CHAPTER V.
_Lord Honain Rescues Alroy_
NOW our dreary way is over, now the desert's toil is past. Soon theriver broadly flowing, through its green and palmy banks, to ourwearied limbs shall offer baths 'which caliphs cannot buy. Allah-illah,Allah-hu. Allah-illah, Allah-hu.'
'Blessed the man who now may bear a relic from our Prophet's tomb;blessed the man who now unfolds the treasures of a distant mart,jewels of the dusky East, and silks of farthest Samarcand. Allah-illah,Allah-hu. Allah-illah, Allah-hu.'
'Him the sacred mosque shall greet with a reverence grave andlow; him the busy Bezestein shall welcome with confiding smile. Holymerchant, now receive the double triumph of thy toil. Allah-illah,Allah-hu. Allah-illah, Allah-hu.'
'The camel jibs, Abdallah! See, there is something in the track.'
'By the holy stone,[16] a dead man. Poor devil! One should never makea pilgrimage on foot. I hate your humble piety. Prick the beast and hewill pass the corpse.'
'The Prophet preaches charity, Abdallah. He has favoured my enterprise,and I will practise his precept. See if he be utterly dead.'
It was the Mecca caravan returning to Bagdad. The pilgrims were withina day's journey of the Euphrates, and welcomed their approach to fertileearth with a triumphant chorus. Far as the eye could reach, the longline of their straggling procession stretched across the wilderness,thousands of camels in strings, laden with bales of merchandise, andeach company headed by an animal of superior size, leading with tinklingbells; groups of horsemen, clusters of litters; all the pilgrimsarmed to their teeth, the van formed by a strong division of Seljukiancavalry, and the rear protected by a Kourdish clan, who guaranteed thesecurity of the pious travellers through their country.
Abdallah was the favourite slave of the charitable merchant Ali. Inobedience to his master's orders, he unwillingly descended from hiscamel, and examined the body of the apparently lifeless Alroy.
'A Kourd, by his dress,' exclaimed Abdallah, with a sneer; 'what does hehere?'
'It is not the face of a Kourd,' replied Ali; 'perchance a pilgrim fromthe mountains.'
'Whatever he be, he is dead,' answered the slave: 'I doubt not anaccursed Giaour.'
'God is great,' exclaimed Ali; 'he breathes; the breast of his caftanheaved.'
''Twas the wind,' said Abdallah.
''Twas the sigh of a human heart,' answered Ali.
Several pilgrims who were on foot now gathered around the group.
'I am a Hakim,'[17] observed a dignified Armenian. 'I will feel hispulse; 'tis dull, but it beats.'
'There is but one God,' exclaimed Ali.
'And Mahomed is his Prophet,' responded Abdallah. 'You do not believe inhim, you Armenian infidel.'
'I am a Hakim,' replied the dignified Armenian. 'Although an infidel,God has granted me skill to cure true believers. Worthy Ali, believe me,the boy may yet live.'
'Hakim, you shall count your own dirhems if he breathe in my divan inBagdad,' answered Ali; 'I have taken a fancy to the boy. God has senthim to me. He shall carry my slippers.'
'Give me a camel, and I will save his life.'
'We have none,' said the servant.
'Walk, Abdallah,' said the master.
'Is a true believer to walk to save the life of a Kourd? Masterslipper-bearer shall answer for this, if there be any sweetness in thebastinado,' murmured Abdallah.
The Armenian bled Alroy; the blood flowed slowly but surely. The Princeof the Captivity opened his eyes.
'There is but one God,' exclaimed Ali.
'The evil eye fall on him!' muttered Abdallah.
The Armenian took a cordial from his vest, and poured it down hispatient's throat. The blood flowed more freely.
'He will live, worthy merchant,' said the physician.
'And Mahomed is his Prophet,' continued Ali.
'By the stone of Mecca, I believe it is a Jew,' shouted Abdallah.
'The dog!' exclaimed Ali.
'Pah!' said a negro slave, drawing back with disgust.
'He will die,' said the Christian physician, not even binding up thevein.
'And be damned,' said Abdallah, again jumping on his camel.
The party rode on, the caravan proceeded. A Kourdish horseman gallopedforward. He curbed his steed as he passed Alroy bleeding to death.
'What accursed slave has wounded one of my clan?'
The Kourd leaped off his horse, stripped off a slip of his blue shirt,stanched the wound, and carried the unhappy Alroy to the rear.
The desert ceased, the caravan entered upon a vast but fruitful plain.In the extreme distance might be descried a long undulating line ofpalm-trees. The vanguard gave a shout, shook their tall lances in theair, and rattled their scimitars in rude chorus against their smallround iron shields. All eyes sparkled, all hands were raised, all voicessounded, save those that were breathless from overpowering joy. Aftermonths wandering in the sultry wilderness, they beheld the greatEuphrates.
Broad and fresh, magnificent and serene, the mighty waters rolledthrough the beautiful and fertile earth. A vital breeze rose from theirbosom. Every being responded to their genial influence. The sick werecured, the desponding became sanguine, the healthy and light-heartedbroke into shouts of laughter, jumped from their camels, and embracedthe fragrant earth, or, wild in their renovated strength, galloped overthe plain, and threw their wanton jerreeds in the air,[18] as if toshow that suffering and labour had not deprived them of that skill andstrength, without which it were vain again to enter the haunts of theirless adventurous brethren.
