CHAPTER XIV
DREAMS AND VISIONS
Mahommed sat awhile in deep abstraction, his face flushed, his handsworking nervously in their own clasp. The subject possessing him wasvery pleasurable. How could it be else?
On his side the Prince waited deferentially, but very observant. He wasconfident of the impression made; he even thought he could follow theyoung Turk's reflections point by point; still it was wisest to let himalone, for the cooling time of the sober second thought would come, andthen how much better if there were room for him to believe the decisionhis own.
"It is very well, Prince," Mahommed said, finally, struggling to keepdown every sign of excitement. "I had accounts of you from Mirza theEmir, and it is the truth, which neither of us will be the worse ofknowing, that I see nothing of disagreement in what he told me, and inwhat you now tell me of yourself. The conceptions I formed of you arejustified: you are learned and of great experience; you are a good mangiven to charity as the Prophet has ordered, and a believer in God. Atvarious times in the world's history, if we may trust the writers,great men have had their greatness foretold them; now if I think myselfin the way of addition to the list of those so fortunate, it is becauseI put faith in you as in a friendly Prophet."
At this the Prince threw up both hands.
"Friendly am I, my lord, more than friendly, but not a Prophet. I amonly a Messenger, an Interpreter of the Superior Powers."
Much he feared the demands upon him if he permitted the impression thathe was a Prophet to go uncontradicted; as an astrologer, he could inneed thrust the stars between him and the unreasonable. And hisjudgment was quickly affirmed.
"As you will, O Prince," said Mahommed. "Messenger, interpreter,prophet, whichever pleases you, the burden of what you bring me isnevertheless of chiefest account. Comes a herald, we survey him, andask voucher for his pretensions; are we satisfied with them, why thenhe gives place in our interest, and becomes secondary to the matter hebears. Is it not so?"
"It is righteously said, my Lord."
"And when I take up this which you have brought me"--Mahommed laid ahand upon his throat as if in aid of the effort he was making to keepcalm and talk with dignity--"I cannot deny its power; for when wasthere an imaginative young man who first permitted ambition and love ofglory to build golden palaces for their abiding in his heart, withself-control to stop his ears to promises apparently from Heaven? OPrince, if you are indeed my friend, you will not laugh at me when youare alone!... Moreover I would not you should believe your tidingsreceived carelessly or as a morsel sweet on my tongue; but as winewarms to the blood coursing to the brain, it has started inquiries andanxieties you alone can allay. And first, the great glory whose runningis to fill the East, like an unsetting sun, tell me of it; for, as weall know, glory is of various kinds; there is one kind reserved forpoets, orators, and professors cunning in the arts, and another forcheer of such as find delight in swords and bossy shields, and armorwell bedight, and in horses, and who exult in battle, and in settingarmies afield, in changing boundary lines, and in taking rest andgiving respite in the citadels of towns happily assaulted. And as ofthese the regard is various, tell me the kind mine is to be."
"The stars speak not doubtfully, my Lord. When Mars rises ascendant ineither of his Houses, they that moment born are devoted to war, and,have they their bent, they shall be soldiers; nor soldiers merely, butas the conjunctions are good, conquerors, and fortunate, and Samael,his angel, becomes their angel. Has my Lord ever seen his nativity?"
"Yes."
"Then he knows whereof I speak."
Mahommed nodded affirmatively, and said, "The fame is to my taste,doubt not; but, Prince, were thy words duly weighed, then my glory isto be surpassing. Now, I am of a line of heroes. Othman, the founder;Orchan, father of the Janissaries; Solyman, who accepted the crescentmoon seen in a dream by the sea at Cyzicus as Allah's bidding to passthe Hellespont to Tzympe in Europe; Amurath, conqueror of Adrianople;Bajazet, who put an end to Christian crusading in the field ofNicopolis--these filled the East with their separate renowns; and myfather Amurath, did he not subdue Hunyades? Yet, Prince, you tell me myglory is to transcend theirs. Now--because I am ready to believeyou--say if it is to burst upon me suddenly or to signalize a longcareer. The enjoyment of immortality won in youth must be a pleasantthing."
