SERVANT GIRL (a Greek, in broken French): Actually, I saw Felâtun Bey at the crossroads and he was heading in this direction.
MR. ZIKLAS: When was this?
SERVANT GIRL: As the sun was just about to set.
MR. ZIKLAS: Oh, I thought you saw him just now. So does that mean he won’t be coming then, Râkım Efendi?
RKIM: Since he promised to come, and your servant saw him heading in this direction, surely something extraordinary must have occurred that prevented him from coming.
As Râkım responded to Mr. Ziklas, he looked at the cook out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was blushing deeply. Upon seeing this, all remaining doubt in his mind was dispelled and he knew what had really happened.
What do you think he suspected?
We told you all that was known for now. This issue will become clear in three days, so we don’t have the time to elaborate on something that is still only a suspicion. In any event, they had an enjoyable dinner. After dinner, they began their lesson and finished it an hour later. It had been six months since the girls started learning Turkish. During this time, the girls had gone beyond reading and writing, and were now able to combine little sentences and phrases without any mistakes and to understand the meaning of a text if it was written clearly.
After the lesson, as Râkım was getting ready to ask permission to depart, Mr. Ziklas proposed, “Monsieur Râkım! If you don’t have anything else to do right now, you could stay a while longer and have some fun. We’ll have the mademoiselles play some music and sing a few songs for us.” Râkım gratefully agreed to stay and both girls sat in front of the piano and played together.
Râkım, reclining on one side of the room, listened to them attentively. After singing a few more alafranga songs, they turned to a beautiful tune by the Armenian composer Nikogos, “O morning breeze, do not blow, my darling is asleep,” whereupon Râkım became emotional. Now, would you have expected Mrs. Ziklas to ask Râkım Efendi to sing this song? In alafranga manners it would be inappropriate to refuse such a request, and Râkım also had sufficient musical talent, so he began singing at a low pitch, slowly tuned his voice to the piano, and finished the song.
The English liked how well he sang. Afterwards, the girls charged him with transcribing the lyrics that the poet Ziya Pasha had written for the tune. And later, as Râkım translated them into French, everyone admired the beauty of each charming verse. The girls, again with Râkım’s assistance, wrote the Turkish lyrics to the song underneath the notes and later sang it in Turkish. Although they had trouble synchronizing the words with the music, they were sure to succeed with further practice.
Râkım left the English household later that evening and returned home. On the way, his mind was completely consumed thinking about Felâtun Bey’s mayonnaise incident. Felâtun Bey had also been invited to the Ziklas household that night, and the servant had actually seen him enter Asmalımescit Street, but nevertheless he hadn’t arrived for dinner. Râkım had also observed him with mayonnaise sauce spilled all over his clothes. And during dinner they had talked about some mayonnaise getting spilled. If one puts two and two together, one couldn’t possibly reach a conclusion that would make Felâtun Bey proud. Upon arriving home, he saw that his nanny had gone to sleep due to her old age, and that only Janan was waiting for him. Gracious God! This girl was becoming more beautiful every single day! How polite, well-spoken, and full of joy she was! It was impossible for somebody not to cheer up upon seeing her! She had also learned Turkish thoroughly. She tickled people’s fancy whenever she said something with that accent unique to the Circassians!
Yes, these ideas certainly crossed Râkım’s mind. Definitely. But he suppressed his emotions and sighed, for he had entirely different ideas as far as Janan was concerned. It had gotten late, so while helping him undress, Janan limited herself to asking him a few questions, and he went to bed straightaway. Janan retired to her room. They both went to sleep.
Over the next few days, Râkım reflected continuously on the mayonnaise incident. The next day, when he came home, Janan gave him a letter saying, “Remember that servant who always brings notes from the foreigners? He brought it.” Râkım opened the letter and realized that it was from Jan and Margaret. Here is the translation:
Our esteemed teacher!
Our father saw Felâtun Bey today. He complained to him that he had not shown up for dinner the other day, and asked him to come tonight for sure. Felâtun Bey promised to come. We, on the other hand, do not enjoy his presence as much as we enjoy yours. So we ask you to please come to the house sometime before dinner. We assume that you will accept our request to save your two dear students from their anguish.
