by Mika Waltari
Immediately after the morning prayer the eunuchs led me back to Sultana Khurrem’s pavilion, and the gleaming copper gates seemed as familiar to me as if I had been a daily visitor to the forbidden gardens. Prince Jehangir lay in a deep sleep on his bed beside the monkey’s cage, and his plain little face bore traces of tears. The dog lay with his head across the boy’s legs and wagged his tail in greeting as I approached.
But Koko had had a hemorrhage during the night, and her little heart was so worn out with fever that she had barely strength to hold my finger. A faint moan came, then a convulsion, and she was dead. What should I have done now, I reflected, if little Jehangir had been my own son? First I dressed the dead monkey in its fine clothes, drew the bedcover over it and carried it, bed and all, out into the garden. The eunuchs kept close beside me. I ordered an old gardener who was working there to dig a grave at the foot of the big plane tree. He obeyed, and having laid my burden in it I filled the hole, raised a little mound above it and told the gardener to plant a flowering shrub there before Prince Jehangir awoke. I then returned to the Prince’s room and sat cross legged on the floor beside his bed. Only once did the Sultana appear in the doorway, signing to the eunuchs to let Prince Jehangir have his sleep out. I sat immersed in thought until my legs grew numb and time began to drag interminably. But Prince Jehangir, having been awake until very late the night before, was exhausted with grief and slept long and soundly, to the delight of his servants.
He awoke about noon, and as he rubbed his eyes with his thin hands the dog with wagging tail crept up to lick his fingers. A faint smile overspread the boy’s face. Then he started and looked toward the cage, to find it empty. His face twisted, and fearing another outbreak of weeping I said hastily, “Noble Prince Jehangir, you’re the Sultan’s son. Face like a man that One who severs the bonds of friendship forever, for gentle death has freed your friend the monkey from pain and fever. Think of Koko as setting forth now upon a journey to a far country. Just as we have a Paradise, so I think have little monkeys and faithful dogs-a Paradise with rippling water brooks.”
Prince Jehangir in his sorrow listened to my words as to a beautiful story, and pressed Rael to his breast. I went on, “My dog was a good playfellow for your monkey, and though today you’ve lost one friend you have gained another. I think Rael will serve you well, though just at first, like the faithful beast he is, he may miss me.”
While I was speaking Prince Jehangir allowed himself to be washed and dressed, after which the servants brought in many delicate dishes and set them before him. He refused to eat, and the slave girls were beginning to weep for fear when I said to him, “You must feed your new friend and eat with him, that he may know you for his master.”
The pampered Prince looked at me suspiciously, but I began at once to hand him such morsels as I knew my dog would like. The boy obediently bit a piece from each and gave the rest to Rael, and Rael understood that from now on he would be fed by Prince Jehangir instead of me. He looked at me in wonder, but ate avidly of the good food; and if the truth must be told I tasted a few of the dishes myself, for they were indeed excellent and I was hungry. So Prince Jehangir, Rael, and I shared that meal, while the slave women laughed and clapped their hands, blessing me in the name of Allah because the Prince wept no longer and ate like a man.
When we had finished he put his hand trustfully into mine and I took him into the garden to show him the monkey’s grave at the foot of the plane tree. The gardener had planted an early-flowering cherry on the mound, and though Prince Jehangir understood little of graves and death he beheld the tree with delight. Then to divert his thoughts I showed him how to throw a stick for Rael to fetch and lay at his feet, how to make Rael walk on his hind legs, or guard anything that the Prince had dropped. In his wonder at Rael’s intelligence Prince Jehangir forgot his grief and even laughed now and again, though timidly.
His ill-shapen body soon wearied, and when I had taken him back to the pavilion I felt it best to go. I kissed his hand when I took my leave of him, and bade my dog farewell, charging him to protect his new master as faithfully as he had protected and guarded me in years gone by. With head and tail drooping Rael stood obediently beside Prince Jehangir, gazing after me with longing. When I had come out into the garden I could no longer restrain my tears, though I told myself that I could not have found a better master for my dog. His life under Giulia’s iron rule had become unendurable.
