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ANASTASIUS 


OR, 


MEMOIRS    OF  A   GREEK; 


WRITTEN  AT  THE  CLOSE 


OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 


IN  THREE  VOLUMES. 


VOL.  IIL 


LONDON : 

JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE-STREET. 

1819. 


Ijondon  :  printed  by  W.  Bulraer  and  Co. 
Cleveland-low,  St.  James's. 


<r,4 


ANASTASIUS, 


OR 


MEMOIRS  OF  A  GREEK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

JlIad  my  fancy  for  trade  been  a  confirmed  passion, 
Smyrna  was  the  place  to  indulge  in  all  its  luxuries. 
In  that  blessed  city,  peoples'  ideas  run  upon  nothing 
but  merchandise :  their  discourse  only  varies  between 
the  exchanges  and  the  markets :  their  heads  are  full  of 
figs  and  raisins,  and  their  whole  hearts  wrapped  up 
in  cotton  and  broad  cloths.  They  suppose  man  crea- 
ted for  nothing  but  to  buy  and  sell ;  and  whoeyer 
makes  not  these  occupations  the  sole  business  of  his 
life,  seems  to  thera  to  neglect  the  end  of  his  existence. 
I  verily  believe  they  marry  for  no  other  purpose  but 
to  keep  up  the  race  of  merchants. 

No  wonder  then,  that  I  should  soon  dechne  irt 

VOL.  III.  B 


2  ANASTASIUS. 

their  good  opinion  ;  for  it  was  now  full  two  months 
since  I  had  taken  up  the  commercial  line :  and  of 
course  my  enthusiasm  for  its  charms  must  have 
been  on  the  wane,  even  without  the  surfeit  I  got 
of  them  at  Smyrna.  My  last  mercantile  transaction 
which  that  place  witnessed,  'was  buying  of  Isaac-Bey 
a  pair  of  pistols,  made  for  use  in  England,  and 
rendered  ornamental  in  Turkey.  They  were  des- 
tined for  Hadjee  BoUad-^gloo,  chief  of  the  mighty 
house  of  Kara-Osman,  lords  paramount  of  a  great 
part  of  Anadoly.  I  had  long  purposed  visiting  this 
venerable  old  Aga  (for  notwithstanding  his  real 
power,  his  nominal  rank  rose  no  higher)  at  Magne- 
sia his  residence  ;  and  now  took  the  opportunity  of 
my  return  to  the  capital,  for  executing  this  plan. 

When  presented  to  the  Chief,  in  his  thriving  re- 
sidence ;  "  Accept  these  arms,"'  said  I,  "  as  the 
homage  of  a  grateful  traveller,  who  has  found  them 
useless  amid  the  security  which  you  have  established 
in  your  wide  domain." 

Hadjee-Bollad  received  my  offering,  not  with  the 
contemptuous  indiiference  of  a  Constantinopolitan 
upstart,  afraid  lest  the  smallest  symptom  of  admira- 
tion should  be  construed  .into  an  acknowledgment 
of  inferiority ;  but  with  the  courteousness  of  one 
whose  ancestors  had  for  many  generations  back  stood 
high  in  the  public  estimation,  as  well  as  himself.  He 
praised  the  beauty  of  the  present,  and  appeared 


ANASTASIUS.  5 

anxious  to  make  an  immediate  trial  of  its  excellence. 
"  Age,''''  said  he,  "  has  somewhat  impaired  my 
strength  :  but  between  this  sort  of  weapon  and  my 
hand  there  has  subsisted  so  long  an  acquaintance, 
that  they  often  still  seem  to  understand  each  other, 
almost  without'  my  participation  T 

He  then,  from  his  very  seat,  took  aim  athwart  the 
wooden  trellice  of  the  window  at  a  magpie  chatter- 
on  the  top  of  a  cypress-tree  in  the  court.  To  this 
bird  had  been  given  the  name  of  Tchapan-Ogloo. 
It  was  that  of  another  great  territorial  proprietor  in 
Anadoly,  the  rival  of  the  house  of  Kara-Osman  in 
wealth,  in  power,  and  in  extent  of  domain.  He 
fired  exclaiming,  "  Fall,  Tchapan-Ogloo !"  and 
brought  down  the  bird. 

"  I  do  not  know,''  continued  he  hereupon  in 
great  glee,  "  whether  you  think  your  present 
thrown  away,  but  1  am  quite  sure  that  the  one  of 
which  I  am  going  to  beg  your  acceptance,  cannot 
be  better  bestowed."  This  was  a  handsome  horse, 
richly  caparisoned,  which  Hadjee  Bollad  desired 
me  to  keep,  ''  in  remembrance,"  he  said,  "  of  the 
patriarch  of  Magnesia." 

Impatient  to  justify  his  compliment,  I  vaulted 
into  the  saddle,  wrested  a  spear  out  of  the  hands  of 
an  attendant,  and  at  full  gallop  hurled  it  deep  into 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  on  which  had  sat  the  magpie. 


4  ANASTASIUS. 

"  Well  done !"  cried  the  Aga.  "  Your  race  I 
perceive  has  been  like  my  ohti  :  with  this  difference, 
that  you  are  just  starting  in  the  career,  and  I  am 
near  its  end.  You  may  tell  them  so  at  Stambool : 
but  lest  their  joy  at  hearing  it  be  too  extravagant, 
tell  them  too  that  the  old  stock  leaves  a  few  offsets 
—like  yourself!" 

I  had  intended  to  proceed  on  my  journey  the 
same  day:  but,  without  pressing  me  to  stay,  the 
Aga  seemed  to  have  taken  it  so  fully  for  granted 
that  I  could  not  think  of  going,  as  to  deprive  me 
of  all  resolution  to  take  leave.  I  had  not  even  an 
opportunity  of  representing  the  prolongation  of  my 
visit  as  a  deviation  from  my  original  plan.  To  the 
Aga's  hospitable  disposition  it  would  have  appeared 
like  owning  a  nefarious  desio^n. 

Seeing  me  in  admiration  of  the  activity  and  bus- 
tle which  prevailed  throughout  his  residence :  of 
the  piles  of  cotton,  the  strings  of  camels,  the  goods 
loading  and  unloading,  and  the  guides  coming  and 
going :  "  this,*'  said  the  Aga,  "  is  only  our  peace 
establishment :  but  we  are  equally  well  equipped 
for  war.  At  a  days  notice  we  can  bring  into  the 
field  twenty  thousand  sturdy  horsemen,  as  well 
mounted  as  armed,  for  the  defence  of  the  Empire — 
or  for  our  own  !" 

"  And  with  so  much  wealth,"^  cried  I,  "  and  so 


ANASTASIUS.  5 

much  power,  you  have  been  able  to  avoid  the  Sul- 
tan's dangerous  honors  ?"" 

"  It  has  cost  us  a  little,"  hastily  rejoined  Hadjee. 
**  We  have  paid  greater  sums  to  keep  our  head  out 
of  the  noose,  than  others  do  to  thrust  theirs  into  it : 
but  simple  Agas  we  came  into  the  world,  and  sim- 
ple Agas  we  are  determined,  God  granting,  to  go 
out  of  it.  Independance,  and  the  right  of  leaving 
our  vast  domain,  inherited  from  a  long  line  of 
ancestors,  to  a  long  line  of  descendants,  would  be 
ill  exchanged  for  the  empty  name  of  Visier,  with 
the  certainty  of  servitude,  and  the  probability  of 
confiscation  of  the  paternal  estate  !"  ' 

At  this  moment  a  steward  advanced  to  inform 
Hadjee  that  a  troop  of  Albanians,  fled  from  the 
oppression  of  some  Roumiliote  Pasha,  were  just 
come  to  crave  his  protection,  and  to  beg  some  em- 
ployment or  some  waste  land. 

"  Tell  them,'"*  replied  the  Aga,  '^  they  shall  have 
both."  Then  turning  to  me  :  ^'  in  granting  such 
requests,"  he  added,  "  the  giver  is  the  gainer."  I 
praised  him  for  his  liberality. 

"  Praise  me  for  my  sense,"  answered  he,  "  in 
having  discovered,  that  my  income  bears  more 
fruit  in  my  tenant's  hands,  than  in  my  own  coffers. 
You  complimented  me  on  the  security  of  my  roads- 


6  ANASTASIUS. 

It  was  obtained,  not  by  watching  my  subjects,  but 
by  giving  them  work.  When  people  toil  in  mind 
and  in  body  to  improve  their  own  property,  they 
have  not  leisure  to  covet  that  of  others.*" 

For  three  days  my  ears  feasted  on  Hadjee's  wisr 
dc«n,  and  my  palate  on  his  good  fare  :  on  the  fourth 
I  took  leave  of  my  kind  host.  "  I  suppose,"*'  said 
he,  "  you  only  quit  me  to  go  and  visit  the  younger 
branches  of  my  family  at  Bergamo^  and  at  Yaya- 
keui."  I  answered  that  I  had  not  time  at  present 
for  so  desirable  a  circuit ;  but  begged  permission  on 
my  return  from  Stambool  again  to  visit  the  chief 
of  so  noble  a  house.  "  Then  do  not  tarry  long," 
answered  Hadjee :  '^  I  myself  have  a  journey  to 
perform,  in  which,  old  as  I  am,  ten  to  one  but  I 
out-run  you,  spite  of  all  your  activity."  On  this  we 
took  leave.  I  mounted  my  new  horse,  and  departed. 

All  the  way  to  Constantinople,  I  coukl  think  of 
nothing  but  the  novel  species  of  existence  I  had 
witnessed  at  Magnesia.  I  felt  charmed  with  that 
tranquil  enjoyment  of  life's  present  sweets,  undis- 
turbed by  ambitious  desires  as  to  the  future, 
or  by  unavailing  regrets  of  the  past.  It  gave 
me  a  contempt,  unfelt  before,  for  long  concerted 
schemes,  of  which  the  labour  was  certain,  and  the 
success  alone  precarious.      "  Not  only,"  cried  1» 


ANASTASIUS.  7 

distant  aims  are  never  sure  to  be  attained ;  but  are 
not  even  sure,  when  attained,  to  afford  the  happi- 
ness they  promise.  They  resemble  the  regions  which 
from  the  mountains  summit  I  espy  at  its  base. 
Viewed  from  afar,  these  vallies  indeed  appear  a  level 
plain ;  and  it  seems  as  if,  the  moment  I  set  foot 
within  their  boundaries,  all  fatigue  is  to  cease,  and 
a  delicious  saunter  over  a  velvet  turf  is  to  terminate 
my  journey.  But  this  apparently  even  surface, — 
what  hidden  pools,  and  torrents,  and  quagmires, 
may  I  not  still  find  it  to  contain,  a  thousand  times 
more  irksome  than  the  steep  and  rugged  path  along 
which  I  am  toiling  !" 

As  with  these  vallies,  so  it  fared,  I  thought,  with 
every  object  of  human  pursuit.  When  considered 
in  the  gross,  and  from  that  remote  point  of  view, 
from  whence  only  its  leading  features  could  be  dis- 
cerned, each  alike  promised  a  series  of  unalloyed 
enjoyments.  But  how  different  the  scene,  when 
we  approached  within  sight  of  the  minuter 
details!  What  numberless  little  troubles,  name- 
less inconveniences,  and  hourly  cares,  unthought 
of  before,  often  started  up  when  in  possession,  inch 
by  inch  to  devour  hke  a  gnawing  worm,  that  feli- 
city which  viewed  from  a  distance  seemed  so  entire ! 
What  diminutive  insects  will,   by   their  numbers, 


8  ANASTASIUS. 

consume  the  soundest  fruit,  ere  it  be  ripe  fop 
gathering ! 

Upon  this  principle  I  now  renounced  all  distant 
pursuits,  and  resolved  only  to  seek  the  enjoyments 
within  my  immediate  grasp:-  forgetting  that  many 
objects,  even  though  we  should  never  approach 
them  near  enough  to  impress  the  sense  of  touch, 
may  still  by  their  towering  splendor  long  at  least 
gladden  the  sight  or  the  fancy  ;  that  pleasure,  whe- 
ther it  actually  thrill  the  body,  or  only  warm  the 
mind,  still,  while  it  lasts,  is  pleasure  ;  and  that  he 
manages  his  means  of  happiness  but  poorly,  who, 
while  his  existence  affords  ample  room  both  for  rea- 
lities and  dreams,  gives  up,  in  his  blind  devotion  to 
the  present,  all  the  smiling  visions  of  the  future. 

Indeed,  in  my  ardor  for  tangible  enjoytaents, 
I  went  so  far  as  to  deem  unworthy  of  my  seeking 
every  present  pleasure  itself,  which  .rose  beyond 
those  of  the  most  grovelling  description.  "  Who,*" 
cried  I,  "  would  only  contemplate  the  gilded  clouds 
over  his  head,  that  could  cull  around  his  very  feet 
rich  fruits  and  fragrant  flowers  ?  Let  those  rest  their 
hopes  solely  on  the  airy  phantoms  of  the  ima^na- 
tion,  who  possess  not  the  means  to  taste  the  daintier 
sweets  of  the  sense :  I,  in  whose  composition  flesh 
and  blood  more  than  balance   soul   and  intellect. 


ANASTASIUS.  9 

am  impelled  to  follow  a  different  couf.se,  and  to 
gather  all  I  can  of  the  milk  and  honey  which  boun- 
tiful nature,  the  true  Ephesian  Diana,  pours  from 
the  thousand  springs  which  cover  her  bosom  ! 

Thus,  in  my  partial  calculations, — in  my  fear  of 
neglecting  half  -the  pleasures  of  existence, — I  was 
going  to  give  up  the  other  and  better  portion, — 
the  enjoyments  which  flourish  in  age,  in  infirmity, 
and  in  durance,  as  in  youth,  in  health,  and  in  free- 
dom ! 

How  frequently  does  it  happen  that  the  same 
external  objects  promote,  according  to  the  different 
predispositions  of  the  mind,  the  rnost  opposite  sen- 
timents and  resolves  !  I  still  continued  impressed 
with  the  wisdom  of  securing  the  present,  and  com- 
mitting the  whole  task  of  my  happiness  to  the  sense, 
when  I  began  to  discover  Scutari,  the  principal  out- 
post of  the  capital  on  the  Asiatic  shore;  and  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  that  city,— edging  the  horizon, 
— the  black  streak  of  cypress  groves  that  mark  its 
immense  cemeteries,^  the  last  resting  place  of  those 
who,  dying  in  Constantinople,  fear  that  their  bones 
may  some  day  be  disturbed,  if  committed  to  the 
unhallowed  ground  of  Europe. 

A  dense  and  motionless  cloud  of  stagnant  vapours 
ever  shrouds  these  dreary  realms.     From   afar  a 


10  ANASTASIUS. 

chilling  sensation  informs  the  traveller  that  he  ap- 
proaches their  dark  and  dismal  precincts  ;  and  as 
he  approaches  them,  an  icy  blast,  rising  from  their 
inmost  bosom,  rushes  forth  to  meet  his  breath,  sud- 
denly strikes  his  chest,  and  seems  to  oppose  his  pro- 
gress. His  very  horse  snuffs  up  the  deadly  effluvia 
with  signs  of  manifest  terror,  and  exhaling  a  cold 
sweat,  advances  reluctantly  over  a  hollow  shaking 
ground,  which  loudly  re-echoes  his  slow  and  fear- 
ful step.  So  long  and  so  busily  has  time  been  at 
work  to  fill  this  spot  with  the  sad  relics  of  morta- 
lity,— so  repeatedly  has  Constantinople  poured  into 
this  ultimate  receptacle  almost  its  whole  contents, 
that  the  capital  of  the  living,  spite  of  its  immense 
population,  scarce  counts  a  single  inhabitant  for 
every  ten  silent  inmates  of  this  city  of  the  dead. 
Already  do  its  fields  of  mouldering  bodies,  and  its 
gardens  of  blooming  sepulchres  in  every  direction 
stretch  far  away  across  the  brow  of  the  hills,  and 
the  hollow  of  the  vaUies :  already  are  the  avenues 
which  cross  each  other  on  every  side  in  this  domain 
of  death  so  lengthened,  that  the  weary  stranger, 
from  whatever  point  he  comes,  has  to  travel  many  a 
mile  between  endless  rows  of  marshalled  tombs 
shaded  by  mournful  cypresses,  ere  he  reaches  his 
journey's  seemingly  receding  end;  and  yet  every 


ANASTASIUS.  11 

year  does  this  common  patrimony  of  all  the  heirs 
to  decay  still  exhibit  a  rapidly  encreasing  size,  a 
fresh  and  wider  line  of  boundary,  and  a  new  belt 
of  young  plantations,  growing  up  between  new 
flower  beds  of  graves. 

As  I  sped  through  this  awful  repository,  the 
ranges  of  sepulchres,  terminating  in  evanescent 
points,  rose  to  the  right  and  the  left  on  my  passage, 
— only  for  an  instant  to  strike  my  sight,  and 
then  again  to  disappear  and  to  make  room  for  new 
ones, — in  such  rapid  and  yet  such  unceasing  suc- 
cession, that  at  last  I  fancied  some  spell  possessed 
my  soul,  some  fascination  kept  locked  my  senses ; 
and  I  hurried  on  with  accelerated  rapidity,  as  if 
the  end  of  these  melancholy  abodes  was  to  be 
the  end  of  my  waking  delusion.  Nor  was  it  until, 
near  the  verge  of  the  funereal  forest  through 
which  I  had  been  pacing  for  a  full  hour,  the 
brighter  light  of  a  gayer  landscape  again  gleamed 
athwart  the  ghost-like  trees,  that  I  stopped  to  look 
round,  and  to  take  a  more  leisurely  survey  of  the 
ground  I  had  traversed. 

"  There,*"  said  I  to  myself,  "lie,  scarce  one  foot 
beneath  the  surface  of  a  soil,  sweUing,  and  ready  on 
every  point  to  burst  with  its  festering  contents,  more 
than  half  the  generations  whom  death  has  continued 
for  near  four  centuries  to  mow  down  in  the  capital 


12  ANASTASIUS. 

of  the  Turkish   empire.     There  lie,  side  by  side, 
on  the  same  level,  in  cells  the  size  of  their  bodies, 
and  only  distinguished  by  a  marble  turban  some- 
what  longer   or  deeper,  —  somewhat   rounder    or 
squarer, — personages  in  life  far  as  heaven  and  earth 
asunder,  in  bjrth,  in  station,  in  gifts  of  nature,  and 
in  long  laboured  acquirements.      There  lie,  sunk 
alike  in  their  last  sleep, — alike  food  for  the  loathsome 
worm, — the  conqueror  who  filled  the  universe  with 
his  name,  and  the  peasant  scarce  known  in  his  own 
hamlet  :  Sultan  Mahmoud,  and  Sultan  Mahmoud'*s 
perhaps  more  deserving  horse  i"^  elders  bending  un- 
der the  weight  of  years,  and  infants   of  a  single 
hour;  Inen  with  intellects  of  angels,  and  men  with  un- 
derstandings inferior  to  those  of  brutes,  the  beauty 
of  Georgia,  and  the  black  of  Sennaar ;  Visiers,  beg- 
gars, heroes  and  women.  There  perhaps  mingle  their 
insensible  dust  the  corrupt  judge  and  the  innocent  he 
condemned,  the  murdered  man  and  his  murderer, 
the  adulteress  and  her  injured  husband,  the  master 
and  his  meanest  slave.     There  vile  insects  consume 
the  hand  of  the  artist,  the  brain  of  the  philosopher, 
the  eye  which  sparkled  with  celestial  fire,  and  the  lip 
from  which  flowed  irresistible  eloquence  !      All  the 
soil  pressed  by  me  for  the  last  two  hours,  once  was 
animated  like  myself;  all  the  mould  which  now  clings 
to  my  feet,  once  formed  limbs  and  features  hke  my 


ANASTASIUS.  13 

own  !  Like  myself,  all  this  black  unseemly  dust  once 
thought,  and  willed,  and  moved !  —And  I,  creature 
of  clay  like  those  here  buried ;  I,  who  travel  through 
life  as  I  do  on  this  road,  with  the  remains  ol'  past 
generations  strewed  around  me;  I  who,  whether 
my  journey  last* a  few  hours  more  or  less,  must  still, 
like  those  here  deposited,  in  a  short  time  rejoin  the 
silent  tenants  of  some  cluster  of  tombs,  be  stretched 
out  by  the  side  of  some  already  sleeping  corpse,  and 
be  left  to  rest,  for  the  remainder  of  time,  with  all 
my  hopes  and  fears — ail  my  faculties  and  pros- 
pects,— on  a  cold  couch  of  clammy  earth  : — shall  I 
leave  the  rose  to  blush  along  my  path  unheeded,  the 
purple  grape  to  wither  over  my  head  ?  and  in  the 
idle  pursuit  of  some  dream  of  distant  grandeur  that 
may  delude  me  while  I  live,  spurn  all  the  delights 
which  invite  my  embrace  ? — Far  from  my  thoughts 
be  such  folly  !  Whatever  tempts  let  me  take  : 
whatever  bears  the  name  of  enjoyment,  henceforth, 
let  me,  while  I  can,  make  my  own  !^* 

It  was  thus  that  scenes  at  which  might  have 
sickened  even  stouter  hearts  than  mine,  did  but 
send  me  forth  confirmed  in  the  schemes  of  sensual 
gratification  with  which  I  had  entered  their  awful 
precincts. 