Margaret and Jan
Râkım was taken aback by the wording of the letter. He thought to himself, “How strange that the girls don’t enjoy Felâtun Bey’s presence, but that they enjoy mine. I wonder why. I haven’t done anything to make them like me. I haven’t thought of anything besides fulfilling my teaching duties. I wonder what Felâtun did to make them so dislike him? Did the mayonnaise incident make them suspicious perhaps? Nah! Nobody could have gotten to the bottom of it yet, could they? They are hoping that I’ll rescue them, my ‘two dear students,’ from their anguish, huh? Dear students? Where did they get that idea? There is something strange going on here, but let’s wait and see.”
As it was Thursday, Janan’s piano teacher arrived in the late afternoon. Josephine was happy to find Râkım home, and scolded him affectionately,
JOSEPHINE: Well, well, Monsieur Râkım! I’m surprised to see you. Do you ever come home?
RKIM: Doesn’t everybody come home, Madame?
JOSEPHINE: Everybody does but you seem to be an exception. It has been months since I’ve last seen you!
RKIM: To tell you the truth, I regret how much business has kept me away from home.
JOSEPHINE: I don’t care about that. Remember our deal? If a teacher isn’t paid, she has the right to quit.
RKIM: Of course! You’re quite right about that, Madame. But I trust that your humanity and compassion will permit you to forgive me.
JOSEPHINE: No way. I don’t know what sort of business has kept you from having a decent conversation with me. I think you find those tomato-y English girls so attractive that you’re not able to see us, your true friends.
RKIM: Not at all, Madame! That thought never even crossed my mind. You know me!
JOSEPHINE: Right, and I’m telling you this because I know you! I have every right to scold you. You come to Beyoğlu twice a week to tutor the English girls but you never stop by your friend Josephine’s house to say hello, even though it’s the polite thing to do.
RKIM: Now I agree that this has been a mistake on my part. But I made this mistake because I don’t know where your house is. Honestly, Madame, you have the right to scold me. Please do so. In fact, if you really want, I shall give you a stick and let you beat me. But however you choose to punish me, please do it now so that I know I am forgiven.
JOSEPHINE: Whatever the punishment?
RKIM: Yes, Madame!
JOSEPHINE: Well then, I’ve decided on your punishment. I’ll implement it when the time comes.
RKIM: For my part, starting tomorrow, I won’t neglect my duty to stop by your house and pay my regards before I leave Beyoğlu.
After this conversation was over, Josephine told Janan, who was waiting for her:
JOSEPHINE: Voyons. Ma petite! As-tu appris ta leçon? (Let’s see, my dear! Have you learned your lesson?)
JANAN: Oui, Madame (Yes, Ma’m).
RKIM: What’s this? Is our Janan also learning French?
JOSEPHINE: If she doesn’t learn French, how can I speak with her? Am I going to be forced to learn Turkish while she can learn French easily?
JANAN (shyly): Yes, Sir! Madame is having me learn French.
RKIM: Why are you blushing and complaining as if you are doing something wrong? How wonderful! You shouldn’t just learn to speak French.
I shall . . .
JANAN: I am not only learning to speak it, Sir, I am learning to write as well.
RKIM: Let me see how you write it.
Janan went to fetch her notebook. Râkım saw that her notebook had a lot of French words written in Turkish script and said that this wasn’t the way to learn French. He promised that he would tutor her in French himself. It is odd that Janan, unlike Josephine, didn’t seem particularly excited about this prospect.
Indeed! Janan wasn’t too happy about learning French. But you know that Janan could learn something even if she wasn’t inclined, faster even than those who are enthusiastic about it since she was naturally so intelligent, an intelligence which had been dormant before Râkım bought her. She was so smart! Josephine was amazed that she never had to repeat any lesson. Her quick comprehension led Josephine to grow even fonder of this poor little girl. What we are trying to say is that she would certainly learn the French lessons that Râkım began to give her that evening, as quickly and skillfully as she had learned Turkish and how to play the piano.
