by Jan Potocki
Realizing that the Moors were being driven out of all of Spain, Abdon became a convert to Christianity two years before the fall of Granada. King Ferdinand was his godfather. In spite of that, Abdon remained in the service of the Gomelez, abjured the prophet from Nazareth in his old age, and reverted to the faith of his ancestors.
Abdon was the father of Mehrital and the grandfather of Asael. In Asael’s time Billah, the last legislator of the inhabitants of the caves, murdered Sefi. One day Sheikh Billah summoned Asael and spoke to him as follows:
‘You know that I have killed Sefi. His death was predestined by the prophet, who desires the caliphate to revert to the descendants of Ali. I have therefore formed an alliance of four families. The Isids of Babylon, the Kabyles of Egypt, and the Benazars of Africa. The chiefs of these three families undertake, in their own name and in that of their descendants, to send in turn every three years a courageous, intelligent, experienced, prudent – even cunning – man to our caves. His task will consist in verifying that all that happens in our caves is according to the laws. In cases where they are broken, he has the right to kill the sheikh, the six chiefs of the tribes living in the caves – in short, all those who have brought guilt upon themselves. As a reward for his services, he will receive seventy thousand pieces of pure gold or one hundred thousand sequins converted into your currency.’
‘Powerful sheikh,’ replied Asael, ‘you have only named three families. Which will be the fourth?’
‘Yours,’ said Billah, ‘and for that you will receive thirty thousand gold pieces a year. But you must undertake to maintain contact and write letters. You will even take part in the running of the caves. If, on the other hand, you should fail in any way, one of the families is charged with the task of killing you at once.’
Asael wanted time to think but his cupidity triumphed and so he accepted this commitment for himself and his descendants.
Asael was the father of Gerson. The three families received every three years seventy thousand gold pieces. Gerson was the father of Mamoun, that is to say, of me. Faithful to the obligations of my grandfather, I have assiduously served the sovereign of the caves. After the epidemic of the plague I drew on my own fortune to pay the Benazars the seventy thousand pieces which were their due. I have just paid homage to you and sworn you unswerving loyalty.
‘Honourable Mamoun,’ I said. ‘Have pity on me. I have already two bullets in my chest and am not suitable to be sheikh or mahdi.’
‘As for mahdi,’ Mamoun replied, ‘you can put your mind at rest. No one is considering it any more. You cannot, however, refuse the dignity and the duties of sheikh if you do not want the Kabyles to kill you in three weeks’ time – and not only you but also your daughter.’
‘My daughter!’ I exclaimed in amazement.
‘Yes,’ said Mamoun, ‘the daughter which the fairy bore you.’
We were told then that dinner was ready and the sheikh interrupted his story.
The Sixty-sixth Day
I spent another day in the gold-mine. In the evening, at my request, the sheikh continued his story as follows:
THE GREAT SHEIKH OF THE GOMELEZ’S STORY
CONTINUED
I had no choice. With Mamoun, I resumed the old activities of Cassar Gomelez and resumed contact with Africa and the great families of Spain. Six Moorish families had newly settled in the caves. But things were not going well for the African Gomelez. Their children of the male sex died or were born feeble-minded. I had myself only two sons from my twelve wives, both of whom died. Mamoun urged me to choose from among the Christian Gomelez, even from among those who are of our blood only on the maternal side but who might be converted to the faith of the prophet.
Hence Velásquez’s claim to be introduced into our family. For him I intended my daughter Rebecca, whom you have already come to know. She was brought up by Mamoun, who has taught her all sorts of sciences and cabbalistic terms.
After the death of Mamoun, his son succeeded to the castle of Uzeda. I settled with him all the details of your own reception. We hoped that you would be converted to the Muslim religion or at least that you would become a father. On this latter point our hopes have been fulfilled. The children which your cousins bear in their wombs will be able to pass for descendants of the purest blood of the Gomelez. It was necessary for you to come to Spain. Don Enrique de Sa, the Governor of Cadiz, is an initiate. It was he who recommended to you Lopez and Mosquito, who abandoned you near the spring at Los Alcornoques. In spite of that you went courageously on as far as the Venta Quemada, where you met your cousins. With the help of a somnifer we succeeded in carrying you under the gallows of Zoto’s brothers, where you woke up the next day. From there you came to my hermitage, where you met the demoniacal Pacheco, who in reality is only an acrobat from Biscay. The poor fellow lost an eye while executing a dangerous jump and has since lived off our charity. I thought that his sad story would make an impression on you and that you would betray the secret you swore to your cousins to keep. But you loyally kept your word. The next day we made you undergo a much more frightening test: the supposed Inquisition, which threatened you with the most horrible tortures but still did not succeed in undermining your courage.
We then wanted to get to know you better and had you brought to the castle of Uzeda. From the top of its terrace you thought that you recognized your two cousins. It was indeed they. But when you went into the gypsy’s tent you only saw his daughters, with whom, you may be assured, you had no more intimate intercourse!
We had to retain you longer among us and we feared that you would grow bored. That is why we thought up various distractions for you. Thus Uzeda had an old man of my band memorize the story of Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew, which he took from his family chronicles and which the old man recited to you. In this case we were combining business with pleasure.
