by Mór Jókai
CHAPTER XVII
THE SILVER PEDESTAL IN FRONT OF THE SERAGLIO
The emissaries of Kurshid Pasha received the veteran warrior withgreat respect in the gates of the fortress, whither he went to meetthem; they showed him all the honor due to his rank; they allowed himto retain his sword and all his other weapons. At the same time theyconfirmed by word of mouth the promise which Kurshid Pasha had givento Eminah in writing--that the executioner should never lay his handon Ali's head, and that he should not die a violent death, except itwere in an honorable duel or on the battle-field, which is a delightto a true Mussulman.
A former pleasure-house, a kiosk on the island of La Gulia, wasassigned to him as a residence for the future. There they conveyed hisfavorite horses, his favorite slaves and birds, and took abundant careof his personal comfort.
Ali allowed them to do with him as they would. Neither threatening norpleasant faces made any impression upon him; he merely looked fromtime to time at his wife, who had seized his hand, and never left himfor an instant. At such times softer, gentler feelings were legible inhis face; but at other times he would gaze steadily before him intothe distance, into infinity. Perhaps he was now thinking withinhimself, "When shall I stand in front of the Seraglio on a silverpedestal?"
The _dzhin_ of Seleucia had prophesied this termination to his career.All the other prophecies had been strictly fulfilled; this onlyremained to be accomplished.
A Mussulman's promise is stronger than his oath. Who does not rememberthe story of the Moorish chieftain in whose house a Christian soldierhad taken refuge, and who begged for his protection? The Moor promisedthe man his protection. Subsequently the pursuers informed the Moorthat this Christian soldier had killed his son, and still the fatherwould not give up the fugitive, but assisted him to escape, because ofhis promise.
"A great lord is the sea," says the Kuran; "a great lord is the stormand the pestilence; but a greater lord still is a man's given word,from which there is no escape."
The Mussulman keeps his word, but beware of a play upon words, fortherein lies death. If he has sworn by the sun, avoid the moon, and ifhe has promised to love thee as a brother, discover first whether hehath not slain his brother.
When Sulaiman adopted Ibrahim as a son, he swore that so long as helived no harm should befall Ibrahim. Later on, when Ibrahim fell intodisgrace, the wise Ulemas discovered a text in the Kuran according towhich he who sleeps is not alive, and they slew Ibrahim while Sulaimanslept.
Kurshid had given his word and a written assurance that Ali should notdie at the hand of the executioner; the document he had given toAli's wife, his word he had given in the presence of his whole army;and he had escorted Ali Pasha with all due honor to the island kiosk,permitting him to retain his weapons and the jewelled sword with whichhe had won so many victories, with which he had so many times turnedthe tide of the battle; nay, more, they had selected fifty of Ali'sown warriors, the bravest and the most faithful, to serve him as aguard of honor.
Nevertheless, a courier despatched in hot haste to Stambul announcedthere, from Kurshid Pasha, that the treasures of Ali Tepelenti ofJanina were in his hands, and that a Tartar horseman would follow inthree days with the head of the old pasha. And yet at this very momentTepelenti's head stood firmly on his shoulders, and who would dare tosay that that head was promised away while his good sword was by hisside, and good comrades in arms were around him, and the swornassurance of the seraskier rested upon him?
Eminah never quitted him for a moment. She was always with him. Shesat beside him, with her head on his breast, or at his feet, and inher hand she carried the amnesty of the seraskier, so that if any oneshould approach Ali with dangerous designs she might hold it beforehis eyes like a magic buckler, and ward off the axe of the executionerfrom his head.
But there was nothing to guard against; the executioner did notapproach Ali. He received, indeed, a great many visitors, but thesewere all worthy, honorable men, musirs, effendis, officers of thearmy, who treated him with all respect, and sipped their sherbet-cupsmost politely, and smoked their fragrant chibooks, exchanging a wordor two now and then, perhaps, and on taking their leave saluted him ina manner befitting grave Mussulmans.
He was allowed free access to every part of the island, and neverencountered anybody there but his own warriors.
At such times great ideas would occur to him. Perchance with thesefifty men he might win back everything once more? And then he wouldhug himself with the thought of the silver pedestal in front of theSeraglio, where he was one day to stand, amidst the joyful plaudits ofthe people; and then the night before him was not altogether dark, forhere and there he saw a gleam of hope.