Oh! It has been some time since we informed you about Janan’s Turkish. She started writing about this and that, and could comprehend every new book she read by herself. Râkım even started showing her some Arabic and Persian using a shortcut method.
The next day, Râkım went to Beyoğlu a little earlier as he intended to visit both Josephine and the Ziklas household. He arrived at Josephine’s house, which he learned was on Posta Street, shortly before sunset. Josephine was waiting for him. After the preliminary “Bonjour, Madame,” “Bonjour, Monsieur,” and inquiring about each other’s health, they started chatting. They spoke highly of Janan. Josephine admired Janan’s acute intelligence, found her beauty to be exceptional, and was surprised that Râkım wasn’t moved by her attributes even though she lived with him and was his own property.
Are we sensing some discomfort in Josephine? Yes! Although she discoursed pleasantly, there was clearly something unspoken on her mind. Meanwhile, another topic came up:
JOSEPHINE: Do you drink rakı, Monsieur Râkım?
RKIM: To be honest, Madame, I can’t say either yes or no. Sometimes I do. But I’m not in the habit.
JOSEPHINE: Honestly Sir, one of the best things about this place is rakı. I like it very much. Let me tell you a secret. Just like the Turks, I drink rakı every night, but just a little! About three or four glasses.
RKIM: That’s good, Madame. A little bit of rakı can be rather nice.
JOSEPHINE: Should I order some?
RKIM: As you wish, Madame.
Josephine called for her servant Marie and ordered some rakı. As it had already been prepared to be served, Marie returned with it immediately and placed it on the table in the middle of the room. They poured some into their glasses, toasted saying, “To your health!” and drank. Râkım couldn’t take his eyes off the piano that was on one side of the room. Josephine noticed this and asked,
JOSEPHINE: Would you like it if I played the guitar and sang some of those so-called romance songs?
RKIM: I would be overjoyed!
After they drank another glass of rakı, Josephine picked up her guitar. She started off with an introduction to the song and proposed another glass. Râkım said that he couldn’t drink that fast. Josephine drank another glass saying that everyone was free to do whatever they wished. As a result she sang the final parts of the song in a pleasant and melancholy way.
After she stopped playing, Râkım refilled only half of his glass as he wasn’t used to drinking but at Josephine’s request filled hers all the way up, and they toasted again. Josephine’s eyes started to look different, and her earlier discomfort gave way to elation. Râkım said, “Now I understand how mistaken and foolish I’ve been for not pursuing our friendship. In fact, from now on I’ll never make this mistake again and will even dare to give you a headache with my conversation.” When he said that, Josephine rose to her feet and approached Râkım saying, “Oh! You just reminded me: I was going to give you your punishment.”
RKIM: Is punishment still necessary, Madame? After honoring me with all these compliments, how can you punish me?
JOSEPHINE: Of course I can. There is no way I’m not punishing you for your mistake.
With that, she boldly gave him a passionate kiss. This turn of events didn’t surprise Râkım because by then he had already suspected from her behavior that things were headed in that direction. After chatting for another hour, he said goodbye to Josephine and headed over to the Ziklas household. He was surprised by how his luck and destiny changed colors like a chameleon at every turn.
It’s quite possible that some readers are now asking how Râkım and Josephine conversed during the hour after the aforementioned incident took place. In storytelling, some details should be left out. These details can be figured out through intuition. Let us tell you this much: when Râkım was taking leave of Josephine, she said to him, “I have now revealed my secret and expressed my love. My feelings arise from knowing that you are a man worth loving and that you have a reputation for being morally upright and honorable. You also know that I have a similar reputation to uphold in this social circle. You must understand how important it is to keep what happened a secret.” Râkım thanked her, responding that he had been about to ask the same of her, and took his leave.
Look at that! Felâtun Bey was right; Râkım Efendi does play his cards close to his chest!
