plainly intimating his belief
that it was a plot to despoil the old man of the great
wealth he was supposed to have accumulated. It, more-
over, led him on to talk, with the garrulity of age, of
the investments he had recently made, and the precau-
tions he had taken to place large sums out of the reach
of the rapacious Viceroy ; and to his chagrin Daoud dis-
covered that very considerable sums in fact sufficient
for a competence for his son had been placed in the
English funds, in anticipation of the attempt to plunder
him, which he had dreaded ever since the accession of
Abbas.
The Syrian made a note in his mind of these invest-
ments, however, which, in event of the death of both
father and son, would fall to El Warda the old man in-
forming him that such were the provisions of his will :
so cupidity came to the aid of hate and jealousy in the
heart of the traitor.
From the Syrian's dwelling the old man passed down
through the Mooskie, where the shops of the foreigners
were situated, across the Turkish quarter, and ambled
easily on his donkey down into a neighborhood where
the streets were narrower still, the houses more mean and
squalid, and the filth and garbage more offensive to sight
and other senses.
It was the Jewish quarter into which he had penetrated ;
each nationality at Cairo having its own distinct district,
closed with a gate at night, and under its own sheik el
belled, or prefect, responsible for its quiet and good con-
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 169
duct ; an office of great responsibility and power, as well
as of great plunder.
Pausing before one of the largest of the dismantled-
looking stone houses of this quarter the entrance and
courtyard of which indicated squalid poverty on the part
of its owner, as did the dilapidated door and external ap-
pearance of the building the old man dismounted from
his donkey, put the bridle behind the saddle, and left the
beast, who arched his neck, stretched out his legs, as if
to take firmer position, and then stood still as a statue.
Passing up the steps, a dirty dismal interior, composed
of long low galleries with an infinite number of unfur-
nished rooms, presented itself; and the old man, clam-
bering up another narrower flight of steps, like one who
knew the way, traversed a long low gallery, and reached
a strong wooden door studded with iron nails. Upon this
he knocked thrice with his staff in a peculiar manner.
The door opened, and a withered old woman, dirty and
ragged, appeared and answered to his inquiry in a shrill,
cracked voice.
" Mooshfoke!" (He is not at home.)
"He will be at home to me," responded the old man.
"Tell him Askaros the Khasnadar has come to see his
old friend Ben Moussa, the Israelite. He will be at
home to me."
The old crone muttered between her teeth, "Moosh
Yahudi /" (He is no Jew) glanced suspiciously at him,
slammed the door in his face, and hobbled off. The old
man laughed quietly in his white beard, but remained
standing, as if he were sure of the return of the ancient
and uncourteous handmaiden.
"Cautious as ever," he muttered to himself. "Well,
I suppose there is cause. All hunted animals learn suspi-
I/O ASKAROS KASSIS.
cion, and old Moussa's experience has not been such to
inspire confidence in Turk, Arab, or Christian ' Gen-
tiles ' as his people call them. But he will see me, and
not where he receives the outside world either." And
again the old man chuckled as though at some good joke,
and waited patiently.
Presently the shuffling feet of the old woman scraped
along the floor ; the door opened wide this time, and the
withered finger beckoned him to enter; but the filmy eye
gazed with curiosity, not unmixed with discontent, upon
the stranger admitted within those carefully closed por-
tals, where precaution seemed so useless and so absurd.
The old man put her gently aside, as though he knew
the way, and entered a small room, bare of all furniture
save some dirty divans and boxes, apparently containing
papers, in niches in the wall. Passing through two or
three similar apartments to where a winding stair led to
the upper rooms, he stepped up to what appeared to be
the outer wall of the house, and tapped three times as
he had upon the door on a particular spot, where hung
a ragged curtain.
Opening noiselessly was disclosed an entrance to a
narrow passage, scarce high enough for a tall man to
stand upright, which wound downward into the obscurity.
Stooping his tall form, the old man entered this, and
groped his way through the darkness till he felt what
seemed to be a velvet curtain, which he pushed aside.
Then stood revealed a scene so dissimilar to the surround-
ings, that one not in the secret would have believed him-
self dreaming, or the victim of some trick: for the
apartment beyond was fitted up in a style of regal luxury
surpassing the barbaric splendor of the palaces even of
Abbas himself. Good taste combined with lavish wealth
ASKAROS K ASS IS. I/I
in the decorations of the chamber, as well as in its sumpt-
uous appointments.
The finest fabrics of Damascus and of Broussa, stiff
with gold embroidery, covered the divans, the carpets
were the most costly Turkish rugs, while cashmere shawls
of fabulous value were strewn over the seats and cushions.
The room for it had no windows to admit light from
without was lit by large, richly chased silver lamps
hanging from the ceiling ; the floor was tessellated mosaic,
inlaid with squares of wood and mother-of-pearl ; objects
of European art in pictures, statues and bronzes, were
hung upon the walls or standing upon pedestals. Immense
wealth, and its lavish and tasteful expenditure were ap-
parent in this chamber, and its contrast to the poverty
and squalor of the outer apartments was startling indeed.
Rising from his divan, the owner of the house advanced
to meet his guest, with even more than the usual Eastern
warmth and hospitality.
Like his visitor, he too was an aged man, with a full
and snowy beard, and a large frame, bent and bowed as
much by sedentary labors as by years. He was thin and
wiry, but not muscular, and wore the dress of the Bar-
bary Jew. A long loose wrapper of dark silk, a red mo-
rocco belt round the waist, and an undershirt of striped
silk with silver buttons
As he raised his head, with its ample white turban, from
the bowed position habitual to it, the face was unmistaka-
bly that of the Israelite of high type, such as we see it in the
pictures of the old masters, or in the cities of the East
and West to-day. There were the high aquiline nose,
curved like an eagle's beak ; the broad thoughtful brow ;
the large, inscrutable eyes, like black fathomless wells,
into whose depths it was impossible to penetrate, reveal-
1/2 ASK A R OS K ASS IS.
ing nothing of thought or feeling except at will. The
perfect oval of the face, with its olive tint and its full,
mobile lips, even with this aged man, indicated sensuality
checked by indomitable will.
When he sat down, the long, snowy beard, as fine as
silk, fell even to his knees ; and when he rose, it swept
over his breast, like the mane of an old lion, imparting
a dignity to him that made him the living image of the
Patriarchs of his ancient people, in the days when Jeru-
salem was still the chosen city, and its people the people
of God. He looked the type of what the genius of
Michael Angelo has made living marble, in the statue of
Moses in the Church of San Pietro in Vinculis so
solemn, sad and majestic were his face and mien.
" In the name of the Patriarch Abraham ! the common
father of Copt and Israelite, thou art welcome to this
house, into which few Gentiles enter," said the host,
with a gesture of greeting. "The sight of a friend so
long absent is as a balm to mine eyes. This house and
all it contains is thine."
He led his guest to the seat of honor on the divan,
and clapping his hands thrice, called ' ' Zillah ! ' '
Then there glided into the room a young Jewish maiden,
richly dressed, and with her wealth of raven hair wound
like a coronet over her broad, low brow, and thickly
studded with precious stones. In her hand she bore a
small silver salver, with sweetmeats and wine of Cyprus,
which she timidly offered the guest and her grandfather.
Then, taking up and kissing the hand of Askaros, she
retired as silently as she had come.
Then a chibouque-ghi brought in the inevitable nar-
gileh and coffee, and, for a time, the two old men smoked
ASKAROS KASSIS. 1/3
in a silence broken only by the bubbling of their water-
pipes. The Israelite spoke first.
"The face of my friend is troubled," he said. " The
shadow of some sorrow, past or to come, obscures the
sunshine of his contentment. Let him unburden his
heart to Moussa- ben- Israel, who is willing to share the
load with him, how heavy soever it may be."
"Rightly hast thou judged, O son of the Patriarchs ! "
replied the Copt. "The dark shadow of a sorrow is
spread over my soul. I come to thee for counsel and for
help ; for well does Askaros know, from times of old,
that he will never call in vain on Moussa-ben-Israel, even
when those of his own faith he dare not trust. ' '
" Peki /" returned his host. "But how can the perse-
cuted son of a despised race who has to burrow like a
fox in his hole to baffle the Moslem spoiler; to hide
away from the light of day all evidence of comfort, that
he may not be robbed and maltreated how can he,
placed so low, stretch forth the hand of help to one
placed so high as the powerful and wealthy Khasnadar,
to whom both Turk and Nazarene pay reverence ? I fear
my lord is but jesting with the poor Israelite he has hon-
ored with his friendship."
"Not so, O Moussa ! " was the answer. " For none
is safe in Egypt from the prowling tiger, who has suc-
ceeded to the lair, but not to the nature of that lion of
Islam Mehemet All ! My soul is dark within me, for
I see the signs of coming danger; and I seek thee in
whom I confide more than in living man, although thou
wilt still cling to thine ancient superstition, and reject the
incarnate God, in the person of His Son!" and he
crossed himself. " But that is a matter between thy God
and thee. In matters of this world I know I may trust
15*
1/4 ASKAROS KASSIS.
thee. Hearken, then, closely to what I have to tell
thee."
And he proceeded to unfold to the old Israelite his
doubts and fears, giving him full details of all matters
connected with them.
Moussa-ben-Israel sat motionless while the other spoke,
his shaggy eyebrows drawn down over his sombre eyes,
into which there crept a deeper shadow ; occasionally
stroking his beard with his right hand, but never inter-
rupting the long recital.
When it was concluded, he said briefly :
' ' Thou hast reason to take precaution. There is danger
to thee and thine in this thing. But tell me one thing
more : canst thou trust the young Syrian, Daoud-ben-
Youssouf, thy former Wakeel ? Thou knowest, him I
never fancied. I always deemed him far too old for his
years a dangerous thing in youth and as slippery as
smooth. Beware, O my brother ! of that frozen snake ;
else may he sting the bosom that warmed him. He is
far too old for his years, believe me. Zillah tells me thy
daughter hath been here of late, and she distrusts thy
former Wakeel. This she hath told Zillah ; for the young
women have but one heart, and keep nothing the one
from the other."
"Truly, I suspected not that!" cried the old man,
startled. "And I have been foolishly indiscreet in
telling the young man my plans and purposes. But I
have come to thee, O Moussa! as I said before, for
counsel and for aid ; and what I now do, I shall tell
none, not even my son. I seek, firstly, through thy aid,
to place in the land of the Frangi the proceeds of these
jewels. This thou well canst do through thy kindred in
ASKAROS KASSIS. 1/5
Holland and elsewhere, and from thy knowledge of
those countries where thou didst so long sojourn."
As he spoke he took from within his girdle a small
chamois-skin bag, and opening it, disclosed a number
of rare and precious stones diamonds, emeralds and
rubies into which he had, in the Eastern fashion, con-
centrated much wealth.
"These thou wilt take and deposit in the name of
my son, and, failing him, of my adopted daughter, El
Warda, in the hands of some of thy people abroad,
keeping thyself only a memorandum of the same, and
sending one to thy kindred. I dare not keep one ; but
thee I know I may trust now, even as I have done so
often before, ere our beards had become snow, and our
hearts water ! The second favor I shall crave of thee
will be even a greater one. It is that, in case the danger
may descend upon me, and El Warda shall be deprived
of myself and of my son, that thou wilt take her under
the shadow of thy roof, until she can be sent out of this
wicked and this weary land. Here thou canst conceal
her, and in Zillah she will find a comforter and a sister.
Swear this to me, O Moussa ! for my heart groweth sick
with a strange presentiment of evil for the poor child.
For thou knowest she is beautiful, and the lust of Abbas
is only equalled by his cruelty and his avarice. ' '
The Israelite rose, placed his hand beneath the right
thigh of the Copt, and said, solemnly :
" By the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ! I swear
to thee thy wishes shall be as laws unto Moussa-ben-
Israel in those things which thou hast spoken. And may
God so deal with me as I keep this oath ! ' '
Then, after a moment's pause, he resumed, in a less
serious tone :
176 ASKAROS KASSIS.
" But I trust we may both be over anxious regarding
these matters. Age, like evening, lengthens the shadows
of all things, until they grow far greater than the sub-
stance. So may it be with us ! "
The Copt shook his head.
"Neither thou nor I are children, O Moussa," he
said, "nor yet over timid. But we both agree in the
danger that menaces from the cruelty and calculating
avarice of Abbas. But thou hast taken a great weight
off my heart by thy promise, which I know thou wilt
keep."
"So help me the Lord of Israel!" was the solemn
response.
Then, satisfied with the pledge, and, after mutual
benedictions, the two old men so dissimilar in faith
and life, character and creed, yet brethren in native
truth and nobleness of soul parted, never again to
meet this side of the Great Judgment-Seat.
A painful gloom depressed the heart of each ; and, as
the Copt, accompanied by his host to the outer door,
passed into the open house, the old Israelite's hitherto
calm face worked with emotion, and he clutched angrily
at his white beard as he muttered :
" Why did he trust that slippery Syrian ! I fear evil
may come of it ! I fear evil ! ' '
CHAPTER XV.
THE WILD DOGS.
THE exultation and regrets of Princess Nezle Kha-
num had both been premature. The young Copt
had escaped one peril only to fall a victim to another.
A practised swimmer, when he plunged into the
swollen tide and sunk deep under its waters, he did not
rise immediately to the surface, fearing treachery on the
part of the vindictive woman, who might order her slaves
to fire at his head as soon as it appeared over the water,
but floated on the undercurrent, which swept him rapidly
out of range of vision, in the gray dim obscurity of the
early morning.
Then he rose to the surface, the point below Boulak
making a bend in the river, that of itself would hide
him from any one in the palace. Still he floated down
a further distance of a mile, then striking out for the
shore, reached it in safety, though chilled through by his
long immersion, and exhausted by his sleepless night
and the exciting scenes through which he passed. He
felt worn, jaded, miserable in mind and body ; but, at
the same time, thankful for deliverance from the peril he
had so narrowly escaped, he breathed an inward vow
M 177
1/8 ASKAROS KASSIS.
that he would profit by his lesson, and lead a new and
better life thenceforward.
He could scarcely believe the incidents of the past
night realities, and not the creation of a fevered dream,
so strange and unreal did they seem in the cheerful light
of day, and under the splendid sunlight which now began
to gild the fresh and rising morn. Weary, worn, with
his wounded arm beginning to grow stiff and painful, he
dragged himself along the paths through the fields that
skirted the river, over the soft, adhesive mud, still damp
from its recent inundation. He was several miles from
Cairo, having drifted some miles below Boulak, and
having to make a detour to avoid her palace, lest some
of the Khanum's people might be prowling in search of
him.
He well knew she was a woman who would spare no
precautions, and take nothing for granted, and that she
would never believe him dead until she heard of the dis-
covery of his corpse. He, therefore, determined to
make a wide detour ; but soon fatigue and languor over-
came him, and he lay down under a palm-tree, on the
thick grass, and fell into a deep, refreshing slumber. It
was past noon when he awoke, and, feeling the need of
refreshment, went to a coffee-house on the roadside and
took some kibabs of roasted meat and brown bread, with
a handful of dates. Then he resumed his walk ; and
unwilling to pass through the city of Cairo in his present
attire, lest some one should recognize him, struck out for
the Shoubra road, which would lead him by the desert
to the Bab-el-Nazr, or Gate of Victory, by the famous
tombs of the Memlook kings.
This was a circuit of several miles, and he was already
beginning to feel severely the pain of his wound, but he
ASKAROS KASSIS. 179
trudged on, full of shame and regret for the past, and of
good resolves for the future, mingled with thanks for his
deliverance forever from the wicked Circe, who had so
nearly imperiled both his body and his soul.
It was near twilight of the short winter's day when the
young Copt, worn and weary, reached those wonderful
structures known as the Tombs of the Caliphs, or of the
Memlook Sultans, which rise out of the bare bald desert
near the Bab-el-Nazr, or Gate of Victory, which leads
into the Turkish quarter of Cairo. These buildings,
combining the character of mosque and palace, are the
best specimens of Saracenic architecture remaining in
Egypt; and, though crumbling to ruin and much dilapi-
dated, still present a most imposing appearance, with
their great domes, their high minarets, and their tessel-
lated walls relics of by-gone splendor. Formerly the
centre of a great city, with the residences of the court
favorites grouped around them, in the days of these
Caliphs now they stand as the memorials of an almost
unknown and forgotten age, in a clime and country even
where everything seems to belong to that past even
the present. Like the Pyramids which the father of
history, Herodotus, declares to have been, even in his
-day, the property of tradition these more modern
memorials of man's vanity and pride are now left to
crumble into dust, useless and uninhabited by man, with
their only tenants the prowling wild beasts and the birds
of the air.
High up against the clear blue of the evening sky, rose
battlemented towers, airy minaret and rounded cupola,
quaintly designed and carved with all the intricate deli-
cacy of Moorish architecture. But from those silent
balconies of the high minarets came no voice of Muezzin
ISO A SKA R OS KASSIS.
now, proclaiming the greatness of God, and calling the
faithful to His worship. The foul vulture, folding his
heavy flapping wings, sullenly settled down to perch
upon them, screaming his obscene cry; and the fox
looked out of the windows over the dreary desert, where
the eyes of kings and conquerors had proudly gazed upon
a great city, when armies with banners filed in and out
of the Bab-el-Nazr, where now only the laden camel and
the patient donkey with his panniers pass. The unrelent-
ing Past had devoured her children, even to their tombs.
As though in mockery of fallen grandeur, and in scorn
of the crumbling but still majestic ruins, near these old
palaces of forgotten Sultans, on a sort of mound, was
cast all the refuse of the city. There, too, were thrown
all the dead animals, and, though in that dry and burn-
ing climate these rapidly turned to dust, still the air
around was infected by the heavy, loathsome odor of
putrescence from rotting vegetable and decaying animal
life. Here, too, in the midst of this festering garbage
and corruption, the Egyptian wild dogs had burrowed
into the hillside, and raised their progeny, never enter-
ing the city, nor mingling with the tamer animals of the
same species that inhabited the different quarters of the
city, by some arrangement understood among themselves.
For in Egypt, the dog, being considered an unclean ani-
mal, is not domesticated, as with us; though Eastern
humanity, or religious feeling, forbids the destruction of
animal life unless for food, or from necessity. There-
fore, the dogs increase and multiply in immense numbers,
but live and die homeless and masterless, subsisting upon
the offal thrown into the streets, and constituting them-
selves the scavengers of the city.
They go in packs, patrolling certain quarters or streets,
ASKAROS /CASSIS. l8l
and the interloper, not belonging to that quarter, is sure
to be severely punished, if not killed, when he ventures
out of his own beat. But these city dogs are partially
tamed. Accustomed to his presence, though not made
the associate of man, they skulk away at his approach.
Not so those, desert born and bred, which partake more
of the nature and habits of the wild beast gaunt, grim
and wolfish in appearance, with long lean, almost hair-
less bodies, wild, eager eyes, and long sharp teeth, dis-
played and used for slightest provocation on man and
beast. Cowardly, too, as ferocious, they never attack
but in packs, howling not barking with a whine like
that of the jackal. During the day they sleep in their
hillside burrows, awaking and prowling out for prey as
the sun sets, gorging themselves on garbage, or offal,
during the night.
This peculiar spot was known to be particularly dan-
gerous from the ferocity of its troop of wild dogs : and
Askaros quickened his steps as he saw the sun declining,
to get out of a neighborhood so unsavory and unpleasant
in all respects.
Heedless of these inconveniences, however, seemed
the Bedouin Arabs of the desert, whose low, black tents
he saw stretched fan-like on the ground a hundred paces
off, their small, wiry horses picketed motionless on the
sand, each with his nose in a bag of oats, tied round his
head, as an impromptu manger.
The Copt strode rapidly on, loosening in his belt the
dagger which he had borne away as a trophy from the
harem, turning his head occasionally for a quick glance
around, but seeing or hearing nothing which could dis-
compose him. The Bab-el-Nazr was now in sight his
road leading to it when, suddenly turning one of the
16
1 82 ASKAROS KASSIS.
little hillocks to get a shorter cut to it, he stumbled into
the very midst of a pack of wild dogs, gorging and grum-
bling over the almost clean-stripped carcass of a horse.
The savage brutes, whose foul jaws were dripping with
blood, and whose bristling hair and angry eyes showed
their hunger as yet unsated, while they snarled and
snapped and tore at each other, as one would secure a
morsel coveted by the rest, suddenly ceased their strife.
They heard the step and saw the form of the intruder,
and fifty glowing eyes glared with mingled rage and fear
upon him.
In the dead stillness that ensued, Askaros could dis-
tinctly hear the loud beating of his own heart. He stood
motionless ; for he knew flight would be the signal for a
chase, in which there would be no hope of escape, since,
even in his full freshness and vigor, he could not outstrip
the pursuit of those fell hunters, who would rend him
limb from limb. His very soul sickened within him, as
it would have done at no ordinary peril, before this
hideous and revolting shape of danger and of possible
death. But he stole his hand to his poniard, braced
every nerve and muscle, and, watching warily what next
the dogs might do, made no movement to provoke the,m.
Motionless he stood as an inanimate object, in the hope
they might resume their feast, and permit him to steal
away from their dangerous vicinity.
The wild dogs seemed almost as startled and perplexed
as the man. They suspended their meal and their con-
flict among themselves, stared stupidly at their enemy,
then, abandoning the carcass, broke into small groups,
and turned inquiringly toward each other, to take counsel
together. But they ever turned their long wolfish heads
and gleaming eyes upon their new and living quarry. A
AS A' A It OS K AS SI'S. 183
suspense of some minutes, which seemed ages to Askaros,
ensued ; and then one gaunt, grim dog, whose grizzled
muzzle, and wrinkled, brown skin denoted great age, and
who seemed the leader of the troop, advanced stealthily
a few paces in advance of the rest, and, crouching low,
turned his head, uttering a long, low howl. This seemed
the signal for the pack to group themselves in solid mass
behind him. Turning its head once more toward its
human foe and possible prey, the hideous thing, to whose
protruding tongue and grisly jaws the remnants of its foul
repast still clung, crouched again almost on its belly,
and dragged itself, step by step, forward, its blazing,
yellow eyes, with tawny iris, fixed on the man's. Slowly
the rest of the pack, like well-trained hounds in view of
the deer, followed in his wake.
The blood of the Egyptian crept chilly through his
veins, and his heart almost stood still, as hope deserted
him, and a doom more dreadful and more hideous than
that he had just escaped now confronted him. But still,
even in this terrible emergency, his courage did not
desert him. Flight was impossible : he must front and
meet the danger.
Quickly he glanced around, to see if any chance could
offer a stick or stone among the rubbish ; but the desert
pebbles were too small for useful weapons, and the stony
surface of the sand presented not a switch or shrub.
Griping hard his dagger, he raised his head, threw up
his arm in a menacing gesture, and made a step forward
toward the dogs. As he did so he shouted desperately
a call for help, in hopes of calling the attention of the
Bedouins, whose dusky forms he saw flitting among their
tents, scarce a hundred yards away in the hope, too,
184 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
of terrifying the savage dogs, still crouching for their
spring.
In the one hope he knew not whether he had suc-
ceeded. In the other he had certainly failed ! Whether
the sound of his voice and the meaning of his call had
reached the Bedouin camp he knew not, and had no time
to watch. His other hope, of terrifying his assailants,
he saw, at a glance, had failed, and that his voice and
gesture had accelerated the catastrophe he had sought to
avert. For, at the sound of the human voice, the gaunt
leader of the grisly pack rose from his crouching posture,
every hair in his hide bristling with rage, his eyes aglow
with hungry hate, and snarling till his sharp, white fangs
were fully displayed.
Then, with a low howl, he dashed forward to assail
the daring stranger, followed by the whole pack in
serried column, none daring to pass their leader.
With a brief inward prayer to the Virgin for mercy on
his soul, Askaros sunk on one knee to meet the upward
bound of his assailant, as he sprang like a panther on his
prey. Catching him full in the throat with his dagger
from below, he drove in the sharp steel up to the hilt,
hurling the beast backward, with the blood streaming
from the half-severed head and foaming jaws ! The
sight of his blood seemed to infuriate his followers ; and
with their savage instinct they fell fiercely upon him,
rending and tearing till his quivering limbs were still.
Then they fought and struggled for his scattered frag-
ments, which they greedily devoured, forgetting for the
moment their human foe.
With straining eyeballs fixed upon the foul things,
snarling at his very feet, Askaros stood still as death ;
for he knew the slightest movement would turn their
ASK A R OS KASSIS. 185
rage upon him, and his very soul sickened at the thought,
that he saw his horrid doom shadowed in that of his
recent victim. Still resting upon his knee, and still
griping the dagger, as his only earthly hope, he waited
till their fearful repast was done.
It was soon over, and with it the respite accorded
him. For the wild dogs, still unsated and made more
savage by the taste of fresh blood, again ranged them-
selves in column, and with a low howl, that \.o his ex-
cited ear seemed his death-knell, once more rushed upon
their victim !
At that second flashed past his swimming vision what
seemed a white apparition then another and another !
as with a wild yell three Bedouins bore down upon
them. Their white bournous fluttering in the wind
created by the arrowy rush of their fleet mares the
sharp points of their long lances glittering like stars
they charged right into the midst of the wild pack
trampling, spearing, and scattering them in all direc-
tions !
The howls and wails of terror from the stricken
brutes succeeded fast upon the ominous growl that had
but now preceded their attack; and Askaros recovering
from his surprise at the unexpected deliverance saw his
late assailants now dispersed in headlong flight, now
writhing on the spear-points of his new-found friends.
"Thanks to the Virgin ! " he cried ; " my prayer has
been heard, and I have been spared this fearful doom !
And now I must thank the human instruments she sent
for my deliverance." And he turned his steps toward
the tents, there to await the return of his rescuers.
A few moments later he was sitting smoking with the
Sheik of the tribe, under his low black tent, in the middle
16*
186 ASKAROS KASSIS.
of which only could one stand erect. His wounded arm
had been cared for, and submitted to the skilful surgery
of these children of the desert learned only in Nature's
lore. No prince in his costly palace could have dis-
played more courtly dignity and courtesy than did the
swarthy Sheik, sitting under his black tent, his camel's-
hair bournous almost his sole garment, and the cushions
on which they sat almost his only furniture.
" We are of the tribe of Abou-Gosh," he had replied
to the other's inquiries; "and come from Syria. Our
presence here is accidental Allah surely sent us," he
added with grave courtesy, " to be your rescuers. Allah
Kerim ! ' ' (God is great. )
" Abou-Gosh ! " answered the young man ; " well do
I know that name. He is the Bedouin chieftain whom
men call King of Syria ; who owes allegiance to neither
Sultan nor Viceroy, and levies his tribute on all strangers
passing from Joppa to El Khuds, the Holy City. He is
my father's old friend. But where are my deliverers,
that I may thank them?"
The Bedouins were sent for by the Sheik, entered and
stood waiting with all the impassive quiet that character-
izes the every movement of the children of the desert.
When Askaros offered them a liberal backschisch (pres-
ent,) they put it aside and shook their heads.
"The children of Ishmael who dwell intents," the
Sheik answered for them, "have no use for gold. Their
wants are few steel heads to their lances, a handful of
dates to eat, and a horse to ride. They need nothing
more ; far less would they be paid for the small service
they rendered you. We are all the children of Allah,
whether we dwell in tents or in cities ; and we are all
ASKAROS KASSIS. l8/
bound to aid each other. Bismillah ! ' ' (God be with
you.)
The young Copt rose to depart, after bidding a court-
eous farewell to his host, who commanded two of the Be-
douins to conduct him to the Bab-el-Nazr, lest he were
again attacked ; for he saw his guest was weary and faint
from loss of blood.
In silence did Askaros pass to the gate, with his wild
escort, where he again vainly strove to press a reward
upon them. Then he wearily dragged himself along
until he reached the outer wall of the garden of his
father's house. He rested for a moment in the narrow
street, vainly searching for the key ; apparently he had
lost it during his wanderings ; so, striking upon the gate,
he called aloud : " Ferraj ! Ferraj ! "
" Home, and safe at last ! " he murmured, gratefully.
"Did Haroun himself go through more adventures in
twenty-four hours than I have done? God be praised
for my safety I scarce deserve it. ' '
As he spoke he turned quickly ; he heard the sound
of stealthy feet moving behind him. As he did so, he
felt himself seized by strong hands, his arms pinioned to
his side, and a cloak thrown over his head, almost stifling
him, and preventing the utterance of a sound or cry.
Then he was lifted up, thrown across a horse in front of
a rider, and slowly and stealthily borne away through
the dark and deserted streets.
Through his brain there flashed one thought :
' ' I have not escaped the Khanum ! She will now com-
plete her work. Oh ! why was I saved from the wild
dog, to glut the maw of the tigress?"
But powerless to act or move, the young man made no
struggle, and was borne along unresistingly.
1 88 ASA'AKOS KASSIS.
As the seizure was effected, and the captors joined
by a company of armed and mounted men, who had
lurked at the corner of the next street moved off with
the prize a dusky, shadowy shape, which seemed to
spring out of the very wall, glided cautiously after the
retreating band. It followed swiftly and stealthily upon
their track ; the shades of night soon swallowing up cap-
tors and spy, who dogged their steps as they hurried
whither ?
CHAPTER XVI.
THE TIGER -TAMER.
ABBAS PASHA, Viceroy of Egypt, sat on his divan
in his desert palace of Abbassieh, which in one of
his freaks, he, like a new Aladdin, had caused to spring
up, in the midst of the sterile sea of sand. Far as the
eye could reach, from the upper windows of the palace,
naught was to be seen but the desert ; and the lofty pile
of stone, with its wide wings, large enough for the accom-
modation of the court of an European king, occupied the
centre of a square, surrounded by barracks, in which
were quartered several regiments of soldiers, as a guard to
the palace and person of the suspicious tyrant.
The whole fabric seemed to rise like an exhalation out
of the dreary desert which environed it.
The barracks were long, low buildings, two stories high,
over which rose high in the air the towers and cupolas of
the lofty palace. But they entirely surrounded the square,
and ingress or egress from the palace was through one
of their gates, a wall of solid masonry shutting out other
entrance.
There was a heavy cloud on the Viceroy's brow, and
his ill-humor was so evident, that his cringing courtiers
189
190 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
kept at a distance, preserving a respectful silence, and a
stillness like that of death reigned in the apartment.
Abbas beckoned to Mahmoud Bey long since rein-
stated and in high favor and, at the sign, the obse-
quious chamberlain glided forward, kissed the hem of
his robe, and awaited his master's orders.
" Did you tell the consul-general," said Abbas, "that
I was ill and could not see him?"
" Effendina, I did. I repeated the words as given,
which were engraved on the memory of thy slave."
" What said the infidel in reply?" asked the Viceroy.
" He replied, O Effendina ! that 'it grieved him much
to hear of thy failing health, but that the matter on which
he wished to speak was most pressing. If, therefore, ill
health incapacitated my lord from the public affairs, he
would be compelled to transfer the consideration of the
matter to Stamboul, as it concerned the honor of his
nation. So spoke the insolent Giaour ! "
A blacker frown darkened the brow of Abbas, and he
muttered: " May his father's grave be defiled! What
then didst thou answer?"
" I replied, O lord of my life ! that although thine ill-
ness had been serious, yet was I charged to say, that in
the event of the actual necessity of the visit, my lord the
Viceroy would, in defiance of the order of his Hakeem,
allow the consul-general to visit him. He could not
come into the city, but would receive him here at the
Abbassieh."
"Pefa'/" (it is well), said the Viceroy: "thy face is
white in my presence. Thou hast fulfilled my orders
with discretion. And so the dog said he would come
to-day?"
ASKAROS KASSIS. igi
" Highness, yes ! and the hour has now come when he
should arrive."
" Peki ! he shall be received. Give the necessary
orders for his admittance. ' '
As he spoke, a noise in the outer court, in which the
rolling of wheels, the trampling of horses, and the clat-
tering of sabres, as the guard turned out to meet some
visitor, announced an arrival.
"The son of Sheitan (Satan) is not only pressing, but
punctual," muttered the Viceroy. "What can he know,
and what does he want? Bakaloum, we shall see ! "
Steps were now heard reverberating through the long
galleries which led to the reception-room, the curtain
was pushed aside, and the obsequious chamberlain en-
tered, ushering in the same consul-general, whose pre-
sentation has already been described, followed by his
suite.
The Viceroy rose, advanced a few steps to meet him,
and motioned him to the seat of honor by his side, which
he took.
After a few preliminary compliments had been ex-
changed, a chibouque smoked, and a cup of coffee
sipped, the consul-general, still holding in his hand the
long pipe with its amber mouthpiece encircled with
jewels, turned gravely to his host and said :
"Highness ! I must apologize for insisting on an inter-
view, after learning the delicate state of your health ; but
my business was so pressing I could not defer it ; so hope
you will excuse me."
"You are welcome!" answered Abbas; "and your
visit is better for my health than that of a Hakeem. Al-
ready I feel strong enough to hear what you have to say."
192 ASKAROS KASSIS.
This polite speech was contradicted by the covert sneer
which lurked in the corners of the sensual mouth.
The consul-general did not seem to have perceived the
covert irony, but answered promptly :
"Then, Highness ! not to fatigue you too long, I will
tell you what brings me here. Your people I am sure
without your orders have done wrong and injury to
mine ; and, at the same time, have insulted the govern-
ment I represent by so doing. It is for this I come to-
day, to demand reparation of the wrong, and the punish-
ment of the wrongdoers."
"The consul-general knows I respect him, and his
government also. It is only necessary to prove the wrong
done him or them, to insure its reparation. Of what has
he to complain ? "
"Highness! I have to complain that the translator
of my consulate-general, Askaros Kassis by name, has
been forcibly abducted, and is now a prisoner in the
citadel of Cairo, in contempt of my protection, and in
violation of the rights of foreign agents in Egypt, as re-
cognized by your predecessors and yourself."
With all his self-control, Abbas could not prevent a
red flush rising to his cheek at the mention of the name
of the man he hated, and the bold utterances of the
consul-general; but his manner continued as calm and
unruffled as ever, as he said:
"Since we are to discuss matters of business, let us do
so without all these witnesses. I had flattered myself
your visit was one of courtesy, or, at least, touching some
grave public affair ! Since, however, you propose con-
verting my palace into a meglis (council-room) for petty
personal affairs, more fit for my minister of correctional
police than for you or I ! we had much better conduct
ASKAROS KASSIS. 193
our discussion alone ! Mahmoud Bey ! and you Hus-
sein Pasha, our minister of foreign affairs, together with
Zacchi Bey, our chief interpreter, remain the rest may
retire ! ' '
His commands were promptly obeyed. Then turning
to the consul-general, who smoked his chibouque gravely
and placidly in the interval, he said:
' ' Now, I am ready to hear your complaint. My ears
are open."
"Highness! I repeat what I have already said, and
ask of you an order to Elfy Bey, Governor of Cairo, and
commanding at the citadel, for the release of my/w/^/,
Askaros Kassis, and the punishment of those who have
dared seize on and imprison him by violence."
' ' You talk strange things, ' ' said Abbas, coldly. ' ' How
know you, in the first place, that the man of whom you
speak, and whom you claim as & prottge, is a prisoner at
the place you mention? Have you any proof, or is it
mere suspicion?"
"Highness! I assert only what I know, and can
prove. The proof I can produce, if necessary, as your
Highness, as I supposed, seems ignorant of this outrage."
"How and when was the man imprisoned?"
"Highness! he was seized by treachery, in the night-
time, at his own gate, by the servants of Elfy Bey, taken
thence, and secretly immured in the dungeons of the
citadel."
"How know you this, if, as you say, the thing was
done secretly?"
"Highness! it is enough to say I know it, and can
prove it."
"Doubtless, enough to satisfy myself; but I must have
positive proof before taking steps against one of the most
17 N
194 ASKAROS KASSIS.
faithful of my servants ; for such is Elfy Bey, Governor
of Cairo."
"Know then, Highness! that when the capture was
effected, the Nubian slave of Askaros, Ferraj by name,
concealed by the shadow of the wall, witnessed the act,
and, following on the track of the captors, recognized
the face of the captain of the guard of Elfy Bey. Fur-
thermore, he followed them until they entered the gates
of the citadel with their prisoner, and the gates were
closed upon them. Then he came to me, three days
since, and revealed what he had seen and knew."
The lip of the Viceroy curled with a contemptuous
smile, as he replied :
' ' Thou art yet new in this country, O Elchee ! (am -
bassador !) and knowest not how these slaves will lie.
Thinkest thou I would weigh, for an instant, the oath of
a wretched Nubian slave against the word of the Gov-
ernor of Cairo, should he, as is most probable, deny the
truth of this wild story ? ' '
" Highness ! there is yet further proof; for the faithful
Nubian lurked under the wall of the citadel, made the
cry of a bird, which his master knew, and shortly after-
ward there fell a scroll, written in his blood on a piece
of linen, and tied to a stone, which the father of Askaros
declares to be the writing of his son. Highness ! behold
the scroll."
He unrolled a small parcel, which he took from his
pocket, containing a piece of linen, on which was traced
in red letters with some sharp instrument, in Arabic
characters, the words, "I am imprisoned in the citadel,"
with the signature of his signet-ring stamped upon it on
black wax, in Egyptian fashion.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 195
"Highness! does that satisfy you that the Nubian
spoke truly?"
For a few moments Abbas did not reply, revolving in
his subtle mind how to meet this unexpected difficulty,
which frustrated all his plans. He glanced from under
his bushy eyebrows at the face of the consul-general,
which was still as serene and calm as when he had
entered not a sign of impatience or irritation visible
upon it and adopted his line of policy.
" Thou art newly arrived in this country, O Elchee ! "
he said, "and hast no conception of the trickery and
frauds perpetrated under the shields of consuls here by
designing knaves who win their confidence, and seek
their protection to defeat the ends of justice. I know
the family of this man Askaros well ; and they are among
the most cunning and disreputable of that most knavish
people, the Copts who are neither Mussulman, Jew,
nor Christian but a compound of the worst qualities of
all. Both he and his father were born my subjects, and
still are so, and have many matters unadjusted with my
government. It is doubtless to avoid the detection of
his villanies, or the punishment of his crimes, that this
man hath sought the puissant protection of thy consulate-
general. It may be that Elfy Bey, not knowing thy
claim to him, to avoid scandal, arrested him in this quiet
way, without meaning any disrespect to thee or the great
nation of which thou art the honored representative.
Therefore, even if all thou tellest me be true, had we not
better arrange it amicably ?
"Come," he added, laying his hand familiarly on
the consul-general's knee, like one asking a favor.
"Let justice take its course with this man, who is un-
worthy of thy protection, and who really is not entitled
196 ASKAROS KASSIS.
to it under our laws, since at the time he applied for it
he had still unsettled affairs with the Egyptian govern-
ment. Take no further notice of, or trouble about this
thing, and there is no request thou canst make of Abbas
Pasha for thyself or friends no valuable concession of
privileges thou canst ask, which shall not be granted
and thy influence and power in Egypt shall be second
only to my own. Shouldst thou wish to make proteges
of fifty other Copts, do so, and no complaint shall be
made. But this one I cannot give you. Reasons of
State, as well as private ones, forbid it. And if thou
shouldst persist in pressing this matter, we might cease
to be friends ! Is it agreed, O Elchee?"
The consul-general to whom this tempting offer was
made the value of which he well knew did not pause
for a moment's reflection, but answered as soon as the
Viceroy had ceased speaking.
" Highness ! had you known me longer you would not
have made such an offer to me, which, under the guise
of a compliment, conceals an insult. You may be able
to buy your slaves for house or harem here, but you
cannot purchase me, neither by flattery nor by appeals
to avarice. I only ask my rights. More, I do not
claim less, I will not accept. It is for you to decide
whether you will give me these, and we remain friends,
or refuse them, and compel me to act in a way that will
displease you."
From under the contracted brows of Abbas there
gleamed a glance of mortal hate upon the bold repre-
sentative of the infidel, who thus bearded him in his own
stronghold, and disdainfully rejected equally his prof-
fered friendship and his favors. Had he dared, he
would have summoned his guards, and ordered the im-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 197
mediate punishment of his insulter. He half rose from
his divan, the fingers of his right hand convulsively
clutching at the hilt of the jewelled dagger he wore in his
breast, as though to strike him dead. But the next
instant his mood seemed to change. He threw himself
back on the cushions of the divan, with an expression of
utter weariness in face and form, and drawled out to his
interpreter in a languid voice :
" Tell him I am weary of all this talk. If he wants to
discuss such trivial matters as this about a wretched
Copt, let him go to my ministry of foreign affairs. Let
him go now, for I am weary."
And raising his hand, as though to brush away some
intrusive insect, he sunk back on his divan, as though
giving congt, and finishing the audience.
The consul-general did not understand Turkish ; but
the manner and gesture of Abbas were too significant to
be misunderstood. He saw they meant insult. Rising
suddenly from his seat before the interpreter could
render the words, he flung down the chibouque he held
in his hand, which fell against the divan, almost striking
the Viceroy and confronted Abbas with folded arms
and knitted brow indignation and scorn written on
every feature of his usually composed and smiling
countenance.
"Tell your master," he said, sternly, to the inter-
preter, " that he forgets he is not speaking to one of his
slaves, but to his equal who represents a country to
which Egypt is but a petty province, against which,
should he provoke its anger, he is more powerless than
the meanest of his subjects before him. I shall not
remain here to be insulted, but demand immediate satis-
faction here and now, before I go."
17*
198 ASKAROS KASSIS.
" Enta magnoon?" (is he mad?) asked Abbas,
fiercely, roused from his assumed apathy into mingled
astonishment and rage at the unexpected demonstration
of the consul-general, whose attitude and looks ex-
plained the purport of his words. ' ' What does the
madman say ? ' '
" Effendina ! " said the terrified and cowering inter-
preter abject fear stamped on his face, and trembling
from head to foot " I dare not repeat his words, which
are unfit for your highness to hear ! "
"Ass! and son of a line of asses! Repeat them to
me instantly," growled Abbas, " or I shall take a way of
finding thy tongue, which shall never after utter words
again. ' '
Thus reassured, the shrinking interpreter explained
the purport of the consul-general's speech, as mildly as
he might, softening down the offensive expressions.
"False dog!" said Abbas; " I know that he said
more and worse than thou hast told me ! But it matters
not. I know his meaning. Tell him there has been
some mistake. Ask him to sit down again, and take his
chibouque, and we can explain it."
The consul-general, still standing in the same attitude,
replied, coldly :
"Tell the Viceroy the mistake, then, is on his part,
not on mine. I will neither sit nor smoke with him, un-
til he assures me he meant no insult, by manner, gesture,
and speech, which seemed to imply it."
' ' Bakaloum! ' ' answered Abbas, impressed by the res-
olute bearing of his guest, which had greatly disquieted
him, and excited a vague fear in his breast.
"Tell him I was seized with a sudden return of my
illness, and that what he mistook for discourtesy was the
ASKAROS KASSIS. 199
effect of a severe spasm of pain. In Allah's name ! tell
him not to stand there all day like a Fakeer on penance ;
but to sit down again like a reasonable being ! ' '
The consul-general, accepting the apology, resumed
his seat and his chibouque, then said:
"Highness! it grieves me much that this unpleasant
mistake should have occurred, which I shall forget at once
trusting you also may do the same. But, disagreeable
as my duty may be, I must perform it, and request an
immediate investigation into the affair of which I spoke
to you."
' ' Do you know, ' ' said the Viceroy, ' ' that the appoint-
ment of the man you speak of, was never confirmed by
my Government, and is therefore invalid ? ' '
" Highness, I do not deny that question is still in con-
troversy ; but pending its settlement, I must insist on the
man's liberation. Show me good reason for not retain-
ing him in the position, and I shall not insist upon it ;
but it is an insult to my authority to imprison him thus,
and at this time."
"Peki!" (so let it be,) said Abbas; "I have no
reason to refuse your request. If, as you say, the man
has really been seized, through the officious zeal of the
Governor, who, for aught I know, may have some other
charges against him, we will not quarrel over so wretch-
ed a creature. He is not worthy of it. He shall be
liberated if now in prison to await the examination
of his claim for protection, already instituted. In the
meantime, I must ask the favor of you, not to employ
him actively in your business with my Government."
' ' Highness, your wishes shall be complied with. May
I ask, to avoid further misapprehension, that your High-
ness may cause to be prepared and given to me the formal
2OO ASKAROS KASSIS.
order for his liberation, addressed to the Governor of
Cairo?"
Abbas frowned darkly, and his swarthy face grew
suddenly red, for he saw the distrust implied in the re-
quest. But he only spoke a few words to the interpreter,
who retired, returning a few moments afterward with a
written slip of paper, to which the Viceroy affixed his
seal with his signet-ring.
"If it be as thou sayest, ' ' he said to the consul-gen-
eral, as he handed the paper to him, "this order will
liberate the man, on whatever charge he may have been
arrested. But recollect thy promise concerning him, for
the matter is one which touches the dignity of my Gov-
ernment, as well as thine. Let us now converse on other
and less disagreeable subjects."
Smoothing his brow with ready dissimulation, and mak-
ing himself as agreeable as possible, the Viceroy then
passed to other topics, confiding many apparent secrets
to his guest, as though to a trusted friend, dismissing him
with almost affectionate fervor.
No sooner had he left, however, than a trusty messen-
ger was dispatched on a fleet horse with a message to
Elfy Bey, immediately to liberate the prisoner before the
formal order came, and to degrade the captain of the
guard who had seized him, explaining to Askaros that
the arrest had been made without the knowledge or order
of the Governor. The disgraced captain was to be sent
to a post on the Upper Nile, and bribed to silence by
a good backschisch.
"That son of Sheitan," said Abbas, with a fearful
malediction launched after the departing consul-general,
"seems born to be my plague; and his Government is
too strong to quarrel with, if I would secure the succes-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2OI
sion to my son El Hami. But what fools these Franks
are ! I would have made his fortune, and he throws it
away, out of pure vanity. I wish I could venture to give
him a cup of coffee for I hate him worse than any of
his infidel brethren, who will roast in Gehenna. But I
am wearied, and must seek solace and sympathy, where
alone on this earth I can find it."
He rose, and passing through several suites of apart-
ments, reached at last a door, before which was seated
the Kislar Aga, or head eunuch, a grisly black, magnifi-
cently attired, his dress glittering with gold embroidery
and precious stones. He was armed with a crooked Da-
mascus scimitar, the hilt of unicorn's horn, encrusted
with precious stones, the scabbard of silver washed with
gold. The guardian of the harem rose, with a profound
reverence, at the approach of his master, in whose pres-
ence alone he stood up, ranking all the other function-
aries of the palace, and prostrated himself at his feet.
The Viceroy permitted him to kiss the hem of his robe,
and, leaving him groveling on the floor, entered the
harem, where he found her whom he sought. It was
no young and lovely Georgian or Circassian, with skin of
snow, auburn hair, eyes of azure, and form of volup-
tuous mould ; nor the more dusky beauty of Egypt, with
its supple graces of form, eyes of gazelle, hair of night,
and teeth of pearl, that rose to greet and meet the cruel
and jaded voluptuary, as he entered those sacred pre-
cincts.
It was an aged woman, brown, wrinkled, withered, hag-
like, with bowed and stooping form, tottering as she shuf-
fled toward him, her worn face lighting up with pleasure
as her bleared vision recognized him.
Between the pair there might be detected enough re-
2O2 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
semblance to show that they were of the same blood :
and the face of the man softened into human sympathy,
even into fondness, as he said :
"I trust thou art in health, and happy, O my mother !
for thy son hath come to pass in the light of thy presence
a few hours the happiest he knows his only relief
from his many cares and troubles."
" Bismillah! (God be praised) I am well in health, my
son, and thy coming is as sunshine to my old heart ! O
my best beloved ! Come ! I have prepared thy food,
and thou must eat, and I will listen to all thou hast to
tell."
She clapped her hands, and slaves entered, who ar-
ranged upon a table the repast, of which Abbas vora-
ciously partook, for so suspicious was he of poison, that
he ate nothing which was not prepared by those withered
hands, or under her eye, habitually, whenever at the
same palace with her.
To his jaded senses and ulcerated soul, the love of
woman or the friendship of man, now appealed in vain.
Even the most revolting vices fouler than those prac-
tised at Caprera by the tyrant Tiberius palled upon his
debauched appetite.
His son appealed only to his ambition, as continuing
his line, and perpetuating the power and the wealth he
had ceased to enjoy. But the sentiment of affection for
his mother was the sole green oasis left in the arid desert
of his soul the small remaining link which bound him
still to humanity, and proved him not utterly a monster.
In her society he forgot his cares and the disgusts of the
day, and when, replete with food, after a long confiden-
tial conversation, he fell into a heavy slumber on the
divan, his mother sitting by to watch his repose, his face
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2O3
seemed to have regained the freshness and frankness of
his early youth before unrestrained passions and unlimited
power had erased from it the signs that this man too,
tyrant, debauchee, human-tiger as he had become, had
been created like all men, by God, "in His own image."
Let us drop the curtain over a scene too sacred for in-
trusion, which displays the only redeeming trait of one,
whose life, otherwise, seemed all evil, and whose death
a judgment for sins, against which both earth and heaven
cried aloud.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE WARNING AND THE FLIGHT.
TO his infinite surprise, on the day that witnessed the
interview between the Viceroy and consul-general,
Askaros was summoned from his prison to the presence
of Elfy Bey, the governor, who received him with cordi-
ality, even with kindness, and insisted on his seating him-
self on the divan beside him, to partake of pipes and
coffee.
He then proceeded to apologize to his bewildered
prisoner, expressing the great regret he experienced at
the blunder his stupid servants had made in arresting
Askaros, mistaking him for a totally different person,
whom they had been sent to apprehend, which error he
himself had just discovered. Glancing at the common
soiled and torn dress which the young man still wore, he
accounted for the mistake by that masquerade, and an-
nounced to the astonished captive that he was at liberty.
He also kindly tendered him a change of raiment and a
horse to ride, that he might return home in proper dress
and style.
The governor then summoned the captain of the guard,
and went through the farce of degrading and dismissing
him, as pre-arranged by the Viceroy.
204
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 20$
The late prisoner and present guest of the governor had
to reassure himself he was not dreaming, when, bathed,
well dressed, and refreshed, mounted on a charger of
Elfy Bey's, he sallied out of the citadel gates, by rubbing
his eyes and pinching his own flesh, to convince himself
of the waking reality. An upward glance at the frowning
walls of the citadel, whence Emin Bey took his headlong
leap on horseback, on the night of the slaughter of his
Mamelook brethren by Mehemet AH, reassured him ; and
he turned his head toward home with that rejoicing feel-
ing of renewed liberty, only felt by a newly-freed prisoner,
or one who has just risen from a bed of long illness.
He was more mystified than ever, for it was now evi-
dent that they were not the emissaries of the princess
who had ensnared him ; nor could he comprehend why,
when once safely under the tiger-claws of Abbas in the
citadel, he should have been so mysteriously set free.
He knew too well the country and its ways to believe for
an instant the truth of the governor's statement: but was
all in the dark as to the real solution of the puzzle.
As he was revolving these things in his mind, allowing
the horse's rein to drop loosely on his neck, as he walked
along slowly, picking his way through the crowded street
of the Mooskie, he felt some one pluck at his sleeve,
and looking down, saw a vailed woman, enveloped in a
silk cloak, who motioned him, with an imperious gesture,
to pass under a porch, where the street was less crowded,
she turning to that spot and awaiting his coming.
