Murad the Unlucky, and Other Tales

by Maria Edgeworth

  CHAPTER II

  "The merchant, who was become my master, treated me with great kindness;but on hearing me relate the whole series of my unfortunate adventures,he exacted a promise from me that I would do nothing without firstconsulting him. 'Since you are so unlucky, Murad,' said he, 'that youalways choose for the worst when you choose for yourself, you shouldtrust entirely to the judgment of a wiser or a more fortunate friend.'

  "I fared well in the service of this merchant, who was a man of a milddisposition, and who was so rich that he could afford to be generous toall his dependants. It was my business to see his camels loaded andunloaded at proper places, to count his bales of merchandise, and to takecare that they were not mixed with those of his companions. This Icarefully did till the day we arrived at Alexandria; when, unluckily, Ineglected to count the bales, taking it for granted that they were allright, as I had found them so the preceding day. However, when we wereto go on board the vessel that was to take us to Cairo, I perceived thatthree bales of cotton were missing.

  "I ran to inform my master, who, though a good deal provoked at mynegligence, did not reproach me as I deserved. The public crier wasimmediately sent round the city, to offer a reward for the recovery ofthe merchandise; and it was restored by one of the merchants' slaves withwhom we had travelled. The vessel was now under sail; my master and Iand the bales of cotton were obliged to follow in a boat; and when wewere taken on board, the captain declared he was so loaded, that he couldnot tell where to stow the bales of cotton. After much difficulty, heconsented to let them remain upon deck; and I promised my master to watchthem night and day.

  "We had a prosperous voyage, and were actually in sight of shore, whichthe captain said we could not fail to reach early the next morning. Istayed, as usual, this night upon deck, and solaced myself by smoking mypipe. Ever since I had indulged in this practice at the camp at ElArish, I could not exist without opium and tobacco. I suppose that myreason was this night a little clouded with the dose I took; but towardsmidnight I was sobered by terror. I started up from the deck on which Ihad stretched myself; my turban was in flames--the bale of cotton onwhich I had rested was all on fire. I awakened two sailors, who werefast asleep on deck. The consternation became general, and the confusionincreased the danger. The captain and my master were the most active,and suffered the most, in extinguishing the flames--my master wasterribly scorched.

  "For my part, I was not suffered to do anything; the captain ordered thatI should be bound to the mast; and when at last the flames wereextinguished, the passengers, with one accord, besought him to keep mebound hand and foot, lest I should be the cause of some new disaster. Allthat had happened was, indeed, occasioned by my ill-luck. I had laid mypipe down, when I was falling asleep, upon the bale of cotton that wasbeside me. The fire from my pipe fell out and set the cotton in flames.Such was the mixture of rage and terror with which I had inspired thewhole crew, that I am sure they would have set me ashore on a desertisland rather than have had me on board for a week longer. Even myhumane master, I could perceive, was secretly impatient to get rid ofMurad the Unlucky and his evil fortune.

  "You may believe that I was heartily glad when we landed, and when I wasunbound. My master put a purse containing fifty sequins into my hand,and bade me farewell. 'Use this money prudently, Murad, if you can,'said he, 'and perhaps your fortune may change.' Of this I had littlehopes, but determined to lay out my money as prudently as possible.

  "As I was walking through the streets of Grand Cairo, considering how Ishould lay out my fifty sequins to the greatest advantage, I was stoppedby one who called me by my name, and asked me if I could pretend to haveforgotten his face. I looked steadily at him, and recollected to mysorrow that he was the Jew Rachub, from whom I had borrowed certain sumsof money at the camp at El Arish. What brought him to Grand Cairo,except it was my evil destiny, I cannot tell. He would not quit me; hewould take no excuses; he said he knew that I had deserted twice, oncefrom the Turkish and once from the English army; that I was not entitledto any pay; and that he could not imagine it possible that my brotherSaladin would own me or pay my debts.

  "I replied, for I was vexed by the insolence of this Jewish dog, that Iwas not, as he imagined, a beggar: that I had the means of paying him myjust debt, but that I hoped he would not extort from me all thatexorbitant interest which none but a Jew could exact. He smiled, andanswered that if a Turk loved opium better than money this was no faultof his; that he had supplied me with what I loved best in the world, andthat I ought not to complain when he expected I should return the favour.