On  my  arrival  at  Constantinople  I  proceeded 
to  execute  my  sage  intentions  without  losis  of  time. 


14  ANASTASIUS. 

So  constantly  did  I  keep  the  fear  of  death  before 
my  eyes,  that  I  suffered  none  of  the  pleasures  of 
life  to  escape  me:  nor  the  least  unseasonable  re- 
flection to  break  in  upon  my  wiser  employment  of 
my  hours.  I  wanted  no  attendant  to  remind  me 
daily  that  I  was  mortal ;  but,  wholly  unadmonished, 
hved  each  day  as  if  it  was  to  be  my  last. 

While  skudding  full  sail  down  the  stream  of* 
pleasure,  a  sudden  side  puff  of  the  most  extra- 
vagant ambition  I  ever  yet  had  conceived,  blew 
across  the  current,  and  drove  me  for  a  time  wholly 
from  my  forward  course.  It  was  occasioned  by  a 
report,  true  or  false,  but  sedulously  spread  at  Fera, 
of  the  state  of  complete  anarchy  into  which  had  fallen 
the  autocratical  boudoir  of  all  the  Russias,  by  the 
dismissal,  or  discomfiture,  or  death,  of  some  reigning 
favorite.  Two  or  three  youngsters,  it  was  added, 
gifted  only  with  overweening  presumption,  had  at- 
tempted to  succeed  him,  but  had  died  of  mere  fright 
previous  to  their  installation.  In  this  situation  of 
affairs  it  struck  me  that  I  might  have  a  chance,  and 
need  only  be  seen,  to  charm  and  win  the  prize. 

It  seemed  worth  while  trying,  every  way.  In  the 
first  place,  a  Greek  of  talent  was  always  sure  of  pro- 
motion in  the  Russian  service.  It  is  true,  I  had  been 
in  that  of  the  Turks:  but  that  circumstance  only  ren^ 
dered  my  posture  the  more  promising.  Friends  after 


ANASTASIUS.  15 

all  were  friends;  while  enemies  must  be  won  over.  It 
is  true,  moreover,  that  there  was  a  great  disparity 
between  the  lady's  age  and  mine  :  but  I  knew  that 
if  I  could  get  over  the  objection,  she  would ;  and 
in  order  not  to  let  it  arrest  me,  determined  only  to  see 
in  every  furrow  of  her  face  the  fold  of  a  well  filled 
purse,  and  in  every  spot  or  freckle  on  her  fair  skin, 
the  insignia  of  some  brilliant  order.  Once,  therefore, 
a  smart  tight  laced  colonel  in  Catherine's  own  Bre- 
obraiski  body  guard,  who  doutbed  the  rest  ?  Not 
Anastasius  for  certain !  "  Chill  of  age  nor  of 
climate,"  cried  I,  "  shall  stop  me  ;  I  shall  grasp  at 
all,  become  another  Potemkin,  rule  an  empire,  have 
a  court,  alternate  between  arranging  fetes  and 
planning  campaigns  ;  pay  my  card-money  in  dia- 
monds, make  mosaic -work  of  provinces,  plant 
orange  and  citron  groves  on  hanging  terraces  of 
icicles,  and,  when  tired  of  illuminations  on  the  Neva, 
set  on  fire  the  Bosphorus, — and  transport  the  seat  of 
empire  from  the  vicinity  of  the  White  Sea,  to  the 
shores  of  the  Black  Sea  ! " 

I  had  already  put  myself  into  regular  training ; 
and  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  my  ardour  by 
the  daily  contemplation  of  the  great  Ekatharina's 
charms,  had  actually,  Mohammedan  as  I  was,  bought 
a  plaster  bust  of  her  Majesty,  in  more  respects  than 
one,  as  I  was  told,  greatly  resembling  the  original ; 


16  ANASTASIUS. 

when  a  little  Greek  baggage  of  Pera  stepped  in 
between,  and  audaciously  seized  upon  the  destined 
minister  of  the  autocratrix  of  all  the  Russias. 

The  place  where  by  preference  I  sat  ruminating 
upon  my  project,  was  my  bow  v^^indow  ;  and  this 
bow  window  happened  to  face  a  gaze-boo  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  way,  where  usually  sat,  in  the 
same  manner  musing  on  her  projects  a  fair  Greek 
widow,  who,  it  seems,  was  not  reserving  herself  for 
any  Northern  potentate  whatsoever.     Somehow  the 
fascinating  Katello  contrived — without  the  least  in- 
tention—  to  shew  me  through  the  trellice  work  of  her 
Shah-nishin,^  almost  every  item  of  her  various  at- 
tractions (and  she  possessed  a  good  many,)  in  regu- 
lar succession.    First  was  beheld — by  mere  chance 
— a  bright  eye,  very  dark,  full  of  fire,  and  not  at  all 
the  worse  for  wear,  notwithstanding  all  the  service 
it  had  seen.     It  incautiously  shewed  itself  while  in 
the  innocent  act  of  watching  the  state  of  the  weather, 
and  the  aspect  of  the  clouds.  Next  peeped  out — lest 
I  should  think  there  was  but  one — iis  companion  to 
the  left,  very  much  resembling  the  other  in  most  par- 
ticulars, and  which  went  forth  into  the  street  very 
much  upon  the  same  guileless  errand.   In  adjusting 
these  said  eyes  to  the  small  openings  left  by  the  laths, 
came  in  view  somewhat  lower  than  themselves,  the 
tip  of  a  little  nose  very  prettily  turned.    Presently 


ANASTASIUS.  17 

some  acquaintance  of  the  lady's  on  my  side  of  the 
street, — but  whom  I  never  could  descry, — gave  cause 
for  certain  signs  in  dumb  shew,  chiefly  perform- 
ed by  a  pair  of  pouting  lips  of  the  true  vermillion 
hue ;  and  these  signs  were  accompanied  by  certain 
looks,  whose  lightning  glanced  so  close  by  me,  as 
actuall}'^  almost  to  singe  off  the  end  of  my  left  mus- 
tachio.     Nor  did  the  reluctant  display  of  attractions 
end  here.     Ever  and  anon  the  settling  of  the  per- 
verse blinds  required  the  ministry  of  a  certain  num- 
ber of  rosy  fingers,   most  gracefully  tapered  ;    but 
these  ill  trained  attendants  set  about  their  task  with 
such  provoking  aukwardness,  that  for  the  most  part 
two  round  white  arms  were  obliged  in  their  turn  to 
venture  out  as  auxiliaries,  for  the  purpose  of  rein- 
stating what  the  hands  had  undone.     In  fine,  one 
day,  more  than  usual  efforts  to  put  to  rights  an  en- 
tangled window  curtain  caused  such  dreadful  con- 
fusion, that,  through  the  double  care  of  adjusting 
the  drapery  overhead,  without  deranging  that  situa- 
ted lower,  neither  object  was  attained,  and  at  last 
the  upholstery  of  the  room  came  down  on  that  of  its 
fair  tenant.     Civihty  now  no  longer  permitted  me 
to  remain  an  inactive  spectator  of  my  neighbour's 
embarassments.    I  ran  down  to  my  door  and  up  to 
the  opposite  window,  and  tried  to  extricate  the  ado- 
rable widow  from  her  manifold  difliculties.     Until 

VOL.  III.  C 


18  ANASTASmS. 

that  instant  I  had  only  had  sight  of  her  person 
in  detached  samples ;.  and  what  I  now  saw  in 
the  piece,  did  not  belie  their  promise.  It  seemed  to 
defy  criticism  throughout.  I  who  could  wor- 
ship the  cloven  foot  itself,  hien  chausse^  was  fas- 
cinated with  the  one  I  beheld,  and,  like  another 
Mark  Athony,  gave  up  for  love  the  empire  of 
the  world  ! 

For  the  sake  of  hastening  my  possession,  and 
securing  the  lady  a  decent  retreat,  in  case  I  should 
prove  inconstant,  we  agreed  upon  one  of  those 
short  hand  marriages,  called  by  the  Turks  Cabeen. 
Deeming  this  a  scarcely  reputable  mode  of  union, 
the  fair  widow  made  me  promise  inviolable  secrecy, 
and  insisted  on  my  abusing  her  in  public,  in  order 
to  cloak  my  good  reception  in  private.  At  first 
I  objected,  and  found  my  gallantry  check  my 
attempts  at  detraction ;  but  by  degrees  I  gave  into 
the  scheme  more  readily.  In  fact,  from  some  defect, 
whether  in  my  charmer  or  in  myself,  I  began  to 
think,  after  a  certain  time,  I  might  contrive  to  find 
a  fault  here  and  there  without  doing  great  violence 
to  truth.  Some  of  her  beauties  seemed  really  much 
diminished  in  my  eyes,  and  others  wholly  vanished. 
Her  eyebrows  had  lost  their  evenness,  and  her  lips 
their  color  :  her  very  eyes,  I  thought,  had  shrunk  in 
their  sockets :  and  though  her  mouth  was  become 


ANASTASIUS.  19 

proportionably  larger,  this  scarce  made  amends. 
What  I  had  before  viewed  as  a  beauty  spot,  I  now 
saw  as  a  huge  mole ;  and  a  certain  easy  languor 
ol"  gait,  had  grown  into  a  positive  lameness.  The 
lady  affirmed  herself  to  be  equally  out  in  her  cal- 
culations with  respect  to  me.  When,  therefore,  1 
boasted  of  my  zeal  in  following  her  instructions, 
and,  in  particular,  of  the  unfavorable  description  I 
had  given  of  her  ancles,  so  far  from  seeming  pleased 
with  the  account,  she  fell  into  a  violent  rage,  and 
cried,  "  it  was  her  conduct,  not  her  person,  she  had 
bidden  me  abuse !" 

I  thought  this  a  good  opportunity  for  proposing  to 
the  light  of  my  eyes  to  pay  the  forfeit  money,  and  to 
rescind  the  bargain :  but  at  the  bare  suggestion  my 
tender  spouse  fell  into  hysterics  ;  and  when  I  pulled 
out  my  purse  to  settle  accounts,  swore  she  never 
would  take  her  money.  She  however  took  mine,  and 
carried  away  the  whole  bag  of  which  the  half  only 
was  her  due :  but  it  was  in  the  distraction  of 
her  grief,  and  only  shewed  the  excess  of  her  love  ! 
With  bitter  sobs  she  bade  a  hamal  remove  her 
trunk,  buried  her  paramana  under  her  band  boxes, 
hung  her  shawls  and  trinkets  about  her  own  person, 
and  giving  me  a  parting  nod,  stepped  across 
the  street,  and  resumed  her  old  seat  in  her  own 
Shah-nishin. 


20  ANASTASIUS. 

Scarcely  had  I  been  single  a  fortnight,  when  the 
more  devout  among  my  Mohammedan  friends  repre- 
sented to  me  very  seriously  that  celibacy  was  a  conti- 
nual transgression  of  the  law,  and  that  every  man  as 
well  as  woman  of  a  religious  turn  of  mind,  made   it 
a   point   to    live  constantly  in  the  marriage  state. 
Merely  to  get  rid  of  their  importunities,  I  deputed 
two  Armenian  ladies  of  my  acquaintance  on  a  jour- 
ney of   investigation  ;    but   so  favorable  was  the 
report  they  made  of  a  young  Halebeen^  just  brought 
by  her  parents  to  Constantinople,  that  I  feared  I 
should  have  nothing  to  object  to  the  union.     The 
fair  one  was  not  fifteen  yet,  and  already  weighed 
near  an  hundred  Okkas  !  I  however  pleaded  my  un- 
willingness to  give  credit  to  such  an  exuberance  of 
charms  without  ocular  evidence.     This  favor  was 
refused  me,  as  I  expected,  prior  to  the  wedding, 
and  did  not  seem  extraordinary  enough,  after  that 
ceremony,  to  fix  my  resolution.     The  preliminaries 
were  thus  broken  off,  and  my  friends  entreated  to 
trouble  me  no  more. 

Hard  is  the  labour  of  having  no  employment ! 
'  Heavy  the  infliction  of  being  obliged  constantly  to 
seek  amusement !  Night  and  day  I  toiled  at  this 
task  with  the  utmost  perseverance  :  night  and  day 
I  strove  to  get  rid  of  the  burthen  of  idleness ;  and, 
in  the  absence  of  real  wants,  to    conjure  up  imagi- 


ANASTASIUS.  21 

nary  necessities,  fhat  might  rouse  my  activity,  and 
afford  it  the  requisite  food.  But  none  of  my  con- 
trivances struck  at  the  root  of  the  evil,  and  ennui 
always  sprung  up  afresh.  Often,  in  the  midst  of  a 
life  of  entire  gaiet}^,  I  regretted  those  times  of  toil 
and  danger,  when  I  used  one  day  to  have  my 
dinner  and  the  next  to  go  without  it,  one  night 
to  he  down  under  a  hedge  and  the  next  to  remain 
like  a  stork  upon  my  legs,  and,  always  on  the 
alert,  alternately  to  smoke  a  pipe  and  to  dispatch 
an  enemy. 

In  the  midst  of  this  surfeit  of  ease,  a  letter  came 
most  opportunely  from  Smyrna  to  give  a  new  im- 
pulse to  my  thoughts  and  wishes.  It  was  ^vritten  by 
a  distant  relation  settled  at  Trieste,  who,  having  em- 
ployed his  whole  life  in  accumulating  a  considerable 
fortune,  was  now  beginning  to  consider  how  to 
prevent  its  waste  after  his  death.  Grown  old  and 
infirm,  he  wished  for  some  younger  branch  of  the 
family  stock,  willing  to  bear  him  company  during 
the  remainder  of  his  days,  on  condition  of  becoming 
his  heir  on  his  decease.  Cassis  Pharaoon,  fonnerly 
collector  of  the  customs  at  Cairo,  but  lately  fled 
with  all  his  treasure  to  the  Emperor's  dominions, 
had  mentioned  me  as  hkely  to  acquit  myself  well  in 
both  offices ;  and  my  cousin,  called  to  Smyrna  on 


22  ANASTASIUS. 

business,  felt  anxious  to  see  me,  and  to  sound  my 
disposition.  His  invitation  held  out  such  flattering 
hopes,  that  I  could  not  resist  it,  but  again  set  out 
for  the  place  of  figs  and  raisins;  determined  to 
out-do  them  in  sweetness,  in  my  intercourse  with  my 
well-intentioned  relation. 

Before  I  could  reach  Broossa  the  night  had  come 
on.  Its  obscurity  just  allowed  me  to  perceive,  creep- 
ing among  the  tombs,  a  something  which  bore  a 
suspicious  look,  and  at  first  left  me  doubtful  whe- 
ther I  should  honour  it  with  my  notice,  or  continue 
my  way.  Curiosity  at  last  got  the  better  of  discretion. 
I  followed  the  vision  ;  bidding  it,  whether  man,  de- 
mon, or  jackal,  to  stop  and  to  answer.  But,  as  I  ad- 
vanced it  silently  retreated,  and  with  so  much  speed, 
that  I  must  have  lost  the  scent,  but  for  a  grave- 
stone, over  which  it  had  the  ill-luck  to  stumble.  It 
now,  to  my  great  amazement,  divided  in  two.  One 
part  remained  motionless  where  it  had  fallen,  the 
other  kept  running  on  ;  and  both,  as  it  proved,  with 
equal  reason  for  their  different  behaviour, — the  sta- 
tionary half  being  nothing  but  a  sack  full  of  dead 
men's  bones,  the  moving  one  the  living  thief  who 
had  stolen  them  in  the  cemetery.  Again  I  cried' to 
this  personage  to  stop,  or  I  should  shoot  him :  and 
he  now  faced  about ;  but  fell  upon  his  knees  in  the 


ANASTASIUS.  23 

shape  of  a  Caloyer,  who,  to  move  me  to  compassion, 
related  his  story.  Sub-deacon  to  one  of  the  monas- 
teries on  the  Agios  Oros,  he  was  with  his  Archi- 
mandrite on  an  eleemosinary  tour,  and  happening 
at  the  last  place  of  halting  to  examine  their  stock 
of  relics,  the  \Yorthy  pair  had  found  it  run  so  low 
as  to  require  replenishing.  The  nearest  burying 
ground  offered  the  readiest  means :  and  the  con- 
tents of  the  bag  were  nothing  more  than  a  few 
straggling  bones  of  Turks,  picked  up  in  the  said 
repository,  to  compose  a  fresh  assortment  of  Chris- 
tian relics. 

On  hearing  this  account, "  Wretch,"  cried  I, "  who 
thus  come  to  despoil  our  graves  !  What  should  pre- 
vent me  from  making  a  relic  of  yourself?" 

"  Only  the  circumstance,''  humbly  replied  the  Ca- 
loyer, "  that  it  would  not  be  worth  the  while — at 
least  in  the*  way  of  punishment.  My  halcyon  days 
are  over.  The  route  marked  out  in  our  credentials 
draws  to  a  close  ;  and  in  less  than  a  fortnight  we 
must  perforce  return  to  our  convent,  to  fast,  and 
pray,  and  see  nothing  in  a  human  form  worth  look- 
ing on,  for  the  remainder  of  our  lives  !" 

"  Then  to  kill  you  would  be  a  mercy  !"  said  I, 
and  let  the  fellow  go.  I  myself  hastened  to  a  khan 
in  the  town,  where,  jumbling  together  in  my  brain 
tlie  Caloyer*s  bag  of  bones,  and  what  my  friend 


24  ANASTASIUS. 

Eugenius  once  had  told  me  of  the  periodic  renova- 
tion of  whatever  has  life,  and  the  successive  appro- 
priation of  the  same  organic  particles  by  different 
bodies,  I  dreamed  I  heard  the  last  trumpet  calling 
up  the  dead,  but  beheld  them  sadly  puzzled  how  to 
obey  the  summons ;  half  the  souls  thus  roused  being 
each  individually  assailed  by  at  least  a  dozen  different 
bodies  of  different  ages,  which  all  with  equal  earnest- 
ness asserted  themselves  to  be  their  own ;  while 
the  other  half  were  still  more  at  a  loss  from  finding 
no  bodies  at  all  with  which  to  rise ;  theirs  having 
been  occupied  since  the  death  of  their  first  tenants 
by  a  whole  series  of  later  generations. 

