The Captain of the Janizaries
Page 40
CHAPTER XL.
Mahomet had not expended all his petulant rage upon feelingless wavesand distant Christians. He summoned to his presence the Admiral of hisdefeated fleet, Baltaoghli, and ordered that he should be impaled.
The Admiral had shown as much naval skill as could, perhaps, have beenexhibited with the unwieldy boats at his command; and, moreover, hadbrought from the fight an eyeless socket to attest his bravery anddevotion. The penalty, therefore, which Mahomet attached to hismisfortune, brought cries of entreaty in his behalf from other braveofficers, especially from the leading Janizaries. This opposition atfirst confirmed the determination of the irate despot. But soon thepetition of the honored corps swelled into a murmur, which the moreexperienced of his advisers persuaded Mahomet to heed.
The Sultan had schooled himself to obey the precept which Yusef, theeunuch, who instructed his childhood, had imparted, viz, "Make passionbend to policy." He therefore apparently yielded, so far at least asto compromise with those whom he feared to offend, and commuted theAdmiral's sentence to a flogging.
The brave man was stretched upon the ground by four slaves. Turning toCaptain Ballaban, the Sultan bade him lay on the lash. Ballabanhesitated. Drawing near to Mahomet, he said respectfully, but firmly,
"The Janizaries are soldiers, not executioners, Sire."
Mahomet's rage burst as suddenly as powder under the spark.
"Away with the rebel!" cried he. "We will find the executioner forhim, too, who dares to disobey our orders."
Seizing his golden mace, the Sultan himself beat the prostrate form ofthe Admiral until it was senseless.
Wearying of his bloody work, Mahomet glared like a half satiated beastupon those about him.
"Where is the damned rebel who dares dispute my will? Did no onearrest him?"
"The order was not so understood," said an Aga who was near.
"You understand it now," growled the infuriated, yet half-ashamed,monarch. "Arrest him!--But no! Let these slaves go search for therunaway. It shall be their office to deal with one who dares to breakwith my will."
The Janizaries returned to their places near the walls.
Mahomet was ill at ease when his better judgment displaced his unwisepassion. His love for Ballaban, the manliness of the captain's replyto the unreasonable order, and the danger of injuring one who stood sohigh in the estimate of the entire Janizary corps, were not outweighedeven by the sense of the indignity which the act of disobedience hadput upon the royal authority.
The slaves, not daring to venture among the Janizaries in their searchfor Captain Ballaban, easily persuaded themselves that he must havefled; and that, perhaps, he might be lurking somewhere on the shore,as this was the only way of escape. Their search was rewarded. Thoughin the disguise of scant garments, utterly exhausted so that he couldmake no resistance, their victim was readily recognized by his formand features, which were too peculiar to be mistaken. The captain hadapparently attempted to escape by water; perhaps, had ventured uponsome chance kaik or raft, and been wrecked in the caldron which thestrong south wind made with the current pouring from the north.
His wet garments, such as he had not stripped off, and his exhaustedlook confirmed their theory.
One of their number brought the report to the Grand Vizier, Kalil, whorepeated it to the Sultan.
"I will deal with him in person. Let no one know of the capture untilI have seen him," said Mahomet, seeking an opportunity to revoke thethreat against his friend, which he had uttered in insane rage; and,at the same time, to cover his imperial dignity by the semblance of atrial.
The culprit was brought in the early evening to the Sultan's tent. Alarge lantern of various colored crystals hung from the ridge-pole,and threw its beautiful, but partly obscured, light over the arraignedman.
His captors had clothed him in the uniform of the Janizaries.
"His face has a strange look, as if another's soul had taken lodgingbehind the familiar lineaments," the Sultan remarked to Kalil as hescanned the culprit closely.
"Do you know, knave, in whose presence you are?" said Mahomet,sternly.
"I know not, Sire, except that the excellent adornment of your personand pavilion suggest that I am in the presence of his majesty the--"
"Silence, villain! do you mock me?" cried the Padishah, in surprise atthe man's assumed ignorance.
"I mock thee not, Sire," said the victim, bowing with courtlyreverence, and speaking in a sort of patois of Greek and Turkish. "ButI was about to say that I know thee not, except that from theexcellence of thy person and estate thou art none less"----
"Silence, you dog! This is no time for your familiar jesting,Ballaban. Speak pure tongue, or I'll cut thine from thy head!"interrupted the Padishah.
"I speak as best I can," replied the man, "for I was not brought up tothe Turkish tongue. I presume that I address the king of the Turks."
"Miserable wretch!" hissed his majesty, drawing his jewelled sword."Dare you call me king of the _Turks_? TURKS! thou circumcisedChristian dog! thou pup of Nazarene parentage! thou damned infidel,beplastered with Moslem favors!"[78]
"It would seem that I needed Moslem favors, which in my destitutecondition and imminent danger, I most humbly crave," replied theobject of this contumely.