  "I will not weary you, gentlemen, with all the arguments that passedbetween me and Rachub. At last we compromised matters; he would takenothing less than the whole debt: but he let me have at a very cheap ratea chest of second-hand clothes, by which he assured me I might make myfortune. He brought them to Grand Cairo, he said, for the purpose ofselling them to slave merchants, who, at this time of the year, were inwant of them to supply their slaves; but he was in haste to get home tohis wife and family at Constantinople, and, therefore, he was willing tomake over to a friend the profits of this speculation. I should havedistrusted Rachub's professions of friendship, and especially ofdisinterestedness, but he took me with him to the khan where his goodswere, and unlocked the chest of clothes to show them to me. They were ofthe richest and finest materials, and had been but little worn. I couldnot doubt the evidence of my senses; the bargain was concluded, and theJew sent porters to my inn with the chest.

  "The next day I repaired to the public market-place; and, when mybusiness was known, I had choice of customers before night--my chest wasempty, and my purse was full. The profit I made upon the sale of theseclothes was so considerable, that I could not help feeling astonishmentat Rachub's having brought himself so readily to relinquish them.

  "A few days after I had disposed of the contents of my chest, a Damascenemerchant, who had bought two suits of apparel from me, told me, with avery melancholy face, that both the female slaves who had put on theseclothes were sick. I could not conceive that the clothes were the causeof their sickness; but soon afterwards, as I was crossing the market, Iwas attacked by at least a dozen merchants, who made similar complaints.They insisted upon knowing how I came by the garments, and demandedwhether I had worn any of them myself. This day I had, for the firsttime, indulged myself with wearing a pair of yellow slippers, the onlyfinery I had reserved for myself out of all the tempting goods. Convincedby my wearing these slippers that I could have had no insidious designs,since I shared the danger, whatever it might be, the merchants were alittle pacified; but what was my terror and remorse the next day, whenone of them came to inform me that plague-boils had broken out under thearms of all the slaves who had worn this pestilential apparel! Onlooking carefully into the chest, we found the word 'Smyrna' written, andhalf effaced, upon the lid. Now, the plague had for some time raged atSmyrna; and, as the merchants suspected, these clothes had certainlybelonged to persons who had died of that distemper. This was the reasonwhy the Jew was willing to sell them to me so cheap; and it was for thisreason that he would not stay at Grand Cairo himself to reap the profitsof his speculation. Indeed, if I had paid attention to it at the propertime, a slight circumstance might have revealed the truth to me. WhilstI was bargaining with the Jew, before he opened the chest, he swallowed alarge dram of brandy, and stuffed his nostrils with sponge dipped invinegar; he told me, he did to prevent his perceiving the smell of musk,which always threw him into convulsions.

  "The horror I felt when I discovered that I had spread the infection ofthe plague, and that I had probably caught it myself, overpowered mysenses--a cold dew spread over all my limbs, and I fell upon the lid ofthe fatal chest in a swoon. It is said that fear disposes people to takethe infection; however this may be, I sickened that evening, and soon wasin a raging fever. It was worse for me whenever the delirium left me,and I could reflect upon the miseries my ill-fortune had occasioned. Inmy
first lucid interval I looked round, and saw that I had been removedfrom the khan to a wretched hut. An old woman, who was smoking her pipein the farthest corner of my room, informed me that I had been sent outof the town of Grand Cairo by order of the cadi, to whom the merchantshad made their complaint. The fatal chest was burnt, and the house inwhich I had lodged razed to the ground. 'And if it had not been for me,'continued the old woman, 'you would have been dead probably at thisinstant; but I have made a vow to our great Prophet that I would neverneglect an opportunity of doing a good action; therefore, when you weredeserted by all the world, I took care of you. Here, too, is your purse,which I saved from the rabble--and, what is more difficult, from theofficers of justice. I will account to you for every part that I haveexpended; and will, moreover, tell you the reason of my making such anextraordinary vow.'

  "As I believed that this benevolent old woman took great pleasure intalking, I made an inclination of my head to thank her for her promisedhistory, and she proceeded; but I must confess I did not listen with allthe attention her narrative doubtless deserved. Even curiosity, thestrongest passion of us Turks, was dead within me. I have norecollection of the old woman's story. It is as much as I can do tofinish my own.