My  hurry  to  get  to  Smyrna  was  much  too  great 
to  go  round  by  Magnesia,  and  pay  Kara-Osman  ano- 
ther visit,  as  I  had  promised.  Far  from  making  an 
unnecessary  circuit,  I  pushed  on  the  shortest  way  to 
my  destination  :  but  I  needed  not  have  used  so  much 
diligence.  On  niy  arrival  I  found  my  loving  cousin 
gone  !  He  had  returned  to  Trieste,  and  without  so 
much  as  leaving:  a  note  or  messao-e  to  account  for  the 
abrupt  proceeding.  This  was  rather  mortifying,  and 
made  me  look  very  foolish.  I  stormed,  and  raved,  and 
blustered :  I  considered  whether  I  should  not  go 
after  my  perHdious  relation,  and  call  him  out  in  single 
combat ;  but  at  last,  recollecting  that  the  disclosure 
of  one  slight  provokes  others,  I  determined  to   ^ok 


ANASTASIUS.  25 

highly  pleased ;  swore  I  only  returned  to  Smyrna 
for  the  benefit  of  the  climate,  and,  to  make  good 
my  assertion,  resolved  to  stay  the  winter,  and  to 
spend  all  my  money,  that  I  might  seem  very 
happy  ! 


26  ANASTASIUS. 


CHAPTER  II. 

I  AM  now  come  to  that  period  of  my  life,  when,  in 
most  individuals,  tlie  more  youthful  passions  at  least 
have  exlialed  tiieir  greatest  fire,  and  have  become 
more  tractable :  but  there  are  constitutions  by  which, 
eitliei-  from  their  natural  weakness,  or  from  the  ex- 
uberance of  certain  of  the  noxious  principles  mixed 
up  in  every  human  compound,  the  virus  of  pecu- 
liar maladies  cannot  be  wholly  thrown  off  in  the  first 
conflict,  hovv-ever  decisive  it  appear.  In  these,  after 
all  the  danger  is  considered  as  past,  and  all  the  poi- 
son as  exhaled,  there  often  comes  on  a  relapse,  which 
ends  in  death,  just  as  every  heart  rent  by  agonising 
fears  had  began  to  re-expand  at  the  prospect  of  a 
speedy  recovery. 

And  such  a  constitution  was  that  of  ray  ill-poised 
mind !  At  the  very  period  when  I  felt  peculiar  exulta- 
tion at  having  successful!}^  borne  some  severe  trials 
of  my  steadiness,  andminfuUy  resisted  some  temp- 
tations of  a  very  perilous  nature  ;  when  I  considered 
myself  as  henceforth  safe  from  the  sway  at  least  of 


ANASTASIUS.  27 

those  more  common-place  passions,  whose  tyranny 
while  it  lasts  is  the  direst,  and  renders  its  slaves  the 
most  abject :  as  if  I  had  only  been  collecting  fresli 
materials  for  a  last  breaking  out  of  the  latent  fire 
within  me,  more  destructive  than  any  former,  a 
flame  kindled  in  my  bosom,  which  shook  my  being — 
body  and  soul— unto  its  very  basis  ;  and,  influencing 
the  whole  remainder  of  my  life,  has  left  its  sequel  an 
almost  unmixed  scene  of  sorrow  and  compunction. 

Yet  did  the  events  commence  in  gaiety,    which 
had  so  fatal  a  termination ! 

In  the  course  of  my  former  mercantile  transac- 
tions at  Smyrna,  I  had  made  in  that  city  a  few  sober 
acquaintances,  whom  I  used  occasionally  to  visit. 
The  men  with  whom  I  habitually  lived  were  a  more 
jovial  set : — amphibious  beings,  found  in  all  sea-ports, 
who  consider  the  land  only  as  a  place  of  passage,  re- 
gard the  sea  as  their  proper  element,  and  feel  equally 
at  home  wherever  its  waves  waft  their  restless  exis- 
tence :  who,  like  the  pebbles  on  the  beach,  which  the 
tide  alternately  covers  and  leaves  exposed,  lose, 
through  constant  friction,  all  their  original  distinct- 
ness of  shape,  present  one  uniform  similarity  of  rude, 
indiscriminate  polish,  and  with  a  very  complete 
assortment  of  the  vices  of  every  different  region 
which  they  in  turns  frequent,  seem  to  belong  to  no 
one  race,  or  country,  or  religion  in  particular. 

In  order  to  exclude  irrevocably  from  their  society 


28  ANASTASIUS. 

ail  such  individuals  as  might  feel  the  smallest  naCc.- 
ral  tendency  to  a  sober  and  sedate  deportment,  these 
giddy  sons  of  joy  had  most  sedulously  drawn  up  a 
long  set  of  regulations,  which  every  candidate  pro- 
posed was  held  to  subscribe  ere  he  could  be  admit- 
ted. Such  however  was  my  anxiety  to  become  one  of 
the  props  of  this  noble  institution,  that  I  did  not  even 
take  time  to  enquire  what  were  its  laws,  but  put  my 
hand  and  seal  to  them  blindfold. 

It  required  but  a  little  time  to  learn  that  the  first 
rule, — that  which  admitted  of  no  exception, — was 
that  by  which  every  associate  was  prohibited  from 
marrying  ;  or  from  taking— in  the  language  of  the 
place — a  female  partner  for  his  own  direct  account, 
and  at  his  own  risk  and  peril.  He  who  was  weak 
enough  to  become  a  principal  in  a  connubial  firm, 
and  untdertook  to  carry  on  a  matrimonial  partnership 
under  his  own  name  and  responsibility,  was  im- 
mediately struck  off*  our  list.  Our  refined  band 
would  even  expatiate  on  the  exceeding  indelicacy 
of  the  marriage  contract,  by  which,  the  possession 
of  a  fair  one  was,  in  a  true  mercantile  spirit,  pur- 
chased by  a  definite  jointure.  "  What  indeed  was 
it  but  assimilating  the  most  disinterested  female  to 
the  venal  syren  who  openly  professed  to  let  out 
her  endeaniients  for  hire  ;  and  who  could  deny  that 
all  the  life  of  love  must  evaporate,  where  no  diffi- 
culty preceded,  no  mystery  enveloped,  no  danger 


ANASTASIUS.  Sq 

accompanied  a  tender  intercourse  !  In  order  to  en- 
sure these  indispensible  requisites  of  perfect  bliss,  and 
through  their  means  to  possess  the  unquestionable 
assurance  of  their  mistresses  unbounded  devotion  to 
them,  our  fastidious  youths  scarcely  permitted  them- 
selves to  pursue  a  prize  that  could  yield  without  set- 
ting at  nought  for  their  sake  every  consideration  of 
fear,  shame  and  pride ;  but,  fettered  by  these  severe 
restrictions  on  the  latitude  of  their  choice,  they  all 
joined  in  sincerely  pitying  the  number  of  poor 
females  smitten  by  their  charms,  to  whom  they 
could  not  extend  the  solace  of  their  attentions. 

It  may  be  reasonably  supposed  that  I  could  not 
brook  to  be  outdone  by  any  of  my  new  companions 
in  feats  of  gallantry ;  and,  merely  for  the  support 
of  my  character,  I  was  in  the  act  of  engaging  to  find 
favor  in  a  given  time  with  whatever  beauty  might 
be  considered  as  the  most  inaccessible  in  Smyrna, 
when,  in  the  very  midst  of  my  boasting,  I  received 
the  following  note. 

**  You  are  a  man  of  enterprise ;  you  part  with 
your  money  freely;  you  complain,  I  am  told,  of 
too  much  facility :  but  is  not  the  game  you  pursue 
ignoble  ?  you  visit  the  house  of  Chrysopulo,  and 
yet  you  overlook  Euphrosyne  !" 

I  made  no  doubt  that  this  note  had  been  indited  by 
some  of  the  party  present — perhaps  by  the  whole  set. 


30  AXASTASIUS. 

in  council  assembled.  It  seemed  a  sort  of  public  defi- 
ance, a  gauntlet  thrown  by  all,  which  I  must  take  up, 
or  lose  my  reputation  with  my  fellow  rakes.  I  there- 
fore read  the  epistle  aloud,  arid  pledged  myself  on  the 
spot  to  gain  the  prize  pointed  out,  or  to  forfeit  the 
place  I  held  in  the  society.  Every  head  shook  in 
doubt  of  my  success,  or  rather  every  lip  curled  up 
in  derision  of  my  presumption.  Flushed  with  wine, 
I  felt  my  foolish  pride  alarmed,  and  offered  to  stake 
large  and  unequal  sums  all  round  the  circle  on  v/hat 
I  imagined  to  be  a  certain  conquest.  They  were 
eagerly  accepted  :  I  found  myself  engaged  ere 
I  scarcely  knew  to  what;  and  when  I  looked 
round,  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  all  my  friends 
chuckle  inwardly,  as  if  already  in  possession  of 
my  money. 

The  subject  of  the  fatal  wager  was  a  young  lady 
related  to  a  wealthy  Greek  merchant,  with  whose 
wife  she  lived  as  a  companion.  Euphrosyne  passed 
for  a  great  beauty,  and  had  recently  been  betrothed, 
it  was  said,  to  the  son  of  another  Greek  merchant, 
likewise  very  opulent.  Money,  therefore,  which  on 
all  other  occasions  I  had  found  an  useful  weapon  of 
attack,  was  in  this  instance  turned  against  me,  and 
converted  into  a  powerful  means  of  defence. 

I  used  indeed,  as  stated  in  the  insidious  note, 
sometimes  to  call  upon  the  family  of  which  the  fair 


ANASTASIUS.  31 

Euphrosyne  formed  so  great  an  ornament.  Its  expe- 
rienced chief  had  assisted  me  in  some  of  my  mercan- 
tile purchases  :  but  these  meetings  on  mere  business 
Euphrosyne's  beauties  were  never  allowed  to  illu- 
mine with  their  radiance.  The  destined  husband 
himself  could  scarce  ever  get  sight  of  his  intended 
spouse.  The  moment  that  even  his  licensed  footsteps 
were  heard  to  approach,  the  older  females  of  the 
family  used  to  conjure  the  nymph  away,  or  at  least 
to  form  round  her  person  a  fence  so  impenetrable, 
as  so  set  at  defiance  her  swain's  hottest  lire  of  sighs 
and  glances.  What  wonder,  therefore,  that  a  stran- 
ger and  a  Mohammedan,  whose  visits  were  neces- 
sarily rare,  and  whose  appearance  put  to  flight 
every  member  of  the  gynecaeum  unprotected  by 
the  ^gis  of  age  or  ugliness,  should  never  have 
beheld  this  paragon  of  perfection,  or  known  aught 
of  her  charms  but  from  common  report ! 

This  circumstance,  however,  no  longer  had  power 
to  influence  my  conduct.  Such  was  the  dilemma 
into  which  my  thoughtlessness  had  betrayed  me, 
that,  even  were  Euphrosyne  to  offer  to  my  eyes  no 
charms  whatsoever,  I  still  must  obtain  her,  or  sub- 
mit to  ruin, — ruin  of  a  reputation  in  truth  suffici- 
ently despicable  ;  and  ruin  of  a  fortune  which  I 
thought  by  no  means  deserving  of  that  epithet. 

Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  I  rather  wished  not  t  j 
behold  my  destined  victim  sooner  than  was  absolutely 


32  ANASTASIUS. 

necessary  for  the  execution  of  my  nefarious  purpose ; 
l«st  a  countenance  so  heavenly  as  her's  was  said 
to  be,  should  disarm  my  villainy  of  the  coolness 
requisite  to  crown  its  attempts.  All  that  I  wanted 
in  the  first  instance  was  to  gain  some  intelligence 
among  the  inferior  inhabitants  of  the  fortress  me- 
naced, fitted  to  second  from  within  such  operations 
against  it  as  I  might  judge  most  expedient  to  carry 
on  from  without. 

On  this  subject  I  began  intensely  to  meditate,  the 
moment  the  long  protracted  revels  of  the  night  per- 
mitted me  to  go  home  and  lay  down  my  weary  limbs; 
and  on  this  same  subject  I  still  continued  meditat- 
ing with  equal  intensity,  as,  after  the  late  and  lazy 
rising  of  the  next  morning,  I  trailed  my  torpid 
limbs  to  the  door,  in  order  to  inhale,  with  fresh  air, 
fresh  ideas  and  fresh  spirits. 

Alas  !  Cupid,  fond  of  mischief,  saw  what  was  pas- 
sing in  my  mind.  In  the  midst  of  my  uncertainty 
he  sent  tripping  by  my  threshold,  as  if  going  on 
her  mornings  errands,  one  of  the  female  attendants 
of  the  very  family,  selected  by  our  society  to  writhe 
under  the  pangs  of  unmerited  dishonor ;  and  one  of 
no  less  consequence  than  Euphrosyne's  own  waiting 
woman;  the  very  person  whom,  in  my  unprincipled 
eagerness  I  could  have  implored  my  stars  to  throw 
in  my  way.  The  waiting  woman's  face, — I  do  not 
know  why, — seemed  familiar  to  me ;  and  equally 


ANASTASIUS.  .33 

familiar  to  her  appeared  to  be  my  own  features  :  for 
on  catching  my  eye  she  curtsied  so  graciously  as 
almost  to  assure  me  by  her  mere  manner,  of  an  un- 
limited devotion  to  my  most  unbounded  wishes. 

It  would  have  been  positively  churlish  toward 
the  smiling  nymph,  as  well  as  neglectful  of  my  own 
interest,  to  let  so  fair  an  opportunity  slip  through 
my  fingers.  After  son^e  requisite  ceremonial  on 
my  part,  and  a  decent  demur  on  her's,  I  induced 
the  diligent  Sophia  to  enter  my  abode ;  and  there  ! 

but  of  what  consequence  is  it  that  I  should 

detail  by  what  arguments  she  was  won  over  to  my 
purpose  ?  Suffice  it  to  state,  that,  on  disqlosing  my 
situation  and  wishes,  so  poorly  acted  was  the  in- 
dispensible  preliminary  abhorrence  of  my  proposal, 
as  almost  to  make  me  conceive,  from  the  facility  of 
the  waiting  woman,  a  prejudice  against  the  fair  fame 
of  the  mistress  herself.  A  well  filled  purse,  given 
on  the  spot  as  an  earnest,  and  a  considerable 
sum  of  money, pledged  as  a  more  substantial  final 
reward  on  the  completion  of  the  business,  sufficed 
very  soon  to  obtain  a  promise  of  unrestricted  coope- 
ration in  all  my  designs.  It  was  only  when  so  ready 
a  comphance  elicited  the  loud  thanks  it  deserved, 
that  the  lady  made  some  faint  attempt  at  disclaim- 
ing a  title  to  my  somewhat  distressing  gratitude. 
"  Had  Euphrosyne  been  suspected  of  harbouring 

VOL.  III.  D 


34  ANASTASIUS. 

the  smallest  spark  of  affection  for  her  future  con- 
sort," she  now  thought  it  incumbent  upon  her  to 
state,  "  not  all  the  treasures  in  the  universe  would 
have  obtained  from  her  so  much  as  a  mere  patient 
listening  to  my  scheme  :  but  the  contrary  being  no- 
torious, she  in  fact  favored  my  suit  as  much  from 
anxiety  for  her  mistresses  happiness,  as  from  com- 
passion for  my  sufferings."  This  first  intelligence, 
however,  so  kindly  vouchsafed  me  of  a  circumstance 
so  well  known  to  all,  was  of  no  avail  in  saving  the 
suivante^s  modesty  from  fresh  blushes.  I  only 
praised  her  considerate  motives  the  more,  in  doing 
for  the  sake  of  her  mistress,  what  I  had  only  sup- 
posed her  to  have  undertaken  for  mine.  Nor  was 
the  information  of  a  nature  to  lessen  the  satisfac- 
tion I  felt  at  the  result  of  the  rencontre.  It  ren- 
dered my  design  at  once  less  heinous  in  the  con- 
ception, and  less  difficult  to  execute.  To  erase  old 
impressions  ere  new  ones  are  substituted,  is  an 
arduous  task,  and  of  doubtful  success ;  but  on  a 
blank  sheet  of  paper,  what  penman,  even  of  the 
most  ordinary  abilities,  flourishes  not  away  as  he 
pleases  ? 

Fully  as  Sophia  understood  the  object  to  the 
achievement  of  which  she  had  kindly  pledged  her 
good  offices,  to  be  independant  of  any  very  violent 
feehngs  of  love  on  my  part,  she  nevertheless  could 


ANASTASIUS.  35 

not  help  observing  how  much  it  might  be  forwarded 
by  some  such  sort  of  sentiment  on  the  part  of 
Euphrosyn^  :  and  after  sagaciously  adding  that 
nothing  was  so  essential  to  falling  in  love  with 
people  as  seeing  them,  she  proposed  to  submit  me 
for  the  approval  of  her  mistress,  in  a  walk  with  a 
large  party  of  friends,  planned  for  the  next  day  in 
the  fields  outside  the  city.  "  It  is  absolutely  ne- 
cessary," cried  she,  **  that  you  should  be  there  by 
accident.  Take  no  notice  of  us,  but  only  give  us 
an  opportunity  of  noticing  you.  Mine  shall  be  the 
care  to  improve  the  incident.  A  turn  or  two  will 
suffice ; — then,  away  again,  on  your  life  J — and  wait 
patiently  till  the  next  morning  disclose  to  you 
what  conversation  may  have  taken  place  at  bed 
time." 

The  hint  was  not  lost  upon  one  so  eager  as  Anas- 
tasius  to  embrace  whatever  could  gratify  his  vanity. 
With  more  than  usual  attention,  therefore,  to  my 
toilet,  I  began  the  next  day.  I  attired  myself,  not 
richly, — for  on  some  occasions  I  felt  jealous  of  my 
own  dress,  and  fearful  lest  my  finery  should  eclipse 
my  person, — ^but  as  becomingly  as  possible.  No 
insignificant  gew  gaws  were  permitted  to  conceal  the 
athletic  structure  of  my  frame,  and  the  graceful 
knitting  of  my  hmbs.  A  mere  tuft  of  jesmine,  white 
as  my  own  teeth,  was  made  to  relieve  the  brown 


36  ANASTASIUS. 

polish  of  my  skin,  and  the  jetty  black  of  my  beard ; 
and  art  and  nature  were,  throughout  my  whole  ap- 
pearance, blended  in  such  just  proportions,  as  every 
where  to  contrast  with  and  to  relieve  each  other. 

Thus  attired  for  conquest,  I  sallied  forth  on  a 
solitary  ramble,  and  sought  the  verdant  meadows 
with  as  much  eagerness  as  does  the  fiery  courser, 
when,  liberated  after  long  confinement  from  his 
gloomy  stable,  he  rejoins  in  the  fields  with  loud 
neighings  the  rest  of  the  prancing  stud. 