The caravan halted on the banks of the broad river, glowing in thecool sunset. The camp was pitched, the plain glittered with tents. Thecamels, falling on their knees, crouched in groups, the merchandisepiled up in masses by their sides. The unharnessed horses rushedneighing about the plain, tossing their glad heads, and rolling in theunaccustomed pasture. Spreading their mats, and kneeling towards Mecca,the pilgrims performed their evening orisons. Never was thanksgivingmore sincere. They arose: some rushed into the river, some lightedlamps, some pounded coffee.[19] Troops of smiling villagers arrived withfresh provisions, eager to prey upon such light hearts and heavy purses.It was one of those occasions when the accustomed gravity of the Orientdisappears. Long through the night the sounds of music and the shouts oflaughter were heard on the banks of that starry river; long through thenight you might have listened with enchantment to the wild tales of thestorier, or gazed with fascination on the wilder gestures of the dancinggirls.[20]
The great bazaar of Bagdad afforded an animated and sumptuous spectacleon the day after the arrival of the caravan. All the rare and costlyproducts of the world were collected in that celebrated mart: the shawlsof Cachemire and the silks of Syria, the ivory, and plumes, and goldof Afric, the jewels of Ind, the talismans of Egypt, the perfumes andmanuscripts of Persia, the spices and gums of Araby, beautiful horses,more beautiful slaves, cloaks of sable, pelisses of ermine, armour alikemagnificent in ornament and temper, rare animals, still rarer birds,blue apes in silver collars, white gazelles bound by a golden chain,greyhounds, peacocks, paroquets. And everywhere strange, and busy, andexcited groups; men of all nations, creeds, and climes: the sumptuousand haughty Turk, the graceful and subtle Arab, the Hebrew with hisblack cap and anxious countenance; the Armenian Christian, with his darkflowing robes, and mild demeanour, and serene visage. Here struttedthe lively, affected, and superfine Persian; and there the Circassianstalked with his long hair and chain cuirass. The fair Georgian jostledthe ebony form of the merchant of Dongola or Sennaar.
Through the long, narrow, arched, and winding streets of the bazaar,lined on each side with loaded stalls, all was bustle, bargaining, andbarter. A passenger approached, apparently of no common rank. Two pagespreceded him, beautiful Georgian boys, clothed in crimson cloth, andcaps of the same material, sitting tight to their heads, with longgolden tassels. One bore a blue velvet bag, and the other a clasped andrichly bound volume. Four footmen, armed, followed their mas
ter, whorode behind the pages on a milk-white mule. He was a man of middle age,eminently handsome. His ample robes concealed the only fault inhis appearance, a figure which indulgence had rendered somewhat tooexuberant. His eyes were large, and soft, and dark; his nose aquiline,but delicately moulded; his mouth small, and beautifully proportioned;his lip full and red; his teeth regular and dazzling white. His ebonybeard flowed, but not at too great a length, in graceful and naturalcurls, and was richly perfumed; a delicate mustachio shaded his upperlip, but no whisker was permitted to screen the form and shroud thelustre of his oval countenance and brilliant complexion. Altogether, theanimal perhaps predominated too much in the expression of the stranger'scountenance; but genius beamed from his passionate eye, and craft layconcealed in that subtle lip. The dress of the rider was sumptuous. Histurban, formed by a scarlet Cachemire shawl, was of great breadth, andconcealing half of his white forehead, increased by the contrast theradiant height of the other. His under-vest was of white Damascus silk,stiff with silver embroidery, and confined by a girdle formed by a Brusascarf of gold stuff, and holding a dagger, whose hilt appeared blazingwith brilliants and rubies. His loose and exterior robe was of crimsoncloth. His white hands sparkled with rings, and his ears glittered withpendulous gems.
'Who is this?' asked an Egyptian merchant, in a low whisper, of thedealer whose stuffs he was examining.
''Tis the Lord Honain,' replied the dealer. 'And who may he be?'continued the Egyptian. 'Is he the Caliph's son?'
'A much greater man; his physician.' The white mule stopped at the verystall where this conversation was taking place. The pages halted, andstood on each side of their master, the footmen kept off the crowd.
'Merchant,' said Honain, with a gracious smile of condescension, andwith a voice musical as a flute, 'Merchant, did you obtain me my wish?'
'There is but one God,' replied the dealer, who was the charitableAli, 'and Mahomed is his Prophet. I succeeded, please your highness, inseeing at Aleppo the accursed Giaour, of whom I spoke, and behold,that which you desired is here.' So saying, Ali produced several Greekmanuscripts, and offered them to his visitor.
'Hah!' said Honain, with a sparkling eye, ''tis well; their cost?'
'The infidel would not part with them under five hundred dirhems,'replied Ali.
'Ibrahim, see that this worthy merchant receive a thousand.'
'As many thanks, my Lord Honain.'
The Caliph's physician bowed gracefully.
'Advance, pages,' continued Honain; 'why this stoppage? Ibrahim, seethat our way be cleared. What is all this?'
A crowd of men advanced, pulling along a youth, who, almost exhausted,still singly struggled with his ungenerous adversaries.
'The Cadi, the Cadi,' cried the foremost of them, who was Abdallah,'drag him to the Cadi.'
'Noble lord,' cried the youth, extricating himself by a sudden strugglefrom the grasp of his captors, and seizing the robe of Honain, 'I aminnocent and injured. I pray thy help.'
'The Cadi, the Cadi,' exclaimed Abdallah; 'the knave has stolen my ring,the ring given me by my faithful Fatima on our marriage-day, and which Iwould not part with for my master's stores.'
The youth still clung to the robe of Honain, and, mute from exhaustion,fixed upon him his beautiful and imploring eye.
'Silence,' proclaimed Honain, 'I will judge this cause.'
'The Lord Honain, the Lord Honain, listen to the Lord Honain!'
'Speak, thou brawler; of what hast thou to complain?' said Honain toAbdallah.
'May it please your highness,' said Abdallah, in a whining voice, 'I amthe slave of your faithful servant, Ali: often have I had the honour ofwaiting on your highness. This young knave here, a beggar, has robbedme, while slumbering in a coffee-house, of a ring; I have my witnessesto prove my slumbering. 'Tis a fine emerald, may it please yourhighness, and doubly valuable to me as a love-token from my Fatima.No consideration in the world could induce me to part with it; and so,being asleep, here are three honest men who will prove the sleep, comesthis little vagabond, may it please your highness, who while he pretendsto offer me my coffee, takes him my finger, and slips off this preciousring, which he now wears upon his beggarly paw, and will not restore tome without the bastinado.'