Instinctively he obeyed the summons, and soon his
horse stood by the side of the shrouded figure, and lift-
ing the vail, she disclosed the familiar face of the old
Frenchwoman, dropping it immediately again after re-
vealing herself.
18
2O6 ASKAROS KASSIS.
She clutched his arm so hard again that he writhed
with pain for it was his wounded arm she grasped
and hissed out in low but distinct accents :
"I know all that has happened to you more than
you know yourself and so does the Khanum.
"You have provoked the wrath of the tiger and the
tigress, and have just escaped the jaws of one to fall
under the claws of the other.
" Return not to your home, for her emissaries will soon
be on your track, and dog your steps, until in some mo-
ment of imprudence you will be seized or assassinated.
Neither will the tiger fail to spring again, though now he
is compelled to crouch by a hand stronger than his own.
" Be warned in time, and fly now, on the moment
for every hour's delay brings you nearer your doom."
" But," said the young man, bewildered by this warn-
ing, and the knowledge she seemed to have of his affairs,
"how have I been freed? and where can I fly? Why
should I skulk away like a felon, when I have committed
no crime ? ' '
" You ask as many questions as a woman," she replied,
impatiently, "and you will talk while you should be
acting. Your liberation is due to the consul-general,
who was notified of your seizure and place of confine-
ment by your faithful Nubian Ferraj. His arm is strong,
but it is not so long as that of Abbas, nor can reach so
far. You should fly, because danger and death dog
your steps from one against whom you have committed
a crime she never pardons.
"Where should you fly? Over the desert to Syria,
where the arm of Abbas, long as it is, cannot reach you,
nor even that of the great lady. From thence the whole
world is open to you, and you may make terms soon to
A SKA If OS JfASSIS. 2O/
return. For I know one of your enemies is falling into
disgrace, and will soon be banished from this country."
"You are sure you do not deceive me?" asked the
young man.
"Why should I?" responded she, laughing scorn-
fully. "Ask, rather, why I trouble myself, and take
the risk of provoking the wrath of the great, for the
safety of thy baby face, and I will tell thee. It is not so
much through love for you although I owe a debt of
gratitude to all your house as for the sake of my lamb,
El Warda, whom I love as a daughter, having none left
of my own, whose foolish heart would break if aught of
evil befell you. Stay to ask no further questions, but
hurry on to the gate of Bab-el-Nazr, which leads to the
desert. There secrete thyself until Ferraj comes with
thine own Arab horse, Selim, and provisions for the
journey. If thou wilt do so, give me a word for El
Warda, that she may be sure of thy safety, and send
Ferraj to thee."
Askaros felt there was too much force in what the
woman said, to neglect the warning.
He was satisfied by her look and manner that she was
sincere, and felt the weight of her advice. He therefore
took off one of his rings, and gave it to the French-
woman, in lieu of a letter, which he had no materials to
write, which would serve as a sign to his father and sister
that the woman came from him.
She seized upon it, made him a hurried gesture of
farewell, and disappeared in the crowd.
Half doubting the wisdom of having so implicitly
relied upon a woman whose character he knew to be
worse than equivocal, Askaros, however, deemed it best
to proceed on the path he had agreed to take.
208 ASKAROS KASSIS.
He turned his horse's head toward Bab-el-Nazr, which
he reached in safety; and looking out, saw the low,
black tents of the Bedouins, with many camels and
horses grouped around them, still dotting the edge of
the desert. The thought flashed upon him that there
might be his refuge until Ferraj came ; so he rode up,
passing, not without a shudder, the spot now marked by
the bleaching bones of several of his assailants, where
the wild dogs had well-nigh made him their prey.
Dismounting, he was hospitably received by the Sheik
at the door of his tent, who gave him welcome, and after
partaking of his hospitality, asked shelter and counsel.
The Sheik listened in silence to the young man's expla-
nation of his peril and meditated flight, and then replied :
" Thou hast shared the bread and the salt of the sons
of Beni-Hassan, and thou art as safe beneath their tents,
even from the search of the Grand Padishah, (Sultan,)
himself, as though thou wert, even now, sitting under
the tents of Abou-Gosh, King of Syria, the Great Sheik
of all the children of Beni-Hassan, who own no other
lord.
"Rest there, and I will send one of my people to
watch at the Bab-el-Nazr for the Nubian on the white
horse, and to bring him hither. Mashallah ! I have
said it!"
The Sheik then informed Askaros that he and his tribe
proposed striking their tents the ensuing day ; but as
their caravan, with its laden camels, would travel but
slowly, and as he was in haste to escape over the border
into Syria, out of the jurisdiction of Abbas Pasha, he
advised him to start without delay, and await the arrival
of the caravan on the other side. He offered to send a
A SKA R OS KASSIS. 209
Bedouin guide with him, who knew the whole route, and
where to rejoin them.
These arrangements having been understood, Askaros
awaited anxiously the arrival of Ferraj, entertained in
the interval by his host with strange experiences of the
desert, on which his life had been chiefly spent, and
which he seemed to love, as the sailor loves the sea.
The Nubian at length arrived, and testified his joy in
a lively manner at once again beholding his master
kissing the hem of his garments and his hand, and show-
ing the same devoted affection a spaniel might have
done. To his surprise, his master saw he had not only
brought the white horse, Selim, but another, also, and
that each had a bag strapped upon his back.
"How is this, Ferraj?" he asked; "do you suppose
I will take a baggage-horse with me on such a journey,
like a woman on her wedding, procession ?"
" Moosh waked, etnain" (not one, but two,) answered
Ferraj, pointing first to his master and then to himself.
" Ana ra /" (I go, too !)
"Impossible!" said Askaros; but relenting, as he
saw the big tears start into the eyes of the faithful slave,
he added !
" Well, as you will ! But this horse of the Governor's
must be returned to him. I will ask the Sheik to send
him back for me."
What was the surprise of Askaros at finding the Sheik
unwilling to do so.
"The horse is a good horse ! " he said, sententiously,
scanning his points with the eye of a connoisseur, "and
my brother has got him now where his former owner
can never reclaim him. Why should he not keep him? "
The young man was surprised at this strange notion of
18* O
2IO ASKAROS KASSIS.
honesty, among a people so punctilious in other things,
not knowing at the time, that the theft of an Arab horse
is considered as great a feat among the children of the
desert as any warlike exploit, and fully as much courage
and cunning displayed in the one case as in the other,
the renown of success being commensurate.
He evidently lowered himself in the Sheik's good
opinion by insisting on the restoration of the Governor's
property, which was finally led away for the purpose,
after an animated discussion.
But at a later period, in Syria, Askaros saw the Sheik
riding an animal very like him, only with closely cropped
mane and tail, and did not venture to ask any impert-
inent questions of the Sheik as to its identity. Neither
did he ever see Elfy Bey again, to learn of him whether
his steed had been returned, and afterward stolen by
those adroit robbers, as was more than probable, in con-
sonance with Bedouin etiquette in such cases.
That night Askaros and his two attendants rode away
from the hospitable tents of the Beni-Hassan, and plunged
into the trackless waste of the desert, to seek the safer
refuge of the Holy Land.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE OLD COPT'S SIESTA.
WHEN the old Frenchwoman performed her mis-
sion, and announced to El Warda the peril of
him who was at once her brother, and more than brother,
the conflict in the girl's soul was very great. Rejected
affection, wounded pride, keen jealousy, strong passion,
and a sense of having been made a dupe by the artful
princess all struggled for mastery in her young soul,
and converted her at once from a child into a woman.
She immediately sought the old man, and explained to
him, in general terms, the peril of his son, without
entering into all the particulars revealed to her by the
Frenchwoman, suppressing also the real cause of the
wrath of Nezle Khanum, as to which she had been bound
to secrecy.
The old Askaros, who looked worn and haggard, and
on whom his late apprehensions and troubles had wrought
strongly, making him appear far more aged and feeble
than before, listened in silence to her story, and signified
his assent to his son's flight, a gleam of pleasure lighting
up his face, when Ferraj declared his intention of accom-
panying his master.
211
212 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
He took the young girl's head between his withered
hands, and stroked down the rich curls of her raven hair,
gazing fondly and wistfully into her face.
" Thou wast my comfort and consolation," he said,
" when my son left me once before, and I know thou wilt
be so again. I feel very sad this evening, and a pre-
sentiment of evil weighs heavily on my spirit. Thou
knowest I received another and more pressing summons
from the Grand Meglis to-day, and have had besides a
secret message from Zotilfikar Pasha, that they rely on the
testimony of my former Wakeel, Daoud-ben-Youssouf, to
prove me a large defaulter to the Government. If that
young man prove false, then am I lost indeed. And my
son is not here to protect me ! " cried the old man, with
a sudden burst of anguish. "O Sitta Mariam (Virgin
Mary,) have mercy upon me, a sinner ! and make me
not desolate in mine old age, like Job ! "
Touched and afflicted by this burst of passion from one
habitually so calm and self -composed, the young girl
knelt at his feet, and by a thousand little endearments
sought to console him. She partially succeeded, for he
grew more calm, and an air of resignation settled down
over his features, as he looked tenderly down upon her.
" Oh, my dove ! my sweet child ! aptly named 'the
rose,' how does thy love bring balm to this sore-stricken
heart ? Yet another terror assails me ! Moussa - ben -
Israel is wise beyond most of the children of men, and
seldom have I known his judgment prove false. He mis-
doubts Daoud, and suspects a plot between him and
Abbas, in which you are to be the prize of that boy's
selling me to the Viceroy. If this be so, there is thy
danger, the same as mine ; but what are the few sands of
my worn-out life to the fresh spring of thine ? Hearken
ASKAROS KASSIS. 213
unto me, therefore, and heed me well. I have made a
pact with the Israelite, whom many Christians might well
imitate in truth and honor, that if aught happens to me,
he will protect and conceal thee from the spoilers, and
send thee abroad to his kindred. With him have I placed
the bulk of my fortune, and full provision hath been
made for thee. Therefore, should Abbas, as is possible,
come like a thief in the night, and take me away, repair
thou forthwith to the house of the Hebrew, and be guided
by his counsel. His daughter Zillah loveth thee well, '
though, unhappily, she shares her father's delusion, and
rejects the true faith ; yet otherwise is she fit friend and
companion for thee. Once I had hoped these aged eyes
might have seen the fulfilment of the secret wish of my
heart, that he whom thou hast known only as thy brother
might be the protector and sharer of thy life. But now,
the blackness of a great darkness hangs over this fated
house. My son is a fugitive, my own life is in peril, and
more than thine, trembling in the balance also. But God
is just, and we must put our trust in Him. Now go, my
child, for body and mind are both very weary, and I
would repose ; but let me give thee my blessing first, thou
angel of my house ! ' '
Dismissing the tearful girl with a solemn benediction,
the old man, whose venerable aspect and snowy beard
gave a patriarchal dignity to his face and mien, reclined
on his divan, and sought solace in his nargileh from his
sad forebodings.
It was early spring, but the heat was equal to that of
summer in more temperate climes. The great fountain
in the centre of the apartment was in full play, and threw
up its jets of silvery spray high into the air, bubbling and
murmuring with a soothing sound, as the water fell back
214 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
with a splash into the marble basin below. The high
latticed windows were open, and through them came
whispering, laden with the sweet scents of the garden, the
perfumed breath of spring. The sunbeams stole slant-
ingly into the apartment, some of the rays resting above
the head of the old patriarch like the halo above a saint.
Blended with the soothing sounds of the whispering
breeze and plashing water came the regular measured
murmurs of the nargileh, as the pale-blue smoke floated
upward like incense from its silvery bowl.
The influence of the place, the time, the season, seem-
ed to subdue the feverish excitement of the old man.
Gradually his face grew more composed, the deep lines
softened down, the knitted brow grew smoother, and the
compressed lips unclosed, until a faint smile relaxed their
rigid outline. Pleasant thoughts or memories appeared
to have succeeded the painful ones which had so recently
been tormenting him.
The smoke, at first rising in quick, dense clouds from
his nargileh, came more regularly and slowly, until at
length it ceased to rise, and the bubbling sound suc-
ceeding each long-drawn breath ceased also. The long
coil of the flexible tube glided serpent-like on the tassel-
lated floor, as the amber mouthpiece dropped from the
relaxing hand ; his head fell forward on his breast, as he
seemed to sink into a peaceful slumber.
The fountain still kept on its ceaseless play ; the
buzzing bees flew in and out of the latticed windows
from the gardens, whence still stole in at intervals the
whispering breeze with its rifled sweets, but no other
sounds disturbed the stillness of the vaulted chamber.
The shadows lengthened as afternoon passed into eve-
ning, and the sunbeams withdrew from the chamber as
ASKAROS KASSIS. 21$
dusk came down, heralding the approach of night. But
still the old man stirred not, and seemed placidly to
slumber, his face as calm as that of a sleeping infant,
with an expression as though of renewed youth, strangely
out of keeping with his snowy beard, stamped upon it.
Thrice did El Warda steal on tiptoe into the chamber,
and twice retire, from reluctance to awaken the sleeper
from what seemed so pleasant a repose. The third time
she called softly to rouse him for the evening meal.
Receiving no answer, she made a louder call. This,
too, being unheeded, she stole nearer to him, and
touched his hand, which was hanging down from the
divan, but started back with a strange flutter at her heart
it was icy cold.
Closer she crept, and peered anxiously in his face, the
features of which were locked in a repose stiller and
deeper than that of sleep.
Terrified, she scarce knew why, with gasping breath
she ventured to place her hand on the forehead and
then the dreadful truth flashed upon her, and her wild
shriek rang through the building, summoning the do-
mestics, who rushed in haste toward the sound, to find
her fainting on the floor, with the face of the dead man
bent down over her, wearing the same look of love for
her it had ever done in life.
A greater King than he of Egypt had summoned the
old patriarch into his presence ; and the craft and cruelty
of the living despot stood baffled in the presence, and
through the power of a monarch, before whom all mor-
tals must bow down.
Death had entered the house of Askaros, and silently
stolen him away from the hate and the avarice of Abbas.
CHAPTER XIX.
A RACE WITH THE KHAMSEEN WIND.
DAWN on the desert ! A gray glimmer first break-
ing out in streaks on the eastern sky, followed by
a rosy flush, as spears of light seem to shoot athwart the
veil of darkness ; for the night had been black and star-
less, and the gloom more impenetrable than ever, just
preceding the daylight. All was still and silent as the
grave, save the sighing of the wind, which swept with a
sobbing sound over the wide wastes of sand, which the
growing light disclosed. For ever, over the desert,
night and day, blows a strong wind ; never ceasing, ex-
cept as the prelude to a storm, or the terrible hot blast
the Arabs call Khamseen; Europeans the Sirocco, whose
burning breath often brings death, or whelms whole
caravans beneath the billows of fiery sand it sweeps over
them, and which thus become their graves.
Suddenly the shrill neigh of a horse broke the sepul-
chral stillness, followed by a grunt of disapproval in
Arabic, as the Bedouin guide accosted Ferraj, reproach-
ing him for not having brought a mare, which never
neighs or gives warning of its .approach ; since, on the
desert, each stranger is regarded as an enemy, and
secrecy, silence, and swiftness, often the price of life.
216
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2I/
Three horses were picketed, their feet hobbled with
ropes, and munching at their provender, tied to the nose
of each in a canvas bag.
Three forms of men, wrapped in blankets or woollen
bournous, were also dimly discernible, stretched upon
the hard, gritty ground, whom the horse's neigh had
awakened. All three rose two of them making their
prostrations toward Mecca, and going through the Mus-
sulman formula of prayer. The third stood erect, look-
ing out with curious and inquiring gaze over the desert,
as the growing light revealed its bare, bald surface, in a
way which indicated it was a novel sight to him.
Even as he looked, the gazer could see the curtain-
cloud of darkness lifted, and, like the glittering shafts of
Hyperion, shot down the arrows of sunlight from that
great orb, which suddenly rose large, round, and fiery
red in the eastern sky, with no lingering prelude of rosy
flushings to announce his coming, flooding at once earth,
air, and sky with his full effulgence. At a short distance
from him the gazer saw the airy and graceful forms of a
troop of gazelles, standing motionless, sharply defined
against the background of sky and distant horizon, loom-
ing up gigantic in the haze ; the next moment, with
heads tossed erect, snuffing the morning air, tainted to
their delicate nostrils by human presence, the herd was
bounding away, with a fleetness which more resembled
the flight of birds than the movement of wingless crea-
tures, until, dipping behind a small sand-hillock, the
graceful creatures were lost to view.
Askaros for it was he looked around, and could
see neither on earth nor in the sky the presence of any
other living thing ; beast or bird there was none in view,
and he felt that even the sight of the vulture, sailing in
>9
2l8 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
mid-air, would be welcome to break this lonely and life-
less prospect. Before, behind, all around stretched out
the sandy wastes of the desert, bounded only by the dim
and distant horizon ; without a shrub or blade of grass
for the aching eye to rest upon and refresh itself. But
though the man seemed saddened by the view, the horses
seemed to enjoy it, for they tossed their heads exultingly
in air, and with expanded nostrils, seemed drinking in
exhilaration with the breath of the desert, testifying their
delight by a low whinnying, and pawing the earth as though
anxious to break into a mad gallop, racing against the
wind.
To break the silence which oppressed him, Askaros
raised his voice to a shout, hoping possibly to scare up
some living thing. But his cry fell flat and almost echo-
less on the wild waste, sounding muffled and dull even in
his own ears like that of a man shouting in a vault
while the rarity of the desert-air shortened his breath and
constricted his lungs, as on some lofty mountain-top.
The morning prayers of the Nubian and Bedouin hav-
ing been concluded, each took from the breast of his
shirt his pipe, and proceeded to smoke in satisfied silence ;
then, rising up, took a small bag containing dried camel's
dung for fuel, with which they kindled a fire and pre-
pared coffee. This, with brown bread and a handful of
fresh dates, composed their morning meal.
Askaros partook also of this simple fare, smoking his
pipe after, instead of before his meal, according to Euro-
pean habit. This ceremony concluded, all three again
remounted, and, led by the Bedouin, traversed the desert
in a particular direction, there being no path or any other
indication which would seem to show the road ; the in-
stinct of the Bedouin, and his familiarity with the level
ASKAROS KASSIS. 21$
plain alone, serving to guide them. Rapidly rose the
sun ; soon fiercely asserting his sole supremacy over the
desert, where his beams met no obstacle, and were re-
lieved by no shade. By midday so fervid and over-
powering was the heat, that Askaros, hardy as he was,
felt almost fainting and dizzy with the glare, his eyes not
being protected like those of the others by the projecting
cowl of the bornous, which they drew over their heads
in the fashion of a hood. Several times he stooped and
dismounted, interposing the body of his horse between
himself and the sun, as the only shade he could find,
crouching down in the hot sand, which almost blistered
his feet, and reflected a heat like an oven.
Welcome indeed was the sight of an oasis, which glad-
dened his eyes, apparently about a mile distant, the wav-
ing of whose palm-trees he certainly could distinguish,
and even the sparkling waters of a pool he was almost
sure he could see rippling to its bank.
With outstretched hand pointing eagerly in the direc-
tion of , this welcome sight, he cried out eagerly to the
Bedouin :
' ' How far is it to yonder water ? We shall stop there. ' '
The white teeth of the dusky Arab suddenly shone
through his dark skin, as he answered with a grin the
young man's anxious inquiry.
" Mooshmoia saba (not water sand:) it is the Mir-
age."
As the young man, doubting still the delusion of his
senses, strained his eyes upon the spot, he was still more
convinced that he was right and the Bedouin wrong ; for
not only did he see the clear pool and the shady palm-
trees now, but could even detect human forms and camels
moving along the banks, as well as the huts of an Arab
22O ASKAROS K ASS IS.
village, crowned by the dome of the usual mosque, with
its minarets, in the midst.
As still gazing intently, he was about reproving the
Bedouin for jesting with and deceiving him, another sud-
den change took place, which staggered and silenced
him ; for the pool seemed suddenly to enlarge into a
wide lake the trees rose to gigantic height and the
huts expanded into stately buildings of Moorish architect-
ure while the mosque became the counterfeit present-
ment of one of the palaces of the Memlook Sultans,*its
turrets and pinnacles glittering and gleaming, like those
of a fairy palace, under the rays of the sun.
"Sitta Mariam protect us! it is enchantment ! " mut-
tered the Copt, in whom education had not entirely erad-
icated native superstition.
" Allah preserve us! it is the work of Jinn s /" (evil
Genii) exclaimed the Bedouin, prostrating himself, and
striking the sand with his head, as he went through his
namaz, or prayers.
The Nubian, the whites of his eyes rolling wildly in
his black face, was too startled or amazed to say or do
anything but stared, like his master, at the strange
sight, equally new to him.
Even as they gazed, however, palaces, lake, temple,
palm-trees, men, and camels, all became more and more
indistinct, like a dissolving view in a magic mirror, then
faded utterly away, leaving again nothing visible to the
aching eyes that strained after it, but the bare desert and
distant horizon.
Askaros breathed a deep sigh when the pageant passed
away, and turning to the Bedouin said :
"It is natural that we who have never seen this strange
sight before, should be astonished at it ; but how does it
ASKAROS K AS SIS. 221
happen that you to whom it must be so familiar
should show such terror ? For it is a harmless vision
though it juggles with the eyesight, and mocks the hopes
of men."
"Effendi ! " answered the Bedouin, gravely, "we who
live on the desert, in the full sight of Allah not hidden
in towns learn many things unknown to you men of
the cities ! Many times, indeed, as many almost as the
years of my life, have I seen the mirage, and cared not
for it ; but only twice before have I seen the palaces of
the great King Solomon, built by the Genii, whom he
controlled, and with the sight of which those evil spirits
sometimes mock the eyes of men as they did but now.
Each time was the sight followed by the wrath of those
evil Genii which is a consuming fire when Sheitan
sends them from the pit of Eblis to roam this desert
once the site of their great and glorious cities, before the
anger of Allah visited it and them. Each time before
after mocking us thus with the sight of shade, and water,
and great cities, have those Genii ridden down upon us,
with the fiery wind of the desert, and destroyed almost
the whole of our caravan, with many of my kindred.
Therefore it was, I prayed to Allah to crush the power,
and restrain the vengeance of those wicked spirits for
in His hand alone is the power, on the earth, as in the
air, over Sheitan and his host."
There was something in the tone and look, as well as
in the speech of this unlettered child of the desert, with
his simple but sublime trust in God, which thrilled to the
heart of the young Copt, and made him feel how inferior
he was in faith to this rude Bedouin. Yet he smiled to
himself at these superstitious fears, which reflected no
corresponding dread in his own breast trained as he
19*
222 ASKAROS KASSIS.
had been in the polite skepticism of an English univer-
sity.
So he permitted the subject to drop, without discussion,
and they plodded wearily on for an hour more, until
they reached a small clump of trees, where they made
their mid-day halt, and rested until the noonday heats were
over, resuming their journey with the setting of the sun,
and only resting from midnight to sunrise again.
About noon the next day, while they were experiencing
a repetition of their sufferings of the previous one, As-
karos impatiently called out to the Bedouin to know
when they would reach the next oasis, and what it was
called.
"It is called The Diamond of the Desert," replied the
Bedouin, "and we may reach it in three hours' time.
We are not travelling fast to-day, for the horses all seem
languid and unwilling to go on mine as well as yours
and anxious to go back rather than forward. I scarcely
can keep my mare straight ! Yet Desert Star knows the
road as well as her master ! " he added, patting the neck
of his horse, which turned its head, and gazed with al-
most human appeal upon its rider.
"Perhaps," said Askaros, scoffingly, "the horses
covet the hospitalities of the Genii, proffered us yester-
day, and wish to turn back to enjoy them. For my own
part, I confess, I should feel inclined to accept them, if
they were tendered again ! "
The Bedouin, with a terror-stricken face, raised his
hand in deprecation, and was about to speak; but ere
any words could issue from his lips, a moaning sound
swept down to them on the wind, as though in answer to
the rash speaker's challenge, and a column of fire seemed
ASKAROS KASSIS.
to tower up into the air, blood-red against the sky, in ad-
vance of them.
Rearing straight up, and plunging until she shook the
powerful bit loose from her tongue, the Desert Star
wheeled short round in her tracks, and bounded away
with the fleetness of a gazelle over the ground they had
just traversed.
As though in imitation of her example, Selim and the
steed of the Nubian followed her lead, and pressed in a
mad race on the flying footsteps of the fleet mare.
Wrenching himself round in his saddle, the Bedouin, in-
stead of checking his mare, dug his sharp shovel stirrups
into her flanks, to urge her onward, shouting back:
"Follow for your lives! It is the Khamseen wind.
We may escape it by flight ! to meet it is death ! ' '
No other words were exchanged between them as they
rushed along in their wild race for life, in the seemingly
desperate hope of out-stripping the whirlwind, whose
rising moan grew louder ; and as Askaros turned his
head and looked back, he saw the fiery pillar whirling
on faster and nearer to them. Stronger and more fleet
than the mare though she was of the purest Aneyzeh
blood the white Selim soon bore his master to the
Bedouin's side, and the two swept on like the wind to-
gether the Nubian dropping behind in the race.
Then, with laboring breath Askaros addressed his
companion :
"What is our hope of escape? Can we hope to out-
strip the wind? and if not, why defer our doom, if it be
inevitable ? Tell me, O son of the desert for I would
know the truth, and front my fate like a man ! "
"Allah Kerim!" (God is great) responded the Bed-
ouin; "in His hands are life and death. When his
224 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
Kismet comes, man must submit. But there is a chance
of escape left us yet. See yonder palm-trees ! ' ' and he
pointed to what looked like a hillock in the distance.
"If we can only reach that shelter, we can avoid being
buried under the column of fiery sand you see sweeping
down upon us, and which else will scorch and consume
us, and under which we shall else soon be buried from
sight of man or vulture, until the next Khamseen shall
disinter our bones ! "
No other words were spoken, but they swept on, Ferraj
toiling in the rear, the red pillar looming up nearer and
broader, and more fiery, as it pursued them.
A cry, as of human agony, smote sharply on the ear
of Askaros. He turned his head, and, to the surprise of
his companion, checked his fleet steed and wheeled him
round, against his will, after a short, sharp struggle, and
galloped back toward death!
The Bedouin glanced back over his shoulder, sharply
checked his mare an instant shook his head as though
in doubt then goring her bleeding sides with the cruel
stirrups, and shaking free her rein with a cry of encour-
agement, darted again like a bird on his forward course.
"Magnoon!" (mad), he muttered; "better one die
than all three !"
The abrupt movement of Askaros had been occasioned
(as the Bedouin saw) by the sight of Ferraj, standing
over his fallen horse, which he strove in vain to drag up
to its feet ; and the cry had been the last farewell of the
faithful soul to his master, so well beloved.
But a sharp pang seemed to rend him, when he saw
that master rushing back to succor him, at the peril of
his own life ; and as Askaros approached him, with a
piteous cry he shouted:
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 22$
"Save yourself? my Kismet is accomplished! This
horse can go no further ! Fly yourself while it is yet
time ! " for even as he spoke the first faint puffs of hot
wind, like a furnace-blast, mingled with heated sand,
struck upon the faces of both the avant-couriers of the
advancing Khamseen, whose mighty pillar of flame was
inarching down swiftly upon them.
" Mount behind me quickly! " said Askaros, "Selim
will carry both."
" No ! no ! " said the Nubian. "I will not peril your
life. If it is the will of Allah, I shall live, or I shall
die. Leave me and save yourself. Selim cannot carry
both."
"You are risking two lives by your obstinacy," cried
Askaros, impatiently, "for I swear I will not leave you !
So jump up behind me without more words ! "
The Nubian's habit of blind obedience to his master's
orders conquered his reluctance ; he leaped up behind,
and the gallant horse, with his double burden, again
strained every sinew in renewed flight following the
track of the Bedouin, whose white bornous was still
visible in the distance.
But the pace of Selim was sensibly slackened by the
weight of his double burden; though the Nubian's spare
figure did not greatly increase the weight, yet it was
enough to tell heavily in addition.
The foam upon the bit of the straining steed began to
be streaked with blood : and the laboring chest and
heaving flanks to indicate coming exhaustion.
Still he bore on gallantly, without touch of scourge
or spur, until, at last, they were on the very verge of the
clump of palms their ark of safety where they could
see the Bedouin as he sat on his mare on the outskirts, his
P
226 ASKAROS KASSIS.
hand over his eyes, peering into the desert, while louder
yet, like the shrieks of the angry Genii, came the rushing
sound of the fatal wind, and fiercer and more frequent the
fiery breath of the giant-shape now sweeping down upon
them.
Just then, the noble horse, that bore them so gallantly,
tripped, stumbled and fell heavily forward. He stag-
gered to his feet as both his riders sprung off, looked
with glazing eyes upon his master, into whose hand he
thrust his nozzle, licking his hand as a favorite dog might
have done, and then reeled and fell a second time, a
slight shudder convulsing his whole frame stretched
out his graceful limbs with a low moan and died.
As Askaros, overpowered with grief at the death of the
friend to whom he owed his life, stood over him in stupe-
fied sorrow, the Nubian seized him in his strong arms, as
though he were a child, with the strength of desperation,
and rushed to the copse, into which he stumbled and
fell just in time.
For when they rose to their feet, and looked out into
the place they had just left, the fiery cloud had passed
over it, and they saw it rushing on beyond: the spot
where the noble steed had fallen being marked by a
mound of heated sand, which rose in billowy undulations
over the whole surface of the plain, smoking like a lime-
kiln, and exhaling a stifling odor, even in the sheltered
spot where they stood in safety.
"Sitta Mariam ! " ejaculated the Copt, fervently; "I
vow an offering to thee for this miraculous preserva
tion!"
"Allah Kerim! " (God is great), echoed the Nubian.
"The Genii have been propitiated by the sacrifice of
the steeds which belonged not to the desert, ' ' said the
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2.2J
Bedouin, stroking fondly the neck of his mare, which
laid its graceful deer -like head against his breast, as
though understanding him; "but to Allah be the praise
and glory nevertheless ! Thy Kismet, O youth ! " he
said, turning to Askaros, "will be a fortunate one!
Here let us await in peace and safety the coming of the
caravan, which passes this way. Within three days we
shall rest under the tents of our great Sheik, Abou-Gosh,
for we are already in Syria, and no hawk, Turkish,
Egyptian or Frank, can hunt its game here, without per-
mission from the Sheik, our master."
CHAPTER XX.
A MODERN FAUST.
WHEN the tidings of the young man's flight and
the old man's death were brought to Abbas
Pasha, he at first disbelieved the intelligence, suspecting
some trick. But when the news was fully confirmed, he
sent for Daoud-ben-Youssouf, who promptly obeyed the
summons, and stood for a second time in the Viceroy's
presence.
"What means all this?" growled Abbas. "Canst
thou give any clue to the place where the younger of
these dogs is hidden ? For they tell me the old one is
dead, and steps must now be taken for regulating his
succession. Knowest thou, as thou hast boasted, where
his great wealth is placed, and how invested?"
"Effendina! the affairs of the Khasnadar are better
known to me than to any other man both his public
and his private and I am prepared to prove my asser-
tion. Of the hiding-place of the young man I know
nothing, for I have not seen him for a long time, and
the people of his household only know that two days
since, his Nubian slave, Ferraj, disappeared, taking with
him the favorite horse of Askaros and another, and had
not returned. Hence, they suppose both have fled away
together. ' '
228
ASKAROS KASSIS. 22$
"Why should he fly?" asked Abbas; "he had just
been set free, and had no cause tor fear."
" Effendina ! that is a mystery which, as yet, I cannot
solve. But give me a little time, and I hope to do so."
Abbas Pasha mused a few moments ; then, fixing his
dull but penetrating eye on the young Syrian, said :
"Thou hast the wisdom of the serpent: what now
dost thou propose to do, to earn the reward I promised
thee, for thy first plan hath failed, and thy testimony is
useless against a dead man so also thy treachery?"
" Effendina ! if the humblest of thy servants might be
allowed to speak, he would say that, though the man is
dead, yet the succession lives still, and that is of more
importance than the man. The natural heir dead, or
fled away, no one knows where, and no near blood-
relations left, it is the duty of the government to take
charge of the estate for the benefit of the heirs, as well
as to regulate its accounts with the treasury. Hence the
road is easier now to travel than heretofore."
"Verily thou art a young Sheitan," said Abbas, ad-
miringly; "though thou speakest truly in this matter,
which Sheitan, thy father, generally doth not. But I
see thou hast something further to say ; so be not over-
modest, but speak out. What is it ? "
" Effendina ! the mind of thy servant, reflected in his
face to an eye which sees everything, was troubled on
this point. To secure the management of that estate
which will meet the views of your Highness, it is neces-
sary it should be committed to the hands of some one
who could be trusted, and with sufficient capacity to
settle it satisfactorily."
Abbas threw himself back on his divan with a roar of
laughter.
230 ASKAROS KASSIS.
"Ho! ho!" he cried; "this is too good. So our
modest young scribe thinks the proper person to admin-
ister that estate is the late Wakeel of the late Khasnadar,
now gone to his rest in the bosom of his Father Abra-
ham ; or, what is more likely, roasting now in Gehenna.
Is it not so, O youth ! whose bashful ness equals thy dis-
cretion ? Thou crowest loudly, indeed, for a cock
whose spurs are yet ungrown, and whose beard would
never betray thee under a woman's veil." Then,
relapsing into seriousness, he added. "What thou
dreamest of is impossible. Great indeed would be the
scandal, were so important a trust placed in hands like
thine ; and plain to the eyes of all men would be the
price of thy treachery to thy patron. No, no ! Go
home, and dash water on thy head to cool thy fevered
brain, which makes thee fancy thou art more than a tool
in the hands of thy superiors, and canst claim thy reward
before thou hast earned it. No ! I shall name a well-
known friend of the late Khasnadar Zoulfikar Pasha
to take charge of the estate for the benefit of the family
and kindred of the dead man, and to regulate his ac-
counts with my government, that all men may see and
admire the justice of the Viceroy, even toward those
whom it is known he loves not. Then, through the
agency of the Grand Meglis, with the aid of thy testi-
mony, and the proofs thou hast promised, we can con-
fiscate that property, and take it into our possession, for
the ends of public justice. Thy vanity and grasping
avarice must have clouded the usual clearness of thy
vision, if thou canst not see how incongruous would be
thy double duty, or should dream of mounting the top
round of the ladder before planting foot on the lowest. ' '
Despite his habitual dissimulation, the face of the
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 2$l
Syrian, while the Viceroy sneeringly spoke, eying him
over the while, like some small reptile striving -to climb
underwent many changes ; and though he bent his angry
eyes, full of evil fire, toward the ground, as if too abashed
to raise them, the flush on his pale cheek betrayed the
emotion in his soul.
Abbas marked it with his cold, cruel eye, but made no
comment, for he regarded Daoud merely as an instru-
ment he could use and cast aside as it pleased him, and
his malign spirit enjoyed the infliction of torture on one
so callous, and so little troubled with scruples of con-
science. So, with the tiger instinct natural to him, he
prolonged the cruel sport, and played with the writhing
victim anxious to escape.
"Thou hast forgotten one thing," said the Viceroy.
" If the old man be dead, and the young one an outlaw
by his own act, the girl of whom thou hast spoken to me
becomes the heiress to these great possessions, and will not
lack for suitors. It may be that Zoulfikar Pasha him-
self, who is the handsomest man in my domains, might
like to take charge of her, as well as of the estate. With
all the best intentions toward thee, how can I decently
restrain her choice, should she choose to marry before
our plans are completed, and she is known to be a pauper,
and fit bride only for a lover so disinterested as thyself."
Through the base, yet not utterly degraded spirit of
the Syrian there shot a pang, keen almost as the death-
agony a fierce thirst for the blood of the man who thus
taunted him, coupled with a sickening sense of his own
ineffable baseness, in being a thing which merited such
scorn even from the evil creature who entertained it. He
dared not trust himself to reply, lest he should betray
himself. He only bowed his head yet lower, as though
232 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
in self-abasement, that he might hide the glare of his
eyes, which might excite the distrust of the tyrant : for
he felt that the hell in his heart was blazing out through
those windows of the soul, and could not be hidden
were he to raise them.
Abbas gloated over his confusion and shame, and
sought to increase them.
"Thou art silent," he said. "Art thou convinced,
and wilt thou then be content with the two hundred
purses of gold as thy reward, relinquishing all thought
of the maiden, as a prize now far too great for one in thy
low station to aspire to ? Answer. ' '
Mastering himself by a mighty effort, while he regis-
tered in his soul a secret vow of vengeance against the
smiling despot, the Syrian raised his head, wrath no
longer burning in the eyes, now encircled with two livid
rings, and sunken deep in their orbits, like those of one
just recovering from almost mortal illness. In truth, the
whole face seemed to have aged suddenly, and his voice
sounded harsh and hollow when he spoke.
"Effendina ! " he said, "I am not so blind or so silly
as you deem ; neither am I aspiring higher than 1 ought.
I freely admit the force of what your Highness says as to
the succession, and the choice made proves the wisdom
of my lord's far-seeing mind. But as regards the girl,
Effendina, she cannot inherit these estates, for she bears
not the name, and is not of the blood of Askaros, but
only, like myself, one of the children of his bounty.
This thing will explain to my high lord, and justify what
he deemed the presumption of his servant, who knows
his own place too well to aspire above it ! "
Surprise succeeded scorn upon the face of Abbas.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 233
' ' Explain this riddle to me, ' ' he said, sharply. ' ' Canst
thou prove this statement ? ' '
"Effendina, the fact is well known to all the friends
of Askaros, for of near kindred he has none, and prob-
ably the girl herself, of all the household, is the only
person ignorant of it."
" Peki J" said Abbas; "so much the better, then.
In that case thou mayest fear no rivalry, and doubtless
the girl will gladly seek the shelter of thy hareem when she
finds herself friendless and poor. Unless," he added,
with a sinister glance, "some one tells her of thy faithful
services to me, which she might not appreciate. Women
are so wrong-headed ! But fear nothing. If thou deal-
est faithfully with me, thou shalt have both girl and gold.
Now go, and prepare carefully thy papers for the Grand
Meglis, for that intermeddling homar (ass) of a consul-
general cannot now annoy me further."
With hate in his heart, but with respectful deference in
his manner, Daoud knelt down and prostrated himself
with lowly reverence before the Viceroy, who seemed to
have utterly forgotten his presence, and retired backward
from the room ; but no sooner had the curtain dropped
behind him, than the mask he had worn fell from his
face, which grew fiendish and fell in its fixed resolve.
"Ay," he muttered, grinding his teeth, "truly shalt
thou pay my price, and with usury too ! And then
and then ? another perhaps thou wottest not of ! "
He was startled from his reverie by a shrill cry seem-
ing to come from high in air, and glancing through a
window by which he was passing, saw one of the desert
hawks a small, fierce bird pounce down upon and
strike a vulture twice its size, whose torn plumes and
blood-bedabbled crest attested the severity of the stroke,
20*
234 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
as it flew fast away, dropping its prey as it fled, on which
the hawk settled down.
"An omen! an omen!" gasped the Syrian, "sent
by the master whose servants we both are. I accept it,
and woe to thee, foul vulture!" he hissed, shaking his
clenched hand in the direction of the chamber wherein
Abbas sat, ' ' when the appointed hour shall come for the
hawk to strike ! ' '
With head once more proudly erect, and with the step
of a conqueror, the Syrian, pausing a moment on the
threshold to shake the dust from his feet as he passed
over it, muttering to himself, strode rapidly away, like
one possessed of an evil demon.
Two hours later, as Daoud - ben - Youssouf sat in his
upper room, looking out over the Ezbekieh in the dim
twilight, his lamp not yet lighted, his old Arab servant,
a withered crone cook, housekeeper and drudge
shuffled into the room, and announced, with a mysterious
air, that two veiled women an old and a young one
demanded to see the master of the house. The leer in
the old woman's eye indicated her belief in the purport
of the visit, and the Syrian, indignantly hurling an Arab
malediction at her, sternly commanded her to bring no
such messages to him, on pain of instant dismissal from
his service, and to send the women away. For, in the
thorough absorption of his soul, he had no time or taste
for the usual frivolities or vices of youth, and lived the
life of an anchorite, so far as mortification of the flesh
in every way was concerned.
As the old woman, grumbling, was withdrawing to ful-
fil his orders, she was pushed aside by the unwelcome
visitors, who walked into the room unannounced, the
elder woman standing in the doorway, which she entirely
A SKA R OS KASSIS. 235
filled up with her bulky person and spreading dress,
dropped the curtain down so as to leave only Daoud and
the younger woman in the room alone.
As the angry Syrian was about to repeat the uncompli-
mentary remarks he had just made his servant, the woman
advanced and threw back her veil. As she did so, amaze-
ment succeeded anger on the young man's face, and so
great was his agitation that he supported himself by clutch-
ing at the window-sill.
The woman spoke first.
" Daoud-ben-Youssouf," she said, " you know me too
well to doubt for an instant the purpose of my visit, un-
maidenly and immodest as my presence here may seem,
alone in the night-time, with unveiled face, in your house.
But I come on matters of life and death from the feet
of a dead father to search for a lost brother ! from a
house of mourning to see whether El Warda has yet one
friend left ? Where is my brother ? If living man in
this city know, thou art the man ! ' '
"Sit down," gasped the Syrian, whose face had grown
ashy pale, and whose lips quivered. " Call in your com-
panion, and we can talk in French, for it is not meet for
your maiden reputation to be left alone in a room with a
man. That reputation is dearer to me than my life."
The girl did not take the offered seat, nor summon her
companion. She smiled a sad, wan smile, and shook
her head.
" Daoud," she said, "trouble not yourself with such
trifles. I was a girl this morning I am a woman now
and, like yourself, have had enough of Frank training,
to care little for foolish forms. What I have to say to
you, and hear from you, must be said and heard alone.
Listen to me ! The day before he died, my father was
236 ASA'AXOS KASSIS.
warned by one in whom he trusted, to beware of you
for you meditated treachery and I believe the shock
of that revelation, joined to other griefs, caused his death.
I come now to prove whether you are false or true this
night ; for, in your hands now, I know, will rest the
fortunes and the fate of my brother and myself. Thus
much I know. Now, tell me first, where has my brother
gone?"
Over the face of the Syrian, as she spoke, there swept
many changing emotions ; but the predominating expres-
sion was one of hungry, craving admiration his eyes
strained upon her countenance, and his ear eagerly drink-
ing in the sound of her voice. When she ceased, re-
peating again her closing question, which he seemed not
to have heard he answered vaguely, like a man talking
in his sleep:
"Where has he gone? I do not know ! "
"You know, and will not tell, Daoud ! Why will you
not tell me his sister ? Are you truly then our enemy ? ' '
"Your enemy?" gasped the Syrian, recovering at
once all his faculties, and speaking almost with indigna-
tion. "O El Warda! star of my boyhood ! sunlight of
my manhood ! sole hope of my heart ! there runs not a
drop of blood in these veins that I would not pour out
in your service. You have no slave you can command
more absolutely than Daotid-ben-Youssouf, whose greatest
.sin has been only loving you too well ! It grieves me,
indeed, to hear that my old friend and benefactor should
have listened to the lying tongues that defamed me. For
how could I meditate treachery to him, and hope to ful-
fil the cherished wish of my heart? And you know well,
O El Warda!" he added, dropping his voice, "what
that wish ever has been."
ASKAROS KASSIS. 237
The girl looked bewildered and perplexed passed
her hand over her brow, as though to clear away a mist
gathering over her sight, and said softly :
"Indeed, Daoud, I did not doubt you, for I re-
membered the days when we were as brother and sister
eating of the same bread drinking of the same cup
and studying out of the same book ; and that is not
so very long ago, although years seem to me to have been
crowded into the last few weeks. But my father is dead
my brother has gone I know not whither or whether
he will return and the desperate hope came to me, that
you might know and tell me, and give me counsel what
to do, though my father warned me not to trust you, even
with his almost dying breath. Surely, you could not be
so base and cruel as to deceive me, or betray the friends
of your childhood?"
"The suspicion itself is an insult," said Daoud, with
an air of wounded pride. ' ' That is a question I cannot
discuss, even with you. If you still regard me as worthy
of your confidence, tell me what I can do to serve you
and yours," he added, with hesitation.
" Find where my brother is, and let him know all that
has happened and is happening here. Give him advice
what is the safest and best for him to do ; for you have a
ready wit, and can find out better than most men. Do
this, and I will pray for you to Sitta Mariam, and be for
ever grateful ! ' '
"Gratitude is but a chilly recompense," said the young
man, gloomily. " I need more."
"Well, then, I will regard you as my second brother !"
said the girl, pleadingly.
"Mine is not a brother's love for you," responded
Daoud, almost fiercely ; " it is a frantic, frenzied passion
238 ASKAROS KASSIS.
a certainty that you must be mine only mine wholly,
or I shall die a dream that visits my nights and haunts
my waking hours that curses and blesses my existence
equally and that finally will drive me mad or desperate,
if it meets no requital. O, El Warda ! whose step is
lighter than the gazelle's; whose voice is sweeter than
music ; whose face and form is more lovely than those
of Houris and whose presence alone in this chamber
makes it a heaven to me smile upon me ! Make me
the happiest of living men, by telling me that I may have
hope that you will not condemn me to sit for ever,
like the lost Jinns, gnashing my teeth in darkness, with
the glories of the opening heaven shining within my sight,
though shut and barred out forever to me, as to them ! "
As he closed this impassioned appeal, he sought to
seize the girl's hand, and throw himself at her feet in an
agony of impassioned supplication.
But El Warda gently, but firmly, repulsed him, re-
proachfully saying :
" O Daoud ! Is this a time or a place to speak thus
to a poor, weak girl, who comes to throw herself on a
brother's friendship? Can I think of love, with my
dear old father lying dead on his divan, and but a few
moments since having passed from the house of mourn-
ing? While my brother, Askaros, is now a fugitive
perhaps a corpse on the desert ; for the horrible Kham-
seen has been blowing all day, and thither he fled but
two days since. Or, if escaped that peril, dead perhaps
for ever to me ; since he never would have left his father
and his home had it been safe for him to stay in Egypt.
How can you expect me to trust, or even to respect you,
if you are so selfish, and abuse my confidence in you
thus ? ' ' And the soft dark eyes were suffused with tears
she could no longer suppress.
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 239
A wild joy flashed through the heart of the Syrian, not
only at the hope conveyed by her words, but on learning
the route which Askaros had taken, as well. In his
vivid imaginings, he already saw the bones of the man he
regarded as his only rival, bleaching on the sands of the
desert. But he only bowed his head, as in contrition,
and excused the ardor of his language by the warmth of
his passion, pleading for forgiveness, and promising to
sin thus no more ; and the girl, like most of her sex, was
willing to pardon the fault, in view of its cause.
But, although her distrust was removed, she was mind-
ful of that parting injunction of the elder Askaros, and did
not inform the Syrian of her meditated removal, after the
burial of her father, to the dwelling of Moussa-ben -Israel.
Therefore, after receiving many promises from Daoud
as to the efforts he would make to discover and com-
municate with her brother, the young girl summoned her
companion her favorite servant and guardian from
childhood and retraced her steps to the home once so
happy, but now only the tomb of her affections ; leaving
the Syrian in a frame of mind he himself would have
found it difficult to analyze the wildest hope and joy
conflicting with the blackest grief and despair.
All that night he rested not ; and the belated reveller
or intriguer, skulking homeward through the Ezbekieh,
late in the night or at early dawn, looking up at his win-
dow, where still shone the light of his lamp, and seeing
his light figure rapidly moving to and fro, would smile
and say to himself:
" What a student, truly, is Uaoud-ben-Youssouf ! "
And a student he was ! but, like Faust, of things un-
holy; and his " familiar," Mephistopheles, who led him
on blindfold over the path that leads to perdition, was
not at his side, but seated within his own soul.
CHAPTER XXI.
UNDER THE TENTS OF THE BENI-HASSAN.
THE long, low, black tents of the Bedouins of the
tribe of Beni-Hassan were pitched in the fertile
valley near Jericho, of which once famous city the name
now only remains not a trace even of its walls, which
fell before the blasts of Joshua's trumpets, being per-
ceptible.
The ruins of the ancient aqueducts, which formerly
conveyed water from Jericho to Jerusalem, alone attest
the fact of the existence of a city on that site, now
covered by the mud huts of a small Arab village. Squat-
ting among the ruins of an old fort constructed during
the Crusades, may be found the Sheik of this village, who
appropriated it to his use, and made it his residence.
The valley is one of great fertility, and under careful
cultivation ; and the rich verdure which clothes it con-
trasts strongly with the iron mountains which shut it in
on one side, and the sterile desert which leads to the
Dead Sea and Jordan on the other.
In the very heart of this fertile valley the wandering
tribe of the Beni-Hassan were encamped for a time the
tent of their great Sheik, Abou-Gosh, being only dis-
tinguishable from that of the others by its superior size,
240
ASKAROS KASSIS. 24!
and his long spear, with its pennon, sticking upright in
the ground in front of it, in token of his remaining some
time at that spot.
Flocks and herds of goats, sheep and cattle, browsed
around, tended by a few wild-looking Bedouins, easily
distinguishable from the common Fellah, or peasant, by
their dress, and wild untamed look.
At the door of his tent, smoking his nargileh, sat the
great chief himself, like another Abraham to the pic-
tures of whom, in the old editions of the Bible, he pre-
sented a striking likeness. So grave and patriarchal was
his aspect, with his long, white beard, stately figure, and
calm, composed countenance, that no one would have
dreamed him to be the great robber chief, at whose name
travellers grew pale, and who levied tribute on all pass-
ing from Joppa to Jerusalem, or from the Holy City to
Damascus. His face and mien, however, indicated the
habit of command for his sway over his own people
was as absolute as that of the ancient patriarch to whom
he had been likened ; and neither to the Sultan, nor to
the Turkish Governor of Syria, did he own any allegi-
ance, or pay any tribute, except to the former, as chief
of "the Faith" and spiritual head of Islam.
As he looked over the green valley clad in the bright
livery of spring, and his eyes roved over the countless
flocks and herds, an expression of contentment was on his
face, and he seemed in good humor with himself, and
with the world. No care appeared to disturb his serenity,
as he slowly inhaled the perfumed smoke, which rose in
vapory clouds in the still air. A light step behind him,
as the curtain of the tent was pushed aside ; and the
slight graceful form of a young Arab girl, whose unveiled
face was sweet in expression and regular in features,
21 Q
242 ASKAROS KASSIS.
though of a pale copper color, stood still in the opening,
and with arms meekly crossed over her bosom, awaited
his notice.
The grand old face of Abou-Gosh lit up with pleasure
at the sight of the girl, to whom he spoke in tones as soft
and gentle as those of a woman.
"How is our guest to-day, O my daughter? Has
Azrael ceased to flap his black wings over his head?
What saith thy mother, O Amina ? for well skilled is she
in the illness that kills, and the herb that heals."
"The stranger in our tents is greatly better, O my
father ! " replied the girl, in a voice melodious as her face
was sweet; "and my mother says the danger is now
past ; the fever is gone, and the sick man may now rise
from his bed and breathe the fresh air again. This came
I to tell you."
"Thy voice is ever to me like that of one bringing
glad tidings," responded the Sheik, " and it is doubly
so to-day. For this youth is the son of one of my oldest
friends, a good man, though a Nazarene, and the boy's
own looks please me much. Do they please thee, my
daughter?"