"I cannot answer, my Lord"
"Cannot?"
And Mahommed's eagerness came near getting the better of his will.
"I have nothing from the stars by which to speak, and I dare not assumeto reply for myself."
Then Mahommed's eyes became severely bright, and the bones of his handsshone white through the skin, so hard did he compress them.
"How long am I to wait before the glory you promise me ripens ready forgathering? If it requires long campaigns, shall I summon the armiesnow?"
A tone, a stress of voice in the question sent a shiver through thePrince despite his self-command. His gaze upon Mahommed's countenance,already settled, intensified, and almost before the last word passed hesaw the idea he was expected to satisfy, and that it was the point towhich his interrogator had been really tending from the commencement ofthe interview. To gain a moment, he affected not to clearly understand;after a repetition, he in turn asked, with a meaning look:
"Is not thy father, O Prince, now in his eighty-fifth year?"
Mahommed leaned further forward.
"And is it not eight and twenty years since he began reigning wiselyand well?"
Mahommed nodded assent.
"Suffer me to answer now. Besides his age which pleads for him, yourfather has not allowed greatness and power to shade the love he gaveyou heartily the hour he first took you in his arms. Nature protestsagainst his cutting off, and in this instance, O Prince, the voice ofNature is the voice of Allah. So say I speaking for myself."
Mahommed's face relaxed its hardness, and he moved and breathed freelywhile replying: "I do not know what the influences require of me."
"Speak you of the stars, my Lord," the other returned, "hear me, andwith distinctness. As yet they have intrusted me with the oneprediction, and that you have. In other words, they are committed to ahoroscope based upon your nativity, and from it your glory has beenrightly delivered. So much is permitted us by the astrologic law wepractise. But this now asked me, a circumstance in especial, appertainsto you as chief of forces not yet yours. Wherefore--heed well, myLord--I advise you to make note of the minute of the hour of the dayyou gird yourself with the sword of sovereignty which, at thisspeaking, is your great father's by sanction of Heaven; then will Icast a horoscope for Mahommed the Sultan, not Mahommed, son of Amurathmerely--then, by virtue of my office of Interpreter of the Stars,having the proper writing in my hand, I will tell you this you nowseek, together with all else pertaining to your sovereignty intrustedme for communication. I will tell you when the glory is open to you,and the time for setting forward to make it yours--even the dawning ofthe term of preparation necessarily precedent to the movement itself.Now am I understood? Will my Lord tell me I am understood?"
An observation here may not be amiss. The reader will of course noticethe clever obtrusion of the stars in the speech; yet its real craft wasin the reservations covered. Presuming it possible for the Prince tohave fixed a time to Mahommed's satisfaction, telling it would havebeen like giving away the meat of an apple, and retaining the rind. Thewise man who sets out to make himself a need to another will carefullyhusband his capital. Moreover it is of importance to keep in mindthrough this period of our story that with the Prince of Indiaeverything was subsidiary to his scheme of unity in God. To which endit was not enough to be a need to Mahommed; he must also bring theyoung potentate to wait upon him for the signal to begin the movementagainst Constantinople; for such in simplicity was the design scarcelyconcealed under the glozing of "the East against the West." That is tosay, until he knew Constantine's disposition with respect to thesuperlative project, his policy was delay. What, in illustration, ifth
e Emperor proved a friend? In falconry the hawk is carried into thefield hooded, and cast off only when the game is flushed. So the Princeof India thought as he concluded his speech, and looked at the handsomeface of the Lord Mahommed.
The latter was disappointed, and showed it. He averted his eyes, knithis brows, and took a little time before answering; then a flash ofpassion seized him.