Not  long  had  I  reached  the  happy  valley  when 
the  youthful  troop  appeared,  and  by  long  peals  of 
laughter  proclaimed  its  deceitful  security  from 
danger.  I  firrt  kept  myself  concealed  at  a  distance ; 
let  the  gigling  girls  duly  begin  their  sports ;  and 
only,  when  from  my  ambush  I  saw  them  fairly 
entrapped  in  a  small  and  secluded  nook,  of  which  I 
commanded  the  entrance,  did  I,  like  one  attracted 
by  the  noise,  leisurely  step  forward,  to  petrify  the 
gay  band  by  my  sudden  appearance.  Every  gam- 
bol immediately  ceased;  and  long  before  I  could 
come  up  with  the  outermost  detachment,  was  every 
scarf  and  shawl  at  its  office  to  conceal  its  fair  owner 
under  a  treble  envelope.  The  change  from  the 
brightest  sunshine  to  a  sky  all  clouded  over,  is  less 
rapid  even  in  the  inconstant  month  of  March,  I 
therefore  only  once  walked  round  the  party,  more 


ANASTASIUS.  37 

to  be  seen  than  to  see,  and  having  cast  a  single 
furtive  look  on  its  soaring  leader,  or  rather  on  the 
ample  veils  which  completely  dimmed  her  lustre,  I 
immediately  retired  with  the  air  of  one  who  begs 
pardon  for  an  unintentional  intrusion,  which  he 
dares  not  exult  m,  but  cannot  regret. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  athwart  all  Euphrosyne's 
jealous  fences  of  silk  and  wool  and  cotton,  rendered 
doubly  impenetrable  by  every  addition  of  fringe, 
and  trimmings,  and  tassels,  not  one  single  feature  of 
her  face  had  been  revealed  to  my  searching  eye  ;  and 
even  her  figure  had  been  but  indistinctly  discerned  : 
but  what  of  that  ?  Such  is  the  force  of  imagination, 
that  I  felt  as  if  I  had  been  permitted  to  dwell  unto 
satiety  on  all  I  could  have  wished  to  see.  Iwent 
away  completely  smitten  with  her  air,  her  grace, 
her  bounding  step,  her  playful  manner.  What  I 
had  not  been  permitted  to  behold  1  moulded  after 
my  own  taste ;  and  all  the  rest  of  the  day,  and  all 
the  ensuing  night,  I  kept  my  fancy  busied  with  the 
beautiful  image,  chiefly  of  my  own  creation. 

Early  the  next  morning  walked  in  my  friend 
Sophia.  Her  practice  was  not  to  waste  time  in 
forms.  I  eagerly  inquired  what  symptoms  my  ap- 
pearance had  produced  in  Chrysopulo's  fair  charge. 
"  Draw  your  own  conclusions,"  said  the  waiting 
woman,  "  I  shall  simply  relate  facts." 

"  As  soon  as  at  bed  time  with  Eupbrosyne''s  bo- 


38  ANASTASIUS. 

dice  her  nimble  tongue  was  let  loose,  and  the  nightly 
hour  arrived  for  reviewing  the  occurrences  of  the 
day,  you  came  on  the  tujAs  ;—  for  to  have  left  unno- 
ticed so  remarkable  an  incident  as  that  wLich  inter- 
rupted the  morning's  sports,  would  have  been  the 
most  suspicious  circumstance  of  any.  *'  You  know 
the  person,  by  whom,  we  were  thus  surprised,"  said 
I,  significantly." 

"  No,"  replied  Euphrosyne ;  and  wondered  I 
should  be  able  to  remove  her  ignorance. 

"  That  is  no  fault  of  mine,"  rejoined  I,  ^'  when 
our  good  or  evil  stars  have  made  him  a  friend  of 
your  cousin^'s,  and  a  visitor  at  our  house.  Had  I 
however  conceived  the  possibility  of  our  meeting  so 
dangerous  a  youth  in  so  secluded  a  spot,  we  should 
have  directed  our  walk  elsewhere.  They  say  it  is 
impossible  to  behold  this  Moslemin,  and  to  refrain 
from  loving  him. 

"  Nonsense  !"  cried  Euphrosyne,  with  a  forced 
laugh,  and  an  involuntary  sigh. 

"  Nonsense  it  probably  is,"  resumed  I,  in  a  care- 
less manner — "  though  I  might,  if  I  pleased,  add 
what  certainly  is  not." 

"  How  .5*"  cried  Chrysopulo's  cousin  precipitate- 
ly ;  —  but  immediately  again  checking  herself, 
"  No,"  added  she,  *^  do  not  tell  me  :  it  is  no  business 
of  mine !" 

"  Indeed  I  would  not  tell  you,  even  though  you 


ANASTASIUS.  '        ^9- 

should  entreat  me/'  replied  I,  "  unless  you  made 
me  a  solemn  promise  that  I  never  should  have  cause 
to  regret  my  too  ready  frankness.'* 

'^  Euphrosyne  now  began  to  apprehend  that  the 
silence  she  had  exacted  might  look  like  want  of  con- 
fidence in  her  own  steadiness.  "  I  make  the  pro- 
mise you  required,''  said  she,  "  but  merely  lest 
you  should  fancy  I  fear  any  danger  from  your  in- 
discretion." 

"  I  then  told  the  blushing  girl  that  you  had 
seen  her,  and  sufFefred  for  her  all  the  pangs  of 
unrequited  love.  Emboldened  by  the  silence  with 
which  this  disclosure  was  received,  I  even  went  so 
far  as  to  enlarge  on  your  merits ;  but  soon  I  found 
that  agitation  alone  stopped  the  trembling  maiden's 
breath.  My  comment  gave  her  time  to  recover. 
Having  however  suffered  me  to  begin  the  enco- 
mium unimpeded,  she  allowed  me  to  conclude 
my  speech  unchecked,  in  order  that  her  not  cut- 
tmg  it  short  from  the  first  might  seem  done  with 
design.  It  was  only  when  I  no  longer  knew  what 
to  say,  and  hemmed  as  for  an  answer,  that  I  was 
asked  with  an  affected  composure,  to  what  all  this 
was  to  lead  ?"" 

**  I  felt  disconcerted,  and  Euphrosyne,  after  wait- 
ing a  few  seconds,  desired  I  might  not  trouble  my- 
self to  seek  a  reply  :  "  she  must,"  she  said,  "  inform 


^0  ANASTASIUS. 

her  relations  of  my  improper  conversation."  I 
could  only  make  her  desist  from  this  hitention  by 
recalling  her  promise." 

"  No  matter,"  cried  I,  already  fully  satisfied 
with  what  I  had  heard ;  "  It  is  plain,  the  dart  has 
penetrated !  all  therefore  we  have  to  consider  ....'. 

Here  a  tremendous  noise  shook  the  door  of  my 
lodging.  It  announced  the  riotous  entrance  of  all  my 
bosom  friends.  I  only  had  time  to  thrust  Sophia  into 
my  back  room,  and  went  out  to  meet  the  jolly  party. 
So  loud  were  the  enquiries  from  all  quarters  respect- 
ing the  progress  of  my  love  affair,  that,  terrified  lest 
Sophia  should  hear  them,  and  feel  deterred  from  her 
perilous  purpose,  I  tried  to  entice  the  troop  away,  by 
running  down  stairs  the  first.  The  whole  procession 
immediately  followed ;  to  my  great  relief  under  my 
conduct  again  sallied  forth  into  the  street,  and  pro- 
posed to  take  a  turn  on  the  quay,  in  which  expe- 
dition,— disposed  or  not — I  was  forced  to  join  :  it 
however  gave  Sophia  an  opportunity  of  slipping 
away  unperceived. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  morning  I  could 
think  of  nothing  but  Euphrosyne.  From  not  feeling 
any  desire  to  behold  my  charmer's  features,  I  now 
was  unable,  from  what  I  already  had  seen  and  heard 
to  rest  until  I  had  obtained  of  them  a  full  and 
unrestrained  view.  The  day  happened  to  be  a  Greek 


ANASTASIUS.  ,  41 

festival.  In  the  evening,  by  calling  at  Chrysopulo's, 
and  entering  his  habitation  unannounced,  I  was 
sure  to  find  the  whole  family  collected. — I  determin- 
ed to  risk  the  adventure. 

The  peals  of  merriment  which  resounded  through 
the  house,  both  g'uided  my  footsteps  and  drowned 
the  noise  of  my  approach.     Unperceived,  I  stepped 
into  the  very  place  of  entertainment.  Euphrosyne, 
seated  in  her  costliest  attire  at  the  further  end  of 
the  hall,  had  just  begun  to  recount, — half  in  speech, 
half  in  still  more  expressive  pantomime — a  playful 
story.     Every  eye  and  ear,  rivetted  on  her  perfor- 
mance, was  turned  away  from  the  door,  and  I  ad- 
vanced a  considerable  way  into  the  room  before  my 
visit  was  perceived.     When  indeed  my  presence  be- 
came noticed,  such  was  the  sensation  it  created,  that 
a  kite  could  scarce  have  made  a  greater,  alighting 
among  the  timid  tenants  of  the  poultry  yard.    All 
the  females  set  up  a  warning  shout,  rushed  forward, 
threw  a  veil  over  Euphrosyne's  still   unconscious 
face,  and  formed  round  her  person  an  impenetrable 
fence.     The   merry  tale  with  which  the  thought- 
less girl  was  entertaining  the  company,  immediate- 
ly  ceased ;  the   magician   she  was  in  the   act   of 
killing  with  her  bodkin,  remained  alive  to  do  his 
mischief,   and,  in  the  confusion   which    pervaded 
the  assembly,  her  own  form,  as   if  conjured   away 


45  ANASTASIUS. 

by  witchcraft,  rapidly  vanished   from  my  l»ying 
sight ! 

But  it  was  too  late :  I  had  seen  and  I  had  heard ! 
One  single  glance  of  her  languishing  black  eyes  had, 
from  between  her  silken  eye  lashes,  unrecalled,  met 
my  look,  and  like  hquid  fire  penetrated  to  my 
heart ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  one  last  expiring 
note  of  her  soft  melodious  voice  had,  from  her  am- 
brosial lip,  gently  dropped  upon  my  ear,  and  there 
continued  to  vibrate  like  the  lyre's  last  dying  strain  ! 
At  once  I  felt  every  string  of  my  weak  brain 
wound  up  to  madness. 

All  the  powers  of  language  of  course  were  inade- 
quate to  express  the  pleasure  diffused  among  the 
Greek  party  by  my  unexpected  visit.  While  the  only 
object  I  came  for  was  most  studiously  kept  out  of 
sight,  I  was  with  the  utmost  assiduity  made  welcome 
to  every  thing  else  in  the  house :  was  introduced  to 
every  individual  I  did  not  care  to  know,  and  was 
offered  every  dainty  I  did  not  wish  to  taste.  Fasci- 
nated, and  fixed  in  that  same  spot  which  had  so 
lately  felt  the  pressure  of  Euphrosyne's  lovely  limbs, 
I  seemed  half  to  enjoy  her  presence,  and  did  not 
retire  until  wished  by  every  person  present,  where 
indeed  of  my  own  accord  I  was  going  fast  enough. 

Having  with  faultering  step  reached  my  house, 
I  there  yielded  myself  up,  body  and  soul,  to  my 


ANASTASIUS.  43 

Dewly  conceived  delirium.  Only  after  I  had  sat 
musing  until  my  lamp  burnt  dim,  did  I  retire  to  my 
lonely  couch.  I  then  undressed  and  went  to  bed  ;  but 
went  not  to  repose.  Instead  of  blood  unquenchable 
flames  seemed  to  circulate  through  my  veins  :  and, 
racked  with  love  which  was  become  hopeless  in  pro- 
portion as  it  had  become  ardent,  I  tossed  about  all 
night,  trying  to  grasp  my  fair  one's  unsubstantial 
image.  At  last,  exhausted  by  my  fruitless  efforts 
to  give  body  and  colour  to  the  delusive  phantom,  all 
power  of  thought  forsook  me,  and  I  sunk  into  a 
state,  not  of  sleep,  but  of  half  conscious  half  in- 
sensible torpor. 

I  rose  with  the  lark,  though  not  as  blithe  ;  and 
counted  the  slowly  passing  hours  until  Sophia  was 
to  come.  I  panted  for  the  appearance  of  this 
new  depositary  of  my  thoughts  and  schemes, 
no  longer  as  before,  merely  to  settle  my  plan  of 
operations,  but  to  talk  of,  to  expatiate  upon,  to 
rave  about  Euphrosyne ! 

In  vain  I  waited  and  waited ;  and  at  every  foot- 
step in  the  street,  and  at  every  rap  at  the  door,  and 
at  every  noise  on  the  stairs,  flew  out  to  meet  my 
Iris.  The  faithless  mc  ssenger  came  not  at  the  time 
appointed  ;  ^h?  came  not  after ;  she  came  not  at  all  ! 
Nor  did  note  or  message  come  in  her  stead  to  account 
for  her  non-appearance. 


44  ANASTASIUS. 

I  would  have  gone,  if  I  durst,  to  the  house 
blessed  by  my  angePs  residence.  I  did  all  I  could : 
I  walked  all  day  long  in  sight  of  its  froward  door. 
I  watched  all  that  went  in,  and  all  that  went  out. 
I  kept  myself  in  readiness,  the  moment  Sophia  ap- 
peared, to  pounce  like  a  hawk  upon  the  dilatory  sui- 
vante  ;  but  no  Sophia  did  appear  ! 

Meanwhile,  every  possible  mode  of  ingratiating 
myself    with    the    heavenly    Euphrosyne    passed 
through  my,  alas,  less  heavenly  mind.  According  as 
she  might  be  more  or  less  sensible  of  the  charms  of 
gold,  or  accessible  to  the  lures  of  vanity,  or  charita- 
ble or  devout,  the  mere  glitter  of  St.  Mark's   daz- 
ling  images',  or  the  means  of  relieving  the  wants  of 
the  necessitous,  or  the  pride  of  seeing  the  haughty 
Selim  prostrate  at  her  feet,  or  the  wish  to  save  his 
falling  soul  from  perdition,  might  be  tried,  I  thought, 
as  bribes  to  win  her  affections  :    but  which  of  these 
motives  for  listening  to  my  suit  assimilated  most 
with  her  character,  and  what  were  the  virtues  or  the 
faults  in  her  disposition  which  might  be  rendered 
propitious  to  my  views,  remained  to  me  a  secret ;  for 
while  the  sun  continued  to  light  up  this  hemisphere, 
(and  in  wonder  at  my  behaviour  he  certainly  more 
than  once  forgot  to  move),  I  saw  not  my  traitress  of  a 
waiting-woman  darken  the  door  with  her  shadow. 
At  dusk,  however,  and  just  as  I  was  returning  home 


ANASTASIUS.  45 

entirely  hopeless,  the  well  known  form  brushed  by 
me.  I  followed  it  to  a  retired  spot,  where,  preci- 
pitately turning  round,  as  if  afraid  to  waste  time : 
"  What  have  you  done !"  exclaimed  the  agitated 
suivante ;  "  Why  would  you  shew  yourself  in  the 
only  place  from  .which  you  should  have  staid 
away  ?" 

**  Only,"  answered  I,  "  to  see  the  lady  I  was 
making  love  to." 

^*  And  so,"  rejoined  Sophia,  "  to  lose  her  for 
ever,  as  now  you  inevitably  must :  for  your  abrupt 
visit  last  night  has  had  the  effect  of' producing  all 
that  you  could  have  wished  to  prevent.  The  period 
of  the  nuptials,  uncertain  before,  is  now  fixed  for 
to-morrow  !" 

A  short  struggle  in  my  breast  kept  my  answer, 
during  a  few  seconds,  suspended  on  my  lips :  at 
last,  with  one  concluding  but  victorious  effort : 
*'  Sophia,''  replied  I,  my  resolution  is  fixed !  While 
I  knew  not  Euphrosyne,  while  I  yet  felt  no  prefer- 
ence for  that  angel  of  heaven,  come  to  render  earth 
worth  staying  on,  I  could  regard  her  ruin  as  my 
sport ;  but  I  have  beheld  the  lovely  girl,  and  have 
fallen  into  my  own  thrice  cursed  snare.  Her  inno- 
cent looks  have  melted  the  hardness  of  my  heart. 
I  no  longer  can  bear,  like  the  Simoom  to  blast  the 
lovely   flower.     I   am  now  ready  to  perform  any 


'46  ANASTASIUS. 

sacrifice  for  her  permanent  possession, — for  a  pos- 
session that  may  make  me  happy,  without  making 
her  miserable.  I  shall  attach  her  to  my  fate 
through  the  holy  ties  of  wedlock.  It  is  but  paying 
a  few  sums  which  I  deserve  to  lose,  and  feeding 
afterwards  upon  love  alone  ! 

Sophia  here  set  up  a  heUish  laugh.  As  soon  as 
the  burst  was  over,  "  And  so  you  think,"  cried 
she,  "  that  all  is  to  be  settled  to  your  liking  by 
this  magnanimous  resolution ; — that  you  have  no- 
thing more  to  do  but  to  announce  your  pleasure, 
and  take  away  your  bride  !  Allow  me  to  undeceive 
you.  Euphrosyn6's  relations  are  rich,  they  are 
proud,  and  they  are  bigoted.  Under  no  circum- 
stances whatever  would  they  suffer  a  kinswoman  of 
theirs  to  marry  a  Mohammedan.  No  !  not  if  the 
Sultan  himself  were  come  in  person  to  demand 
her.  Then  judge  whether  you  have  a  chance ;  and 
that  with  the  faith  of  the  whole  family  pledged  to  a 
wealthy  young  Greek,  ready  to  tie  the  nuptial 
knot !  Believe  me,  if  you  should  ever  wish  Hymen 
ultimately  to  crown  your  flame,  you  must  begin  by 
rendering  your  success  independant  of  his  assist- 
ance.^" 

"  Sophia,"  resumed  I,  "  once  more  I  tell  you 
that  my  resolution  is  fixed.  Adoring  Euphrosyne 
as    I  do,    nothing    shall  induce    me  to  rob    her 


ANASTASIUS.  47 

existence  of  its  bloom,  her  life  of  its  lasting  pride. 
For  once  I  shall  subdue  my  lawless  passions;  I 
shall  pay  the  forfeit  of  my  idle  boastings.  If  after 
making  sacrifices  to  her  virtue  and  her  peace  so 
weighty  as  those  of  all  fortune's  valued  gifts,  and 
all  love's  unfettered  raptures,  she  accept  me  for  her 
husband,  well  and  good.  Luxuries  she  will  not 
find,  but  affection  in  abundance.  If  on  the  con- 
trary she  reject  me :  patience  !  For  once  in  my 
life  I  shall  have  done  what  was  right,  at  the  expence 
of  my  vanity,  my  fortune  and  my  happiness." 

Sophia  at  these  words  turned  pale.  She  seemed 
to  labour  with  a  fearful  secret ;  but  seeing  me  deter- 
mined: "  Man,*"  cried  she  at  last,  "  let  not  T^oman 
deceive  you  any  longer.  Fear  not  to  despoil  what 
has  ceased  to  exist.  I  hitherto  have  felt  loth  to  dis- 
close the  dark  mystery,  but  rather  than  that  I 
should  suffer  you  to  become  the  sport  of  an  arro- 
gant family,  and  the  subject  of  a  solemn  mockery,  I 
shall  reveal  to  you  all — all  that  hitherto  remains  a 
secret  from  a  fM-ying  world.  Then,  learn  that 
you  no  longer  are  in  time  to  make  on  too  tender  a 
heart  the  first  unlawful  impression  !  Hot  kisses 
have  already  pressed  her  lips,  for  whom  you  re- 
sign yourself  to  an  unavailing  martyrdom.  The 
plant  still  flourishes  green  and  gay;  but  other 
hands  have  culled  the  blossom. 


48  ANASTASIUS. 

Here  Sophia  put  her  mouth  to  my  ear.  I  felt 
as  if  a  snake  crept  into  its  folds,  and  deep  sunk  into 
my  heart  the  venom  of  her  frightful  story.  "  As, 
however,""  added  my  confidant,  after  her  tale  had 
worked  its  way, — "  the  unlucky  occurrence  has 
hitherto  been  successfully  hushed  up,  they  are  in 
the  greater  hurry  to  conclude  a  match  on  alt  ac- 
counts so  desu'able,  ere  it  be  divulged  or  sus- 
pected. 

