VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER TWO.
The pacha called for coffee, and in a few minutes, accompanied, asbefore, by Mustapha and the armed slaves, was prowling through the cityin search of a story-teller. He was again fortunate, as, after a walkof half an hour, he overheard two men loudly disputing at the door of asmall wine-shop, frequented by the Greeks and Franks living in the city,and into which many a slave might be observed to glide, returning with afull pitcher for the evening's amusement of his Turkish master, who, aswell as his betters, clandestinely violated the precepts of the Koran.
As usual he stopped to listen, when one of the disputants exclaimed--"Itell thee, Anselmo, it is the vilest composition that was ever drunk:and I think I ought to know, after having distilled the essence of anEthiopian, a Jew, and a Turk."
"I care nothing for your distillations, Charis," replied the other, "Iconsider that I am a better judge than you: I was not a monk of theDominican order for fifteen years, without having ascertained the meritof every description of wine."
"I should like to know what that fellow means by _distilling people_,"observed the pacha, "and also why a Dominican monk should know winebetter than others, Mustapha, I must see those two men."
The next morning the men were in attendance, and introduced; when thepacha requested an explanation from the first who had spoken. The manthrew himself down before the pacha, with his head on the floor of thedivan, and said,--"First promise me, your highness, by the sword of theProphet, that no harm shall result to me from complying with yourrequest; and then I shall obey you with pleasure."
"Mashallah! what is the kafir afraid of? What crimes hath he committed,that he would have his pardon granted before he tells his story?" saidthe pacha to Mustapha.
"No crime toward your state, your sublime highness; but when in anothercountry, I was unfortunate," continued the man; "I cannot tell my story,unless your highness will condescend to give your promise."
"May it please your highness," observed Mustapha, "he asserts his crimeto have been committed in another state. It may be heavy, and I suspect'tis murder;--but although we watch the flowers which ornament ourgardens, and would punish those who cull them, yet we care not whointrudes and robs our neighbour--and thus, it appears to me, yourhighness, that it is with states, and sufficient for the ruler of eachto watch over the lives of his own subjects."
"Very true, Mustapha," rejoined the pacha; "besides, we might lose thestory. Kafir, you have our promise, and may proceed."
The Greek slave (for such he was) then rose up, and narrated his storyin the following words:--
STORY OF THE GREEK SLAVE.
I am a Greek by birth; my parents were poor people residing at Smyrna.I was an only son, and brought up to my father's profession,--that of acooper. When I was twenty years old, I had buried both my parents, andwas left to shift for myself. I had been for some time in the employ ofa Jewish wine-merchant, and I continued there for three years after myfather's death, when a circumstance occurred which led to my subsequentprosperity and present degradation.
At the time that I am speaking of, I had, by strict diligence andsobriety, so pleased my employer, that I had risen to be his foreman;and although I still superintended and occasionally worked at thecooperage, I was intrusted with the drawing off and fining of the wines,to prepare them for market. There was an Ethiopian slave, who workedunder my orders, a powerful, broad-shouldered, and most malignantwretch, whom my master found it almost impossible to manage; thebastinado, or any other punishment, he derided, and after theapplication only became more sullen and discontented than before. Thefire that flashed from his eyes, upon any fault being found by me onaccount of his negligence, was so threatening, that I every day expectedI should be murdered. I repeatedly requested my master to part withhim; but the Ethiopian being a very powerful man, and able, when hechose, to move a pipe of wine without assistance, the avarice of the Jewwould not permit him to accede to my repeated solicitations.
One morning I entered the cooperage, and found the Ethiopian fast asleepby the side of a cask which I had been wanting for some time, andexpected to have found ready. Afraid to punish him myself, I brought mymaster to witness his conduct. The Jew, enraged at his idleness, struckhim on the head with one of the staves. The Ethiopian sprung up in arage, but on seeing his master with the stave in his hand, contentedhimself with muttering, "That he would not remain to be beaten in thatmanner," and reapplied himself to his labour. As soon as my master hadleft the cooperage, the Ethiopian vented his anger upon me for havinginformed against him, and seizing the stave, flew at me with theintention of beating out my brains. I stepped behind the cask; hefollowed me, and just as I had seized an adze to defend myself, he fellover the stool which lay in his way; he was springing up to renew theattack, when I struck him a blow with the adze which entered his skull,and laid him dead at my feet.