"With all thy wisdom, Prince, thou knowest not how hard waiting willbe. There is nothing in Nature sweeter than glory, and on the otherhand nothing so intolerably bitter as hungering for it when it is inopen prospect. What irony in the providence which permits us to harvestgreatness in the days of our decline! I dream of it for my youth, forthen most can be made of it. There was a Greek--not of the Byzantinebreed in the imperial kennel yonder"--he emphasized the negative with acontemptuous glance in the direction of Constantinople--"a Greek of theold time of real heroes, he who has the first place in history as aconqueror. Think you he was happy because he owned the world? Delightin property merely, a horse, a palace, a ship, a kingdom, is vulgar:any man can be owner of something; the beggar polishes his crutch forthe same reason the king gilds his throne--it belongs to him.Possession means satiety. But achieve thou immortality in thy firstmanhood, and it shall remain to thee as the ring to a bride or as hisbride to the bridegroom.--Let it be as you say. I bow to the stars.Between me and the sovereignty my father stands, a good man to whom Igive love for love; and he shall not be disturbed by me or any of mine.In so far I will honor your advice; and in the other matter also, thereshall be one ready to note the minute of the hour the succession fallsto me. But what if then you are absent?"
"A word from my Lord will bring me to him; and His Majesty is liable togo after his fathers at any moment"--
"Ay, and alas!" Mahommed interposed, with unaffected sorrow, "a kingmay keep his boundaries clean, and even extend them thitherward fromthe centre, and be a fear unto men; yet shall death oblige him at last.All is from God."
The Prince was courtier enough to respect the feeling evinced.
"But I interrupted you," Mahommed presently added. "I pray pardon."
"I was about to say, my Lord, if I am not with you when His Majesty,your father, bows to the final call--for the entertainment of such wasParadise set upon its high hill!--let a messenger seek me inConstantinople; and it may even serve well if the Governor of thisCastle be instructed to keep his gates always open to me, and himselfobedient to my requests."
"A good suggestion! I will attend to it. But"--
Again he lapsed into abstraction, and the Prince held his peacewatchfully.
"Prince," Mahommed said at length, "it is not often I put myself atanother's bidding, for freedom to go where one pleases is not more to acommon man than is freedom to do what pleases him to a sovereign; yetso will I with you in this matter; and as is the custom of Moslemssetting out on a voyage I say of our venture, 'In the name of God beits courses and its moorings.' That settled, hearken further. What youhave given me is not all comprehensible. As I understand you, I am tofind the surpassing glory in a field of war. Tell me, lies the fieldfar or near? Where is it? And who is he I am to challenge? There willbe room and occasion for combat around me everywhere, or, if theoccasion exist not, my Spahis in a day's ride can make one. There isnothing stranger than how small a cause suffices us to set man againstman, life or death. But--and now I come to the very difficulty--lookinghere and there I cannot see a war new in any respect, either ofparties, or objects, or pretence, out of which such a prodigious fameis to be plucked. You discern the darkness in which I am groping.Light, O Prince--give me light!"
For an instant the mind of the Jew, sown with subtlety as a mine withfine ore, was stirred with admiration of the quality so strikinglymanifested in this demand; but collecting himself, he said, calmly, forthe question had been foreseen:
"My Lord was pleased to say a short while ago that the Emir Mirza, onhis return from the Hajj, told him of me. Did Mirza tell also of myforbidding him to say anything of the predictions I then intrusted him?"
"Yes," Mahommed answered, smiling, "and I have loved him for thedisobedience. He satisfied me to whom he thought his duty was firstowing."
"Well, if evil ensue from the disclosure, it may be justly charged tomy indiscretion. Let it pass--only, in reporting me, did not Mirza say,Lord Mahommed, that the prohibition I laid upon him proceeded from aprudent regard for your interests?"
"Yes."
"And in speaking of the change in the status of the world I thenannounced, and of the refluent wave the East was to pour upon theWest"--
"And of the doom of Constantinople!" Mahommed cried, in a suddentransport of excitement.
"Ay, and of the hero thou wert to be, my Lord! Said he nothing of theother caution I gave him, how absolute verity could only be had by arecast of the horoscope at the city itself? And how I was even then onmy way thither?"