'Abdallah is a faithful slave, may it please your highness, and aHadgee,' said Ali, his master.
'And what sayest thou, boy?' inquired Honain.
'That this is a false knave, who lies as slaves ever will.'
'Pithy, and perhaps true,' said Honain.
'You call me a slave, you young scoundrel?' exclaimed Abdallah; 'shallI tell you what you are? Why, your highness, do not listen to him amoment. It is a shame to bring such a creature into your presence; for,by the holy stone, and I am a Hadgee, I doubt little he is a Jew.'
Honain grew somewhat pale, and bit his lip. He was perhaps annoyed thathe had interfered so publicly in behalf of so unpopular a character asa Hebrew, but he was unwilling to desert one whom a moment before he hadresolved to befriend, and he inquired of the youth where he had obtainedthe ring.
'The ring was given to me by my dearest friend when I first set out uponan arduous pilgrimage not yet completed. There is but one person in theworld, except the donor, to whom I would part with it, and with thatperson I am unacquainted. All this may seem improbable, but all this istrue. I have truth alone to support me. I am destitute and friendless;but I am not a beggar, nor will any suffering induce me to become one.Feeling, from various circumstances, utterly exhausted, I entered acoffee-house and lay down, it may have been to die. I could not sleep,although my eyes were shut, and nothing would have roused me from atremulous trance, which I thought was dying, but this plunderer here,who would not wait until death had permitted him quietly to possesshimself of a jewel I value more than life.'
'Show me the jewel.'
The youth held up his hand to Honain, who felt his pulse, and then tookoff the ring.
'O, my Fatima!' exclaimed Abdallah.
'Silence, sir!' said Honain. 'Page, call a jeweller.'
Honain examined the ring attentively. Whether he were near-sighted, orwhether the deceptive light of the covered bazaar prevented him fromexamining it with ease, he certainly raised his hand to his brow, andfor some moments his countenance was invisible.
The jeweller arrived, and, pressing his hand to his heart, bowed beforeHonain.
'Value this ring,' said Honain, in a low voice.
The jeweller took the ring, viewed it in all directions with ascrutinising glance, held it to the light, pressed it to his tongue,turned it over and over, and finally declared that he could not sellsuch a ring under a thousand dirhems.
'Whatever be the justice of the case,' said Honain to Abdallah, 'artthou ready to part with this ring for a thousand dirhems?'
'Most certainly,' said Abdallah. 'And thou, lad, if the decision be inthy favour, wilt thou take for the ring double the worth at which thejeweller prizes it?'
'My lord, I have spoken the truth. I cannot part with that ring for thepalace of the Caliph.'
'The truth for once is triumphant,' said Honain. 'Boy, the ring isthine; and for thee, thou knave,' turning to Abdallah, 'liar, thief, andslanderer!--for thee the bastinado,[21] which thou destinedst forthis innocent youth. Ibrahim, see that he receives five hundred. Youngpilgrim, thou art no longer destitute or friendless. Follow me to mypalace.'
The arched chamber was of great size and beautiful proportion. Theceiling, encrusted with green fretwork, and studded with silver stars,rested upon clustered columns of white and green marble. In the centreof a variegated pavement of the same material, a fountain rose and fellinto a green porphyry basin, and by the side of the fountain, upon acouch of silver, reposed Honain.
He raised his eyes from the illuminated volume on which he had been longintent; he clapped his hands, and a Nubian slave advanced, and, foldinghis arms upon his breast, bowed in silence before his lord. 'How faresthe Hebrew boy, Analschar?'
'Master, the fever has not retu
rned. We gave him the potion; heslumbered for many hours, and has now awakened, weak but well.'
'Let him rise and attend me.'
The Nubian disappeared.
'There is nothing stranger than sympathy,' soliloquised the physicianof the Caliph, with a meditative air; 'all resolves itself into thisprinciple, and I confess this learned doctor treats it deeply and well.An erudite spirit truly, and an eloquent pen; yet he refines toomuch. 'Tis too scholastic. Observation will teach us more than dogma.Meditating upon my passionate youth, I gathered wisdom. I have seen somuch that I have ceased to wonder. However we doubt, there is a mysterybeyond our penetration. And yet 'tis near our grasp. I sometimes deem astep, a single step, would launch us into light. Here comes my patient.The rose has left his cheek, and his deep brow is wan and melancholy.Yet 'tis a glorious visage, Meditation's throne; and Passion lingers inthat languid eye. I know not why, a strong attraction draws me to thislone child.
'Gentle stranger, how fares it with thee?'
'Very well, my lord. I come to thank thee for all thy goodness. My onlythanks are words, and those too weak; and yet the orphan's blessing is atreasure.'
'You are an orphan, then'
'I have no parent but my father's God.'
'And that God is----'
'The God of Israel.'
'So I deemed. He is a Deity we all must honour; if he be the greatCreator whom we all allow.'
'He is what he is, and we are what we are, a fallen people, but faithfulstill.'
'Fidelity is strength.'
'Thy words are truth, and strength must triumph.'
'A prophecy!'
'Many a prophet is little honoured, till the future proves hisinspiration.'
'You are young and sanguine.'
'So was my ancestor within the vale of Elah. But I speak unto a Moslem,and this is foolishness.'
'I have read something, and can take your drift. As for my faith, Ibelieve in truth, and wish all men to do the same. By-the-bye, might Iinquire the name of him who is the inmate of my house?'
'They call me David.'
'David, you have a ring, an emerald cut with curious characters, Hebrew,I believe.'