The eunuchs led me to the Kislar-Aga’s door, where I had to wait some hours before he was pleased to receive me. He sat fat and flabby on his cushion, having kicked off his slippers, and with his chin on his hand he scrutinized me closely for a long time without uttering a word. Then he addressed me quite cordially, saying, “You’re a riddle to me. You’re either sincere in your simplicity, or else a very dangerous and guileful man whose intrigues I cannot fathom, accustomed though I am to every sort of roguery. They tell me you’ve won Prince Jehangir’s friendship by giving him your dog, that you’ve asked nothing in return and stayed no longer in the Sultana’s pavilion than was necessary, though by delaying you might have claimed princely gifts. I also hear that the Sultana was much pleased at the way in which you took her hint and poisoned that dirty monkey. But in speaking a good word on your behalf to the Sultan I might harm myself by commending a man whose aims are mischievous. Then again, if I speak ill of you, as I should like to do, I might offend the Sultan, because he pities Prince Jehangir for his deformity and thinks only of his welfare. But some reward I can obtain for you, for it would be most unbecoming for a slave to serve the Sultan unrecompensed.”
He gazed abstractedly at the ceiling, rubbing his soft, hairless chin, and went on, “You will of course realize that the value of your reward depends entirely on my favor, since the Sultan has faith in my discretion. I’ve made inquiries about you, and know that since arriving in Istanbul you’ve lived a regular life, performed all your religious duties, and not sought to form secret connections with Christians. Yet all this may have been cunning on your part. You have been watched at your work at the Cartographer’s Office, and no one has caught you copying secret documents. But if I tell the Sultan that you earn twelve aspers a day your reward will be proportionate, and cannot exceed two hundred aspers. If I speak in your favor and praise your talents, and in every way emphasize that through some mistake you’ve been given far too low an appointment, you may receive a fistful of gold and the opportunity to display your capabilities in some other field. You’re therefore entirely dependent on my favor, and without me are worth no more than dung in the yard.”
“I well understand this, of course,” I replied, “but I’ve already promised Dr. Solomon half of whatever I receive. I hope that you’ll be good enough to accept a quarter, so that something may be left for me. It would be a little hard if my trouble proved my only reward.”
The Kislar-Aga stroked his chin and looked at me with his head on one side.
“The Seraglio is a strange garden,” he said, “where a seed sown in secret may put forth unexpected flowers. There’s no one so lowly but that chance, under Allah, may raise him to a lofty position. For the same reason death reaps a bounteous harvest in the Seraglio, and should a man be compelled to chastize another he would be wise to do it with noose or block, lest one day he find his victim placed in authority over him. If I allow you to live I must make a friend of you, so that your advancement may profit me. And to speak truly I am so amazed at your candor that with equal honesty I will do what I can for you.”
I perceived from this that I had indeed won the favor of Prince Jehangir and his mother, so that for the time being my life was safe. Nevertheless, the good will of the exalted Kislar-Aga would also be of the greatest value to me. I said, “Let me be your friend, then, and first of all point out certain things which may be useful to you. If you’ve made inquiries about me, you must know that my wife has eyes of different colors and can therefore gaze into the future. Only allow her to display her talents before you, a
nd as a shrewd man you will at once perceive the advantage to be gained from them. She is a gifted woman, more astute than I, and would certainly never foretell anything hostile to your interest. But first you must initiate her into Seraglio affairs and make known to her the circumstances that seem to call for judicious prediction.”
The Kislar-Aga scratched the soles of his feet vigorously and replied, “Allah be my refuge! So your simplicity was but a mask. Yet I risk nothing by receiving your wife, and what you say of her has made me very curious.”
We took leave of one another cordially, in no way underrating one another’s intelligence. In token of his favor he allowed me to kiss his hand, but made me swear by the Prophet, the Koran, and my downy beard that I would not breathe a word of what I had seen and done in the Seraglio.