It was only Eminah who trembled. God has created woman for this verypurpose; she has the faculty of fearing instead of man, and canforesee the danger that threatens him.
Whence will this danger come, and in what shape? Perchance in thedagger of the assassin? The woman's bosom stood between it and theheart of Ali; the assassin will not be able to pierce it. In apoisoned cup, perhaps? Eminah herself tastes of every dish, of everyglass, before they reach the hands of Ali; the power of the poisonwould reach her first.
And yet danger is near.
One day they told Ali that an illustrious visitor was coming to seehim; Mehemet Pasha, the sub-seraskier and governor of the Morea,wished to pay his respects to him.
This was a great honor for the fallen general. Ali began to besensible that even his enemies respected him. Who knows? he might findgood friends amongst his very enemies, who would not think him tooold for use and employment even in his last remaining years.
On the day of the visit, the kiosk was swept and garnished. Tepelentiput on his most costly caftan, his warriors were marshalled in frontof his dwelling, and he himself went out on horseback to meet theseraskier when he arrived, with an escort of one hundred mountedspahis.
Mehemet Pasha was a tall, powerful man, the hero of many a fight andmany a duel. He had often given proof of his dexterity, when thehostile armies stood face to face, by galloping betwixt them andchallenging the bravest warriors on the other side to single combat,and the fact that he was alive at the present moment was the bestpossible proof that he had been always victorious.
The two heroes exchanged greetings when they met, and returnedtogether to the pleasure-house. Ali conducted the sub-seraskier intothe inner apartments; the attendants remained outside.
A richly spread table awaited them, and they were waited upon by agroup of young odalisks, the hand-maidens of Eminah, who sat at Ali'sfeet on the left-hand side, and, as usual, tasted of every dish andcup before she gave it to Ali.
Pleasant conversation filled the intervals of the repast, and at theend of it a mess of preserved pistachios was brought in and presentedto Mehemet Pasha.
"I thank thee," said he, "and, indeed, I am very fond of them, butpiquant, hot-spiced meats always awaken within me sinful desires and alonging for wine which is forbidden by the Prophet, and, as a goodMussulman, I would rather avoid the occasion of sinning than sufferthe affliction of a late repentance."
Ali laughed aloud.
"Eat and be of good cheer, valiant seraskier," said he, "and set thymind at rest. What I give thee shall be wine and yet not wine--thejuice of the grape, yet still unfermented; 'tis an invention of theFranks. This the Prophet does not forbid.[12] I have still got a caseof bottles thereof, which Bunaberdi[13] formerly sent me, and we willnow break it open in thy honor. Truly fizz is not wine, but only thejuice of the grape which they bottle before it becomes wine. It is asharmless as milk."
[Footnote 12: The Moslems do not include French "fizz" amongst thecanonically forbidden drinks.]
[Footnote 13: Bonaparte.]
Mehemet shook his head and laughed, from which one could see that theproposition was not displeasing to him, whereupon Ali beckoned to theodalisks to fetch the bottles from the cellar.
Eminah, all trembling, bent over him and whispered, imploringly, "Oh,put not wine on thy
table; it will be dangerous to thee!"
Ali smiled, and stroked his wife's head. He thought that onlyreligious scruples made her dissuade him from drinking the wine, so hedrew her upon his bosom and began to reassure her.
"Say now, my one and only flower, is not Moses a prophet, like untoMuhammad?"
"Of a truth he is. His tent stands beside the tent of Muhammad in theParadise of the true Believers."
"And yet Moses said: Give wine to them that be sorrowful! Leave thematter then to the two prophets up above there; surely, what passesthorough our lips does not make us sin?"
But that was not the reason why Eminah feared the wine.
They brought the bottles, and the liberated corks popped merrily. Atfirst Mehemet Pasha hesitated, but they filled his glass with fizzand, to prevent the sparkling foam from running over, he sipped alittle of it, and quickly drained the glass, maintaining afterwards,with a smile, that it was a similar drink to wine, but much morepleasant.
Ali filled once more the glass of the seraskier, while Eminahtremulously watched his features, which gradually grew darker as hedrank. Drink has this effect on some men.