''Tis here.'
'A fine stone, and this inscription means----'
'A simple legend, "_Parted, but one_;" the kind memorial of a brother'slove.'
'Your brother?'
'I never had a brother.'
'I have a silly fancy for this ring: you hesitate. Search my palace, andchoose the treasure you deem its match.'
'Noble sir, the gem is little worth; but were it such might deck aCaliph's brow, 'twere a poor recompense for all thy goodness. This ringis a trust rather than a possession, and strange to say, although Icannot offer it to thee who mayst command, as thou hast saved, the lifeof its unhappy wearer, some stranger may cross my path to-morrow, andalmost claim it as his own.'
'And that stranger is----'
'The brother of the donor.'
'The brother of Jabaster?'
'Jabaster!'
'Even so. I am that parted brother.'
'Great is the God of Israel! Take the ring. But what is this? thebrother of Jabaster a turbaned chieftain! a Moslem! Say, but say, thatthou hast not assumed their base belief; say, but say, that thou hastnot become a traitor to our covenant, and I will bless the fortunes ofthis hour.'
'I am false to no God. Calm thyself, sweet youth. These are higherquestions than thy faint strength can master now. Another time we'lltalk of this, my boy; at present of my brother and thyself. He lives andprospers?'
'He lives in faith; the pious ever prosper.'
'A glorious dreamer! Though our moods are different, I ever loved him.And thyself? Thou art not what thou seemest. Tell me all. Jabaster'sfriend can be no common mind. Thy form has heralded thy fame. Trust me.'
'I am Alroy.'
'What! the Prince of our Captivity?'
'Even so.'
'The slayer of Alschiroch?'
'Ay!'
'My sympathy was prophetic. I loved thee from the first. And what dostthou here? A price is set upon thy head: thou knowest it?'
'For the first time; but I am neither astonished nor alarmed. I am uponthe Lord's business.'
'What wouldst thou?'
'Free his people.'
'The pupil of Jabaster: I see it all. Another victim to his reveries.I'll save this boy. David,--for thy name must not be sounded within thiscity,--the sun is dying. Let us to the terrace, and seek the solace ofthe twilight breeze.'
'What is the hour, David?'
'Near to midnight. I marvel if thy brother may read in the stars ourhappy meeting.'
'Men read that which they wish. He is a learned Cabalist.'
'But what we wish comes from above.'
'So they say. We make our fortunes, and we call them Fate.'
'Yet the Voice sounded, the Daughter of the Voice that summoned Samuel.'
'You have told me strange things; I have heard stranger solved.'
'My faith is a rock.'
'On which you may split.'
'Art thou a Sadducee?'
'I am a man who knows men.'
'You are learned, but different from Jabaster.'
'We are the same, though different. Day and Night are both portions ofTime.'
'And thy portion is----'
'Truth.'
'That is, light.'
'Yes; so dazzling that it sometimes seems dark.'
'Like thy meaning.'
'You are young.'
'Is youth a defect?'
'No, the reverse. But we cannot eat the fruit while the tree is inblossom.'
'What fruit?'
'Knowledge.'
'I have studied.'
'What?'
'All sacred things.'
'How know you that they are sacred?'
'They come from God.'
'So does everything. Is everything sacred?'
'They are the deep expression of his will.'
'According to Jabaster. Ask the man who prays in yonder mosque, and hewill tell you that Jabaster's wrong.'
'After all, thou art a Moslem?'
'No.'
'What then?'
'I have told you, a man.'
'But what dost thou worship?'
'What is worship?'
'Adoration due from the creature to the Creator.'
'Which is he?'
'Our God.'
'The God of Israel?'
'Even so.'
'A frail minority, then, burn incense to him.'
'We are the chosen people.'
'Chosen for scoffs, and scorns, and contumelies. Commend me to suchchoice.'
'We forgot Him, before He chastened us.'
'Why did we?'
'Thou knowest the records of our holy race.'
'Yes, I know them; like all records, annals of blood.'
'Annals of victory, that will dawn again.'
'If redemption be but another name for carnage, I envy no Messiah.'
'Art thou Jabaster's brother?' 'So our mother was wont to say: a meekand blessed woman.'
'Lord Honain, thou art rich, and wise, and powerful. Thy fellow-menspeak of thee only with praise or fear, and both are cheering. Thouhast quitted our antique ark; why, no matter. We'll not discuss it. 'Tissomething; if a stranger, at least thou art not a renegade. The worldgoes well with thee, my Lord Honain. But if, instead of bows andblessings, thou, like thy brethren, wert greeted only with the cuffand curse; if thou didst rise each morning only to feel existence tobe dishonour, and to find thyself marked out among surrounding men assomething foul and fatal; if it were thy lot, like theirs, at best todrag on a mean and dull career, hopeless and aimless, or with no otherhope or aim but that which is degrading, and all this, too, with a keensense of thy intrinsic worth, and a deep conviction of superior race;why, then, perchance, Honain might even discover 'twere worth a struggleto be free and honoured.' 'I pray your pardon, sir; I thought you wereJabaster's
pupil, a dreaming student. I see you have a deep ambition.'
'I am a prince; and I fain would be a prince without my fetters.'