"Truly, O Prince. Mirza is a marvel!"
"Thanks, my Lord. The assurance prepares me to answer your last demand."
Then, lowering his voice, the Prince returned to his ordinary manner.
"The glory you are to look for will not depend upon conditions such asparties to the war, or its immediate cause, or the place of itswagement."
Mahommed listened with open mouth.
"My Lord knows of the dispute long in progress between the Pope of Romeand the Patriarch of Constantinople; one claiming to be the head of theChurch of Christ, the other insisting on his equality. The dispute, myLord also knows, has been carried from East to West, and back and backagain, prelate replying to prelate, until the whole Church is fallingto pieces, and on every Christian tongue the 'Church East' and the'Church West' are common as morning salutations."
Mahommed nodded.
"Now, my Lord," the Prince continued, the magnetic eyes intenselybright, "you and I know the capital of Christianity is yonder "--hepointed toward Constantinople--"and that conquering it is taking fromChrist and giving to Mahomet. What more of definition of thy glory wiltthou require? Thus early I salute thee a Sword of God."
Mahommed sprang from his couch, and strode the floor, frequentlyclapping his hands. Upon the passing of the ecstasy, he stopped infront of the Prince.
"I see it now--the feat of arms impossible to my father reserved forme."
Again he walked, clapping his hands.
"I pray your pardon," he said, when the fit was over. "In my great joyI interrupted you."
"I regret to try my Lord's patience further," the Prince answered, withadmirable diplomacy. "It were better, however, to take another step inthe explanation now. A few months after separating from Mirza in Mecca,I arrived in Constantinople, and every night since, the heavens beingclear, I have questioned the stars early and late. I cannot repeat tomy Lord all the inquiries I made of them, so many were they, and sovaried in form, nor the bases I laid hold of for horoscopes, eachhaving, as I hoped, to do with the date of the founding of the city.What calculations I have made--tables of figures to cover the sky witha tapestry of algebraic and geometrical symbols: The walks of astrologyare well known--I mean those legitimate--nevertheless in my greatanxiety, I have even ventured into the arcana of magic forbidden to theFaithful. The seven good angels, and the seven bad, beginning withJubanladace, first of the good, a celestial messenger, helmeted,sworded with flame, and otherwise beautiful to behold, and ending withBarman, the lowest of the bad, the consort and ally of witches--Ibesought them all for what they could tell me. Is the time of therunning of the city now, to-morrow, next week--when? Such the burden ofmy inquiry. As yet, my Lord, no answer has been given. I am merely bidkeep watch on the schism of the Church. In some way the end we hope hasconnection with that rancor, if, indeed, it be not the grand result.With clear discernment of the tendencies, the Roman Pontiff is strivingto lay the quarrel; but he speaks to a rising tide. We cannot hastenthe event; neither can he delay it. Our role is patience--patience. Atlast Europe will fall away, and leave the Greek to care of himself;then, my Lord, yo
u have but to be ready. The end is in the throes ofits beginning now."
"Still you leave me in the dark," Mahommed cried, with a frown.
"Nay, my Lord, there is a chance for us to make the stars speak."
The beguiler appeared to hesitate.
"A chance?" Mahommed asked.
"It is dependent, my Lord."
"Upon what?"
"The life of the Sultan, thy father."
"Speak not in riddles, O Prince."
"Upon his death, thou wilt enter on the sovereignty."
"Still I see not clearly."
"With the horoscope of Mahommed the Sultan in my hand, then certainlyas the stars perform their circuits, being set thereunto from the firstmorning, they must respond to me; and then, find I Mars in theAscendant, well dignified essentially and accidentally, I can lead myLord out of the darkness."
"Then, Prince?"
"He may see the Christian capital at his mercy."
"But if Mars be not in the Ascendant?"
"My Lord must wait."
Mahommed sprang to his feet, gnashing his teeth.