  "The weather became excessively hot; it was affirmed by some of thephysicians that this heat would prove fatal to their patients; but,contrary to the prognostics of the physicians, it stopped the progress ofthe plague. I recovered, and found my purse much lightened by myillness. I divided the remainder of my money with my humane nurse, andsent her out into the city to inquire how matters were going on.

  "She brought me word that the fury of the plague had much abated, butthat she had met several funerals, and that she had heard many of themerchants cursing the folly of Murad the Unlucky, who, as they said, hadbrought all this calamity upon the inhabitants of Cairo. Even fools,they say, learn by experience. I took care to burn the bed on which Ihad lain and the clothes I had worn; I concealed my real name, which Iknew would inspire detestation, and gained admittance, with a crowd ofother poor wretches, into a lazaretto, where I performed quarantine andoffered up prayers daily for the sick.

  "When I thought it was impossible I could spread the infection, I took mypassage home. I was eager to get away from Grand Cairo, where I knew Iwas an object of execration. I had a strange fancy haunting my mind; Iimagined that all my misfortunes, since I left Constantinople, had arisenfrom my neglect of the talisman upon the beautiful china vase. I dreamedthree times, when I was recovering from the plague, that a geniusappeared to me, and said, in a reproachful tone, 'Murad, where is thevase that was entrusted to thy care?'

  "This dream operated strongly upon my imagination. As soon as we arrivedat Constantinople, which we did, to my great surprise, without meetingwith any untoward accidents, I went in search of my brother Saladin toinquire for my vase. He no longer lived in the house in which I lefthim, and I began to be apprehensive that he was dead, but a porter,hearing my inquiries, exclaimed, 'Who is there in Constantinople that isignorant of the dwelling of Saladin the Lucky? Come with me, and I willshow it to you.'

  "The mansion to which he conducted me looked so magnificent that I wasalmost afraid to enter lest there should be some mistake. But whilst Iwas hesitating the doors opened, and I heard my brother Saladin's voice.He saw me almost at the same instant that I fixed my eyes upon him, andimmediately sprang forward to embrace me. He was the same good brotheras ever, and I rejoiced in his prosperity with all my heart. 'BrotherSaladin,' said I, 'can you now doubt that some men are born to befortunate and others to be unfortunate? How often you used to disputethis point with me!'

  "'Let us not dispute it now in the public street,' said he, smiling; 'butcome in and refresh yourself, and we will consider the questionafterwards at leisure.'

  "'No, my dear brother,' said I, drawing back, 'you are too good: Muradthe Unlucky shall not enter your house, lest he should draw downmisfortunes upon you and yours. I come only to ask for my vase.'

  "'It is safe,' cried he; 'come in, and you shall see it: but I will notgive it up till I have you in my house. I have none of thesesuperstitious fears: pardon me the expression, but I have none of thesesuperstitious fears.'

  "I yielded, entered his house, and was astonished at all I saw. Mybrother did not triumph in his prosperity; but, on the contrary, seemedintent only upon making me forget my misfortunes: he listened to theaccount of them with kindness, and obliged me by the recital of hishistory: which was, I must acknowledge, far less wonderful than my own.He seemed, by his own account, to have grown rich in the common course ofthings; or rather, by his own prudence. I allowed for his prejudices,and, unwilling to dispute farther with him, said, 'You must remain ofyour opinion, brother, and I of mine; you are Saladin the Lucky, and IMurad the Unlucky; and so we shall remain to the end of our lives.'

  "I had not been in his house four days when an accident happened, whichshowed how much I was in the right. The favourite of the sultan, to whomhe had formerly sold his china vase, though her charms were now somewhatfaded by time, still retained her power and her taste for magnificence.She commissioned my brother to bespeak for her, at Venice, the mostsplendid looking-glass that money could purchase. The mirror, after manydelays and disappointments, at length arrived at my brother's house. Heunpacked it, and sent to let the lady know it was in perfect safety. Itwas late in the evening, and she ordered it should remain where it wasthat night, and that it should be brought to the seraglio the nextmorning. It stood in a sort of ante-chamber to the room in which Islept; and with it were left some packages, containing glass chandeliersfor an unfinished saloon in my brother's house. Saladin charged all hisdomestics to be vigilant this night, because he had money to a greatamount by him, and there had been frequent robberies in ourneighbourhood. Hearing these orders, I resolved to be in readiness at amoment's warning. I laid my scimitar beside me upon a cushion, and leftmy door half open, that I might hear the slightest noise in theante-chamber or the great staircase. About midnight I was suddenlyawakened by a noise in the ante-chamber. I started up, seized myscimitar, and the instant I got to the door, saw, by the light of thelamp which was burning in the room, a man standing opposite to me, with adrawn sword in his hand. I rushed forward, demanding what he wanted, andreceived no answer; but seeing him aim at me with his scimitar, I gavehim, as I thought, a deadly blow. At this instant I heard a great crash;and the fragments of the looking-glass, which I had shivered, fell at myfeet. At the same moment something black brushed by my shoulder: Ipursued it, stumbled over the packages of glass, and rolled over themdown the stairs.