'Listen to me, Alroy,' said Honain in a low voice, and he placed hisarm around him, 'I am your friend. Our acquaintance is very brief: nomatter, I love you; I rescued you in injury, I tended you in sickness,even now your life is in my power, I would protect it with my own. Youcannot doubt me. Our affections are not under our own control; and mineare yours. The sympathy between us is entire. You see me, you see what Iam; a Hebrew, though unknown; one of that despised, rejected, persecutedpeople, of whom you are the chief. I too would be free and honoured.Freedom and honour are mine, but I was my own messiah. I quitted ingood time our desperate cause, but I gave it a trial. Ask Jabaster how Ifought. Youth could be my only excuse for such indiscretion. I leftthis country; I studied and resided among the Greeks. I returned fromConstantinople, with all their learning, some of their craft. No oneknew me. I assumed their turban, and I am the Lord Honain. Take myexperience, child, and save yourself much sorrow. Turn your lateadventure to good account. No one can recognise you here. I willintroduce you amongst the highest as my child by some fair Greek. Theworld is before you. You may fight, you may love, you may revel. War,and Women, and luxury are all at your command. With your person andtalents you may be grand vizir. Clear your head of nonsense. In thepresent disordered state of the empire, you may even carve yourself outa kingdom, infinitely more delightful than the barren land of milk andhoney. I have seen it, child; a rocky wilderness, where I would not letmy courser graze.'
He bent down, and fixed his eyes upon his companion with a scrutinisingglance. The moonlight fell upon the resolved visage of the Prince of theCaptivity.
'Honain,' he replied, pressing his hand, 'I thank thee. Thou knowest notme, but still I thank thee.'
'You are resolved, then, on destruction.'
'On glory, eternal glory.'
'Is it possible to succeed?'
'Is it possible to fail?'
'You are mad.'
'I am a believer.'
'Enough. You have yet one chance. My brother has saddled your enterprisewith a condition, and an impossible one. Gain the sceptre of Solomon,and I will agree to be your subject. You will waste a year in thisfrolic. You are young, and can afford it. I trust you will experiencenothing worse than a loss of time, which is, however, valuable. My dutywill be, after all your sufferings, to send you forth on your adventuresin good condition, and to provide you means for a less toilsomepilgrimage than has hitherto been your lot. Trust me, you will return toBagdad to accept my offers. At present, the dews are descending, and wewill return to our divan, and take some coffee.'
Some few days after this conversation on the terrace, as Alroy wasreclining in a bower, in the beautiful garden of his host, meditatingon the future, some one touched him on the back. He looked up. It wasHonain.
'Follow me,' said the brother of Jabaster.
The Prince rose, and followed him in silence. They entered the house,and, passing through the saloon already described, they proceeded downa long gallery, which terminated in an arched flight of broad stepsleading to the river. A boat was fastened to the end of the stairs,floating on the blue line of the Tigris, bright in the sun.
Honain now gave to Alroy a velvet bag, which he requested him to carry,and then they descended the steps and entered the covered boat; and,without any directions to the rower, they were soon skimming over thewater. By the sound of passing vessels, and the occasional shouts of theboatmen, Alroy, although he could observe nothing, was conscious thatfor some time their course lay through a principal thoroughfare ofthe city; but by degrees the sounds became less frequent, and in timeentirely died away, and all that caught his ear was the regular andmonotonous stroke of their own oar.
At length, after the lapse of nearly an hour from their entrance,the boat stopped, and was moored against a quay. The curtains werewithdrawn, and Honain and his companion debarked.
A low but extensive building, painted in white and gold arabesque, andirregular but picturesque in form, with many small domes, and tall thintowers, rose amid groves of cypress on the bank of the broad and silentriver. The rapid stream had carried them far from the city, which wasvisible but distant. Around was no habitation, no human being. Theopposite bank was occupied by enclosed gardens. Not even a boat passed.
Honain, beckoning to Alroy to accompany him, but still silent, advancedto a small portal, and knocked. It was instantly opened by a singleNubian, who bowed reverently as the visitors passed him. They proceededalong a low and gloomy passage, covered with arches of fretwork, untilthey arrived at a door of tortoise-shell and mother-of-pearl.[22] HereHonain, who was in advance, turned round to Alroy, and said, 'Whateverhappen, and whoever may address you, as you value your life and mine, donot speak.'
The door opened, and they found themselves in a vast and gorgeous hall.Pillars of many-coloured marbles rose from a red and blue pavementof the same material, and supported a vaulted, circular, andhighly-embossed roof of purple, scarlet, and gold.[23] Around afountain, which rose fifty feet in height from an immense basin oflapis-lazuli, and reclining on small yellow Barbary mats, was a groupof Nubian eunuchs, dressed in rich habits of scarlet and gold,[24]and armed with ivory battle-axes, the white handles worked in preciousarabesque finely contrasting with the blue and brilliant blades.
The commander of the eunuch-guard rose on seeing Honain, and pressinghis hand to his head, mouth, and heart, saluted him. The physician ofthe Caliph, motioning Alroy to remain, advanced some paces in front ofhim, and entered into a whispering conversation with the eunuch. Aftera few minutes, this officer resumed his seat, and Honain, beckoning toAlroy to rejoin him, crossed the hall.
Passing through an open arch, they entered a quadrangular court ofroses,[25] each bed of flowers surrounded by a stream of sparklingwater, and floating like an enchanted islet upon a fairy ocean. Thesound of the water and the sweetness of the flowers blended together,and produced a lulling sensation, which nothing but his strong andstrange curiosity might have enabled Alroy to resist. Proceeding alonga cloister of light airy workmanship which connected the hall with theremainder of the buildings, they stood before a lofty and sumptuousportal.
It was a monolith gate, thirty feet in height, formed of one block ofgreen and red jasper, and cut into the fanciful undulating arch of theSaracens. The consummate artist had seized the advantage afforded to himby the ruddy veins of the precious stone, and had formed them in boldrelief into two vast and sinuous serpents, which shot forth theircrested heads and glittering eyes at Honain and his companion.
The physician of the Caliph, taking his dagger from his girdle, struckthe head of one of the serpents thrice. The massy portal opened with awhirl and a roar, and before them stood an Abyssinian giant,[26] holdingin his leash a roaring lion.
'Hush, Haroun!' said Honain to the animal, raising at the same time hisarm; and the beast crouched in silence. 'Worthy Morgargon, I bring youa remembrance.' The Abyssinian showed his tusks, larger and whiter thanthe lion's, as he grinningly received the tribute of the courtly Honain;and he uttered a few uncouth sounds, but he could not speak, for he wasa mute.
