Vathek; An Arabian Tale

by William Beckford

so fast,” replied the Indian, “impatient Caliph! Know that I amparched with thirst, and cannot open this door till my thirst bethoroughly appeased. I require the blood of fifty of the most beautifulsons of thy viziers and great men, or neither can my thirst nor thycuriosity be satisfied. Return to Samarah; procure for me this necessarylibation; come back hither; throw it thyself into this chasm; and thenshalt thou see!”

  Having thus spoken, the Indian turned his back on the Caliph, who,incited by the suggestion of demons, resolved on the direful sacrifice.He now pretended to have regained his tranquillity, and set out forSamarah amidst the acclamations of a people who still loved him, andforbore not to rejoice when they believed him to have recovered hisreason. So successfully did he conceal the emotion of his heart, thateven Carathis and Morakanabad were equally deceived with the rest.Nothing was heard of but festivals and rejoicings. The ball, which notongue had hitherto ventured to mention, was again brought on the tapis.A general laugh went round; though many, still smarting under the handsof the surgeon, from the hurts received in that memorable adventure, hadno great reason for mirth.

  The prevalence of this gay humour was not a little grateful to Vathek, asperceiving how much it conduced to his project. He put on the appearanceof affability to every one; but especially to his viziers, and thegrandees of his court, whom he failed not to regale with a sumptuousbanquet, during which he insensibly inclined the conversation to thechildren of his guests. Having asked, with a good-natured air, who ofthem were blessed with the handsomest boys, every father at once assertedthe pretensions of his own; and the contest imperceptibly grew so warm,that nothing could have with-holden them from coming to blows but theirprofound reverence for the person of the Caliph. Under the pretence,therefore, of reconciling the disputants, Vathek took upon him to decide;and with this view commanded the boys to be brought.

  It was not long before a troop of these poor children made theirappearance, all equipped by their fond mothers with such ornaments asmight give the greatest relief to their beauty, or most advantageouslydisplay the graces of their age. But whilst this brilliant assemblageattracted the eyes and hearts of every one besides, the Caliphscrutinized each in his turn with a malignant avidity that passed forattention, and selected from their number the fifty whom he judged theGiaour would prefer.

  With an equal show of kindness as before, he proposed to celebrate afestival on the plain, for the entertainment of his young favourites, whohe said ought to rejoice still more than all at the restoration of hishealth, on account of the favours he intended for them.

  The Caliph’s proposal was received with the greatest delight, and soonpublished through Samarah. Litters, camels, and horses were prepared.Women and children, old men and young—every one placed himself in thestation he chose. The cavalcade set forward, attended by all theconfectioners in the city and its precincts. The populace, following onfoot, composed an amazing crowd, and occasioned no little noise. All wasjoy; nor did any one call to mind what most of them had suffered whenthey first travelled the road they were now passing so gaily.

  The evening was serene, the air refreshing, the sky clear, and theflowers exhaled their fragrance. The beams of the declining sun, whosemild splendour reposed on the summit of the mountain, shed a glow ofruddy light over its green declivity, and the white flocks sporting uponit. No sounds were audible, save the murmurs of the four fountains, andthe reeds and voices of shepherds, calling to each other from differenteminences.

  The lovely innocents, proceeding to the destined sacrifice, added not alittle to the hilarity of the scene. They approached the plain full ofsportiveness; some coursing butterflies, others culling flowers, orpicking up the shining little pebbles that attracted their notice. Atintervals, they nimbly started from each other, for the sake of beingcaught again, and mutually imparting a thousand caresses.

  The dreadful chasm, at whose bottom the portal of ebony was placed, beganto appear at a distance. It looked like a black streak that divided theplain. Morakanabad and his companions took it for some work which theCaliph had ordered. Unhappy men! little did they surmise for what it wasdestined.

  Vathek, not liking that they should examine it too nearly, stopped theprocession, and ordered a spacious circle to be formed on this side, atsome distance from the accursed chasm. The body-guard of eunuchs wasdetached, to measure out the lists intended for the games, and prepareringles for the lines to keep off the crowd. The fifty competitors weresoon stripped, and presented to the admiration of the spectators thesuppleness and grace of their delicate limbs. Their eyes sparkled with ajoy which those of their fond parents reflected. Every one offeredwishes for the little candidate nearest his heart, and doubted not of hisbeing victorious. A breathless suspense awaited the contest of theseamiable and innocent victims.