The girl blushed through her dusky skin at the ques-
tion, and bent her head in maidenly modesty, but she
answered with the frankness of her training :
"I. have sat by the bedside of the young Frank, O my
father, for many days past; and I cannot but feel an
interest in the stranger, who is truly very handsome, and
whose voice is like music very unlike those of our own
people ! "
The old Sheik laughed gently under his beard, but
only said :
" Now go my child, and tell thy mother, if she thinks
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 243
it will do him good, to bid him clothe himself and sit
here by my side ; for this fresh air will do him more
good than all the drugs of the Hakeem ! or even the
herbs triat she is so cunning to compound." And the
girl disappeared again within the tent.
Shortly afterward, while the great Sheik still sat smok-
ing, apparently meditating over some serious thought,
the curtain of the tent was again pushed back, and Askaros
appeared. The Sheik, rising from his cushions with
grave dignity, welcomed him, and motioned for him to
take a seat beside him, proffering the mouth-piece of the
nargileh to him, from which, after having taken a few in-
halations, the young man returned the tube to his host.
"I trust thou art again well," was the Sheik's saluta-
tion ; "and that the breath of the evil Genii, who chased
thee across the desert, now no longer poisons thy veins.
My wife, who is well skilled in the lore of the Hakeems,
tells me that thou needest now only rest and pure air to
regain thy lost strength, and that all peril to life hath
passed."
The young man briefly declared his convalescence, and
made his acknowledgments to his host, for the kindness
and care to which he owed his life.
But the Sheik checked the expression of them, briefly
saying :
"As much would I have done for any passing stranger,
and thou art not a stranger to me ; for the son of thy
father hath many claims on Abou-Gosh, who never hath
failed friend or foe. It hath been a great pleasure to me
to do any service to the son of one I love so well."
Three weeks had passed since Askaros bad been brought
to the tents of the Bedouins, upon a camel, stretched in
244 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
a state of utter unconsciousness by a fever, which seemed
to dry up all the springs of life.
During that period he was at first ignorant of all that
was passing around him ; but, as his convalescence com-
menced, he became conscious of the presence of a light
airy female form, flitting near his couch, felt occasionally
the timid touch of a soft, cool hand upon his fevered
brow, and heard the music of a low, sweet voice chanting
the plaintive melodies of the children of the desert. As
he grew better, and his eyes could bear the glare of day-
light, he saw the face and figure of the young Bedouin girl
just described ; and it afforded him a dreamy enjoyment to
watch her flitting around him, and through the tent, half
closing his eyes, that she might not know he was watch-
ing her.
At length he ventured to accost her, and had short
conversations with her and her mother, a comely matron
of middle age, who was always there, but in whose move-
ments and conversation the young man did not take so
deep an interest. From them he learned that the caravan,
when it reached the shelter to which their guide had con-
ducted himself and Ferraj, had found him delirious and
stricken with fever, and had borne him across the desert
to the safe refuge where he now was, as the guest of the
Great Sheik Abou-Gosh.
Inquiring for the faithful Nubian, he was told he too
was safe, and in the tents ; on hearing which the young
man, with sigh of deep relief, breathed a short prayer to
the Virgin for all her mercies, and sunk again into peace-
ful slumber.
Now, although the crisis of his disease was over, the
young man still felt himself incapable of much exertion
of body or mind, so worn and wasted was he by his ill-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 24$
ness : and his host, perceiving it, forbore to excite him,
and forbade his talking of himself, or of his affairs, until
he was stronger, with that absence of curiosity and true
hospitality which characterizes the Oriental in his deal-
ings with the stranger who shares his salt.
Another week passed, and Askaros in the interval had
been so far restored to his usual vigor, as to have mounted
a horse and accompanied the Bedouins on an excursion
to the Dead Sea and the Jordan, which was the limit of
Abou-Gosh's authority, the opposite bank being under
the dominion of a rival chieftain, with whose people the
Beni-Hassan were ever in a state of quasi war.
With them, too, he witnessed the chase of the gazelle
over the desert, where they hunted with trained hawks,
much after the fashion of the knights and ladies in the
Middle Ages, only for different game, the manner of
which was thus : mounted on their Arab horses, and ac-
companied by the fleet Syrian greyhounds, with their
long feathery tails, they would start up the gazelle from
its hiding-place, which would soon outstrip the pursuit of
the fastest horse and fleetest dog among them.
Then with a peculiar cry, launching the hawk into the
air, he would circle up until lost into a mere speck hang-
ing in blue ether, then swoop down like a lightning-flash
on the head of the quarry, buffeting its face, and blind-
ing its eyes with its strong wings. The gazelle would
soon rid itself of its feathered assailant, by striking its
head upon the ground, and then resume its flight. But
the pertinacious foe would come down upon its head
again and again, repeating its assault, until at length,
blinded and wearied by the incessant attacks, and con-
fused by the cries of the huntsmen and chase of the dogs,
21*
246 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
the exhausted gazelle would be caught by the greyhounds,
or speared by the Bedouins.
Partaking in this chase, he soon won the admiration of
the Arabs for his perfect horsemanship, an accomplish-
ment they prize above all others ; and his reputation soon
reached the gratified ears of Abou-Gosh and his women,
who felt a pride that the young man was worthy of their
care and hospitality.
So matters went on, until one morning, when, sitting
in front of the tents with his host, Askaros, after telling
him his story and his present plight, announced his in-
tention of trespassing no longer on his hospitality, and
of taking his departure.
Abou-Gosh did not immediately respond. He seemed
to reflect seriously for some minutes, as though revolving
in his mind the tale which had been told him, then rais-
ing his head, and looking him full in the face with his
bright dark eye, as untamed as that of an eagle, yet not
without a certain softness lurking in its depths, said :
"Poor boy! hard is thy fate! sad thy past, and
gloomy thy present and future ! I know Abbas Pasha
well. Thou hast provoked the hate of no common
enemy. But where dost thou propose to go, on leaving
those friendly tents?"
" I scarcely know," replied Askaros sadly; "all the
earth is a place of exile to me now. But I shall go first
to Joppa on the sea, and there I will decide whither to
direct my steps. Possibly I may go to the land of the
Franks. ' '
" Why shouldst thou leave thy birthplace, and the home
of thine own race, to go among the Frank strangers,
whose ways of life and whose religion is so different
ay, more widely apart from thine than ours are?
ASKAROS KASSIS. 247
"Why needest thou leave at all ! " he added, fixing
his bright eye full on the young man's; "already our
people love thee, and praise thy skill in all manly sports,
as equal to that of any born Bedouin. Stay, then, with
us under our tents. Rude as they are, they are better
than the Egyptian prisons, or the homes of the infidel
Franks, for one born and bred in the East. For I have
seen enough of them travelling here in Syria to know, as
I said before, that their ways, and even their religion,
which they call the same as thine, are as different as
their costumes and their speech."
Ere the young man, in his speechless surprise at this
unexpected proposition, could collect himself sufficiently
to reply, the old Sheik still more gravely resumed, laying
as he spoke his swarthy right hand, on which the sinews
stood out like cords, on the shoulder of Askaros, as a
father might on a son's.
"Hearken unto my words," be said, gravely, "and
reflect before you decide. My sway over the Beni-
Hassan, as thou knowest, is great : and my will their
law. I have no son to succeed me, and I am growing
old. If thou wilt consent, I will adopt thee as my son,
and as the heir to my wealth, which is great in flocks and
herds, and to my rule over this tribe. To confirm this
more strongly, and to please my people, I will give thee
in marriage the daughter of my old age, Amina. who is
fair to look upon, and a woman any man might love,
who hath helped to bring thee out of the valley of the
shadow of death by her gentle ministering.
"And I am the more tempted to make thee this offer,
because I suspect that the young girl loveth thee, even
as Rachel loved Jacob, though possibly she knoweth it
not fully herself. But a father's eye cannot be deceived.
248 ASKAROS KASSIS.
Say ! wilt thou be the son of Abou-Gosh, and his succes-
sor, and find rest and peace under the tents of the Beni-
Hassan ? Reflect well upon it, and give me an answer
at sundown! "
And, gathering his robes about him, Abou-Gosh rose
from his cushions and passed beneath his tent, leaving
the young man sitting alone, too much overpowered by
the strangeness of the offer to utter a syllable in reply.
Yet the offer, wild as it seemed that he, with his
Frank culture and civilized tastes, should relapse into the
primitive existence of the Bedouin half shepherd, half
robber was not without its temptations, making an ap-
peal to the romantic side of his character. From the
midst of a confused turmoil of plots, stratagems and in-
trigues, he had passed suddenly, as through the valley
of the shadow of death, into the repose of this new and
primitive existence, a reflection of the days of the ancient
patriarchs, when Lot and Abraham divided their flocks
and herds, and parcelled out the domain of their world
between them. Here, at least, the wearied brain could
find repose, the wearied body rest, and the anxious spirit
steep itself in oblivion, and find nepenthe.
The lotus-eaters of the days of Ulysses might have led
more torpid lives, but never could have enjoyed more
immunity from mere worldly cares, than the Sheik of this
pastoral tribe, who was absolute master of the smiling
and fertile valleys, hemmed in by the high mountain
ranges from all foreign intrusion, stretching down, with
interspaces of arid desert, to the sea on one side, and the
hill country of Judea on the other.
Then, too, the girl who was offered to him in marriage
was passing fair ! and pure as the snowflakes which
crested Mount Lebanon, in mind and heart.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 249
True, she was only a savage ! a child of the wilder-
ness ! born and bred under tents, with no mental cul-
ture, and not the most vague conception of the civiliza-
tion which he had seen abroad, and set up as his ideal,
and which he saw personified fully, for the first time, in
the person of the American maiden.
True ! but she had repudiated the warm outgush of his
affection and admiration, with words and gestures of
wondering scorn, when he dared shadow it out to her,
on that memorable day when he had avenged himself by
afterward saving her life ; and never since had his eyes
looked upon her most probably in this life never would
again, for he was now a fugitive, and her presence in
Egypt was as evanescent and fleeting as the mirage which
had mocked his vision on the desert. Why should he
pursue a phantom, when he might grasp a warm, living,
glowing, substantial reality, now so near him? for he
doubted not that the great Sheik, so wary and so wise,
had not spoken without knowing the real state of his
daughter's heart ! He might also be King of Syria, if he
chose ! Should he abandon that certainty, to chase a
flying phantom over the world, which his reason told
him he would never clasp !
Absorbed in these reveries, he closed his eyes, and
before him came the vision, as in a panoramic view, of
the first time he had seen the fair American girl, standing
framed in the rude stone window of the Hotel d' Orient ;
her blonde tresses floating over her brow of snow and
blushing cheeks, her large blue eyes shooting down rays
of mingled wonder and admiration on the Egyptian cav-
alier and his white charger, contending for the mastery
beneath her casement.
And at that view of past rapture, faded at once and
250 ASKAROS K 'ASS IS.
forever trom his soul the mirage vision of the pastoral
Bedouin existence, with its simple cares and barren
hopes ; and the image of the Arab girl, in contrast with
that apparition of true womanhood, seemed something
scarce above the animal creation, or the brutes that
perish. He unclosed his eyes with a start, for the
familiar voice of Ferraj sounded in his ears, and looking
up, he beheld the faithful Nubian, his dress disarranged
and splashed with mud and soil, as though from hard
riding, the beads of sweat dripping from his brow, stand-
ing before him. In his hand he held a scroll, sealed
like an Eastern letter, which he extended to his master.
"What is the meaning of this, Ferraj, and whence
came you ? ' '
"From El Khuds, (the Holy City,) and this is a
writing for the Effendi, entrusted to his slave by the
consul, to whom it was given by Jona-dab-bar-Elias, the
Hebrew, who had it from Egypt."
Wondering from whom the letter might be, Askaros
tore open the envelope, and found on a slip of paper the
words which follow, in Arabic characters :
" Moussa- ben -Israel, of Cairo, sends greeting to
Askaros Kassis, who, he learns from one of his own
people at Jerusalem, is now the guest of the Great Sheik
of the Beni-Hassan, Abou-Gosh, with whom may peace
abide ! It imports him to know that his sister, El Warda,
is now safe under the humble roof of the writer, her
father's oldest friend, and cannot be found by any who
seek to do her wrong. Of this be sure. It grieves me
to tell Askaros that he is now sole living bearer of that
name ; his father, and my friend, went to his rest on the
nth day of Sciawal, at peace with himself and all men.
He died without pain, going out quietly, even as the
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2$ I
nargileh he was inhaling when the death-angel sum-
moned him. Grieve not overmuch, for he died full of
years and honors, a just man made perfect. The earth
is for the living, not the dead, therefore, let Askaros look
to his own needs. Let him take warning, and confide
nothing to him he has heretofore considered his best
friend at Cairo, and his father's also, for he is even as
was Joab, who, while taking Amasa by the hand, and
asking, 'Art thou in health, my brother?' smote him
with his left hand under the ribs, so that his bowels
gushed out and he died !
' ' Let him take warning from that example of friend-
ship ! I say no more ; for, though a young man, he to
whom this is written is wise for his years.
"A letter sent through the same channel as this com-
eth, will reach the sister and living friends of Askaros,
whom may the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, (who
is the God of the Nazarene as well as of the Hebrew,)
guide and guard, and have in His Holy keeping ! Selah ! ' '
Signed in black wax to this scroll was the seal of
Moussa-ben-Israel, in Hebrew characters. A postscript
had also been added, which ran as follows :
"Also am I charged by the consul-general, his protec-
tor, to tell Askaros, that in whatever land he may seek
refuge, there will he find a representative of his nation,
through whom he may confer with home and friends,
and with himself. He further promises to spare no pains
or influence to secure the safety and speedy return of
Askaros to his native land."
The receipt of this seemed to awaken the young man
from his day-dreams, and cause a complete revulsion in
his thoughts and feelings.
It roused him to the recollection that he had duties
252 ASKAROS KASSIS.
toward others to perform, apart from his own ease and
comfort, which he could not honorably renounce for the
tranquil existence, of which he had been dreaming a few
moments before.
His father's fair fame, and his sister's safety, both
called trumpet-tongued upon him to shake off both sloth
and sensual selfishness, and act like a man.
And over and above all these considerations, blending
with, as though part and parcel of them, shone the fair
face of the American girl, like that he had often prostra-
ted himself before in worship at Cairo, in the solemn
niche of the old Coptish Church of the Virgin, in those
days of sunshine never to be his again.
The spell was broken. The lotus-eater rose from his
bed of asphodel, where he had been soothed to slumber
by the murmuring music of drowsy fountains and dron-
ing voices, an awakened and energetic man ; once more
ready to act, to dare, to suffer, as a man must in a world
of strife and struggle, where the wrestler, like Antaeus
of old, should grow the stronger after every fall, and
spring up re-invigorated after touching his mother earth.
Rising up, it may be, with some stains of that earth upon
him, but staining not his inner man ; for, with such soil-
ing of the body, in such strife, often comes purification
of the soul.
So, at the appointed hour, the young Copt met the
Great Sheik, with a calm and composed countenance, on
which the resolve of his soul was written, and while
thanking him for all his kindness, and for the last and
greatest favor of all which he meditated, courteously de-
clined it, explaining and pleading his own duties. He
also announced his intention of departing on the ensuing
ASKAROS KASSIS.
morning for Joppa, with his faithful Nubian, there to
determine his future course.
With the stoicism of the Indian savage, whom indeed,
the Bedouin much resembles in many points of appear-
ance, life, and character, Abou-Gosh accepted the de-
cision as final, wasting no words in useless argument or
expostulation, and seemed to forget the subject. But
there were moist eyes under the tents that night, when
the speedy departure of the stranger was announced :
and one woman's heart beat high with indignation, the
other's throbbing with a dull aching pain, and vain long-
ing, at the news. For both mother and daughter had
hoped that the proposal of the Great Sheik to their guest
on which he had consulted them would have been
thankfully accepted.
So, at the first gray glimmer of dawn, on the next day,
Askaros bade farewell to Abou-Gosh, and to the tents of
the Beni-Hassan, unwitting that the tearful eyes of the
Arab maiden strained after his receding form with a long,
wistful gaze, from a rent in the canvas of the tent, and
that a fond, forgiving heart sent a benison after him.
His own heart was heavy and sad enough, as over the
still and sterile mountains of the hill country of Judea
he took his way back to Jerusalem and Joppa, on his re-
turn to what men call civilization the simple patriarch-
al life, like the black tents, fading away from his view as
he left that peaceful valley never again to return.
22
CHAPTER XXII.
THE BRIDE OF THE SEA.
BEAUTIFUL art thou still, O sad city ! that sittest
by the sea, like another Niobe, weeping for thy chil-
dren and for thy glories, which have vanished and return
not.
Lovely in thy weeds of widowhood, with thy marble
palaces crumbling to decay ; thy black hearse-like gondo-
las gliding over slimy and almost deserted waters : thy
women all in mourning ; the best and bravest of thy sons
eating the bitter bread of exile, or vainly striving to
break the chains which fetter limbs and soul ; lovely in
spite of these, in thy hectic glow of decline, like a fair
consumptive, art thou still, O Venice !
The scene shifts from the sands of the desert and the
black tents of the Bedouins, to the old city of the Doges,
where the lion of St. Mark's crouches under the Austrian
eagle, and the steeds of brass, glittering in the sun, have
succumbed to a stronger than Doria, and are bridled at
last.
It was at a period when the Austrian rule seemed more
firmly fastened on Venice than ever ; and when her gov-
ernment seemed crushed out of nationality into a military
254
ASA'AROS /CASSIS. 255
district upheld by the bayonets of a foreign soldiery ;
while her people, broken in fortune and bankrupt of
hope, sullenly and sadly submitted to a doom they were
powerless to avert. Saddest spectacle under the sun is
such a contrast ; where the gifts of Nature and the prod-
igal profusion with which she has endowed both place
and people bathed in the brightest sunlight under the
bluest of skies are all rendered sources not of pleas-
ure, but of pain, by the cruelty of a conqueror.
Such was Venice in the early winter of 1854, when a
party of foreigners, lodging in one of the palaces over-
looking the grand lagoon, were passing a season there ;
gliding over her silent canals in the noiseless gondola,
and visiting her sad, old churches and the palaces of her
doges and princes, with their rare wealth of pictures by
the old masters, still the attraction and the charm, which
invite and keep the stranger spell-bound in that city of
the dead.
They are old friends of ours, these foreigners, whom
we have met in Cairo and up the Nile ; and few changes
have taken place in their appearance or outward seem-
ing, drifting as they have all been upon the smooth tides
of a summer sea, and only seeking pleasure in novel ex-
citements, as they have rambled leisurely from place to
place.
Old Van Camp looks as rotund and as ruddy and pla-
cid as ever ; the chaste Priscilla as angular in face and
form, and equally dissatisfied. The younger Van Camp
is fearfully and wonderfully arrayed in the most exagger-
ated of English travelling costumes, made of the coarsest
tweed stuff, of the loudest pattern ; the short shooting-
jacket with the innumerable pockets, the tightest of panta-
loons, and the most complicated straps of leather cross-
256 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
ing and recrossing themselves over his manly chest ; with
a small Scotch cap with silver thistle in its side, not shel-
tering a nose grown ruddy and swollen from exposure to
the sun.
Sir Charles is with the party, and to an observant eye,
there is a change in him, slight perhaps, but perceptible.
The reckless carelessness of his manner, and the abrupt
oddity of his speech, have been succeeded by a measured
formality of carriage and address. He is stiffer and
colder than formerly, and talks less. His old humor
seems to have deserted him, with his accession to his new
title for his father was dead, and he is now a peer of
Great Britain. There is a look almost of anxiety or
trouble on his brow, which destroys the frank, open ex-
pression it used to wear. Upon -the whole, he looks
like a man who has some secret care weighing upon his
mind, which he cannot, or will not divulge, and which
gnaws him secretly, as the concealed fox did the Spartan
in the old story.
Over Edith, too, there has come a change somewhat
similar to that observable in her affianced ; though she
looks almost as fresh and fair as when we last saw her.
She has apparently, at one step, passed from a careless
laughing girl into a quiet serious woman, and her smile
has lost its great charm, of irradiating the whole face like
a sunbeam when it broke forth. She looks blase and
careless prematurely, and the eager interest she formerly
manifested at all novel sights, has been succeeded by a
polite indifference which does not seem natural to her.
She has become in those few months a more thoughtful
and more elegant woman, and the most fastidious critic
could find nothing to cavil at, in her cold, calm manner
and speech ; but the gush of youthful impulse which had
A SKA R OS KA S S 1 S.
seemed to bubble up from her fresh nature before, as
from a pure well-spring, has vanished entirely, and her
manner is as composed as that of a woman of middle
age. Whether this change was agreeable or acceptable
to her affianced lover was impossible to say, for their in-
tercourse was as constrained and guarded now as the
most rigid spinster or dowager could have desired. But
the pleasure of Sir Charles in her presence did not seem
so great, nor his own manner so enthusiastic, as it had
been on that memorable evening among the ruins of
Luxor, when he declared his passion, nor after their first
re-union in Europe. The cloud had risen so impercepti-
bly and so gradually, that, until it hung like a chilly veil
between them, neither of them could have explained how
or whence it first arose.
They were both painfully conscious of it, however,
though each strove to hide that consciousness from the
other and from themselves, for the conditional engage-
ment was now understood to be a positive one, to be
consummated the ensuing winter, with the approval of
all parties.
Miss Priscilla Primmins was much pleased with what
she deemed the great improvement in the manners both
of Sir Charles and her niece ; and was loud in her eulo-
giums thereupon, very little to the satisfaction of the
latter, to whom she confided her opinions.
"Did you ever see such an improvement, my dear, in
any man's manner as in Sir Charles's ! " she would cry
out enthusiastically, after he had been especially serious
and silent during the visit he seemed to think it his daily
duty to make' formally having some near relatives,
stopping at another hotel, where he was quartered.
" I can scarcely believe he is the same rattle-cap who
22* R
258 ASKAROS KASSIS.
used to talk so much nonsense, and be actually so rude
to me sometimes at Cairo ! Why, he is as sedate now,
and as sensible as your father. It is wonderful how travel-
ling does improve one ! Don't you think so, Edith? "
The girl, thus appealed to, would vaguely murmur out
her assent, and the spinster would continue :
"And I notice the same thing in you too, my dear.
You used to be a tiresome little chit, as full of frolic and
fun as a kitten, and quite as mischievous, but now you
really look and act as Lady Aylmer ought to do ! and
one would suppose from your dignified manner you had
passed a season in London already, been presented at
Court, and lived among lords and ladies all your life. I
never did see so great a change in so short a time ! But
I begin to fear, my child, that your new rank will turn
your head, and you will be ashamed of your untitled re-
lations, and very naturally too ! Perhaps I would feel
the same were I in your place ; for I am not a fashion-
able woman, and your brother is certainly not present-
able in high circles. He does ' get himself up,' as he
calls it, in such a wonderful way looking for all the
world like a gentleman's groom, or a sporting char-
acter."
"Oh! aunt, how can you talk so?" replied Edith,
tears of vexation rising up into her blue eyes. "Indeed
you make a very great mistake. I have none of those
feelings, but quite the reverse. I do wish," she added,
vehemently, "there were no such thing as lords, and
ladies, and titles, and fashion in the world ! for while
they seem of vital importance to others, my poor repub-
lican head cannot be taught to put any value upon them,
outside of their owner's merits. For I believe with
Burns :
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2$g
1 The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
A man's the gowd for a' that ! "
"Hoity toity! what nonsense," said Miss Priscilla.
"Is the girl distracted? Suppose Sir Charles were to
hear you uttering such vulgar sentiments ? They will do
very well in America, my dear, where, by-the-by, we
never practice them in our best society; but here in
Europe they are low, absolutely low ! " and the spinster
made a wry face, as though compelled to swallow some
nauseous mixture. "My dearest Edith, pray do not
talk in that wild way. I say again, suppose Sir Charles
were to hear you, what would he think? "
"Well," said Edith with some spirit, for her temper
was unequal now, not even as formerly "well ! suppose
Sir Charles should ? what then ? Is a woman supposed
to sacrifice utterly all her own thoughts and feelings to
the man she marries or rather, that her friends marry
her to and become a mere echo of his ideas and opin-
ions? Sir Charles knows I was neither born nor bred an
aristrocrat ; and there are many points on which our views
and feelings are totally dissimilar, I might almost say dis-
cordant. He has been educated in one school, and I in
another."
"Very true, my child; but you will very soon adapt
yourself to your new sphere, for you have quite the ' air-
noble ' already. How do you like Lady Jane Hoauton-
ville and her daughter, his cousins, who are staying at
Danieli Hotel with him? "
"Not at all!" said Edith, promptly; "I think them
both very impertinent : and I do not know which I dis-
like most, the patronizing condescension of the mother
or the frigid insolence of the daughter ! If they are a
260 1SKAAOS KASSIS.
fair sample of Sir Charles's relations, I fear we shall not
agree very well. He seems to think them perfection, and
was speaking only yesterday of Lady Jane as a perfect
model for imitation, and how fortunate it was for a
daughter to have such a mother. I had to bite my lips,
for fear of saying something rude."
"Well, my dear, we should call her 'stuck up' in
Boston, that is a fact ; but she is a woman of title, you
know grand-daughter of Lord Bareacres and niece of
Lord Squander ; so, being so highly connected, she is
naturally proud, and puts on airs, as everybody would.
She never seems to see me at all, and has never uttered
a syllable to me since we first met ; but she is a very
lady-like person when she chooses to be," added Miss
Priscilla, sotto voce, determined not to encourage her
niece in the ideas she saw fermenting in her mind.
For Miss Priscilla had made up her mind that the
match with Sir Charles was a great thing ; and obsti-
nately closed her eyes, and sought also to shut Edith's,
to everything which was not ' ' couleur de rose ' ' in regard
to it.
This conversation, which was only one of many sim-
ilar ones, will show the nature of the cloud which had
been gradually rising between the two affianced ; com-
posed, it is true, of light, floating vapors, and small dis-
cordancies, yet gradually gaining shape and consistency,
until it opposed a veil between them, and made their
intercourse far more awkward and constrained than it
should have been under the circumstances. In fact, the
first romance subsiding into a less bewildering sentiment,
Sir Charles soon saw, that on many points, not only of
taste but of feeling, his ideas and those of the American
girl were not congenial, especially in the matter of social
ASKAROS KASSIS. 26 1
distinction, and the deference to be paid to rank and
position, on which he laid great stress. Edith differed
entirely from him, and seemed to take a pleasure in
asserting that difference, both by word and action, to-
ward the titled relatives with whom he was travelling,
and whom he relied on to introduce and pioneer the
future Lady Aylmer on her introduction into "society,"
by which both he and they meant the elite of the London
world only. The rest of mankind, resting outside of the
charmed circle, being regarded as "people nobody
knows. ' '
Matters stood in this uneasy condition, when an excur-
sion was proposed, one day, to visit some of the famous
glass -factories on the opposite side of the lagoons, which
Sir Charles volunteered to accompany, without his female
relatives.
They took a gondola on the Grand Canal ; and the
two gondoliers in their picturesque costumes one stand-
ing just on the front of the cabin, the other at the sharp
stern of the boat rowed swiftly on past marble palaces,
crumbling to decay, untenanted now, many of them,
save by bats or owls, and others serving as barracks for
Austrian soldiers, whose white uniforms were hung out,
in lieu of draperies, from the wide windows, and who sat
smoking their short pipes at the doorways, or on the
window-sills of palaces once tenanted by the Doges and
Senators of Venice, the Dorias, Falieros, and others
whose names are historical.
Yet the beauty of the site, and of the marble edifices
which covered it, could not be wholly obscured by the
brutalities of man, and the clear blue sky reflected in the
rippling water, as they glided out into the lagoons, en-
262 ASKAROS KASSJS.
hanced the pictorial loveliness of the scene, when look-
ing back upon it.
The party comprised only Mr. Van Camp and his
sister-in-law, Edith and Sir Charles.
Twilight was setting in as they swung round in the
gondola to return to the distant city, now dimly visible
through the evening haze, as its lights began to twinkle
like dim stars.
The sun had rushed to his rest, an orb of burning red,
suddenly dipping down and disappearing behind the
horizon casting no lingering glances behind, but usher-
ing in the evening all at once ; the moon, with its round
silvery shield, shedding its soft rays over water and sky,
which alone were visible from the gondola.
The two elders of the party, complaining of the chilli-
ness of the evening air, withdrew into the cabin, leaving
Sir Charles and Edith alone together the gondoliers at
each end of the boat keeping time to their oars in a low,
measured chant, in the musical Italian tongue.
The softening influences of the scene and hour were
not unfelt by the two young hearts, soon to be united in
so close a tie, and both seemed under the spell of their
witchery. Instinctively they drew nearer to each other,
all their late coolness and reserve melting away. And
as Sir Charles took the small hand that hung listlessly by
the fair girl's side, he pressed it warmly in his own, and
gazed fondly in her face, with all the fervor of a devoted
lover. A chill shot through his heart as, with the un-
erring instinct of true affection, he felt that there was no
reciprocal ardor in the heart which seemed to flutter so
wildly in the young girl's bosom, and that the pressure
was not returned nay, even the small soft hand half
withdrawn from his own, by an impulse she could not
ASKAROS KASSIS. 263
control. The bright blue eyes were not turned toward
his, under the silvery sheen of the moonlight, but cast
down upon the rippling water ; and her thoughts seemed
wandering far away from him, who stood by her side,
living and breathing at that moment for her alone.
"Edith!" he said, with tears in his voice; "dear
Edith ! for God's sake tell me what this means ! How
have I offended you, and what has wrought this change
in your heart, that you treat me like a stranger yes,
more coldly than a stranger and seem to recoil from
my very touch ? I have seen and felt this for some time
past, and only forgot it for one brief, rapturous moment
now, soon to be recalled more painfully to the truth.
Have I, then, grown repulsive to you? for God's sake
tell me, before it is too late ! "
The impassioned and earnest tone in which her com-
panion spoke, roused the young girl from her reverie.
She breathed a deep sigh, as though suddenly recalled
to the fact of her lover's presence, and tears rose to her
eyes as she answered :
" Indeed, Sir Charles, you do me and yourself an in-
justice. You are very far indeed from being repulsive to
me, for I respect and admire you as much as ever, and
would not wound you for the world ! I am indignant
with myself that I cannot make a warmer return for your
affection; but I begin to fear it is my nature for I must
tell you the truth that I do not and cannot love you as
I know you deserve to be loved, and as my heart tells
me I ought to love you ] It would be dishonorable in
me to deceive a heart so noble, and so loyal as yours ;
and I tell you, with mortification, and pain, and shame for
my own cold heart, that what I have dreamed of love,
but never felt, is far different from the feeling entertained
264 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
for you. I honor, esteem, respect you ! I look up to
you for guidance, and entrust my future fearlessly to your
keeping ; but I would deceive you, did I tell you that my
love for you is the same as yours for me. Why this
should be so I cannot tell ; I only know such is the truth. ' '
Over the fair, smooth brow of the Englishman there
seemed to pass a spasm of deadly pain ; and she felt a
shuddering thrill shake the strong hand that still held
hers. Then that hand closed convulsively on hers with
a clasp which was painful, and turning his face toward
her, he pleaded his cause, with all the fervor of a strong
nature habitually kept under control, but sweeping every-
thing before it when once unchained.
"Edith!" he said, "when I unsealed my heart to
you, sitting amidst those ruins at Luxor, and obtained
from your virgin lips the confession that you were not in-
different to me, I felt that it was all, and more, than I had
the right to ask, on the first avowal of my passion ! But
now, after long months of intimate acquaintance, when
we know each other better when our troth is plighted
such cold, measured words as those you have just
uttered, cut me to the heart. They prove that the love
I feel for you is not shared that my affection is not re-
turned and that, rich as I have grown in worldly goods,
I am a pauper in what I prize more and that you can
give me your esteem, but not the love which alone is life
to me !
"Oh Edith! think well ere you reject the priceless
wealth of such an affection as mine, and cause it to wither
and die for the want of the sunshine of a look or word
of yours. Not twice in a lifetime is a love, so deep and
devoted as mine, tendered to any woman : and I know
you too well, to believe that you would be the wife of any
ASKAROS KASSIS. 265
man you did not love. What is my fault ? Tell me,
that I may amend it. In what have I been wanting, that
you have cooled thus in your treatment of me ? Tell me,
that I may repair it. But, oh, Edith ! dear to me now
as ever, in spite of this mortal chill which strikes to my
heart at your avowal be not so cruel, so pitiless ! No
longer be an image of snow, but a woman ; and recipro-
cate an affection which will make the happiness of two
lives perfect."
To this impassioned pleading of her lover Edith knew
not what to reply. She felt the force and truth of what
he had said ; and she felt also keenly, the ingratitude she
manifested toward this heart, so noble, so loyal, so gener-
ous, even in its pain. She felt her own heart softening
toward him, more than it had done for many months,
and mistook the sentiment of sympathy, or of pity, for
that of love, which it no more resembles than the moon-
light does the sunlight. So she replied in a softer and
more sympathetic tone to her lover's appeal and recant-
ed more of her avowals than the truth warranted, under
that impulse : leaving him, although not completely satis-
fied, yet partially convinced that she had spoken more
coldly than she felt, and that the affection she entertained
for him, though not so fervent as he might desire, yet
could be warmed into a greater glow by the fire of his
own.
Half in pity, half in gratified vanity, she was listening
with a pleased and attentive ear to his fervent protesta-
tions, and glowing plans for their future, when the gon-
dola was suddenly arrested, and she looked up to see
what the impediment might be, which had interrupted
the smooth motion of the barge, and their whispered
conversation at the same time.
23
266 ASKAROS KASSIS.
The gondola had passed out of the open lagoon and
entered the Grand Canal. The moonlight was as bright
as day, and every object on the canal distinctly visible
along its whole length the black shadows of the marble
palace on its banks, the column, and winged lion of
St. Mark's reflected in the clear mirror of the limpid
waters producing the effect of a double Venice while
from time to time floated on the air snatches of melodies
of Tasso's verse breathed by the lips of the gondoliers,
coming mellowed by distance over the waters, like echoes
from pleasant memories of the past.
Edith looked up suddenly, as the gondoliers backed
water with their oars, and after a slight shock as though
the gondola had grazed another the bark floated like
a swan on the water, and she saw the face and form she
least expected to see at that place and time, but which
she had often seen in her sleeping and waking dreams.
For as she looked up, there shot out of the small canal
spanned by the Bridge of Sighs, with its palace and
prison on either hand, which runs at right angles to the
Grand Canal, a small gondola, so rapidly propelled by
its careless gondolier, that its sharp prow seemed threat-
ening to cut right into the broadside of the one in which
the young maiden was listening to a love-tale, newer and
fresher, if not so rhythmical as those of Tasso and told
in another tongue.
The rapid backward movement of the gondoliers alone
saved the collision ; and as the smaller gondola shot across
the Grand Canal, just grazing the prow of the larger, a
form rose from the seat outside of the cabin, and gazed
eagerly into the other boat. And the eyes of Edith and
of Askaros met once more ! those of the former full of
wonder and surprise those of the other filling their
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 267
dark lustrous orbs with a light more difficult to define, in
which rapture and pain seemed strangely blended.
It was but an instantaneous flash of recognition ; and
the light gondola, propelled by the vigorous arm of the
single gondolier, shot with arrowy speed down the canal,
in the direction from which the larger had just come, and
turning into another small canal, was lost to view.
The quick eye of Sir Charles had also recognized an
acquaintance, and he turned in surprise to Edith :
"Why, there is our young Egyptian prince! " he said,
1 ' or his ghost ; although he wears the European dress
now, and devilish well he looks in it too ; though thinner
than in his bags. Who would have expected to meet him
here, after so unceremoniously cutting us all in Cairo, as
he did. You know I tried my best to fish him up when
we came down the Nile : but the old house was empty
when I went there all the family away and our dra-
goman told us they had all gone away somewhere. By
Jove ! I must fish him up to-morrow ; for he really is
the most civilized Eastern I have ever met. He came
pretty near giving us another upset with that careless
gondolier of his, though ! "
Edith murmured something in reply, but complained
of the chilliness of the night air, and joined her father
and aunt in the cabin, whither Sir Charles reluctantly
followed ; and the interrupted conversation was not re-
sumed, as they soon reached their residence in the Pa-
lazzo, which was their temporary home, .and spent the
evening at the theatre of San Felice.
Edith retired to her rest that night with a troubled
brow, and a more agitated heart. As she disrobed her-
self, and laid aside the jewels she had worn at the opera-
house, she murmured to herself:
268 ASKAROS KASSIS.
"Does it not seem like a fatality, the perpetual appari-
tion of that man ! as though he did possess the magic
carpet of the Persian prince, and could transport himself
at will, as I once jestingly declared he might. How
strangely does he seem wound up with the thread of my
life ! And how wan and worn he looked in the moon-
light ! like one who had suffered much in mind and body
since we met, so many months ago, in that mysterious
land of his, where everything seems supernatural."
Smiling at her own fancies, she stepped to the window
overlooking the Grand Canal, through which the bright
moonlight streamed with a brightness like that of day,
and waving her hand theatrically, exclaimed, laughingly :
" If truly thou art Haroun-el-Reschid, I summon thee
by this spell to appear ! "
As though in answer to the invocation, round the corner
of the palace, from the small canal, there shot out a
light gondola ; and standing on the deck, leaning against
the cabin, in the full light of the moon, she saw again the
face and form of him she had summoned ! But he saw
her not ; his eyes were fixed on the distant stars, and the
gondola glided so swiftly past that she had scarcely seen
him ere he had vanished again. With a superstitious
thrill of terror, the maiden shivered as though with cold,
and she withdrew from the casement, and with a troubled
mind and heart sought her couch, to be haunted with the
wildest dreams, in which she could trace only one actual
figure that of the mysterious and omnipresent Egyp-
tian.
CHAPTER XXIII.
MOUSSA-BEN-ISRAEL.
A FEW weeks after the interview between the Viceroy
and Daoud-ben-Youssouf, when the farce of a judi-
cial investigation into the accounts of the late Khasnadar,
Askaros Effendi, had been gone into, and through the
garbled accounts of his former Wakeel, Daoud, judg-
ment had been rendered in favor of the Egyptian Gov-
ernment for several thousand purses, with heavy arreara-
ges of interest amounting to a confiscation of the estate
the Syrian was again summoned into the Viceroy's
presence.
He naturally supposed it was to receive the thanks, and
the promised reward from the Viceroy ; for the sessions
of the Grand Meglis were secret, and his treachery to his
former patron had been so adroitly veiled under the
feigned fear and reluctance with which he had testified,
having also made apparently so desperate an effort to
conceal the account-books which compromised the Khas-
nadar, as to deceive all not in the secret. Those forged
books, by an understanding with Mahmoud Bey, were
stolen from the place where he had secreted them, by
the old crone, his servant, and delivered up to the Meglis ;
so he considered himself safe from detection. He had
23* 269
2/O ASKAROS KASSIS.
even allowed himself to be imprisoned for several days,
for refusing to divulge where those account-books were :
and was only liberated when they had been found, as
stated above.
For the sole restraint, the sole fear left to this subtle
and reckless intriguer, who played with life and soul as a
child with its toys prized one moment, thrown away
the next was the dread of El Warda's discovery of his
treachery ; which -he well knew she never would forgive.
With that fear lost, like Satan, went all his fear. Great
as was his avarice, vaulting as was his ambition, implac-
able as was his hate, the master-passion of his soul, per-
verted as it was, could be found in his affection for this
gentle girl. So strange are the diversities of human
character ! so mysterious and inscrutable the workings of
the human soul ! If, on the earth's wide surface there
existed two beings, more utterly dissimilar in mind, heart
and soul, than El Warda and Daoud the one all light,
the other all darkness hard, indeed, would they be to
find. Yet the strange attraction of opposites manifested
itself here : overpoweringly in the case of the man, fitfully
and feebly in that of the woman, whose purer nature re-
coiled instinctively from the occasional exhibitions of the
darker soul of the Syrian.
With the haunting fear of detection set at rest, he cared
for naught else ; and it was, therefore, with a light heart
and a serene brow that he mounted his donkey, and set
out for the Abassieh, to obey the Viceroy's summons.
While he was still on his way there, another had been
ushered into the presence of the Viceroy, in secret au-
dience : and that other was the venerable Israelite,
Moussa-ben-Israel, who had also been peremptorily sum-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2JI
moned to the palace of the Pasha, by an order he dared
not disobey.
The old man, as he stood before Abbas, after pros-
trating himself in Oriental fashion, was not clad in the
costly garments he had worn in his own house, when he
had received the elder Askaros in his secret chamber.
He now wore the yellow cap and gabardine, distinctive
of the Jew, and squalid poverty and misery were stamped
upon his external man. Long years of pitiless persecu-
tion and ruthless cruelty had taught his people to coun-
teract the greed and grasping avarice of the Turk, by
concealment of the wealth they coveted, and by a courage
which, though passive, was none the less unflinching and
heroic in its contempt of danger, torture and death. In
the East that mysterious race sole living link between
Deity and man, through whom the rich heritage of sal-
vation and the promises of God to man have been re-
vealed in all ages still present their peculiar character-
istics; which, in the West, by the attrition of inter-
course and marriage with other races, are rapidly being
obliterated.
Moussa-ben-Israel, as he rose up from his prostration
before the Viceroy, presented that type of his tribe,
when they sought to eke out the lion's skin with the fox's,
and to oppose craft to cruelty ; and his appearance and
manner were by no means so prepossessing as when, in
his own house, he had welcomed his friend, and his true
nature was free to exhibit itself. Then, his port and
mien had been erect and fearless ; now, the head was
bowed, and he seemed like one bending under the bur-
den of many years, as he stood with downcast eyes, and
arms dropping nervelessly by his side, before the Vice-
roy, whose countenance wore its blackest aspect.
2/2 ASKAROS KASSIS.
"Dog of a Yahudi ! " was the Viceroy's salutation;
"son of the stiff-necked race, whom Turk, Nazarene,
and Gentile equally hate and despise ! I have permitted
thy presence to pollute my palace, because I have some
questions to ask of thee ! Answer me truly, though thy
tongue be so skilled in lying as to make it difficult, or I
shall cause it to be plucked with red-hdt pincers from
thy blaspheming jaws. They tell me that if living man
knows, thou knowest where the treasures of Askaros
Khasnadar are concealed ; and he was a defaulter to my
Government, and seems to have taken all his wealth to
the pit of Eblis with him when he died, for my people
cannot find it. Thou alone knowest where it is hidden,
and if thou wilt tell me," said the Viceroy, suddenly
changing his manner into one of patronizing kindness,
" my gratitude shall richly recompense thee for the
public service thou wilt have conferred." And he
leaned forward on his divan, almost caressingly, toward
the old man.
" Effendina ! " replied the Jew, apparently much con-
fused and astonished, and plucking nervously at his long
snowy beard as he spoke, "you surely must be jesting
with your poor servant. Does he look like a man ' '
and he glanced at his soiled and worn gabardine " apt
to know of State secrets, or to be entrusted with the
hiding-place of concealed treasures ? Surely my great
lord amuses himself by mocking at the poor Hebrew,
who served his grand-sire ! "
" Pig ! Swine ! Offspring of the thrice accursed race,
which not only denies the true Prophet, but slew its own
God ! " shrieked Abbas, in a frenzy of rage. " It is thou
that laughest at the beard of thy king and master. An-
swer my question, and answer it truly ; or, by the tomb
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2/3
of the Prophet, I will cause each separate hair of thy
beard to be plucked out by pincers, and thine eyeballs
to be seared with hot irons. Answer, dog ! or prepare
to meet the wrath of Abbas Pasha, for well do I know
thou liest, and that the secret conveyance of the wealth
of Askaros is well known to thee, as well as the place to
which his son and daughter have fled ! ' ' And he clapped
his hands sharply together.
' ' Send the man with the bowstring, ' ' he said to the
attendant who came at the call. And a moment after, a
grim, black Nubian, hideous in face and figure, with a
knotted cord in his hand, entered, and, after prostrating
himself, passed silently to the side of the old Hebrew,
watching a signal from his master, then and there to
strangle him.
But, instead of inspiring fear or abject humiliation, the
insulting words of Abbas, and the presence of the hideous
executioner of the will of the tyrant, seemed only to have
infused new vigor and courage in the breast of the daunt-
less old man, whose manhood seemed to rekindle under
the ashes of years at this trial.
The stubborn obduracy, the unflinching fortitude of
his long-enduring race, seemed all concentrated in his
person, in this crisis. He raised his head, and the grand
old Jewish face, with its bold outline nose curved like
the eagle's beak ; firm, full lips, massive jaw, from which
flowed, like floss silk, the snowy beard, falling upon the
chest, and with the full bright eye, like an eagle's, too,
undimmed by age elevated itself to a level with the
cruel countenance of Abbas, as he sat on his divan, and
thus the Hebrew spoke :
" Grandson of Mehemet Ali ! who art now, by the will
of God, Viceroy of Egypt, the sands of my life have
S
2/4 ASA'AKOS A'ASSIS.
already ran too low, and the time of my departure is
already too near, in the course of nature, for thy threats
to terrify me, or to extort aught from my lips, which I
wish not to tell. I am older than thy grandsire would
have been were he now alive ! Respect that age, if thou
respectest naught else. Speak to me like a human be-
ing, and not as to a dog, and I may tell thee, not all
thou askest, for I cannot tell what I do not know, but
much which it may profit thee to hear. Now, dismiss
that creature with the cord, for only cowards speak under
such compulsion, and lie when they speak. From the
lips of Moussa-ben-Israel a lie never came, nor fear to
his soul, except of Jehovah Jireh alone ! While that
Nubian stands there this tongue is mute. Thou canst
cause it to be torn with pincers from this mouth, but thou
canst not compel it to speak. I swear to thee, O Abbas !
by the great Jehovah whom alone I worship, that thou
never shalt learn from me what alone I know, except on
the conditions I have named, and one other condition :
that I shall be permitted to depart in peace, when I have
spoken. Swear this to me by the tomb of the Prophet,
or work thy will, and see me die in silence, my secret
unrevealed. I have spoken ! "
The old man ceased his bent form erect for the
moment with the vigor of youth ; his dark eye flashing ;
his breast heaving confronting Abbas with a pride
greater than his own.
The first emotion of the Viceroy at seeing one whom
he considered, with the prejudice of his bigoted nature,
as utterly destitute of courage or principle, rise to the
full majesty of outraged manhood, and defy death, tor-
ture, and his wrath, which all his subjects knew was
deadly, was one of utter amazement. He listened in
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 2?$
mute surprise, which was converted into reluctant admi-
ration as the old man proceeded.
When his voice ceased, Abbas drew a long breath, and
spoke, as to himself:
' ' And this man is a Yahudi ! ' '
"Ay! Effendina ! a Hebrew of the Hebrews! by
blood, faith, and training ! One of that race thou hast
been taught to despise ; but who are men, even as are
Mussulman and Nazarene, and in whom persecution, like
a furnace seven times heated, for generation after genera-
tion, hath developed a strength of will, a quickness of
intellect, and a pertinacity of purpose, which a softer-
training would never have produced, and which have
made that scattered race a nation no longer a power
over the whole earth.
" Hearken unto me ! O Viceroy ! In that great book
of faith which thy Prophet reverenced, and from which
he drew many of his precepts and his laws for Islam,
thou mayst read how Jehovah never failed to protect His
chosen people against the Pharaohs, and other kings of
Egypt, who sought to harm them. Effendina, thou hast
drank of the waters of the Ain-el-Moussa (Well of
Moses), near Suez, and the Mollahs have told thee the
story of that persecution of my people, and how it ended.
Thotmas was a mighty king, and Moussa but a poor He-
brew; yet look how Jehovah weighed the one against the
other ? Effendina, I have spoken ! ' '
"What he saith is true! " muttered Abbas. "The
Mollahs at Suez have told me that tale ! Sheitan pro-
tects his own ! This old man is stubborn, I see, and I
cannot frighten his secret out of him, so must try coax-
ing ! for I must have it. Slave ! " he said aloud to the
grim Nubian, who stood like an ebony statue. " Retire ! "
276 ASKAROS KASSIS.
and making another prostration, the executioner retired
as noiselessly as he had entered.
"Now," said Abbas, turning toward the Hebrew,
"that I have humored thy whim, I presume those stub-
born lips of thine will unclose, to sing something other
than the glories of the race of which thou art so proud !
But stay ! " he added. "Thou art old and feeble, and
to prove how much of my favor thou hast earned by thy
plain speaking, thou shalt sit down in my presence a
privilege, as thou knowest, accorded to few of my sub-
jects; " and he pointed to a pile of cushions on the floor,
where the old man might seat himself.
The Hebrew accepted the proffered courtesy, for the
strength of temporary excitement had been succeeded by
exhaustion. At the same time he appreciated the full ex-
tent of the condescension, which he rightly judged was
intended to conciliate him, and unseal his lips.
"Now," said Abbas, "as thou art a wise man, and
not to be deceived, I will tell thee, O Moussa, how this
matter stands, and what I seek of thee ! and thou mayest
benefit thy friends likewise, if thou art frank with me !
" My Grand Meglis has found a judgment against the
estate of the Khasnadar for many thousand purses ; but
Zoulfikar Pasha, who hath the estate in charge, reports
that, save the landed property, which is of no great value,
he can find no traces of the reputed wealth which all
men spoke of. Therefore Justice cannot be satisfied : nor
can we discover whither the children of Askaros, who
might tell us, have fled.
" Now, in this strait, as men say thou wast the trusted
friend and business agent of the Khasnadar, who visited
thee the very day he died, I seek to know where all that
ASKAROS KASSIS. 2"JJ
wealth is lodged, promising a rich reward, which thou
mayest name, for thy revelations ! ' '
He ceased, fixing an anxious eye on the old man's face,
which was as immovable and impenetrable as that of a
stone statue.
"And if I tell thee all I know, O Effendina ! waiv-
ing the reward, for I need no bribe will your Highness
permit me to add a word of counsel afterward ? "
" Certainly ! so thou wilt but tell me where those trea-
sures really are ! " he added, eagerly; his dull eye light-
ing up with avaricious hope.
" Effendina, I will. But they are neither within my
reach nor thine ! ' '
The countenance of Abbas fell, and he cast a sinister
and malign look, from under his brows, on the placid
face of the old man, who observed it, and added, hastily:
" But I can suggest a way, I think, in which some of
it may be secured ! ' '
"In the name of the Prophet! man! then talk out
plainly, and read me no more riddles ! for I am growing
weary of them ! What hast thou to suggest? "
" This, Highness ! The younger Askaros is now in
Europe ; at Venice when last heard from. He is the sole
heir; the girl El Warda being only an adopted daughter
of the Khasnadar, and not entitled to inherit. She
therefore is useless in this affair. The consul-general,
who, as protector of Askaros, claims now to protect what
are his estates, is a stumbling-block in the way also. Is
it not so, Effendina ? "
Abbas assented, by an impatient nod of his head, and
a lowering brow, as though the mention of that name
irritated him.
"The Elchee whom may Sheitan seize hath had
24
2/8 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
the insolence to set up some such pretext, ' ' he said ;
"thou art well informed as to what passes in the secret
sessions of my Grand Meglis ! "
The old man did not notice the sneer, but resumed :
"Well, then, Highness, why not offer the consul-gen-
eral to mediate between thy Government and Askaros,
by proposing that he shall be reinstated in thy good
graces, and enjoy his inheritance, on payment of an in-
demnity agreed upon, in liquidation of the Government
claim against his father's estate? For I assure your
Highness, the money invested abroad a very large sum
is entirely under the control of the young man now ;
and to seize upon his lands would lead to a quarrel with
the consul-general."