  "My brother came out of his room to inquire the cause of all thisdisturbance; and when he saw the fine mirror broken, and me lying amongstthe glass chandeliers at the bottom of the stairs, he could not forbearexclaiming, 'Well, brother! you are indeed Murad the Unlucky.'

  "When the first emotion was over, he could not, however, forbear laughingat my situation. With a degree of goodness, which made me a thousandtimes more sorry for the accident, he came downstairs to help me up, gaveme his hand, and said, 'Forgive me if I was angry with you at first. Iam sure you did not mean to do me any injury; but tell me how all thishas happened?'

  "Whilst Saladin was speaking, I heard the same kind of noise which hadalarmed me in the ante-chamber; but, on looking back, I saw only a blackpigeon, which flew swiftly by me, unconscious of the mischief he hadoccasioned. This pigeon I had unluckily brought into the house thepreceding day; and had been feeding and trying to tame it for my youngnephews. I little thought it would be the cause of such disasters. Mybrother, though he endeavoured to conceal his anxiety from me, was muchdisturbed at the idea of meeting the favourite's displeasure, who wouldcertainly be grievously disappointed by the loss of her splendid looking-glass. I saw that I should inevitably be his ruin if I continued in hishouse; and no persuasions could prevail upon me to prolong my stay. Mygenerous brother, seeing me determined to go, said to me, 'A factor, whomI have em
ployed for some years to sell merchandise for me, died a fewdays ago. Will you take his place? I am rich enough to bear any littlemistakes you may fall into from ignorance of business; and you will havea partner who is able and willing to assist you.'

  "I was touched to the heart by this kindness, especially at such a timeas this. He sent one of his slaves with me to the shop in which you nowsee me, gentlemen. The slave, by my brother's directions, brought withus my china vase, and delivered it safely to me, with this message: 'Thescarlet dye that was found in this vase, and in its fellow, was the firstcause of Saladin's making the fortune he now enjoys: he therefore does nomore than justice in sharing that fortune with his brother Murad.'

  "I was now placed in as advantageous a situation as possible; but my mindwas ill at ease when I reflected that the broken mirror might be mybrother's ruin. The lady by whom it had been bespoken was, I well knew,of a violent temper; and this disappointment was sufficient to provokeher to vengeance. My brother sent me word this morning, however, thatthough her displeasure was excessive, it was in my power to prevent anyill consequences that might ensue. 'In my power!' I exclaimed; 'then,indeed, I am happy! Tell my brother there is nothing I will not do toshow him my gratitude and to save him from the consequences of my folly.'

  "The slave who was sent by my brother seemed unwilling to name what wasrequired of me, saying that his master was afraid I should not like togrant the request. I urged him to speak freely, and he then told me thefavourite declared nothing would make her amends for the loss of themirror but the fellow-vase to that which she had bought from Saladin. Itwas impossible for me to hesitate; gratitude for my brother's generouskindness overcame my superstitious obstinacy, and I sent him word I wouldcarry the vase to him myself.

  "I took it down this evening from the shelf on which it stood; it wascovered with dust, and I washed it, but, unluckily, in endeavouring toclean the inside from the remains of the scarlet powder, I poured hotwater into it, and immediately I heard a simmering noise, and my vase, ina few instants, burst asunder with a loud explosion. These fragments,alas! are all that remain. The measure of my misfortunes is nowcompleted! Can you wonder, gentlemen, that I bewail my evil destiny? AmI not justly called Murad the Unlucky? Here end all my hopes in thisworld! Better would it have been if I had died long ago! Better that Ihad never been born! Nothing I ever have done or attempted hasprospered. Murad the Unlucky is my name, and ill-fate has marked me forher own."