I was very much alarmed at what had occurred; for although I feltjustified in self-defence, I was aware that my master would be very muchannoyed at the loss of the slave, and as there were no witnesses, itwould go hard with me when brought before the cadi. After somereflection I determined, as the slave had said "He would not remain tobe beaten," that I would leave my master to suppose he had run away, andin the mean time conceal the body. But to effect this was difficult, asI could not take it out of the cooperage without being perceived. Aftersome cogitation, I decided upon putting it into the cask, and heading itup. It required all my strength to lift the body in, but at last Isucceeded. Having put in the head of the pipe, I hammered down thehoops and rolled it into the store, where I had been waiting to fill itwith wine for the next year's demand. As soon as it was in its place, Ipumped off the wine from the vat, and having filled up the cask and putin the bung, I felt as if a heavy load had been removed from my mind, asthere was no chance of immediate discovery.
I had but just completed my task, and was sitting down on one of thesettles, when my master came in, and inquired for the slave. I repliedthat he had left the cooperage, swearing that he would work no more.Afraid of losing him, the Jew hastened to give notice to theauthorities, that he might be apprehended; but after some time, asnothing could be heard of the supposed runaway, it was imagined that hehad drowned himself in a fit of sullenness, and no more was thoughtabout him. In the mean while I continued to work there as before, andas I had the charge of every thing I had no doubt that, some day oranother, I should find means of quietly disposing of my incumbrance.
The next spring, I was busy pumping off from one cask into the other,according to our custom, when the aga of the janissaries came in. Hewas a great wine-bibber, and one of our best customers. As hisdependants were all well known, it was not his custom to send them forwine, but to come himself to the store and select a pipe. This wascarried away in a litter by eight strong slaves, with the curtains drawnclose, as if it had been a new purchase which he had added to his harem.My master showed him the pipes of wine prepared for that year's market,which were arranged in two rows; and I hardly need observe that the onecontaining the Ethiopian was not in the foremost. After tasting one ortwo which did not seem to please him, the aga observed, "FriendIssachar, thy tribe will always put off the worst goods first, ifpossible. Now I have an idea that there is better wine in the secondtier, than in the one thou hast recommended. Let thy Greek put a spileinto that cask," continued he, pointing to the very one in which I hadheaded-up the black slave. As I made sure that as soon as he had tastedthe contents he would spit them out, I did not hesitate to bore the caskand draw off the wine, which I handed to him. He tasted it, and held itto the light--tasted it again and smacked his lips--then turning to mymaster, exclaimed, "Thou dog of a Jew! wouldst thou have palmed off uponme vile trash, when thou hadst in thy possession wine which might besipped with the houris in Paradise?"
The Jew appealed to me if the pipes of wine were not all of the samequality; and I confirmed his assertion.
"Taste it then," replied the aga, "and then taste t
he first which yourecommended to me."
My master did so, and was evidently astonished. "It certainly has morebody," replied he; "yet how can that be, I know not. Taste it,Charis."--I held the glass to my lips, but nothing could induce me totaste the contents. I contented myself with agreeing with my master,(as I conscientiously could), "that it certainly had more _body_ in itthan the rest."
The aga was so pleased with the wine, that he tasted two or three morepipes of the back tier, hoping to find others of the same quality,probably intending to have laid in a large stock; but finding no otherof the same flavour, he ordered his slaves to roll the one containingthe body of the slave into the litter, and carried it to his own house.
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"Stop a moment, thou lying kafir!" said the pacha, "dost thou reallymean to say that the wine was better than the rest?"
