The Prince of India; Or, Why Constantinople Fell — Volume 01

by Lew Wallace

  CHAPTER XX

  MAHOMMED DREAMS

  It was a trifle after noon. The trireme and the assemblage of admiringtownspeople had disappeared, leaving the bay and its shores to theirwonted quiet. The palace, however, nestling in the garden under thepromontory, must be permitted to hold our interest longer.

  Aboo-Obeidah had eaten and drunk, for being on a journey, he was withinthe license of the law as respects wine; and now he sat with thePrincess alone at the end of the portico lately occupied by the Emperorand his suite. A number of her attendants amused themselves out ofhearing of the two, though still within call. She occupied thesedilium; he a seat by the table near her. Save a fine white veil on anarm and a fan which she seldom used, her appearance was as in themorning.

  It is to be admitted now that the Princess was finding a pleasure inthe society of the Sheik. If aware of the fact, which was doubtful, itis still more doubtful if she could have explained it. We are inclinedto think the mystery attaching to the man had as much to do with thecircumstance as the man himself. He was polite, engaging, and handsome;the objection to his complexion, if such there were, was at leastoffset by a very positive faculty of entertaining; besides which, theunspeakable something in manner, always baffling disguises, alwayswhispering of other conditions, always exciting suggestions andexpectations, was present here.

  If she thought him the Bedouin he assumed to be, directly a wordchanged the opinion; did she see the Governor of the old Castle in hisface, an allusion or a bit of information dropped by him unaware spokeof association far beyond such a subordinate; most perplexing, however,where got the man his intelligence? Did learning like his, avoidingcloisters, academies, and teachers of classical taste, comport withcamel-driving and tent-life in deserts harried by winds and sand?

  The mystery, together with the effort to disentangle it, resolved thePrincess into an attentive auditor. The advantages in the conversationwere consequently with the Sheik; and he availed himself of them tolead as he chose.

  "You have heard, O Princess, of the sacred fig-tree of the Hindus?"

  "No."

  "In one of their poems--the Bhagavad Gita, I think--it is described ashaving its roots above and its branches downward; thus drawing lifefrom the sky and offering its fruit most conveniently, it is to me thesymbol of a good and just king. It rose to my mind when thykinsman--may Allah be thrice merciful to him!--passed me with hisspeech of forgiveness, and this gift "--he raised his hand, and lookedat the ring on one of the fingers-"in place of which I was moredeserving burial in the Bosphorus, as the black-browed Admiral said."

  A frown dark as the Admiral's roughened his smooth brow.

  "Why so?" she inquired.

  "The tales I told were of a kind to be spared a Greek, even one who maynot cover his instep with the embroidered buskin of an Emperor."

  "Nay, Sheik, they did not ruffle him. On the tongue of a Turk, I admit,the traditions had been boastful, but you are not a Turk."

  The remark might have been interrogative; wherefore with admirableaddress, he replied: "An Ottoman would see in me an Arab whollyunrelated to him, except as I am a Moslem. Let it pass, O Princess--heforgave me. The really great are always generous. When I took the ring,I thought, Now would the young Mahommed have so lightly pardoned theprovocation?"

  "Mahommed!" she said.

  "Not the Prophet," he answered; "but the son of Amurath."

  "Ah, you know him?"

  "I have sat with him, O Princess, and at table often helped him to meatand bread. I have been his cupbearer and taster, and as frequentlyshared his outdoor sports; now hunting with hawk, and now with hound.Oh, it were worth a year of common days to gallop at his right hand,and exult with him when the falcon, from its poise right under the sun,drops itself like an arrow upon its enemy! I have discoursed with himalso on themes holy and profane, and given and taken views, and tellinghim tales in prose and verse, have seen the day go out, then comeagain. In knightly practice I have tilted with him, and more than once,by his side in battle, loosened rein at the same cry and charged. HisSultana mother knows him well; but, by the lions and the eagles whoserved Solomon, I know him, beginning where her knowledge leftoff--that is, where the horizon of manhood stretched itself to makeroom for his enlarging soul."