"  And  this,"  exclaimed  I,  "  is  the  conclusion  of 
all  my  love  !  and  innocence  and  purity  then  exist 
not  on  earth  !  Even  where  one  would  wish  to  wor- 
ship them  as  things  sacred,  they  elude  one's  keenest 
search ;  and  woman's  licentiousness  out-strips  the 
thoughts  of  man !  Oh  that  a  bud  so  fair,  so  young, 
should  already  contain  the  foul  worm  of  corruption  in 
its  bosom  !  that  another  should  already  have  rioted 
unrestrained  in  what  with  such  pamful  struggles 
Anastasius  himself  was  going  to  give  up  from  sheer 
virtue  I*"  And  in  my  wrath  I  resolved  no  longer  to 
sacrifice  both  pleasure  and  fortune  to  the  shadow 
of  an  undeserved  reputation.  I  resolved  to  resume 
my  before  abandoned  scheme,  no  longer  from  love 
but  from  sheer  resentment ;  at  the  same  time  bind- 
ing Sophia  by  all  that  was  most  awful,  never 
to  divulge  the  odious  secret,  lest  by  its  publica- 
tion  I   should   be  prevented    from    reaping    my 


ANASTASIUS.  49 

golden  harvest,  as  I  had  already  been  in  gathering 
one  far  dearer  and  more  valued. 

When  however— the  first  ebullition  over — I  re- 
considered the  matter,  tlie  thought  struck  me  that 
Sophia  had  only  disclosed  her  mistress''s  secret 
shame  from  a  fiendlike  greediness,  and  in  order 
not  to  lose  the  promised  reward  ;  and  carrying  this 
reflection  somewhat  further,  I  now  conceived  it 
possible  that  a  motive,  so  powerful  in  her  breast, 
ight  have  made  her  invent  what  she  pretended  to 
divulge.  Hereupon  all  my  waverings  returned,  and 
at  last — determined  to  remain  on  the  right  side — I 
reverted  to  my  prior  resolution  of  giving  up  the 
pursuit:  nay,  from  fear  of  fresh  relapses,  when  I 
saw  my  informer  preparing  with  a  sanctified  air  to 
call  the  whole  host  of  heaven  as  witnesses  to  her 
veracity,  I  stopped  both  my  ears,  and  bravely  ran 
away.  The  moment  my  astonished  informer  found 
her  endeavours  unavailing  to  bring  me  back,  her 
oaths,  methought,  changed  to  curses  ;  but  these  died 
away  on  the  distant  breeze. 

Half  pleased,  half  angry  with  myself  for  my  for- 
bearance, I  walked  about  the  town,  shunning  my 
friends,  to  w  hom  I  had  nothing  to  impart  but  what 
must  gladden  them  at  my  expence,  and  seriously 
considering  whether,  both  for  the  sake  of  their 
morals  and  my  purse,  I  should  not,  by  a  sudden 
evolution,  quit  them  and  Smyrna  for  ever :  when, 

VOL.  III.  E 


60  ANASTASIUS. 

in  the  midst  of  my  meditations,  a  messenger,— of 
those  that  ply  about  the  streets  in  search  of  com- 
missions—struck me  on  the  breast  with  a  small  bunch 
of  flowers. 

Skilled  in  the  meaning  of  these  mute  heralds  of 
love,  I  snatched  the  nosegay  out  of  the  rude  hands 
by  wliich  it  seemed  profaned ;  but  when  I  came 
to  consider  its  arrangement,  I  found  that  all  I  had 
to  learn  had  not  been  left  to  the  vague  language  of 
the  pink  and  gilly  flower  :  their  fragrant  leaves  con- 
cealed ^note,  and  this  note  contained  a  lock  of  hair 
and  a  ring. 

Eagerly  I  perused  the  billet.     It  began  with  re- 
proaches :  but  they  were  of  a  nature  to  be  endured 
with  composure :  "  not  less  paint'ul  to   a  lady  was 
the  task  of  making  the  last  advances  than  the  first; 
and  were  not  the  morrow  the  day  when  what  had 
not  been  might  never  more  be,  no  consideration 
would  have  induced  the  writer  to  inform  me  that  a 
narrow  passage  only  separated  from  the  chamber  of 
the  married  couple  the  closet  where  slept  their  young 
cousin  ;  that  this  closet  looked  out  upon  a  garden  ; 
and  that   this  garden  was  only  divided   from  the 
street  by  alow  wall.   "Sometimes,"— added  a  wary 
postscript,  "  careless  servants  would  leave  shutters 
unbolted  :    but  always  a  sober  family  was  in  bed 
by  twelve !" 

Euphrosyne's  handwriting  I  was  a  stranger  to  : 


ANASTASIUS.  51 

and  this  note  probably  had  only  been  penned  by 
deputy ;  though  couched  in  better  terms  than  those 
generally  used  by  servants :  but  in  how  far  the  pro- 
fessions of  the  maid  had  the  sanction  of  the  mis- 
tress, it  was  easy  to  try,  and  by  an  unerring  test ; 
and  the  difference  between  two  thousand  sequins 
to  pay,  or  that  sum  to  receive,  made  it  well  worlh 
the  while.  Nor  was  there  any  time  to  be  lost.  The 
very  next  day — as  the  note  itself  suggested— would 
be  too  late  for  the  experiment.  Should  I  find  the 
passage  barred,  it  was  but  returning  as. I  went. 
Why  however  suspect  Sophia  of  risking  a  falsehood, 
which,  as  such,  could  not  command  sut;cess,  must 
soon  be  discovered,  and  must  end  in  her  disgrace  ? 
For  as  to  the  idea  of  her  scheming  to  betray  me  to 
Chrysopulo,  though  it  had  entered  my  brain,  I  held 
it  not  worthy  of  a  moments  thought.  I  therefore 
determined  to  obey  the  welcome  summons. 

Ten  minutes  before  the  hour  appointed  my 
pistols  were  loaded,  and  my  person  lightened  of  all 
useless  incumbrance.  Wrapped  up  in  my  capote  I 
sallied  forth,  found  all  things  disposed  according  to 
promise,  easily  scaled  the  wall,  had  only  to  push 
open  the  blinds,  and  leaped  into  the  chamber  of 
love,  where,  half  covered  only  by  a  light  Barbar^ 
haick"',  Euphrosyne  lay  apparently  unconscious  of 
aught  but  the   dreams  that    might    flit    through 


^^^^"^ 


52  ANASTASIUS. 

her  youthful  fancy.  So  sweet  indeed  seemed  her 
slumbers,  that,  but  for  every  convincing  circum- 
stance, they  might  have  been  mistaken  for  those  of 
innocence,  and  once  more  made  me  hesitate  for  a 
moment,  ere  I  threw  off  my  cloak,  deposited  my 
pistols,  and  extinguished  the  lamp. 

If  at  first  the  real  or  pretended  sleep  of  my  mis- 
tress somewhat  surprised  me  ;  if  that  surprise  grew 
greater  at  its  long  continuance;  what  was  my 
astonishment  when  Euphrosyne  at  last  only  awoke 
to  start  from  my  embrace,  and  to  utter  loud  screams, 
which  the  pressure  of  my  hand  was  hardly  able  to 
stifle. 

Tier  outcry  had  been  heard  ere  it  could  be  stop- 
ped. Chrysopulo  himself  had  quitted  his  consort's 
side,  and  with  the  carbine  which  he  always  kept 
loaded,  had  run  to  whence  proceeded  the  sound. 
With  one  effort  he  burst  open  the  door  of  the 
closet. 

Already  I  was  standing  near  its  threshold  bolt 
upright,  with  my  capote  on,  and  my  pistol  pointed. 
In  the  dark  the  merchant  mistook  me  for  a  robber : 
he  fired  his  piece,  and  missed. 

I  now  put  mine  to  his  breast.  "  All  I  wish,"" 
cried  I,  "  is  to  make  you  listen.  If  you  value  your 
cousin's  honor,  favor  my  escape,  and  pretend  that 
you  were  dreaming."" 


ANASTASIUS.  63 

Chrysopulo,  thus  enlightened,  now  trembled  with 
rage.  His  eyes  glistened  amid  surrounding  dark- 
ness like  those  of  a  maddened  tiger.  Yet,  uncertain 
how  to  act,  he  remained  motionless  where  he  stood, 
while  Euphrosyne,  mute  with  shame  and  despair, 
was  only  heard  striving  to  suppress  her  bitter  sobs. 

Meanwhile  the  report  of  the  musket  had  roused 
the  whole  family.  Chrysopulo's  wife  was  crying 
"  murder,"  in  her  bed,  the  servants  starting  up 
from  their  first  sleep,  and  the  people  that  passed  by 
in  the  street  knocking  at  the  door  until  the  house 
shook  to  its  very  foundations.  Each  instant  the 
noise  encreased,  and  the  uproar  came  nearer.  Ano- 
ther minute,  and  the  immediate  scene  of  action 
must  witness  a  general  irruption. 

Chrysopulo  now  became  sensible  of  the  wisdom 
of  my  suggestion  :  rousing  himself  from  his  trance 
and  pointing  to  the  window,  *' away,  away!"  he 
cried,  but  cried  too  late.  Already  a  number  of 
voices  in  the  garden  sent  forth  a  confused  murmur 
from  the  very  spot  where  I  must  have  alighted. 
Chrysopulo  looked  whether  I  might  slip  under  his 
cousin's  couch: — it  was  too  low  ;  or  upon  the  ward- 
robe opposite  : — it  was  too  high. 

Aghast,  we  now  stared  at  each  other,  until  in 
his  perplexity,  the  trembling  banker — for  want  of  a 
better  expedient — pushed  me  down  in  a  comer,  and 


64  ANASTASIUS. 

there, — tearing  from  off  Euphrosyne^s  own  couch 
the  counterpane,  her  only  covering,  threw  it  over 
the  much  injured  girl's  prostrate  ravisher. 

Just  at  this  moment  rushed  in  the  whole  posse.  A 
thousand  questions  succeeded  each  other  without  in- 
termission, and,  all  circumstances  considered,  the  stcry 
which  Chrysopulo  made  out  in  answer  was  sufficiently 
plausible.  Euphrosyne's  terror  and  confusion,  with 
the  other  apparent  objects  of  the  scene,  might,  with- 
out any  great  stretch  of  probability,  be  attributed  to 
her  cousin's  mistake;  and  the  whole  terminated 
to  the  •  satisfaction  or  rather  dissatisfaction  of  the 
-curious,  who,  fully  expecting  a  long  list  of  dread- 
ful murders,  were  seemingly  somewhat  wroth  at 
being  put  off  with  a  bad  dream,  and  went  away 
wishing  the  rich  Chrysopulo  worse  suppers  or  a 
better  digestion. 

Meantime,  seeing  so  many  people  rush  by  her 
door,  Chrysopulo's  wife  herself  had  mustered  cou- 
rage to  follow  the  crowd.  Being  the  last  to  come, 
she  was  the  last  to  depart ;  or  rather,  she  had  a 
mind  not  to  go  away  at  all,  and  insisted  on  staying, 
in  order  to  tranquillize  her  cousin's  agitation.  She 
mistrusted  her  husband's  dream,  and  wanted  to  sift 
his  conduct  to  the  bottom :  wherefore,  unable  to  con- 
fide in  her  discretion,  the  alarmed  Chrysopulo  at 
once  resolved  to  conquer  her  resistance  by  force.  He 


ANASTASIUS.  55 

took  her  by  the  arm,  dragged  her  out  of  the  room, 
and,  lest  she  should  return  to  listen,  locked  her  up 
in  her  own  chamber. 

If,  fearless  myself,  I  had  only  reluctantly  acted 
the  coward  for  the  sake  of  others,  and  had  more 
than  once  felt  tempted^  while  the  mob  remained  as- 
sembled, to  start  up,  to  shew  myself,  and  to  carry 
away  as  a  trophy  of  my  victory  the  instrument  of  my 
concealment,  I  now,  when  the  coast  was  clear,  and 
the  way  open  for  my  own  retreat,  felt  equally  desi- 
rous of  staying,  and  that,  with  views  similar  to  those 
of  Chrysopulo's  wife, — namely,  to  obtain  an  expla- 
nation of  a  few  circumstances  not  quite  intelligi- 
ble even  to  the  framer  of  the  plot  himself:  but  for 
an  enquiry  of  this  sort  neither  the  time  nor  place 
were  fitted  ;  and  fresh  noises  at  the  door  made  me 
run,  without  further  delay,  to  the  still  open  window. 
I  thence  leaped  into  the  garden,  overset  or  trampled 
down  every  flower  and  vegetable  in  my  way,  and, 
after  climbing  the  wall,  got  safe  into  the  street,  and 
back  to  my  lonely  lodging.  There  I  lay  down,  and 
began  to  reflect  on  the  inconstancy  of  women,  who 
send  flattering  invitations  and  then  scream  out  on 
finding  them  attended  to, — until  at  last  all  my  bewil- 
dered thoughts  were  hushed  in  sleep.  The  next  morn- 
ning,  on  awaking  in  my  own  bed,  with  every  object 
around  me  as  orderly  and  tranquil  as  the  day  before, 


56  ANASTASIUS. 

it  seemed  as  if,  during  the  whole  of  the  eventful 
night,  I  never  had  quitted  my  solitary  pillow  ! 

The  first  circumstance  which  afforded  me  distinct 
evidence  of  having  trespassed  on  premises  not  my 
own,  was  Chrysopulo  suddenly  standing  before  me, 
as,  still  undressed,  I  lay  musing  on  my  couch.  De- 
termined to  brazen  out  what  could  not  be  denied,  I 
thanked  him  for  tlie  honor  of  his  early  enquiries, 
and  begged  he  would  be  seated.  He  took  little 
notice  of  these  insolent  civilities,  but  immediately 
coming  to  the  point,  "You  have  offered  ray  hitherto 
unsullied  house,*"  said  he,  ''  the  cruellest  of  injuries! 
How^  far  you  have  succeeded,  I  neither  know  nor  can 
bear  to  enquire.  Should  your  baseness  have  been 
disappointed,  the  fault  is  not  yours :  yet,  much 
as  I  am  bound  to  abhor  you,  I  must  stoop  to  a 
request." 

''  Speak,""  said  I,  "  a  petition  so  agreeably  intro- 
duced can  scarcely  meet  with  a  refusal." 

''  Your  crime,"  answered  Chrysopulo,  "  is  thus 
far  only  known  to  ourselves,  and  to  w  hatever  vile 
abettor  of  your  wickedness  may  reside  under  our 
roof.  Even  Euphrosyne's  intended  husband  pre- 
sumes not  to  cast  upon  his  future  consort  the  small- 
est shadow  of  blame,  or  wishes  to  defer  the  long 
concerted  nuptials.  Humbly  therefore  let  me  entreat, 
that  out  of  compassion  for  the  object — the  unforiu- 


ANASTASIUS.  57 

nate  object  of  your  lawless  violence — you  will  not 
carry  your  cruelty  any  further,  or  be  so  devoid  of 
mercy  as  to  boast  of  your  base  attempts.  Divulge 
not  the  foul  stain  which  you  destined  our  house  ! 
Thus  may  we  still  hold  up  our  heads  among  our 
envious  countrymen;  and  the  unhappy  Euphrosyne 
still  preserve  both  her  husband  and  her  honor  !" 

Moved  by  an  entreaty  so  earnest  and  so  discreet, 
I  wholly  forgot  that  I  had  only  conceived  the  crime 
for  the  very  purpose  of  that  boasting  which  Chryso- 
pulo  deprecated,  felt  as  anxious  as  himself  to  prevent 
the  consequences  of  my  outrage,  and  said  all  I  could 
to  quiet  his  fears.  Greatly  relieved  by  my  assurances, 
the  merchant  almost  thanked  me  for  my  goodness, 
and  returned  home  with  a  mind  more  at  ease. 

But  as  soon  as  he  was  gone,  it  recurred  to  me 
that  the  engagement  I  had  taken  must  defeat  even 
my  purpose  of  mere  emolument :  nay  that,  unless  I 
pubhshed  my  victory,  I  must  not  only  renounce 
what  I  had  won,  but  pay  what  I  had  not  lost :  an 
irksome  sacrifice  to  make  for  one,  who,  like  Euphro- 
syne, when  I  first  saw  her,  no  longer  herself  had 
any  virtue  left  to  lose.  Yet  could  I  not,  consistent 
^vith  my  promise,  speak,  even  when  the  object  of  my 
silence  was  fully  attained. 

Deeply  regretting  my  precipitance,  and  loudly 
cursing  my  good  nature,  I  paced  up  and   down 


58  ANASTASIUS. 

my  room,  half  dressed,  and  expecting  every  moment 
to  see  Sophia  come  and  claim  her  vile,  her  now 
bootless  reward:  until  tired  at  last  of  waiting, 
and  attributing  her  delay  to  the  bustle  of  the 
day,  I  proceeded  to  achieve  my  often  interrupted 
toilet.  Once  indeed  a  slight  tempation  came  across 
me  to  honor  the  wedding  with  my  presence :  but 
I  still  had  some  grace  left,  and  contented  myself 
with  awaiting  at  home,  in  the  utmost  anxiety,  the 
news  of  the  nuptials  being  completed. 


ANASTASIUS.  69 


CHAPTER  III. 

I  HAD  scarcely  finished  my  dressing,  when  a  distant 
clamour  in  the  street  drew  me  to  the  window,  and 
made  me  espy  a  veiled  female,  whose  uncertain 
gait  and  faultering  steps  had  attracted  the  notice  of 
a  troop  of  foolish  boys,  and  made  them  follow  her 
with  loud  hootings.  It  was  impossible  not  to  set 
down  in  my  mind  one  so  carefully  wrapped  up  and 
so  desirous  not  to  be  known,  as  the  partner  of  my 
guilt,  coming  to  demand  the  wages  of  her  iniquity ; 
and  all  that  baffled  my  utmost  power  of  conjecture, 
was  the  change  from  Sophia's  wonted  boldness  of  de- 
meanour, to  such  apparent  timidity  and  helpless- 
ness, as  that  which  she  seemed  to  manifest  on  this 
occasion.  I  could  only  attribute  the  phenomenon 
to  the  discovery  of  her  nefarious  conduct,  and  to  her 
consequent  dismissal  from  Chrysopulo's  family  with 
every  circumstance  of  reprobation  and  disgrace ;  on 
which  account  I  immediately  sallied  forth  to  my 
ally''s  assistance.    My  surprise  still  increased,  when. 


60  ANASTASIUS. 

tendering  the  bewildered  suivante  a  protecting  arm, 
I  first  saw  her  hesitate,  then  shuddering  withdraw 
the  hand  which  already  I  held  firmly  grasped  in 
mine,  and  at  last  only  suffer  herself  to  be  dragged 
into  my  habitation,  after  the  terror  produced  by  the 
insults  of  the  gathering  mob  had  as  it  were  entirely 
deprived  her  of  consciousness  ;  but  my  astonish- 
ment only  rose  to  its  highest  pitch,  when,  tearing  off 
the  cumbrous  veils,  in  order  to  give  the  fainting 
maiden  some  air,  I  beheld,  instead  of  the  daring 
Sophia,  the  gentle,  the  reserved  Euphrosyne  herself, 
who  scarcely,  on  recovering  her  senses,  had  opened 
her  eyes  and  cast  them  around  her,  when,  again 
sinking  down  to  the  ground,  she  struck  her  face 
against  the  floor,  and  began  wringing  her  hands 
with  every  symptom  of  the  bitterest  anguish. 