Abbas reflected a few moments, then replied :
"I believe thou speakest truly, O Moussa! and the
wisdom of thy counsel is worthy of thy great ancestor,
after whom thou hast been fitly named. I will take warn-
ing of Thotmas, and not only allow thee to depart in
peace, but adopt thy counsel also, and take thee and thine
under my special protection henceforth.
"Go thou to the consul-general, and suggest this thing
to him, as though I knew not of it ; for it is not fitting
the proposal should come from me. I rely on thy dis-
cretion to protect my dignity therein ; and thou must not
even hint to him that the thing will not be new to me.
Bakaloum ! Thou mayest now depart ; and I thank thee
that thou hast reminded me that the Prophet hath ordered
the toleration of all faiths, though there be no salvation
except through Islam.
"Salaam Aleikoum, old patriarch! Peace be with
thee!"
The old man ros up, made his reverence, and retired
A SKA R OS KASSIS. 2/9
with a lighter heart than he had entered, feeling like one
who has safely emerged from the den of a tiger.
As he passed through the courtyard he encountered
Daoud-ben-Youssouf, who was just entering the palace
gates. The recognition was mutual, as also the surprise.
' ' What seeks the fox in the cave of the tiger ? ' ' thought
Moussa.
"What can have brought that old dotard here?"
thought Daoud.
But each only greeted the other courteously, exchang-
ing no words, and passed on his way.
The Hebrew mounted his white donkey at the gate,
and ambled slowly home a smile on his aged face
thinking of the good tidings he had to tell El Warda,
still his secret guest.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE VICEROY PAYS THE SYRIAN.
WHEN Daoud-ben-Youssouf was ushered into the
presence of the Viceroy, he found him apparently
in good humor, smiling from time to time as though
some pleasant thought tickled his fancy. His reception
of the Syrian was bland and encouraging in the extreme
more patronizing and cordial than it had ever been
before ; which Daoud regarded as a good omen.
" So, thou hast come swiftly at my summons ! " said
Abbas, chuckling to himself; "and with a good appetite
for the feast, I trust ? for thou hast hunted down the fat
quarry : and now cometh the banquet. Is it not so ? "
and he laughed again until the tears trickled down his
face, as at some capital joke.
" Effendina ! I know not why I was summoned. But
it is my duty and my pleasure to respond promptly to my
lord's call ! "
"But thou hast a suspicion as to why thou wert sent
for? Thou knowest that Abbas Pasha ever keeps faith,
and fulfils his promises to the letter. Surely thou hast
not forgotten mine to thee, when first we talked of the
affairs of the late Khasnadar now so happily conclu-
ded in which thou hast more than exceeded thy part."
280
ASKAROS KASSIS. 28 1
"Effendina, I remember everything ! "
"Ay! Thou hast a good memory, I believe. Canst
thou, now that the judgment hath been rendered, give
me any clue to the hidden wealth of the Khasnadar?
Thou mayest have met the Jew, Moussa in the courtyard ?
He pretends to know somewhat of its hiding place."
" Effendina ! if any man does know, it is he. Did he
reveal it?" he asked, eagerly, forgetting his caution, and
the presence in which he stood, in his burning anxiety.
But Abbas did not take offence at the impertinence of
the question. His good humor seemed impenetrable.
He only rebuked the rash youth, as one would a forward
child.
" Thou art here to answer questions, not to ask them ! "
he said ; then added : " but I will indulge thy curiosity
so far as to tell thee, that he doth give me information
which is truly valuable. A wise man and a true one,
indeed, is that old Yahudi ! He hath improved my
opinion of his people. But this concerneth not thee !
Hast thou any information to impart to me ? Any more
useful treachery to sell ? If not, our accounts might as
well now be closed ! "
" Effendina ! I have told all I know, and have nothing
more ! ' ' replied the Syrian, who did not fancy the snarl-
ing earnestness of the Viceroy's last remark, nor his
manner, which seemed too soft and playful to be entirely
natural.
So he thought it best not to protract the interview, but
boldly said :
"Effendina intimated to his faithful servant that, now
his work was done, his reward would be forthcoming.
Shall I kiss his Highness's hand in token of thanks for
his bounty ? ' '
24*
282 ASKAROS KASSIS.
"But I promised thee the girl as well as the gold ! "
responded Abbas, seemingly much amused at the impa-
tience of the Syrian to clutch the promised purses. " How
can I give her to thee, when she hath disappeared like
the Fairy Princess in the ' Thousand and One Nights ' ?
Hast thou yet found any clue to her hiding-place ? ' '
"Effendina! I have not. She has disappeared like a
bubble in the air, or a circle on the water. ' '
"Well, then, thou canst not blame me," said Abbas,
still smiling, "if I pay thee but half of what is due
thee ! ' ' Then turning to his chamberlain, gave him
some instructions in a low voice, and dismissed the
Syrian, saying :
"Go thou with Mahmoud Bey, who is an old friend
of thine, and first introduced thee, who will conduct thee
to my Khasnadar, who will give thee the half of thy re-
ward the other thou must find for thyself! "
Not quite satisfied with the ambiguous smile which ac-
companied these satisfactory words, Daoud followed the
footsteps of Mahmoud Bey through the passage, and just
as he emerged through the palace-door into the court-
yard, felt himself suddenly seized his arms pinioned
to his sides by a strong cord which was flung over his
head was thrown on his face flat on the ground his
legs lifted in air, his slippers and stockings torn off in a
twinkling, and the heavy blows of a palm stick fell thick
and fast on the soles of his delicate feet, of which he was
as careful and proud as a woman.
Utterly stunned and bewildered by the suddenness of
the treachery, and writhing under the pain of the basti-
nado one of the most terrible of Eastern punishments
the Syrian made no useless struggles, uttered no cry, but
submitted with stoical fortitude to the pain, which was
A SKA R OS K ASS IS. 283
acute and agonizing, while the shame he felt at the
degradation afmost equalled the physical torture.
At length, blind and dizzy with the pain, his brain
reeling, his feet beaten almost into a jelly, with sharp
pains racking his spine and his whole frame exhausted
almost to fainting his torturers ceased their blows, and
rolled him over like a log, into a corner of the court-
yard for he found he was unable to rise or stand, upon
making the attempt and there they left him.
A mocking laugh from an upper window of the palace
roused him from his dizzy swoon. He turned his blood-
shot eyes in the direction of the sound, and saw Abbas
Pasha standing there, above his head, looking down and
apparently enjoying his wretched plight, as he had wit-
nessed his punishment.
" Ho ! ho ! " laughed Abbas again, as he caught the
eye of his victim. " Have I not kept my word? thou
dog of great promises and small performances ! who hast
dared trifle with thy master, and sought to fill his eyes
and ears with sand !
" Said I not that thou shouldst be paid half of what I
promised thee ? For thy two hundred purses thou hast
had one hundred stripes of the bastinado the other
half I reserve the payment of, as thou shalt merit it.
Go, now, and remember that, though thou art a sleek
young tiger-cat, whose claws are sharp, thou shouldest
not venture to play pranks with a full-grown tiger !
' ' Pray to thy saints soon to heal thy delicate and
dainty feet, or bear thee to Cairo on their wings ; else
wilt thou not walk for many days to come !
" Consider thine account settled, unless thou shouldst
prefer to call again for thy balance ! Ho ! ho ! ho !
284 ASKAROS KASSIS.
for after having seen thy feet, I care not ever to look
upon thy face again ! ' '
No word escaped the Syrian's lips ; no muscle of face
or body moved, as he lay upon the ground, bruised,
beaten and bloody, with the foam upon his pallid lips,
and shame, agony, and impotent wrath gnawing at his
heart.
But if looks could kill, the glances he shot from his
dilating pupils at the man who mocked at his misery and
laughed at his degradation, after having duped and be-
trayed him even worse than he had betrayed his former
friends, that glance would have been as deadly as
Medusa's.
He felt the hot blood surging up to his brain, as he
realized the utter impotence of his wrath, and his thirst
for vengeance on his smiling enemy, and, with a sound
like the rushing of mighty waters booming in his ears,
darkness came down over body, brain and heart, and he
saw or felt no more lying there more like the corpse
than the living body of the baffled schemer, whose pun-
ishment was almost as great as his crime, coming, as it
did, in the hour of his fancied triumph, and plunging
him down from his highest heaven of hope into the
deepest hell of despair.
The Viceroy looked coolly down on the inanimate
form, then withdrew from the window, and took his way
to his mother's apartments, still chuckling to himself at
his own excellent practical joke.
The smile was still upon his face as he raised the cur-
tain of the door, and passed into the hareem, where he
found his mother, but not alone, for an unveiled female
was sitting on the divan beside her.
Seeing this, Abbas was about to retire, when the
ASKAROS XASSIS. 285
woman rose, disclosing the bold beauty of Nezle" Kha-
num ; and Abbas, coming forward, greeted her with
great apparent cordiality, and took his seat beside the
two women.
After the usual compliments had passed between Abbas
and his kinswoman, the latter said :
"Thou hast the air of one, O Abbas ! that hath just
heard pleasant tidings, or witnessed some amusing sight
of late, for thou wast smiling when entering. Let us
poor women, ever shut out from the sights abroad, share
in thy mirth ! ' '
"Truly it was but a small matter, O Khanum ! " re-
turned Abbas. "Yet, of a verity, fit food for mirth.
I have just witnessed the paring of a wild-cat's claws ;
and truly it was amusing ! ' '
" Thou speakest in parables, my son, like a Santon at
a tomb, or a Mollah in a mosque," said his mother, with
the curiosity of old age, ' ' with thy talk of wild-cats and
other vermin ! What was the sight that so pleased thee ?
Tell thine old mother ! ' '
Thus solicited, Abbas, with grim humor, told the
whole story of the Syrian, ending with the payment just
made him ; suppressing, of course, the more material
facts, which he did not desire to be known ; winding up
with his parting remarks to Daoud.
Both the women seemed much amused by the recital ;
but the small bright eyes of Nezle" Khanum never left
the speaker's face after the name of Askaros had been
mentioned in connection with the affair, and under her
ready and noisy laughter might have been detected a
sardonic twitching of the mouth, by a less preoccupied
observer than Abbas.
When he had concluded, and they had all paid their
286 ASKAROS KASSIS.
tribute to his good story, Nezle, affecting to wipe from
her eyes the tears which her laughter had caused, asked :
' ' And what became of the young wild-cat, after his
claws were trimmed so adroitly ? ' '
"Oh," said Abbas, "lying in the courtyard still, I
suppose ! The creature can crawl away when it has re-
covered sufficiently. I gave orders to my people not to
interfere with it."
" Peki ! " said the Khanum, " I wonder if it was the
young man I saw coming in, as an old Yahudi left the
courtyard, as I was looking down through your mother's
window, half an hour since ? ' '
"Most probably," responded Abbas, " my fair kins-
woman, it was the same."
" He was very good-looking, then ; beardless, with a
smooth skin like a girl's, and the daintiest little hands
and feet imaginable. Had I known what he was coming
for, I should have interceded for him. Pretty boys are
growing scarcer every day in this country. ' '
"This one would have made a good Mameluke," said
Abbas ; " the very boy to watch one's slumbers, keep the
flies off and hand the sherbet. I am sadly in want of
some good ones."
" I am promised some from Stamboul soon," replied
Nezle 7 , carelessly, " and if Effendina wants some, he may
take his choice."
"Thanks," said Abbas. "We shall see, for we know
thy taste to be good in all that appertains to youth and
beauty in our unworthy sex," he added, sarcastically.
But the mother of Abbas, who loved dearly the visits
of the princess, who brought her all the latest gossip from
the baths and hareems of Cairo, saw the rising storm on
the brow of her guest, and the ominous flash in her eye
A SKA R OS KASSIS. 287
at the equivocal compliment of Abbas, and hastened to
divert it by turning the conversation into a less dangerous
channel.
Abbas, too, whose love for the princess was by no
means equal to his fear of her, seconded his mother in
this hospitable intent, and apparently succeeded.
An hour later, when the Syrian revived from his death-
like swoon, still weak, dizzy and faint with pain, exhaus-
tion and excitement, he found himself to his surprise,
lying in a small room attached to the hareem kitchens,
with two stalwart black eunuchs taking charge of him,
bathing his wounded feet with balms and unguents, and
tending him with great care.
To his question as to whether they did this by the
Viceroy's orders, they shook their heads, and one of
them answered :
"A high and noble lady, who hath seen thy piteous
plight and compassionated thee, hath ordered us, her
slaves, to bind up thy wounds and take thee safely home,
which we are now ready to do, when thou art strong
enough : for thy litter, ^ince thou canst not ride, is now
ready for thee without. ' '
"Let us leave this Sheitan's den at once, then," said
the Syrian, savagely, raising himself up from the divan
on which they had laid him. The eunuchs glanced fear-
fully around, and placed their fingers on their lips, as
though to warn the rash speaker that the walls might
have ears ; but proceeded instantly to lift him up, since
he could not stand so swollen and useless were his
bruised feet and discolored limbs and to bear him to
the outer air.
"What is the name of this kind lady who has taken
pity on a bruised worm like me? " asked Daoud, as they
288 ASKAROS KASSIS.
carefully bore him forth and placed him on a litter, borne
by two strong hamals (porters).
One of the eunuchs stooped down and whispered in
his ear a name, on hearing which the Syrian's astonish-
ment seemed to deprive him of speech, for he spoke no
other word until safely deposited in his own house.
Then, bestowing a liberal backschisch on the eunuch who
had accompanied the litter on horseback, he dismissed
him, with thanks to his mistress, to whom he tendered
his future life-long services, in gratitude for her charity.
But when left alone, stretched on his divan in his own
dreary house, he muttered savagely to himself through
his clenched teeth, an Italian proverb :
" He laughs well who laughs last ! "
CHAPTER XXV.
"THE OLD, OLD STORY."
SPRING had returned once more, the buds and blos-
soms were awaking again from their winter's sleep,
and the soft winds whispered gently among the green
foliage, and ruffled the smooth surface of the lagoons
into mimic waves.
Venice, the ever desolate though ever lovely, was don-
ning her summer robes again, and endowing herself with
that fatal beauty, under which lurked the seeds of death
for the imprudent stranger, whom her Circe-like spells
beguiled to linger there.
The winter which had been passed by our friends, the
Americans, in Venice, had witnessed some strange changes
in that household ; though the family still occupied the
place they had leased for the winter months.
Sir Charles had succeeded in finding the Egyptian, the
morning after their unexpected rencontre near the Bridge
of Sighs, and had brought him to visit his former guests
at Cairo ; and the consequences of this intervention were
very serious for all parties.
For the simple narrative of his misfortunes from the
lips of the young Copt, and his present exile and desola.
25 T 289
2QO ASKAROS K AS SIS.
tion, had so wrought on the excited heart, or the imag-
ination of the young American girl, as entirely to over-
power her judgment or cooler reason; and what had
been a mere fancy before, soon developed itself into an
ardent passion for the hero of her dreams.
She was too frank and too honest to conceal this
change in her sentiments from him who had the best title
to know it ; and Sir Charles, though cut to the heart by
her avowal that she found she could not love him well
enough to be his wife, and wounded both in his pride and
affection by his failure, was nevertheless too proud and
too generous to urge his suit on cold or unwilling ears.
He left Venice abruptly the day after she had spoken
to him ; leaving a note for Mr. Van Camp, stating that
his daughter would inform him why the engagement had
been broken, as it had been solely on her urgent solicita-
tion that he had abandoned a hope so dear to his heart.
He further stated that he should never marry ; but if at
any future time he could be of service in any way to him,
or his, they had only to call upon him, for he ever would
cherish sentiments of the warmest friendship for Miss
Van Camp and her father.
The old gentleman was both mystified and mortified
on receipt of this note ; and the spinster was furious.
But Edith calmly and gravely assured them she had con-
sidered the matter thoroughly, and could not conscien-
tiously wed a man she did not love.
So the old gentleman consoled himself with the thought
that now he should keep his daughter ; but Miss Priscilla
mourned, as one not to be comforted, at the vanished
dream of figuring among lords and ladies, and of pres-
entation at foreign courts. Moreover, she saw, with eyes
sharpened by disappointment, that as the figure of Sir
ASKAROS K'ASSIS. 2gi
Charles receded from the foreground, that of the young
Egyptian came forward ; and that on one pretext or the
other, he was constantly either at the palace where they
dwelt, or accompanying them in their excursions, and
that Edith and himself conversed in so low a tone that it
was impossible to hear what they were talking about.
These things disturbed the mind of the sagacious spin-
ster, and she imparted her suspicions to her brother-in-
law, who only pooh-poohed her, and resumed the after-
dinner nap she had interrupted to make her confidential
communication. So Miss Priscilla, though sorely dis-
quieted, and not daring to interrogate Edith on the sub-
ject, whose temper had grown more and more uncertain,
alternating bursts of fitful merriment with equally fitful
periods of despondency, grimly watched and held her
peace.
The denouement came sooner than she had anticipated ;
for one day Askaros came to visit them, with a face of
unusual gravity and sadness, so that they feared he had
received tidings of some new misfortune ; but it was quite
the reverse, for he had received an intimation from the
consul-general, who had befriended and protected him
in Egypt, that the Viceroy had made a compact with him,
that if Askaros would return, on payment of a stipulated
number of purses to the Egyptian Government, they
would quash all proceedings against his father's estate,
placing him in full possession of all appertaining to him
as heir, and acknowledging him as a.protegj, and official
of the foreign consulate - general, which would assure
his personal safety. He was therefore urged to return
immediately, to take charge of his interests. El Warda
had enclosed a little note also, in which, among other
matters of gossip, the fact was carelessly stated of the de-
2Q2 ASKAROS KASSIS.
parture of Princess Nezle' for Constantinople, it was sup-
posed by order of Abbas, with whom it was said she had
quarrelled.
This news, which ought to have filled the young man's
mind with joy, seemed to produce directly the contrary
effect. He was sadder and more abstracted even than
usual ; and, strange to say, the fair Edith seemed to share
in his despondency.
Seeing this, the young man was emboldened to speak
again of his admiration his love for the fair Ameri-
can. And this time he was not repulsed, but listened to
in silence he knew not how to interpret, as he wildly
poured out the mingled agony and ecstacy of his soul, in
the burning language of Eastern passion until venturing
to look up at the face which he worshipped, he saw some-
thing there that encouraged him to hope, and in a few
moments more the "old, old story" had been wildly
repeated, and as earnestly listened to as in any tale of
true love : and the young Copt knew his love was re-
turned.
It was hard to say whether the usual calm and com-
posed father, or the eccentric aunt, was more horrified
and indignant, when the young Egyptian formally re-
peated his proposal to them, adding that he was author-
ized to do so by Edith herself.
We pass by the stormy scenes that ensued the indig-
nant refusal by the father, the hysteric indignation of the
aunt, the mute misery of Edith, whose dream was thus
rudely broken, but who proved staunch to her strangely-
selected lover. Mr. Van Camp broke up his establish-
ment in Venice, and took his daughter away, forbidding
her to correspond with Askaros on pain of his displeasure,
or even to see him ; which the half broken-hearted girl
ASKAROS KASSIS. 293
promised to obey, having never in her lifetime disobeyed
her indulgent father, whose native Dutch obstinacy, once
aroused, was impervious to argument or entreaty.
"If she had chosen any civilized man, however poor
or obscure,' ' he said, " I might have given my consent ;
but to marry an Egyptian savage to mix the pure old
Knickerbocker blood with that of an African ! I would
rather see her in her grave ! " So he hurried off the girl
to Rome, to Naples, to Paris, seeking by change of scene
and of society to divert her thoughts, and banish what
he considered this insane freak from her mind ; but all in
vain. Although the girl submitted with a patient sweet-
ness to all his requisitions, and never complained, yet a
settled sadness took possession of her. She lost color,
appetite, spirits, sleep ; a hectic flush spread itself over
her pale cheek, and a hacking cough, the herald of the
insidious disease of which her mother had died, shook
her enfeebled frame. The physicians whom he called in,
gravely shook their heads, and advised a milder climate
than Paris, where they then were some recommending
Nice, others Egypt until the fond father fairly worried
out, summoned his daughter to him one day, and told
her that he repented of his rash declaration that he would
sooner bury her than see her the wife of the Egyptian ;
and, as the choice seemed to lie between the two things,
he would allow her to choose the latter, if she still were
of the same mind.
His only answer was the clasp of a pair of soft arms
round his neck, while he was half smothered with kisses ;
and wiping his eyes, in which unwonted moisture had
gathered, he said :
' ' I know I am a fool in giving way to you ; but it
can't be helped."
25*
294 ASKAROS KASSIS.
Had the consulting physicians seen Edith the next
morning, with hope once more in her eye and a fresh
bloom on her cheek, which seemed to have grown round
again in a night, they undoubtedly would have indefi-
nitely postponed the voyage to Egypt they had before
so strongly recommended.
Yet that was the voyage they were now preparing for ;
and in two weeks' time Mr. Van Camp with many
forebodings as to the wisdom of the step he had been
seduced into, sorely against his will and judgment was
sailing back, with his family, in one of the Peninsular
and Oriental steamers, for the land of the Pharaohs once
again. Immediately after the peremptory rejection of
his suit by the father of Edith, the young Askaros
reckless, and desperate, and careless now of what befell
him had returned to Alexandria, and there Mr. Van
Camp expected to find him.
The spring by this time was well-nigh over, and the
heats of summer were rapidly coming ; but at Alexandria
they knew the sea-breeze tempered the rays of the sun,
and that it was as cool as most European seaboard cities,
and determined therefore to stop there, before proceed-
ing to Cairo since, through the consular agent, they
could easily ascertain all they sought to know of the for-
tunes and fate of the young Egyptian.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE VULTURE SCENTS HIS PREY.
AND thus it chanced, thanks to the consistent friend-
ship of the consul-general, and the subtle skill of
the Israelite, as well as the precautions taken by his
father, that Askaros found his path smoothed for him,
on his return, and free to sit once more the master of his
own house, and the acknowledged heir of his father's
estate.
He had to pay a heavy price for this reinstatement, it
is true ; but it took only a portion of the large fortune he
had inherited, and he still had enough left to make him
one of the richest among the wealthy class to which he
belonged.
El Warda refused to return to the dwelling of him
whom she and all the world knew not to be her brother,
but took up her residence with some distant kinsman.
Her unaffected happiness at his return made the young
man fonder of her even than before, and the increased
softness and tenderness of his manner toward her, caused
her heart to flutter wildly with newly-awakened hopes as
to the possibility of the formation of a newer and stronger
tie between them, now that the greatest barrier, in the
shape of the Frank woman, was removed. But the poor
295
296 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
girl's new waking dream of felicity was soon disturbed
and dissipated for ever, by the unexpected return of the
only woman on earth her gentle heart had at once hated
and feared. For, with the return of the American party
to Egypt, and the renewed devotion of Askaros to the
girl of the azure eyes and sunny hair, the prophetic soul
of the loving girl warned her of the dissolution of that
dream. Even had Askaros failed in his suit, El Warda
was not the woman to share a divided heart, or accept
the cinders of one consumed by a vain flame for another.
With the sad stoicism of the Indian widow, who mounts
the funeral pile prepared for her incremation while still
full of life and hope, El Warda, with true Oriental fatal-
ism, meekly and heroically accepted her disappointment,
and sought, though vainly, to banish from her heart the
image that haunted it.
She became very religious frequented the Coptic
convent much, and busied herself in works of piety and
charity, and seemed bent on seeking from heaven that
consolation, and that sweet hope in the future, which
earth seemed destined to deny her.
In the interval her more fortunate rival, under the
curative effect of hope restored and happiness secured,
again found the rose returning to her cheeks, the light to
her eye, the springiness to her step, and her gay laughter
gashed out once more, like the carolling of the bird that
swings itself on the spray, and chants from mere over-
flowing of its heart.
It was arranged that the marriage of Askaros Effendi
for such was now his title as inheritor of the wide
lands and large fortune of his father with the young
American girl should be solemnized at the Consulate
first, and afterward at the Coptic Church, as is the cus-
A^SKAROS K ASS IS. 297
torn in all mixed marriages in Egypt. The only condi-
tion exacted by Mr. Van Camp, on consenting to the
union, was the solemn promise, on the part of the Copt,
that he would arrange his affairs in Egypt as speedily as
possible, and make either Europe or America his perma-
nent residence, only visiting Egypt from time to time, as
his affairs demanded his presence there, on which occa-
sions Edith was to be left in charge of her father.
Askaros, who, to secure Edith's hand, would have
promised almost anything, cheerfully subscribed to these
conditions, not being over anxious himself to remain in
Egypt. Especially after he found the Princess Nezle had
returned, after a short visit to Constantinople, and was
said to be in higher favor with Abbas than ever.
This he deemed the only cloud which lurked on his
horizon like most mortals blindly ignorant of the quar-
ter whence the storm was to come.
There was no unnecessary delay interposed after these
arrangements had been made, as Mr. Van Camp and his
family were anxious to leave Egypt before the summer
heats set in.
The marriage took place as agreed upon, the bride
looking as lovely, and the bridegroom as self-conscious
as is usual on such occasions. Among the first to con-
gratulate her new sister was El Warda, who, while press-
ing a kiss on her fair brow, threw around her neck a costly
string of Oriental pearls. Although looking paler and
thinner than when Edith had last seen her, she had be-
come more lovely, her face having gained in expression
what it had lost in girlish gayety, and while more serious
and thoughtful, was not sad but with a sweet resigna-
tion stamped upon it, like that of a saint. At the same
time she made her gift, she presented the bride also with
298 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
a bouquet of choice flowers, all virgin white, and exhal-
ing a rich perfume.
"lean bring my brother's bride no rich gifts," she
said, in a low sweet voice; "but I bring her these pearls;
and these flowers white as her face, pure as her soul,
sweet as her lips, but sooner to fade than her affections.
Next to him I hope to hold a place in her sister's heart,
if she will find a nook in it for a poor ignorant Egyptian
girl, who loves both very dearly? "
Edith, moved to tears, she knew not why, by the
simple pathos of the girl's speech and manner, though
not suspecting the deeper tenderness that was veiled under
that sisterly affection, responded warmly, and while kiss-
ing her dark cheek, urged the girl to share their home,
as a sister should, both in Egypt and abroad. But El
Warda gratefully, yet firmly refused.
"I thank you from my heart, O wife of my brother! "
she said ; "but my ways of life are not as yours, neither
are my pleasures nor my tastes. I should only be an
encumbrance on your household, and miserable myself,
trying to live like a Frank. I shall live and die in Egypt,
which is my home, and I have no desire to see strange
people and strange lands. My own suit me best. It is
more than probable that I shall take my place in one of
the convents of my people, for I shall never marry. So
trouble not yourself, nor allow my brother to be troubled
about the little Copt girl ; who will be very happy in her
own way, although that way be very different from yours.
Now, may Sitta Mariam protect you both, and guard this
house from evil spirits and evil men ! "
Stooping, she impressed a light kiss on the bride's fore-
head, and, ere she could reply, had glided from the apart-
ment and the house, returning to her own residence.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 299
Left alone, for her husband had gone to the door to
bid farewell to his wedding guests, the young bride fell
into a reverie ; the strangeness of the new situation im-
pressing her like the repetition of one of her day-dreams
in Venice, when she first began to listen to the whispers
of her own heart.
A sound like the whirring of wings aroused her. Some-
thing brushed her sunny curls, settled down upon her
shoulder, and rubbed its soft head against her cheek,
with a cooing sound. She saw it was one of the Barbary
doves of Askaros, and the moment after the young man
passed through the door, laughing.
" I thought I would surprise you with an unexpected
visitor," he said. "Do you not recognize the bird you
saved on the Ezbekieh, when chased by a hawk? He
is rightly your property, since his life would have been
forfeited but for the shelter of your bosom. Now he is
yours by a double right, for all that is mine is yours also.
From whatever point you let him go, he will come back
here. Recollect this : for who knows but you may want
to use him, when carried off by some one of the Genii,
or some wicked prince, and imprisoned in an enchanted
castle."
Edith replied in the same tone of badinage, and the
conversation turned on their friends, who had embarked
for Marseilles immediately after the marriage and cere-
mony that morning, from Alexandria.
"What are they doing now, I wonder? " said Edith,
wistfully.
"Let me look into my magic mirror, and I will tell
you ! " said Askaros, with mock solemnity ; and gravely
pouring out some ink into the hollow of her hand, in imi-
tation of the Cairene magician who mystified the travellers
3OO ASKAROS K ASS IS.
at the hotels, he peered earnestly into it. "I see," he
said, "an elderly gentleman lying flat upon his back, and
resisting the importunities of the steward to come to
dinner. I see a young gentleman, smoking a strong
cigar with no relish, and a very pale face, whose sea-legs
are nothing to speak of, but who stoutly stumbles over
the deck, getting entangled in coils of rope, and having
his eyes blessed by the sailors. I see also a maiden lady,
lying on what looks like a cupboard -shelf, fearfully sick
let us say, at soul and peering anxiously at the 'old
willow pattern,' in the bottom of what might be, but is
not a soup-tureen ! And I see also a stewardess tender-
ing her a tumbler containing a mahogany-colored liquid,
fearfully like brandy and water. All this I see, O lady
fair ! accompanied with much movement, and shaking up
and down, and salt spray, and scalding steam ; and the
vision vanishes ! "
It was as Askaros had humorously described it. Her
relatives were all tossing on the Mediterranean, and
Edith, for the first time in her life absent from them all,
left to the society of her Haroun-el-Reschid, did not ap-
pear disconsolate at such desertion, unnatural as it may
seem.
The days glided on, and the weeks moved noiselessly
past, guided by the fleet velvet-footed hours, until there
remained but one week more of their honeymoon, at the
expiration of which Askaros was pledged to return to Eu-
rope, his affairs having been put in a satisfactory condi-
tion, and the settlement with the Egyptian Government
completed.
Abbas had even condescended so far as to permit the
consul-general to bring Askaros in his suite on a visit, and
had allowed the Copt to kiss his hand, making some
ASKAROS KASSIS. 3OI
gracious speech to him at the time, which the blackness
of his brow contradicted ; for Abbas never either forgot or
forgave, had a tenacious memory and much patience.
He had encountered the Viceroy on another occasion.
As he was driving out his wife one evening on the great
Shoubra road, under the grand old trees planted by
Mehemet Ali, in his American wagon presented by the
younger Van Camp, he met the cavalcade of the Viceroy,
which came thundering down the road from those wonder-
ful gardens, now the property of the generous young
prince Halim Pasha.
Recognizing the royal cortege, Askaros drew up to one
side of the road to let it pass, as is the etiquette.
First came the mounted guards in rich uniform, then
the Viceregal carriage. Abbas was sitting in an open
caleche, the hood thrown back, with one of his ministers
sitting on the front seat.
As he passed he recognized the salutation of Askaros
by no movement or look : but a sudden gleam came into
his dull vulture-like eyes, as it fell on the fair face and
golden hair of his companion, and a dark flush reddened
his swarthy face. He stared hard at the unexpected ap-
parition, with a bold unflinching gaze, which disconcert-
ed its object, and brought the bright color to her face,
neck, and bosom, giving a fresher glow to her beauty.
Then he leaned forward, and seemed eagerly to interro-
gate the official riding with him, and, turning his head,
again gazed back until the winding road hid them from
each other's view.
"Is that the Viceroy!" asked Edith, a cold chill
creeping over her, she knew not why, as memory brought
back the scene of the serpent presence visibly to her
eyes, when she had experienced a similar sensation.
26
302 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
"It is the Viceroy," answered Askaros, whose face,
light and joyous the moment before, now wore a sombre
and pre-occupied expression.
" What an evil face he has ! " added Edith.
" Not more evil than his nature, of which it is the re-
flection," answered the young man.
"How he stared at me! In an European it would
have been absolutely rude. But I suppose," she added,
laughing, " as the Turks think women have no souls, and
also that an unveiled woman has no modesty, and only
uncovers her face to be looked at, his manners are Turk-
ish, and must be pardoned."
She turned in surprise, for her husband neither echoed
her laugh, nor replied to her remark, and the serious ex-
pression of his face alarmed her.
"What is the matter?" she asked, anxiously. "Are
you ill ? or what has happened to worry you ? I hope
you did not take seriously my complaint about that ugly
old man's staring at me; for, sir," she added, saucily,
" a great many old, and young gentlemen too, will stare
at the pretty young wife of Askaros Effendi, or Monsieur
Askaros, when they return to Europe ; and I am sure I
won't mind it very much, if you don't."
But even the raillery of Edith, for the first time, seemed
to fail in awakening a corresponding cheerfulness in the
heart or in the manner of Askaros. Although he made
an effort to appear lively, his gayety was forced, and his
laugh hollow ; and the remark he made on reaching home
did not tend to reassure his young wife.
" Safe at home at last ! " he said. " Truly sung your
American poet, whose song echoes over the world :
' There's no place like home ! '
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 303
But I vow a silver candlestick to the shrine of Sitta
Mariam, on the day that sees us safe out of this accursed
country."
When pressed by Edith to disclose the reason of his
disquietude, he first evaded the subject, but being urged
more strenuously by those soft lips he could never resist,
he accounted for his gravity, by telling her he had that
day received the news that his protector, the consul-gen-
eral, was to be transferred to another mission very shortly,
leaving to replace him an old and timid man, as acting-
consul, until his successor arrived.
' ' This would be a bad thing for me, were my affairs
still unsettled," added Askaros ; "but it matters little
now, as we shall probably leave Egypt before he does."
And so the matter dropped.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE CEREMONY OF THE DOSEH.
A NOTHER week had passed, unmarked by any event
Jr\. of importance, and, as the cloud had quickly passed
from the brow of Askaros, and its shadow from his soul,
the young wife forgot the vague apprehensions his con-
duct had inspired, and was as gay and happy as a bird
again carolling through the spacious old palace, and
flitting over it, like a winged thing all life and joy and
hope.
For, within a few days' time she was to leave Egypt
with her husband, to rejoin her father and family, and
pass the summer in Germany, and autumn in Italy not
to return again to Egypt until the ensuing year.
Askaros, too, seemed rejuvenated by the prospect of
speedy departure, and the two romped together like boy
and girl, through the spacious apartments of the solemn
old palace, to the great amazement of the staid and lazy
old servants Ferraj included who could not compre-
hend how any one could take pleasure in running about,
when they might enjoy "keff" sitting still, smoking and
eating sweetmeats the Arab idea of supreme felicity.
The large-eyed silent Copt women, who came to see
the new wife of Askaros, sat and stared silently at the
304
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 305
strange Frank woman, smoked their pipes, ate their sweet-
meats, sipped their lemonade and never came a second
time.
Turkish hareems she held in horror the visit to that
of the princess having entirely satisfied her curiosity.
Nezle Khanum sent her a message to come and see her ;
but Askaros made her decline it, on the plea of illness,
which did not deceive that astute lady, who laughed to
herself, and said :
' ' The boy is afraid to send his little white doll to me !
Is he afraid I may poison her ? or does he have the vanity
to think I have not forgotten his existence, long ago,
though I was angry at the time, and for a long time after-
ward ? I really believe that young Syrian Abbas treated
so shamefully, is the better-looking, after all ! But I
have had enough of boys : ripe fruit is better than green.
But this baby of Askaros' shall see me again, in spite
of his wise precautions ! ' '
In pursuance of which determination, Nezle, whose
love of intrigue and trickery amounted almost to insanity,
disguised herself as a Dellab, or saleswoman, and piloted
by the Frenchwoman, actually visited the house of Aska-
ros, and saw and spoke to his unconscious wife through
her interpreter.
" What fools these men are ! " she said, with a roar of
laughter, while the obsequious Frenchwoman was divest-
ing her of her disguise, on her return to her own palace.
"Why, Askaros might have taken El Warda, who was
dying of love for him ; and she was worth a dozen of
that faded-looking Tngleeze, both in looks and character.
Wallah ! what fools the men are, indeed."
And so, the princess buried her indignation against her
former lover in contempt for his bad taste. Cruel and
26* U
306 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
unscrupulous as she was, she was equally capricious : and
both her fancy for, and resentment against the young
Copt had now died away, having been obliterated by
other intrigues, without which she could not live. In
fact, the courage displayed by the young man, in effect-
ing his escape on that memorable night, as well as the
fidelity with which he had guarded the secret of his in-
trigue with her, no whisper of which had ever got abroad,
or reached the Cairene gossips, had inspired her with a
feeling of respect for him which was almost friendly.
But of this he knew nothing, and looked to that quarter
as the one from whence all the clouds on his horizon
came.
About this time there was an unusual gathering one
morning on the Ezbekieh, and Edith, who was riding on
horseback, accompanied by her husband, noticed it, as
also the great apparent excitement of the people, who
seemed to have deserted their ordinary occupations, and
streamed out in crowds toward the gate, which opened on
the road leading to Boulak.
She observed also in this crowd many wild-looking
figures, naked to the waist, with only a sheepskin round
the loins, whose wild haggard faces, and long matted
hair, hanging from unshaven heads, made them unlike
any of the residents of Cairo she had seen before.
On inquiry, Askaros told her these were Santons, or
saints grim fanatics who dwelt in caves or the open
air, and lived on alms bestowed by pious Mussulmans,
chiefly women, who considered their prayers as specifics
against illness, and all the troubles of life, and who were
such privileged characters, that even were one of them to
kill a man, the common people would not seek their pun-
ishment.
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 307
The wild-looking howling dervishes, whom she had
seen performing their strange rites not entirely unlike
those of the American "Shaking Quakers" who also
wore their hair in long elf-locks, and were clad only in
long loose gowns, with high conical caps, were likewise
out in great force. Edith, therefore, rightly judged it
was some religious ceremony or festival that was in agita-
tion : which opinion Askaros confirmed, informing her
that the procession of pilgrims or Hadjis, from Mecca,
was to enter that gate, headed by the Sheik-ul- Islam, or
spiritual chief of the pilgrimage.
He further explained that the return would be signal-
ized by the annual ceremony of the Sheik's riding over
the bodies of a lane of living men, mounted on horse-
back, and that the Hadjis were supposed to obtain a re-
mission of their sins by submitting to the test ; since it
was a mark of the displeasure of Allah, if during the
performance of this miracle any person was killed or
seriously injured.
This ceremony was called the Doseh, and would take
place that day, over the space leading from the Ezbekieh
to the gate before mentioned, a distance of about one
hundred and fifty yards.
" What a terrible sight it must be ! " said Edith. "Let
us hasten home to avoid it. I would not look upon such
a sight for worlds. And the looks of those wild people
terrify me so. Come, let us go back." And giving her
horse the rein, they turned back from the Ezbekieh, and
rode rapidly home again. ' ' And they call this religion ! ' '
said Edith, shuddering, "and think such cruel sacrifices
can be acceptable to a God of mercy, whom we know to
be a God of love. Well may we echo the cry of Madame
Roland in the French revolution, <O Liberty, what crimes
308 ASKAROS KASSIS.
are committed in thy name ! ' and apply it to religion if
we can call a terrible superstition like this by so holy a.
name."
Askaros fully shared in her indignation and disgust at
such a profanation, the native Christians in the East re-
taining much of the old Scriptural belief in the active
agency of devils and other evil spirits in human affairs,
which European faith has discarded. But he informed
her also, that it was his unpleasant duty to accompany the
consul-general on his official visit to that ceremony after
mid-day, it being his policy, for the moment, to identify
himself with the Consulate as much as possible. He told
her the sight would be a novel one to him also, as he had
carefully avoided seeing it hitherto, and would not now,
were it not compulsory upon him ; having ever regarded
it as a kind of devil-worship, or shadow of the old
heathen practice of human sacrifice, to propitiate their
cruel divinities.
At the appointed hour, however, he accompanied the
consular cortege, and found himself, with them, pro-
vided with a place in a large window in a house over-
looking the scene, at which the Sheik was to dismount
after his fearful ride. Glancing his eye over the places
reserved for the high officials, he observed that the Vice-
roy was not present, although represented by several of
his Ministers. This he considered strange, for the cruel
nature of Abbas delighted in such exhibitions, and he
had revived, under his reign, the rigor of these rites, dis-
couraged by his more humane grand-father and his more
civilized kinsmen.
This was the strange scene they saw, to which earth
can offer no parallel, save in the procession of the car
f Juggernaut, in the remoter East a kindred supersti-
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 309
tion, yet more bloody and cruel than the Doseh, because
involving a greater loss of life.
In the open space below was packed a dense crowd of
people, of all classes and conditions, from the Bey or
Pasha, on splendid Arab charger, with crimson velvet
saddle and housings, and jewelled head-stall, to the re-
spectable merchant, decently clad ; thence lower down
to the half-naked Fellah in blue shirt, or totally naked
Santon or Fakeer, half-crazed with fanatical frenzy or
self-imposed privation.
Under the trees of the Ezbekieh might be seen the
adroit Eastern jugglers plying their trade, and exhibiting
wonderful feats in the open air. Dancing-girls and
singing-girls also were posturing and screaming to ex-
cited audiences ; for all police rules are relaxed, and all
is license on the day of the Doseh.
Snake-charmers were also there, who not only played
with huge cobras, in the midst of a circle ranged at
respectful distance around, but bit and tore with their
teeth pieces out of the writhing reptiles, which they
seemed to swallow, almost maddening under the effects
of their poisonous meal.
Other jugglers there were : swordsmen who not only
went through the sword -exercise and mimic gladiatorial
conflicts, but thrust knives and swords through different
parts of their own naked bodies and cheeks, until they
were skewered with them ; but no drop of blood flowed,
yet the illusion of the trick was perfect.
Over all this crowd rose the confused hum of the
sound of many voices ; the deep gutturals of the Arab
men blending with the shrill shrieks of the women, and
the hoarse cries of the jugglers and Santons, mingled
310 A SKA R OS A'ASSIS.
with the discordant sounds of the rude Egyptian music,
accompanying the singers and the dancing-girls.
It was as confused a bedlam of sounds as of sights :
but suddenly silence fell on the noisy wrangling crowd,
a stillness so sudden and so deep that any single voice
could have been distinctly heard, and all eyes were
strained toward the open gate, through which was now
borne on the breeze the dull muffled sound of the dara-
buka, or fish-skin drum, announcing the approach of the
returning pilgrims.
They had not long to wait ; for soon there passed under
the arch of the gate the sacred camel, white as snow, and
richly caparisoned, with a kind of turret on his back,
in which were the holy carpet and the sacred palm-
branches the mahmal.
Then followed a long succession of camels and horses,
with men mounted upon them, and on foot the Hadjis,
or pilgrims, made holy by their visit to the sacred city of
Mecca, purified by prayer, and absolved from earthly
sins by that pilgrimage.
Then came riding on a strong white horse a large
heavy man with a stolid face, richly dressed, on whom
all eyes centred, for he was the Sheik who was to ride
that horse over a lane of living bodies, from the gate
even to the house wherein sat Askaros among the officials.
There was a movement in the crowd, and a lane was
quickly formed, as if by magic, in the very midst of that
mass of humanity, apparently so compactly jammed and
wedged together but a moment before, that it had seemed
impossible to make space for a child to pass between
them. A living wall was promptly formed on each side
of this new lane, composed of the dusky bodies of the
spectators who stood back, leaving space enough for a
A SKA I? OS KASSIS. 311
man to lie at length across the road. Very soon that
strange living pavement was laid down by men who took
the bodies and ranged them, like logs, side by side on
the path thus made, the head of one alternating with the
feet of the other, and the bodies packed down and
levelled so as to present the smoothest possible surface,
no leg or arm being allowed to display itself. The men
came forward voluntarily, many from the surrounding
crowd, others from the Hadjis, or pilgrims. Askaros
observed that most of the men looked as though drunk
with excitement, or drugged with opium, foam hanging
from the lips of many, and the eyes of most of them
dull and bloodshot.
Still this strange work went on. Still the only sound
which broke the silence was the dull monotonous beat of
the drum. Still the Sheik sat motionless on his white
horse, a man on either side supporting him on his saddle,
in which he swayed heavily from side to side, like one
half drunk or half asleep.
The preparations seemed now complete, and there was
a dead pause : then the drum beat faster, and the attend-
ants of the Sheik urged the reluctant horse to take his
first step on the slippery footing of human bodies, over
which his path lay.
The horse, more humane than his rider, recoiled and
refused, snorting with terror ; but the attendants and the
crowd forced him on, and led by one man dragging at
his bridle-reins, scourged by another from behind, while
two men ran alongside over the bodies, supporting the
swaying Sheik in his saddle, the heavy horse, shod with
iron, bearing the heavy man, commenced his terrible
journey, passing slowly over the bodies which packed the
312 ASKAROS KASSIS.
path to the house, a distance of full one hundred and
fifty yards.
Every forward step the horse took he appeared to re-
coil, throwing back the whole weight on his haunches ;
but, forced onward by the attendants, would put down
first one forefoot, then the other, cautiously, like one
treading upon ice. Whether his recoil crushed the unfor-
tunate human beings on whom his full weight thus was
thrown, and on whom his hind feet rested, was impos-
sible to be discerned ; for the crowd closed in so fast be-
hind the feet of the charger, and bore the half lifeless
forms so swiftly away, that Askaros, from his elevated
position, could not tell whether any injury were done to
life or limb by this terrible test. The pride and vanity
of relatives and friends, too, came thus in aid of this
priestly juggle ; for naturally no one liked it to be said
or known that the displeasure of Allah had fallen or been
visited on one of his kindred or friends ; so if the men
were hurt, their injuries were concealed, not revealed.
Askaros thought he could detect blood mingled with the
froth which streaked the lips of some of these poor de-
luded wretches, but whether from excitement or internal
injuries he could not judge. Others he saw leap up
briskly, and pass into a circle of congratulating friends,
who seemed to have made their venture in perfect pos-
session of their faculties ; but the great majority seemed
to have been drugged so heavily, as to be incapable of
any active exertion of mind or body.
Such, he soon saw, was the case with the Grand Sheik
himself, who, on dismounting in the courtyard of the house
after his dreadful ride, had to be lifted rather than assist-
ed from his horse ; and, as he stood erect that the faith-
ful might kiss the hem of his sacred robe, or the fat hand
AS A' A If OS KASSIS. 313
that hung down heavily and nervelessly by his side, he
rocked and reeled like a drunken man, and his eye pre-
sented that dead, dull appearance, peculiar to the opium
or haschish-eater, when the vision of external objects is
entirely lost, and both brain and body are in the som-
nambulist condition.
So looked the Sheik after his ride ; and Askaros felt
more respect for our common humanity, when he saw
that even such fierce fanaticism could not war against
Nature in this great outrage upon her laws, without the
artificial aid of drugs, to stifle the voice of conscience,
and nerve him to his repulsive task, which doubtless he
deemed a duty and religious obligation.
But the crowd manifested the greatest reverence for the
chief actor in this cruel scene, which, to them, was a
sacred one.
27
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE SEARCH THROUGH THE NIGHT.
THE Doseh was over ; the crowd dispersed, and the
officials departed. Askaros, after accompanying
the cortege back to the consular residence, impatiently
turned his steps toward his own house, to sun himself in
the smiles of his young wife, and seek an antidote, in her
society, for the disgust and depression the scenes he had
just witnessed had inspired in his breast.
It was about sunset when he reached his house, and
great was his disappointment at not finding Edith there
to welcome him, which was the more singular since she
had never before ventured out without his protection.
No one could tell whither she had gone ; but his anxiety
was dispelled when he learned she had been accompa-
nied, not only by an old and confidential servant, who
was a kind of house-keeper, but by Ferraj and another
man-servant also. He was told they had only left the
house half an hour before his reaching it.
A little annoyed, and inspired by a vague uneasiness,
which he condemned himself for as childish, Askaros
restlessly paced up and down the long apartment, unable
to sit, smoke, or read, vexed at himself for the nervous
feeling he could not conquer, and almost irritated against
3'4
ASKAROS KASSIS. 31$
his young wife, for the first time, for the disquiet she was
occasioning him.
Vainly did he reason with himself against the presenti-
ment of evil, and the cloud of some coming sorrow,
which rested like a black shadow over his soul, and
which he imputed to the morbid frame of mind induced
by the spectacle he had seen that day. But his reason
and judgment were not strong enough to dissipate this
shadow ; and as the evening wore on, and his wife did
not return, nor her attendants come back to notify him
of the cause of her detention, his uneasiness rose to keen
anxiety, and his nervousness increased to such an extent
that he found himself utterly unable longer to endure it,
and he felt he must go forth to seek her, and gain relief
from his own suspense by active search for her.
The vague presentiment of evil, which had in the be-
ginning been as formless and shapeless as that phantom
thing of unutterable horror shadowed forth by the greatest
genius of modern romance, in his "Dweller on the
Threshold," now began, like that loathsome thing, to
assume shape and form, and his busy fancy, under the
inspiration of fear, conjured up terrible images of woe
and horror. Almost every description of accident or out-
rage which could be visited upon a frail, timid woman,
and an infidel, by the hands of the crazy fanatics let
loose on the city on this day of unbridled license, ran
riot in his imagination ; and he shuddered as he recalled
to his memory many of the repulsive and frenzied faces
of those fanatics which he had seen in the crowd that
day, any one of whom would deem he did Allah a service
by slaying or maltreating an infidel woman and a Frank.
True, Ferraj was with her, and would protect her.
Yet he was only one man, and powerless against num-
316 ASKAROS KASSJS.
bers. A thrill of fierce anger against Ferraj and the
female servant alternated with the grief at his heart.
Why had they not warned Edith of the danger of going
out that day ? They well knew it ! and he cursed the
blind obedience of Eastern slaves, which made them
renounce almost the right and the exercise of inde-
pendent thought in such cases as this.
But had anything really happened, one of the servants
would have come back to tell the tale. He was 'dis-
quieting himself idly. Edith had only gone to visit El
Warda, feeling lonely in his absence, and not knowing
how soon he would return. What a fool he was to tor-
ture himself needlessly ! He would go to the house of El
Warda forthwith, where he was sure to find Edith, and
they would have a good laugh over his imaginary terrors,
of which he began to feel ashamed ; yet there was a
sinking sensation at his heart which belied these hopeful
thoughts. Having formed his determination, he pro-
ceeded hastily to carry it out, and, leaving a message for
Edith, in case she should return in his absence, strode
away in the direction of the house where El Warda re-
sided, which was not far distant.
With hope and fear fluttering wildly at his heart, he
reached the house, and to his eager inquiries the Boab
responded that the Sitta Edith had not been there that
day, he was quite sure, and that the Sitta El Warda her-
self had not been home since mid-day.
"They are together, then, somewhere," said Askaros
to himself, catching at that hope, after the first cold
thrill of disappointment had passed ; ' ' perhaps at the
Coptic convent. I will see."
Arrived at the convent, he was told, in answer to his
inquiry, that El Warda was there, but not his wife, whom
ASKAROS K ASS IS.
they had not seen. He asked to see El Warda, and
learned from her, to his surprise, that she had neither
seen nor heard from Edith that day ; but suggested she
was in the habit of visiting the American missionaries'
wives very often, and might have gone there.
Askaros caught at the idea, and rushed off imme-
diately to the Syrian quarter, where dwelt the missiona-
ries, to reach which he had to cross the Ezbekieh, as it
was on the opposite side of the city.
To his inquiries there, at each house successively, the
same response, " She had not been there ! "
Turning his footsteps homeward, he consoled himself
with the thought that while he was racing over Cairo
after his wife, she, doubtless, had returned home, and
was impatiently awaiting his return also. At the thought,
he quickened his pace, and almost gayly ran through the
garden on reaching his house, framing some tender re-
proach for her as he went.