  The awakening curiosity of his listener was not lost upon the Sheik.

  "You are surprised to hear a kindly speech of the son of Amurath," hesaid.

  She flushed slightly.

  "I am not a person, Sheik, whose opinions are dangerous to the peace ofStates, and of whom diplomacy is required; yet it would grieve me togive offence to you or your friend, the Prince Mahommed. If now Iconcede a wish to have some further knowledge of one who is shortly toinherit the most powerful of the Eastern Kingdoms, the circumstanceought not to subject me to harsh judgment."

  "Princess," the Sheik said, "nothing so becomes a woman as care wherewords may be the occasion of mischief. As a flower in a garden, such awoman would rank as the sovereign rose; as a bird, she would be thebulbul, the sweetest of singers, and in beauty, a heron with throat ofsnow, and wings of pink and scarlet; as a star, she would be the firstof the evening, and the last to pale in the morning--nay, she would bea perpetual morning. Of all fates what more nearly justifies reproachof Allah than to have one's name and glory at the mercy of a rival oran enemy? I am indeed Mahommed's friend--I know him--I will defend him,where sacred truth permits defence. And then"--his glance fell, and hehesitated.

  "And what then?" she asked.

  He gave her a grateful look, and answered: "I am going to Adrianople.The Prince will be there, and can I tell him of this audience, and thatthe Princess Irene regrets the evil reported of him in Constantinople,and is not his enemy, straightway he will number himself of those themost happy and divinely remembered, whose books are to be given them intheir right hands."

  The Princess looked at the singer, her countenance clear, serene, fairas a child's, and said:

  "I am the enemy of no one living. Report me so to him. The Master Ifollow left a law by which all men and women are neighbors whom I am tolove and pray for as I love and pray for myself. Deliver him the verywords, O Sheik, and he will not misunderstand me."

  A moment after she asked:

  "But tell me more of him. He is making the world very anxious."

  "Princess," the Sheik began, "Ebn Hanife was a father amongstDervishes, and he had a saying, 'Ye shall know a plant by its flower, avine by its fruit, and a man by his acts; what he does being to the manas the flower to the plant, and the fruit to the vine; if he have donenothing, prove him by his tastes and preferences, for what he likesbest that he will do when left to himself.' By these tests let uspresume to try the Prince Mahommed.... There is nothing which enthrallsus like the exercise of power--nothing we so nearly carry with us intothe tomb to be a motive there; for who shall say it has not a part inthe promise of resurrection? If so, O Princess, what praise is toogreat for him who, a young man placed upon a throne by his father,comes down from it at his father's call?"

  "Did Mahommed that?"

  "Not once, O Princess, but twice."

  "In so much at least his balance should be fair."

  "To whom is the pleasant life in a lofty garden, its clusters alwaysnear at hand--to whom, if not to the just judges of their fellow-men?"

  The Sheik saluted her twice by carrying his right hand to his beard,then to his forehead.

  "Attend again, O Princess," he continued, more warmly than in theoutset. "Mahommed is devoted to learning. At night in the field whenthe watches are set, the story-tellers, poets, philosophers, lawyers,preachers, experts in foreign tongues, and especially the inventors ofdevices, a class by themselves, supposed generally to live on dreams asothers on bread--all these, finding welcome in his tent, congregatethere. His palace in the city is a college, with recitations andlectures and instructive conversations. The objection his fatherrecognized the times he requested him to vacate the throne was that hewas a student. His ancestors havi
ng been verse makers, poetry is hisdelight; and if he does not rival them in the gentle art, he surpassesthem in the number of his acquirements. The Arab, the Hebrew, theGreek, the Latin address him and have answers each in his mother'stongue. Knew you ever a scholar, O Princess, whose soul had utterlyescaped the softening influence of thought and study? It is notlearning which tames the barbarian so much as the diversion of mindfrom barbaric modes required of him while in the pursuit of learning."

  She interrupted him, saying pleasantly: "I see, O Sheik, if to be atthe mercy of an enemy is sad, how fortunate where one's picture isintended if the artist be a friend. Where had the Prince hisinstructors?"