Suddenly the sub-seraskier dashed his glass upon the table andexclaimed, with a furious expression of countenance:
"I'll drink no more! I'll drink no more! Thou art a villain, Ali! Thouhast made me drink wine and hast lied to me, saying it was not wine;but it is wine, a frightful, burning drink, which has made my headwhirl."
"Come, come, Mehemet," said Ali, in the coaxing tone one uses todrunken men, "be not so wrathful."
"Speak not to me, thou dog!" thundered the other, striking the tablewith his fist. "I might have known when I dismounted at thy door withwhom I had to do, thou sly, treacherous fox, thou godless renegade!"
Ali leaped from his seat with flashing eyes, and clapped his hand onthe hilt of his sword at these words; but Eminah seized his hand, andsaid to him, in a terrified whisper:
"Draw not thy sword, Ali; show no weapons here! Dost thou not perceivethat he only came hither to fasten a quarrel upon thee?"
Ali instantly recovered himself at these words. He saw now the snarethat had been laid for him, and calmly sat down in his place again,crossing his legs beneath him, and, quietly taking up his chibook,began to smoke with an air of unconcern.
Meanwhile, Mehemet played his drunken _role_ still further.
"I might have known beforehand, when I sat down at table with thee,that I was sitting down with an accursed wretch, thou blood-thirstydog, who hath lapped up the blood of thy kinsfolk; but I neverventured to imagine that thou wouldst be audacious enough to make medrink that abominable liquid--may its sinfulness fall back again onthine accursed head!"
With these words Mehemet caught up the half full glass and pitched allthe wine that was in it straight between Ali's eyes, so that ittrickled down the full length of his long white beard.
Ali, with the utmost _sang-froid_, beckoned to the attendant odalisksto place before him a bowl of fresh water, in which he washed his faceand beard. He did not answer the sub-seraskier a single word.
Mehemet planted himself in front of him with a contemptuousexpression.
"Wretched worm! that can wipe away such an insult so tamely! Thou wertnever valiant, thy heroic deeds were so many murders. Those whom thoudidst slay, thou didst butcher as doth a headsman. Thou couldstsurprise like a thief, but to fight like a man was never thy way, andthe blood that stains thee is the blood of fettered slaves. Thouabominable thing! The very victory is abominable which we have gainedover such a writhing worm as thou art. I should pity my sword if itever came into contact with thine. Let others say if they will thatthey have conquered Ali, I will only say that I have struck AliTepelenti in the face."
"By Allah, the one true God, that thou shall never say!" thunderedAli, leaping from his seat; and quickly drawing his sword, he whirledit like a glittering circle through the air.
Mehemet retreated a step backward, and drew his Damascus blade with asatisfied air.
"Fight not, Ali; go inside!" exclaimed Eminah, violently seizing Aliby the sword-arm.
Tepelenti shook her off and, with his sword flashing above his head,fell upon the sub-seraskier. Mehemet parried the stroke with hissword, and the next instant a huge jet of blood leaped into the airfrom Ali's shoulder.
Eminah, full of despair, flung herself between the combatants. She sawthat Ali was bleeding profusely, and throwing one arm around his knee,with the other hand she held up before the seraskier the amnesty ofKurshid Pasha.
"Look at that! The general swore that Tepelenti should not be slain."
"Not by the executioner," replied Mehemet; "but he did not guaranteehim against the sword of a warrior. Come, thou coward! or wilt thouhide behind the petticoat of thy wife?"
Eminah stretched out her arms towards Ali, but the old man thrust heraside and rushed upon Mehemet Pasha once more; but before he couldreach him another thrust pierced him through the heart. Without a sobhe collapsed at the feet of his foe.
The terrified odalisks rushed shrieking into the camp, whilst outsidea bloody combat began between the warriors of Mehemet and the warriorsof Ali. The former were numerous, so it was not long beforeTepelenti's guards were cut down, and Mehemet, with a contentedcountenance, returned to camp. A silken-net bag was hanging to hissaddle-bow, and in it was the head of Ali.
Kurshid Pasha washed his hand when the head was placed before him.
"I was not the cause of thy death!" he cried. "I guaranteed theeagainst the headsman, but not against the sword of warriors. Why didstthou provoke the lion?"