But a bolt of ice seemed to penetrate his heart when
the Boab, in response to his eager question, answered :
' ' Sitta barra Moosh foak ! ' ' (The lady is out not
come home).
He staggered against the door, and gasped for breath,
like one who has received a deadly blow. A horrible
thought crept into his brain, and curdled his blood.
"Could the vengeance of the Princess Nezle have
taken this direction, and stricken him in the point she
knew the most vulnerable ? Were his pleasant vices, by
a dreadful retribution, thus to be made the whips to
scourge him?"
His hair bristled on his head at the thought of Edith's
being in the power of the wicked woman, whom, in the
27*
3l8 ASKAROS KASSIS.
revulsion of his sentiments from fondness to loathing, he
believed fully capable of the commission of any crime.
Had she not warned him that her hate was as strong as
her love, and her vengeance sure against all who offended
her ! By a refinement of cruelty, might she not have
seized his heart, his soul, and keep it in her hands to
torture ? Nay, was not her purpose already effected, and
the commencement of her triumph insured by the torture
he was then undergoing ? Might not she, adept as she
was in cruelty, protract the agonies of that suspense until
they became unendurable until his brain gave way under
the intolerable pressure which weighed upon it, and her
work ended, as with her own father, in the madness of
the victim ? Was he not on the eve of going mad now?
for he felt the hot blood surging up into his head, and
bounding madly through his arteries, while his eyeballs
were injected with blood, and his brain grew incapable
of connected thought one idea, like the echo of a
cuckoo-clock, alone ringing through his mind :
" Go and find her at Nezle''s palace ! Save her from
the tigress ! "
All that has taken so long to describe, passed with
electric rapidity through the mind of Askaros as he leaned
against the door of his own dwelling, after receiving the
Boab's answer.
Raising himself suddenly from that support, the as-
tonished Boab saw him rush wildly back through the
garden-path by which he had come, heard the gate close
heavily behind him, as, with despair in his heart, and
desperate resolve on his face strained almost to insanity,
and with wild bloodshot eyes, which seemed not to see
the objects before them, but to be strained on vacancy,
the half maddened husband staggered forth like an in-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 319
toxicated man into the starless night, bent on carrying
out his desperate resolve of rushing again into the den of
the tigress, from which he had before so narrowly escaped.
The night was an unusual one for Cairo, for it was a
stormy and a black one. Neither moon nor star was
visible in the black rack of clouds which obscured the
sky, and hung, like a pall, over the still city, as though
the angry heavens frowned on the place and people who
had offended them by the spectacle of that day. From
the side on which lay the desert came a low moaning
sound, with a puff of hot air the breath of the distant
Khamseen then howling over the desert ; and blood-red
gleams on the black sky, in the same direction, followed
by fitful flashes of forked lightning, showed there was a
tempest brewing in the elements, as well as raging in the
soul of the solitary man, who swept along on his mad
errand, heedless of all the presages of earth, air, and
sky, regardless of the coming storm, and as fully pos-
sessed by devils which rent and tore heart, body, and
brain, as was ever demoniac in Holy Writ.
On through the deserted city, he rushed out upon the
road to Boulak. The hot wind from the desert, bearing
its fiery sand with it, swept wildly over the open country,
and with it, for the first time in seven years, rushed down
a deluge of rain, which excited mothers, crouching in
the half-opened doors of their mud-huts, were showing
their astonished younger children, who had never seen
such a sight before as water falling from heaven !
The forked lightning following the crashing thunder,
which pealed like artillery, played around the distant
dome and minarets of the Citadel, and lit up with a lurid
glare the rushing river, the sharp cones of the Pyramids,
320 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
and the solemn stone face of the Sphinx, looming out
more weird-like and ghastly under this spectral light.
But all these sights and sounds of terror were unheeded
by the solitary living creature to be seen on that deserted
road every dumb animal, as well as man, having
sought shelter who rushed on regardless of howling
Khamseen wind, burning into his brain of rain that
drenched him through his thin garments or lightning-
flash that played around his head, striking sometimes a
palm-tree close at hand, whose shivered boughs and scat-
tered dates would strike him.
Onward ! ever onward he rushed, on as wild a race
and in almost as spectral a shape as the horseman of
Burger 1 s ballad, who sought also his bride but to bear
her from this to another world until the fire in his
brain could sustain his failing limbs no longer against
fatigue and exposure to the elements, while the fever riot-
ing in his blood was fed by the poisonous Khamseen wind,
scorching brain and marrow. But still he staggered for-
ward until, as he reached the central market of Boulak,
yet pressing on toward that fatal palace, the earth reeled
under his feet as in an earthquake, and he fell, stretched
on the ground, without sense or motion, just as the Muez-
zin's cry proclaimed the midnight hour.
At early dawn a party of Fellahs bringing their pro-
duce to the market, found lying there the body of a man,
not dead, for the breath came gaspingly from the labor-
ing chest, but sore stricken with fever, and when they
sought to question him, raving wildly, in their own and
strange tongues, of secret foes and deadly perils to be
met and conquered. Among his ravings their quick ears
caught the name of Nezle' Khanum on which they
ASKAROS Ji'ASSIS. $21
shook their heads, and imitated to each other the sipping
of a cup of coffee in suggestion of poison.
Finding him richly dressed, with a precious ring on
his finger, they summoned the Sheik of the quarter, who
caused him to be placed upon a litter, and conveyed to
Cairo, where he was placed in the mosque called the
Mauristan, the madhouse of that city, where he would
be kept until his friends should claim him nothing
found on his person indicating who he was, or whence he
came.
And there for the present we must leave him, resuming
his interrupted search for the lost wife so nearly now a
widow.
V
CHAPTER XXIX.
DAOUD-BEN-YOUSSOUF.
A LARMED, she knew not why, by the sudden appa-
/~\ rition of Askaros at the convent, and his sudden
departure, as well as by the evident excitement of his
face and manner, El Warda, whom the storm had kept a
close prisoner at the convent all night, early next morn-
ing repaired to the house of her brother, to reassure her-
self, half ashamed of her own apprehensions.
For, with the suddenness common in these climes, the
storm of the past night had sobbed itself to rest, far
away in the great desert of Sahara, and the only traces
left of its visit on the preceding night were the scattered
boughs of the trees, and unusual dampness of the earth
in the garden which surrounded the house of Askaros.
Above, the sky was as blue and clear, and the golden
sunshine as bright, as though the storm had only been a
bad dream; and the young girl's spirits rose in harmony
with the freshness and gladness of earth and sky.
Blessed privilege and faculty of youth ! to bathe itself
in the influences of external nature : to which it draws
more near than in later years, when hope and joy revisit
not so readily the barren fields of the wearied heart,
322
ASKAROS KASSIS. 323
strewn with the ashes of many of their flowerets, which
once bloomed and blossomed there ; and memory haunts
the shrines her younger and brighter sisters were wont to
occupy, and send forth their oracles in vague thoughts
and wishes, all the more enchanting because of their in-
distinctness.
So the young El Warda, her calm countenance reflect-
ing the serenity of her soul, soothed by the fresh beauty
of the morning, half smiled to herself at the disquietude
her brother's visit had given her the previous night, as
she walked slowly up the garden-path. But the smile
faded from her face when the Boab told her that neither
the Effendi nor the Sitta had returned home the previous
night, adding, in a mysterious whisper, "but Fatima(the
female servant) came back this morning at dawn, and has
strange things to tell."
With an ominous sensation of having to hear of some
dreadful thing, El Warda pushed past the Boab, and ran
up into the house to the apartment of Fatima, whom she
found sitting on the floor, rocking herself to and fro in
an agony of grief, and wailing at times, as though follow-
ing a funeral.
At the presence of her young mistress, of whom she
was very fond, the old woman ceased her moan, rose to
her feet, and seizing the hand of the young girl, pressed
and kissed it fervently ; then resumed her seat, and her
wailing once more, like one who mourns, not to be com-
forted.
Alarmed, more than words can tell, by this conduct on
the part of one usually so stoical as the old Copt woman,
El Warda first sought to tranquillize her, and then, in
broken fragments, extracted from her the strange story
she had to tell.
324 A SKA R OS /CASSIS.
It seemed that on the previous evening, about an hour
before sunset, while Edith was sitting in her own room,
with Fatima in attendance, playing with her Barbary
dove, which had been made a great pet by her, she re-
ceived a letter that seemed to give her great pleasure,
which she told the woman was from her friends in Eu-
rope, who were then daily expecting her to join them.
She had taken a small gold pencil which hung to a chain
suspended round her neck with other trinkets a gift
from Askaros and was sketching on the blank page of
the letter a rude outline of the steamer she expected to
sail in, to give Fatima an idea of it, she never having seen
any boat larger than a dahabieh, when a messenger was
announced, who would deliver his message only to Edith
herself.
The man being ordered to come in, presented himself
and said he was, as he seemed to be, one of the native
Dragomen, who swarm about the hotels, to act as guides
to travellers. He spoke a little French, and explained
in that language that he had been sent by the landlord
of the Hotel d' Orient to say to the wife of Askaros Ef-
fendi that an accident had happened to her husband
how, he did not precisely know and that he was then
lying there under charge of a physician. The landlord
had further bid him say that as the wife might wish to
come immediately to her husband, who could not be re-
moved, he had sent a carriage for her, that she might do
so, and that Askaros, though severely, was not danger-
ously hurt.
The man added this was all he knew, and that the car-
riage awaited her at the end of the street opening on the
Mooskie,
Edith, immediately rising up in great agitation, de-
ASKAROS KASSIS. $2$
clared her intention of going at once, gave the man a
liberal backschisch, and, accompanied by Fatima as well
as by Ferraj, who insisted on taking another man with
them, followed the Dragoman through the garden and
up the narrow streets leading to the Mooskie.
They had gone about half the distance, and were in
one of the narrowest streets, which was perfectly deserted,
when their conductor gave a low whistle, a door suddenly
opened from what seemed a hareem wall, and six black
eunuchs, well armed, rushed out, and threw cloaks over
the head of her mistress and herself, and bore them
rapidly away to a carriage at the end of the street, in
which they were conveyed, bound and gagged for what
seemed to her a great distance, though in what direction,
in her confusion, was impossible to tell. When they
stopped, she as well as her mistress was lifted out, and
where they took the latter she had no means of knowing,
as she had never seen her since.
She had heard the clash of arms when first seized, and
supposed that Ferraj and the other slave had made some
resistance, and been overpowered. She herself had been
left lying all night on the floor of a room. She was
given food, but her eyes had been kept blindfold, and
had been taken up again a few hours before, placed on a
donkey before a man, who held her, and dropped in the
street near the garden of Askaros, still bound, where she
had been found by some passers-by and released, after
which she had come home, to find her master gone also,
whither no one knew.
Neither Ferraj nor the other slave had returned, and
though she had gone to the spot, or as near it as she could
recollect, the rain had washed away all traces of blood,
if any had been shed, and she could not be quite certain
28
326 ASKAROS KASSIS.
as to the exact place where the thing happened, there
were so many doors in the wall leading to so many dif-
ferent hareems. This was all she knew or could tell.
" Oh, the unhappy house ! " she moaned, wringing her
hands, and rocking her body to and fro. " Never has
there been any luck in it since my old master died, and
you left it. Even the Barbary dove, the Sitta Edith loved
so much, has left it too, for I have tried vainly to find it
among the others. I would have known it, since it has
a blue ribbon round its neck the Sitta' s own hands had
tied there."
A ray of hope shot through the heart of El Warda as
the old woman wailed thus, doubtless the dove, with
which she had been playing, had been forgotten by Edith
in her agitation, and nestling in her bosom, as was its
wont, must have been borne away with her. Its com-
panionship would be a consolation to the poor girl in her
captivity, and it possibly might bring a message from her,
did her captors not discover it. To so slight a spar of
hope will a loving heart cling when all looks desperate,
that El Warda felt a glow of pleasure at this discovery.
But where was her brother, whose counsel and courage
were so essential to unravel this mystery and punish this
villany? No one in the house could give her the slight-
est clue, except the Boab, who told the little he knew.
Was it possible then that the tale was partly true, and
he was lying at the Hotel d' Orient, possibly wounded by
the same treacherous villains who had set the snare for
his wife ? Anything was better than suspense she would
go and see. So taking Fatima and a man-slave with her,
the girl bent her steps to the hotel.
She was courteously and kindly received by the land-
lord who knew the Askaros family well who assured
.A S KA R O S KA S S I S. 327
her he had never sent the message, nor seen Askaros, and
that the whole story was a pure fabrication.
In utter bewilderment and despair the half-distracted
girl, forgetting her maidenly scruples, and all except the
necessity of some friendly aid and counsel, repaired, for
the second time in her life, to the house of Daoud-ben-
Youssouf, near by the hotel, in the hope that he, with his
craft and sagacity, both of which she rated very high,
might be able to penetrate this mystery, which had so
suddenly enveloped the two beings nearest and dearest
to her of any on earth the one for his own sake, the
other because so dear to him.
A second time then, accompanied by Fatima, unan-
nounced, she passed up the steep narrow steps, and into
the sitting-room where their previous interview had taken
place, and again found the master of the house alone.
But she started back with surprise and a feeling of pity,
when she saw the change which a few weeks had wrought
in the Syrian's face and mien since she last had seen him.
Daoud was sitting moodily on his divan, his neglected
chibouque fallen from his hand, upon the floor, no books
or papers near him as usual, his head sunk on his chest,
his shoulders stooping like those of an old man. He
was plunged in a reverie which, from the expression of
his face, was painful, and so deep that he did not observe
her entrance until, gliding up to him, she touched him
on the arm to attract his attention Fatima guarding the
doorway as before.
Startled by the touch, Daoud looked up, and her heart
smote her as she saw how wan and wasted looked now
that once smooth face, on which deep lines of care or
pain had been suddenly and prematurely traced, as
though by the burning plowshare of passion ; while the
328 ASA'AXOS A'ASSIS.
sunken bloodshot eye, formerly a still deep well of dark
light, with a wolfish glare looked out from two deep hol-
lows surrounded by livid rings, like the baleful eyes of
a ghoul glaring out of the face of a corpse. The Copt
turban had been pushed away from his head, as though
to cool the fever which consumed it, and streaks of gray
were visible among the thick curls of his dark hair, while
his whole air and attitude indicated the extreme of physi-
cal and moral depression almost despair strange to
witness on a face she recollected well so youthful, smooth
and smiling a few short moons before.
Shocked and astonished too much to speak or act, with
a sick feeling of remorse at her heart at a change which
she attributed to a hopeless passion for herself, the young
girl stood spell-bound and motionless ; but that feeling
was changed to terror, as the Syrian sprang up, a gleam
of madness in his eye, and clutched at something in his
breast with his right hand, waving her off from him with
his left, with a gesture full of wild fury not unmingled
with fear.
" Avaunt, devil ! " he hissed, in a low strained whisper.
"Dost thou hear the wicked whisper of my heart, and
come to tempt me in the shape of the only angel this foul
earth holds, reeking as it is with treachery, crime, and
sin? Lost as I am, and reft of earthly hope, not yet am
I ready to sell my soul, even at the price of the delusion
and the snare thou hast so cunningly set for me ! Apage,
Sathanas ! Vade retro ! ' ' and he made the sign of the
cross in the air. " If the monks and priests lie not, that
spell should disperse thee into foul vapor, and drive thee
back to Gehenna again ! ' '
And with wild straining eyes, and heaving chest, the
ASA'AKOS A'ASSIS. 329
Syrian stood still, as though to witness the effect of his
incantation.
"Poor Daoud ! to whom I promised to be as a sister,"
stole in on the madman's ear the soft, sweet tones of the
voice he loved best to hear : ' ' What frenzy possesses thee
to rave thus, and to look so wildly ? Art thou ill ? Hath
too much labor of body or mind so shaken thy nerves,
that thou mistakest thy sister El Warda for an evil spirit
to be banished by incantations ? What sorrow or pain
hath wrought this fearful change in thee, making thee
prematurely old ? Confide it to thy sister : and though
she is sadly in need of consolation, coming hither for
counsel in her deep distress, she yet will strive to share
thy sorrow, and soothe thy pain ; for strange woe and
trouble have fallen again on the home of her childhood
and thine, O Daoud, my brother ! "
The effect of the harp of David over the moody mad-
ness of Saul, was not greater than the magical change
which passed over the Syrian's face and mood, as the
music of that beloved voice fell upon his ear, and stole
softly, like the dew from heaven on arid soil, into his
parched and thirsty soul. His rigid countenance relaxed,
the deep lines disappeared, his face resuming its look of
youth once more, as cloud after cloud seemed to roll
away from brain and heart, which they had kept so long
in dark eclipse.
The light of intelligence shone again in his eye, re-
placing the wild glare of the moment before ; his col-
lapsed and shrunken form appeared to dilate with the
rapid heaving of his heart : and El Warda saw again be-
fore her the Daoud she knew, not the spectral distortion
of him she had looked upon the moment before.
Slowly, like one awakening from a dream, the Syrian
28*
330 ASKAROS KASSIS.
passed his hand wearily over his brow, as though to
collect his scattered thoughts, a deep sigh broke from his
overburdened heart, his right hand stole away from the
object it clutched at in his breast, and fell to his side,
the other played nervously with the sash around his waist,
while his large eyes filled slowly with tears, which glist-
ened but fell not.
To her surprise he made no step forward to take the
maiden's hand, but standing as if carved out of marble,
let the slow utterances fall from his trembling lips, like
one talking in a trance.
"And it is not indeed an apparition sent from Gehenna,
in answer to the prayers of my mad and desperate heart,
to tempt me to perdition, but the angel of light herself, in
bodily presence, that comes to look upon the lost man
that was once Daoud-ben-Youssouf ?
" Thy hand I dare not touch ! for my presence alone
is pollution to one so pure and saint-like as thou ! oh,
bright star of the morning of my youthful hope, now
shining so purely down on the dim depths of the night
of my despair !
" I hear the music of thy voice, but my weary senses
have caught not the meaning of thy words. Comest thou
to me, oh, pure of heart and spirit ! from the companion-
ship of the white-robed Coptish nuns those saints on
earth to bid me, the lost sheep from their flock, take
the counsel as given by the wife of ' the man of Uz ' in
the Holy Book, ' Curse God, and die'?"
"Art thou then mad indeed, O Daoud?" said the
maiden shuddering, more terrified by the sad impiety of
this blasphemous speech, made without passion and ex-
citement, than by the frenzied fierceness of his previous
manner. " Art thou then mad indeed, that thou speak-
ASK'AROS KASSIS. 331
est such strange wild things, which make me shudder?
Is this meet greeting for a friend who cometh to thee as
a sister, and expecting sympathy, meets only insult ? I
have remained here too long already then ! Farewell,
unhappy Daoud. May God forgive thee for thy sins !
my forgiveness thou hast already if that matters any-
thing ! I shall pray morning and evening to Sitta Mariam
for the renewal of thy health of body and mind, for
surely both are strangely sick at present. Farewell ! ' '
As she turned to go, her words and movements seemed to
break the spell which bound the Syrian. A more human
expression came into his face, and his dilating eyes, still
moist with unshed tears, looked wistfully into hers, as he
stretched forth both his arms with a pleading gesture, as
though to detain her.
" Stay, for the love of God ! for the love of thine own
patron saint ! for the love of Sitta Mariam ! Is it possible
thou hast not heard ! ' '
" Heard what? " asked the girl, in astonishment at the
eagerness of his face and gesture, like those of a man
whose very life hung on the answer to his question.
"Of me?" gasped Daoud. "Did not the Hebrew
tell thee? for I know now where thou wast hidden, but
knew it too late ! ' '
" He never breathed thy name," answered El Warda;
"and since my brother's return he hath been away on
business, in Jerusalem, among his people. Now I see
why thou wert hurt and angered, thinking Moussa had
told me of thine illness, for I see thou hast been very ill,
O Daoud ! and I fear me art still so ; and having had no
word from me, thought it unkind. But believe me," she
added, tears rising into her soft dark eyes, " I did not
332 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
know it, but thought thee well and happy, else thou
shouldst have heard from thine old playfellow."
As she spoke, with sweet, serious earnestness, incredulity
gave place on the face of Daoud to conviction, and a
wild hope shone in his eye and stole into his soul.
She did not know then of his treachery? Moussa
either had not known, or had not told her. Possibly
Abbas, for reasons of his own, had kept his secret ! and
it was safe now and forever, for the same reasons would
always restrain the politic tyrant from divulging it. But
one other knew it too, and that a woman ! a bold, bad,
unscrupulous woman ! But between her and El Warda
was a difference as of light and darkness, and it was not
probable the pure child would ever willingly see that
wanton woman again, whose very name was a hissing and
scorn in every coffee-house and bath at Cairo more so
of late than ever. He was safe then, where alone he
dreaded detection, contrary to his worst fears, which had
scourged him like scorpions.
As these thoughts swept like lightning-flashes across his
subtle intellect, he felt a thrill of fierce joy pulsating in
his heart, and a secret hope re-awakening in his soul.
With the renewal of that hope came swiftly back the
craft and the courage which could defy man and God,
and the dogged resolve, to win the woman before him
or die.
Those thoughts and that resolve passed through his
brain, even while El Warda was speaking, and when she
ceased, his answer was prompt and ready.
" Pardon me, sweet angel ! " he said, pleadingly, "if
I did you injustice. But I have been very ill, and am
still far from perfect recovery, as thou canst see sick,
A SKA R OS JCASSIS. 333
too, at heart as well as in body, when it seemed to me
the whole world had deserted me.
" The frenzy of my fever was upon me but now, and
I know not what wild things I may have said and done !
Something outrageous I fear me, else thou never wouldst
have taken offense at the poor half-crazed sick man. But
thy voice and presence and gentle pity have chased the
fever from my blood, and I feel the spring-tide of return-
ing health flowing in as the sickness ebbs. But thou wilt
forgive me? and already in my selfishness I have talked
too much of one so insignificant as myself. Thou hast
something to tell and to ask of me? Whatever Daoud
can do, El Warda has but to command, and it shall be
done."
Greatly relieved by the change in Daoud's manner, and
his restoration to a healthier frame of mind and body, El
Warda proceeded to relate to the astonished Syrian the
mysterious disappearance of Askaros, and the abduction
of Edith.
The Syrian listened in silence, only occasionally putting
a brie/ question, and when she had finished all she had
to say, mused a few moments. Then raising his head,
and fixing upon the blushing girl an eye full of respectful
admiration and deep devotion, took her hand, laid it
gently on his heart, and said :
' ' While this heart beats, the wish of El Warda is its
law ! Within two days, if thy brother and sister be
alive, thou shall know where ! If human skill and
courage can extricate either or both from any peril that
may menace them, thou mayst rely upon their safety.
Should I need aid from any quarter thou canst influence,
I will advise thee. It is not well that I should be seen
at thy dwelling, nor seemly that thou shouldst come to
334 ASKAROS A'ASS/S.
mine ; therefore send Fatima to me, when thou hast
aught to communicate.
"Thou little knowest how much good thou mayst
have done, how much evil have spared a soul pining in
pain, by this visit. Sheitan hath lost, and Sitta Mariam
gained a servant through thee this night."
Then, as she rose to go, he stooped and reverently
kissed the hem of her garment, muttering to himself:
"Thou art my patron saint ! thus I devote myself, body
and soul, to thy service ! "
The girl, not hearing the words, but interpreting the
look and gesture, blushed again, raised her finger as
though in warning, smiled upon him, and glided away,
leaving him alone in the chamber so dim and desolate
before, but now brightened and sanctified by her late
presence in it.
" Ha! ha ! " he laughed softly to himself; " the omen
was false after all ! Though the hawk's wings have been
sadly shorn of late, he may catch the dove yet ! But
now to unravel the thread of this double mystery ! I
think I can find the clue, and if not, why, the woman
can find it for me. But I will not try that resort until
all others fail. It is hard to play with fire without getting
scorched, if not consumed. Is her hand in this ? We
shall see ! we shall see ! "
Revolving many thoughts and many plans in his subtle
intellect, now roused into activity once more by his re-
newed, hopes and vanished fears, the scheming Syrian
spent that night in pacing up and down his room, re-
ceiving the reports of various emissaries, whom he sent
abroad to make inquiries in different quarters.
Then, as the first gray dawn broke forth in the east, he
threw on his cloak and sallied forth, muttering to himself:
" I have found one ! Now to find the other ! ' '
CHAPTER XXX.
THE DOVE IN THE VULTURE'S NEST.
WHEN Edith recovered from the surprise and stupor
into which the sudden assault of her captors had
thrown her, she found herself being hurried rapidly
along in a carriage, the blinds of which appeared to be
closed.
No one seemed to be in the carriage with her except
Fatima ; but as both were fast bound, gagged and blind-
fold, it was impossible to know positively, or to com-
municate with each other.
After making several frantic but useless efforts to
liberate her hands, or uncover her eyes, Edith desisted
in despair, and resigned herself to her fate without fur-
ther struggle. Thus she proceeded on her strange jour-
ney, for what appeared to her many hours, in a silence
broken only by the stifled sobs of her fellow-captive.
She was so utterly bewildered by the whole occurrence,
that she found it impossible to think ; her brain whirled,
and her thoughts came so crowded and confused as to
have no sequence or connection. The whole thing was
such a mystery, she could not begin to fathom the mean-
ing or the purpose of her abduction ; for she was con-
335
336 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
scious of having no enemy, and the thought of any baser
motive never entered the pure mind of the American
girl, whose knowledge of evil was limited to the con-
fession made every Sunday in the church service, but
which had never conveyed any practical idea to her
mind.
Her education had been of that careful kind which
instructs a woman in ancient and modern history, and
keeps her utterly ignorant of the living and breathing
world around her, and which considers purity and virtue
to consist in the utter ignorance of evil, not in its know-
ledge and resistance. All sights and sounds, as well as
books, that could offend maidenly delicacy had been
carefully kept from her by her instructors first, and her
fond father afterward ; so that she had attained the age
of womanhood, and had become a wife, with the inno-
cence and the heart of a child.
Romances she had not been allowed to read, except
those of the Puritan type approved of by Miss Primmins ;
and her imagination, therefore, was not so- excitable, nor
filled with the same images as those of her schoolmates,
who had surfeited on the sweets of " Lady Audley's
Secret," " Strathmore," and other sensational novels of
the day.
She therefore had not the terrors of a prurient imagina-
tion or a morbid fancy to increase the pain of her actual
situation ; and, although naturally terrified at her strange
position, the fear of something worse than danger or
death, which can haunt a woman under such circum-
stances, did not find a place in her pure mind.
And, even in the midst of her own peril whatever
that might be, of which she had a very misty idea one
thought brought sweet consolation to her. The woman
ASKAROS KASSIS. 337
and the wife felt a joy in the conviction that the story of
her husband's accident was false, and that, happen what
might to her, he was in no danger, nor had suffered any
injury ; and, womanlike, in that thought she found alle-
viation for her own pain.
None of these thoughts consoled the Arab woman who
lay groaning by her side, and who appreciated better
than her mistress the real nature of the peril which
threatened, and the purpose of the abduction ; for her
training and knowledge of life were of the kind to make
her comprehend both, and no doubt entered her mind
on the subject, except as to the person who had planned
it ; and here she was as utterly in the dark as her
mistress.
At length the carriage stopped, and by a great effort
Edith raised herself up from the seat on which she had
been thrown. As she did so, she felt something flutter-
ing in her bosom, and immediately recollected that her
dove had nestled there, as was its wont, just before she
sallied out to go to her husband, and had been forgotten
in her excitement. The consciousness of the presence
of even that helpless thing she loved, near her in this
hour of unknown danger, sent a thrill of pleasure through
her breast. It seemed to her an indication that she was
not quite deserted, while she felt this friend nestling near
her heart ; and this little incident did more to reassure
the sensitive girl than a more material fact might have
done. So she bent her head down with difficulty, to
keep the bird in his position, fearing it might be taken
from her, did her captors see it ; and the dove, as though
it comprehended her design, nestled quietly down again,
and was still once more.
As the dove moved, he had pushed some hard sub-
29 W
338 ASKAROS KASSIS.
stance next him against her breast so as to give her pain,
and Edith remembered that, before leaving home that
morning, Askaros had playfully armed her with a small
jewelled dagger, scarcely more than a toy, telling her,
with mock solemnity, that every Turkish Odalisque wore
one of those, and that she ought to adopt the customs of
the country in which she lived. She had never thought
a second time of the dagger, as she did of the dove, for
it never occurred to her that in any emergency she might
have occasion, or could nerve herself to use it.
When the carriage stopped, she was carefully lifted
out by two persons, and borne up what seemed to be a
long flight of steps, and deposited on what felt like a soft
divan her eyes and limbs still bound and then left
alone.
She could hear the stealthy footsteps of her conduc-
tors stealing from the room, and a door close behind
them ; then she was again left to silence, solitude, and her
own reflections. The excitement of her mind, and the
critical nature of her situation, prevented sleep, worn and
weary as she was, and the predominating feeling in her
mind was that of wonder, not unmixed with curiosity, as
to what all this meant. Lying there undisturbed for some
time, she began to believe she was the sport of some
practical joke, which, had it not been so cruel, she would
have attributed to her husband ; and the vague fears
which had at first assailed her, from the strangeness of
the situation, began to wear away, and to be succeeded
by an impatience to know what it all meant, and rejoin
her husband.
But she was not destined to remain much longer in this
suspense. Again, in her darkness, she heard the rus-
tling of the curtain over the door, as some one put it
ASKAROS KASSIS. 339
aside, followed by shuffling steps and the sweeping sound
of a woman's dress passing over the floor. The moment
after, a hand was busy with the mufflers which covered
her head and bound her arms, and she was at once re-
stored to sight, and the free use of her limbs once more.
Her eyes, half blinded by their sudden exposure to a
blaze of light, fell first on the face and form of a Circas-
sian woman, both of which must once have been beauti-
ful, from the traces still left, but the expression of whose
countenance was not prepossessing now hard, leering,
cunning and cruel. She was very richly dressed, in Turk-
ish style, and on her fingers, neck and hair glittered
gems of great cost and size. She peered insolently and
inquisitively into the uncovered face of Edith, ran her
eye rapidly over the slight girlish form, and burst into a
roar of derisive laughter, as though equally amused and
disgusted at the survey, and with some ideas it excited.
Repulsion, terror, and indignation struggled successive-
ly for mastery in the bosom of the gentle girl, who re-
coiled instinctively from the hag, though without the
slightest suspicion as to who or what she was, or clearly
understanding whence the repugnance rose.
She turned her head away to avoid looking at the
woman, and in the act of doing so her eyes fell for the
first time on the objects surrounding her, and rested upon
the details with wonder and admiration. Never in her
life had she seen, never had her imagination pictured the
possibility of such luxury and lavish expenditure as were
displayed in the apartment in which she now found her-
self. It was not a large room, and had but one window,
large, and latticed in Eastern fashion, so that the occu-
pant could see what was passing outside, being herself
invisible. The roof was vaulted and very lofty, with
34 ASKAROS KASSIS.
small perforations, like lattices, on the side of the wall
opposite the window, but which did not seem intended
to give light, since there was no way of opening them
from the inside of the room. The walls and ceiling were
of the most elaborate wood-work, carved in fantastic
patterns, the floor of tessellated marble, inlaid with squares
of pearl and ivory. The furniture was a melange of the
Oriental and European, all of the richest and most costly
kind, with large mirrors set into the walls on all four
sides, and divans covered with embroidered damask
serving for seats. Small oval mirrors set in frames of
pearl, combs, brushes and other necessaries of the female
toilet were strewn over Koorsees inlaid with pearl, in
corners of the room which was evidently one of a suite
in the hareem of some very wealthy man.
Adjoining this room a half-opened door discovered a
most luxuriously fitted-up bath-room of the Turkish kind.
While the astonished eyes of Edith were surveying the
apartment, and all it contained, the bold, bright eyes of
the Circassian woman were fixed on the fair fresh beauty
and girlish figure of the young American, with a stare
which certainly did not indicate admiration, but the re-
verse. So that when Edith turned her head again from
her examination of the room, she again encountered
those leering evil eyes more like those of the lower
animals than a woman's in expression and could not
suppress a shudder.
The woman saw the expression, and understood it, and
her face darkened, but she only raised her hand, and
pointing to the adjoining room. ' ' Hammam ! ' ' (bath),
she said, as though intimating the propriety of Edith
availing herself of that luxury.
Edith shook her head in refusal.
ASKAKOS A' A S3 IS. 34!
Then the woman commenced talking rapidly to her in
some language which she had never heard before, and
which she supposed to be Turkish ; and afterward in
another, some words of which she recognized to be
Arabic.
But Edith, who understood neither language, could not
comprehend the purport of her words, and could only
shake hes.head in reply to the torrent of words, accom-
panied by animated gesticulation, so volubly poured out
by her companion. Failing utterly to make the American
woman understand her meaning, either by word or ges-
ture, the Circassian seemed to lose temper. She rose up
from the divan, where- she had squatted down beside
Edith, and, with a gesture of impatient anger, muttering
the words "Homar Fransowee ! " (ass of a Frank) hob-
bled out of the apartment, not only dropping the curtain
behind her, but closing also a mahogany door, which
Edith heard her lock behind her.
Believing herself alone and unseen, the poor girl,
whose pride had sustained her in a show of courage and
coolness she did not feel in the presence of that odious
woman, whose character was stamped upon her face so
plainly that even her innocence could not mistake it, the
full terror of her situation dawned upon her, and cover-
ing her face with her hands she burst into tears of mingled
fear and shame.
For the first time the suspicion flashed upon her why
she had been entrapped, and the horror of the thought
was almost more than she could endure. The hideous
reality of that woman's presence, her look and manner,
as well as the appearance of the place, spoke as plainly
as words could have done the character of its occupants.
She was a prisoner then in an Egyptian hareem ! but
29*
342 ASKAROS KASSIS.
whose ? That question she asked herself in vain, for
neither her memory nor her imagination could give her
the slightest clue to that mystery.
How was she to escape ? This was the next thought
which entered into the mind of the American girl, under
whose soft exterior there lay concealed a strong will and
a resolute soul, though neither had as yet been tested in
her smooth summer voyage, thus far, over the sea of life.
Now that the clouds darkened and the storm disturbed
those smooth waves, she felt her energy rising with the
emergency, dried her tears, and rising, walked to the
window to see what the outlook might be.
She started back with a cry of surprise at the scene
which met her view. Immediately below the window
was a large open space, surrounded by a high stone wall ;
beyond that again a long low range of barracks, in which
she saw Egyptian soldiers. Above the roofs of the bar-
racks, far as the eye could range, on every side there
stretched the bare bald desert, dotted here and there in
the distance with slow moving lines of horses, camels
and men. All else what the Scriptures so strongly term,
"the abomination of desolation."
With a sigh she turned from the window, more mysti-
fied than ever, for the dreariness of the view added to
the oppression which weighed down her spirit. Throw-
ing herself again down on the divan, she gave way for a
few moments to the wildest hysterical grief; then rising
up, threw herself on her knees, and with clasped hands
and upturned eyes, prayed long and fervently that God
in His mercy might sustain and strengthen, if He would
not deliver her from those strange perils, coming so un-
expectedly in the hour of her greatest hope and happi-
ness. Having completed her prayer, which rose on high
ASKAROS KASSIS. 343
like incense from the altar of a pure but sore-stricken
heart, to the Great Creator and Judge of all things on
this small dust-heap we call a world doubtless a small
speck only in the eye of Omnipotence the exhausted
girl sunk down and fell into the heavy slumber of over-
wrought brain and body, forgetting for a time in that
blessed oblivion her past pangs and present apprehen-
sions.
Little did she imagine that when she deemed the All-
Seeing Eye alone beheld her in that chamber, apparently
so secure from outward intrusion, that a human eye a
dull, greedy, sensual, vulture-like eye was gloating over
her charms, and feasting on the beauties of her person
from the wealth of her dishevelled golden hair, streaming
loose on her ivory shoulders, having broken free from
restraints of comb or other fastening during her ride;
over the dainty symmetry of her delicate form, just ripen-
ing into perfect womanhood from immature girlhood,
down to the small feet peeping out from beneath the long
Frank dress, suggesting the symmetry of the limbs it so
decorously concealed. This novelty piqued and excited
the imagination of the jaded voluptuary, wearied and
sated with the undisguised beauties of his own hareem,
and the immodest exposures of persons by which they
sought to stimulate his failing appetites. So to him the
fresh pure womanhood of this young American, was as
provocative as a new dish to the palled palate of the
epicure.
For the vulture eye which glared down through that
lattice which Edith had thought a window but which
allowed the occupant of a small entresol chamber to look
down into her apartment unseen was that of none other
than Abbas Pasha himself.
344 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
While he was gloating down on his unconscioas cap-
tive, the door of his hiding-place opened, and the Cir-
cassian woman we have seen below, making a profound
salutation, stood behind him in the narrow space, speak-
ing no word, but evidently awaiting his pleasure.
Abbas turned round at her entrance with an impatient
sigh, and reluctantly averted his eyes from the fascinating
vision below to the bold, bad face of " the Mother of the
Hareem," for such the woman was who had Edith in
charge, and who now came for further orders from her
master, formerly her lover and her slave a fact which
she had not forgotten, although Abbas had. Abbas
spoke first.
" How find you the Ingleeze woman, O Zuleika, mother
of houris ? " he said. ' ' Is she not truly a pearl of price ?
a very white lily of the valley, such as the great King
Solomon sang of, and would have joyed to possess in his
palace built by the genii? Is she not, indeed, a rose ? "
And he glanced down again into the chamber, unwillingly
reverting his eyes to the painted face of the Circassian,
who, forgetting her faded charms, still retained the des-
perate hope of reclaiming her lord's allegiance.
"A white rose then," responded Zuleika, sneeringly,
"for her face is as white as a Santon's tomb, and she
has neither kohl on her eyes nor henna on her hair or
fingers, and her figure is as thin as a half-starved camel's
after the pilgrimage to Mecca."
But, witnessing the gathering cloud of wrath on Abbas's
brow at her sarcasms, which seemed to anger him, the
Circassian hastened to correct her blunder, adding :
"Yet my great lord is right. Under all this, which
to ordinary eyes would look like ugliness, his eagle
glance has detected the rare beauties which lurk beneath.
ASKAROS KASSIS, 345
For, when properly bathed and anointed, her eyes and
eyebrows darkened with kohl, her hair and finger-tips
tinged with henna, and in a costume which will display,
not hide her figure, she will indeed be a rose, pleasant to
look upon, and sweet of perfume ! And these things my
lord's most faithful servant, Zuleika, charges herself to
attend to if it so pleases my lord, the king ! that the
foreign woman may be made worthy to come into his
sight, and fill the place in his hareem which he has con-
descended to assign her."
Abbas impatiently nodded his head, as though wishing
her to be gone ; but the woman lingered, as though wish-
ing, yet fearing to say more.
"What is it? Speak!" said the Viceroy. "I see
thou hast something to say. It is permitted."
''May it please my great lord! the Frank woman
speaks neither Turkish nor Arabic nothing but Ingleeze,
which no one in the hareem understands. My lord had
commanded his faithful mother of the hareem to prepare
the mind of the Frank woman for the honor which is
destined for her, before he visited her. But how can this
be done, since we are all as dumb women to her? "
The suggestion seemed to strike Abbas, who mused
over it in silence for a few minutes, and then replied :
"There is good sense in what thou sayest, and it is
necessary the Frank woman should be made to see the
honor and the advantages of what is destined for her.
Neither can I myself speak to her without an interpreter,
since, the Prophet be praised, I speak no language of the
Infidel ! Hearken unto me ! Canst thou not find in
Cairo some woman, known to thee, that can be trusted,
to whom we may confide this duty? "
" Highness ! to hear is to obey ! Just such a woman
346 ASKAKOS KASSIS.
I do know ; and she shall be brought hither, if my lord
commands."
" Frank or native? " asked Abbas.
" A Frank by birth, who hath lived here so long that
she is one of us ; as I know, thoroughly trustworthy, and
with small love for the women of her own race, among
whom she is an outlaw."
' l Peki ! ' ' said Abbas ; ' ' thy face is white in my pres-
ence ! It is well thought of! Let the Frank woman re-
pose herself; and do thou send to Cairo, and procure
the woman thou speakest of. When she arrives, let me
see and speak with her, before she sees or knows of our
new bird. This is a serious matter ; and I must judge if
she can be trusted. I have spoken."
The Circassian took the hint, and withdrew; and
Abbas, after another long, lingering look, turned away,
descended the steps which led to his spying-place, and
passed on to his own apartments, in the other wing of the
palace.
An hour later, the poor girl awoke from her heavy
slumber, and found herself still alone. At first, she could
scarcely believe all that had passed to be more than a
feverish dream ; but the painful reality soon forced itself
upon her mind, as her eye fell on the unfamiliar objects .
surrounding her.
She rose up and passed to the door. It was locked.
She passed into the bath-room. There was no egress
thence. She searched for some other door of communi-
cation, but could find none. She then went to the win-
dow, and looked out. The height from the ground was
full forty feet, and below it was a space enclosed by a
high wall.
As she stood gazing out upon it, she felt the dove flutter
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 347
in her bosom, and suddenly what Askaros had suggested
to her, as to its uses and training, flashed upon her
memory, and inspired her with hope.
The dove should be her messenger to her husband !
Hastily she took from her pocket her aunt's letter on
which she had traced the steamboat for Fatima and
with the gold pencil, which hung suspended from her
neck, she traced on the blank page these words :
"I am a prisoner in a palace, the window of which
overlooks the desert. Safe and well otherwise. Come
and rescue your Edith."
Addressing this small square note to "Askaros Effendi,
Cairo," she took out the dove, which caressed her with
its soft bill, carefully tied the note under its wing, attach-
ing it to the blue ribbon about its neck, and kissing it
over and over again, while her tears rained down on its
soft wings, launched it out into the air.
The bird seemed unwilling to leave her, for it circled
outside of the window, and returned to perch on her
shoulder again.
Twice she essayed the experiment, with the same result.
The third time, she repulsed it, on its return, and threw
it roughly out again ; and the bird did not come back,
but instead of darting off in a straight line, circled up
into the air to a great height, before proceeding on its
way. She soon had reason to admire the instinct which
had prompted this act, and its previous conduct for
she soon saw that a hawk had espied the dove, which was
high up in the air above him, and was striving to rise to
its level, to give it chase.
A few minutes of intense anxiety for Edith ensued, as
the hawk strove to rise higher than the smaller bird ; but
ere he could effect this, the dove darted away with the
34 8 ASKAROS KASSIS.
\
swiftness of an arrow, leaving the baffled pursuer far out
of range.
"He will take my message safely ! " said the glad
girl, whose spirits rose with this success; "and Askaros
will be sure to find and rescue me ! If he does not
and there is need ' ' she whispered to herself, while a
settled resolve shone on her fair young face "although
I have sent away one of my friends, the other still is
left ! " And she touched the jewelled hilt of the dagger
at her bosom then knelt down to pray again.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE MAD-HOUSE OF THE MAURISTAN.
WHILE these events were transpiring at the Abas-
sieh, equally important ones were happening at
Cairo. When Daoud-ben- Youssouf sallied forth at early
morning, he bent his steps to the Turkish quarter, and
walked rapidly along until he reached one of the largest
and handsomest mosques in Cairo. Both in its archi-
tecture and its exterior it was one of the finest specimens
of the old Moorish architecture to be found in the city.
This was the Mauristan, which, long disused as a
mosque, had been converted into a mad-house, whither
were sent those unfortunates who, from any cause, had
lost their reason.
In the East the victim of insanity is looked upon with
a reverential feeling unknown in other countries.
The madman is regarded not as one laboring under a
physical disease, but as resting under the direct visitation,
as well as under the special protection of God.
A peculiar sanctity attaches to the object of this visita-
tion ; and no Eastern man, even to protect himself from
bodily injury, would harm a lunatic, believing he would
thereby incur the direct displeasure of Allah.
Nations which boast of more culture and a higher
3o 349
35O ASKAROS KASSIS.
Civilization may scoff at this superstition, and regard the
madman as they do any other human being, the normal
exercise of whose functions has been disturbed ; yet there
is something very striking and very touching in it, never-
theless. Moreover, it cannot be denied that in the three
great attributes of Hope, Faith, and Charity, the unculti-
vated Oriental immeasurably excels his Western brother ;
although the first may often darken into fatalism, and the
second into fanaticism, yet the third, in practice as in
precept, is the faith of Islam. In respect for old age,
and for all who have been afflicted in mind or body by
Providence, the West can learn most profitable lessons
from the East.
Hence, although no state provision, such as the pub-
lic hospitals common in other countries, exists in the East
private charity supplying their place there was a place
assigned at Cairo for the care of idiots, madmen, and all
others deprived of reason, who were taken charge of and
attended to at public expense.
This place, as before stated, was the Mauristan, which
Daoud now entered, the interior of which was supported
by a range of strong pillars, to which were chained down
many human beings, howling like wild beasts. Others,
whose insanity was of a less violent type, were moping
over the wide space, or gathered in groups, amusing
themselves as they best might, under the superintendence
of keepers armed with heavy clubs. For although these
unhappy creatures were regarded with a peculiar kind
of reverence, as suffering from more than a mere
physical malady, yet, by a strange inconsistency, their
treatment was most cruel as we would consider brutal.
This arose not from intention, but through ignorance of
the proper sanitary measures. As there are no profes-
ASK'AROS KASSIS. 351
sional Hakeems, (doctors,) among the Mussulmans, who
believe the prayers offered up at some Sheik or Santon's
tomb to be more efficacious than medicine, maniacs were
treated in the rudest and simplest manner. The violent
ones were chained to pillars, pinioned in such a way as
to prevent their doing any injury to themselves ; the
milder cases left to the curative power of nature alone.
Daoud, whose nerves had been sorely shaken of late
by illness of body and mind, shuddered as he entered
this horrible place, with its sights and sounds of woe and
pain, as vivid an image of the dwellings of the lost as
ever was conceived by the gloomy imagination of the
great Florentine who had "been in hell;" or pictured
forth by the weird genius of Dore, which has given shape
and form to those ghastly fancies with his painful pencil.
Wolfish eyes, gleaming with a baleful fire which
seemed not of this world, glared upon the Syrian from
the bundles of misery huddled together at the base of
each stone pillar, curdling his blood with the demoniac
malignity of their expression, more like the eyes of lost
souls in pain than those of living men.
The shrieks and yells of the more furious alternated
with the gibbering laughter of the imbeciles : echoes from
deserted seats of reason, untenanted now by thought.
No women were among them. All were men ; or,
rather, creatures whose outward semblance was that of
men, but in whom the noblest part of humanity was
utterly lost, or in sad eclipse ; bodies in which brutal
instincts had survived and dethroned reason that breath
of God which elevates the human clay above all the
other works of the Omnipotent Hand.
As the Syrian, inspired by a loathing repulsion, which
rose almost to horror, cautiously picked his way through
35 2 ASKAROS KASSIS.
this mass of diseased humanity, he compelled himself to
peer carefully at the faces and forms of the poor wretches
he passed, one by one, as though seeking some person
he knew might be found among them.
At length he stopped, breathed a deep sigh of mingled
relief and pain, like one whose quest was over, and
scooped down over a form which lay huddled together,
as though in the death-like exhaustion succeeding a vio-
lent paroxysm. The form was now relaxed and nerve-
less the extreme of lassitude and weakness indicated by
the position of the limbs and features of the face, which
was that of a young and handsome man, and which,
though haggard and death-like, did not wear the strained
intensity of insanity.
He seemed to slumber ; for the long-drawn, laboring
breath came with the regular inhalations of sleep, while
his chest rose and fell regularly, though slowly.
" It is he," said Daoud, "and the crisis is past. That
is not the fitful and broken sleep of a disturbed brain.
The prayers of his guardian angel and mine have saved
him not only from death, but from worse than death
the demoniacal possession men call madness, and priests
the visitation of God. He must have had a violent
paroxysm of fever, and these fools mistook his ravings
for insanity, and chained him here, like a wild beast ! "
And he glanced down with loathing at the ropes which
bound the sleeper's limbs, and attached him to the strong
pillar. "I am no hakeem,'" he resumed, "but I am
sure that is never the face of a madman. When he
knows all, perchance he may wish he had lost his reason;
for those tidings, to his soft nature, will be almost equal
to the death-pang. I begin to repent my wrath against
him, and my plots, which, though they brought woe to
ASKAROS KASSIS. 353
him and his, brought greater pain and shame to myself.
Is it too late to repair the wrong I have done him, or at
least to expiate it? No, no ! Have not our priests told
me that Daoud, the great king, whose name I bear,
sinned more grievously than I in many ways, and yet
became the chosen servant of the Lord after his re-
pentance ? ' '
As he muttered thus, looking down pityingly on the
still form beneath him, the sleeper stirred uneasily and
muttered eagerly a few broken words, as though calling
on one he wished to see, with an impatience half chiding,
half fond.
The Syrian's brow darkened and his small hand
clinched until the nails were driven into the delicate
flesh, while a look of painful suspicion crept into his
eyes, the pupils of which contracted and dilated like
those of a bird of prey. He stooped down over the
sleeping man and placed his ear close to the lips, which
continued to repeat the impatient call, in sounds scarcely
as audible as a whisper. But what the listener heard re-
assured him, and his face lighted up as though a heavy
burden had been lifted from his brain and heart, while
an expression of joy, blended with contempt, stole over
his delicate features.
" Ephraim is joined unto his idols ; let him alone ! "
he muttered, with that familiar everyday use of Scriptural
phrases so common to the Eastern Christians, who, like
the New England Puritans, distort the text of Holy Writ
to meanings far different to those for which they were de-
signed.
"The poor fool calls on the name of his wax-doll !
not on that which I permit no lips to invoke, no heart to
enshrine but mine unfit shrine as that heart may be for
30* X
354 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
such a saint ! It is well for him and well for me that it
was so, for Sheitan was busy with me again for that in-
terval of suspense.
" Apage Sathanas, vade retro/ 1 ' and he crossed him-
self. " I spit at and defy thee and thy works. But now
to business! "
Gliding away with the noiseless swiftness that charac-
terized all his movements, Daoud left the sleeping man,
happily unconscious of the great peril he had so narrowly
escaped in the rambling utterances of his disturbed slum-
ber. For had that other name, which the mad jealousy
of Daoud suspected, been uttered by those fever-parched
lips, the pitiless Syrian would surely have abandoned him
to his fate, which a protracted residence in that place
would have made death or madness, ere aid from other
quarters could have reached him.
As it was, the Syrian sought the head keeper of the
Mauristan, to whom the young Copt was well known by
name and reputation, explained to him the object of his
visit and the success of his search, and obtained from him
a ready permission at once to remove him to his own
home. This was speedily effected, and shortly after sun-
rise, Daoud, in charge of his rescued rival as he once
had deemed him knew not whether to feel most pleased
or pained on receiving the tearful thanks of the glad girl,
on his delivery to her at his own house, and saw, at the
same time, the look of passionate grief and devotion she
threw upon the wreck of the man, so brave, brilliant, and
strong but yesterday now lying collapsed and almost
lifeless before her.
He had, however, no excuse to linger longer in the
paradise of her presence, and was reluctantly about to
withdraw, after having protracted the interview by art-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 355
fully prolonging his detail of the search and discovery
of Askaros, when, to his surprise, the girl requested him
to remain, and accompanied the body of her brother
as she called him from the room.