  There was a lurking smile in the Sheik's eyes, as he replied: "Thesands in my country drink the clouds dry, and leave few fountainsexcept of knowledge. The Arab professors in Cordova, whom the MoorishKaliphs deemed themselves honored in honoring, were not despised by theBishops of Rome. Amurath, wanting teachers for Mahommed, invited thebest of them to his court. Ah--if I had the time!"

  Observing his sigh had not failed its mark, he continued: "I wouldspeak of some of the books I have seen on the Prince's table; for as alicensed friend, I have been in his study. Indeed, but for fear of toogreatly recommending myself, I would have told you earlier, O Princess,how he favoured me as one of his teachers."

  "Of poetry and story-telling, I suppose?"

  "Why not?" he asked. "Our history is kept and taught in such forms.Have we a hero not himself a poet, he keeps one.... Upon the Prince'stable, in the central place, objects of his reverence, the sources towhich he most frequently addresses himself when in need of words andhappy turns of expression, his standards of comparison for thingsbeautiful in writing and speech, mirrors of the Most Merciful,whispering galleries wherein the voice of the Most Compassionate isnever silent, are the Koran, with illustrations in gold, and the Biblein Hebrew, copied from _torahs_ of daily use in the Synagogues."

  "The Bible in Hebrew! Does he read it?"

  "Like a Jewish elder."

  "And the Gospels?"

  The Sheik's face became reproachful.

  "Art thou--even thou, O Princess--of those who believe a Moslem mustreject Christ because the Prophet of Islam succeeded him with laterteachings?"

  Dropping then into the passionless manner, he continued:

  "The Koran does not deny Christ or his Gospels. Hear what it says ofitself: 'And this Koran is not a forgery of one who is no God, but ithath been sent down as a confirmation of those books which have beenbefore it, and an explanation of the Scriptures from the Lord of theWorlds.' [Footnote: The Koran] ... That verse, O Princess, transcribedby the Prince Mahommed himself, lies between the Bible and the Koran;the two being, as I have said, always together upon his table."

  "What then is his faith?" she asked, undisguisedly interested.

  "Would he were here to declare it himself!"

  This was said disconsolately; then the Sheik broke out:

  "The truth now of the son of Amurath! Listen!--He believes in God. Hebelieves in the Scriptures and the Koran, holding them separate wingsof the divine Truth by which the world is to attain righteousness. Hebelieves there have been three Prophets specially in the confidence ofGod: Moses, the first one; Jesus, who was greater than Moses; Mahomet,the very greatest--not for speaking better or sublimer things, butbecause he was last in their order of coming. Above all, O Princess, hebelieves worship due to the Most High alone; therefore he prays theprayer of Islam, God is God, and Mahomet is his Prophet--meaning thatthe Prophet is not to be mistaken for God."

  The Sheik raised his dark eyes, and upon meeting them the Princesslooked out over the bay. That she was not displeased was the most hecould read in her face, the youthful light of which was a little shadedby thinking. He waited for her to speak.

  "There were other books upon the Prince's table?" she presently asked.

  "There were others, O Princess."

  "Canst thou name some of them?"

  The Sheik bowed profoundly.

  "I see the pearls of Ebn Hanife's saying were not wasted. Mahommed isnow to be tried by his tastes and preferences. Let it be so.... I sawthere, besides dictionaries Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, the Encyclopaediaof Sciences, a rare and wonderful volume by a Granadian Moor, IbnAbdallah. I saw there the Astronomy and Astronomical Tables of IbnJunis, and with them a silver globe perfected from the calculations ofAlmamon the Kaliph, which helps us to the geographical principle notyet acknowledged in Rome, that the earth is round. I saw there the Bookof the Balance of Wisdom by Alhazan, who delved into the laws of natureuntil there is nothing phenomenal left. I saw there the Philosophy ofAzazzali the Arab, for which both Christian and Moslem should begrateful, since it has given Philosophy its true place by exalting itinto a handmaiden of Religion. I saw there books treating of trade andcommerce, of arms and armor, and machines for the assault and defenceof cities, of military engineering, and the conduct of armies in grandcampaigns, of engineering not military, dealing with surveying, and theconstruction of highways, aqueducts, and bridges, and the laying out oftowns. There, also, because the soul of the student must have rest anddiversion, I saw volumes of songs and music loved by lovers in everyland, and drawings of mosques, churches and palaces, masterpieces ofIndian and Saracenic genius; and of gardens there was the Zebra,created by Abderrahman for the best loved of his Sultanas. Of poetry, OPrincess, I saw many books, the lord of them a copy of Homer in Arabic,executed on ivory from the translation ordered by Haroun Al-Raschid."