The jasper portal introduced the companions to a long and lofty andarched chamber, lighted by high windows of stained glass, hung withtapestry of silk and silver, covered with prodigious carpets, andsurrounded by immense couches. And thus through similar chambers theyproceeded, in some of which were signs of recent habitation, until theyarrived at another quadrangle nearly filled by a most singular fountainwhich rose from a basin of gold encrusted with pearls, and which wassurrounded by figures of every rare quadruped[27] in the most costlymaterials. Here a golden tiger, with flaming eyes of ruby and flowingstripes of opal, stole, after some bloody banquet, to the refreshingbrink; a camelopard raised its slender neck of silver from the centreof a group of every inhabitant of the forest; and brilliant bands ofmonkeys, glittering with precious stones, rested, in every variety of
fantastic posture, on the margin of the basin.
The fountain itself was a tree of gold and silver[28] spreading intoinnumerable branches, covered with every variety of curious birds, theirplumage appropriately imitated by the corresponding tints of preciousstones, which warbled in beautiful melody as they poured forth fromtheir bills the musical and refreshing element.
It was with difficulty that Alroy could refrain from an admiringexclamation, but Honain, ever quick, turned to him, with his fingerpressed on his mouth, and quitting the quadrangle, they entered thegardens.
Lofty terraces, dark masses of cypress, winding walks of acacia, inthe distance an interminable paradise, and here and there a glitteringpavilion and bright kiosk! Its appearance on the river had not preparedAlroy for the extent of the palace itself. It seemed infinite, and itwas evident that he had only viewed a small portion of it. While theywere moving on, there suddenly rose a sound of trumpets. The sound grewnearer and nearer, louder and louder: soon was heard the tramp ofan approaching troop. Honain drew Alroy aside. A procession appearedadvancing from a dark grove of cypress. Four hundred men led as manywhite bloodhounds with collars of gold and rubies.[29] Then came onehundred men, each with a hooded hawk; then six horsemen in rich dresses;after them a single horseman, mounted on a steed, marked on its foreheadwith a star.[30] The rider was middle-aged, handsome, and dignified. Hewas plainly dressed, but the staff of his hunting-spear was entirely ofdiamonds and the blade of gold.
He was followed by a company of Nubian eunuchs, with their scarletdresses and ivory battle-axes, and the procession closed.
'The Caliph,' whispered Honain, when they had passed, placing at thesame time his finger on his lip to prevent any inquiry. This wasthe first intimation that had reached Alroy of what he had alreadysuspected, that he was a visitor to the palace of the Commander of theFaithful.
The companions turned down a wild and winding walk, which, after sometime, brought them to a small and gently sloping lawn, surroundedby cedar-trees of great size. Upon the lawn was a kiosk, a long andmany-windowed building, covered with blinds, and further screened byan overhanging roof. The kiosk was built of white and green marble,the ascent to it was by a flight of steps the length of the building,alternately of white and green marble, and nearly covered withrose-trees. Honain went up these steps alone, and entered the kiosk.After a few minutes he looked out from the blinds and beckoned to Alroy.David advanced, but Honain, fearful of some indiscretion, met him, andsaid to him in a low whisper between his teeth, 'Remember you are deaf,a mute, and a eunuch.' Alroy could scarcely refrain from smiling, andthe Prince of the Captivity and the physician of the Caliph enteredthe kiosk together. Two women, veiled, and two eunuchs of the guard,received them in an antechamber. And then they passed into a room whichran nearly the whole length of the kiosk, opening on one side to thegardens, and on the other supported by an ivory wall, with nichespainted in green fresco, and in each niche a rose-tree. Each niche,also, was covered with an almost invisible golden grate, which confineda nightingale, and made him constant to the rose he loved. At the footof each niche was a fountain, but, instead of water, each basin wasreplenished with the purest quicksilver.[31] The roof of the kiosk wasof mother-of-pearl inlaid with tortoise-shell; the pavement, a mosaic ofrare marbles and precious stones, representing the most delicious fruitsand the most beautiful flowers. Over this pavement, a Georgian pageflung at intervals refreshing perfumes. At the end of this elegantchamber was a divan of light green silk, embroidered with pearls,and covered with cushions of white satin and gold. Upon one of thesecushions, in the middle of the divan, sat a lady, her eyes fixed inabstraction upon a volume of Persian poetry lying on her knees, one handplaying with a rosary of pearls and emeralds,[32] and the other holdinga long gold chain, which imprisoned a white gazelle.
The lady looked up as Honain and his companion entered. She was veryyoung, as youthful as Alroy. Her long light brown hair, drawn off a highwhite forehead covered with blue veins, fell braided with pearls overeach shoulder. Her eyes were large and deeply blue; her nose small, buthigh and aquiline. The fairness of her face was dazzling, and, when shelooked up and greeted Honain, her lustrous cheeks broke into dimples,the more fascinating from their contrast with the general expression ofher countenance, which was haughty and derisive. The lady was dressedin a robe of crimson silk girded round her waist by a green shawl, fromwhich peeped forth the diamond hilt of a small poniard.[33] Her roundwhite arms looked infinitely small, as they occasionally flashed forthfrom their large loose hanging sleeves. One was covered with jewels, andthe right arm was quite bare.
Honain advanced, and, bending, kissed the lady's proffered hand. Alroyfell into the background.
'They told me that the Rose of the World drooped this morning,' said thephysician, bending again as he smiled, 'and her slave hastened at hercommand to tend her.'
'It was a south wind. The wind has changed, and the Rose of the World isbetter,' replied the lady laughing.
Honain touched her pulse.
'Irregular,' said the physician.
'Like myself,' said the lady. 'Is that a new slave?'