"Why should I tell a lie to your sublime highness--am not I a worm thatyou may crush? As I informed you, I did not taste it, your highness;but after the aga had departed, my master expressed his surprise at theexcellence of the wine, which he affirmed to be superior to any thingthat he had ever tasted--and his sorrow that the aga had taken away thecask, which prevented him from ascertaining the cause. But one day Iwas narrating the circumstance to a Frank in this country, who expressedno surprise at the wine being improved. He had been a wine-merchant inEngland, and he informed me that it was the custom there to throw largepieces of raw beef into the wine to feed it; and that some particularwines were very much improved thereby."
"Allah kebur! God is great!" cried the pacha--"Then it must be so--Ihave heard that the English are very fond of beef. Now go on with thystory."
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Your highness cannot imagine the alarm which I felt when the cask wastaken away by the aga's slaves. I gave myself up for a lost man, andresolved upon immediate flight from Smyrna. I calculated the time thatit would take for the aga to drink the wine, and made my arrangementsaccordingly. I told my master that it was my intention to leave him, asI had an offer to go into business with a relation at Zante. My master,who could not well do without me, intreated me to stay; but I waspositive. He then offered me a share of the business if I would remain,but I was not to be persuaded. Every rap at the door, I thought thatthe aga and his janissaries were coming for me; and I hastened mydeparture, which was fixed for the following day,--when in the eveningmy master came into the store with a paper in his hand.
"Charis," said he, "perhaps you have supposed that I only offered tomake you a partner in my business to induce you to remain, and then todeceive you. To prove the contrary, here is a deed drawn up by whichyou are a partner, and entitled to one third of the future profits.Look at it, you will find that it has been executed in due form beforethe cadi."
He had put the paper into my hand, and I was about to return it with arefusal, when a loud knocking at the door startled us both. It was aparty of janissaries despatched by the aga, to bring us to himimmediately. I knew well enough what it must be about, and I cursed myfolly in having delayed so long; but the fact was, the wine proved soagreeable to the aga's palate that he had drunk it much faster thanusual; besides which, the body of the slave took up at least a third ofthe cask, and diminished the contents in the same proportion. There wasno appeal, and no escape. My master, who was ignorant of the cause, didnot seem at all alarmed, but willingly accompanied the soldiers. I, onthe contrary, was nearly dead from fear.
When we arrived, the aga burst out in the most violent exclamationsagainst my master--"Thou rascal of a Jew!" said he, "dost thou thinkthat thou art to impose upon a true believer, and sell him a pipe ofwine which is not more than two thirds full,--filling it up with trashof some sort or another. Tell me what it is that is so heavy in thecask now that it is empty?"
The Jew protested his ignorance, and appealed to me; I, of course,pretended the same. "Well then," replied the aga, "we will soon see.Let thy Greek send for his tools, and the cask shall be opened in ourpresence; then perhaps, thou wilt recognise thine own knavery."
Two of the janissaries were despatched for the tools, and when theyarrived, I was directed to take the head out of the cask. I nowconsidered my death as certain--nothing buoyed me up but my observingthat the resentment of the aga was levelled more against my master thanagainst me; but still I thought that, when the cask was opened, therecognition of the black slave must immediately take place, and theevidence of my master would fix the murder upon me.
It was with a trembling hand that I obeyed the orders of the aga--thehead of the pipe was taken out, and, to the horror of all present, thebody was exposed; but instead of being black, it had turned _white_,from the time which it had been immersed. I rallied a little at thiscircumstance, as, so far, suspicion would be removed.
"Holy Abraham!" exclaimed my master, "what is that which I see!--A deadbody, so help me God!--but I know nothing about it--do you, Charis?" Ivowed that I did not, and called the patriarch to witness the truth ofmy assertion. But while we were thus exclaiming, the aga's eyes werefixed upon my master with an indignant and deadly stare which spokevolumes; while the remainder of the people who were present, althoughthey said nothing, seemed as if they were ready to tear him into pieces.
"Cursed unbeliever!" at last uttered the Turk, "is it thus that thoupreparest the wine for the disciples of the Prophet?"
"Holy father Abraham!--I know no more than you do, aga, how that bodycame there; but I will change the cask with pleasure, and will send youanother."
"Be it so," replied the aga; "my slave shall fetch it now." He gavedirections accordingly, and the litter soon re-appeared with anotherpipe of wine.