  During this recital the Princess scarcely moved. She was hearing a newversion of Mahommed; and the Sheik, like a master satisfied with hispremises, proceeded to conclusions.

  "My Lord has a habit of dreaming, and he does not deny it--he believesin it. In his student days, he called it his rest. He used to say, whenhis brain reeled in overtask dreaming was a pillow of down andlavender; that in moments of despair, dreaming took his spirit in itshands softer than air, and, nurse-like, whispered and sung to it, andpresently it was strong again. Not many mornings ago he awoke to findthat in a deep sleep some ministrant had come to him, and opened thedoors of his heart, and let out its flock of boyish fantasies. He hassince known but three visions. Would it please you, O Princess, to hearof them? They may be useful as threads on which to hang the Dervishfather's pearls of saying."

  She re-settled herself, resting her cheek on her hand, and her elbow onthe arm of the chair, and replied:

  "I will hear of them."

  "The visions have all of them reference to the throne he is soon toascend, without which they would be the mere jingling of a jester'srattle.

  "First Vision.... He will be a hero. If his soul turned from war, hewere not his father's son. But unlike his father, he holds war theservant of peace, and peace the condition essential to his othervisions.

  "Second Vision.... He believes his people have the genius of the Moors,and he will cultivate it in rivalry of that marvellous race."

  "Of the Moors, O Sheik?" the Princess said, interrupting him. "Of theMoors? I have always heard of them as pillagers of sacredcities--infidels sunk in ignorance, who stole the name of God to excuseinvasions and the spilling of rivers of blood."

  The Sheik lifted his head haughtily.

  "I am an Arab, and the Moors are Arabs translated from the East to theWest."

  "I crave thy pardon," she said, gently.

  And calming himself, he rejoined: "If I weary you, O Princess, thereare other subjects to which I can turn. My memory is like the box ofsandal-wood a lady keeps for her jewelry. I can open it at will, andalways find something to please--better probably because I have it fromanother."

  "No," she returned, artlessly, "a hero in actual life transcends thebest of fancies--and besides, Sheik, you spoke of a third vision ofyour friend, the Prince Mahommed."

  He dropped his eyes lest she should see the brightness with which theyfilled.

  "War, my Lord says, is a necessity which, as Sultan, he cannot avoid.Were he disposed to content himself with
the empire descending from hisgreat father, envious neighbors would challenge him to the field. Hemust prove his capacity in defence. That done, he vows to tread thepath made white and smooth by Abderrahman, the noblest and best of theWestern Kaliphs. He will set out by founding a capital somewhere on theBosphorus. Such, O Princess, is my Lord Mahommed's Third Vision."

  "Nay, Sheik--on the Marmora--at Broussa, perhaps."

  "I am giving the Vision as he gave it to me, Princess. For where else,he asks, has the spreading earth diviner features than on theBosphorus? Where bends a softer sky above a friendlier channel byNature moulded for nobler uses? Where are there seas so bridled andreduced? Does not the rose bloom here all the year? Yonder the East,here the West--must they be strangers and enemies forever? His capital,he declares, shall be for their entertainment as elder and youngerbrother. Within its walls, which he will build strong as a mountain'sbase, with gates of brass invulnerable, and towers to descry the cloudsbelow the horizon, he will collect unselfishly whatever is good andbeautiful, remembering he serves Allah best who serves his fellow-men."

  "All his fellow-men, Sheik?"

  "All of them."