"My Lord," said the Prince, calmly, "a man's destiny is neverunalterable; it is like a pitcher filled with wine which he is carryingto his lips--it may be broken on the way, and its contents spilled.Such has often happened through impatience and pride. What is waitingbut the wise man's hour of preparation?"
The quiet manner helped the sound philosophy. Mahommed took seat,remarking, "You remind me, Prince, of the saying of the Koran,'Whatsoever good betideth thee, O man, it is from God, and whatsoeverevil betideth, from thyself is it.' I am satisfied. Only"--
The Prince summoned all his faculties again.
"Only I see two periods of waiting before me; one from this until Itake up the sovereignty; the other thence till thou bringest me themandate of the stars. I fear not the second period, for, as thousayest, I can then lose myself in making ready; but the first, themeantime--ah, Prince, speak of it. Tell me how I can find surcease ofthe chafing of my spirit."
The comprehension of the wily Hebrew did not fail him. His heart beatviolently. He was master! Once more he was in position to change theworld. A word though not more than "now," and he could marshal theEast, which he so loved, against the West, which he so hated. IfConstantinople failed him, Christianity must yield its seat to Islam.He saw it all flash-like; yet at no time in the interview did his facebetoken such placidity of feeling. The _meantime_ was his, notMahommed's--his to lengthen or shorten--his for preparation. He couldafford to be placid.
"There is much for my Lord to do," he said.
"When, O Prince--now?"
"It is for him to think and act as if Constantinople were his capitaltemporarily in possession of another."
The words caught attention, and it is hard saying what Mahommed'scountenance betokened. The reader must think of him as of a listenerjust awakened to a new idea of infinite personal concern.
"It is for him now to learn the city within and without," the Jewproceeded; "its streets and edifices; its halls and walls; its strongand weak places; its inhabitants, commerce, foreign relations; thecharacter of its ruler, his resources and policies; its daily events;its cliques and clubs, and religious factions; especially is it for himto foment the differences Latin and Greek."
It is questionable if any of the things imparted had been so effectiveupon Mahommed as this one. Not only did his last doubt of the mantalking disappear; it excited a boundless admiration for him, and thefreshest novitiate in human nature knows how almost impossible it is torefuse trust when once we have been brought to admire. "Oh!" Mahommedcried. "A pastime, a pastime, if I could be there!"
"Nay, my Lord," said the insidious counsellor, with a smile, "how dokings manage to be everywhere at the same time?"
"They have their Ambassadors. But I am not a king."
"Not yet a king"--the speaker laid stress upon theadverb--"nevertheless public representation is one thing; secret agencyanother."
Mahommed's voice sank almost to a whisper.
"Wilt thou accept this agency?"
"It is for me to observe the heavens at night, while calculations willtake my days. I trust my Lord in his wisdom will excuse me."
"Where is one for the service? Name him, Prince--one as good."
"There is one better. Bethink you, my Lord, the business is of a longtime; it may run through years."
Mahommed's brow knit darkly at the reminder.
"And he who undertakes it should enter Constantinople and live thereabove suspicion. He must be crafty, intelligent, courtly in manner,accomplished in arms, of high rank, and with means to carry his statebravely, for not only ought he to be conspicuous in the Hippodrome; heshould be welcome in the palace. Along with other facilities, he mustbe provided to buy service in the Emperor's bedroom and councilchamber--nay, at his elbow. It is of prime importance that he possessesmy Lord's confidence unalterably. Am I understood?"
"The man, Prince, the man!"
"My Lord has already named him."
"I?"
"Only to-night my Lord spoke of him as a marvel."
"Mirza!" exclaimed Mahommed, clapping his hands.
"Mirza," the Prince returned, and proceeded without pause: "Despatchhim to Italy; then let him appear in Constantinople, embarked from agalley, habited like a Roman, and with a suitable Italian title. Hespeaks Italian already, is fixed in his religion, and in knightlyhonor. Not all the gifts at the despot's disposal, nor theblandishments of society can shake his allegiance--he worships my Lord."