The  cause  of  her  having  quitted  her  home  I 
was  at  a  loss  to  conjecture,  but  the  effect  it  had  of 
bringing  her  to  mine  I  hailed  at  first  as  a  highly 
fortunate  circumstance.  Thus  would  my  triumph 
be  blazoned  forth  without  my  word  being  bro- 
ken. When,  however,  I  witnessed  the  excess  of 
my  fair  one's  grief,  contrasted  as  it  was  with  my 
own  joy,  I  too  felt  moved,  tried  to  assuage  her  sor- 
row by  every  expression  of  pity  and  concern,  and 
as  soon  as  she  seemed  able  to  speak,  ventured  to 
enquire    what  had  caused  her  coming  forth,   thus 


ANASTASIUS.  61 

unattended  and  forlorn,  at  the  very  time  when 
I  supposed  all  Smyrna  collected  to  witness  her 
nuptials  ? 

"  My  nuptials,"  cried  she  with  a  bitter  accent, 
— now  first  suffering  her  voice  to  strike  my  ear, — 
**  when  my  dishonor  is  the  universal  theme  ! 

"  The  universal  theme  !''  re-echoed  I, — in  my 
turn  truly  dismayed.  "  Then  may  heaven's  direst 
curse  alight  upon  her  who  has  divulged  it !" 

"  That  was  myself,"  replied  Euphrosyne,  "  and 
your  curse  has  struck  home  !" 

I  remained  mute  with  surprise. 

"  Could  I,"  rejoined  my  mistress,  "  to  dishonor 
add  deceit  ?  Could  I  bring  a  dower  of  infamy  to  the 
man  so  noble,  so  generous,  that  even  after  my  fright- 
ful tale  he  spurned  me  not  away  from  him  : — to  the 
man  who  deigned  in  pity  to  affirm  that  my  avowal  of 
my  involuntary  shame  rendered  me  worthier  in  his 
eyes,  and  gave  him  a  stronger  assurance  of  my  fide- 
lity, than  if  I  had  come  to  his  arms  as  spotless  in 
body  as  in  mind  ?" 

"  And  who,"  added  I,  "  after  this  sublime  speech 
ended  by  rejecting  you." 

"  Ah  no !"  cried  Euphrosyne,  "  it  was  I  who 
rejected  him:  it  was  I  who  refused  to  carry  reproach 
into  the  house  of  a  stranger ;  and  who  for  that 
crime  was  threatend  by  my  own  friends  with  being 


62  ANASTASIUS. 

cast  off,  and  thrown  upon  the  wide  world,  helpless 
and  unprotected!— But,'' added  she,  covering  her 
face  with  her  hands,  and  sobbing  more  bitterly  than 
before,  "  I  suffered  not  the  threat  to  grow  into  a 
reality ;  I  waited  not  to  be  turned  out  of  doors.  I 
resolved  at  once  upon  the  only  step  which  was  left 
me;  I  asked  permission  to  go  to  our  church,  in  order 
that,  in  my  fervent  prayers,  heaven  might  inspire  me 
how  to  act  :  and,  when  alone  and  in  the  street,  tried 
to  find  out  your  abode,  and  to  seek  refuge  where 
alone  I  had  claims. 

«^  What  then  !"  exclaimed  I,  "  you  set  out  from 
home  determined  to  come  to  me?— and  it  was  not  the 

shouts  of  the   mob   only ?  — I  fancied  I  saw 

you  shudder  when  I  seized  hold  of  your  hand  !" 

"  A  nd  could  I  execute  such  a  resolve,  and  not 
shudder  at  the  thoughts  of  the  consequences  ?" 

These  now  began  to  flash  upon  my  own  mind  also 
in  all  their  fearful  varieties.  At  first  indeed  the  sur- 
prise on  beholding  Euphrosyne  thus  unexpectedly, 
the  consciousness  of  my  own  iniquities,  the  exultation 
at  seeing  its  triumph  sealed  without  the  smallest 
violation  of  my  promise,  and  the  sympathy  excited 
by  my  mistress's  evident  sufferings,  together  with  a 
thousand  other  mixed  and  indescribable  sensations, 
had  induced  a  momentary  forgetfulness  of  all  those 
reports  against  Euphrosyne's  character,  which  had 


AiNASTASIUS.  63 

encouraged  me  to  prosecute  my  plan,  had  made 
that  plan  receive  its  fulfilment,  and  had  in  their  turn 
been  confirmed  by  my  very  success.  But  on  hearing 
n.)t  only  of  an  act  so  uncalled  for  as  Euphrosyne's 
spontaneous  disclosure  of  her  shame,  so  wanton  as  her 
refusal  of  her  still  urging  suitor,  and  so  strange  as  her 
deliberately  leaving  her  husband  for  herdespoiler,  the 
truth— dimmed  for  a  moment — seemed  again  to  burst 
upon  me,  and  with  double  conviction.     I  now  con- 
ceived that  even  my  crime  might  only  be  the  pre- 
tence, rather  than  the  real  reason  of  Euphrosyn^  s 
renouncing  an  advantageous  match.  Her  former  dis- 
honor again  rising  to  my  mind,  lent  even  her  present 
conduct  the  colouring  of  artifice ;  and,  if  I  thought 
it  hard  upon  me  that  an  assignation  proposed  by 
my  mistress  herself,  and  that  as  not  only  the  first, 
but  also   the  last    I   could   hope  for,  should   end 
in  her    inflicting   upon   me  the  burthen    of    her 
permanent  support,    I    thought   it  harder  still  to 
be   thus   heavly    visitied    in   consequence   of    the 
sins  of    others.      That    shelter,   therefore,    which 
I  had  gladly  granted  Euphrosyne  under  ni)'  roof, 
while    I    cmly    considered   it    as    accidental     and 
transient,  1  began  to  grudge  her  when  I   found  it 
the  beginning  only  of  a  sojourn  which  was  to  have 
no  end  ;  and  I  resolved  to  ward  dff  its  permanence 
with  all  my  might. 


64  ANASTASIUS. 

To  give  my  real  reasons  for  so  doing  was  impos- 
sible. On  reviewing  every  past  circumstance,  I 
felt  that,  from  the  first  wording  of  the  assignation 
to  the  close  of  the  interview,  matters  had  been  so 
conducted  as  to  leave  me,  with  every  presumption, 
not  one  positive  proof  of  Euphrosyne's  having  wil- 
lingly shared  in  my  stolen  pleasures.  No  argument 
against  complying  with  my  visitor''s  petition,  founded 
on  that  circumstance  only,  would  consequently  be 
admitted  :  and,  as  to  the  report  of  her  prior  guilt, 
even  my  own  vanity  shrunk  from  suffering  an  impu- 
tation so  odious  to  lessen  the  merit  of  my  victory,  or 
the  value  of  my  prize  :  besides,  I  beheld  pangs  too 
acute  still  to  increase  them  by  a  reproach,  which  must 
inflict  equal  agony,  whether  founded  or  not.  Appear- 
ing therefore  to  speak  more  from  tenderness  for  my 
mistress  than  for  myself,  "Euphrosyne,''said  I,  "  It 
was  unwise,  methinks,  to  divulge  what,  but  for  your 
own  spontaneous  avowal,  might  have  remained  an 
inscrutable  secret ;  it  was  a  thousand  times  more 
unwise  still,  when  you  found  that  by  an  unex- 
ampled privilege  this  deterred  not  your  suitor, 
yourself  to  refuse  him ;  but  it  seems  to  me  the 
very  height  of  folly  willingly  to  court  every  form  of 
disgrace  where,  as  it  appears,  you  still  may  enjoy 
every  species  of  distinction.  You  cannot  justify 
your  conduct  in  casting,  without  necessity,  such  a 


ANASTASIUS.  65 

tain  upon  your  family.  Hasten  then  to  repair 
the  mischief  while  you  still  are  in  time;  return 
home  immediately,  as  if  you  had  only  offered  up 
an  hurried  prayer  in  church,  and  obviate  by  your 
ready  acceptance  of  Mackari,  all  the  impending 
consequences  of  your  thoughtless  and  precipitate 
step  !" 

Alas  !  I  addressed  one  who,  wholly  bewildered 
by  her  own  feelings,  heeded  not  a  single  word  I 
spoke.  Euphrosyne,  fixing  upon  me  an  eye  at 
once  vacant  and  supplicating,  continued  to  preserve 
an  unbroken,  and,  as  I  thought,  stubborn  silence, 
until  at  last  I  deemed  it  necessary  to  use  terms 
more  decisive  and  peremptory.  Taking  two  or 
three  hasty  strides  across  the  room,  as  if  still  to  en- 
crease  the  ferment  of  my  already  heated  blood: 
"  Euphrosyn^,"  cried  I,  '*  it  is  impossible  you  can 
stay  with  me.  I  myself  am  a  wanderer  on  the  face 
of  the  globe :  to  day  here,  to  morrow  perhaps  flying 
to  the  earth's  furthest  extremity.  Your  remaining 
under  my  uncertain  roof,  can  only  end  in  total  ruin 
to  us  both.  I  must  insist  upon  your  quitting  my 
abode,  ere  your  own  be  no  longer  accessible  to  your 
tardy  repentance. 

"  Ah  no  !'*  now  cried  Euphrosyne,  convulsivdy 
clasping  my  knees  :  "  be  not  so  barbarous  t  Shut 
not  your  own  door  against  her,  against  whom  you 
have  barred  every  other  once  friendly  door.     Do 

VOL.   III.  F 


66  ANASTASIUS. 

not  deny  her  whom  you  have  dishonored,  the  only 
asylum  she  has  left.  If  I  cannot  be  your  wife,  let 
me  be  your  slave,  your  drudge.  No  service,  how- 
ever mean,  shall  I  recoil  from  when  you  command. 
At  least  before  you  I  shall  not  have  to  blush.  ,  In 
your  eyes  I  shall  not  be  what  I  must  seem  in 
those  of  others.  I  shall  not  from  you  incur*  the 
contempt  I  must  expect  from  my  former  com- 
panions; and  my  diligence  to  execute  the  lowest 
offices  you  may  require,  will  ensure  me  not  wholly 
unearned  at  your  hands,  that  bread  which  elsewhere 
I  can  only  receive  as  an  unmerited  indulgence. 
Since  I  did  a  few  days  please  your  eye,  I  may  still 
please  it  a  few  days  longer :  perhaps  a  few  days 
longer  I  may  therefore  still  wish  to  live ;  and 
when  that  last  blessing,  your  love,  is  gone  by  ; 
when  my  cheek  faded  with  grief  has  lost  the  last 
attraction  that  could  arrest  your  favor,  then  speak; 
then  tell  me  so,  that,  burthening  you  no  longer,  I 
may  withdraw — and  die  !" 

Spite  of  the  tears  with  which  I  answered  this 
speech,  the  conviction  that  all  might  still  by  dili- 
gence be  hushed  up,  was  going  to  make  me  urge 
more  strenuously  than  before  Euphrosyne's  im- 
mediate return, — when  a  new  incident  took  place, 
which  wholly  changed  my  inclinations  and  my  feel- 
ings. 

This  was  no  less  than  a  sudden   and  forcible 


ANASTASIUS.  67 

irruption  in  my  abode  of  the  maiden's  relations. 
It  had  soon  been  discovered  by  them,  that,  instead 
of  going  to  church,  she  had  come  to  my  house;  and 
her  friends  had  hereupon  walked  forth  in  a  body 
to  claim  the  stray  lamb,  and  to  bring  her  back. 
Chrysopulo  himself  indeed  was  not  of  the  party  : 
it  only  consisted  of  half  a  dozen  of  his  nephews 
and  cousins :  but  this  posse  unceremoniously  enough 
broke  in  upon  me  just  as  I  was  urging  my  mistress 
by  every  motive  in  heaven  and  on  earth  not  to  delay 
her  departure  another  minute;  and  immediately 
proceeded  to  effect  by  force,  what  I  was  pnly  trying 
to  obtain  by  persuasion. 

My  readers  already  know  how  little  I  liked 
being  interfered  with,  and  how  apt  I  was  to  act  in 
opposition  to  those  around  me  from  no  other  mo- 
tive but  to  assert  my  independance,  or  to  shew  my 
daring :  they  will  not  therefore  be  much  surprised 
to  hear  that  this  incident  caused  an  entire  and 
sudden  revolution  in  my  sentiments  with  regard 
to  Euphrosyne,  and  that,  from  wishing  her  to  go 
while  she  expressed  a  wish  to  stay,  I  now  would 
have  detained  her  by  force,  even  if  she  had  wished 
to  go.  Taking  hold  of  her  therefore  by  one  arm, 
while  Chrysopulo''s  friends  were  pulling  her  away 
by  the  other,  I  swore  that  nothing  short  of  death 
should  make  me  give  up  the  maiden  who  had 
sought  shelter  under  my  wing ;  and  as  Euphrosyn^ 


68  ANASTASIUS. 

herself,  when  appealed  to,  seemed  to  sanction  my 
proceedings,  by  drawing  her  veil  over  her  blushing 
features,  her  friends  were  at  last  persuaded,  by  the 
threatening  gestures  with  which  I  accompanied  my 
assurancer,,  to  give  up  all  further  attempts  at  violent 
measures. 

In  truth,  they  rejoiced  in  their  hearts  at  having 
it  to  say   that  an    insurmountable  resistance  had 
baffled  all   their  efforts.     Euphrosyne   had  early 
been  left  an  orphan;  her  nearest  of  kin  were  all 
dead;  and   though  the   more  distant   relations  to 
whose  lot  it  fell  to  protect  her,  would  have  upheld 
their   fair  cousin  most  sedulously  while  they   had 
any  chance  of  deriving  an  additional  lustre  from  her 
establishment  in  life,  they  were  willing  enough  to 
drop  the  connection  as  soon  as  her  situation  was  likely 
to  reflect  discredit  on  their  name.     However  loud 
and  boisterous  therefore  might  be  the  wish  they  ex- 
pressed of  restoring  her  to  her  family,  there  lurked 
not  the  less  satisfaction  at  the  bottom,  when  they 
found  her  resolved  not  to  go  :  and  while  they  pre- 
tended to  feel  exceedingly  hurt  at  her  refusal,  they 
took  her  at  her  word  with  the  utmost  alacrity  ;  or 
rather,  suflPered  her  mere  silence  to  stand  for  a  de- 
nial.    Piously  lifting  up  their  eyes  to  heaven,  and 
groaning  from  the  inmost  of  their  hollow  hearts, 
they  turned  away  from  one   whom   they   saw   so 
irr  eclaimably  abandoned,  and  hurried  out  of  the 


ANASTASIUS.  69 

house,  lest  she  should  change  her  mind  ere  they 
were  out  of  hearing.  When  however  they  found 
themselves  safe  as  they  thought  in  the  street,  they 
stopt  to  announce  for  the  benefit  of  all  who  passed 
by,  their  deterrnination  to  renounce  so  unworthy 
a  namesake.  Thenceforth  they  were  to  regard  her 
as  among  the  departed,  and,  happen  what  might, 
never  more  to  inquire  after  her  fate ;  and  to  their 
credit  be  it  spoken,  they  adhered  in  that  instance 
most  reUgiously  to  their  word. 

My  undisturbed  possession  of  Chrysopulo's  fair 
cousin  therefore  was  now  a  matter  settled ;  and  the 
lofty,  the  admired  Euphrosyne,  who  that  very 
morning  might  still  have  beheld  all  Smyrna  at  her 
feet,  saw  herself  before  mid-day  installed  in  the 
lodging  of  a  roving  adventurer,  as  his  avowed  and 
public  mistress  ! 

Of  Sophia  the  lovely  girl  could  give  no  account. 
While  Chrysopulo  continued  in  hopes  of  seeing  the 
affair  hushed  up,  he  abstained  from  rousing  the 
anger  of  this  fiend  by  expressing  his  suspicions : 
but  the  moment  Euphrosyne  herself  had  made  pub- 
lic her'  adventure,  Sophia,  no  longer  feeling  safe  in 
the  family,  had  disappeared :  nor  had  she  since 
been  heard  of; — but  her  fate  was  the  least  of  my 
cares. 

The  foremost  at  present  was  the  pajnment  of  the 
sums  I  had  won.     The  addition  to  my  establish- 


70  ANASTASIUS. 

ment  permitted  me  not  to  be  unmindful  of  my  in- 
terests. As  soon  therefore  as  I  had  said  and  done 
whatever  seemed  most  calculated  to  dispel  Eu- 
phrosyn^'s  settled  gloom,  I  immediately  walked  to 
the  meeting  place  of  our  society,  and  found  its 
members  in  council  assembled. 

My  first  salutation  was  a  demand  upon  each  :  b*ut, 
to  my  unutterable  dismay,  the  first  answer  was  aloud 
and  universal  burst  of  laughter  at  my  presumption  ! 
As  soon  as  this  peal  of  merriment  subsided  a  little, 
I  was  told  that  I  might  think  my  self  well  off  in  having 
nothing  to  pay  instead  of  to  receive ;  and,  on  de- 
manding a  further  explanation,  I  learnt  that  the 
infernal  Sophia  had  been  before  hand  with  me,  and 
the  instant  she  left  the  house  of  Chrysopulo,  had 
gone  round  to  all  my  companions,  in  the  first 
place  indeed  to  inform  them  of  my  success  with 
Euphrosyn^ ;  but,  in  the  next,  to  comfort  them  with 
the  assurance  that  it  had  only  been  the  conse- 
quence of  those  prior  adventures  of  the  same  sort, 
which  my  confidant  had  sworn  to  me  never  to  divulge. 
Every  person  present  therefore  immediately  called 
out :  *'  a  drawn  wager  !**'  and  I  was  voted  entitled  to 
not  one  single  para  ! 

What  could  I  do  with  a  bad  cause,  and  a  parcel 
of  fellows  each  to  the  full  as  sturdy  as  myself.? 
Only  this :  to  renounce  with  a  good  grace  what  I 
clearly   saw  I  never  should  obtain,  and  to  join  in 


ANASTASIUS.  fl 

the  laugli  at  my  own  impudence;  of  which,  I 
observed,  it  was  worth  while  at  any  rate  to  try  the 
powers. 

But  tolerably  as  I  had  contrived  to  preserve  my 
good  humour  with  my  strapping  companions  with- 
in, the  case  became  different  when,  on  going  outagain 
to  return  to  Euphrosyne,  I  met  Sophia,  coming,  as 
I  guessed,  to  receive  the  reward  of  the  mischief 
she  had  done  me,  or  to  do  me  some  further  injury. 

Great  as  was  my  pecuniary  disappointment,  it 
seemed  nothing  to  the  wound  inflicted  on  my  pride, 
in  the  infamy  heaped  upon  her,  whose  fate  was 
now  connected  with  my  own  by  links  more  indissolu- 
ble even  than  those  of  matrimony,  inasmuch  as  I 
had  deprived  a  lovely  female  of  the  power  of  being 
restored,  even  by  a  divorce,  to  her  former  home.  The 
insulting  epithets  still  rung  in  my  ear,  by  which  Eu- 
phrosyne had  just  been  designated;  and  these  oppro- 
brious names  were  the  work  of  Sophia  ! 

So  conscious  indeed  was  this  wicked  girl  of 
her  iniquity,  that  far  from  seeming  to  harbour  any 
thoughts  of  enforcing  her  still  unsettled  claims,  the 
moment  she  saw  me  she  tried  to  make  her  escape, — 
but  it  was  too  late  ! 