Impatiently the Syrian awaited her return, with mixed
emotions of hope and fear agitating his breast, as to her
reason for detaining him, which even his ready wit could
not supply. His suspense was short, for El Warda soon
returned and put into his hands the note she had just re-
ceived through the dove, but a short time before his ar-
rival. He read the note carefully over several times,
then turning to the anxious girl, who watched his face
and hung upon his first words with breathless interest,
said :
" I begin to see through this mystery, I think ! The
desert view from the window confirms my first suspicions.
Send back the dove with this answer" and he suggested
the words which the dove bore back "and I will labor
to find your sister, even as I have found your brother.
Even should he be better when he awakes, disturb him
not with these matters, for he will still be too weak in
mind and body to be of use, and it will only harm him.
Should he inquire for his wife, tell him she has gone to
Alexandria to the consul-general, to enlist his aid to find
him, and will soon be home. Now I go to discover
further traces of this villany. Fear not ! doubt not !
hope ever ! and trust to one who will keep his pledge ! "
Trusting himself to say no more, the Syrian left the
house with a lighter heart than he had worn in his breast
since the fatal morning he had passed into the Viceroy's
palace exultant, and been borne out bruised and broken
in body and hope.
One little incident had escaped even his vigilant eye
356 ASKAROS KASSIS.
which might have given him uneasiness ; and it was this :
as the exhausted form of Askaros was borne away from
the Mauristan, a man glided out also, and followed at a
distance, until the garden gate closed on his conductors,
then hurried away like one whose work was done.
Daoud spent that day, so trying to poor Edith in her
captivity, in fruitlessly seeking a clue to her disappearance,
in which he was not so fortunate as he had been in the
case of her husband. The facts relating to the latter 's
having been found at Boulak, and carried to the Mau-
ristan, had been easily gathered from the gossips of the
Cairene coffee-houses, which afford a substitute for the
evening newspapers, and telegraphic despatches of civil-
ized communities, and probably retail as accurate infor-
mation. Of course the incident only was stated, as
Askaros had not been recognized, but the quick appre-
hension of the Syrian supplied that omission.
But how to trace the missing wife ? Here the gossips
could give him no clue, for the whole matter was still
shrouded in secrecy and mystery outside of the household
of Askaros. True, his suspicion fell upon Abbas ; but
how could he verify them? how proceed? The window
overlooking the desert made him suppose the Abassieh
her place of confinement; yet not a certainty. His
thoughts fell on Nezle Khanum, as the sole human being
that could unravel the mystery, and give him aid were
such the case. For the consul-general would be power-
less here, even were there more than vague suspicion to
proceed upon ! The sanctity of the hareem, inviolate from
step of man, or even the arm of law, shielded from de-
tection or punishment many criminal acts, as well as
afforded a sanctuary for all encompassed within its walls.
No man can enter there. True ! but a woman might.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 357
What wcman could he find who would dare the vengeance
of Abbas? even for all his hoard the savings of his
laborious and frugal life which he would devote to
bribe her. He racked his brain in vain to think of one,
with the craft and courage necessary to venture into the
Abassieh, and ascertain whether the captive were really
there ?
Suddenly the thought of the Frenchwoman flashed
upon his mind. She would do it, for the darker motive
of avarice, which he could tempt, and for the purer one
of love for El Warda. He would go and find her ! for
he suspected, though he did not know, the darker and
more disreputable employments which she occupied her-
self with, in connection with the hareems, to which she had
xree entry.
It was now night, and he hurried to her house, to learn,
to his chagrin, that she had gone off at mid-day, no one
knew where, not to be back possibly for many days.
This was a very great disappointment ; so the Syrian un-
consciously wandered in the direction of the house where
his heart was, and carefully examined if any traces of
any kind had been left in the narrow street where the
violence had been committed, but could find none.
He then went into the house, and made old Fatima
repeat her story over and over again, in the hope of
getting some clue ; but the garrulous old woman could
give him none, always repeating the same story he had
heard her tell before, with wearisome iteration. Neither
Ferraj nor the other slave had ever returned, nor any
trace of them been found.
Wearied out and almost hopeless, he returned to his
own squalid home now seeming to him, from contrast
with his dreams, more dismal than ever and throwing
35** ASKAROS KASSIS.
himself on his divan, fell into the heavy slumber of utter
exhaustion, having had no sleep for many nights previous,
when almost mad with misery.
He did not awaken until the sun was shining into the
apartment the following morning, and rubbed his eyes
after unclosing them, to convince himself he was really
awake, for there stood before his divan, gravely regard-
ing him, a tall black eunuch, the richness of whose dress
indicated he was attached to the hareem of some dis-
tinguished personage.
Though in face and figure he presented the same pecu-
liarities which give a family likeness to the members of
this unfortunate class, there was something in his counte-
nance which recalled to Daoud the recollection of having
seen him before under peculiar circumstances, when or
where he could not at the moment bring to mind. But
it flashed back on his memory with the first words his
visitor spoke, in that strange squeaking voice peculiar to
his class.
As Daoud rose up from his divan and saluted him, the
eunuch gravely returned the salutation, and said :
"The noble lady, my mistress, whom you vowed to
repay for a service rendered you in a sore strait, has sent
me to say she now claims the fulfilment of that promise,
and would see you, to explain her wishes. If the waters
of oblivion have not washed away your memory, follow
me, and I will conduct you to her. ' '
"What seeks she of me?" answered Daoud, whose
astonishment was only equalled by his reluctance to obey
such a summons ; and over whose memory there flashed
the many strange stories told of the bad, bold woman
who commanded, rather than invited his presence. -
" The great lady is not in the habit of confiding aught
ASKAROS KASSIS. 359
but her will to her servants, far less of having her orders
questioned where she honors such as you with a mes-
sage ! " said the eunuch, haughtily; adding, after a mo-
ment's pause: "The noble lady bade me remind you,
if you showed any reluctance to come, that only half of
your promised reward had been paid, and a reminder to
your debtor would insure the balance. Have you already
then forgotten whose mercy and pity saved you from
open shame, and from being the gibe and scorn of every
coffee-house in Cairo, O most ungrateful and thankless
of infidels?"
' ' There is truth in your words and in hers, though
they are not over-courteous," replied the Syrian, who
had now recovered his constitutional coolness and cour-
age, and felt the force of the eunuch's statement, sting-
ing as it was ; and who knew, furthermore, he could not
afford to convert so powerful a friend into an enemy, as
his refusal to obey her summons might.
"Fear cannot move me, but gratitude can ! For life
or death, I am at the disposal of the noble lady who suc-
cored me in my sore need ! Lead on, I follow," and
he pointed to the door.
The eunuch grinned a ghastly smile, which exhibited
his black teeth through his skinny and livid lips, while
his dull eye, deep sunken in its orbit, and surrounded by
a livid ring, glanced over the spare form of the Syrian
and his beardless face, as though in wonder at this last
fantasy of his mistress. He shrugged his shoulders,
made no reply, but turned, and silently led the way
down-stairs, followed by Daoud.
At the door stood another eunuch, holding two horses,
richly caparisoned, one of which his conductor imme-
diately bestrode, signing Daoud to mount the other,
ASKAROS KASSIS.
which he had no sooner done than both took the road
leading to Boulak at a headlong gallop, as though their
lives depended on their haste.
No words were exchanged between them as they swept
along, the early travellers on the road making way for
them, as, like two spectral horsemen, the black and his
pale companion rushed into sight and passed out of it,
under a cloud of dust, almost as rapidly as they had
appeared.
The palm-trees and acacias swept past them in their
swift race, to the eyes of Daoud, until they reached the
wall of the palace of the Princess Nezle', when, suddenly
curbing his panting steed, just at the secret gate through
which Askaros had formerly entered, the sable guide
dismounted, and tapped three times on the wall. The
gate swung open, and two slaves appeared, one of whom
respectfully assisted the eunuch to dismount, the other
taking the bridle of Daoud 's horse, and motioning him
to do the same.
He saw, to his horror, that these slaves were mutes,
and began to comprehend why the princess's secrets
were so well kept, surrounded as she was by these ever-
silent attendants.
His conductors motioned him to follow, and he passed
through many winding avenues to a small postern door,
up a narrow flight of steps, and found himself in the
same chamber already described, from the window of
which Askaros had leaped into the Nile. On the divan
sat a veiled lady, whom he at once guessed to be the
terrible princess herself. The eunuch prostrated him-
self with lowly reverence, rose, and withdrew at a ges-
ture from the lady, without uttering a word, and Daoud
was left alone with her he dreaded, yet longed to see.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 361
The princess broke the silence with a slight laugh :
"So!" she said, "gratitude yet dwells on earth, and
thou hast remembered past favors. Or is it fear brings
thee here ? I fain would know the metal of which thou
art made. Bad as I may be, I am not so cruel as men
call me in the idle babble of the bath and coffee-house !
If dread of my displeasure alone hath brought thee here,
and thy heart fails thee, depart in peace ; for the work
to be done requires courage, of all things, and thou
lookest, as Abbas said, more like a girl than a boy. I
need a man, and a resolute one, for the thing for which
I summoned thee."
" Great lady," said the Syrian, " mistrust me not be-
cause I hide not the heart of a lamb under the shaggy
hide of a lion ; and my looks are girlish, as thou sayest.
The deadliest cobra may conceal its venom under the
softest skin. Neither do me the injustice of believing
that fear instead of gratitude brought me here. Well do
I know that, once within these walls, my liberty and life
are thine ; that I might disappear forever, like a bubble
that bursts on yonder river, and no man know my fate.
But so long as I chose to remain outside, even thy hand
could not reach me, and Abbas, in his capricious tyranny,
would never waste a thought on one like me. Speak,
then, freely, O lady, and I, a free man, say to thee, in
the language of thy slaves, ' To hear is to obey ! ' :
He paused, and, stepping forward, knelt down grace-
fully, and kissed the hem of her robe with a reverential
gratitude ; then, rising up, folded his arms across his
chest, and awaited her pleasure.
The boldness of his speech did not seem to displease
the princess, but, on the contrary, to gratify her.
"Thou art a saucy boy, indeed ! " she said, "and
362 A SKA ROS KA S S I S.
somewhat lacking in reverence to speak so boldly ; but
I forgive thee, and in token thereof, as thou art scarcely
yet a man, will let thee see the face of the monster, men
have told thee such terrible tales about. ' ' And, laugh-
ing aloud, she threw off the heavy veil, as though it en-
cumbered her, and disclosed to the eager gaze of the
Syrian the small regular features and eagle eyes of the
Princess Nezle.
The evident surprise and admiration of the young man
pleased the princess, whose womanly vanity craved the
tribute now more than in her earlier years.
" So you see Sheitan is not so black as they paint her,
nor am I a ghoul or a jinn, but only a woman after all.
Thou art a pretty boy ! and there was a time when I
should have had softer talk for thine ear than what I have
to tell thee now. Though thou art Youssouf, I am not the
wife of Thotmes, of whom the old story is told. If I
speak to thee of love, it is of thine for another, young
like thyself, and how thou mayest win her yet of her
whom Abbas promised thee ! Ha ! that start, that change
of color ! Thou seest I read thy heart, and know all ! "
And as she spoke, as though enjoying his confusion, she
fixed her penetrating eyes, not without a scornful pity
lurking in their dark orbs, full on the face of the aston-
ished and discomfited Syrian.
"Furthermore I tell thee," she resumed, "that El
Warda ' ' smiling as she saw him start at the mention
of that name "was here with me at early dawn. She
told me she had but one counsellor -and friend in Cairo,
in the matters of life and death on which she prayed my
aid, and strange to say of so modest a maiden, thou art
that man ! ' ' And again those searching eyes seemed to
read his very soul.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 363
" Great Khanum ! " said the Syrian, to whom her last
words seemed to have given new life and energy, " if
the matter for which I have been summoned here be that
on which she came to thee, and which I know, brain and
body, life and soul, thou mayest command of Daoud-
ben-Youssouf ! ' '
As he spoke his slight form seemed to dilate, his nos-
trils expanded, and in the steady light of his eye shone
desperate resolve.
The Khanum looked on him admiringly ; her unflinch-
ing spirit responded to his ; she felt the attraction which
draws one strong nature to another, and it echoed in her
voice as again she spoke.
' ' Rightly did Abbas call thee a tiger-cat, but wofully
did he err when he boasted he had pared thy claws ! I
take thee at thy word. But before pledging thyself I
warn thee it is no slight service, no child's play I may
have to ask of thee ; but to do and dare things, the very
mention of which may cause thy flesh to creep, and thy
blood to curdle ! For thou art very young," she added,
musingly, as though to herself, rather than to her com-
panion.
' ' Great Khanum ! I see thou dost still distrust ; but
hear me, I beseech thee. There is nothing, however
desperate, I am not willing and ready to do or dare, if it
lead to her, or even if it be in her service. Ay, even
though it lead me to the pit of Eblis ; or lower still, back
into the palace and presence of the man from whom thou
didst rescue me. ' '
"Is it indeed so?" said the princess slowly, her eyes
kindling with a glow which seemed the reflection of his
own. "Thy vaunt shall be tested. It is even there I
would send thee ! Danger will dog thine every step, and
364 ASKAROS KASSIS.
detection be certain death, under slow tortures, to which
the tender mercies dealt thee before will be but as thistle-
down in comparison. Wilt thou indeed dare this, and
for the reason thou hast given ? ' '
" Great Khanum ! yes. Try me ! "
"I will. Return to Cairo. Go to the bath. There
cause thy head to be shaven, and the beard to be removed
from thine upper lip. Take this vial, and with the liquid
it contains tinge thy skin, that thou mayest come forth
looking less like a fair Georgian, and more like a brown
Circassian than at present. Should I need thee, at sun-
set I will send for thee. If not to-day, perhaps to-mor-
row. But leave not thy house in the interval. Possibly
this trial may even yet be spared both thee and me.
Inshallah. But we shall see. Now go."
Clapping her hands as she resumed her veil, the eunuch
reappeared, and at a sign from the Khanum took away
the young man, to whom she vouchsafed no further look
or parting greeting.
Let alone, her brows knitted together, and her small
white teeth were clinched together, while her dilating eye
glared, as though some deadly passion, hate or fear, or
both commingled, wrought in her stormy soul.
The spasm seemed but momentary. She shook it off
as though her strong will had met and mastered the diffi-
culty or the danger, whichever it might be, that menaced
her ; and, with that sudden change of mood habitual to
her wayward temper, her mind suddenly reverted to the
late interview, and she laughed sardonically.
" I thought Askaros was a fool about his doll ! " she
said; "but surely this Syrian boy is a greater one with his ;
which he not only has not possession of, but most proba-
bly will never get at all ! Ho ! ho ! what fools all these
ASKAROS KASSIS. 365
men are, bearded or beardless, young or old, and, oh !
how weary I am of all of them ! But I believe this boy
will keep his pledge. Bakaloum ! And now to prepare
for my interview with Abbas."
Rising up from her divan, the princess betook herself
to her haschisch, to drown her hopes or fears in the sooth-
ing influence of that pleasing poison, ere she made her
perilous and decisive visit to her royal kinsman.
Critical that visit was evidently intended to be, for as
she passed into her inner apartment she muttered to her-
self through her set teeth :
"The crisis must have come, and the danger be press-
ing, when she sends that seal to me ! I fear me the
prophecy of the stars must speedily be fulfilled, for this
moon hath almost waned."
CHAPTER XXXII.
A STRANGE FRIEND IN A STRANGE PLACE.
r I "HE first day of her imprisonment in her gilded cage
JL had almost passed, and the shades of evening were
fast falling, blurring the outlines of the desert view, as
Edith stood at the casement, and, gazing eagerly out in
the direction her winged messenger had gone, speculated
on the incidents of his reception by her husband.
She was so busily weaving such fancies that she did not
hear the key turn in her door, nor the shuffling sound of
slipshod feet approaching, until they were close beside
her. Then she turned hastily, and saw the Circassian
woman standing with another female close beside her.
Several times during the day, black female slaves had
noiselessly entered the room, depositing silver salvers,
containing food, fruits, confectionery, iced sherbets and
colored drinks of various kinds, then vanished as noise-
lessly as they came. She had partaken sparingly of the
fruits only, fearing to try cooked dishes, and had drank
water alone. Save these blacks she had had no other
visitors.
Now, when the Circassian woman returned, accom-
panied by another, Edith nerved herself for some new
366
ASKAROS KASSIS. 367
trial, but she was disappointed, for, motioning with her
hand to the stranger, as though in introduction of her to
Edith, the mother of the hareem turned again, and shuf-
fled out of the apartment. This stranger, who remained,
was also in the Turkish costume. She raised the veil
which she wore, and disclosed to Edith features strangely
familiar to her, though she could not remember where
she had seen her, and gazed at her with an expression in
which recognition struggled with doubt. Seeing this, the
woman addressed her in the French language, as though
it were her native tongue.
"The wife of Askaros does not know me," she said,
"but well do I remember her, and much it grieves me to
see her here. Has she forgotten the day when, with El
Warda, she visited the hareem of the Princess Nezle,
near Boulak ? Has she forgotten her who was their in-
terpreter on that day ? ' '
Like a gleam of light in the dark flashed back upon
Edith the recollection of the woman at these words. She
rushed up to the astonished Frenchwoman, ere she had
finished speaking, kissed her fervently, and clung to her
neck, much to her alarm lest any one should spy upon
them. The other hastily pushed her back with the
hurried whisper :
"On thy life and mine ! treat me as a stranger," and
resumed her former attitude.
But tears were in those hard eyes, which had not known
moisture for years before, and the sardonic mouth twitched
and worked in the convulsive effort to suppress a sob, at
the trusting confidence of the young girl, who recognized
her as a friend under such suspicious circumstances. The
human heart, which still beat indurated as it was with
long suffering, and stained with sin in that withered
368 ASA'AJtOS KASSIS.
breast, leaped up to meet the affection of this pure young
soul, with a mother's yearning. And Edith's impulse
had secured her, in a moment, a friend for life or death.
When the woman next spoke it was in the cold, meas-
ured tone of a servant addressing a mistress, but she did
not repeat her lesson as given her by her employer,
though a listener who did not understand the language in
which she spoke would have deemed, from her manner,
that she was doing so.
' ' Friend of El Warda, my adopted daughter, what
evil star, what foul treachery has brought you here?"
she said, "and how long have you rested within these
polluted walls ? Where was your husband when you
were stolen away? for I see that you are a prisoner here,
not a willing guest."
' ' Where am I ? What palace is this ? Can you tell
me?" asked Edith, eagerly. "Who are these hateful
people to whom it belongs, especially that woman who
seems its mistress? And what does she want with me?".
"And you have seen no one but her?" asked the
woman in return, not replying to her question. "You
do not know into whose power you have fallen ? Thank
God ! There is yet time it is not too late to save you
yet!"
"No no!" cried Edith impatiently. "Tell me,
for mercy's sake for all this mystery is maddening! "
"Then listen," replied the Frenchwoman, still stand-
ing as motionless as ever; " and make no start when I
answer, which might betray us both, for there are eyes
behind yonder lattice, which you see not, watching us
eyes hard to deceive, and a hand swift to punish what he
would consider treachery in me. Are you able to stand
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 369
the test? For what I will tell, will demand all your for-
titude, to stand without blenching."
"Say on! I will not falter, nor betray you," an-
swered Edith, faintly. " But what you tell me makes my
heart stand still. You can trust me, as I trust you."
The woman gazed at her steadily a moment, then she
replied :
"Then I will speak, for it is necessary you should
know. You are in the palace and in the power of Abbas
Pasha ! And I am sent to prepare you for the honor he
intends of making you the head of his hareem. Keep
all your courage. Remember two lives, and more than
life to you, may depend upon it."
In spite of every effort she could make to nerve her-
self against the shock of this dreadful news, the face of
Edith grew as colorless, and the features as rigid, as those
of the dead. She gasped for breath, and a suffocating
sensation seemed to stifle her. Though her dry lips moved,
no sound came from them. She stretched forth her arms
wildly, as though imploring protection, reeled forward,
and would have fallen to the floor, had not the strong
arms of the Frenchwoman supported her fainting form.
" A bad beginning ! " muttered the other, impatiently.
"I hope he is not watching us up there, or I shall have
to explain this he is so suspicious. I will go and see.
Better meet danger half-way ! "
And depositing her lifeless burden on the divan, she
passed up the narrow stairway, which seemed familiar to
her, and peered eagerly into the small hiding-place. It
was empty, and she breathed more freely as she ran down
again to resume her place by the side of Edith, who still
lay motionless, her heavy breathing alone denoting her a
living woman not a livid and pallid corpse.
Y
37O ASKAROS KASSIS.
Gradually she revived, and a mother could not have
exhibited a more tender care than did the habitually
callous old woman. The tender spot in her heart seemed
to have been stricken, as miraculously as was the rock,
from which the living waters gushed, when stricken by
the rod of Moses.
Edith turned her grateful eyes upon her, and pressed
her hand in thanks, as she assisted her to rise ; then be-
sought her pardon for such weakness, promising that now
the first shock was past, she should see no repetition of
it. Then she resumed her seat upon the divan, the
woman again assuming the respectful demeanor of a ser-
vant, at the proper distance, and any one watching them
during the conversation that ensued would have suspected
nothing.
She obtained from Edith all she knew concerning her
abduction, and a complete narration of everything that
had occurred since her entering the palace. Among other
things, she learned the despatch of the carrier-dove, which
she assured Edith would be certain to wing its way direct
to the house of Askaros; and she did not discourage the
hope of the fond wife, that he would discover her prison,
and rescue her, by the aid of the consul-general.
But the woman knew at that time how vain was that
hope ; for the mysterious disappearance of Askaros had
been the talk of the Cairene gossips all that day, having
been spread over the coffee-shops by such idlers as had
learned it from the keeper of the Hotel d' Orient.
But she also knew which Edith did not that El
Warda had again taken up her residence at the house of
her brother, to strive and penetrate the mystery of his
disappearance ; though the Frenchwoman had not seen
her, having only just received a message from her, when
ASKAROS KASSIS. 3/1
the imperative mandate of the Viceroy hurried her off to
the Abassieh.
" He wants to see you this evening," the old woman
wound up. " But he shall not, my poor child, if I can
prevent it ; and I think I can. Time is everything ; for
if help does not come by to-morrow, we can then see
what is to be done, to get you out of this vile place. You
may trust me. I swear to you by the soul of my dead
daughter ! dead many years ago, before her mother had
become the miserable wretch she now is ! And you
looked so like her when you lay there just as she
looked before they hid her from my sight forever!
and I went mad first and desperately wicked afterward.
Trust me, my child ; and when this cunning brain and
these wicked strong hands have freed you, call me
' mother' once more, as you did just now, and kiss me
once again ! Then I will ask again, what I vainly asked
the day she died : ' Lord, let thou thy servant depart in
peace ! ' His servant ! What profanity in me to use
that. word ! I who have been the devil's bond-slave for
so many wicked and weary years !
"But I must not now think of these things. I must
keep my brain clear, to cope with that incarnate devil
who now has you in his keeping. But fear not, my
child, and trust me. Now I will go report to my gra-
cious lord," she added, with a bitter emphasis on the
words, "that the Frank woman is too ill in body and
mind for him to see her ; and that I will prepare her to
listen favorably to him by mid-day to-morrow. Then, if
absolutely necessary, I can make you really ill with some
herbs, powerful yet not poisonous."
"Stay, mother!" said Edith, humoring the strange
fancy of her new-found friend and ally. " I have not
3/2 ASKAROS KASSIS.
yet shown you my protection in a last resort ; ' ' and she
showed the hilt of the dagger, on which the diamonds
glittered as she displayed it.
"Conceal that carefully. It may be useful in ex-
tremity, though not for the use you meditate," the
woman answered ; and a strange gleam came into her
eyes that was not pleasant to see. "Abbas is a rank
coward, and quails before any danger to himself in per-
son, even if menaced by a woman. And stay ! I can
anoint its point with a poison so potent that the slightest
scratch from it were certain death ! Give it me, and you
shall have it back ere the man visits you. Better use it
on him than on thyself, and rid the world of a monster
all men hate and all women fear. But his days will not
be long in the land," she mumbled on, rather to herself
than to her listener, "if the stars have not lied to me.
I cast his horoscope and made my divination two nights
since, by request of Nezle Khanum, who loves him not
over-much. Danger and sudden death lurk in his house.
He was born under the malignant planet Saturn, and is
doomed to die by violence ere this moon wanes ! Who
knows? who knows?" she rambled on; while Edith,
not knowing how strong a hold superstition, and the
practice of illicit arts, can take on a strong, but ill-regu-
lated mind like that of the woman before her, listened
to her wild utterances, and deemed her utterly mad.
She stubbornly refused, however, to give up the dag-
ger for the purpose so coolly proclaimed ; smoothing
over her rejection of the offer with words of grateful ac-
knowledgment for the feeling that prompted it.
The Frenchwoman did not press the matter ; but tell-
ing Edith to remain tranquil until her return, left the
room, locking the door behind her. A suspicion that
ASKAROS KASSIS. 373
she had acted indiscreetly in reposing such implicit con-
fidence in such a woman, whose character and life she
now saw had been far blacker than the Cairene gossips
or the simple-hearted El Warda had dreamed, came to
disturb the mind of Edith, as soon as the door had
closed. But she reassured herself by the reflection, that
neither the woman nor Abbas himself could outstrip the
flight of the dove ; and after all, therein lay her sole
hope of rescue from without.
And the woman had seemed honest. The very wild
way in which she had talked was proof of sincerity.
Such were not the weapons of a practised deceiver ; she
could not but put faith in her. Yes, she would trust her ;
for she saw that, next to the dove, the only hope of
escape from the perils that surrounded her lay in her
alone.
The evening darkened into night ; the stars came forth,
one by one, each in its appointed place in the heavens.
Up rose the round bright moon, shining softly and sadly
upon the desert wasting its silvery light upon the bare
brown earth, without shrub or tree, or blade of grass, to
rejoice in its beams. The howl of the jackal and the
hoot of the owl the only living things that seemed to
inhabit its sandy wastes alone broke the stillness and
silence of the night, which seemed to sympathize with
the aching void in the heart of the lone woman a
prisoner in that palace far away from her kindred, in
a strange, savage land, with but one arm to lean on, one
heart to trust a prey to all the wild fancies which the
time and place and situation inspired.
The night rolled on, and still the Frenchwoman re-
turned not.
Silent and obsequious slaves had glided into the cham-
32
3/4 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
ber, deposited bread and drink, and noiselessly retired,
uttering no word, like the goblin attendants in some en-
chanted castle. The Circassian woman had not come
again, since placing her in charge of her substitute.
Edith looked restlessly at her watch. She was very
weary, but her excitement was too great for even the
thought of sleep. She rose and looked out listlessly into
the night. As she gazed out over the desert, a dark
object, coming rapidly toward her, obscured the moon-
light ; and she saw it was some winged night-wanderer,
probably a bat or an owl. The next moment her own
messenger-dove had nestled down upon her shoulder.
Her heart bounded high with hope ; then stood still.
She snatched eagerly at the ribbon which bound its
neck, and saw under its wing either her own note or its
answer. She tore it eagerly away, opened it, and saw
by the light of the moon as brilliant as that of day
the writing was neither her own nor her husband's ; but
a few lines traced in a small, cramped hand, unknown
to her. Dizzy and sick with a vague dread, and the
pang of hope deferred, at not seeing her husband's
writing, as she had expected, she ran her eyes rapidly
over the scroll. It was in French, and contained only
these words :
"The clue given is sufficient. We strongly suspect
where you are. My brother is from home, so I answer
you. Send another message the same way, with all you
can discover to aid our search. Trust in God and Sitta
Mariam. Your friends will save you. Your own
"WARD A."
Her brother not at home !
"Searching for me, poor fellow!" mused Edith.
"I can give them certain information now; but I will
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 375
wait until the return of my new friend first. But she is
a fearful woman ! I will determine whether to trust her
or not, about my dove's return, after I have talked with
her again."
And mindful of the warning that eyes were on her
when she knew it not, she hastily kissed her faithful mes-
senger, and hid him again in her bosom, which throbbed
less wildly now she knew her friends and her husband
had heard from her, and were hopeful of rescuing her.
After some time longer the Frenchwoman glided into
the room ; and the first glance at her face convinced
Edith that she was ill at ease. But there was a red spot
on her cheek, and a gleam in her eye, that indicated
anger as well as apprehension.
"The brute beast!" she said ;" how he tried my pa-
tience ! I could not come to you before, for I had to
watch him, and find what new devil's dish he was cook-
ing with Mahmoud Bey and the Kislar Aga. But I did
discover it by hiding behind his old mother's divan,
which is in front of the curtains. The old woman is ill ;
and he sat there while he conferred with the Kislar Aga,
who is his. head demon ! I could not get away, for the
beast fell asleep, and I dared not stir. Had he waked
and seen me, it would have been all over with me, and
with you, too. But I know all now. More plots more
villany ! Oh, that I could send a message into Cairo !
Your dove, were he here now, could save more lives than
one ; for I cannot leave you, and there is no one in this
accursed place I dare trust. Oh ! for the dove ! "
" Is this a stratagem to find if my messenger has re-
turned?" thought Edith.
She looked hard into the woman's face, on which
ASKAROS K ASS IS
strong anxiety, and, she thought, sincerity were depicted.
Her resolve was taken.
"Swear to me by your daughter's soul," she said,
"that you are sincere, and I may aid you."
The woman looked up eagerly.
"By that most sacred of all oaths to me," she an-
swered, "I swear it. And may these eyes of mine, or
my disembodied soul, never look upon my lost darling,
if in life and unto death I be not true to you ! ' '
"Enough," answered Edith. " I believe you. Be-
hold the dove, as also the message he brought back to
me."
The Frenchwoman clutched at the letter, and read it
eagerly through.
" I see ! I see !" she cried. " I understand El Warda,
and the more need for prompt action. Have you another
piece of paper, and a pen ? ' '
Edith showed the fragment of her letter and the pencil.
"That will do," said the other. "Write this: 'At
the Abassieh. Lose no time. Consul Kibbeer (Great
Consul). Askaros, too, in peril. Send this seal to Sitta
Khanum quick. She will understand.' '
As she finished, the Frenchwoman took a piece of
black ink from her pocket, stamped it with her signet-
ring which she wore, like a man, on the forefinger of
her right hand enclosed it "in the slip of paper, and
tied it under the dove's wing. Then, taking from her
pocket a small box, she gave the bird a small lump of
some black substance, which he pecked at eagerly and
devoured. The effect seemed almost magical. Wearied
as he had appeared the moment before, with dull eye and
drooping wing, he had scarcely swallowed the food given
him, when strength and spirit seemed thoroughly restored.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 377
Then the woman leant from the casement, launched the
dove into the air, and away he flew into the night, the
bright moonbeams gleaming on his white wings, until he
dwindled into a speck in the distance.
"Now ! " she cried, fiercely ; adding in a hoarse whis-
per of exultation : " Eblis guard thine own ! for I have
summoned by my spell a far worse devil than any of thy
favorite's guardian demons ! I will counteract and turn
aside the evil he meditates if not perhaps will con-
summate the fate, decreed two nights since by the stars
which lie not. Who knows ? Who knows ? ' '
"What mean you?" anxiously asked Edith, whose
faith in the woman's sanity was shaken by what seemed
her wild raving. " You seem to have forgotten my peril,
and your promise to save me from the doom worse than
death, while you plot and plan with that terrible woman,
of whom I have never heard aught but evil."
The rigid lines of the woman's face relaxed, and a
gentler expression came into her sad, solemn eyes.
" Trust me still, O child living image of my dead
darling!" she said. "No hair of thy head shall be
harmed. Obey me, and thou shalt be safe. But there
are many things that thou hadst best not know. Trust
me ; and now sleep while I watch by thee ; and if any
creeping reptile crawl near thee, it will come but to its
death ! Ay, though it be Abbas Pasha himself. ' ' And
she exhibited to Edith a long, keen dagger, which she
wore concealed in her bosom.
" But he will not trouble thee, for the cup of coffee his
mother made, and I handed him in the hareem, an hour
since, will cause him to sleep till late to-morrow. Hum !
A cautious man is Abbas," she muttered on; "but what
his precautions are worth against a woman's wit he may
32*
378 ASKAROS KASSIS.
soon learn to his cost. But sleep now, my child, for to-
morrow you will need all your strength of body and of
mind ! ' ' And again she muttered, as if to herself : ' ( Let
me but tide over until to-morrow's sunset, and all is safe !
If not, Sheitan only can tell what may happen. But
sleep now, and thy mother will watch over thee, my
child. Sleep."
She passed her hands several times quickly over the
brow of Edith, who felt a sharp pain dart through her
brain, and sparks glitter before her eyes as she sunk into
a sound, mesmeric slumber.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE LOST MESSENGER.
THE Frenchwoman kept her word, and Edith,
thanks to her, received no visit from Abbas during
the day succeeding the second mission of the dove.
She was told to feign illness, which she did, lying on the
divan so that the Viceroy, from his spying-place, might
see her when brought by the Frenchwoman, who, by
cosmetics and other means, had given a deadly pallor
to her cheeks, and every appearance of desperate illness.
So Abbas, though he growled at the delay to which he
was subjected in having his interview with the captive,
had to admit its necessity.
It was with delight Edith heard later that he had gone
out to drive ; for it left her perfectly free from espionage,
and she stood at the window, watching for her dove's
return with mingled impatience and hope. She saw the
carriage and cortege of the Viceroy disappear on the
dusty road, which she knew, by the direction of her
dove's flight, led to Cairo. Along the same road she
also saw come riding on their fleet dromedaries, two
Bedouins of the desert, their long guns slung over their
shoulders, and their white bournous fluttering in the
wind, as their gaunt, ungainly animals jerked along with
379
380 ASKAROS KASSIS.
the swift but peculiar motion produced by the movement
of both legs on the same side in advance at once.
When the Bedouins approached the palace they re-
laxed their speed, and finally stopped for a short rest, to
eat and smoke, before resuming their journey. So near
were they, and so still was the air, that Edith could dis-
tinctly hear the guttural sound of their voices. She was
watching their movements with the interest of an unoc-
cupied person with nothing to amuse her, when her at-
tention was attracted by seeing them both rise suddenly,
unsling their long guns, and point to something that
their keen eyes distinguished afar off, but which her un-
practised vision could not see. Straining her eyes in the
same direction, however, she soon saw what appeared
first a speck, then a dark object, gradually growing into
shape and distinctness, as a bird swiftly winged its way
straight toward the palace. She felt it was her dove,
and flying so low as to be in easy range of the unerring
marksmen, who had seen and awaited its coming. A
sick feeling crept into her heart at what seemed almost a
fatality against her, mingled with affection for the faithful
messenger that had nestled in her bosom, and was now
her sole connecting link with the world beyond her
prison.
Nearer came the bird ; and watching still, with their
bronze faces turned in that direction, their long guns
ready, the flint hammers cocked, stood the expectant
Bedouins.
Nearer still came the dove, as if to certain death ;
watching, as it seemed, the sky above it, not the earth
beneath, for danger. The long-range guns of the
Bedouins were already raised, when one of them, sign-
ing courteously to the other, resumed his seat and laid
ASKAROS KASSIS. 381
down his gun, as though leaving so small a game to his
companion.
Edith breathed freer there was one chance less
against her bird one was more apt to miss than two ;
so she watched and waited. The Bedouin had already
raised his gun to his shoulder, his eye glancing along the
barrel, when suddenly the bird wheeled back instead of
darting forward ; and, with a grunt of surprise, he low-
ered his weapon. Both he and Edith soon saw the
reason. A desert-hawk suddenly sailed from one of the
pinnacles of the palace, where he had been watching
for prey, and now pursued the bird he had sought to
intercept.
Up into the air again, in wide circles, narrowing as
they rose, mounted pursuer and pursued, until their flight
brought them again just over the heads of the children
of the desert, who watched the struggle with the same
intentness, if not the same interest, as Edith.
The dove shot downward at last ; and, as he did so,
the hawk, from high in air, swooped straight down upon
it. As he did this, Edith saw the Bedouin, who was still
standing, raise his gun suddenly to his shoulder. Down
came the hawk toward the dove, swift and straight as an
arrow; but the gun flashed, his torn plumes floated on
the air, and Edith saw with joy that he was the mark at
which the man had aimed with skill too deadly to err !
But she saw, too, with a sharp pang, that the interven-
tion had come too late to save the thing she loved, and
which bore beneath its wing tidings of life or death to
her, which now she would never see. For though sorely
wounded, the rapacious instinct of the bird of prey,
coupled with the impulsion of his downward flight, drove
him headlong against his cowering quarry. With a
382 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
shudder she saw the cruel beak and talons strike her
favorite saw victor and victim dash heavily upon the
sand together !
The Bedouin rushed to the spot where the birds had
fallen, and stooped over them. She saw him pick up
the hawk ; and then, to her amazement, the dove feebly
fluttered from the ground, and with wavering flight and
unsteady wing, slowly struggled upward. Neither of the
Bedouins made any motion to arrest its flight, but left it
to its fate, as though it had earned a reprieve from them,
by its recent escape.
Edith watched the unsteady flight of her pet with beat-
ing heart and bated breath. She feared it could never
rise to the height of her window ; and, leaning far out,
caught it as it came, and smothered it with kisses, as
though it had been a human friend. The dove, whose
back and breast were dabbled with blood, and whose
dim eye and laboring breath indicated failing strength,
feebly pecked at the loved hand which caressed it ; then
a shudder shook its delicate frame, the eyes closed, the
limbs stiffened, and Edith held in her hand a dead,
instead of a living, friend. Faithful until the last, the
bird had exerted the last flagging energies of life to fulfil
its mission had done that and died !
As Edith, forgetting for a moment, in her grief for this
faithful friend, to secure the letter it bore, bent over it,
she heard a step behind her. Turning, her tearful eyes,
she saw the Frenchwoman, who, without ceremony,
snatched at the ribbon, which she tore from the dead
bird's neck, and handing a note to Edith, said, im-
patiently :
"This is no time for weeping over dead doves!
Death or deliverance may be in that answer ! ' '
ASKAROS KASSIS 383
Recalled to herself by the harsh truth of these words,
Edith read the answer, which she could not comprehend;
but it seemed to satisfy her companion, who smiled grimly
and said aloud, but as though to herself:
"I thought that would bring her ! We must decide
when she comes for I do not see the way clearly."
Then she sunk into musing, and Edith was made too
happy at hearing from her husband to heed her much.
At length the old woman said :
"Listen ! we have gained a day, and your messenger's
loss matters little now. She I sent for comes, and we
can get no other help outside. If she will, she can save
you, and I think she will. Now let me put away the body
of that bird, lest its presence here cause suspicion."
Although unwilling to part with the body of her favor-
ite, Edith saw the force of these suggestions, and with a
sad heart and many tears, kissing again and again the
dead beak of the unconscious thing, she surrendered it
to the woman's keeping.
A few hours later, while again gazing from the window,
she saw the cortege of the Viceroy returning up the dusty
road, then heard the noise of his arrival in the court
below, and felt that her trials suspended for a few brief
hours were now again actively to recommence. Soon
after the Frenchwoman returned in an excited manner.
"What devil's news can he have heard in Cairo?"
she said, more to herself than to Edith; "for he is in
high good humor. She must find out when she comes.
It means mischief ! ' '
Another hour passed, and Edith, gazing listlessly
toward the Cairene road, saw clouds of dust arising
from it, as if a carriage were driven along at a furious
pace. A moment after the vehicle emerged from it, and
384 ASKAROS KASSIS.
she knew it must contain a woman, for it was accom-
panied by a guard of black eunuchs, as well as a troop
of cavalry the guard of some royal personage. On it
sped toward the palace, which it entered at the same
headlong rate that it had come.
The Frenchwoman, peering over her shoulder, chuck-
led joyously.
"It is she! It is she ! I must go to the mother's
hareem to watch my chance to speak to her. Rest tran-
quil, my child. He dare not disturb you while she is
here!"
"But who is she?" asked Edith, curiously.
"My mistress, and your safety!" was the sole re-
sponse ; and the woman left the room, locking the door
behind her, and left Edith alone, a prey to her own sad
thoughts.
And there we, too, must leave her for the time.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
" A LITTLE MORE THAN KIN AND LESS THAN KIND."
AS the Frenchwoman reported, Abbas had returned
from Cairo in high good humor, and very much
exhilarated by something he had seen or heard during his
visit.
He was sitting in his mother's apartment taking his
mid-day repast prepared as usual by her hand and
chatting to her gayly, when the Princess Nezle' was an-
nounced. The smile left the lips of the Viceroy, and
his gayety seemed suddenly dissipated at the mere men-
tion of that name, which seemed to jar upon his nerves.
The next moment the princess swept into the room,
and Abbas, as best he might, endeavored to smooth his
clouded brow, and resume his interrupted flow of speech
and spirits. The princess seemed to be in the most ex-
uberant good humor, laughing, chatting and making her-
self so agreeable to the mother and son, whom she
entertained by racy recountals of Cairene and Stamboul
scandals, that the moody brow of Abbas relaxed, and
his good humor unconsciously returned. As Nezle de-
clared her intention of dining there, the elder lady pled
fatigue at last, and asked to be allowed her usual siesta.
This, of course, was granted, Nczle' declaring she would
33 Z 385
386 ASKAROS KASSIS.
take hers also, after having had five minutes' more talk
with her kinsman, whom she had not seen for so long a
time; and the mother, fondly kissing the son's brow,re-
tired to her repose.
No sooner had she left the room than a change came
over the countenances of both Abbas and Nezle, each of
them seeming like a wary athlete, who nerved himself for
a struggle with a worthy antagonist. Abbas spoke first.
" To what do I owe the honor of this visit, Khanum? "
he said. "For well I know thou hast not come here to
talk gossip only, or to enjoy my mother's society, or
mine, agreeable as that may be. Speak frankly, then,
for between friends, such as we are, it saves time and
misapprehension. ' '
" Thy sagacity is not at fault, Highness," Nezle an-
swered, calmly. "I have much to say, which it befits
thee to listen to with an attentive ear. Truth seldom
reaches crowned heads. Few can, and fewer dare tell it
when unpalatable."
" Then thine is disagreeable? " said Abbas. " Speak
on ; I thank thee for the warning, and promise to be
patient, for thou hast ever been a good friend to me.
To thee I owe my throne, and through thy influence at
Stamboul I hope to secure the succession of my son, El
Hami. We cannot quarrel."
"Firstly, then, as to what concerns thyself," said
Nezle. " The affair of Askaros is a bad one from begin-
ning to end, and may do thee harm both in Egypt and at
Stamboul, as well as injure the succession of thy son.
The consul-general should be conciliated, not made an
enemy by this new breach of faith I learned just before
reaching Cairo."
" Thou hast heard, then^ that I have again put him in
ASh'AKOS A'ASSfS. 387
safe-keeping," said Abbas, surprised. " Well, it is true.
But thou dost not know that his protector has gone, and
been replaced by that old dotard, his deputy, who is as
a nose of wax between my fingers. So fear not on that
account. I shall have no trouble, for Askaros hath only
disappeared; no one can track him this time, for the ac-
cursed Nubian, who proved the abduction before, has
been also imprisoned for some time in the citadel. He
was hurt some time since in an affray. ' '
"Yes, I know," answered Nezle, carelessly. " In the
affray in which the wife was carried off. Come, High-
ness, let us be frank ! Thou mayest deceive others, but
not Nezle Khanum."
"I believe Sheitan himself could not!" growled
Abbas ; but he responded with a smile : "I believe you
do know most things ; but this is a guess, and a bad one
too. I know nothing of that matter ; however the
tongues of Cairene gossips may malign their lord and
master. ' '
"Then, Highness," answered Nezle', with almost
mocking quiet, "I must ask the immediate punishment
of one of thy people, who hath not only had the auda-
city to abduct her, but to secrete her in this very palace !
Nay," she added, stopping him by a gesture, " this I can
prove to your Highness."
Abbas stared at her in blank amazement, and only said,
shortly: "Produce the proof."
" Certaialy. Behold it in her own handwriting, sent
me by a carrier-dove she had with her when stolen away.
The poor child knows me, and -in her distress flattered
me so far as to believe that I was still human, and might
help her."
And so saying, narrowly watching the changing coun-
388 A SKA R OS KASSIS.
tenance of Abbas as she did so, Nezle handed Abbas the
slip of paper bearing the words, " I am a prisoner at the
Abassieh." The rest was torn away.
' ' Where is the rest of the note thou hast torn away ? ' '
growled Abbas, as his brow grew black; "and how
canst thou, or I, know that this is written by the wife of
the dog Askaros ! ' '
" Highness, thou must ask the dove for the rest of the
paper since that is all he brought me. The note is hers,
I know ; for the dove and the handwriting both are well
known to me. So thou seest it must be one of thy high
officials, who hath committed this outrage upon her and
upon thee."
"A truce to idle babble!" cried Abbas, fiercely.
"Thou hast my secret; for Sheitan keeps none from
thee, it seems ! What is the woman to thee ? that thou
shouldst quarrel with thy best and almost thine only
friend, about her, or her miserable husband! Ask any
other grace in the power of Abbas Pasha to bestow, and
it shall be fully granted thee. Even to my mother I
would not grant this ! I need both the man and the
woman, and both will I keep ! Ay, even though El
Kami should never sit upon my throne, and though Shei-
tan himself should claim me the moment my love and
my revenge were both gratified together !
" Urge me no more ! " he added, savagely, as he saw
the princess was about to speak ; and his brow grew black
as night, and his face purple with passion. "If thou
hast removed one Viceroy from the throne of Egypt, in
the person of that drivelling old dotard men called ' the
great ' thy father ! know that Abbas knows thee too
well to take any draught from thy hand, or to trust him-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 389
self in the power of one woman in form, but afreet in
soul!"
As Abbas spoke these words in the frenzy of a fury
which made him forget his habitual fear of the woman
before him, in the hate raised by her attempt to thwart his
avarice and his lust the two ruling passions of his na-
ture his face was as the face of a fiend.
But the blood of Mehemet Ali which flowed more
purely through the veins of the woman than of the man
was insensible to fear. The wild-beast rage of Abbas
excited only the withering contempt of Nezle, though her
cheek grew lividly pale, and her eye flashed, at the in-
sulting reference to her father, and to her own imputed,
though involuntary crime. She raised her head loftily,
and fixed on the savage beast before her a gaze, in which
shone that steadfast light of human intelligence and cour-
age, which can subdue the most bloodthirsty of the lower
animals, when its fascination arrests their bloodshot eyes.
The paleness of her cheek, the slight twitching of the
corners of her mouth, and the dilatation of her nostril,
like that of a war-horse snuffing the battle, alone showed
the smothered wrath glowing in her breast, at the in-
solence of Abbas.
He now walked the room like a tiger in its cage, chaf-
ing under the eye of its keeper and striving to lash
himself into the fresh rage. When the woman spoke
again, her voice was clear, calm and cold, devoid of
passion or irritation, but too measured in the accents to
be quite natural.
"Abbas Pasha ! " she said, "are you mad? And has
your frenzy for revenge on a wretched Copt man your
lust for his Ingleeze wife led you so far from common
reason, as to cause you to insult me? me, whose hate
33*
39 ASKAROS KASSIS.
you well know is as strong as my friendship ! me, to
whom you owe so much ! You well know there was
never- any love lost between you and me. We were
necessary to each other we are so still ! But I brook
not such treatment from living man ; and unless you
make ample apology for your words of insult, I shake
the dust of your house from my feet forever, and you
have made one enemy more dangerous as all the
others !
"For the stars, that cannot lie, have revealed to me
that thy destiny is in my hands. Our houses are linked
together, since we both were born under the planet Sa-
turn ; but my place in his house controls thine ! I have
spoken ! "
When the princess commenced speaking, Abbas as
though heedless of her words continued pacing up and
down the chamber. Gradually he checked his steps as
she went on, finally stopped, and, as she closed with that
appeal to his superstition, the color fled from his face,
and terror succeeded wrath. His eye quailed under the
calm contemptuous gaze of the princess ; but with as
much dignity as he could summon to his aid, he said :
" Let there be peace, I pray, between me and thee, O
Khanum ! Pardon and forget the hasty words which
should have been addressed to no woman ; and least of
all to thee, to whom I am indebted for so many past
favors, and to whom I look forward for aid and counsel
now ! Ask any one thing but that thou hast demanded
of me, and it is granted before it is named. And even
that request I will seriously reflect upon also, and in it
will do all I can to meet thy wishes. Art thou content,
O heart and brain of man, under most winning guise of
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 39!
woman? And shall we be friends again for life and
death?"
"Ay!" answered Nezle, with a winning smile, that
showed all her sharp white teeth. And taking the hand
he held out in amity, her small fingers closed on it like a
vice. "Ay, Abbas, my kinsman, for life and death ! "
" Why dost thou echo my words?" asked the Vice-
roy, anxiously, not half satisfied with the peculiar em-
phasis she laid upon them. "Can I make further atone-
ment to thee for my folly? "
"Oh, no, no ! I am quite satisfied with thee now,"
answered the Khanum, carelessly. "But we cannot quarrel
again for many months to come. For in truth the chief
purpose of my visit to-day was to make my adieux, as I
go to pass several months at Stamboul perhaps to re-
main there permanently. I am tired of Egypt ; and the
gossips of the coffee-houses have made me unpopular here
with their slanders and vile stories."
The tidings seemed to give the Viceroy real pleasure,
though he strove to repress its manifestation, and po-
litely expressed his regret at the loss he should sustain,
and his hopes of her speedy return. The reconciliation
between the pair seemed complete ; and when, in the
evening, at parting, Abbas placed upon her finger a
costly ring of brilliants and rubies, the Khanum's man-
ner showed she coasidered friendly relations as perfectly
re-established.
As they parted at the door of the hareem, the princess
said, carelessly :
' ' Oh ! as I had forgotten to say before, as I am going
to Stamboul, I can let you have two charming young
Mamelukes. They were lately sent me as a present from
the Sultana, and would just suit you. Some time since-
392 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
you said you were in need of handsome boys, and you
know you can depend upon my taste."
Abbas, who was again in high good humor, thanked
her warmly for the gift, declaring he was much in want
of two Mamelukes near his person, such as she described.
Promising to send them to him by her head eunuch
and mentioning one was a Georgian and the other a Cir-
cassian Nezle left her kinsman with mutual smiles, and
their quarrel was apparently forgotten.
A crowd of officious female slaves accompanied her to
the carriage-door, and assisted her in. As the door
closed, she beckoned to one of them, whose veil was
down, and whose whole appearance indicated great age,
so bent, and bowed, and feeble, looked she, as she
shuffled along.
Into this woman's ear the Khanum whispered these
words :
"Thou hast done well to summon me. Watch and
guard her still. This evening I send two auxiliaries ;
and when my signet-ring is shown thee, prepare the
draught ! The rest leave to me. The stars have not
lied the horoscope will be fulfilled, and the new moon
comes after to-morrow ! "
The old crone nodded her head in response, but said
no word ; and, as the carriage drove off, she tottered
into the hareem-door, and up the stairs that led to the
apartments of the mother of Abbas. Arrived there, she
threw off her cloak, and disclosed the features of the old
Frenchwoman.
" What does she meditate?" she muttered. " She is
a fearful woman ! I think I know but how will she do
it? I would have done it for her, had she commanded.