'A recent purchase, and a great bargain. He is good-looking, has theadvantage of being deaf and dumb, and is harmless in every respect.'
''Tis a pity,' replied the lady; 'it seems that all good-looking peopleare born to be useless. I, for instance.'
'Yet rumour whispers the reverse,' remarked the physician.
'How so?' inquired the lady.
'The young King of Karasme.'
'Poh! I have made up my mind to detest him. A barbarian!'
'A hero!'
'Have you ever seen him?'
'I have.'
'Handsome?'
'An archangel.'
'And sumptuous?'
'Is he not a conqueror? All the plunder of the world will be yours.'
'I am tired of magnificence. I built this kiosk to forget it.'
'It is not in the least degree splendid,' said Honain, looking roundwith a smile.
'No,' answered the lady, with a self-satisfied air: 'here, at least, onecan forget one has the misfortune to be a princess.'
'It is certainly a great misfortune,' said the physician.
'And yet it must be the only tolerable lot,' replied the lady.
'Assuredly,' replied Honain.
'For our unhappy sex, at least.'
'Very unhappy.'
'If I were only a man!'
'What a hero you would be!'
'I should like to live in endless confusion.'
'I have not the least doubt of it.'
'Have you got me the books?' eagerly inquired the Princess.
'My slave bears them,' replied Honain.
'Let me see them directly.'
Honain took the bag from Alroy, and unfolded its contents; the veryvolumes of Greek romances which Ali, the merchant, had obtained for him.
'I am tired of poetry,' said the Princess, glancing over the costlyvolumes, and tossing them away; 'I long to see the world.'
'You would soon be tired of that,' replied the physician.
'I suppose common people are never tired.' said the Princess.
'Except with labour;' said the physician; 'care keeps them alive.'
'What is care?' asked the Princess, with a smile.
'It is a god,' replied the physician, 'invisible, but omnipotent. Itsteals the bloom from the cheek and lightness from the pulse; it takesaway the appetite, and turns the hair grey.'
'It is no true divinity, then,' replied the Princess, 'but an idol wemake ourselves. I am a sincere Moslem, and will not worship it. Tell mesome news, Honain.'
'The young King of Karasme----'
'Again! the barbarian! You are in his pay. I'll none of him. To leaveone prison, and to be shut up in another,--why do you remind me of it?No, my dear Hakim, if I marry at all, I will marry to be free.'
'An impossibility,' said Honain.
'My mother was free till she was a queen and a slave. I
intend to end asshe began. You know what she was.'
Honain knew well, but he was too politic not to affect ignorance.
'The daughter of a bandit,' continued the Princess, 'who fought by theside of her father. That is existence! I must be a robber. 'Tis in theblood. I want my fate foretold, Honain. You are an astrologer; do it.'
'I have already cast your nativity. Your star is a comet.'
'That augurs well; brilliant confusion and erratic splendour. I wishI were a star,' added the Princess in a deep rich voice, and with apensive air; 'a star in the clear blue sky, beautiful and free. Honain,Honain, the gazelle has broken her chain, and is eating my roses.'
Alroy rushed forward and seized the graceful truant. Honain shot him ananxious look; the Princess received the chain from the hand of Alroy,and cast at him a scrutinising glance.
'What splendid eyes the poor beast has got!' exclaimed the Princess.
'The gazelle?' inquired the physician.
'No, your slave,' replied the Princess. 'Why, he blushes. Were he notdeaf as well as dumb, I could almost believe he understood me.'
'He is modest,' replied Honain, rather alarmed; 'and is frightened atthe liberty he has taken.'
'I like modesty,' said the Princess; 'it is interesting. I am modest;you think so?'
'Certainly,' said Honain.
'And interesting?'
'Very.'
'I detest an interesting person. After all, there is nothing like plaindulness.'
'Nothing,' said Honain.
'The day flows on so serenely in such society.'
'It does,' said Honain.
'No confusion; no scenes.'
'None.'
'I make it a rule only to have ugly slaves.'
'You are quite right.'
'Honain, will you ever contradict me? You know very well I have thehandsomest slaves in the world.'
'Every one knows it.'
'And, do you know, I have taken a great fancy to your new purchase, who,according to your account, is eminently qualified for the post. Why, doyou not agree with me?'
'Why, yes; I doubt not your Highness would find him eminently qualified,and certainly few things would give me greater pleasure than offeringhim for your acceptance; but I got into such disgrace by that lateaffair of the Circassian, that----'
'Oh! leave it to me,' said the Princess.
'Certainly,' said the physician, turning the conversation; 'and whenthe young King of Karasme arrives at Bagdad, you can offer him to hismajesty as a present.'
'Delightful! and the king is really handsome and young as well as brave;but has he any taste?'
'You have enough for both.'
'If he would but make war against the Greeks!'
'Why so violent against the poor Greeks?'
'You know they are Giaours. Besides, they might beat him, and then Ishould have the pleasure of being taken prisoner.'
'Delightful!'
'Charming! to see Constantinople, and marry the Emperor.'
'Marry the Emperor!'
'To be sure. Of course he would fall in love with me.'
'Of course.'
'And then, and then, I might conquer Paris!'
'Paris!'
'You have been at Paris?'[34]
'Yes.'
'The men are shut up there,' said the Princess with a smile, 'are theynot? and the women do what they like?'
'You will always do what you like,' said Honain, rising.
'You are going?'
'My visits must not be too long.'
'Farewell, dear Honain!' said the Princess, with a melancholy air. 'Youare the only person who has an idea in all Bagdad, and you leave me. Amiserable lot is mine, to feel everything, and be nothing. These booksand flowers, these sweet birds, and this fair gazelle: ah! poets mayfeign as they please, but how cheerfully would I resign all theseelegant consolations of a captive life for one hour of freedom! I wrotesome verses on myself yesterday; take them, and get them blazoned for meby the finest scribe in the city; letters of silver on a violet groundwith a fine flowing border; I leave the design to you. Adieu! Comehither, mute.' Alroy advanced to her beckon, and knelt. 'There, takethat rosary for thy master's sake, and those dark eyes of thine.'