**  Wretch  !"  cried  I,  *'  thus  then  you  have  per- 
formed your  promise.  Now  behold  in  what  way  I 
perform  mine  !"*'  And  hereupon  I  seized  her  by 
the    wrist,   and   loading   her  in  the  midst  of  the 


n  ANASTASIUS. 

gaping  crowd  with  every  epithet  more  disgraceful  if 
possible  than  those  which  she  had  drawn  down 
upon  my  mistress,  I  shook  her  until  she  almost 
fainted,  and  then  left  her  to  recover  her  senses  in 
the  black  filth  of  Smyrna's  kennel  !  Thanks  to  this 
inunersion  she  tarried  not  to  revive ;  and  no  sooner 
did  the  fury  think  herself  safe  from  my  wrath,  than 
setting  up  a  hellish  laugh,  "  Wipe  clean  your  Eu- 
phrosyne,"  cried  she,  "  ere  you  bespatter  others 
with  your  dirt !"  and  then  walked  off  with  threat- 
ening gestures,  — alternately  wishing  me  joy  of  my 
prize,  and  auguring  me  every  misfortune  under 
heaven.  Heated  as  I  was  with  passion,  her  curses 
made  my  blood  run  cold,  and  in  return  I  would 
ave  chilled  for  ever  the  noisome  tide  in  her  own  viper 
veins — but  with  a  home  thrust  of  my  dagger ;  had 
I  not  been  prevented  by  the  mob  from  annihilating 
the  reptile  ! 

But  its  venomed  bite  left  a  print  in  my  heart 
which  no  power  could  efface  I  To  fail  in  all  my 
schemes  both  of  profit  and  of  pride ;  to  be  bur- 
thened  with  the  whole  weight  of  my  mistress's  ex- 
istence, while  bereft  of  all  esteem  for  her  character ; 
to  feel  myself  the  victim  of  the  deceit  or  the  sport  of 
the  caprice  of  one  whose  tenderness  had  been  prosti- 
tuted to  others, — and  more  than  that ;  to  ffind  the 
shame  which  I  had  hoped  to  bury  in  the  inmost  re- 
cesses of  my  own  bosom,  divulged  to  all  the  world ; 
to  be  pointed  at  with  derision  by  those  very  com- 


ANASTASIUS.  73 

panions  over  whom  I  had  made  sure  to  triumph, 
was  beyond  what  I  had  strength  of  mind  to  bear, — 
at  least,  to  bear  alone ;  and  the  embers  of  affection 
for  my  new  inmate,  still  glowing  in  my  breast  when 
I  last  left  my  home,  seemed  all  extinguished  by 
what  took  place  ere  I  re-entered  my  abode.  If 
however  I  only  returned  to  it  with  the  determination 
of  making  my  hapless  guest  a  partaker  in  all  the 
sufferings  which  she  had  drawn  down  upon  my  head, 
it  was  also  with  the  full  intent  to  keep  the 
cause  of  my  behaviour  locked  for  ever  within 
my  own  swelling  heart !  Why  indeed  dwell  with- 
out necessity  upon  the  painful  thoughts  of  an 
infamy,  of  which  I  was  unable  to  bring  the  proof, 
and  despaired  of  extorting  the  confession  ! 

Under  her  former  playfulness  of  manner  Euphro- 
syne  it  seems  had  always  concealed  great  decision  of 
character.  She  had  shrunk  from  going  home  to  a 
husband  or  from  staying  with  friends,  whose  re- 
proach she  must  fear  or  whose  forbearance  endure. 
To  me,  on  whom  my  outrage  had  given  her  the 
claims  forfeited  in  every  other  quarter,  she  had 
come  for  refuge,  as  to  the  only  person  whose  abode 
still  owed  her  protection:  but  she  had  come  op- 
pressed with  the  sense  of  her  dishonor;  she  had 
come  30  heart-struck  with  anguish,  that,  had  the 
innate  fertility  of  her  imagination  still  made  it  put 


74  ANASTASIUS. 

forth,  amid  all  the  disgrace  of  her  situation,  the 
smallest  bud  of  sprightliness  or  fancy,  she  would 
have  thought  it  a  duty  to  repress  or  to  crush 
these  intellectual  blossoms  as  noisome  weeds,  whose 
rank  luxuriance  ill  became  the  sadness  of  her  soul. 
Nothing  but  the  most  unremitting  tenderness  on 
my  part  could  in  some  degree  have  revived  her 
drooping  spirits. 

But  when  after  my  excursion  I  reappeared  before 
her  eyes,  one  look, — one  single  look  she  cast  upon 
me  as  I  entered  the  room,  sufficed  to  inform  her  of 
the  change  in  my  sentiments — and  that  look  for  ever 
destroyed  in  her  breast  the  last  seeds  of  hope  and  of 
confidence  !  Like  the  wounded  snail  she  shrunk 
within  herself,  and  from  that  moment  never  more 
expanded  to  the  sunshine  of  joy.  With  her 
buoyancy  of  spirits  she  seemed  even  to  lose  all  her 
quickness  of  intellect,  nay  all  her  readiness  of  speech : 
so  that,  fearing  to  embark  with  her  in  serious  con- 
versation, and  finding  no  response  in  her  mind  to 
lighter  topics,  I  at  last  began  to  nauseate  her  seem- 
ing torpor,  and  to  roam  abroad  even  more  frequent- 
ly than  before  I  had  secured  a  companion  at  home ; 
while  she — poor  miserable  creature — prevented  from 
stirring  out  by  the  sneers  of  an  unfeeling  world, 
passed  her  time  under  my  roof  in  dismal  and  heart- 
breaking solitude. 


ANASTASIUS.  75 

It  is  true  that,  had  an  almost  indefatigable  endur- 
ance of  my  ill  usage  been  able  to  soothe  the  pangs  of  " 
my  disappointment,  Euphrosyne's  angelic  sweetness 
must  at  last  have  softened  my  stubborn  heart :  but  in 
my  jaundiced  eye  her  resignation  only  tended  to 
strengthen  the  conviction  of  her  shame  :  and  I 
saw  in  her  forbearance  nothing  but  the  consequence 
of  her  debasement,  and  the  consciousness  of  her 
guilt !  "  Did  her  heart,"  thought  1^  "  bear  wit- 
ness to  a  purity  on  which  I  dared  the  first  to  cast  a 
blemish,  she  could  not  remain  thus  tame,  thus 
spiritless,  under  such  an  aggravation  of  my  wrongs ; 
and  either  she  would  be  the  first  to  quit  my  merci- 
less roof,  or  at  least  she  would  not  so  fearfully  avoid 
giving  me  even  the  most  unfounded  pretence  for 
denying  her  its  shelter. —  She  must  merit  her  suffer- 
ings, to  bear  them  so  meekly  ! 

Hence,  even  when  really  touched  by  the  gen- 
tleness of  my  mistress,  I  seldom  relented  in  my 
apparent  sternness.  In  order  to  conquer,  or  at  least 
to  conceal  sentiments,  which  I  considered  as  effects 
only  of  weakness,  I  even  forced  myself  on  these 
occasions  to  encreased  severity.  Unable  to  go  the 
length  of  turning  Euphrosyn^  out  of  doors,  even 
though  she  had  agreed  from  the  first  to  make  the 
continuance  of  my  love  the  measure  of  her  stay, 
I  almost  turned  myself  entirely  out  of  my  own 


76  ANASTASIUS. 

dwelling ;  and  plunged  more  headlong  into  every 
species  of  dissipation  than  I  had  done  before.     Unto 
this  period  I  had  quaffed  my  wine  to  enjoy  its  flavor  : 
I  now  drank  to  drive  away  my  senses.     Unto  this 
period  I  had  gamed  to  beguile  an  idle  hour :  I  now 
played  to  produce  a  feverish  excitement  of  my  spirits. 
I  stayed  out  while  I  was  able  to  renew  my  stake,  and 
only  returned  home  when  utterly  exhausted  by  my 
losses.     Nay,  when  Euphrosyne,  after   sitting  up 
alone  all  night,  saw  me  return  late  in  the  morning, 
it  often  was  only  to  vent  on  her  unresisting  meek- 
ness the  spleen  collected  in  my  nocturnal  career  of 
disappointed  extravagance.     Yet  she  tarried   on  : 
for  to  me  she  had  sacrificed  her  all ;  and  though  in 
me   she   found  nothing  but  a  thorn,  yet  by  that 
thorn  alone  now  hung  her  whole  existence ! 
.     Euphrosyne  was  wont  to  be  in  readiness  with  a 
hot  cup  of  coffee  when  I  came  in  from  my  nightly 
revels.     After  gambling  it  served  as  a  restorative  ; 
but  after  drinking  it  was  the  only  thing  capable  of 
allaying  the  sort  of  temporary  madness  with  which 
vnne  always  affected  my  irritable  brain.  One  mom- 
insr  when  alternate  losses  at  dice  and  libations  to 
Bacchus  had  sent  me  home  half  frantic,  instead  of 
finding  my  mistress  as  usual  all  alacrity  to  minister 
the  reviving  draft,  to  chafe  my  throbbing  temples, 
and  to  perform  what  other  soothing  offices  her  awe 


ANASTASIUS.  77 

of  me  permitted,  I  found  her  lying  on  the  floor  in  a 
trance.  I  only  thought  her  asleep  ;  but  on  attempt- 
ing to  lift  her  up,  her  features  were  bruised,  and 
her  face  all  besmeared  with  blood.  Unnerved  by 
excess,  and  shaking  with  agitation,  my  arm  how- 
ever was  wholly  unable  to  support  even  her  light 
weight,  and  I  let  her  drop  again.  She  thought  I 
did  so  on  purpose,  for  raising  her  head  with  great 
effort,  she  fixed  on  my  countenance  her  haggard 
tearless  eyes,  and  clasping  her  hands  together,  now 
for  the  first  time  vented  her  anguish  in  audible 
words.  "  I  had  been  warned.*"  She  cried,  with 
half  stifled  emotion. 

"  How .?"  said  I. 

"  That  morning,"  answered  she,  "  when  unex- 
pectedly you  appeared  among  us  in  the  meadow, 
you  were  scarcely  out  of  sight  when  the  cause  of  your 
coming  was  discussed.  We  agreed — foolish  girls  as 
we  w^re — that  chance  alone  had  not  brought  you  to 
that  place,  and  drew  lots  to  find  out  where  lurked 
the  secret  attraction.  I  got  the  prize;  if  prize  it 
was  !  A  friend  some  years  older  than  myself,  ob- 
serving my  egmotion,  '••  Euphrosyne,"  she  whisper- 
ed, "  if  you  care  not  for  that  stranger,  frolic  with 
him  as  you  hke  :  but  if  ever  he  should  gain  your 
affections,  O  !  avoid  him  like  a  pestilence.  From 
the  moment  he  knows  himself  master  of  your  heart, 


78  ANASTASIUS. 

he  will  treat  it  as  wayward  children  do  their 
toys  ;  he  will  not  rest  until  he  has  broken  it  to 
pieces." 

"  This  was  but  the  first  warning,  and  only  given 
by  a  human  voice,"  continued  my  mistress :  "  A 
higherone  came  straight  from  heaven !  You  know  the 
marble  image  found  in  our  field,  which  now  adorns 
our  garden.  Once,  they  say,  it  was  flesh  and  blood, 
— a  hapless  maiden  like  myself:  butalas,  less  suscep- 
tible, and  therefore  turned  into  stone  !  On  the  night 
of  your  outrage,  as  I  rose  from  the  prayer  which 
once  used  ever  to  precede  my  repose,  a  deep  hol- 
low moan  issued  from  its  snowy  bosom  !  Another 
and  a  louder  shriek  was  heard  when  I  confessed  the 
tale  to  Mackari ;  and  one  still  more  dismal  than  the 
former  rent  the  air,  when  I  left  my  kinsman's  roof 
to  fly  to  your  arms !" 

"  And  warned  even  by  an  insensible  stone,*'  I 
cried,  ''  you  would  not  see  the  precipice  ?" 

"  Ah  !"  exclaimed  Euphrosyne,  "  reproach  me 
with  any  thing  but  my  love.  It  was  that  which,  in 
spite  of  every  circumstance  that  should  have  open- 
ed my  eyes,  still  kept  me  obstinately  blind." 

"  Your  love,"  cried  I,  "  neither  merits  my  re- 
proach, nor  yet  calls  for  my  praise.  It  depends  not 
on  ourselves  to  withhold  our  affections,  as  it  depends 
not  on  us  to  renew  a  worn-out  passion.''* 


ANASTASIUS.  79 

"  Is  it  then  true/'  cried  Euphrosyne,  '«  that  you 
love  me  no  more  ?*' 

"  Has  not  that  question  been  answered  already  ?" 
said  I  peevishly :  "  but  you  will  not  understand, 
unless  all  is  spoken  !" 

At  these  words  Euphrosyn^  put  her  hands  to 
her  ears,  as  if  fearing  to  hear  her  formal  dismission ; 
and  immediately  ran  to  shut  herself  in  her  adjoin- 
ing chamber.  I  left  the  wayward  girl  to  the  soli- 
tude she  sought,  and,  unable  to  obtain  any  refresh- 
ment at  home,  immediately  went  out  again.  Ex- 
hausted with  watching,  sleep  overcame  me  in  the 
coffee-house  whither  I  had  gone  for  my  breakfast, 
and  as  soon  as  I  felt  somewhat  recruited  by  my 
short  rest,  a  detachment  of  our  party  carried  me  away 
by  force,  to  make  me  woo  fickle  fortune  afresh  at  the 
gaming  table.  Within  the  irresistible  influence  of 
its  magic  circle  I  stayed,  and  played,  and  drank,  and 
slept, — and  played,  and  drank,  and  slept  again, — 
until,  reehng  out  in  the  dark  to  go  home,  I  fell  from 
the  steps,  sprained  my  ancle,  cut  my  face,  and  lay 
awhile  senseless  on  the  pavement.  Carried  in  again 
as  soon  as  discovered  in  this  plight,  it  became  my 
fate  to  be  tied  by  the  leg  in  the  very  gambling  room 
which  had  already  kept  me  spell-bound  so  long. 

I  was  so  far  an  economist  of  time,  as  always  to 
devote  that  of  forced  confinement  to  the  irksome 
business  of  reflection  :    and  I  had  a  great  deal  of 


80  ANASTASIUS. 

that  sort  of  occupation,  accumulating  on  my  hands, 
to  employ  my  present  leisure.  The  unconcern  of 
my  pretended  friends  on  seeing  me  suffer,  ver}^  soon 
made  me  draw  unfavourable  comparisons  of  their 
sentiments  mth  those  of  Euphrosyne.  Granting 
that  she  had  been  too  susceptible  before  she  knew 
me ;  how  patient,  how  penitent,  how  devoted  had 
she  shown  herself  ever  since  I  Yet,  how  cruel  the 
return  I  had  made,  and  how  deep  the  last  wound 
I  had  inflicted  ! 

The  thought  grew  so  irksome,  that,  not  daring 
to  send  for  my  mistress  among  a  set  of  scoffers, 
and  yet  impatient  to  make  her  amends,  I  crept  as 
soon  as  the  dawn  again  arose,  off  my  couch,  stole 
away,  and  limped  home. 

When  I  knocked  at  my  door,  no  one  answered 
from  within.  Louder  I  therefore  knocked  and  louder; 
but  with  no  better  success.  At  last  my  heart  sunk 
within  me,  and  my  knees  began  to  totter.  Euphro- 
syne never  stirred  out : — could  she  . . .  ?  I  dreaded  ta 
know  the  truth,  and  yet  I  was  near  going  mad  with 
the  delay.  She  might  be  ill,  and  unable  to  come 
down,  though  not  yet  beyond  the  reach  of  succour^ 
or  the  comfort  of  kindness !  It  was  possible  she 
heard  me,  and  had  not  strength  to  answer  or  to 
let  me  in.  Timely  assistance  still  perhaps  might 
save  her :  even  tardy  tenderness,  though  shewn  too 
late  to  arrest  her  fleeting  soul,  might  still  at  least 


ANASTASIUS.  81 

ailay  the  bitterness  of  its  departure.  A  word,  a  look 
of  sympathy  might  solace  her  last  moments,  and 
waft  her  spirit  on  lighter  wings  to  heaven ! 
,  Frantic  with  impatience,  I  endeavoured  to  break 
open  the  sullen  .door,  but  could  only  curse  its  per- 
verse steadiness  in  doing  its  duty.  In  despair  at  the 
delay  I  was  going  for  ati  axe  to  hew  it  from  its  hinges, 
when  an  old  deaf  neighbour,  who  began  to  suspect 
she  heard  a  noise,  came  down  half  dressed  to  lend 
her  assistance.  She  employed  nearly  as  much  time 
before  she  let  herself  out,  as  I  had  lost  in  trying 
to  get  in.  At  last,  however,  her  feeble  efforts  were^ 
crowned  with  success,  Forth  she  came,  and  put  on, 
her  spectacles  to  scrutinise  my  person.  A  dehberate 
survey  having  satisfied  her  respecting  my  identity, 
she  thrust  her  withered  arm  deep  in  her  ample 
pocket,  and  drew  out  fifty  things  which  neither 
of  us  wanted,  before  she  ended  by  producing  the 
key  of  my  lodging,  which  she  put  into  my  hands 
with  a  low  curtesy,  as  having  been  left  in  her  care 
by  the  lady  who  was  gone  away  ! 

"  Thank  God! — I  have  not  killed  her  !"  was  my 
first  exclamation.  "  That  weight  at  least  is  off  my 
mind  !""  And  as  soon  as  I  had  sufficiently  recovered 
my  breath,  I  enquired  of  the  old  woman  the  time  and 
circumstances  of  Euphrosyne's  departure; — what 
conveyance  had  taken  her  away ;  in  what  direction 

VOL.  III.  G 


82  ANASTASIUS. 

she  went;  and,  above  all,  what  message  she  had 
left? 

These  were  useless  queries,  and  a  fruitless  ex« 
penditure  of  breath.  It  took  me  half  an  hour  to 
make  my  neighbour  hear  me  ;  and  when  I  succeed- 
ed at  last,  so  near  was  she  to  dotage,  that  I  could 
make  nothing  of  her  answers.  On  my  asking,  as 
the  easiest  question  to  understand,  how  long  the  key 
had  been  in  her  possession,  she  could  only  say, 
"  ever  since  it  had  been  given  her.'* 

Despairing  of  more  explicit  intelligence  outside 
my  threshold,  I  went  in,  and  in  three  strides  reached 
the  top  of  the  stairs,  and  my  own  empty  room. 
From  that  I  ran  into  the  next,  equally  empty  and 
desolate ;  looked  upon  every  table  and  shelf,  under 
every  seat  and  cushion,  in  every  box  and  drawer, 
and  behind  every  chest  and  wardrobe.  My  hopes 
were  to  find  some  letter,  some  note,  some  scrap  of 
paper,  written,  if  not  in  kindness,  at  least  in  anger, 
to  inform  me  which  way  my  poor  girl  had  fled : 
but  I  looked  in  vain ;  there  was  nothing  ! 

I  possessed  no  clue  whatever  to  a  probable  sur- 
mise ;  I  could  form  no  opinion  on  the  strange 
event ;  I  sat  down  in  mute  amazement,  trying  to 
think,  and  yet  finding  no  point  on  which  to  fix  my 
thoughts.  At  last,  as  my  eyes  continued  to  wander 
in  total  vacancy  round  the  room,   they  fell  upon 


ANASTASIUS.  83 

some  writing,  which  assuredly  had  not  been  intended 
to  court  my  sight :  for  it  run  along  the  skirting  of  tlie 
wainscot,  and  could  only  have  been  written  by  Eu- 
phrosyne  with  her  pencil  as  she  lay  on  the  ground.  I 
stooped  down  .to  read,  and  only  found  some  broken 
sentences,  probably  traced  by  my  mistress  the  last 
time  she  left  me,  to  seek  refuge  in  solitude.  The 
sense  seemed  addressed  to  herself  more  than  to  her 
destroyer,  and  the  words  were  scarce  legible : — thus 
ran  the  few  lines  I  could  make  out. 