"It will be a heavy loss to a poor Jew--one pipe of good wine," observedmy master, as it was rolled out of the litter; and he took up his hatwith the intention to depart.
"Stay," cried the aga, "I do not mean to rob you of your wine."
"Oh, then, you will pay me for it," replied my master; "aga, you are aconsiderate man."
"Thou shalt see," retorted the aga, who gave directions to his slaves todraw off the wine in vessels. As soon as the pipe was empty, he desiredme to take the head out; and when I had obeyed him, he ordered hisjanissaries to put my master in. In a minute he was gagged and bound,and tossed into the pipe; and I was directed to put in the head asbefore. I was very unwilling to comply: for I had no reason to complainof my master, and knew that he was punished for the fault of which I hadbeen guilty. But it was a case of life or death,--and the days ofself-devotion have long passed away in our country. Besides which, Ihad the deed in my pocket by which I was a partner in the business, andmy master had no heirs,--so that I stood a chance to come in for thewhole of his property. Moreover--
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"Never mind your reasons," observed the pacha, "you headed him up in thecask--Go on."
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"I did so, your highness; but although I dared not disobey, I assure youthat it was with a sorrowful heart--the more so, as I did not know thefate which might be reserved for myself."
As soon as the head was in, and the hoops driven on, the aga desired hisslaves to fill the cask up again with the wine; and thus did my poormaster perish.
"Put in the bung, Greek," said the aga in a stern voice.
I did so, and stood trembling before him.
"Well! what knowest thou of this transaction?"
I thought, as the aga had taken away the life of my master, that itwould not hurt him if I took away a little from his character. Ianswered that I really knew nothing, but that, the other day, a blackslave had disappeared in a very suspicious manner--that my master madevery little inquiry after him--and I now strongly suspected that he musthave suffered the same fate. I added, that my master had expressedhimself very sorr
y that his highness had taken away the pipe of wine, ashe would have reserved it.
"Cursed Jew!" replied the aga; "I don't doubt but he has murdered adozen in the same manner."
"I am afraid so, sir," replied I, "and suspect that I was to have beenhis next victim; for when I talked of going away, he persuaded me tostay, and gave me this paper, by which I was to become his partner withone third of the profits. I presume that I should not have enjoyed themlong."
"Well, Greek," observed the aga, "this is fortunate for you; as, uponcertain conditions, you may enter upon the whole property. One is, thatyou keep this pipe of wine with the rascally Jew in it, that I may havethe pleasure occasionally to look at my revenge. You will also keep thepipe with the other body in it, that it may keep my anger alive. Thelast is, that you will supply me with what wine I may require, of thevery best quality, without making any charge. Do you consent to theseterms, or am I to consider you as a party to this infamous transaction?"
I hardly need observe that the terms were gladly accepted. Yourhighness must be aware that nobody thinks much about a Jew. When I wasquestioned as to his disappearance, I shrugged up my shoulders, and toldthe inquirers, confidentially, that the aga of the janissaries had puthim _in prison_ and that I was carrying on the business until hisrelease.
In compliance with the wishes of the aga, the two casks containing theJew and the Ethiopian slave, were placed together on settles higher thanthe rest, in the centre of the store. He would come in the evening, andrail at the cask containing my late master for hours at a time; duringwhich he drank so much wine, that it was a very common circumstance forhim to remain in the house until the next morning.
You must not suppose, your highness, that I neglected to avail myself(unknown to the aga) of the peculiar properties of the wine which thosecasks contained. I had them spiled underneath, and, constantly runningoff the wine from them, filled them up afresh. In a short time therewas not a gallon in my possession which had not a _dash_ in it of eitherthe Ethiopian or the Jew: and my wine was so improved, that it had amost rapid sale, and I became rich.