  Then she glanced over the bay, and said very softly:

  "It is well; for 'if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more thanothers?'"

  The Sheik smiled, saying:

  "And thus the latest Prophet, O Princess. 'Turn away evil by that whichis better; and lo, he between whom and thyself was enmity, shall becomeas though he were a warm friend.'" [Footnote: Koran]

  She answered, "A goodly echo."

  "Shall I proceed?" he then asked.

  "Yes."

  "I was speaking of the Third Vision.... To make his capital the centreof the earth, he will have a harbor where ships from every country, andall at once, can come and lie, oars slung and sails furled: and near byfor trade, a bazaar with streets of marble, and roofed with glass, andbroad and long enough for a city unto itself; and in the midst a khanfor lodging the merchants and travellers who have not other houses. Andas did Abderrahman, he will build a University of vast enclosure; heretemples, there groves; nor may a study be named without its teacher,and he the most famous; so the votaries of Music and Poetry,Philosophy, Science, and the Arts, and the hundred-handed Mechanicsshall dwell together like soldiers in a holy league. And comes that wayone religious, of him but a question, Believest thou in God? and if heanswer yes, then for him a ready welcome. For of what moment is it, myLord asks, whether God bear this name or that? Or be worshipped with orwithout form? Or on foot or knee? Or whether the devout be calledtogether by voice or bell? Is not Faith everything?"

  The picture wrought upon the Princess. Her countenance was radiant, andshe said half to herself, but so the Sheik heard her:

  "It is a noble Vision."

  Then the Sheik lowered his voice:

  "If, with such schemes, excluding races and religions--hear me again, OPrincess!--if with such schemes or visions, as thou wilt, the LordMahommed allows himself one selfish dream, wouldst thou condemn him?"

  "What is the selfish dream?" she asked.

  "He has an open saying, Princess, 'Light is the life of the world,while Love is the light of life.' Didst thou ever hear how Othman wooedand won his Malkatoon?"

  "No."

  "It is a Turkish tale of love. Mahommed had it from his mother when hewas a lad, and he has been haunted ever since with a belief which, tohis dreaming, is like the high window in the eastern front of a palace,outwardly the expression-giver, within the principal source of light.The idea is strongest what times the moon is in the full; and then hemounts a horse, and hies him, as did Othman, to some solitary placewhere, with imagination for cup-bearer, he drinks himself into happydrunkenness." The Sheik, bending forward, caught her eyes with his, andheld them so not a glance escaped him.

  "He thinks--and not all the Genii, the winged and the unwinged, of thewisest of Kings could win him from the thought--that he will sometimemeet a woman who will have the mind, the soul of souls, and the beautyof the most beautiful. When she will cross his vision is one of theundelivered scriptories which Time is bringing him; yet he is lookingfor her, and the more constantly because the first sight of her will behis first lesson in the mystery called love. He will know her, for atseeing her a lamp will light itself in his heart, and by it, not theglare of the sun, his spirit will make sure of her spirit. Therefore inhis absoluteness of faith, O Princess, there is a place alreadyprovided for her in his promised capital, and even now he calls it thisHouse of Love. Ah, what hours he has spent planning that abode! He willseat it in the Garden of Perfection, for the glorifying which, trees,birds, flowers, summer-houses, water, hill-tops and shaded vales shallbe conquered. Has he not studied the Zehra of Abderrahman? And dividedit as it was into halls, courts and chambers, and formed andproportioned each, and set and reset its thousand and more columns, andrestored the pearls and gold on its walls, and over the wide Alhambranarches hung silken doors sheened like Paradisean birds? And all thatwhen he shall have found her, his Queen, his Malkatoon, his Spirit ofSong, his Breath of Flowers, his Lily of Summer, his Pearl of Oman, hisMoon of Radjeb, monotony shall never come where she dwells nor shallshe sigh except for him absent. Such, O Princess Irene, is the onedream the Prince has builded with the world shut out. Does it seem toyou a vanity of wickedness?"

  "No," she returned, and covered her face, for the Sheik's look waseager and burning bright.

  He knelt then, and kissed the marble at her feet.