That evening a eunuch came to our house, attended by armed troopers, and handed me a silken purse containing two hundred gold pieces-a present from the Sultan. This was equal to twelve thousand aspers, or a thousand days’ pay, and was considerably more than I had dared expect. But as I contemplated this great sum I realized how hasty I had been in promising Dr. Solomon half of whatever I received, when he would certainly have been content with less.
When the eunuch had again mounted his mule, whose saddle was ornamented with silver plates and yellow stones, Giulia sighed, “Ah, Michael, did you see how contemptuously that splendid man looked at our cramped courtyard and ruinous house, though he was well bred enough to conceal his wonder? Such a place may suit Abu el-Kasim, who knows no better; but now that you’re in favor with the Sultan you should at once find a house in a better quarter. It need have no more than five or ten rooms, if only it be tasteful and furnished in a manner befitting your dignity, so that I needn’t blush for shame when receiving visits from distinguished guests. Our best plan would be to choose some beautiful site on the shores of the Bosphorus or the Marmara, and there build a modest house according to our needs and tastes. It should not be too far from the Seraglio, although of course we should have our own boat or gondola, and an oarsman or two. They could look after the garden as well, and we might build a dwelling for them adjoining the boathouse. If one were married, his wife could help my women in the house, and we could put the sons into fine clothes and send them on errands into the city, so that all who saw them would form a proper idea of your rank and dignity.”
I clutched my head at Giulia’s wild talk, and could not utter a word for some time. At length I drew a deep breath and said, “Giulia, Giulia! You’re planning my downfall. If we’re wise we’ll save every asper we can scrape together, lest evil times follow. A new house would swallow up my present and future income; it would be like pouring money into a bottomless well, and I should never know another day’s peace.” Giulia’s face hardened, and her eyes were stony with anger as she snapped, “Why must you always destroy my loveliest dreams? Do you grudge me a home-a place we could call ours? Think what we should save by gathering fruit from our own trees and growing our own vegetables instead of being robbed by rogues in the market. And suppose we had children! Ah, Michael! You couldn’t be so hardhearted as to give them a dirty street for their playground, and let them grow up like the children of donkey drivers?”
Tears were now streaming down her cheeks and her words so moved me that I too began to picture to myself a little dwelling on the Bosphorus, with a garden from among whose fruit trees I could watch the stars come out and listen to the lapping of the water along the shore. But reason told me that I could not be certain of keeping the Sultan’s favor, and that houses were not built nor gardens laid out on twelve aspers a day.
Our conversation was cut short by a shrill squealing, and when wc ran out into the evening sunlight of the courtyard we beheld Giulia’s furry blue cat writhing on the grass plot. Giulia tried to take the cat in her arms, but it scratched her and at last hid beneath the house and refused to come out, coax as we would. The wailing grew ever more agonized and at last ceased altogether. Deathly pale and with hands clenched, Giulia walked to the corner of the court where the dog’s bowl was kept. After putting Rael’s food into it she had covered it with a lid which one of the cats in its greed had pushed off; the food was gone and I had only to glance at Giulia to see that during my absence she had mixed poison with it, to kill my dog and punish me for staying away all night.
Seeing that I understood she quailed and said faintly, “Forgive me, Michael! I meant no harm, but I was blinded by anger after wandering about sleepless all night thinking evil thoughts of you. Your wicked dog has tried my patience long enough, and tormented my cats when you weren’t looking. He left fleas on my cushions, muddied my floors, and overturned my jars. And now to crown everything he has poisoned my pet cat and I shall never, never forgive either of you.”
She worked herself up into a frenzy against me and my dog, but at least this melancholy interlude diverted her thoughts from her building schemes. We never had time to return to the subject, for hardly had we begun to tear up the floorboards to get out the cat’s body when we heard the rhythmic tramp of marching feet. Someone thundered at the outer gate with a sword hilt, and when I opened it there entered an onbash of janissaries fully equipped for battle, with a white felt cap on his head. He greeted me and handed me an order from his aga to the effect that I must set forth at once to join the army in the town of Philippopolis, on the river Maritsa, and there report as interpreter to the Seraskier’s intelligence corps.