All went on prosperously for three years; when the aga, who during thattime had been my constant guest, and at least three times a-week hadbeen intoxicated in my house, was ordered with his troops to join thesultan's army. By keeping company with him, I had insensibly imbibed ataste for wine, although I never had been inebriated. The day that histroops marched, he stopped at my door, and dismounting from his Arabian,came in to take a farewell glass, desiring his men to go on, and that hewould ride after them. One glass brought on another, and the time flewrapidly away. The evening closed in, and the aga was, as usual, in astate of intoxication;--he insisted upon going down to the store, torail once more at the cask containing the body of the Jew. We had longbeen on the most friendly terms, and having this night drunk more thanusual, I was incautious enough to say--"Prithee, aga, do not abuse mypoor master any more, for he has been the making of my fortune. I willtell you a secret now that you are going away--there is not a drop ofwine in my store that has not been flavoured either by him or by theslave in the other cask. That is the reason why it is so much betterthan other people's."
"How!" exclaimed the aga, who was now almost incapable of speech. "Verywell, rascal Greek! die you shall, like your master. Holy Prophet! whata state for a Mussulman to go to Paradise in--impregnated with theessence of a cursed Jew!--Wretch! you shall die--you shall die."
He made a grasp at me, and missing his foot, fell on the ground in sucha state of drunkenness as not to be able to get up again. I knew thatwhen he became sober, he would not forget what had taken place, and thatI should be sacrificed to his vengeance. The fear of death, and thewine which I had drunk, decided me how to act. I dragged him into anempty pipe, put the head in, hooped it up, and rolling it into the tier,filled it with wine. Thus did I revenge my poor master, and relievedmyself from any further molestation on the part of the aga.
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"What!" cried the pacha, in a rage, "you drowned a true believer--an agaof janissaries! Thou dog of a kafir--thou son of Shitan--and dare avowit! Call in the executioner."
"Mercy! your sublime highness, mercy!" cried the Greek--"Have I not yourpromise by the sword of the Prophet? Besides, he was no true believer,or he would not have disobeyed the law. A good Mussulman will nevertouch a drop of wine."
"I promised to forgive, and did forgive, the murder of the black slave;but an aga of janissaries!--Is not that quite another thing?" appealedthe pacha to Mustapha.
"Your highness is just in your indignation--the kafir deserves to beimpaled. Yet there are two considerations which your slave ventures tosubmit to your sublime wisdom. The first is, that your highness gave anunconditional promise, and swore by the sword of the Prophet."
"Staffir Allah! what care I for that! Had I sworn to a true believer,it were something."
"The other is, that the slave has not yet finished his story whichappears to be interesting."
"Wallah! that is true. Let him finish his story."
But the Greek slave remained with his face on the ground; and it was notuntil a renewal of the promise, sworn upon the holy standard made out ofthe nether garments of the Prophet, by the pacha who had recovered histemper, and was anxious for the conclusion of the story, that he couldbe induced to proceed, which he did as follows:--
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As soon as I had bunged up the cask, I went down to the yard where theaga had left his horse, and having severely wounded the poor beast withhis sword, I let it loose that it might gallop home. The noise of thehorse's hoofs in the middle of the night, aroused his family, and whenthey discovered that it was wounded and without its rider, they imaginedthat the aga had been attacked and murdered by banditti when he hadfollowed his troop. They sent to me to ask at what time he had left myhouse; I replied, an hour after dark--that he was very much intoxicatedat the time--and had left his sabre, which I returned. They had nosuspicion of the real facts, and it was believed that he had perished onthe road.
I was now rid of my dangerous acquaintance; and although he certainlyhad drank a great quantity of my wine yet I recovered the value of itwith interest, from the flavour which I obtained from his body and whichI imparted to the rest of my stock. I raised him up alongside of thetwo other casks; and my trade was more profitable and my wines ingreater repute than ever.
But one day the cadi, who had heard my wine extolled, came privately tomy house; I bowed to the ground at the honour conferred, for I had longwished to have him as a customer. I drew some of my best--"This,honourable sir," said I, presenting the glass, "is what I call my agawine: the late aga was so fond of it, he used to order a whole cask atonce to his house, and had it taken there in a litter."
"A good plan," replied the cadi, "much better than sending a slave witha pitcher, which gives occasion for remarks: I will do the same; but,first, let me taste all you have."