  "I am Prince Mahommed's ambassador, O Princess," he said, rising to hisknees. "Forgive me, if I have dared delay the announcement."

  "His ambassador! To what end?"

  "I am afraid and trembling."

  He kissed the floor again.

  "Assure me of pardon--if only to win me back my courage. It ismiserable to be shaken with fear."

  "Thou hast done nothing, Sheik, unless drawing thy master's portraittoo partially be an offence. Speak out."

  "It is not three days, Princess, since you were Mahommed's guest."

  "I his guest--Mahommed's!"

  She arose from her chair.

  "He received you at the White Castle."

  "And the Governor?"

  "He was the Governor."

  She sunk back overcome with astonishment. The Sheik recalled herdirectly.

  "Prince Mahommed," he said, "arrived at the Castle when the boats werediscovered, and hastened to the landing to render assistance if theperil required it.... And now, O Princess, my tongue falters. How can Iwithout offending tell of the excitement into which seeing you plungedhim? Suffer me to be direct. His first impression was supported by thecoincidences--your coming and his, so nearly at the same instant--theplace of the meeting so out of the way and strange--the storm seeminglyan urgency of Heaven. Beholding and hearing you, 'This is she! This isshe! My Queen, my Malkatoon!' he cried in his heart. And yesterday"--

  "Nay, Sheik, allow the explanation to wait. Bearest thou a message fromhim to me?"

  "He bade me salute thee, Princess Irene, as if thou wert now the Ladyof his House of Love in his Garden of Perfection, and to pray if hemight come and in person kiss thy hand, and tell thee his hopes, andpour out at thy feet his love in heartfuls larger than ever woman hadfrom man."

  While speaking, the Sheik would have given his birthright to have seenher face.

  Then, in a low voice, she asked:

  "Does he doubt I am a Christian?"

  The tone was not of anger; with beatings of heart trebly quickened, hehastened to reply:

  "'That she is a Christian'--may God abandon my mouth, if I quote himunfaithfully!--'That she is a Christian, I love her the more. For seeyou, Sheik'--by the faith of an Arab, Princess, I quote him yet, wordfor word--'my mother was a Christian.'"

  In the morning of this very day we have seen her put to like questionby Constantine, and she did not hesitate; now the reply took a time.

  "Say to Prince Mahommed," she at length returned, "that his messagepre
sents itself honorably, for which it is deserving a soft answer. Hisfancy has played him false. I cannot be the woman of his dream. She isyoung; I am old, though not with years. She is gay; I am serious. Sheis in love with life, hopeful, joyous; I was born to sorrow, and insorrow brought up, and the religion which absorbed my youth is nowlife's hold on me. She will be delighted with the splendors he has instore for her; so might I, had not the wise man long since caught myear and judgment by the awful text, Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.While her charms endure she will keep him charmed with the world; Icould not so much, for the world to come has possession of me, and thedays here are but so many of a journey thither. Tell him, O Sheik,while he has been dreaming of palaces and gardens in rivalry ofAbderrahman the Kaliph, I have been dreaming of a house in splendorbeyond the conception of architects; and asks he more about it, tellhim I know it only as a house not made with hands. Tell him I speak notin denial of possibilities; for by the love I have never failed toaccord the good and noble, I might bend my soul to his; to this hour,however, God and His Son the Christ, and the Holy Mother, and theAngels and deserving men and women have taken up my heart andimagination, and in serving them I have not aspired to other happiness.A wife I might become, not from temptation of gain or power, or insurrender to love--I speak not in derision of the passion, since, likethe admitted virtues, it is from God--nay, Sheik, in illustration ofwhat may otherwise be of uncertain meaning to him, tell Prince MahommedI might become his wife could I by so doing save or help the religion Iprofess. Then, if I brought him love, the sacrifice would rescue itfrom every taint. Canst thou remember all this? And wilt thou deliverit truly?"

  The Sheik's demeanor when she ended was greatly changed; his head wasquite upon his breast; his attitude and whole appearance weredisconsolate to the last degree.

  "Alas, Princess! How can I carry such speech to him, whose soul isconsuming with hunger and thirst for thy favor?"