"Are you mad?" shrieked the Sultan, rising and glaring into theother's face. "You _are_ mad, man. Poor soul! Ay! Ay! I see it now.Some demon has possessed you. Some witch has blown on the knotsagainst you."[79]
"I am not mad, Sire," said the culprit, "but a poor castaway on yourcoast."
"Hear him, poor fellow! so mad that he knows not himself. Well! well!I must forgive you then for not knowing me," said Mahomet, withgenuine pity. "Did you love me so, old comrade, that my harsh wordsknocked over your reason? or did your reason, toppling over, lead youto challenge me as you did? We must cure this malady, though it takesthe treasure of the empire to do it." Lowering his voice he addressedthe Vizier:
"I could not believe that my faithful comrade would have rebelled. Itwas not he, but the demon who has possessed him. Think you not so,good Kalil?"
The Vizier bowed in assent to the Sultan's theory, and whispered, "Itprovides a wise escape from antagonizing the Janizaries. But youshould summon a physician."
Clapping his hands, an attendant appeared, who was dispatched for thecourt physician; a man of fame in his profession, whose duty it was tobe always within call of the Sultan.
The physician entering, examined the culprit, looking into his eyes,balancing his head between his hands to determine if there were anysudden disturbance of the proportionate avoirdupois; noting if histongue lay in the middle of his mouth, and feeling his pulse. Atlength he said in low voice to the Sultan and Vizier:
"There is, Sire, no outward evidences of lacking wit. I would have himspeak."
"He is the Janizary, Captain Ballaban," whispered the Vizier. "Youwill observe that the wit is clean gone from him. Tell us your story,Ballaban, or whoever you are."
"I beg the favor of your excellency, your lordship, Sire; for, sinceyou deny that you are the king of the Turks, I know not what title togive to your authority. I am your prisoner. I fought on the Byzantinegalley as Jesu gave me strength, but was unfortunate enough to falloverboard, and fortunate enough to avoid capture by the Turkish boats,as I dived beneath them, or rested myself below their sterns until Ireached the shore. But as heaven willed it, I landed below the wallsof the city. I was altogether weaponless, having shuffled off myarmor that I might swim--and altogether blown by my effort--or, bythe bones of Abraham! I had never been captured by the cowardly slavesyou sent. I ask only the treatment of an honorable enemy."
"By the beard of the Prophet!" exclaimed Mahomet, "if he were aChristian I would give him liberty for the valor of his speech. Someof the spirit of our gallant Ballaban is still left in him. Thewitches could not take the great heart out of him, though they stoleaway his wits. What say you, Sage Murta?" The physician replied,knitting his brows and stroking his chin--
/> "The Padishah is wise. The man is mad. But since his heart is nottouched by the demon, but only his memory erased and his imaginationdistorted, my science tells me there is hope of his cure."
"What medicament have you for a diseased mind?" asked the Sultan.
With reverent pomposity, but in low voice not overheard by thepatient, the physician uttered the prescription:
"First, we have the religious cure--if so be that the man is under thecharm of the evil spirits--Find thee a cord with eleven knots tied onit:--for such was the number on the cord with which the daughters ofLobeid, the Jew, bewitched the Prophet. As thou untiest the knotsrepeat the last two chapters of the Koran, which the Angel Gabrielrevealed as the talisman, saying--
"'I fly for refuge unto the Lord of the daybreak, that he may deliverme from the mischief of the night, when it cometh on; and from themischief of women, blowing on the knots; and from the mischief of theenvious; and from the mischief of the whisperer, the devil, who slylywithdraweth, who whispereth evil suggestions into the breasts of men:and from genii and men.'
"If this should fail--as I have known it to fail in the case of thosewho were not born in the sacred family of Islam--we should try thevirtues of the heritage bowl, which is much esteemed among theGiaours. I have possessed myself of one, once the property of anancient family. It is made of silver, and engraved with forty-onepadlocks. A decoction mixed in this bowl, and poured on the head ofthe patient any time within seven weeks after the day on which theycelebrate the imagined rising of Jesu, son of Mary, from the dead,will often break the most malignant spell. The Christian Paska[80] isjust past; so that it will be opportune."
"But should this likewise fail?" asked Mahomet, impatient with thesage's prolixity.
"Ah! we shall then have to try our strictly human remedies. Thisailment is called by the Latin disciples of Galen, _dementia_, whichsignifieth that the man's mind, his natural thoughts, have gone awayfrom him. We must recall them. For this we must have some strongappeal to that which was his hottest passion or interest before hismind flew away from him. Do you know the absorbing humor of this man?Was he a lover? If so, we must find the fair one who has robbed him ofhis better part, and, restoring her to him, we shall restore him tohimself."