He tasted several casks, but none pleased him so much as the first whichI had recommended. At last he cast his eyes upon the three casks raisedabove the others.
"And what are those?" inquired he.
"Empty casks, sir," replied I; but he had his stick in his hand, and hestruck one.
"Greek, thou tellest me these casks are empty, but they do not sound so;I suspect that thou hast better wine than I have tasted: draw me offfrom these immediately."
I was obliged to comply--he tasted them--vowed that the wine wasexquisite, and that he would purchase the whole. I stated to him thatthe wine in those casks was used for flavouring the rest; and that theprice was enormous, hoping that he would not pay it. He inquired howmuch--I asked him four times the price of the other wines.
"Agreed," said the cadi; "it is dear--but one cannot have good winewithout paying for it:--it is a bargain."
I was very much alarmed; and stated that I cou
ld not part with thosecasks, as I should not be able to carry on my business with reputation,if I lost the means of flavouring my wines, but all in vain; he saidthat I had asked a price and he had agreed to give it. Ordering hisslaves to bring a litter, he would not leave the store until the wholeof the casks were carried away, and thus did I lose my Ethiopian, myJew, and my aga.
As I knew that the secret would soon be discovered, the very next day Iprepared for my departure. I received my money from the cadi, to whom Istated my intention to leave, as he had obliged me to sell him thosewines, and I had no longer hopes of carrying on my business withsuccess. I again begged him to allow me to have them back, offering himthree pipes of wine as a present if he would consent, but it was of nouse. I chartered a vessel, which I loaded with the rest of my stock;and, taking all my money with me, made sail for Corfu, before anydiscovery had taken place. But we encountered a heavy gale of wind,which, after a fortnight (during which we attempted in vain to make headagainst it), forced us back to Smyrna. When the weather moderated, Idirected the captain to take the vessel into the outer roadstead that Imight sail as soon as possible. We had not dropped anchor again morethan five minutes when I perceived a boat pulling off from the shore inwhich was the cadi and the officers of justice.
Convinced that I was discovered, I was at a loss how to proceed, whenthe idea occurred to me that I might conceal my own body in a cask, as Ihad before so well concealed those of others.
I called the captain down into the cabin, and telling him that I hadreason to suspect that the cadi would take my life, offered him a largepart of the cargo if he would assist me.
The captain who, unfortunately for me, was a Greek, consented. We wentdown into the hold, started the wine out of one of the pipes, and havingtaken out the head, I crawled in, and was hooped up.
The cadi came on board immediately afterwards and inquired for me. Thecaptain stated that I had fallen overboard in the gale, and that he hadin consequence returned, the vessel not being consigned to any house atCorfu.
"Has then the accursed villain escaped my vengeance!" exclaimed thecadi; "the murderer, that fines his wines with the bodies of hisfellow-creatures: but you may deceive me, Greek, we will examine thevessel."
The officers who accompanied the cadi proceeded carefully to searchevery part of the ship. Not being able to discover me, the Greekcaptain was believed; and, after a thousand imprecations upon my soul,the cadi and his people departed.
I now breathed more freely, notwithstanding I was nearly intoxicatedwith the lees of the wine which impregnated the wood of the cask, and Iwas anxious to be set at liberty; but the treacherous captain had nosuch intention, and never came near me. At night he cut his cable andmade sail, and I overheard a conversation between two of the men, whichmade known to me his intentions: these were to throw me overboard on hispassage, and take possession of my property. I cried out to them fromthe bung-hole: I screamed for mercy, but in vain. One of them answered,that, as I had murdered others, and put them into casks, I should now betreated in the same manner.
I could not but mentally acknowledge the justice of my punishment, andresigned myself to my fate; all that I wished was to be thrown over atonce and released from my misery. The momentary anticipation of deathappeared to be so much worse than the reality. But it was orderedotherwise: a gale of wind blew up with such force, that the captain andcrew had enough to do to look after the vessel, and either I wasforgotten, or my doom was postponed until a more seasonable opportunity.