And so I told her when I revealed the plot against her
ASKAROS KASSIS. 393
life. Lucky I was to be hidden behind Abbas' divan,
and overheard the plot against her life, as against that
of Askaros. But she only laughed, and said, ' that was
not woman's work; and that she could always find fit
tools to do her work, so long as men were such fools. '
Then she laughed again ; but it was not a pleasant laugh
to hear, and it boded ill to somebody And then her
parting words about the horoscope, and the waning
moon ! She means mischief ! I doubt me she means
mischief ! ' '
And still muttering in this strain, the old Frenchwoman
threw off the rest of the disguise, and sought the presence
of Edith.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE SWOOP OF THE VULTURE.
AS Abbas Pasha, ill at ease with himself, in spite of
the reconciliation he had effected with his dan-
gerous kinswoman, and chafing under the consciousness
of having put himself more thoroughly than ever into her
power, wended his way back to his mother's apartments,
the idea occurred to him of feasting his eyes upon his
fair captive once again. Quietly stealing up the narrow
stairs to his hiding-place, he looked down upon the two
women, who, deeming themselves secure from observa-
tion, were not on their guard. To his surprise he saw
Edith no longer lying ill and languid on her divan,
but apparently restored to her usual vigor, though still
pale now standing near the window, and conversing in
eager tones with the old Frenchwoman. And the latter's
manner struck him as less deferential and more confi-
dential than he liked.
His suspicious nature was roused by this sight ; so,
returning as noiselessly as he had come, he passed back
to his own private chamber, took from a cabinet a red
velvet case of oblong shape, and opening the door of
Edith's prison, passed quietly through. So noiseless
were his movements, the first intimation the startled
394
ASKAROS KASSIS. 395
women had of his approach was the sight of him standing
within a few steps of them, intently regarding them both,
and listening to the conversation he could not compre-
hend, as though to learn its purport from the looks and
gestures of the speakers.
The Frenchwoman was the first to recover her com-
posure ; blank terror and dismay were stamped upon the
features of Edith. Making a lowly obeisance to the
visitor, the former stood like a statue, her head bent
down, waiting his sovereign pleasure. Edith, whose
trembling limbs could scarce support her quivering frame,
leaned against the window for support, her dilating eyes
fixed upon the intruder, whom she recognized at once,
with a mixture of dread and abhorrence; yet by the fas-
cination of terror unable to withdraw them from his re-
pulsive countenance, now rendered still more odious to
her, by the look of stolid satisfaction the features wore.
Abbas enjoyed their confusion in silence for some
time ; but when he spoke, it was with a grave courtesy,
not without dignity.
"Say to my fair guest," he said to the interpreter,
"that it rejoices me to see that her health is again re-
stored. Say that I have visited her thus unannounced, to
tell her this palace and all it contains are at her disposal,
including its master, who now stands before her."
The woman, instead of giving word for word the Vice-
roy's speech, slowly and like one rendering a full trans-
lation, simply said :
" He offers you the house and all it contains. Answer
him, and say you are sensible of the honor he does you,
but do not know why you were brought here."
Edith did as suggested, and the interpreter gravely
396 ASKAKOS KASSIS.
turned the words into Turkish for the Viceroy, who
turned sharply upon her.
''Have you not explained this to her, and prepared
her for my visit ? " he growled.
"Highness, I have done my best," she answered,
calmly ; " but the Ingleze are very stupid and very stub-
born not like the women you have known."
" Tell her, then," answered Abbas, " that I could not
live without her, and resorted to stratagem to secure her,
out of my great love for her ; that I intended her to be
the head of my hareem, and Queen of Egypt. In proof
of this, I have brought her a trifle as a present, which I
beg her to accept." And opening the velvet case, he
took thence a splendid parure of diamonds and pearls
arranged as a coronet, and a necklace and bracelets
of fabulous value. These he proffered to the shrink-
ing girl, who made no motion to accept them, but only
stared at him and his gift with wide, open eyes full of
terror.
" Tell him that your acquaintance is yet too brief for
you to accept his presents, and determine if you can re-
turn his love," prompted the Frenchwoman. "Say
something, for God's sake ! and don't stand staring there,
and I will tell him what is best. I fear to anger him ;
so rouse yourself, and look less like a bird under the eye
of a serpent. Your fear will encourage him, and then
may follow violence, which I cannot resist. Gain time !
it is everything. For your husband's sake, if not your
own, be a woman and not a child ! "
Thus adjured, Edith nerved herself to the repulsive
task ; and just in time : for the patience of Abbas was
well-nigh exhausted, and the evil gleam began to shine
in his dull eye. He roughly questioned the old woman
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 397
as to what she was saying to the Ingleez which she ex-
plained in her own way and as he saw Edith assume a
more friendly manner, credited the explanation. He
laid the sparkling parure upon the window-ledge and
drew nearer the girl's side though not offering to take
her hand, nor to touch her and, through the interpre-
ter, talked to her in that strain an Eastern man thinks
most likely to please a woman.
He paid her florid compliments, full of hyperbole ;
compared her complexion, eyes and figure with all ani-
mate and inanimate objects, proffering unbounded affec-
tion and untold wealth and luxury, if she would but smile
upon him and return his passion.
To all these the Frenchwoman answered for Edith in
vague terms ; not actually repulsing him, but urging the
necessity of longer time and more intimate acquaintance.
This plan, adroitly as it was managed, seemed only to
have encouraged the brutal nature and gross instincts of
the Viceroy ; and the Frenchwoman saw with terror she
had finessed too much, when after an hour of this weary
talk, Abbas rose from the seat he had taken, and, instead
of offering to go, motioned her to withdraw, and leave
him alone with his captive.
For a second the woman seemed to hesitate ; but re-
flecting on the impossibility of resistance, she withdrew,
casting on Edith a look full of meaning, and touching
significantly the handle of the dagger hidden in her
bosom. The gesture was unseen by Abbas, who looked
not at her, but gloated upon the charms of his destined
victim.
The momentary hope inspired in the breast of Edith
by this gesture, and the wild idea that the old woman
might slay Abbas where he stood suggested by her des-
34
398 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
peration died away when the woman passed out, clos-
ing the door noisily, and dropping the curtain before it
inside. But neither Edith nor Abbas observed that she
softly reopened it, and stooped down behind the curtain,
peering eagerly through into the room, fierce resolve
written on every line of her haggard face, and a long,
keen dagger bare in her hand a crouching tigress ready
for the spring !
"If it comes to the worst," the woman muttered,
"this shall cut it short ! Who can tell but the stars have
assigned this expiation to me?"
And so, wan, worn, terrible, with glittering eyes, like
a wild beast at bay, she watched and waited there ; more
dangerous than any beast of prey than any desperate
man in the recklessness of roused feminine ferocity!
Abbas undreaming of danger and possible death
lurking so close behind him uttered a grunt of satis-
faction as she left the room, and approached the ter-
rified girl, who seemed to shrink within herself, as his
loathed form drew near her, as she still leant against the
window.
Unable to converse with her, he took up the case of
jewels, and selecting thence the coronet of pearls, essayed
to place it on her brow. Half stupefied with terror, the
girl made no resistance to this overture, but shrinkingly
submitted to it, her pallid face and wild, agonized eyes
offering a fearful contrast to the sparkling gems that
blazed and scintillated on her brow.
Emboldened by his success or mistaking the terrified
submission of his captive for pleased acquiescence Abbas
next placed the necklace around her neck. In doing so,
whether by intention or by chance she could not tell, his
clammy hand touched her bosom.
ASKAKOS KASSIS. 399
But that touch roused to indignation and horror the
terror that hitherto had paralyzed the faculties of the in-
sulted wife. The hot blood surged through her veins ;
her courage rose to desperation, and raising her arm, she
repulsed the officious and revolting admirer with such
force, that he reeled several steps away, and would have
fallen, had he not staggered against a divan. Here he
supported himself, gasping for breath through mingled
astonishment, rage, and baser passions still.
But the violence done him seemed to have roused the
wild beast within him, sometimes dormant but ever ready
to awaken ; for with a hoarse cry, and with an unmis-
takable expression on his sensual face, he sprang forward
to seize the helpless form of the frail woman in his strong
arms.
And then the seconds of Abbas Pasha's life were well-
nigh numbered ! For, at that cry and movement, there
glared from behind the curtain a face, more fiendish and
more fell, than ever woman's was before a face like
those that Greek and Roman painters feigned for the
Furies full of eager hate, and hot thirst for blood.
In the long, lean, sinewy right hand this terrible shape,
like avenging Fate, held not the fabled snaky scourge
of Tisiphone but a keen, gleaming dagger. And, as
Abbas rushed forward, it rose to its feet, ready to bound
upon him !
The next moment, it sunk back and slunk away into
concealment ; for Abbas recoiled more suddenly than he
had advanced, and with craven terror in every feature
of his vile countenance cast a hurried backward glance
at the door-way, as though meditating flight.
Gathering courage from despair, and with womanly
modesty exasperated into recklessness, the American girl
4OO ASKAROS K ASS IS.
had drawn up her figure to its full height, her bright blue
eye flashing the fire of outraged womanhood, and had
thrust her hand into her bosom. Then, as Abbas rushed
to seize her, as the vulture swoops upon its prey, in the
uplifted right hand of the maiden he saw gleaming a
dagger, apparently menacing his own precious life.
Dastard as he was sensual craven as he was cruel, the
seducer fell back, not knowing from the wild cry with
which she accompanied her act that in utter desola-
tion, preferring death to dishonor, the blow she medi-
tated was for herself not him.
"God be merciful to me, a sinner!" was that cry.
''Better this than worse, O Askaros ! my husband ! for
whom is my latest prayer my last thought my parting
breath!"
But she arrested her upraised hand, as she saw the
baffled ravisher recoil, and stand irresolute in the attitude
of a beaten hound, shame and cowardice struggling on
his face no resolve left on his brow no courage in his
eye but, like all the meaner animals in peril, meditat-
ing flight.
The fierce eyes that watched him from behind the
curtain saw this too ; and as a grim smile convulsed the
firmly set lips, slowly stole back the dagger to its sheath,
and the wild figure crept outside the door, as though all
peril were past, and, like the hunting-tiger of India, the
human beast within, baffled in his first spring, would try
no second. Nor was she wrong ; for scarcely had she
closed the door, and concealed herself, than it was flung
violently open, and Abbas pushed noisily through. With
the deadly sin of Tarquin adding another stain to his ul-
cerated soul, which knew shame and fear, but not re-
morse, the baffled tyrant crept away from the presence
ASKAROS KASSIS. 4OI
of his victim that might have been, his prisoner still
all unknowing of the deadly peril he had just escaped
of other dangers lurking in his path and only plotting
to carry out by force, or fraud, his vile infraction of the
laws of God and man.
But the small cloud no bigger than a man's hand,
which neither he, nor the woman, saw or knew of,
was still rolling down toward him, charged with his
doom.
The Frenchwoman crept back into the room, and there
found Edith, still standing like a pythoness, with dilating
eye and expanded nostril, the dagger still uplifted in her
hand gazing with strained intensity on the door through
which her insulter had slunk away. She did not seem
to see the woman, when she entered and came up to her;
and it was only when she spoke, that Edith, with a start,
recovered her consciousness, and, kissing it first, hastily
replaced the dagger in her bosom.
"Well done! my daughter," the old woman said; "I
saw it all ; and strange to tell, you saved the life of
yonder dastard by menacing your own ! He thought the
menace was for him. Cowardly and cruel, the two go
together. My dagger would have made a new Viceroy
for Egypt, in one second more, had he gone forward in-
stead of back ! I thought it was his Kismet to die by my
hand, ere this moon wanes ; but it seems not. Yet the
stars cannot lie ! But lie thou still, here," she added, as
Edith, in reaction from her late excitement, fell upon her
neck, and burst into a flood of hysteric weeping. "Lie
thou still, my daughter. The tiger will crouch awhile
before he ventures another spring. He will consult me
first, and employ me to drug thee I know him well!
So, he is easily baffled, thou seest. Rest tranquil ; for
34* 2 A
4O2 ASKAROS K 'ASS IS.
the Khanum has promised, who ever keeps her word.
She told me, 'This evening I send two auxiliaries. The
stars have not lied ! The prophecy will be fulfilled the
new moon comes after to-morrow ! ' Knowest thou what
that means, my child? It signifies deliverance for thee
ay! and for Egypt, too ! for the stars and the Kha-
num lie not ! ' '
CHAPTER XXXVI.
ORZMUD AND AHRIMAN.
AT noon on the same day which witnessed the great
peril and escape of Edith at the Abassieh, El
Warda sat watching by the couch of Askaros, in the sad
and lonely house, in which had lately been enacted so
many scenes of joy and of woe succeeding each other
with the rapidity and shifting changes of color in the
kaleidoscope. The sick man, now restored to his right
mind, but wan and worn from the ravages of the fever
that had shorn him of his strength, lay exhausted on his
couch, sunk in a fitful and disturbed slumber.
So weakened was he in mind and body, that it had
been an easy task for the girl no adept in deceit, and
truthful always to make him accept the preconcerted
story that accounted for his wife's absence ; but he was
impatient for her return, and every time he wakened,
would repeat the same question as to when she might be
expected.
It is one of the alleviations of illness, that a merciful
Providence sends, that the doubts and fears which would
most keenly afflict us in health, trouble us but little in
that shadowy realm that separates illness from death ;
and a kind of childish confidence in the statements of
403
404 ASA'AROS A'ASSIS.
friends who surround us, and minister to our wants, re-
places the exercise of individual judgment. Therefore
the story, which in health would not have satisfied Aska-
ros, nor quieted his apprehensions, was now perfectly
reassuring to the sick man.
El Warda watched over him with a sister's care, and
had only left him when the message brought by the dove
proved the necessity of promptitude, and induced her to
pay that visit to the princess, of which the results have
already been related. As she sat and watched the sick
man, she fell into a reverie, in which the strange and
exciting scenes which had so suddenly broken the mo-
notony of a life, until now so uneventful, passed in re-
view before her.
She recalled the hopes she had cherished not fully
understood by herself until they were blasted ; and she
lingered over their memory with a fond regret. Then
her thoughts passed on to the strange conduct of Daoud,
at the second visit she had paid him ; and to the myste-
rious allusions he had made, which she could not com-
prehend. Her mind dwelt on him with a pertinacity
and an interest which displeased herself. She knew she
did not love him as she had loved another ; yet she felt
a deeper interest, and certainly a warmer sentiment for
the young Syrian than mere friendship would warrant.
As the girl sat thus, with her eyes fixed on the sleep-
ing invalid, weaving these thoughts and fancies in her
busy brain, so deep was her self- absorption that she did
not hear the sound of stealthy footsteps creeping near,
nor observe that the curtain of the door had been raised,
and several forms had glided into the obscurity of the
darkened chamber. The first intimation she had of their
presence, was feeling something thrown over her head,
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 405
and enveloping her arms, while strong hands seized and
bound her.
She could not resist, nor shriek out for help, because
half stifled by the pressure of the covering upon her face ;
and she was gently deposited on a divan, and left there.
Then she could hear the sound of persons moving softly
about the room, and finally a noise as of removing a
heavy piece of furniture. But what struck her as strange
was that the noise did not awaken Askaros ; for she heard
neither the sound of his, nor of any other voice. All
was carried on in silence. No one spoke, nor even
whispered, that she could hear. At length even these
slight sounds ceased, and all was quiet again in the
chamber so quiet, indeed, that the girl could hear the
rustling of leaves in the garden, but no call from Askaros
no sound of human voice, or evidence of human pres-
ence in her vicinity.
Strange as the situation was, the suddenness of the
whole thing had been so great, and she had been so
gently treated, that she was but little terrified, though she
could form no idea of the meaning of the strange pro-
ceeding, since it was plain no violence had been intended.
But as time glided away, and no one came to liberate her,
the silence of the chamber became oppressive. By a
strong effort she released her right arm from its bonds,
lifted a little the stifling pressure of the band over her
face, and called on her brother's name, to at least awaken
him, and hear the sound of a human voice. Besides, she
knew he had a small silver bell near him, and could
summon the slaves to release her.
But her surprise changed into alarm when, after calling,
first gently, then more loudly, no answer came but the
echo of her own voice. A new alarm took possession
406 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
of her, and with the strength of desperation she tore
away the coverings from her face, wrenched herself round
on the divan, so as to command a view of the sick man's
couch, and peered eagerly into it.
The couch was empty !
Then, all at once, flashed into her mind the horrid
purpose of this strange visit, and the meaning of the
noises she had heard. They had come to steal Askaros
away, and had succeeded in their attempt. The last
drop had fallen. The poor girl's cup was full ! With a
wild shriek she fell back again upon the divan ; and when
the slaves, summoned by the sound, ran to the apartment,
they discovered their master was gone, and El Warda
lying senseless in her bonds.
Slowly she recovered her consciousness, and with it
a keen sense of the new danger which threatened that
fated house. Askaros, during the tedious hours she had
sat by his bed of illness, and told her the strange tale
of his previous abduction ; and she therefore doubted
not an instant the quarter from which this new stroke
came.
One thought alone suggested itself to her in this
emergency. She must go and consult Daoud, her only
counsellor, since she had learned but the day before that
Moussa-ben-Israel, the only other she could trust, was
still absent at Jerusalem. Her resolve was no sooner
made than acted upon. She summoned Fatima and a
man slave, and for the third time bent her steps toward
the house of Daoud.
Let us pass before her into the house of the Syrian,
and find out the condition of mind in which she was to
meet him. For, at the moment of her arrival, he was
carrying on a fierce conflict in his own soul, and striving
ASKAROS KASSIS. 4O/
to arrive at a decision, on which his whole future destiny
would hang.
The Persians believe that over the birth of every male
child there preside two divinities, Orzmud, the Spirit of
Good, and Ahriman, the Spirit of Evil ; and that the life
of that man represents the conflicts of these warring
angels. Sometimes the one, again the other, gets control
of all his actions ; and the strife ends only with his death,
when the angels appear as witnesses for and against him,
before the great Judgment-seat.
In the life, and conflicting influences of the Syrian,
was afforded an apt illustration of this Eastern supersti-
tion; for his soul, during many months, had been a
battlefield for these warring powers ; and Ahriman, the
Spirit of Evil, had almost gained the mastery, until the
treachery of Abbas, and the gentle influence of his love
for the pure young girl, had once more given Orzmud a
place in his troubled soul a battlefield strewn with the
wrecks of past conflict.
When El Warda, like a ministering angel, had visited
him before wretched, miserable, despairing, and tremb-
ling on the verge of madness, and with her pure influence
had caused hope to dawn again on his darkened spirit
Orzmud had gained the vantage-ground. Daoud vowed
to dedicate the rest of his life to better and brighter
things, and to make himself worthy of her he loved.
Hence he had labored diligently and indefatigably to
undo his own evil work, and to expiate it by services to
the man whom he had formerly destined as his victim.
The force of circumstances, however, or as he in his
Eastern fatalism termed it, his Kismet, had drawn him
once more into the vortex of troubled waters, from which
he had hoped to escape : and the instincts of hate and
4O8 ASKAROS KASSIS.
vengeance had been revived in his soul, by renewed con-
flict with the wiles of Abbas, and by that interview with
the Khanum, whose skilful touch had set bleeding afresh
the wounds of pride and revenge, festering and unhealed
within his soul.
These evil impulses had almost banished the good in-
fluence, that had fallen like dew upon his heart, in the
interview with the woman he loved with all the wild
idolatry of his passionate Eastern nature. And Ahriman,
not Orzmud, was whispering to him, as he sat awaiting
the eunuch who was again to lead him into the presence
of the Khanum.
But, mingling with the tempting suggestions of the
fiend, appealing to his fiercer passions, came the chill
whispers of doubt and dread. The mission on which
the princess sought to send him he more than suspected,
for his subtle intellect did not require such broad hints
as she had given, to fathom her fell purpose. It was a
mission of life or death for him or for another, and the
odds were fearfully in favor of his enemy, whom he now
knew to be hers also. She incurred no risk that was
all his. If he failed, on his head alone would fall the
penalty. Perhaps it was a trick, after all, and she was
acting as the instrument of that enemy to lure him to his
destruction. But his subtle spirit soon dismissed the last
suspicion. The woman was in earnest. There could be
no doubt of that ; but she had saved him before, only
with the view to use him, as she was now doing. Turn
it as he would, he was her tool after all, when he flat-
tered himself he was avenging his own wrongs.
That thought was galling to his proud spirit. Was he
doomed ever to be the catspaw and convenience of
A SKA R OS KASSIS. 409
others ? he, who felt in his soul the power of originating
and commanding !
Then, too, there came another suggestion. He was
playing a fearful game, the price of which was his own
life, which might be wrested from him, as the Khanum
had told him, under slow tortures, to which his previous
punishment had been as thistle-down, when weighed
against them. Like many men of the greatest moral
courage, and utterly contemptuous of danger, however
great if only sudden, the delicate nervous organization
of the Syrian rendered him morbidly susceptible to physi-
cal pain, as much so as a woman. Therefore, he shud-
dered at the thought of those slow tortures the princess
had hinted of, and which rose to his imagination in the
shape of .impalement, and other Eastern punishments.
But more than all after incurring the terrible risk of
all these dangers was he sure of getting his reward?
even if successful. He had no promise, no pledge from
El Warda that she would pay him the only price he cov-
eted, and be the guardian angel of his life when he came
back triumphant, when he had fulfilled his pledge to her
to save those two, one of whom, he half feared, she still
loved with a consuming though pure and hopeless passion.
These thoughts had recurred to him while returning
from the bath, after making the changes in his appear-
ance suggested by the Khanum ; for those very precau-
tions proved how dangerous needs must be the mission
requiring such disguise. He half resolved to temporize,
and, under plea of illness, to refuse to go when the prin-
cess sent for him, that he might have more time to think
over an affair so momentous. For there was a desperate
hope in his heart, that he might yet win El Warda with-
35
410 ASKAROS KASSIS.
out so terrible an ordeal, without once more staining his
soul and his hands with fresh sin.
He was sent for no child's play; that he knew. To
gain such an angel, must he, like the old Greek he had
read of, descend into hell? unlike him, not to find her
there, but to drag her down from her pure sphere, to
consort with one, the accomplice and tool of a she-devil?
No, he would not go ! at least not yet. He would try
first if more legitimate and less wicked means could not
accomplish the ends he sought; means of which he
could frankly speak, and she could approve. For the
other black secret would hang over their future confi-
dence, and cloud his happiness like a funeral pall. No,
he would not go !
As these thoughts passed through his mind he looked
out of the window over the trees of the Ezbekieh, and
gazed up in the air, with a sudden remembrance of the
omen he had seen there so many weary, weary days ago,
when the shadows of the coming evil were just beginning
to darken his soul.
High up in air, just over the Ezbekieh trees, sailed a
vulture-hawk, slowly circling down, as if intending to
alight.
" I see the vulture now, but not the dove," the Syrian
muttered. " Like me, he is weary of the chase, and
longs for rest, not evil."
Even as he spoke, an Arnaout ruffian, who was loung-
ing, half drunk with arrackee, in front of the coffee-
house, suddenly sprang up, levelled at the vulture his long
Albanian rifle with twisted stock, and just as the bird was
about settling to its rest, brought it heavily to the earth,
fluttering in its death-agony.
" Is that an omen too?" hissed Daoud, fiercely. " Is
ASKAROS KASSIS.
the foul fiend permitted ever to mock me thus, when a
good aspiration rises to my soul ? Oh, that I could see
my guardian angel now, to confirm my good resolves ! ' '
The almost unspoken words had scarcely passed his
lips when she whom he had invoked glided into the room ;
and when he turned, he saw her standing at his side, gaz-
ing upon him with a half wondering look of doubt and
recognition.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
EL WARDA'S SACRIFICE.
WHEN El Warda entered the silent and deserted
house of the Syrian, she saw no one below, and,
passing up the stairs, she entered again for the third time,
the sitting-room looking out upon the Ezbekieh.
But she started back in disappointment, and in shame,
at seeing another than Daoud there. The slight figure
standing by the window, with the back toward her,
seemed his, but when it turned toward her, in response
to her light touch upon the arm, she recoiled in amaze-
ment.
Though the features were similar to Daoud's, instead
of the colorless complexion of the Syrian, with the thick
short hair clustering around the temples, the face she
saw was swarthy as that of a Circassian; the ample tur-
ban covered a shaven head, while the beardless upper
lip lacked the silken moustache Daoud always wore. The
man seemed equally embarrassed, though he did not
show the same surprise as herself, for he seemed to rec-
ognize her in spite of the thick veil, which she had not
raised. When he spoke she was reassured, for the voice
and the smile she at once knew as those of the man she
412
ASKAR OS KASSIS. 413
sought ; though she still marvelled much at the strange
metamorphosis.
" Welcome, thrice welcome to my poor house ! whose
master is ever at thy service, gentle lady," he said. "Sit
down, and tell the most devoted of thy servants to what
cause he owes the honor of this visit; for well he knows
it is not made without grave reason. Now, as ever, thou
hast only to command him."
El Warda took the proffered seat in silence, much
marvelling at the masquerade that had so changed her
companion, that even she did not at first know him. Lost
in thought, she did not speak for some minutes, and
Daoud also preserved a respectful silence, as though
awaiting her pleasure.
At length she spoke, and, making no allusion to his
appearance, related to him circumstantially the incidents
already described ; beseeching his aid a second time to
save her brother, as he had done the first.
When the girl had finished her tale, a revival of the
fierce conflict he had first gone through, took place in his
troubled soul. He saw the dangers of the new compli-
cation, caused by the renewed treachery of Abbas, and
the necessity for prompt action, if he would save both
husband and wife. But his distracted brain could find
no other hope of aid, than the dread woman he had
sought to repudiate.
He felt the supreme crisis of their fate of his own
and of the gentle girl before him, so trusting and so de-
pendent on him had come. He felt his decision must
be immediate, as it would be final ; that the fate of all
four, and of another besides, their deadliest foe, hung
trembling in the balance, which a breath from his lips
would incline. And at that thought, his pride and his
35*
4H ASKAROS KASSIS.
courage, from temporary eclipse rose into full effulgence,
and his voice and mien were composed, almost com-
manding, when he spoke again.
"El Warda ! sister, and more than sister! light of
my life ! pulse of my heart, and inspiration of my soul ! "
he cried : " the liberty of Askaros Kassis and the honor
of his wife, the life of Daoud-ben-Youssouf, and of their
common foe, all strange as it may seem to thee all
now hang upon the slander thread of one word from
those lips of thine ! Utter it, and I go to danger, per-
haps to death, to rescue those thou lovest even more
than thine own dear self. Utter it not, and I fold my
arms, and lift not my hand and peril not my life, for
those who care not for me, and whom I regard as less
than any single hair that falls from thy beloved head !
With thee, and thee alone, rests the decision and on
that decision hangs the destiny of all ! "
"And that word ! ' ' cried El Warda. "What is it ? and
how can one word from the lips of a weak girl do such great
things? Oh ! Daoud, dost thou too mock at my misery
by such words at such a time ? ' ' and dropping her face in
her hands, the hot tears trickled through them, each drop
blistering the Syrian's soul ! while the shudder that ran
through her frame attested the violence of her grief, at the
loss of her last hope his sympathy and succor.
A spasm of pain contracted the Syrian's brow at the
sight of her suffering ; but, the sublime and pitiless ego-
tism of the passion he called love, conquered. He stood
still, watching her, while every nerve and fibre of his
frame quivered with suppressed pain -like that of a
wretch upon the rack at witnessing her suffering. Grad-
ually the hysterical paroxysm passed ; the girl's sobs grew
infrequent, then ceased: and she raised her eyes, still
ASKAROS KASSIS. 415
wet with tears, to the arbiter of so many destinies besides
his own, in a mute appeal that he felt he must answer.
Callous as he had grown invulnerable as Achilles to
the ordinary casualties of the warfare we call life like
the Grecian, he too had his one point, through which he
too might, at an unguarded moment, meet his fate. No
Indian at the stake ever endured with more stoical com-
posure the tortures that agonized body and soul, than he
had outwardly witnessed the sufferings of the girl before
him, crushed by the loss of her last hope. And the
cynical coldness with which he had spoken, made her
resign herself to the grief of utter despair.
But that look was more than the man could bear ; and
the suppressed passion, the grief, the love, the agony that
possessed him all found vent at last in a rush of words
that almost choked his utterance.
He told her now, in words that burned with the heat
of his own long stifled passions, all his love, all his mis-
ery, all his sin ! He concealed nothing extenuated
nothing. Had he been standing before the great Judg-
ment-seat in the presence of his offended Creator, he
could not have spoken more fully. With the frankness
of a death confession, he explained to her everything
that had hitherto seemed dark and mysterious ; and he
opened to the astonished vision of the pure girl the black
depths of sin and sorrow, unsuspected before by her
guileless heart, to which evil had been a horrible, but
shapeless thing.
He told his own story, concealing nothing; he re-
vealed the iniquities of Abbas, and the crimes of the
princess ; he showed the actual situation as it was, with
all its terrors and all its perils.
When he ceased, the excitement that had sustained him
416 ASKAROS KASSIS.
thus far, seemed to give place to deep humility and de-
spondency. His head sunk upon his breast, his frame
seemed to collapse, he crossed his hands over his chest,
and stood like a criminal awaiting the sentence of his
judge all the pride, all the passion which had animated
him in the beginning, sunk into self-abasement and dread
of the verdict he had challenged.
Over the expressive face of the girl, while he continued
speaking, there passed many changes ; from disapproval
to condemnation ; from pity to almost loathing ; from
righteous indignation to qualified approval ; from repul-
sion to sympathy. But as the penitent went on in his
confession, the change from severity to softness grew
more perceptible ; and ere he finished, the expression of
that candid earnest face grew more pitying, more sym-
pathetic, almost affectionate; as though the first harsh
judgment had been revoked.
When he had ceased, and stood like the criminal
awaiting sentence, there stole upon his ear, like the
music of seraphs from above, the soft, low tones of the
voice he loved so well to hear, bringing soothing words
full of hope and promise to his struggling soul.
" I have heard thy strange tale, O Daoud ! my broth-
er," she said, "with mingled feelings of despair, of
terror, but finally of hope and joy for thee ! For the
latter part redeemeth the first : for does not the Holy
Book say, ' There is more joy over the sinner that re-
penteth, than over ninety and nine just persons made
perfect ? ' And hast thou not repented in the agony of
a self-imposed humiliation, to thee as I know thee
more bitter far than death ? And shall not thy repentance
be accepted by God and man ; and the joy in heaven,
as it is on earth, be proportionately great therefor? "
ASKAROS KASSIS. 417
As she raised her eyes above in the ecstacy of devo-
tional rapture, she seemed to the gaze of her worshipper
more divine than human. But his soul could never soar
to those heights where hers habitually reposed ; and the
impression produced upon his mind by this unselfish rap-
ture was but transitory.
Ahriman his lower nature dragged him back to
earth again, and tempted him to drag his idol down
with him. So, in answer to the enthusiastic girl, he said :
"I thank thee for the hope and comfort thou hast
given one sorely in need of both. We have spoken
enough of the past ; let us now consider the present
and the future. What thou hast come here to tell me,
proves the necessity of immediate action. Even now I
am awaiting the arrival of a messenger to summon me
to the Princess Nezle'; and I hesitate to go, for danger
perhaps death lurks in the path over which she
would send me ! "
" And is there no way to avoid it? " asked El Warda,
anxiously. " Cannot the consul-general aid us? Better
far trust him, than that wicked woman."
"The consul-general has gone," Daoud answered.
" Else had Abbas never dared to seize thy brother.
His successor is a man of feeble mind and body, who
will take no steps to aid us."
" Then you think this evil woman is our last hope? "
asked the girl, tremblingly.
" I d'o ! " responded Daoud ; " and I will go upon
one condition only. Promise me, that if I come back
successful if I save both Askaros and his wife that
thou wilt be mine thenceforth for ever, to guide my
earthly labors, and fit my soul for eternity. Wilt thou
give me this promise?"
2B
41 8 ASKAROS KASSIS.
" cannot! I cannot!" cried El Warda, wringing
her hands in despair. "It is unkind, it is cruel of you,
Daoud, to ask it at such a time ! to make my love the
price of your action ! If you would keep my esteem,
do not drive a bargain with me ; hut depend on my
gratitude afterward."
' ' Then will I stir no step ! ' ' answered the Syrian, sul-
lenly ; " for I believe I go to rescue my rival and my
enemy : since thou wilt not give the promise. It is use-
less to urge me further. I will not go ! All that a man
may reasonably do for his sister, will I do for thee ; but
I will not risk my life for less than this hope I have
named which looks more shadowy now than ever. ' '
"And is this resolve final?" asked El Warda, sud-
denly, drying her tears as she spoke.
' ' As final as destiny ! ' ' was the cold answer.
"Then hear me!" she rejoined, drawing up her
form, assuming an expression of determination Daoud
had never seen upon her face before. "Then hear me.
If there be no other means left to save them, but at the
price of myself, I will pay that ! But mark me, Daoud-
ben-Youssouf, man selfish to the core ! Even now I can-
not lie to thee, and say that with my hand I will then give
thee my heart : nay, nor even so much of it as I could
have accorded thee a few seconds back, ere thou didst
seek to bargain with the sister for the brother's blood !
May Sitta Mariam pardon me for the sin, into which my
desperation and thy cruelty drive me ! ' '
The sullen gloom passed from the Syrian's brow as
she spoke ; and the scorn of her last words fell unheeded
on his ear, which drank in greedily her promise ; and
he clutched at it, as a drowning man does at a plank
which is to float him to shore.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 419
"And thou promisest ! " he cried. "Swear it by
Sitta Mariam, and I go to the princess, to bring back
those whom thou lovest better, I fear, than thou dost
poor Daoud, whom thou mayest yet learn to love as he
loves thee ! either to bring them back or never to
return! "
" I take no oaths ! " El Warda said. " They are sin-
ful. But I say to thee on my word, which thou knowest
is sacred, that when thou shalt return, having done the
things thou hast promised, I will place my hand in thine,
and say unto thee as Ruth said unto Naomi : ' Whither
thou goest, there will I go ; thy country shall be my
country, and thy God my God. And may God do so
unto me and more, if aught but death part thee and
me."'
"Enough! enough!" cried the Syrian, wild with
joy. "I need no other pledge from lips on which
truth ever sits enthroned. Mine thou art, or shalt be ;
and the powers of earth and hell shall not prevail
against me ! ' '
"Beware, rash man ! " answered the girl; "and of-
fend not Heaven by such impious profanity, as to weigh
the decrees of Providence in the balance of thy passion
and pride ! Beware a judgment ! for is it not written,
' After death cometh judgment ' ? And thou art not
prepared to die. Farewell ! I linger no longer here ;
for thou hast raised up a barrier between us. Hereafter
I either shall never look upon thy face again, or sub-
mitting to the doom I have taken on my own head
will keep my promise ! "
Then waving back the Syrian, who sought to take her
hand, and dropping her veil, after casting a look of re-
proachful pity on her companion, she rapidly left the
42O ASKAROS KASSIS.
room, with a sign to Daoud not to follow her ; passed
down the steps and out of his house ; and her slight
figure was soon lost to his straining eyes as she passed
into the Ezbekieh.
" I have won her at last ! " he cried, in fierce exulta-
tion. "Mine she shall be, in spite of Sheitan and his
servant Abbas ! She will learn to love me soon enough,
when she sees the depth of my devotion. The clouds
of my life are over ! now comes the sunshine. And
how will I bask in its beams all the brighter for past
eclipse ! ' '
As he raved thus, in the first intoxication of his suc-
cess, a shadow fell upon him, as a dark body passed be-
tween him and the window, through which the sunlight
streamed. He looked up, and saw the eunuch of the
Khanum, who spoke no word, but saluted in silence,
and pointed to the door.
" I am ready ! " cried the Syrian, responding to the
mute appeal. "Lead on, I follow."
The black turned, and passed down the steps. Sud-
denly he stopped as he reached the door, and turning
to the young man, with a softened and more human ex-
pression lighting up his face than Daoud had seen on it
before, said :
" Life is sweet to the young. The Khanum values not
the lives of men. Thy mission I can see means danger
perhaps death. Be warned in time, and go not ! Small
cause have I to pity men ; but thou art a boy, and I do
pity thee. Once in the Khanum' s hands, thy term of
being will be as brief as the ripened fruit on yonder date-
tree lasts. Whether she sends for thee in love or hate ;
to make a favorite or a tool of thee, it will be the same.
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 421
Let me then return alone, and Allah will find one good
record made for me in the Book of Life ! "
Surprise kept the Syrian mute a second : but even this
unexpected interposition did not shake his resolve, which
was now as adamant.
"I thank thee from my heart for thy warning," he
said. " But go I must ; I have no choice lead on ! "
The eunuch shook his head, but said no more. Both
mounted fleet horses ready for them, and within a few
minutes Daoud-ben-Youssouf stood a second time in the
presence of the Princess Nezle Khanum.
" The hour is come, and awaits only the man ! " she
said. "Art thou still willing to obey my orders, though
they lead to what I said when last I saw thee ? ' '
" Great Khanum, I am ! " the Syrian answered, calmly.
" Peki ! behold thy companion."
She clapped her hands, and a young-looking but pow-
erful Georgian, with fair complexion, and blue eyes,
magnificently attired in the gorgeous costume of a Mame-
luke, entered the room and prostrated himself before the
princess.
"Ali, this is thy companion!" she said to him in
Turkish. " Him thou art to obey in all things, even of
life and death. Dost thou comprehend ? For if thou
failest, my ire will consume thee ! "
"Be chesum /" (On my eyes be it !) was the response,
with another reverence.
"Come thou with me," she said to the Syrian; "I
will give thee thine instructions. On thine own courage
must depend the rest."
Half an hour later, Daoud-ben-Youssouf, clad in a
rich costume, similar to that worn by the Georgian, and
so thoroughly disguised, his most intimate friend would
36
422 ASKAROS KASSIS.
not have known him, was mounted on a dromedary, and
accompanying the eunuch and the Georgian Mameluke,
Ali, toward the Bab-el-Nazr, whence they all passed out
upon the desert.
But as she dismissed him, Nezle had held up her finger
warningly to the Syrian, and said :
" Recollect all my instructions, and fulfil them to the
letter ! And remember," she added, with an ugly look
of meaning in her eyes; " remember that thou returnest
to me alone ! ' '
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE HAWK STRIKES THE VULTURE.
AT the Abassieh once more. The terrified girl, now
almost hopeless of succor from without, and doubt-
ing the promises of the wild woman whom she con-
sidered half insane, watched and waited, in an agony of
apprehension, the renewed importunities of Abbas.
No conversation passed between her and the French-
woman, who seemed plunged in gloomy reverie, and
watching from the window, gazed out into the desert
view. At length she uttered an exclamation, and Edith,
looking up suddenly, saw three dromedaries, upon which
were mounted one eunuch and two richly-clad Mame-
lukes, rapidly approaching the palace.
The woman made no remark, but passed from the
room and glided to the hareem gate, at which she met
the eunuch dismounting. Not a word was exchanged
between them ; he only pointed to the smaller and darker
of his two companions, who showed her a ring he wore
upon his finger, and said briefly: "At nine to-night, the
draught."
The woman nodded her head intelligently, and re-
turned as silently and as stealthily as she had come ; and
423
424 ASKAROS KASSIS.
the eunuch, with his two companions, passed through
the courtyard to the grand entrance of the palace.
The evening darkened into night, and Edith was not
again disturbed by Abbas, who had summoned the
Frenchwoman, and had a long conversation with her,
ending by placing in her hand a heavy purse of gold.
The final word of the woman was " Bukara ! " (to-
morrow !) and the satisfied leer on the face of the Vice-
roy told that the promise, whatever it might be, was
agreeable to him.
Nevertheless, his good -humor did not last long, and
he seemed to be in a peculiarly fitful and excited mood
that evening ; and as it wore on he became more
irritable. The unhappy attendants on his person fared
badly j for not only did he lavish upon them all the
terms of opprobrium of which he was such a master, but
he spared not also blows, kicks, and other tangible
proofs of his displeasure. Suddenly a thought seemed
to strike him. He summoned Mahmoud Bey, and in-
quired if he had been rightly informed that the Princess
Nezle had sent* the Mamelukes she had promised, and
on his reply being affirmative, ordered them into his
presence.
The Mamelukes entered, and Abbas looked at them
both with an approving eye, especially at the fair Geor-
gian, who, in his face, was more like a beautiful girl
than a man, though heavy and clumsy of figure. The
Circassian did not seem to please him so much, though
the ample folds of the dress concealed the spare figure,
and gave it that roundness so pleasing to the Oriental,
who, in man or woman, hates leanness. Moreover, the
face of the darker boy, into which he stared hard,
seemed to suggest some memory, unpleasant though
ASKAROS KASSIS. 425
puzzling, which he could not recall. He turned to
Mahmoud Bey and asked :
" Did the eunuch tell thee they were both from Con-
stantinople lately, and were both Mamelukes?"
"Effendina, he did."
" Something strikes me as familiar in that face, or as
though I had seen it before ; but I suppose it must be
fancy. I like the looks of both these boys. They will
attend me more pleasantly than these pigs and #pes, that
have been trying my temper by their awkwardness and
stupidity all the evening. Send away all the others, and
let these two stay. I will take a cup of coffee, and then
repose, for I am weary ; and charge my people, on no
pretext, even though Cairo should be on fire, to waken
me before I call. Now go, all of you."
His orders were obeyed.
Glancing his eye over the faces and the forms of the
Mamelukes, who stood in humble attitude before him,
again the puzzled expression came over his countenance,
and he sharply gave the command, in Arabic, to move
the pillows of his divan.
Both looked up and started forward, but neither
obeyed, the countenances of both expressing inquiry, as
though they had heard tire words but did not compre-
hend the language in which he spoke. The test seemed
to satisfy the suspicious tyrant, who muttered to himself:
" I think I must be fanciful this evening; though it is
not my wont; I seldom have felt so strongly the pre-
sentiment of danger, or evil. I suppose my double bad
luck has made me so. To quarrel first with Nezle, and
then with that little fiend of an Ingleez ! Urn ! as for
Nezle, she little dreams she will soon follow that father
of hers she is so fond of ! The Kislar-Aga charges him-
36*
426 ASKAROS KASSIS.
self with that, through some of his people ! and for the
Ingleez, we shall settle that to-morrow. Call you this
coffee, dog ! " and he dashed two-thirds of the fluid into
face of the trembling slave who had brought it from the
hareem door. "Thy vile breath hath poisoned it, for it
is bitter as gall ; and I took only one mouthful ! ' '
Even as he spoke these last words, a quick inscrutable
expression like a flash of lightning across the dark
storm-cloud flashed over the dusky face of the smaller
Mameluke. Then it instantly grew still and expression-
less again.
Abbas hurled the cup and heavy chased fingan at the
head of the slave, and throwing himself back on the
divan, called, in Turkish, to the Mamelukes :
" Keep off the flies and watch my slumbers."
Then he settled himself to sleep.
As he had commanded, the silence and stillness of
death reigned throughout the palace ; and in the chamber
'no sound disturbed the hush, save the droning of the
flies, the sighing of the Desert wind without, and the
heavy breathing of the sleeper. Abbas was a gross, fleshy
man, and his slumbers were sound, as the heavy, stertor-
ous breathing indicated.
The obsequious slaves stood at his head and feet waving
palm branches to keep off the intrusive flies, which, less
obedient than man, respected the Viceroy as little as the
common Fellah, and rudely broke in upon his slumbers.
The Circassian glided to the side of the Georgian,
where he stood at the head of the divan, showed him a
signet-ring, and whispered in his ear. The face of the
Georgian showed repugnance even horror, at the com-
munication made him by his companion, who marked it,
and whispered again even more eagerly than before.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 427
At the second whisper, doubt and hesitation seemed
to pass away from the Georgian's fair face, which settled
into a kind of dogged resolve. He nodded his head
thrice in assent ; and from that moment stood watching
his companion's every movement and gesture, as though
ready to imitate it.
Utterly unconscious of this by-play which would have
excited his waking suspicions to the extent of bowstringing
both Mamelukes the Viceroy slept on. But he slept
not tranquilly, for his rest seemed broken and fitful, and
he started often and muttered in his sleep like one whose
brain is busy weaving those strange incongruous medlies
of fact and fancy of fragments of the real past blended
with wild impossibilities which come through the Gate
of Horn to wander through the avenues of the human
brain, restlessly traversing them, while memory and will
seem both to have deserted the body, as though in a par-
tial death.
The coffee Abbas Pasha had sipped must have contained
some powerful narcotic ; for, little as he had taken, his
slumbers did not resemble ordinary sleep, even in its
restlessness. He seemed more in the somnambulistic
than in the natural state ; for occasionally his eyes would
unclose, and after staring wildly round with no specu-
lation in their dull orbs would close heavily again. In
those intervals it would seem as though two powers were
contending for the mastery of the sleeping man ; one, his
will, which seemed wrestling to shake off the fetters of
the drowsy languor which held him ; the other, an ex-
ternal power, too potent for that will to resist.
In fact the Viceroy resembled one on whom the peculiar
properties of that strange drug, haschisch, were at work ;
though in its stupefying and sedative, not its exciting
428 AS A' A A' OS CASSIS.
influences ; but as the Viceroy never partook of that
drug, these phenomena were all the more strange in his
case.
At length the two watchers by his divan observed that
his breathing grew more regular, the fitful starts less fre-
quent, and his slumber more natural, while the strange ex-
pression of his face relaxed, and the second stage of the
hashisch drug manifested itself. This stage is that of
mental excitement, coupled with bodily repose, when the
enfranchised mind seems to soar away from its fleshy
clogs, and disport itself at will in the regions of imagina-
tion ; when the closed eyes see stranger things than hu-
man vision ever saw, even with the aid of the magic glass
of fancy.
And as he lay sleeping there, watched by those two
faithful Mamelukes, sent by his kinswoman to guard his
slumbers and minister to his wishes, this was the dream
of Abbas Pasha :
He dreamed that he had passed the portals of his
earthly kingdom, and ushered by a shape that bore a
strange resemblance to the Princess Nezle, but supplied
witli long black wings, and with a strange lurid glow like
a halo round her brow, had passed upon the bridge of
Al Sirat, which spans the fiery gulf into which 'all un-
believers fall. Over the bridge he passed into a brighter
world, lit up however by no soft glow, but illuminated
by a lurid glare, like in intensity, but a thousand times
more dazzling than that which encircled the brow of his
guide. As he passed over the bridge, no wider than the
edge of a scimetar, and looked down into the fiery flood
beneath, he saw there the faces of all his enemies he had
done to death by rapid or slow extinction ; all of whom
stretched up their arms, wildly striving to clutch him and
ASKAROS KASSIS. 429
drag him down among them, some almost reaching his
robes, then ever falling back again just as he shrunk
from the touch, shivering with fear hunted down again
by Monkir and Nakir, the guardians of that pit of woe !
Prominent among them he recognized the face of old
Askaros, his hoary beard tinged with the lurid red of the
Lake of Fire ; and on the extreme bank, in the Blessed
Region of the Faithful, at the other end of the bridge,
stood the fair face and tempting form of an houri, clad
in her green ro"bes, and beckoning him on the enjoy-
ments of that paradise, which the Koran promises to all
true believers. As he gazed eagerly upon her, the face
changed suddenly to that of the American girl, who had
so captivated his worn-out senses. Then Abbas strove to
rush past his guide to clasp her in his arms ; but that
guide turned suddenly upon him, presenting no longer
the features of Nezle Khanum, but those of the Syrian
he had caused to be so cruelly scourged ; then seized him,
clasped his arms tightly around his neck in a stifling em-
brace, and strove to hurl him from the bridge into the
fiery pit below. Close-locked in that dread embrace, the
stifling heat from below seemed rising up to scorch and
suffocate him.
With that sensation of falling down down down
from an immeasurable height into a fathomless abyss,
Abbas Pasha awoke.
But he awoke from the vision of imaginary peril into
the consciousness of a more dreadful reality to find
himself really suffocating under the cushion of his divan,
pressed firmly down over his face, while strong hands
bound his legs together, as though in fetters of iron !
He awoke at once to the full possession of his facul-
ties, sharpened by the presence of the death so immi-
43O A S KA R OS KA S S J S.
nent : for with the lightning-like rapidity of mental ac-
tion in such emergencies, there flashed through his mind
full conviction of the treachery of Nezle, and of her fell
design in sending the Mamelukes now his only guar-
dians in that chamber.
With that conviction came the strength of despair,
supplying courage to the craven heart, ever cowardly as
it was cruel ; awakening in this dire extremity the slum-
bering wild-beast instinct of self-preservation, or signal
vengeance upon his murderers. He felt the pressure
of the hands that held the cushion down upon his face
to the verge of suffocation ; he felt the iron grasp of the
other upon his legs, as they were stretched out upon the
divan ; and he felt, too, that a single minute more of that
pressure, and his laboring lungs would cease to breathe.
Summoning the last energies of his powerful frame
into one mighty effort, Abbas suddenly wrenched his
head free from the cushion held by those deadly hands,
and, drawing up his lower limbs convulsively, struck his
assailant there full in the chest, relaxing his grip and roll-
ing him backward upoi. the floor, so violent and unex-
pected was the sudden blow. Then, springing furiously
from the divan, purple in face, gasping for breath, his
jewelled tarbouche fallen from his shaven head, and his
rich dress torn and tumbled, with wild-rolling, blood-
shot eyes, and haggard face reflecting mingled rage
and fear, Abbas stood up glaring upon his destined mur-
derers.
Ere his opened lips could utter the cry to summon his
guards, crouching as the wild cat crouches, the slighter
and darker of his two Mamelukes had bounded at his
throat, and he felt the lean, strong fingers, like the claws
of that savage beast, tearing and lacerating it. That
ASKAROS KASSrS. 431
fieice, fell pressure prevented outcry, as with the vio-
lence of the assault, assailant and assailed rolled over
on the floor, the only spectator, petrified into stone,
standing a mute and motionless witness of that struggle
for life and death between those two, clutching and tear-
ing each other like savage beasts in a death-grapple.
The contest was short as fierce. Though he could
not shake off that desperate grasp which almost throttled
him and partly paralyzed his powers, the greater weight
and strength of Abbas soon told against his slight assail-
ant. The Viceroy was over his enemy, his knee on his
chest striving to crush it in, and cause him to relinquish
his grasp upon the throat, to which he still clung with
the tenacity of a wild cat, as the staring eyes of his ad-
versary attested.
The strength and endurance of the Circassian were
evidently failing fast under the superior strength of his
enemy, and casting his despairing eyes around, wildly,
in search of help in this extremity, they fell upon the
Georgian, who stood with stupid, staring gaze fixed upon
the conflict, as though it concerned him not. A last
hope dawned upon the whirling, dizzy brain of the Cir-
cassian, and tightening his failing clutch upon his ene-
my's throat, he gasped out:
" Ali ! for your life and mine, use the cord ! "
As he spoke he could feel the vengeful grip of the
Viceroy tighten upon him, the heavy knee crush down
more heavily upon his laboring chest, as the fierce, dull
eyes gleamed recognition and vengeance on him, within
two feet of his own. But the same instant he heard the
whizzing sound of the cord as it swept through the air,
felt the thrill of sudden relief as the heavy pressure on
his chest was removed rather heard than saw the body
432 AS KAR OS K ASS IS.
of Abbas dragged backward to the floor as the Georgian
tugged at the tightening slip-knot round his master's neck,
with all the energy of terror and despair.
The second after, sick, dizzy, half-fainting as he was
-hate supplying the place of strength the Circassian
had risen to his feet had seized again the fatal cushion,
and while the Georgian still strained at the ever tight-
ening noose, till the tongue of the victim protruded
had thrown himself, with the cushion under him, upon
the face of the writhing and struggling thing upon the
floor.