As I read this appalling communication I became so greatly agitated that I could only stammer the suggestion that there had been a grave mistake, and that for his own sake the onbash would be wise to accompany me at once to the aga and have the matter cleared up. But the onbash was a stolid, unimaginative veteran who said he had his orders. These were to see that before the last hour of prayer I was beyond the city walls and on my way to the theater of war. I had better make haste, he said, if I wished to put up some provisions for the journey, and pack suitable clothes.
It all happened so quickly that I was really conscious of nothing until I found myself sitting uncomfortably in a basket on the back of a camel, swaying rapidly along toward the city gate on the Adrianople road. I lifted my hands to heaven weeping and bewailing my hard fate, but at this the ten janissaries who were goading forward my camel began to sing at the tops of their voices, praising Allah and proclaiming that they were bound for Vienna to overthrow the Kiag.
Their eagerness for battle, the unclouded evening sky-transparently clear after so many rainy days-and last but not least the passage in the Aga’s written order entitling me to thirty aspers a day from the Defterdar’s treasury, cheered me by degrees and inspired me with fresh courage. I tried also to console myself by thinking that nothing occurred contrary to the will of Allah. If for some reason I was to be removed from the Seraglio, it could only be because the Sultan wished to test my efficiency on a campaign, and so discover in which high appointment he could best employ me.
We swung through the low arch in the city wall just as the sun was setting. The rolling slopes beyond glowed red and yellow with tulips, and the white columns of Moslem tombs caught the last dying rays. Dusk fell, the sky darkened to purple, and in strange accompaniment to the tramp of the soldiers and the grunting of the camel I heard the hoarse, distant voices of the muezzins calling the faithful to prayer.
All at once I felt as if someone had lifted a heavy, stifling blanket from me; I breathed freely once more, and enjoyed deep draughts of the fresh spring air.
Although I was now to take part in a campaign that threatened all Christendom, I was escorted by a squad of experienced janissaries who must answer for my safety with their heads. I had thirty aspers a day and if fortune favored me I had much to gain and little to lose. My dog was in good hands. Giulia could maintain herself very well until my return on the money that the Sultan had given me, and perhaps I might soon meet my dear brother Andy again among the gunners; his loyalty and strength could be of great help to me in time of need.
And so there was no reason for dejection. True, the camel smelled very evil, my legs were numb, and the constant swaying afflicted me with nausea; yet without effort I swung forward through the fragrant spring night. Sultan Suleiman’s expedition against the Emperor’s brother in Vienna was now to begin, and out of respect for the Sultan I will bring this book to an end and start another.
BOOK 5.
The Siege of Vienna
I SHALL say little of the hardships I underwent on that journey. Bad weather set in again, and every night I lay drenched and shivering in the janissaries’ tent. Columns of infantry, troops of cavalry, and strings of camels struggled along all the roads toward Philippopolis; at night every farm was packed to overflowing so that neither by hook nor by crook were sleeping quarters to be had. I never understood how I was able to endure these discomforts without falling sick, accustomed as I now was to a life of relative comfort.
In justice to the onbash I must mention that he ordered his men to take the very greatest care of me. They cooked my food and dried my clothes, and I soon came to admire the excellent discipline prevailing in our little troop. Each of the ten men seemed to have his own task to perform whenever we camped for the night. One collected firewood, another cooked, a third cleaned the weapons and accouterments. While a fourth fed the camels, others would be pitching the tents, and so smoothly and speedily were all things done that very soon a cheerful fire would be crackling beneath the pot, while a tent offered a comparatively dry sleeping place. These toil-toughened men cared little for the ceaseless downpour, and indeed made it a point of honor to endure uncomplainingly every sort of hardship, even performing regularly the five daily acts of devotion, though it meant kneeling and prostrating themselves in the mud.