"Nay," said Mahomet. "Captain Ballaban was never enamored of woman.The maid who lured the Prophet from the charms of Ayesha andHafsa,[81] would not have turned Ballaban's head. I once offered himthe choice of a bevy of Georgians; but he would not even look at them.He is a soldier; from tassel to shoe-thong a soldier."
"Ah! then we have the remedy at hand," said Murta, rolling his eyes asif reading the prescription in the air. "Give him command; militaryexcitement; honors of the field. When the cimeters gleam then willreason flash again. And my science is at fault if the simple summonsto some high duty work not a counter charm to break the spell that ison him, though it were woven by the mystic dance of all the genii anddevils."
"We will try this last remedy first," said Mahomet. "Dismiss him. Lethim go as he will, without hindrance or seeming to follow, until myorders be brought him by his Aga. In the meantime search the shore forthe knotted cord the witches may have blown upon. And, good Murta,send for the silver bowl; for my brain is that hot that I fear me theGiaour ghosts we have sent gibbering to hell during the last few dayshave left the spell of their evil eyes upon me too."
The following day was not far advanced when Captain Ballaban wassummoned to the Sultan's tent, the rumor of his restoration to royalfavor having been made to precede the summons. In fact, after theaffair of the preceding afternoon, Ballaban had not gone to the seashore, but retired to his own quarters, where he loyally awaitedeither his death summons, or an invitation for some wild frolic withthe Padishah; he knew not which, so thought about neither; but busiedhimself over a plan for a new gun-carriage he was going to submit toUrban.
With assumed stolidity he entered the royal tent. As he rose from hisobeisance upon the earth, his majesty embraced him with boyishdelight.
"Your old self again: I see your soul in your face. I'd give half thehorse-tails in the empire rather than lose that shock of hair from mysight, or the glowing brain that is under it from my councils, myred-headed angel!"
"There is no need to lose it, except by cutting it off at myshoulders," said Ballaban, falling in with the humor of the Sultan,yet watchful not to be taken unawares, if, in its fitfulness, thathumor should turn.
"I have a grand service for you, if you have skill and courage enoughto execute it," said Mahomet, watching the effect on his friend.
The captain's eyes flashed with the prospect, as he said:
"I wait your plan, Sire; only let it be bold."
"I have no plan, you must make one. I would see if your brain is assquare as the pot you keep it in," said the Sultan, tapping him on thehead with a jewelled whip staff, and adding,
"It is evident, Captain, that we must get possession of the GoldenHorn; for so long as the enemy hold that for their harbor, we cannotprevent their reprovisioning the city as they did yesterday; and a fewmore such auxiliaries as they brought, indeed, another such leader asthe Genoese Giustiniani, would compel us to raise the siege. How canwe take the harbor? Our boats can never raise the chain at the mouth."
"That has been my problem since the siege began," said Ballaban. "Iremember while in Albania, as I lodged one night in a village, I metwith some Italian officers, who had come to offer their swords toCastriot. They told how they moved their fleet overland, several mileson a roadway of timbers.[82] We can use that device. The thing is notimpracticable; for there is a depression to the north of Galata,through which from the Bosphorus to the inland extremity of the GoldenHorn is but five or six miles. Our vessels are not large; could betransported with the multitudes of our troops, and on the still waterof the harbor would soon, by superior numbers, capture those of theChristians."
"A good conception!" said Mahomet, "and if my reading has not been atfault, the Roman Augustus did something similar.[83] It shall be done.Let it not be said that the Ottoman was surpassed in daring ordifficulty of enterprise by Pagan or Christian. You shall perform it,Ballaban. The woods above Galata will serve for planking, and theengineers can be spared from before the walls until it isaccomplished."
A few days later a large fleet of the Moslems was conveyed overland,by means of a roadway of greased timbers. To the amazement of theChristians their adversary's navy no longer lay idly upon theBosphorus, but was transformed into a line of floating batterieswithin the harbor of the Golden Horn, and from their rear soondestroyed the fleet of the defenders.
FOOTNOTES:
[78] The Ottomans regard the appellation of "King of the TURKS" as aninsult, since the Turks are comparatively few of the many subjects ofthe Sultan in Europe. Some of the most distinguished servants of theempire are of Christian parentage, and either have been conquered orhave voluntarily submitted to the domination of the Moslem.
[79] The Moslem superstition led them to believe that witches, bytying knots in a cord and blowing on them, brought evil to the personthey had in mind.
[80] Easter.
[81] The Coptic Mary with whom the Prophet was said to have beenenamored.
[82] In 1437 the Venetians carried many large ships across the countryfrom the river Adige to the lake of Garda.
[83] At Actium.