On the third day I heard the sailors observe that, with such a wretch asI was remaining on board, the vessel must inevitably be lost. Thehatches were then opened; I was hoisted up and cast into the raging sea.The bung of the cask was out, but by stuffing my handkerchief in, whenthe hole was under water, I prevented the cask from filling; and when itwas uppermost, I removed it for a moment to obtain fresh air. I wasdreadfully bruised by the constant rolling, in a heavy sea, andcompletely worn out with fatigue and pain; I had made up my mind to letthe water in and be rid of my life, when I was tossed over and over withsuch dreadful rapidity as prevented my taking the precaution of keepingout the water. After three successive rolls of the same kind, I foundthat the cask, which had been in the surf, had struck on the beach. Ina moment after, I heard voices, and people came up to the cask androlled me along. I would not speak, lest they should be frightened andallow me to remain on the beach, where I might again be tossed about bythe waves; but as soon as they stopped, I called in a faint voice fromthe bung-hole, begging them for mercy's sake to let me out.
At first they appeared alarmed; but, on my repeating my request, andstating that I was the owner of the ship which was off the land, and thecaptain and crew had mutinied and tossed me overboard, they brought sometools and set me at liberty.
The first sight that met my eyes after I was released, was my vessellying a wreck; each wave that hurled her further on the beach, breakingher more and more to pieces. She was already divided amid-ships, andthe white foaming surf was covered with pipes of wine, which, as fast asthey were cast on shore, were rolled up by the same people who hadreleased me. I was so worn out, that I fainted where I lay. When Icame to, I found myself in a cave upon a bundle of capotes, andperceived a party of forty or fifty men, who were sitting by a largefire, and emptying with great rapidity one of my pipes of wine.
As soon as they observed that I was coming to my senses, they pouredsome wine down my throat, which restored me. I was then desired by oneof them, who seemed to be the chief, to approach.
"The men who have been saved from the wreck," said he, "have told mestrange stories of your enormous crimes--now, sit down, and tell me thetruth--if I believe you, you shall have justice--I am cadi here--if youwish to know where you are, it is upon the island of Ischia--if you wishto know in what company, it is in the society of those who by illiberalpeople are called pirates: now tell the truth."
I thought that with pirates my story would be received better than withother people, and I therefore narrated my history to them, in the samewords that I now have to your highness. When I had finished, thecaptain of the gang observed:--
"Well, then, as you acknowledge to have killed a slave, to have assistedat the death of a Jew, and to have drowned an aga, you certainly deservedeath; but, on consideration of the excellence of the wine, and thesecret which you have imparted to us, I shall commute your sentence. Asfor the captain and the remainder of the crew, they have been guilty oftreachery and piracy on the high seas--a most heinous offence, whichdeserves instant death: but as it is by their means that we have beenput in possession of the wine, I shall be lenient. I therefore sentenceyou all to hard labour for life. You shall be sold as slaves in Cairo,and we will pocket the money and drink your wine."
The pirates loudly applauded the justice of a decision by which theybenefited, and all appeal on our parts was useless. When the weatherbecame more settled, we were put on board one of their small xebeques,and on our arrival at this port were exposed for sale and purchased.
Such, pacha, is the history which induced me to make use of theexpressions which you wished to be explained; and I hope you will allowthat I have been more unfortunate than guilty, as on every occasion inwhich I took away the life of another, I had only to choose between thatand my own.
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"Well, it is rather a curious story," observed the pacha, "but still, ifit were not for my promise, I certainly would have your head off fordrowning the aga; I consider it excessively impertinent in anunbelieving Greek to suppose that his life is of the same value as thatof an aga of janissaries, and follower of the Prophet; but, however, mypromise was given, and you may depart."
"The wisdom of your highness is brighter than the stars of the heaven,"observed Mustapha. "Shall the slave be honoured with your bounty?"
"Mashallah! bounty! I've given him his life, and, as he considers it ofmore value than an aga's, I think 't
is a very handsome present. Drownan aga, indeed!" continued the pacha, rising, "but it certainly was avery curious story. Let it be written down, Mustapha. We'll hear theother man to-morrow."
The Pacha of Many Tales Page 2