Yes, esteemed readers! We already told you we’re not describing the manners of an angel. We’re describing the true nature of a young man who knows how to protect his honor and to live decently and genuinely alafranga. But above all we are describing someone of our times. If you can show us a young man who could have restrained himself in Râkım’s situation that night, we will add him to this story. Reasonable young men like Râkım know how to play their cards close to their chests and keep certain things under their hats. But if you are looking for the opposite sort, Felâtun Bey is the perfect example.
Now, when you look at these two young men from the moral point of view . . . How perfect! We are offering you two kinds of morality by showing you the behavior of two young men of our time. You’re free to choose the one you prefer. You’re also free to dislike both of them!
Fearing that he might be late for his lesson, Râkım Efendi rushed to Asmalımescit. He knocked forcefully on Mr. Ziklas’s door because he’d arrived in a hurry and was still preoccupied thinking about his earlier behavior. The weather was overcast and it had already grown dark. What do you think Râkım encountered as the door opened and he entered the house? Let’s see:
As soon as he stepped inside, a bulky woman hugged Râkım and squeezed him tightly. “Cruel man! Why are you late? I’ve been waiting for such a long time, are you going to spill mayonnaise sauce all over yourself again tonight?” she said in French.
Do you now understand that this lady was the cook and see how the mayonnaise incident must have unfolded?
Râkım didn’t say a word but the cook realized what she had done and immediately begged for forgiveness. Râkım, feigning ignorance, managed to get her to admit what had really happened with the mayonnaise sauce.
She was a corpulent, buxom French woman and apparently Felâtun Bey liked her. She liked Felâtun Bey, too, both for his looks and for his money, and after only a short time they had arrived at the point where they almost “cooked it.” Two nights ago Felâtun Bey accidentally knocked the mayonnaise pot down over himself while he was making love to the cook in the kitchen. There was no way he could go upstairs to join the family for dinner in that condition, so he fled from the house. The cook begged Râkım to keep this incident a secret, and he assured her that she could trust him.
Felâtun Bey hadn’t arrived at the Ziklas house yet and the Ziklas family, along with some of their other friends, a couple ladies and a few men, were waiting for Râkım and Felâtun.
Felâtun Bey showed up ten minutes later. Mr. Ziklas uttered a few words to Felâtu
n about keeping his friends waiting but Felâtun explained that his father was very sick and that this had prevented him from coming on time. Mr. Ziklas accepted his apology.
They all sat down together at the dinner table and began to eat their soup.
MR. ZIKLAS (to the cook): Hopefully tonight the mayonnaise sauce hasn’t been spilled.
As soon as he heard these words, Felâtun Bey glanced at Mr. Ziklas, Râkım, and the cook but was relieved when he saw no sign of suspicion in their expressions, with the exception of the cook.
RKIM: From now on they’ll be more careful, Sir, and won’t spill the mayonnaise sauce.
FELTUN (to cover his embarrassment): What happened, Sir? Did somebody spill the mayonnaise sauce one night?
MR. ZIKLAS: Yes! Last night, she spilled the mayonnaise sauce at the last minute, so we had to eat plain boiled fish.
Nothing more about the mayonnaise incident was uttered that night, and they started talking about other things. Yet, whenever Felâtun Bey glanced at the cook, she was reminded of the incident and blushed.
There isn’t any need to expand on the conversation that followed at the dinner table. Except for when they started talking about what a refined and pleasant language Ottoman was and how difficult it was to teach, Jan and Margaret earned everyone’s compliments by reciting Râkım Efendi’s translation of the song “O morning breeze, do not blow/my darling is asleep.” In the meantime, Felâtun Bey tried to demonstrate Râkım’s ignorance once again and wanted Râkım to feel even more embarrassed than he himself had over the mayonnaise incident, so he asserted that the song didn’t start with the verse “O morning breeze, do not blow,” but rather with “O morning breeze, my brunette darling,” and even went so far as to declare that brunette meant blonde in French.
Râkım didn’t say anything to this objection; he only contented himself with a strange smile. But at the table was Baron T——, who had sufficient knowledge of Ottoman, and he started to object to Felâtun Bey and confirmed that the song should indeed start with the verse “O morning breeze, do not blow/my darling is asleep.”
Felâtun Bey and Râkim Efendi Page 6