"My servant has found much favor with you, O Prince?"
Accepting the remark as a question, the other answered:
"Did I not spend the night with him at El Zaribah? Was I not witness ofhis trial of faith at the Holy Kaaba? Have I not heard from my Lordhimself how, when put to choice, he ignored my prohibition respectingthe stars?"
Mahommed arose, and again walked to and fro.
"There is a trouble in this proposal, Prince," he said, haltingabruptly. "So has Mirza become a part of me, I am scarcely myselfwithout him."
Another turn across the floor, and he seemed to become reconciled. "Letus have done for to-night," he next said. "The game is imperative, butit will not be harmed by a full discussion. Stay with me to-morrow,Prince."
The Prince remembered the Emperor. Not unlikely a message from thathigh personage was at his house, received in course of the day.
"True, very true, and the invitation is a great honor to me," hereplied, bowing; "but I am reminded that the gossips in Byzantium willfeast each other when to-morrow it passes from court to bazaar how thePrincess Irene and the Prince of India were driven by the storm toaccept hospitality in the White Castle. And if it get abroad, thatMahommed, son of the great Amurath, came also to the Castle, who mayforetell the suspicions to hatch in the city? No, my Lord, I submit itis better for me to depart with the Princess at the subsidence of thewaters."
"Be it so," Mahommed returned, cordially. "We understand each other. Iam to wait and you to communicate with me; and now, morning comesapace, good night."
He held his hand to the Jew; whereat the latter knelt and kissed thehand, but retained it to say:
"My Lord, if I know him rightly, will not sleep to-night; thought is anenemy to sleep; and besides the inspiration there is in the destinypromised, its achievement lies all before him. Yet I wish to leavebehind me one further topic, promising it is as much greater than anyother as the Heavens are higher than the earth."
"Rise, Prince," said Mahommed, helping him to his feet. "Suchceremonious salutation whether in reception or at departure may bedispensed with hereafter; thou art not a stranger, but more than aguest. I count thee my friend whom everything shall wait upon--evenmyself. Speak now of what thou callest the greater scheme. I am mostcurious."
There was a silence while one might count ten slowly. The Jew in thatspace concentrated the mysterious force of which he was master in greatstore, so it shone in his eyes, gave tone to his voice
, and was anoutgoing of WILL in overwhelming current. "Lord Mahommed," he said, "Iknow you are a believer in God."
The young Turk was conscious of a strange thrill passing through himfrom brain to body.
"In nature and every quality the God of the Jew, the Christian, and theMoslem is the same. Take we their own sayings. Christ and Mahomet werewitnesses sent to testify of Him first, highest and alone--Him theuniversal Father. Yet behold the perversity of man. God has beendeposed, and for ages believers in Him have been divided amongstthemselves; wherefore hate, jealousies, wars, battle and the smoke ofslaughter perpetually. But now is He at last minded to be restored.Hear, Lord Mahommed, hear with soul and mortal ear!"
The words and manner caught and exalted Mahommed's spirit. As Michael,with a sweep of his wings, is supposed to pass the nether depths, animpulsion bore the son of Amurath up to a higher and clearer plane. Hecould not but hear.
"Be it true now that God permits His presence to be known in humanaffairs only when He has a purpose to justify His interposition; then,as we dare not presume the capital of Christendom goes to its fallwithout His permission, why your designation for the mighty work? Thatyou may be personally glorified, my Lord? Look higher. See yourself Hischosen instrument--and this the deed! From the seat of the Caesars, itsconquest an argument, He means you to bring men together in His name.Titles may remain--Jew, Moslem, Christian, Buddhist--but there shall bean end of wars for religion--all mankind are to be brethren in Him.This the deed, my Lord--Unity in God, and from it, a miracle of theages slow to come but certain, the evolution of peace and goodwillamongst men. I leave the idea with you. Good night!"
Mahommed remained so impressed and confounded that the seer waspermitted to walk out as from an empty room. Mirza received him outsidethe door.