  The Caliph, availing himself of the first moment to retire from thecrowd, advanced towards the chasm, and there heard, yet not withoutshuddering, the voice of the Indian; who, gnashing his teeth, eagerlydemanded:

  “Where are they? Where are they? perceivest thou not how my mouthwaters?”

  “Relentless Giaour!” answered Vathek, with emotion, “can nothing contentthee but the massacre of these lovely victims? Ah! wert thou to beholdtheir beauty, it must certainly move thy compassion.”

  “Perdition on thy compassion, babbler!” cried the Indian. “Give them me!instantly give them, or my portal shall be closed against thee for ever!”

  “Not so loudly,” replied the Caliph, blushing.

  “I understand thee,” returned the Giaour, with the grin of an ogre: “thouwantest to summon up more presence of mind. I will for a momentforbear.”

  During this exquisite dialogue the games went forward with all alacrity,and at length concluded, just as the twilight began to overcast themountains. Vathek, who was still standing on the edge of the chasm,called out with all his might:

  “Let my fifty little favourites approach me, separately; and let themcome in the order of their success. To the first I will give my diamondbracelet; to the second my collar of emeralds; to the third my aigret ofrubies; to the fourth my girdle of topazes; and to the rest, each a partof my dress, even down to my slippers.”

  This declaration was received with reiterated acclamations; and allextolled the liberality of a prince who would thus strip himself for theamusement of his subjects and the encouragement of the rising generation.

  The Caliph in the mean while undressed himself by degrees; and raisinghis arm as high as he was able, made each of the prizes glitter in theair; but, whilst he delivered it with one hand to the child, who sprangforward to receive it, he with the other pushed the poor innocent intothe gulph, where the Giaour, with a sullen muttering, incessantlyrepeated “More! more!”

  This dreadful device was executed with so much dexterity, that the boywho was approaching him remained unconscious of the fate of hisforerunner; and as to the spectators, the shades of evening, togetherwith their distance, precluded them from perceiving any objectdistinctly. Vathek, having in this manner thrown in the last of thefifty, and expecting that the Giaour on receiving him would havepresented the key, already fancied himself as great as Soliman, andconsequently above being amenable for what he had done; when, to hisutter amazement, the chasm closed, and the ground became as entire as therest of the plain.

  No language could express his rage and despair. He execrated the perfidyof the Indian; loaded him with the most infamous invectives; and stampedwith his foot as resolving to be heard. He persisted in this demeanourtill his strength failed him, and then fell on the earth like one void ofsense. His viziers and grandees, who were nearer than the rest, supposedhim at first to be sitting on the grass at play with their amiablechildren; but at length, prompted by doubt, they advanced towards thespot, and found the Caliph alone, who wildly demanded what they wanted.

  “Our children! our children!” cried they.

  “It is assuredly pleasant,” said he, “to make me accountable foraccidents. Y
our children, while at play, fell from the precipice thatwas here; and I should have experienced their fate had I not been savedby a sudden start back.”

  At these words, the fathers of the fifty boys cried out aloud: themothers repeated their exclamations an octave higher; whilst the rest,without knowing the cause, soon drowned the voices of both, with stilllouder lamentations of their own.

  “Our Caliph,” said they, and the report soon circulated, “Our Caliph hasplayed us this trick, to gratify his accursed Giaour. Let us punish himfor his perfidy! let us avenge ourselves! let us avenge the blood of theinnocent! let us throw this cruel Prince into the gulph that is near, andlet his name be mentioned no more!”

  At this rumour, and these menaces, Carathis, full of consternation,hastened to Morakanabad, and said:

  “Vizier, you have lost two beautiful boys, and must necessarily be themost afflicted of fathers; but you are virtuous; save your master!”

  “I will brave every hazard,” replied the Vizier, “to rescue him from hispresent danger; but