It was over ! The desperate and convulsive struggles
of the form grew fainter, then spasmodic sunk into a
mere twitching of the limbs ! Then, with a convulsive
shudder, it ceased, and all was still ! The mission of the
Mamelukes of the Princess Nezle Khanum was per-
formed ! They carefully laid him again upon the divan,
replacing the jewelled tarbouche, smoothing the tumbled
garments, and arranging the limbs in the attitude of one
who slumbered.
Naught remained there upon the divan but the clay of
him who was erewhile King of Egypt ; the immortal part
had gone to its judgment, and the meanest of Abbas
Pasha's slaves could with impunity now spit on what was
left of their dreaded master.
Strange and awful change, whether it happen to the
leper or the king ! when God's breath is withdrawn from
the creation of His hands.
Mystery ever recurring in death as in birth ! When
shall the awful secret ever be fathomed by the finite in-
telligence of man, striving ever to grasp the infinite? and
ever falling back into darker depths after each presump-
tuous effort !
AS A' AH OS A' ASS IS.
433
The dream of Abbas Pasha had found its fulfilment.
So had the horoscope ; and as the two Mamelukes con-
sulted together in whispers, the wild haggard face of a
woman peered in upon the completed work, and the lips
muttered :
' ' Said I not that the stars lied not ! neither did the
Khanum ! ' '
37 2C
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE DEAD MAN'S RIDE.
ELFY BEY, Governor of Cairo, sat in the citadel at
midnight, and there was trouble on his brow. Be-
fore him stood the Kislar Aga, who had come in hot haste
from the Abassieh at that unusual hour, and long and
earnest had been the consultation between the two.
So eccentric and unaccountable are the movements of
Eastern functionaries, that the household of Elfy Bey
were not astonished when orders were given at that hour
for an escort to accompany the Kislar Aga and himself
back to the Abassieh ; and the two, followed by a fitting
retinue, were soon on their way to the Desert palace.
Arriving there, the Kislar Aga was told, in reply to his
question, that his Highness was still sleeping, and they
dared not disturb him, so strict had been his orders.
Would the Kislar Aga, who was so great a favorite, take
the responsibility of doing so ? assuming as a reason the
visit of the Governor of Cairo, who doubtless came on
business.
"Have the Mamelukes yet come out?" asked the
Kislar Aga.
"No; no one has seen them since Effendina sent
away all the rest of his attendants."
434
A SKA R OS KASSIS. 435
"Then all is as it should be," responded the officer.
" Has not his Highness the privilege of sleeping as long
as he pleases, without being annoyed by your curiosity?
Go to bed, all of you ; I, myself, will call him in the
morning. Let no one, as he values his tongue or his
ears, intrude until I give the permission ! Excellency,"
he added, turning to the Governor, "it grieves me that
I cannot obtain for you an interview with his Highness ;
but you see the state of the case, and will pardon my
waiting till sunrise, when he will doubtless accompany
you back to Cairo. For the present, permit me to show
you your apartments. All is safe," he continued, in u
whisper. "These fools suspect nothing. In the morn-
ing you will take him to Cairo ; we will send for El
Hami, and the rest is easy."
" Peki?" answered Elfy Bey; "what you say has in
it the wisdom of the serpent. I will do this. The faith
I pledged to the living I will keep to the dead ! Rely
on me."
The eunuch nodded approving assent, and the two
separated.
Scarcely had they gone, however, when the face of a
woman, full of triumph and contempt, glared up from
behind the same curtain, where she had heard the reve-
lation of Abbas to the Kislar Aga.
" Is that your game? " she muttered. " Then shall it
be frustrated. I shall be before you, and the friends of
Said shall know what plot you are planning ! What a
good-looking man Elfy Bey is ! Pity he should be such
an ass ! "
So saying, and chuckling to herself, the woman disap-
peared also.
ASKAKOS KASSIS.
The next morning there started at sunrise from the
Abassieh the strangest cavalcade that probably ever went
forth from palace-gates since the Cid Campeador took
his ghastly ride a dead man strapped to his saddle,
with spear fastened to his stiff right hand in advance
of the Christian force, which went forth to do battle with
the Paynim foe.
For the splendid state carriages of the Viceroy, with
all the pride and pomp of place, were drawn up outside
the palace-gates ; and a retinue of two hundred cavalry,
glittering in gorgeous array, were there as a guard ; the
drums beat, the banners flew and the trumpets brayed,
as Elfy Bey, Governor of Cairo, and the Kislar Aga
one on each side assisted his Highness, Abbas Pasha,
Viceroy of Egypt, into his carriage at the private postern
door, which was but one stride from the carriage-step.
The coachman and Syces were disposed to think the
Viceroy ill, for, instead of pushing away impatiently those
who sought to assist him, he allowed himself to be almost
lifted into the carriage, into which Elfy Bey got also,
taking the front seat. Then the whole cortege wound at
full speed over the Desert plain, taking the road to Cairo.
What were the thoughts and emotions of Elfy Bey
during that ghastly ride, seated in front of the dead man
that mockery of a monarch can never be known;
for he himself never confided to living man the reflec-
tions that must have crowded thick upon him at the strange
farce, or melodrama, in which he was taking such active
part.
On the cortege swept, the living Governor supporting
with his knee in front, in the close carriage, the dead
body of his late master, stark, stiff, and rigid now
leaning back against the luxurious cushions, now swaying
ASKAROS KASSIS. 437
forward as any impediment jolted them, until it almost
fell into the arms of the faithful adherent.
Elfy Bey could not look out upon the surrounding
prospect for even the bare desert would have been a
more pleasing object to survey than the hideous thing
before him for the blinds of the carriage were closed,
to avoid detection. He could not look up, for there,
with lids opened wide upon him, in a glazed stare of
mortal agony and terror, were the protruding eyeballs
starting from the livid and flaccid face of what was Abbas
Pasha.
And outside, as though in mockery of the cold corpse
within, and as if to insult the dull ear of Death, jingled
the sabres of the guards in their rich uniforms ; blazed
the gilt panellings of the coaches; and as they wound
through the streets of Cairo to the citadel rung the
vivas and plaudits of the politic mob, to propitiate the
Thing they still thought their living Tyrant !
At seeing the closed carriage and the evident precau-
tions taken to avoid public scrutiny, many of the old
gossips shook their heads, and said the Viceroy must be
ill, or in a very bad humor.
" We shall hear something soon," they said; and this
belief became more general when, shortly after reaching
the citadel, its guns were pointed to cover and command
the city, and unusual activity prevailed in the garrison.
Then by mid-day a rumor, creeping like the wind, as
noiselessly and as suddenly, no man knowing whence it
came nor how it went, swept over the city of Cairo, that
a dead and not a living Viceroy had been brought by the
Governor, Elfy Bey, that morning into the citadel ; that
El Hami was to be proclaimed Viceroy instead of Said,
37*
ASKAROS K ASS IS,
the legitimate successor ; with a general massacre of the
Christians to inaugurate these measures.
Great was the alarm at these strange outgivings, and
men looked fearfully in each other's faces for contradic-
tion or confirmation of them, and crept quietly home-
ward to be out of harm's way. Therefore, the coffee-
shops and places of public resort were almost empty ;
and the Ezbekieh, instead of its usual noise and anima-
tion, presented a look of blank desolation, such as it
wore in seasons of the plague, when people feared the
contact of each other.
The rumors however grew in consistency and became
more positive as evening wore on; so that by nightfall
some pretended to give the particulars of the death of
Abbas; which of course were very wide of the truth.
The general impression was he had died by poison, in
vengeance for great cruelties inflicted on some of his
slaves ; others as confidently asserting that he had died
of apoplexy.
The consul-general, who had befriended Askaros, and
who had not left on his conge as was generally supposed,
and even believed by Abbas himself had that day come
up to Cairo. He was resting after the fatigues of his
journey from Alexandria, and listening with a half-
amused expression of countenance to the wild stories his
excited subordinates were pouring into his ears, touching
the death of Abbas, the dead man's ride, and the alarm-
ing intentions of Elfy Bey, who meditated the massacre
of all Christians native and foreign at Cairo, when
two persons were announced as demanding immediate
audience.
"Let them come in," was the order; and two men
entered one a black, clad as a servant; the other white,
ASA'AROS KASS1S. 439
but covered face and person by a large coarse abba, or
cloak, such as is worn by the common people. Both
looked dirty, and the face of the black had that ashy hue
indicating recent illness. He stepped up to the consul-
general and prayed a private interview, as he and his
friend had matters of grave importance to communicate
to his ear alone.
The curious subordinates and attendants having un-
willingly retired, the Nubian stepped back and his com-
panion came forward dropping the cloak that had
hitherto concealed his person and face, and revealing to
the gaze of the astonished consul-general the features of
Askaros Kassis, though wan and worn from illness, and
with suffering stamped upon them. From him he learned
that Ferraj, who had long been an inmate of the citadel,
had made himself so popular with the soldiers, that he
had been allowed every liberty save that of egress. He
had seen the entry of his master again into captivity, and
had been allowed to attend upon him, without the knowl-
edge of the Governor. That evening Ferraj had come
in a great state of excitement, announced the fact of a
dead, instead of a living Viceroy having been brought
down from the Abassieh by Elfy Bey, and that the Gov-
ernor and Kislar Aga after consultation with some of the
most trusted friends of Abbas had determined to pro-
claim El Hami, Viceroy, instead of Said, the regular
successor, and had already sent a confidential messenger
to summon the youth, who was unfortunately at Constan-
tinople not in Egypt. Ferraj had further declared that
so great was the confusion in the citadel, when the news
leaked out, that they could escape by disguising them-
selves.
This they did ; and had now come to give this news
440 ASKAROS KASSIS.
to their best friend, and to ask tidings of the lost
Edith.
The consul-general was much struck by these details,
and advised Askaros to lose no time, but to proceed at
once to Alexandria, and notify Said Pasha who was
then residing in a palace near that city of all he knew,
and to urge him to come up at once and claim the sove-
reignty now his. He might also assure him that the
consul-general would confer with his colleagues, as to
the best means of checking the follies meditated by Elfy
Bey, and the other adherents of Abbas.
But he grieved to inform him he could as yet give him
no tidings of his wife.
The dejected countenance of Askaros grew more sombre
still at this confession of ignorance from the lips of his
friend ; but seeing that her safety depended upon the
solution of the existing difficulty, he prepared at once to
carry out his protector's advice.
He sent Ferraj first to communicate his safety to El
Warda, and then rejoin him at Boulak, where he pro-
posed taking a boat which, manned by six rowers, would
soon take him down the rapid current to the palace of
Sa'id.
What was his joy, on meeting Ferraj at the trysting-
place, to learn that his wife was safe and well ! A mys-
terious message from the Frenchwoman had notified El
Warda of that fact, but she knew no more.
Still with a lightened heart Askaros, accompanied by
his faithful Nubian, proceeded on his mission to warn the
new Viceroy of his accession to the throne and honors
of his predecessor, then lying dead at the citadel.
By midnight he had reached the palace of Said, and
instead of finding everything still, and all the occupants
A SKA R OS KA S S I S. 44!
buried in sleep, to his surprise he observed lights gleam-
ing from every window, forms moving before them, and
evident preparations being made for a movement in some
direction. Surely, he thought, his tidings had either been
anticipated by some earlier messenger, or the rumors that
had disturbed Cairo had floated with the evening fog
down the river to the palace of Said hitherto more a
gilded prison than a palace, from which he could not stir
without the permission of his jealous and suspicious kins-
man, Abbas.
Entering and demanding an audience, he was immedi-
ately shown into the presence of Said Pasha, a large
handsome man, with reddish-brown beard and sanguine
complexion, and a face indicating a frank and generous
character. He was sitting on a divan, apparently in high
good humor, surrounded by several friends, among whom
Askaros recognized Zoulfikar Pasha.
Cordially greeting the Copt, Said burst into a loud
laugh and cried :
"Why, Effendi, the news is stale which you come so
mysteriously to bring me at midnight. Several hours
since it was brought to me by a woman by two women,
in fact one of whom I think you might like to see."
Clapping his hands, he ordered an attendant to take
the Effendi to see the old Frenchwoman who had arrived
a few hours before ; and the next moment Askaros was
locked in the embrace of his long lost wife, and attempt-
ing to answer a hundred questions of hers, and get an-
swers to as many of his own at the same time.
The joy of both at this sudden and unexpected meeting
may be imagined it cannot be described. Both felt it
almost a compensation for the trials and the sufferings
through which they had passed to this blessed reunion,
442 ASKAROS KASSIS.
which they knew could never now be disturbed again -by
mortal malice, or by aught save death.
Over a scene and a sentiment so holy, like the ancient
painter let us drop a veil : for, as the pencil of Zeuxis
failed to depict the agony of the bereaved father, so any
pen would fail to paint the rapture of such a meeting,
and at such a time.
How Elfy Bey, warned by the consul-general of the
futility and folly of his project to set aside the regular
succession of Said Pasha in favor of El Hami, renounced
his design ; how he welcomed Said to Cairo, and rode in
at his right hand ; how Sai'd even praised his fidelity to
his old master as the best guarantee for his faithfully serv-
ing the new ; how Elfy Bey sat in the seat of honor next
the Viceroy at dinner, and retired to rest full of hope
and joy, only to be found dead in his bed next morning
all these are matters of history.
Whether the death of the Governor resulted from over-
excitement of brain, or from a cup of coffee administered
by some super-serviceable servant or ally of the new
Viceroy, was never known, and probably it never will be
until the great disclosure of secrets on the Final Day.
But even the friends of Abbas and of Elfy Bey acquitted
Said Pasha of any privity in the deed : if the Governor
really died not by the visitation of God, instead of by the
hand of man.
Such an act was felt by all to be utterly alien to the
temper of the new monarch, who had enjoyed European
training and culture, and was more a European in his
tastes and habits than a Turk.
Abbas Pasha was interred with all befitting pomp and
ceremony in the family vault of the descendants of
Mehemet Ali, near the tombs of the old Mameluke Sul-
ASKAROS KASSIS. 443
tans : and a magnificent monument, placed over him at
the public expense, now marks the resting place of his
remains.
Elfy Bey was buried also with befitting honors : and
the post vacated by his death was tendered by Said Pasha
to Askaros Kassis. For the new Viceroy appreciated
highly the good qualities and ability of the young Copt,
and he desired by this appointment of a Christian to a
position of such high trust, to mark the commencement
of that new era of liberality which signalized his reign.
But Askaros gratefully, yet firmly, declined the great
honor tendered him.
" Highness, never will I forget thy generous kindness,
nor cease to hold it in my heart," he said. "But after
all my wife has suffered, she needs rest, repose, and re-
tirement at least for a while from this country. We
will seek in the society of her old friends forgetfulness
of past trials. Therefore the favor I shall seek from
your Highness is the permission to sail next week for
Europe."
This permission was graciously accorded by the Vice-
roy, who, nevertheless, renewed his persuasions, and his
regrets at their want of effect ; and the next week Aska-
ros and Edith, with lighter hearts than they had known
for many days, set sail for Europe, having vainly en-
deavored to persuade El Warda to accompany them.
CHAPTER XL.
EL WARDA'S VIGIL.
HOURS passed into days, and days into weeks.
The old reign was over, and the new one suc-
cessfully inaugurated.
Her brother and sister had sailed, after vainly endeav-
oring to induce her to accompany them to Europe and
still El Warda neither saw nor heard from Daoud-ben-
Youssouf, nor could gain any clue to his fate.
He had disappeared as suddenly, as mysteriously, and
as thoroughly as a dissolving view in a panoramic picture,
leaving behind him no clue by which to track his foot-
steps ; had vanished from the sight of man, as utterly, as
though the Khamseen wind of the desert had buried him
beneath its sandy waves.
The mind and heart of El Warda had been the prey
of many conflicting emotions since the hour of her last
interview with the Syrian, when his strange revelation had
been made to her, and she had sounded the depths of
that strong and sullen soul. That fierce, passionate love
for her which absorbed his every faculty : that unflinch-
ing will which would wade to her through peril and crime
rather than lose her ; and that atmosphere of strife and
444
ASKAROS KASSIS. 445
sin, through which he moved and had his being all
these things had impressed the imagination of the maiden
with a shuddering horror. But it was not unmixed with
reluctant admiration of the misdirected strength which
sustained him, making him the master of that fearful
situation in which he rose to the dignity of an arbiter.
As some one of the faithful angels, in the first great
revolt in heaven,might have looked upon the horrid splen-
dor of Lucifer, when even over the burning marl, after
his fall, he trod defiant still with pride unconquerable
after all was lost so from the white heights of her puri-
ty looked down the spirit of El Warda upon the strug-
gling, sinning yet not utterly lost soul of Daoud-ben-
Youssouf!
With that horror and that admiration there blended
also pity for the perversion of powers so great ; and a
lingering hope of the possibility of converting them into
the channels of good. For the young girl had in her
much of the spirit of the martyr, as well as of the devotee.
She had learnt self-sacrifice the immolation of her own
hopes and wishes for the good of others at an early
day ; and in the way which appealed most directly to her
own heart in accepting the last proposal of Daoud she
felt she had consummated that sacrifice as thoroughly as
though, like an Indian widow, she had mounted her own
funeral pyre !
Hence, on her return home to the convent on the night
after she had made that pledge, which she had intended
faithfully to keep, she felt the same spirit in her gentle
bosom of which she had read in stories of the blessed
martyrs of her church, whose sublime self-renunciation
she had often marvelled at, but never dreamed of imi-
tating.
38
44^ ASKAROS KASSIS.
Yet she never blenched nor faltered in her resolve,
nor thought of evading the dread ordeal she had invoked.
But she spent the whole of that night on her knees in
prayer to the Virgin to sustain and strengthen her, and
assoilize her soul from the sin if such it was by which
she had sought to save her brother and sister by the sac-
rifice of herself. Morning had dawned upon her while
thus engaged ; and as she rose from her holy vigil, the
patient endurance she had prayed for seemed to have de-
scended on her agitated spirit from above, and she felt
ready to accept the martyrdom she had challenged.
From that moment no shadow of doubt or of distrust
disturbed her serene spirit, as to her own ability to bear
her own burden ; but the gentle spirit had undergone
endless alternations of doubt and fear as to the safety of
her friends, and as to the success' of that mysterious mis-
sion of Daoud, of 'which she comprehended neither the
necessity nor the purport. Had she for one moment
imagined the criminal nature of that mission, or the
dreadful tragedy it involved, not for a single instant could
she have countenanced or encouraged it. But, while con-
cealing no one thing in the past, the Syrian instinctively
recoiled from even hinting the means by which the liber-
ation of her friends was to be effected ; and she had im-
agined that craft and stratagem not violence and crime
were to accomplish it.
Ignorant as she was of all such matters, the very dis-
guise assumed by Daoud confirmed her in this belief: and
she supposed that only his safety was concerned in the
venture, which he had undertaken solely for love of her.
And she would not have been a woman and a very
young woman had not the consciousness of this fact
sent a pleasing thrill through her heart, and lent a
ASKAROS KASSIS. 447
favorable light to her judgment of both the acts and im-
pulses of the Syrian base as some of them had seemed
when palliated by a motive so strong as that which he
had avowed.
The sentiment of compassion, of pity, grew stronger
in that gentle breast when she thought over the isolation,
and suppressed sympathies of that lonely life ; of that
strong soul struggling in the cold waters of poverty and
contempt, while feeling the consciousness of capacity to
rise like the angel with shorn wings unwilling to sink,
yet unable to soar, the divine element struggling ever
against the diabolic.
Poor Daoud ! he was not so very bad after all. Cir-
cumstances had much to do with his evil acts, and her
interposition had never failed to turn him from the paths
of evil to those of good. And now he had gone, even
at the risk of his own life, to rescue from danger and
worse than death those who were dear to her, for her
sake only ! She must have been more or less than wo-
man to have resisted the appeal that the memory of that
fact pressed upon her.
She felt a warm blush rise to her cheek as she recalled
the impassioned fervor of his prayer to her ; the total
self-abnegation, the devoted heroism with which he had
consecrated his life to secure her hand ; and she thought
that she could not fail to make his future life better than
his past had been, while such was her influence over him.
Thus she dreamed, and meditated, and prayed, while
the first hour passed after their decisive interview ; and
she knew not whether hopes or her fears predominated.
But another sensation took possession of her, when,
the ensuing evening, she received the mysterious message
from the old Frenchwoman that her sister was free
448 ASKAROS KASSIS.
when a few hours later Ferraj brought the welcome tid-
ings that her brother was also safe, and that the tyrant,
who had caused all their sufferings, had been sent to his
dread account how,she neither knew nor fancied.
When she found later that neither Askaros nor Edith
could explain aught of the means of their deliverance, or
of the hand which had stricken the blow that liberated
them and Egypt at one stroke though both thought the
Princess Nezle' had some mysterious connection with it
a vague suspicion began to creep into her mind a hor-
rible dread lest she, in some innocent way, had taken
part in that fearful tragedy that had sent a soul so ill-
prepared to its dread account. Struggle as she would
against it, this strange new horror rose up before her, and
appalled her like some shapeless spectre !
These formless and spectral terrors assumed more sub-
stantial shape after her brother and sister had gone.
Then the Frenchwoman had made a visit, in which she
told all El Warda had not known before, and showed the
black gulf of crime and sin, over which she had helped
to build the bridge that bore her brother and sister into
safety.
The Frenchwoman's love for El Warda was as that of
a mother for a daughter ; but her energy and courage
seemed strangely to have collapsed, since the recent
scenes in which she had displayed so much of both.
She related this black and painful history to the young
girl, to warn her against any future intercourse with the
Syrian, whom she now showed her to be the executor of
the wicked plot of her mistress Nezle Khanum. For
the Frenchwoman well knew the love of Daoud for El
Warda, though she suspected nothing of secret compact
between the two.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 449
These awful revelations threw a new and ghastly light
upon the compact she had formed with Daoud, unwitting
of its dreadful import ; and the soul of the pure maiden
was harrowed up by the thought of the fearful crime, in
which she had innocently been made an accomplice.
In an agony of prayer and supplication she again in-
voked the Virgin all night at the convent ; and the morn-
ing dawned upon her, pale, haggard, and tortured with
internal doubts not as before, calm and self-possessed
in the serenity of a soul at peace with itself and with
the world. She saw now, as if by flashes of lightning,
the dreadful gulf which yawned behind and before her,
both in her complicity in the accomplished crime, and in
her pledge to the chief criminal, after its accomplish-
ment.
Which way could she turn ? How escape the dread-
ful doom she had rashly invoked on her own head, in
linking her fate with that of 'one whom she knew to be
a premeditated assassin yet an assassin by her deliberate
act and will unconsciously it might be, yet none the
less surely so?
Ought she now after having tempted, as it were, the
unhappy Daoud to the commission of his crime ought
she now abandon him conscious as she was, that with-
out her restraining and purifying influence, "his latter
end would be worse than his first" ?
Was it not rather her duty all innocent though she
might judge herself of actual complicity in his crime
to seek to remedy its after influences, and to turn him
from his wickedness that he might live hereafter?
Should she shrink from this duty because it was re-
pugnant and painful to her? Should she allow a soul to
38* aD
45 ASKAROS KASSIS.
be lost, through her own weak, selfish scruples as to her
own personal comfort or happiness ?
No ! a thousand times no !
She would sacrifice herself all her own future happi-
ness to save this soul, staggering in the dark depths of
sin, and almost, though not entirely lost ; for gleams of
native nobleness and self-sacrifice irradiated its blackness
still !
Poor Daoud ! sorely had he been tried and tempted ;
terribly had he suffered foully had he been wronged
by the man whom he had finally slain ! And the motive
for which he had perilled life to perpetrate that dreadful
deed had not been low, or base, but one of the highest
and 'most unselfish which can animate our frail humanity
at least in a maiden's eyes.
So, sadly torn and tossed by conflicting doubts and
emotions, the maiden watched and waited for the Syrian's
return ; not quite decided how she would receive him, or
what course she would finally adopt, but reserving her
decision for the time of his return. Upon the impres-
sion that this interview his explanations and his man-
ner should have upon her, she must depend.
And so she contented herself.
But that explanation and that decision were never to
take place at least on this side of eternity ! For never
again was the face of Daoud -ben- Youssouf seen of men in
the city of Cairo ; and his name and his memory passed
away like a vapor that comes and vanishes into the void :
leaving no trace behind it, even as substantial as the rip-
ples left by a bubble broken on the water, ere it disap-
pears forever.
CHAPTER XLI.
THE SYRIAN'S REWARD.
BUT where was the Syrian, that he came not to claim
the reward for which he had risked life and soul ?
Where was he ?
Let us return to the Abassieh, on the night of the mur-
der of Abbas Pasha, and follow the footsteps of the
Mamelukes, who wrought the will of that fell woman who
sent them, knowing the choice was between his life and
her own.
No sooner had the two Mamelukes arranged the body
of their victim on the divan, so as to give it the appear-
ance of natural death, than they glided out of the room.
Through the silent and deserted passages of the hareem
apartments on to the postern gate that led to the outer
court, they passed swiftly and noiselessly.
There stood expectant the shadowy form of a veiled
woman, with whom the Circassian exchanged a few
words, showing her a signet-ring. The door immediate-
ly opened, and the same eunuch who had brought them
there appeared, and preceded them, without a word, to
the palace-gate. At a whisper from him, that too opened,
and the three passed out into the desert, beyond the bar-
452 ASKAROS KASSIS.
racks surrounding the palace. Here they found two fleet
dromedaries in charge of a Bedouin.
The eunuch mounting one of these, signed to the Mam-
elukes to mount the other, first giving each of them a
coarse Bedouin bournous, which concealed their glitter-
ing uniforms, and gave them the appearance of ordinary
Bedouins. He also enveloped himself in one of these,
and the three rapidly traversed the road toward Cairo,
without a single word having been uttered.
The night was clear and beautiful. Not a cloud ob-
scured the deep blue vault of heaven, in which the stars
shone, white and lustrous, like the silver lamps hung in
an azure dome. The moon was waning, but its silvery
sheen still illuminated earth and sky with a flood of mel-
low radiance, as though it designed its last lingering
glances to be its brightest, before withdrawing them from
the eyes of man.
Not a sight or sound disturbed the unbroken void and
stillness of the plain ; and the desert-ships as the drom-
edaries have been aptly termed traversed it at a pace
more swift than that of a race-horse. At length, striking
the city and entering the lower gate to pass direct toward
5oulak, the three traversed the silent and deserted streets
of Cairo through the Syrian quarter, and avoiding the
Ezbekieh and reached Boulak just about midnight.
Then stepping to the side of Daoud-ben-Youssouf, the
eunuch broke silence, for the first time, during the long
mysterious ride.
' ' I am charged by the Great Lady we all serve to
speak to thee these things," he said in Arabic. " Firstly,
that thou and thy companion will find her at Rhoda
Island, on the other side of the Nile not here. At
that place she will listen to the tale thou mayst have to
ASKAROS KASSIS. 453
tell. Next, that thou wilt find the boat to bear thee to
her palace where thy ring will admit thee at the
point thou knowest of amid the rushes, where tradition
tells that the infant Moussa was found by the daughter of
Thotmes in olden time.
"And finally, our mistress bids me charge thee, the
Circassian, to well remember her charge that when
thou didst return to her, thou shouldst do so alone .'
" The princess bids me recall to thee the verse of the
Persian poet ' That is a secret which two have in keep-
ing. Admit a third, and it is none ! ' Such are the words
of thy mistress and mine. Bakaloum ! ' '
A shudder passed through the frame of the Syrian at
the incentive to new crime, which lurked under the am-
biguous message he had just received. Its meaning he
could not doubt. He was ordered to remove the only
witness who might testify hereafter against the princess
and himself.
Was the labyrinth of crime into which he had entered,
to have no clue by which he could retrace his steps into
pure air, and into paths open to all men? Dare he dis-
obey the princess, and risk all he had perilled so much
to secure ?
How did he know but her power with the new Vice-
roy might be greater than with the old ? that she was not
the agent of Said Pasha, making him her tool in the act
which had opened the throne to him ; and that Daoud,
the instrument, was not now at the mercy of that pitiless
woman ? She bade him slay his accomplice might she
not afterward remove him, too, so that no witness should
be left?
Yet, were he to listen to these craven doubts and fly to
his own home, or to Syria what then? He would have
454 ASKAROS KASSIS.
stained his hands and his soul with blood to no purpose !
He would have committed an useless crime, and his re-
ward El Warda ! would be further from him than
ever ! more remote than yonder planet, Saturn, whose
dull red disk he saw dipping down to disappear behind
the horizon its last, lingering rays gleaming like blood
on the Nile.
No ; he would not turn back at this late hour ! He
would go on on ! and fulfil his Kismet, wherever it
might lead him !
Long as it has taken to record these doubts, they
passed with lightning-like rapidity through the brain of
the Syrian ; and but a few seconds after the eunuch had
spoken, the two Mamelukes had dismounted, bidden him
farewell, and taken the path alongside the river, lead-
ing to the crossing to Rhoda Island, with its marble
palace gleaming ghost-like in the distance under the
white rays of the moon.
The Georgian went in advance along the narrow path,
the shrubberies of which grew denser as they proceeded ;
the Circassian following a few steps behind him. In the
busy brain of the latter were fermenting a chaos of
thoughts and passions, little suspected by his companion ;
and chief among them loomed the necessity of execut-
ing the order given him which he shuddered to obey,
yet dared not disobey if he were to face the impla-
cable princess.
Twice with the stealthy, gliding step of the panther
he pressed close upon the footsteps of his unsuspect-
ing companion, loosened his long, keen dagger in its
sheath, and prepared to strike him a mortal blow !
Twice his heart failed him ; a numb, cold sickness
crept over brow, heart, and brain. He could not strike !
ASKAROS KASSIS. 455
And the steel, innocent of blood, stole back to its scab-
bard.
So they wended their painful way, the path growing
narrower still, and the jungle thicker ; until the Georgian
at length turned his head, and with a laugh announced
th'at a few steps more would bring them out of the thicket,
on to the river-bank, where they would find the boat
among the rushes.
As the other spoke, the necessity for prompt action
forced itself on the Syrian. Now he must decide !
must either finish the work assigned him, claim and re-
ceive his reward from the princess ; or turn back with
the Georgian, seek safety in flight from the country, and
relinquish the prize for which he had perilled so much !
For he never dreamt he could remain in Egypt far
less claim that reward after disobeying the last orders
of the she-devil, who seemed to have bought him, body
and soul !
Then arose before his distracted vision the image of
El Warda, pure, bright, and lovely even as he had last
beheld her, stretching out her hand and beckoning him
into an earthly paradise even as the Houris beckon to
the Faithful after death.
That vision, sent by the evil spirit Ahriman, turned
the wavering balance. A mist seemed to pass before the
eyes of Daoud, a fierce thrill of wrath and hatred shot
through his heart.
"Shall I lose her for him?" he hissed through his
clinched teeth "after all! and so near fulfilment?
No ! not though I swim through blood ! "
Crouching as the tiger crouches, he bounded forward
upon his late friend now his foe. The keen, bright
steel glistened in the moonlight over his unconscious
456 ASKAROS KASSIS.
head, descended over his left shoulder, and, driven by
the force of madness, penetrated his heart !
The Georgian fell upon his face the crimson tide
gushing from his lips ere they could syllable a sound
dead ere he felt the felon blow, that dismissed his soul
from Time to Eternity !
Daoud paused not longer to survey the victim of his
treachery, than to pluck his dagger from the wound.
Then raising the body with difficulty in his arms, he
dragged it to the river's bank, and hurled it into the tur-
bid waters racing with a hoarse murmur down toward
the sea ; for the current set in near the bank on which he
stood.
Then by a sudden impulse, throwing himself wildly on
his knees, with the tears streaming from his eyes, the un-
happy man burst into an incoherent rhapsody of remorse,
prayer and supplication to the Virgin Mary, that she
might cleanse and purify his soul from this, as from pre-
vious sins ; vowing that he would devote the rest of his
life to her service to works of kindness and of charity;
beseeching her not so much for his own sinful sake, as
for that of her vestal virgin, El Warda, whom he would
henceforth make the guide and guardian of his life ;
pleading for pardon on the bank of that lone river, with
all the fervor and earnestness of a criminal to an earthly
judge, sitting in judgment on him.
When he had finished his prayer heard, perhaps at
that higher bar, but to which no answer was vouchsafed
by sign or portent, to his excited senses the Syrian
rose, wiped carefully all signs of blood from his dagger,
which he again stuck into his sash, and descending the
bank, again peered anxiously into the rushes for the bark
ASKAROS KASSIS. 457
which was to bear him across to Rhoda Island to see the
Princess Nezle Khanum.
At length he found it ; a small boat like a caique, very
frail and slight, with two slender oars. The river was
at low water, yet the current was very strong still, and
dangerous to be upset in, from the undertow which was
apt to drown any one who sunk in its tide, however good
a swimmer.
The Syrian, however, was intent on other things, and
eager to finish the interview with the princess, on which
so much depended. He took but little heed of the skiff,
but launched it into the stream, seized the oars and pulled
rapidly away from shore. Scarcely had he reached the
strong current, however, when he was surprised to find
the water rising round his ankles in the bottom of the
boat, which had been dry when he got into it. His sub-
tle mind immediately suspected treachery; and a minute's
investigation showed the trap set for him by the princess,
whose cunning had devised the means of removing the
sole surviving witness of the tragedy planned by her,
although she took no part in it.
With that conviction rose in the Syrian's mind all the
hatred and all the courage of which his late thoughts had
robbed him. He would baffle this wicked woman yet ;
save himself and secure from El Warda herself without
the intervention of another the performance of her
promise ! He turned the rapidly sinking boat back
toward the shore he had left ; allowing it to float down-
ward with the current and inclining it gradually toward
the bank, that he might swim ashore at a point lower
down than he had launched it, and escape the possible
watch of the people of the princess.
When at last the boat settled down, the Syrian, plung-
39
ASKAROS KASSIS.
ing into the stream and keeping his head well above it,
struck out for the shore at a point where he saw it shelv-
ing down to the water's edge, fringed with long rushes.
Strong as the current was, he breasted it successfully, and
was reaching shoal water with a heart full of good re-
solves and thankfulness for his preservation, and rebound-
ing from his late despair when suddenly he saw, to his
surprise, a dark object resembling an old log floating
from the muddy bank toward him.
As there was no current from the shore, this struck him
as strange ; but his surprise was changed into horror
when the object approached nearer, disclosing to his
gaze, under the bright moonlight, the scaly back and un-
shapely bulk of the crocodile ! most dreaded of all the
tenants of that slimy flood, though but rarely seen so low
down the river.
As the monster moved through the water, with a move-
ment indicating the vast propulsive power in its short
forearms and muscular tail lashing the river into foam
as it forged onward Daoud could distinguish its sharp
snout elevated above the flood, and the small, glittering,
serpent-like eyes it fixed on its destined prey.
Each second brought the fell monster nearer the man ;
while the huge jaws would occasionally open display-
ing the sharp double row of glistening teeth which armed
them then close again with a snap like the music of
castanets, resounding through the stillness.
Imminent and deadly was the peril, as Daoud well
knew; but he lost not heart nor hope. His nerves,
steeled to danger in its most fearful shape during his re-
cent trials, did not fail him now. But he felt a deadly
sickness of heart, for an instant at the new and hideous
form of peril, thus suddenly confronting him at the very
ASKAROS K ASS IS. 459
moment of his fancied escape from all his danger ; just
when he was making his good resolves for a tranquil
future.
Never before had he encountered this dread monster :
but he knew its nature and its habits well ; for he had
often heard the Arabs of the Upper Nile tell of their en-
counters with, and victories over it: and he therefore un-
derstood which way the path of safety lay.
He allowed the greedy monster to approach within two
lengths of him simply floating himself on the surface
of the water, with a wary eye fixed on every movement
of his adversary. Flight he knew would be speedy and
certain death. He waited till he could see the very twin-
kle of its hungry eye then dived down into the flood,
his dagger bare in his right hand !
The moment after, the huge bulk of the crocodile
seemed convulsed with a sudden pang, as it abruptly twist-
ed itself round "lashing the water into foam with its
terrible tail, and snapping its jaws fiercely together, while
its snaky eye emitted sparks of fire !
Then it sullenly sunk under the water too ; and the
calm moonlight shone on the rippling river, showing no
form of man nor reptile on its agitated surface. But the
water where the crocodile had sunk was discolored with
a dark red stain, which showed the Syrian's dagger had
found a vulnerable spot.
He had dived beneath the scaly armor which protected
it from above, and struck an upward blow.
Next moment the man rose again to the surface, twenty
yards further down stream, and struck out vigorously for
the shore : but the current seized and bore him down
still further. And on it, floated in pursuit his wounded,
but not disabled enemy fiercer and more savage from
460 ASKAROS KASSIS.
its injury, and displaying now those vast energies hidden
under its cumbrous and mail-clad carcass.
Thrice when on the very eve of being seized and
crushed between those mighty jaws which vainly snap-
ped together like the huge portcullis of some feudal
castle did the Syrian narrowly escape destruction by
suddenly diving down ! And thrice did he stab with his
keen poniard into the unprotected flesh of his foe, under its
forearm ; while deeper grew the tinge of the waters, as
the red stream gushed out, though the great vital ener-
gies of the amphibium still sustained it under the deep
wounds of its desperate antagonist whose human intel-
ligence, craft, and courage waged war against its superior
strength.
At length it seemed human intellect, when backed by
courage, was destined to conquer brute force even in
a conflict so apparently unequal as this, for, after the
third plunge, the huge scaly bulk seemed to float almost
helplessly upon the water ; while the river ran red with
the life-tide ebbing from its ghastly wounds, and the dim
eye shone no more with hungry hate, but had an almost
human expression of agony and despair lurking in its
filmy and glazing orbs.
The crocodile was evidently well-nigh struggling in its
death-throes, and the mighty frame seemed contracted
and convulsed with the near approach of the final spasm.
The man was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, panting, worn, exhausted, but still unwound-
ed, Daoud, the dagger in his right hand, rose again to
the surface ; but unhappily within a yard of the drifting
body of the almost vanquished monster.
The scaly thing saw him ! and with a mighty effort of
expiring energy, struck out wildly with his strong tail.
ASKAROS KASSIS. 461
It fell, like a flail, on the head of the Syrian, stretching
him senseless and powerless beside his enemy ! The next
moment the dying crocodile twisted its body round,
opened its mighty jaws with a final and convulsive effort
and when they closed again, within them was the writh-
ing body of the Syrian ; caught as in some huge trap,
which crushed bone, muscle, sinew, and flesh into one
undistinguishable mass !
And locked tight in the death-spasm those jaws never
unclosed again !
But the scaly bulk of the crocodile, bearing in its dead
jaws the corpse of its destroyer, floated down the rapid
curfent of the Nile, under the still moonlight, to the open
sea ; which was to retain the relics of both, until the hour
shall come, when that sea shall give up its dead.
And so although endowed with the craft and the
courage which could cope successfully with the Great
Ones of the earth could punish princes, and defy both
heaven and hell to thwart his designs perished Daoud-
ben-Youssouf ; his only tomb the jaws of a hideous rep-
tile his only reward at last a fearful retribution.
His fate was never known. The silent river, the twink-
ling stars, and the solemn sea, which alone knew, kept
their secret; and the bright eyes of El Warda grew dim
watching and waiting whether in fear or in hope, she
herself finally could not tell fn vain for his return.
As the weeks glided into months, and the months
rolled into years, that hope or fear, whichever it might
be, faded away from the maiden's heart ; and she felt
herself absolved from the rash vow she had made to the
lost man ; more utterly lost to human sight and to the
39*
462 ASKAROS K ASS IS.
memory of all save one than ever was mortal man
before !
Yet that One did not forget the Syrian her brother
that had been, her spouse that might have been whose
mysterious disappearance had softened down the harsh
judgment she had formed of him, when she thought he
would return and claim her promise.
Morning and night, for many, many long and weary
years, did heartfelt prayers go up to the Throne of
Grace from the holy lips of a Coptish nun, for the re-
pose of the soul of Daoud-ben-Youssouf, who had found
sinner as he was, and stained with crime a shrine in
one pure and devoted heart, whose orisons for him may
finally have been heard at the Great Mercy Seat.
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Night and Morning 2 vols.
Lucretia 2 vols.
A Strange Story 2 vols.
purposes. . . . Book-buyers will do well
to purchase this edition for their libraries."
Pittsburg Gazette.
" Every gentleman who desires to build
up a complete library must have this edi-
tion of Bulwer." Columbus Journal.
PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT S- CO.
Tricotrin. The Story of a Waif and Stray. By
OUIDA, author of " Under Two Flags," &c. With Portrait of the
Author from an Engraving on Steel. I2mo. Cloth, $2.
" The story is full of vivacity and of j " The book abounds in beautiful senti-
thrilling interest '" Pittsburg Gazette. ments, expressed in a concentrated, com-
" Tricotrin is a work of absolute power,
some truth and deep interest." A". Y.
Day Book.
pact style which cannot fail to be attractive,
and will be read with pleasure in every
household." San Francisco Times.
Granville de Vigne; or, Held in Bondage. A
Tale of the Day. By OUIDA, author of " Idalia," " Tricotrin," &c.
12010. Cloth, $2.
" This is one of the most powerful and
spicy works of fiction which the present
century, so prolific in light literature, has
produced."
Strathmorc; or, Wrought by His Oivn Hand.
Novel. By OUIDA, author of " Granville de Vigne," &c. i:
Cloth, $2.
" It is romance of the intense school,
but it is written with more power, fluency
and brilliancy than the works of Miss
Braddon and Mrs. Wood, while its scene
and characters are taken from high life.'
Boston Transcript.
Chandos. A Novel. By Ouida, author of "Strath-
more," "Idalia," &c. I2mo. Cloth, $2.
'Those who have read these two last- what exaggerated portraiture of scenes and
named brilliant works of fiction (Granville
de Vigne and Strathmore) will be sure to
read Cliandos. It is characterized by the
same gorgeous coloring of style and some-
Idalia. A Novel. By Ouida, author of "Strath-
more," " Tricotrin," &c. I2mo. Cloth, $2.
" It is a story of love and hatred, of
affection and jealousy, of intrigue and de-
votion. . . . We think this novel will at-
tain a wide popularity, especially among
characters, but it is a story of surpassing
power and interest." Pittsburg Evening
Chronicle.
those whose refined taste enables them to
appreciate and enjoy what is truly beau-
tiful in literature." Albany Evening
Journal.
Under Two Flags. A Story of the Household
and the Desert. By OUIDA, author of "Tricotrin," "Granville de
Vigne," &c. I2mo. Cloth, $2.
" No one will be able to resist its fasci-
nation who once begins its perusal.''
Philada. Evening Bulletin.
" This is probably the most popular work
of Ouida. It is enough of itself to estab-
lish her fame as one of the most eloquent
and graphic writers of fiction now living."
Chicago "Journal of Commerce.
Ouidas Novelettes. First Series, Cecil Castlc-
maine's Gage. Second Series, Randolph Gordon. Third Series
Beatrice Boville. Each of these volumes contains a selection of
"OuiDA's" Popular Tales and Stories. I2mo. Cloth, each $1.75.
The many works already in print by of pleasing narratives and_adventures alive
this versatile authoress have established
her reputation as a novelist, and these
short stories contrif iite largely to the stock
to the memory of all who are given to
romance and fiction.'' A'. Haven Jour.
PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT &= CO.
The Old Mam'selle's Secret. After the German
of E. Marlitt, author of "Gold Elsie," "Countess Gisela," &c.
By MRS. A. L. WISTER. Sixth edition. 121110. Cloth, $1.75.
"A more charming story, and one which,
having once commenced, it seemed more
difficult to leave, we have not met with for
many a day.'' The Round Table.
"Is one of the most intense, concentrated,
compact novels of the day. . . . And the
work has the minute fidelity of the author
of ' The Initials,' the dramatic unity of
Reade, and the graphic power of George
Elliot." Columbus (O.) Journal.
"Appears to be one of the most interest-
ing stories that we have had from Europe
for many a day." Boston Traveler.
Gold Elsie. From the German of E. Marlitt,
author of the " Old Mam'selle's Secret," " Countess Gisela," &c.
By MRS. A. L. WISTER. Fifth edition. I2mo. Cloth, $1.75.
" A charming story charmingly told.
Baltimore Gazette.
"A charming book. It absorbs your
attention from the title-page to the end."
The Home Circle.
Countess Gisela. From the German of E. Mur-
litt, author of "The Old Mam'selle's Secret," "Gold Elsie,"
" Over Yonder," &c. By MRS. A. L. WISTER. Third Edition.
I2mo. Cloth, $1.75.
" There is more dramatic power in this
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author that we have read." N.O. Times.
" It is a story that arouses the interest
of the reader from the outset." Pittsburg
Gazette.
"The best work by this author. '
Philada. Telegraph.
Over Yonder. From the German of E. Marlitt,
author of " Countess Gisela," " Gold Elsie," &c. Third edition.
With a full-page Illustration. 8vo. Paper cover, 30 cts.
"'Over Yonder' is a charming novel-
ette. The admirers of ' Old Mam'selle's
Secret' will give it a glad reception, while
those who are ignorant of the merits of
i pli
troduction to the works of a gifted writer."
Daily Sentinel.
Three Thousand Miles through the Rocky Moun-
tains. By A. K. McCLURE. Illustrated. I2mo. Tinted paper.
Extra cloth, $2.
" Those wishing to post themselves on
the subject of that magnificent and ex-
traordinary Rocky Mountain dominion
should read the Colonel's book." New
York Tunes.
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factory itineraries that has been given to
us from this region, and must be read
with both pleasure and profit."- Philada.
North A merican.
' We have never seen a book of Western
travels which so thoroughly and completely
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agreeable and charming style." Bradford
Reporter.
" The letters contain many incidents of
Indian life and adventures of travel which
impart novel charms to them." Chicagt
Evening Journal.
" The book is full of useful information.'
New York Independent.
" Let him who would have some propel
conception of the limitless material rich-
ness of the Rocky Mountain region, read
this book." Charleston (S. C.) Courier.
PUB LIC A TIONS OF J. B. LIPPTNCOTT dr CO.
Agnes Wentworth. A Novel. By E. Fox ton,
author of " Herman," and " Sir Pavon and St. Pavon." tamo.
Tinted paper. Extra cloth, $1.50.
" This is a very interesting and well-told age of most of the novels issuing from the
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presented in terse and vigorous words. . . .
It is high-toned and much above the aver-
rg Gazette.
"A novel which has the merit of being
written in graceful and clear style, while
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Siena. A Poem. By A. C. Swinburne. \_Repub-
lished from Lippincotfs Magazine.} With Notes. i6mo. Tinted
paper. Paper covers, 25 cts.
"Is polished with great care, and is by "One of the most elaborate as wef. as
far the best composition we can recall from the most unexceptionable of his produc-
Swinburne's pen, in more than one of its tions." N. Y. Evening Post.
effects." Philada. North American.
Recollections of Persons and Places in the West.
By H. M. BRACKENRIDGE, a native of the West ; Traveler, Author,
Jurist. New edition, enlarged. I2mo. Toned paper. Fine cloth, $2.
"A very pleasant book it is, describing,
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'The West' of this country half a century
ago." Philada. Press.
"The writer of these 'Recollections'
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ingly full of interesting facts and anec-
dotes respecting a period of Western his-
tory, which, when the rapid growth of the
country is considered, may almost be called
Pre-Adamite." Boston Evening Tran-
script.
Infelicia. A Volume of Poems. By Adah Isaacs
MENKEN. i6mo. Toned paper. Neat cloth, $i. Paper cover,
75 cts. With Portrait of Author, and Letter of Mr. Charles
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with the living author's form, and it serves
to drape the unhappy life with the mantle
of a proper human charity. For herein
are visible the vague Teachings after and
reminiscences of higher things." Cin-
cinnati Evening Chronicle.
" Some of the poems are forcible, others
are graceful and tender, but all are per-
vaded by a spirit of sadness." Washing-
ton Evening' Star.
"The volume :s interesting, as reveal-
ing a something that lay beyond the vul-
gar eyes that took the liberty of license
Dallas Galbraith, A Novel. By Mrs. R. Hard-
ING DAVIS, author of "Waiting for the Verdict," "Margaret
Howth," " Life in the Iron Mills," &c. 8vo. Fine cloth, $2.
" One of the best novels ever written for
an American magazine." Philada. Morn-
ing Post. ^
"The story is most happily written in
al! respects." The North American.
"As a specimen of her wonderful in-
tensity and passionate sympathies, this
gustained and wholly noble romance is
equal or superior to any previous achieve
ment." Philada. Evening Bulletin.
" We therefore seize the opportunity to
say that this is a story of unusual power,
opening so as to awaken interest, and
maintaining the interest to the end."
The National Baptist.
PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT &> CO.
Beatrice. A Poem. By Hon. Roden Noel.
Square i6mo. Tinted paper. Extra cloth, gilt top, jj>i.
" It is impossible to read the poem
through without being powerfully moved.
There are passages in it which for in-
tensity and tenderness, clear and vivid
vision, spontaneous and delicate sympathy,
may be compared with the best efforts of
our best living writers." London Spec-
tator.
" Mr. Noel has a fruitful imagination,
and such a thorough command of language
as to link the heart and tongue in that
union from which only true poesy is born."
N. O. Times.
" Mr. Noel has no rival. He sings with
fairy-like and subtle power." London
A thenteum.
Breaking a Butterfly; or, Blanche Eller site's
Ending. A Novel. By the author of " Guy Livingstone," &c.
Author's Edition. With Illustrations. I2mo. Extra cloth, $1.50.
Paper cover, 50 cts.
" It is a charming story of English life,
and marked by the well-known character-
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dominant." Buffalo Express.
" It is intensely interesting, full of life
and spirit, and throughout is written in the
gifted author's most captivating vein."
Philada. Age.
" It is a story which every one will find
interesting ; and it is written with an easy
grace indicative of good taste and large ex-
perience." Albany Journal.
The Voice in Singing 1 . From the German of
Emma Seller. Third edition. I2mo. Tinted paper. Extra
cloth, $1.50.
<; We would earnestly advise all inter-
ested in any way in the vocal organs to
read and thoroughly digest this remarkable
work." -Boston Musical Times.
" It is meeting with the favor of all our
authorities, and is a very valuable work.
To any one engaged in teaching cultivation
of the voice, or making singing a study, it
will prove an efficient assistant. " Loomis' 1
Musical Journal.
" This remarkable book is of special
interest to teachers and scholars of vocal
music. It is, however, of value to that
much larger number of persons who love
music for its own sake. Here, almost for
the first time in English, and certainly for
the first lime in an American book, we
have a satisfactory explanation of the phy-
siology and aesthetics of the art divine.''
Philada. North American.
Abraham Page, Esq. Life and Opinions of
Abraham Page, Esq. I2rao. Tinted paper. Fine cloth, $1.50.
" It is really refreshing, in these days of j of a gentleman, and the grace and culture
sensational stuff, to fall upon a book like j of a scholar." Baltimore Leader.
this, written with the easy, well-bred air ,
What I Know about Ben Eccles. A Novel. By
ABRAHAM PAGE, author of "The Life and Opinions of Abraham
Page, Esq." I2mo. Cloth, $1.50.
" Quite a pathetic story, which, without sational, will enchain the attention to the
being at all of the kind denominated sen- very close." Pittsburg Ev. Journal.