On the day fixed, beforehand, the Tartar horseman arrived in Stambulwith the head of Ali. The hours of his life had been calculatedexactly. An astronomer who determines the distances betweenconstellation and constellation is not more accurate in hiscalculations than was Kurshid in determining the date of his enemy'sdeath.
On that day the Sultan held high festival.
The Tsirogan palace, the Seraglio, all the fountains were illuminated,and Ali's head was carried through the principal streets of the townin triumphal procession, and finally exhibited on a silver salver infront of the middle gate of the Seraglio in the sight of all thepeople.
So there he stood at last, on a silver pedestal in front of theSeraglio. And the prophecy was fulfilled which had said, "A time willcome when thou shalt be in two places at once, in Stambul and inJanina!" So it was.
Ali's dead body was buried at Janina, and his head, at the same time,was standing in front of the Seraglio. At Janina, a single mourningwoman was weeping over the headless corpse; at Stambul a hundredthousand inquisitive idlers were shouting around the bodyless head.
At that gate where the head of Ali was exhibited the throng was sogreat that many people were crushed to death by the gapingsight-seers, who had all come hither to stare at the gray-beardedface, before whose wrathful look a whole realm had trembled.
At last, on the evening of the third day, when the well-feasted mobhad stared their fill and begun to disperse, there drew nigh to thegate of the Seraglio an old yellow-faced fakir who, from theappearance of his eyes, was evidently blind. His clothing consisted ofa simple sackcloth mantle, girded lightly round the waist by a cottongirdle, from which hung a long roll of manuscript; on his head he worea high mortar-shaped hat, the distinguishing mark of the Omarites.
All the people standing about respectfully made way for him as, withdowncast eyes and hands stretched forth, he groped his way along, and,without any one guiding him, made his way straight up to Tepelenti'shead.
There he stood and laid his right hand on the severed head, nonepreventing him.
And lo! it seemed to those who stood round as if the severed headslowly opened its eyes and looked upon the new-comer with cold, stony,stiff, dim eyeballs. This only lasted for a moment, and then theOmarite took his hand off the head and the eyes closed again. Perhapsit was but an illusion, after all!
Then the dervish spoke. His deep, grave voice sank into the hearts ofa
ll who heard him: "Go to Mahmoud, and tell him that I have boughtfrom him the head of Ali Pasha and the heads of his three sons,Sulaiman, Vely, and Mukhtar, and a whole empire is the price I pay himtherefor."
"What empire art thou able to give?" inquired the captain of theciauses who were guarding the head.
"That which is the fairest of all, that which is nearest to his heart,that which he had the least hope of--his own empire."
These bold words were reported to the Sultan, and the Grand Signiorsummoned the Omarite dervish to the palace, and shut himself up alonewith him till late at night. When the muezzin intoned the fifthnamazat, towards midnight, Mahmoud dismissed the dervish. What theysaid to each other remained a secret known only to themselves. Thefakir, on emerging from the Sultan's dressing-room, plucked a piece ofcoal from a censer, and wrote on the white alabaster wall thissentence, "Rather be a head without a hand than a hand without ahead," and nobody but the Sultan understood that saying.
Mahmoud commanded that nine purses of gold should be given to thedervish; he gave him also the heads of Ali and of Ali's three sons.
The dervish left the Seraglio with the four heads and the ninepurses. With the nine purses he bought an empty field in front of theSelembrian gate and planted it with cypress-trees, and at the foot ofevery cypress he set up a white turbaned tombstone--there werehundreds and hundreds side-by-side without inscriptions. He said, too,that it would not be long before the owners of these tombs arrived. Inthe middle of this cemetery, moreover, he dug a wide grave, and in ithe buried the heads of Ali's three sons, with their father's head inthe middle. He erected four turbaned tombstones over them, two at thehead and two at the foot of the grave, and on the largest of thesetombstones was written: "Here lies the valiant Ali Tepelenti, Pasha ofJanina, leaving behind him many other warriors who deserve death justas much as he."
The people murmured because of what was written on the tomb, but whodurst obliterate what is inscribed on the dwellings of the dead?
There the mysterious inscription remained on the tomb for four years,and in the fourth year its meaning was revealed.
Now this dervish was the _dzhin_ of Seleucia.