The companions withdrew, and reached their boat in silence. It wassunset. The musical and sonorous voice of the Muezzin resounded fromthe innumerable minarets of the splendid city. Honain threw back thecurtains of the barque. Bagdad rose before them in huge masses ofsumptuous dwellings, seated amid groves and gardens. An infinitepopulation, summoned by the invigorating twilight, poured forth in alldirections. The glowing river was covered with sparkling caiques, theglittering terraces with showy groups. Splendour, and power, and luxury,and beauty were arrayed before them in their most captivating forms, andthe heart of Alroy responded to their magnificence. 'A glorious vision!'said the Prince of the Captivity.
'Very different from Hamadan,' said the physician of the Caliph.
'To-day I have seen wonders,' said Alroy.
'The world is opening to you,' said Honain.
Alroy did not reply; but after some minutes he said, in a hesitatingvoice, 'Who was that lady?'
'The Princess Schirene,' replied Honain, 'the favourite daughter of theCaliph. Her mother was a Georgian and a Giaour.'
The moonlight fell upon the figure of Alroy lying on a couch; his facewas hidden by his arm. He was motionless, but did not sleep.
He rose and paced the chamber with agitated steps; sometimes he stopped,and gazed on the pavement, fixed in abstraction. He advanced to thewindow, and cooled his feverish brow in the midnight air.
An hour passed away, and the young Prince of the Captivity remainedfixed in the same position. Suddenly he turned to a tripod of porphyry,and, seizing a rosary of jewels, pressed it to his lips.
'The Spirit of my dreams, she comes at last; the form for which I havesighed and wept; the form which rose upon my radiant vision when I shutmy eyes against the jarring shadows of this gloomy world.
'Schirene! Schirene! here in this solitude I pour to thee the passionlong stored up: the passion of my life, no common life, a life full ofdeep feeling and creative thought. O beautiful! O more than beautiful!for thou to me art as a dream unbroken: why art thou not mine? why losea moment in our glorious lives, and balk our destiny of half its bliss?
'Fool, fool, hast thou forgotten? The rapture of a prisoner in his cell,whose wild fancy for a moment belies his fetters! The daughter of theCaliph and a Jew!
'Give me my fathers' sceptre.
'A plague on talismans! Oh! I need no inspiration but her memory,no magic but her name. By heavens! I will enter this glorious city aconqueror, or die.
'Why, what is Life? for meditation mingles ever with my passion: why,what is Life? Throw accidents to the dogs, and tear off the paintedmask of false society! Here am I a hero; with a mind that can devise allthings, and a heart of superhuman daring, with youth, with vigour, witha glorious lineage, with a form that has made full many a lovelymaiden of our tribe droop her fair head by Hamadan's sweet fount, and Iam--nothing!
'Out on Society! 'twas not made for me. I'll form my own, and be thedeity I sometimes feel.
'We make our fortunes, and we call them Fate. Thou saidst well, Honain.Most subtle Sadducee! The saintly blood flowed in my fathers' veins,and they did nothing; but I have an arm formed to wield a sceptre, and Iwill win one.
'I cannot doubt my triumph. Triumph is a part of my existence. I amborn for glory, as a tree is born to bear its fruit, or to expandits flowers. The deed is done. 'Tis thought of, and 'tis done. I willconfront the greatest of my diademed ancestors, and in his tomb. MightySolomon! he wedded Pharaoh's daughter. Hah! what a future dawns upon myhope. An omen, a choice omen!
'Heaven and earth are mingling to form my fortunes. My mournfulyouth, which I have so often cursed, I hail thee: thou wert a gloriouspreparation; and when feeling no sympathy with the life around me,I deemed myself a fool, I find that I was a most peculiar being
. Byheavens, I am joyful; for the first time in my life I am joyful. I couldlaugh, and fight, and drink. I am new-born; I am another being; I ammad!
'O Time, great Time! the world belies thy fame. It calls thee swift.Methinks thou art wondrous slow. Fly on, great Time, and on thy comingwings bear me my sceptre!
'All is to be. It is a lowering thought. My fancy, like a bright andwearied bird, will sometimes flag and fall, and then I am lost. Theyoung King of Karasme, a youthful hero! Would he had been Alschiroch! Myheart is sick even at the very name. Alas! my trials have not yet begun.Jabaster warned me: good, sincere Jabaster! His talisman presses on myfrantic heart, and seems to warn me. I am in danger. Braggart tostand here, filling the careless air with idle words, while all isunaccomplished. I grow dull. The young King of Karasme! Why, what am Icompared to this same prince? Nothing, but in my thoughts. In the fullbazaar, they would not deem me worthy even to hold his stirrup orhis slipper---- Oh! this contest, this constant, bitter, never-endingcontest between my fortune and my fancy! Why do I exist? or, ifexisting, why am I not recognised as I would be?
'Sweet voice, that in Jabaster's distant cave de-scendedst from thy holyhome above, and whispered consolation, breathe again! Again breathe thystill summons to my lonely ear, and chase away the thoughts that hoverround me; thoughts dark and doubtful, like fell birds of prey hoveringaround a hero in expectation of his fall, and gloating on their triumphover the brave. There is something fatal in these crowded cities. Faithflourishes in solitude.'
He threw himself upon the couch, and, leaning down his head, seemed lostin meditation. He started up, and, seizing his tablets, wrote upon themthese words:
'Honain, I have been the whole night like David in the wilderness ofZiph; but, by the aid of the Lord, I have conquered. I fly from thisdangerous city upon his business, which I have too much neglected.Attempt not to discover me, and accept my gratitude.'