You now know all the secrets of our underground life, which certainly will not last much longer. Soon you will learn that an earthquake has wrought destruction in these mountains. For this to happen, we have brought immense quantities of explosives and that will be our very last flight.
So go, Alphonse, where the world calls you. You have received from us a letter of credit, left blank. The sum which you will write on it must be high enough to recompense you for what we have asked of you. You should reflect that there will soon no longer be an underground domain. Do not fail to ensure yourself an independent future. The Moro brothers will help you to do this. Once again, farewell. Kiss your wives. These two thousand steps will lead you up to the ruins of the Cassar Gomelez, where you will find guides to take you to Madrid. Farewell, farewell.
*
I went up the spiral staircase. I had scarcely caught sight of the light of the sun when I also saw my servants, Lopez and Mosquito, who had abandoned me near the spring of Los Alcornoques. Both were delighted to see me and kissed my hand. They led me to the old tower, where a meal and a comfortable billet were waiting for me.
The next day we resumed our journey without delay, and that evening reached the Venta de Cardeñas, where I met Velásquez again. He was deep in a problem that looked just like that of squaring the circle. The famous geometer did not recognize me at once, and first I had to remind him one by one of the events which had occurred during our stay in the Alpujarras mountains. But then he embraced me and manifested the joy which our renewed meeting gave him. At the same time he told me how painful it had been to have to part from Laura de Uzeda, which was how he now referred to Rebecca.
Epilogue
I arrived in Madrid on the twentieth day of June, 1739. The day after my arrival I received from the Moro brothers a letter sealed in black, which made me apprehend a sad event. And indeed I learnt that my father had died from a sudden heart attack. My mother had leased our property of Worden and had gone to a convent near Brussels where, with the help of her life annuity, she wished to live in peaceful retirement.
The next day Moro himself came and asked me to breathe
not a single word about what he was going to say to me. ‘Up to now, Señor,’ he said, ‘you know about only a part of our secrets. But soon you will know them all. As we speak, all of those who are initiated into the secret of the caves are busy placing their money in different countries. If one of them should by some unfortunate chance suffer a loss we would all come to his assistance. You had an uncle in the Indies, Señor. He died and left you practically nothing. In order that no one would be surprised by your sudden wealth, I have spread the rumour about that you have come into a considerable inheritance. You must buy property in Brabant, in Spain and even in America. Please allow me to see to this. As for you, Señor, I know how brave you are and do not doubt that you will embark on the San Zacarias, which is due to bring reinforcements to Cartagena, which is threatened by Admiral Vernon.1 The English minister does not want war but public opinion is pushing him in that direction. None the less peace is close at hand, and if you let this occasion to take part in a war go by, you won’t easily find another.’
The plan suggested by Moro had long been settled upon by my protectors. I embarked with my company. It formed part of a battalion made up of soldiers chosen from different regiments. The crossing went well. We arrived in time and barricaded ourselves in the fortress with the brave Eslada. The English abandoned the siege and I returned to Madrid in March 1740.
One day, while I was in service at court, I saw in the queen’s entourage a young woman in whom I immediately recognized Rebecca. I was told that it was a princess from Tunis who had fled her country to be converted to our faith. The king had been her godfather and had given her the title of Duchess of the Alpujarras, and the Duke of Velásquez had asked for her hand in marriage. Rebecca noticed that I was being told about her and cast me an urgent glance, by which she seemed to implore me not to betray her secret.
Later, the court went to San Ildefonso, while I took up quarters with my company in Toledo. I leased a house in a narrow street close to the market. Opposite me lived two women who each had a child. It was said that their husbands, who were naval officers, were both at sea. These women lived in complete retirement and seemed to do nothing other than look after their children, who were truly as pretty as little angels. Throughout the day they cradled them, fed them, bathed them and dressed them. This touching picture of maternal love made such an impression on me that I never left the window. It is true that I was also moved by curiosity, for I wanted to see the faces of my neighbours, which were always carefully veiled. Two weeks went by in this way. The room which faced the street was occupied by the children and the women did not eat there, but one evening I saw that the table was being laid in that room and that a feast was being prepared.
At the end of the table a chair decorated with flowers marked the place of the king of the feast. High chairs were put on either side, in which the children were placed. Then my neighbours indicated that I should join them. I hesitated, not knowing what I ought to do. At that they lifted their veils and I recognized Emina and Zubeida. I spent six months with them.
Meanwhile the Pragmatic Sanction and the struggles over the succession of Charles VI unleashed a war in Europe2 in which Spain soon took an active part. I left my cousins and became adjutant to the infante, Don Felipe. During the whole war I remained at the prince’s side. When peace was signed I was made a colonel.
We were then in Italy. An agent from the Moro bank came to Parma to recover funds and settle the finances of the duchy. One night this man came to see me and told me that I was impatiently awaited at the castle of Uzeda and that I should set out at once. He named an initiate to me whom I was to meet in Málaga.