  "Sheik," she said in pity, "no master, I think, had ever a morefaithful servant than thou hast proved thyself. Thy delivery of hismessage, could it be preserved, would be a model for heralds in thefuture."

  Thereupon she arose, extended her hand to him, and he kissed it; and asshe remained standing, he arose also.

  "Be seated," she then said, and immediately that they were both intheir chairs again, she took direction of the interview.

  "You asked me, Sheik, if I had heard how Othman wooed and won hisMalkatoon, and said it was a Turkish romance. The Othman, I take it,was founder of Prince Mahommed's house. Now, if thou art not too weary,tell me the story."

  As the recital afforded him the opportunities to give poetic expressionto his present feeling, he accepted the suggestion gladly, and, beingin the right mood, was singularly effective. Half the time listeningshe was in tears. It was past three o'clock when he finished. Theaudience then terminated. In no part of it had her manner been moregracious than when she conducted him along the portico, or herloveliness so overwhelming as when she bade him adieu at the head ofthe steps.

  Standing between columns near the sedilium, she saw him gain his boat,take something from the sitting-box, step ashore again, and return toher gate, where he remained awhile pounding with a stone. The actionwas curious, and when he was out of sight rounding the water front ofthe promontory, she sent Lysander to investigate.

  "The infidel has fixed a brass plate to the right-hand post of thekiosk," the ancient reported, in bad humor. "It may be a curse." ThePrincess then called her attendants, and went with them to see thebrass plate. There it was, an arm's reach overhead, and affixed firmlyto the post, the corners turned down to serve the tacking. Graven onits polished surface was the following:

  Wholly unable to decipher it, she sent for a Dervish, long resident inthe town, and returned to the portico.

  "Princess," the old man said, having viewed the mysterious plate, "hewho did the posting was a Turk; and if he were aged, I should say thouhast entertained unaware the great Amurath, Sultan of Sultans."

  "But the man was young."

  "Then was he the son of Amurath, Prince Mahommed."

  The Princess turned pale.

  "How canst thou speak so positively?" she asked.

  "It is a _teukra_; in the whole world, O Princess, there are but twopersons with authority to make use of it."

  "And who are they?"

  "The Sultan, and Mahommed, next him in the succession."

  In the silence which ensued, Lysander officiously proposed to removethe sign. The Dervish interposed.

  "Wilt thou hear me, O Princess," he said, with a low reverence,"whether the plate proceeded from Amurath or Mahommed, or by the orderof either of them, the leaving it behind signifies more than friendshipor favor--it is a safeguard--a proclamation that thou and thy peopleand property here are under protection of the master of all the Turks.Were war to break out to-morrow, thou mightest continue in thy palaceand garden with none to make thee afraid save thine own countrymen.Wherefore consider well before acceding to the rancor of this ancientmadman."

  Thus the truth came to the Princess Irene. The Singing Sheik was PrinceMahommed!

  Twice he had appeared before her; in the White Castle once, and now inher palace; and having announced himself her lover, and proposedmarriage, he intended her to know him, and also that he was notdeparting in despair. Hence the plate on the gate! The circumstance wasnovel and surprising. Her present feelings were too vague and uncertainfor definition: but she was not angry.

  Meantime Mahommed, returning to the old Castle, debated with himself.He loved the Princess Irene with the passion of a soul unused to denialor disappointment, and before he reached the Roumelian Hissar he sworea Moslem oath to conquer Constantinople, less for Islam and glory, thanfor her. And from that hour the great accomplishment took hold of himto the exclusion of all else.

  At Hissar he ascended the mountain, and, standing on the terreplein ofthe precipice in front of what is now Robert College, he marked thenarrowness of the Bosphorus below, and thinking of the militarynecessity for a crossing defended on both shores, he selected a sitefor a castle on the European side opposite the White Castle in Asia. Indue time we will have occasion to notice the creation of the walls andtowers of the stupendous fortification yet standing between Bebek andHissar, a monument to his energy and sagacity more imposing thananything left by him in Constantinople.