I bade farewell to the infante, embarked at Livorno and arrived at Málaga after ten days at sea. The man in question, who had been informed of my arrival, was waiting for me on the jetty. We continued on our journey that very day and reached the castle of Uzeda on the next.
There I found a notable gathering: the sheikh, his daughter Rebecca, Velásquez, the cabbalist, the gypsy with his two daughters and sons-in-law, Zoto and his two brothers, the fake demoniac Pacheco and lastly a dozen Muslims belonging to the three initiated families. The sheikh announced that now we were all assembled we would go to the cave at once. We set out at nightfall and arrived at dawn. We went down to the underground mine and rested a while.
Then the sheikh brought us all together and uttered the following words, which he repeated in Arabic for the benefit of the Muslims: ‘The gold-mine, which for a thousand years constituted the fortune of our family, seemed inexhaustible. Strong in this belief, our ancestors decided to use this gold to spread the faith of Islam and especially to support the followers of Ali. They were the only guardians of this treasure, and this guardianship cost them infinite pain and effort. I have myself known countless torments. In order finally to free myself from this anguish, which was becoming more and more difficult to bear, I decided to discover for myself if the mine really was inexhaustible. I drilled into the rock in various places and have discovered that everywhere the seam is coming to its end. Señor Moro has undertaken to assess the remaining wealth and to calculate the share due to each of us. This calculation gives to each of the principal heirs a million sequins and to the other participants fifty thousand. All the gold has already been extracted and is hidden in a distant cave. I want first to accompany you into the mine, where you can convince yourselves of the truth of what I am saying. Then everyone will receive his share.’
We went down the spiral staircase, reached the tomb and then the mine, which was indeed completely worked out. The sheikh urged us to go back up again. When we were again on the mountainside we heard a terrible explosion. The sheikh told us that part of the underground workings, which we had just left, had been blown up. Then we went to the cave in which the remaining gold was piled up. The Africans took away what was their due, Moro took charge of my share and that of most of the Europeans.
I returned to Madrid and offered my services to the king,3 who received me with remarkable graciousness. I bought considerable properties in Castile; I was given the title of Conde de Peña Florida, and sat with the highest Castilian titulados.
Together with my fortune, my honours also grew. I became a general at the age of thirty-six.
In 1760, I was entrusted with the command of the fleet; my mission was to make peace with the Barbary states. I first set sail for Tunis. I hoped that I would encounter fewer difficulties there and that the example of that state would be followed by others. My boat dropped anchor in the roads, and I sent an officer ashore to announce my arrival. The news had already reached the town and the Bay of La Goulette was swarming with boats, which had been decorated, and which were to accompany me to Tunis with my retinue.
Next day I was presented to the bey. He was a young man of twenty years of age, with a most charming face. I was received with every imaginable honour and was invited that evening to the castle of Manouba. I was led into a pavilion set aside from the rest and the door was closed behind me. The bey entered, knelt and kissed my hand.
Then I heard a second door creak open and three veiled ladies appeared. They lifted their veils. I recognized Emina and Zubeida. Zubeida was leading by the hand a girl: my daughter. Emina was the young bey’s mother. I cannot describe the power of the paternal instincts which were awakened in me then. The only thing which spoiled my joy was the thought that my children belonged to a religion hostile to mine. I expressed this painful thought.
The bey confessed to me that he was very attached to his religion but that his sister Fatima, who had been brought up by a Spanish slave, felt herself to be Christian in her soul. We decided that my daughter would come to Spain, be baptized there and become my heiress.
All this was accomplished in the space of a year. The king stood godfather to Fatima, and gave her the title of Princess of Oran. A year later she married the elder son of Velásquez and Rebecca, who was two years younger than her. I ensured that she would have my whole fortune by showing that I had no c
lose relative on my paternal side and that the Moorish girl, who was related to me through the Gomelez, was my sole heir. Although I was still at the height of my powers I started to think about a post which would allow me to enjoy the charms of a quiet life. The post of Governor of Saragossa was vacant; I solicited and obtained it.
Having thanked His Majesty and taken leave of him, I next went to see the Moro brothers and asked them to give me back the sealed scroll which I had deposited with them twenty-five years earlier. It was the diary of the first sixty-six days of my stay in Spain.
I have copied it out in my own hand and put it in an iron casket, in which one day my heirs will find it.
1 Saragossa capitulated on 20 February 1809.
1 The Sierra Morena was colonized by the Conde de Olivarez between 1767 and 1776.
2 ‘The gypsy women of the Sierra Morena are keen on the flesh of men.’
3 Inns.
4 Philip V reigned from 1700 to 1746.
5 Muleteer.
6 Brother.
7 The church of Nuestra Señora de Atocha was a place of pilgrimage in Madrid.
8 ‘The Brothers’: Potocki gives one origin of the name in the text (Zoto’s brothers), but the Inquisition (‘la santa Hermandad’, as it is referred to at the beginning of this chapter) is also known as ‘los Hermanos’; their role in the story will become clear in due course.
9 Stew.
10 Sweetmeats.
11 A novel by the Persian writer Nizami, written in the late twelfth century.
12 The tribe of Muhammad.