"  At  last  he  has  spoken  plainly ! — I  shall  go- 
ne matter  where! — Let  him  rejoice:  when  he 
boasts  of  his  triumphs  over  unsuspecting  innocence ; 
he  may  now  add  to  all  his  former  vaun  tings  :  "I 
have  ruined  Euphrosyne  I*" — and  be  proud  to  think 
a  greater  fall  from  purity  to  corruption,  from 
honor  to  infamy,  and  from  happiness  to  misery, 
never  was  achieved  by  his  hands  !'*  Then  followed  a 
string  of  half  obliterated  words,  among  which  all  I 
could  make  out  was  an  invocation  to  the  Almighty 
not  to  cease  pouring  its  blessings  on  my  headj  for 
all  poor  Euphrosyne's  wrongs !  A  thousand  dag- 
gers seemed,  on  reading  this  sentence,  to  pierce  my 
heart  at  once. 

Every  thing  remained  as  I  had  left  it,  except 
Euphrosyne  alone  !  She  had  taken  nothing  with 
her ;  for  she  had  nothing  to  take :  the  last  articles 


84  AXASTASIUS. 

of  her  apparel,  worth  any  money,  had  been  sold  to 
supply  her  necessities,  or  rather  my  extravagance. 

A  film  now  all  at  once  dropped  from  before  my 
eyes,  and  my  former  behaviour  presented  itself  to  me 
in  a  totally  new  light.  Though  I  might  still  beheve, 
— and  indeed  now  most  anxiously  wished  to  believe 
for  the  relief  of  my  conscience, — that  Euphrosyne 
had  not  at  all  times  been  equally  watchful  of  that 
perfect  purity  she  boasted ;  that  in  some  unguarded 
moment  the  inexperience  of  early  youth  had  suffer- 
ed her  virtue  to  contract  a  slight  speck ;  that  the 
tale  so  boldly  told  by  her  waiting  woman  was  not 
wholly  without  foundation  :  yet,  on  contemplating 
her  conduct  on  that  eventful  day,  when  she  might 
for  ever  have  wrapped  every  former  stain  in  the 
ample  impenetrabihty  of  the  nuptial  veil,  but,  with 
a  magnanimous  disdain  of  all  meanness  or  subter- 
fuge, resigned  herself  to  poverty,  persecution  and 
disgrace,  I  could  not  doubt  that  already  at  that 
period,  at  least  the  mental  corruption,  the  taint 
of  the  soul,  (if  ever  it  had  existed,)  had  been  so 
entirely  cashed  away  by  repentance, — so  entirely 
obliterated  by  subsequent  propriety  of  conduct,  as 
still  to  leave  the  whole  crime  of  plunging  a  noble 
creature  into  irretrievable  ruin,  ultimately  chargeable 
upon  me  alone  ! 
And  supposing  that  even  the  account  of  Euphro- 


ANASTASIUS.  85 

sync's  early  frailty  itself, — that  only  sheet  anchor  of 
my  conscience  amid  a  sea  of  distracting  doubts, — 
should  after  all  turn  out  a  mere  fabrication,  as  seemed 
from  Sophia's  unprincipled  conduct  a  thing  not  im- 
possible: supposing  the  whole  first  chapter  of  Eu- 
phrosyne's  short  history  should  have  been  nothing 
but  a  scene  of  artless  playful  innocence  ;  fiay,  suppo- 
sing the  thoughtless  girl  should  have  been  ignorant 
even  of  the  assignation  itself, — no  doubt  only  brought 
to  bear  by  some  soporific  drug;  supposing  that  when 
the  forlorn  creature  first  came  to  my  abode,  only  to 
avoid  being  driven  publicly  out  of  her  ojvn,  she  should 
have  had  nothing  to  reproach  her  own  heart  with  but 
some  latent  sparks  of  love  for  her  despoiler,  which 
sentiments  of  a  loftier  nature  would  soon  have  extin- 
guished, but  for  the  abasement  to  which  she  had  been 
driven ;  supposing  I  thus  had  only  plunged  into 
everlasting  perdition  a  being,  throughout  the  whole 
of  her  once  happy  career  as  unexceptionable  in  con- 
duct as  she  had  been  enviable  in  circumstances,  and 
•that,  for  no  purpose  but  to  end  her  race  of  undeserved 
sufferings  by  turning  her  out  of  doors,  and  forcing 
her  upon  the  wide  world  without  a  friend,  a  relation, 
or  a  home, — and  at  a  time  too  when  her  situation 

demanded   more  than  ordinary  tenderness  ! 

The  thought  was  too  dreadful  even  for  me  to  bear  i 


S6  ANASTASIUS. 

it  racked  me  to  the  soul ;  and  what  rendered  my 
remorse  doubly  pungent :  love  itself,  that  love  which 
I  had  thought  long  annihilated,  seemed  to  re-enter  at 
the  rents  torn  in  my  heart  by  pity.  A  thousand  ex- 
cellencies in  my  mistress,  before  unheeded,  now  flash- 
ed upon  my  mind.  From  the  embers  of  a  more  sen- 
sual flame  extinguished  almost  as  soon  as  raised,  now 
burst  forth  a  brighter  intellectual  blaze  never  be- 
fore experienced ;  as  from  a  body  in  dissolution 
arise  flames  of  pure  ethereal  fire. 

Sorrow,  self-reproach  and  uncertainty,  seemed 
for  a  while  to  deprive  me  of  all  power  of  exertion  ; 
but  the  moment  a  ray  of  hope  roused  me  from 
motionless  dismay  into  fresh  activity,  I  ran  frantic 
all  over  Smyrna  in  search  of  my  lost  mistress.  I 
abruptly  stopped  in  the  street  every  person  high  or 
low,  male  or  female,  whom  I  thought  likely  to  have 
witnessed  her  escape;  I  forcibly  invaded  every 
house  in  which  I  fancied  she  might  be  concealed. 
No  place  capable  of  harbouring  any  thing  in 
the  human  shape,  and  which  I  dared  investigate, 
did  I  leave  unexplored.  Of  the  individuals  as- 
sailed by  my  enquiries  some  laughed,  some  took 
offence,  some  reproached  me  for  my  inconsistency, 
and  some  supposed  me  to  be  a  maniac,  broke  loose 
from  his  confinement.     I  minded  not  their  surprise 


ANASTASIUS.  87 

or  their  scoffing,  but  continued  my  pursuit  while  I 
had  strength.  Alas !  I  continued  it  in  vain.  No 
Euphrosyne  could  I  find ! 

Reluctantly  I  now  again  turned  me  to  the  ab- 
horred Sophia,  to  assist  me  in  my  labour.  The 
wretch  had  not  only  deceived  me,  betrayed  Euphro- 
33016,  and,  by  divulging  all  she  ought  to  have  con- 
cealed, involved  the  one  in  ruin  and  the  other  in 
disgrace ;  she  had  even,  as  if  on  purpose  daily  to 
enjoy  the  shame  cast  on  Chrysopulo's  house,  hired 
a  lodging  directly  opposite  his  gate :  but  vast  fail- 
ings are  overlooked  in  those  whose  aid  we  want. 
I  hied  me  to  the  ex-suivante  full  of  conciliatory 
speeches  :  she  met  them  with  assurances  of  equal 
contrition,  and  expressed  so  much  regret  for  her 
indiscretion,  so  much  compassion  for  Euphrosyne, 
and  so  much  sympathy  with  me,  that,  in  view  of  the 
readiness  she  shewed  to  second  my  search,  all  was, 
or  appeared  to  be  forgiven.  We  shook  hands  ;  I 
made  fresh  promises,  and  Sophia  entered  upon 
fresh  services. 

My  resolution  this  time  was  formed,  and  will  be 
allowed  to  have  been  unexceptionable.  The  instant 
fortune  crowned  our  united  labours,  Euphrosjme  was 
to  receive  the  meed  of  her  long  sufferings ;  or  at  least 
the  offer  of  every  reparation  which  I  could  make  for 
my  manifold  offences.  Not  only  I  meant  immediately 


88  ANASTASIUS. 

to  proclaim  her  my  honored,  my  wedded,  my  in- 
separable wife :  but,  what  to  some  might  seem  more 
difficult  or  more  problematical,  I  intended  to  become 
myftelf  the  best  and  most  faithful  of  husbands. 

Fate  allowed  me  full  time  to  study  the  requisites  of 
that  new  character.  Our  twofold  search  did  not  turn 
out  more  successful  than  had  done  before  my  single- 
handed  endeavours :  by  no  means,  however,  for  want 
of  activity  in  Sophia.  Like  Satan  her  master,  she 
seemed  endowed  with  the  gift  of  ubiquity.  Not  a  day 
passed  that  she  did  not  come  to  me  with  a  long 
account  of  the  places  she  had  visited,  and  of  those 
she  meant  to  visit ;  of  the  hopes  she  had  been  dis- 
appointed of  in  one  quarter,  and  of  the  expectations 
she  entertained  in  another ;  of  her  glimpses  here 
and  of  her  surmises  there.  So  often  did  she  drag 
me  after  her  through  every  street  and  lane  of 
Smyrna,  that  my  friends  pretended  to  think  that  she 
had  herself  stepped  into  Euphrosyne's  place,  and 
when  the  city  had  been  ransacked  through  to  the 
last  garret  and  cellar,  we  extended  our  search  to 
every  village  and  hamlet  within  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
round. 

When  at  last  I  had  explored  every  district  within 
the  Mootsellimlik  of  Ismir,  until  I  no  longer 
could  think  of  any  place  unsearched,  and  found 
nothing  left  to   do  but  to  sit  down  in  contented 


ANASTASIUS.  89 

ignorance,  or  rather,  in  calm  despair,  there  flew 
in  at  my  open  window  one  evening  a  small  silken 
bag,  thrown  by  an  invisible  hand,  and  con- 
veying a  gold  ring.  It  was  one  which  I  had 
put  on  EupHrosyne's  finger,  immediately  after 
the  memorable  farewell  visit  of  her  kind-hearted 
friends,  and  ere  I  called  upon  my  companions 
to  claim  my  bets.  On  the  slip  of  paper  twined 
round  the  ring  were  written  the  following  words. 
"  Cease  a  pursuit,  as  vain  as  it  is  thankless :  nor 
seek  any  longer  to  disturb  the  peace  of  Euphrosyn^, 
now  cured  of  a  worthless  passion,  and  at  rest  in 
more  merciful  hands.  The  ring  you  once  gave  her 
in  proof  of  your  love,  reverts  to  you  in  sign  that 
she  never  more  can  accept  your  tardy,  your  una- 
vailing tenderness."" 

These  words,  evidently  written  by  the  same  hand 
which  had  originally  pointed  Euphrosyne  out  to  me 
as  a  desirable  conquest,  seemed  at  last  fully  to  ex- 
plain her  motives  for  leaving  me,  or  at  least  her 
conduct  since  her  disappearance.  Nothing  could 
be  clearer,  in  my  opinion,  than  that  the  artful 
schemer  who  had  first  instigated  me  to  seduce 
the  lovely  girl,  had  availed  himself  of  my  forced 
absence  from  home,  to  take  her  off  my  hands.  I 
had  been  a  mere  tool  to  some  more  designing 
member  of  the  nefarious  set. 


90  ANASTASIUS. 

It  might  however,  in  one  sense,  be  called  con- 
siderate, thus  at  last  to  relieve  me  from  all  further 
-anxiety  and  trouble ;  and  nothing  but  the  inherent 
perverseness  of  human  nature  could  have  changed, 
as  it  did,  the  cold  indifference  with  which  I  had 
treated  my  mistress,  while  she  depended  wholly 
upon  my  affection,  into  the  warmth  which  her 
image  re-kindled  in  my  heart,  the  moment  I  sup- 
posed her  comforted  by  another :  but  this  new  ardor, 
conceived  too  late,  I  kept  to  myself,  and  judging  that 
other  individual  now  preferred  to  be — though  un- 
known— frequently  in  my  company,  I  took  uncom- 
mon pains  to  evince  my  gratitude  for  his  proceedings. 
Lest  he  should  have  any  doubt  on  this  subject,  not 
a  day  passed  without  my  joining  some  festive 
party  in  excursions  to  Boornabad,  to  Sedi-Keui, 
and  other  places  ;  and  by  these  means  I  at  last  in 
reality  recovered  the  lightness  of  heart  which  I 
affected ;  and  that  to  such  a  degree,  as  almost  to 
grow  frightened  at  my  own  unusual  mirth,  and  to 
apprehend  it  might  forebode  some  new  impending 
calamity. 

An  excursion  had  often  been  projected,  and  as 
often  put  off,  to  a  village  a  few  miles  from  Smyrna, 
celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  its  situation.  At  last 
the  party  took  place.  We  were  sitting,  half  a 
dozen  thoughtless  souls,  under  the  cool  shade  of  a 


ANASTASIUS.  91 

locust  tree.  I  had  taken  up  a  lyre,  laid  down  by 
one  of  my  companions,  and  was  just  going  to  try 
my  long  neglected  skill  in  a  Greek  ballad  which  I 
used  to  sing  to  Helena,  when  a  peasant  brought  me 
a  note  of  a  suspicious  appearance. 

Determined  this  time  to  know  the  author  of  this 
single-handed  correspondence,  I  began  by  laying 
hold  of  its  conveyer.  The  messenger  seemed  the 
quintessence  of  stupidity :  my  catechising  could 
draw  nothing  from  him,  except  that  the  billet  had 
been  committed  to  his  care  three  miles  off  by  a  fe- 
male hidden  in  her  veil,  come  from  a  distance,  and 
who  immediately  again  took  herself  off.  All  that  the 
bearer  could  or  would  say  ending  there,  I  turned 
me  to  the  epistle. 

It  ran  thus  : 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  Greek  merchant  whose 
name  was  Sozimato  ?  Once  he  excelled  Chrysopulo 
himself  in  riches,  in  ambition,  and  in  sway ;  but  for- 
tune turned  fickle.  Chrysopulo  saw  new  thousands 
weigh  down  his  former  thousands,  and  Sozimato 
ended  a  bankrupt.  The  match  contracted  between 
Chrysopulo's  son  and  Sozimato's  daughter  now  of 
course  was  cancelled;  for  between  the  rich  and  the 
poor  no  engagement  could  subsist.  To  sharpen  the 
sting  of  the  insult,  the  humble  daughter  of  the  bank- 
rupt was  offered  a  servant's  place  in  Chrysopulo*s 


92  ANASTASIUS. 

family:  for  the  upstarts  exulted  in  treading  on  the 
neck  of  the  fallen !  The  offer  of  arrogance  was  howe- 
ver accepted,  and  the  taunts  of  insolence  borne.  A  fe- 
ver, it  was  supposed,  carried  off  Chrysopulo'*s  son; 
and  Euphrosyne, — a  distant  relation — became  the 
adopted  daughter.  She  too  was  rendered  the  victim 
of  just  revenge.  A  set  of  lawless  young  men  had  es- 
tablished a  society  for  the  purpose  of  ruining  the 
peace  of  sober  families.  One  member  of  this  noble 
fraternity  was  spoken  of  in  the  town  as  more  bold 
and  unprincipled  than  the  rest :  he  was  singled  out 
to  cast  dishonor  on  Chrysopulo's  house,  and  to  sow 
misery  among  its  members ;  and  at  last,  through 
his  instrumentality, — for  he  was  but  a  tool, — that 
Euphrosyne,  most  unjustly  aspersed  in  her  unsullied 
virtue,  became  the  kept  mistress  of  a  needy  adven- 
turer. Foul  disgrace,  conjured  up  from  all  quar- 
ters, thus  cast  its  cloud  over  Chrysopulo's  name." 

"  Here  the  work  of  vengeance  might  have  ended, 
had  not  the  adventurer  too  dared  to  treat  with  in- 
dignity the  daughter  of  Sozimato.  It  was  for  this 
she  joined  in  the  search  after  his  departed  mistress ; 
it  was  for  this  she  permitted  not  the  unfortunate  girl 
to  be  found :  it  was  for  this  she  prevented  her  from 
being  solaced  by  her  lover's  returning  tenderness, 
even  when  she  lay  totally  destitute,  in  a  miserable 
garret,  at  the  last  period  of  her  labour  ;  and  it  was 


ANASTASIUS.  93 

for  this  finally  that  she  prepared  the  infidel  wretch 
a  world  of  endless  pangs,  by  plying  his  hapless  mis- 
tress with  false  accounts  of  his  unrelenting  barbarity, 
unto  the  last  day  of  her  existence.  !"" 

^'  Great,  no  doubt,  were  the  difficulties  in  pre- 
venting a  meeting  between  the  repentant  sinner 
and  his  innocent  victim.  One  day  he  penetrated 
into  the  very  abode,  where  she  lay  writhing  under 
every  agony  of  body  and  of  mind.  A  ragged  cur- 
tain alone  kept  her  from  his  sight,  and  a  single  cry 
unstifled  must  have  thrown  him  in  her  arms  ! 
Watchfulness  however  triumphed :  the  adventurer 
turned  back  in  ignorance ;  and  his  Euphrosyne  saw 
him  no  more.  She  was  delivered,  unaided  by  any  one 
but  the  person  who  had  served,  had  sold  her,  and  now 
was  striving  that  she  might  be  sainted.  Yet  did  the 
angel  try  to  do  what  she  could  for  Selim's  child :  see- 
ing it  ready  to  perish  for  want  of  sustenance,  she 
resolved  to  save  her  infant's  life,  by  compleating  her 
own  shame.  Ere  however  the  sacrifice  could  be  ac- 
complished, she  expired ; — expired  among  strangers, 
pronouncing  Selim's  name!  The  more  merciful 
hands  in  which  this  miserable  man  was  informed  she 
was  at  rest,  were  those  of  her  Maker  :  the  ring  he  re- 
ceived had  been  taken  from  her  cold  corpse ;  and 
the  sole  worker  of  all  this  woe,  I  scarcely  need  add, 
was  the  injured  and  now  satisfied  Sophia.'' 


94  ANASTASIUS. 

I  do  not  know  how  I  was  able  to  read  this  letter 
calmly  to  the  end,  except  from  a  sort  of  stupor, 
which  for  a  moment  kept  all  my  faculties,  save  that 
of  mere  perception,  suspended !  The  first  word 
however  which  one  of  our  party  uttered,  broke  the 
fascination,  set  loose  my  entranced  senses,  and -with 
them  all  the  daemons  of  hell  which  had  been  ga- 
thering all  the  while  in  my  bosom.  What  species  of 
violence  I  committed  in  breaking  away  from  the 
convivial  scene  to  pursue  the  detestable  Sophia,  is 
wholly  beyond  my  knowledge.  I  neither  saw,  nor 
heard,  nor  thought,  until  I  reached  Smyrna. 

Sophia  knew  me  too  well  to  wait  my  return.  Ere 
I  received  her  note,  she  had  left  that  place  for  ever : 
nor  could  I  trace  her  flight.  It  was  only  some  time 
after,  when,  hopeless  of  discovering  her  abode  I 
had  committed  to  heaven  the  care  of  her  punish- 
ment, that  in  the  least  hkely  of  places  I  met  the 
fury.  She  again  tried  to  avoid  me, — again  com- 
menced the  race  of  conscious  guilt :  but  this  time 
to  no  purpose.  Her  crime  was  one  of  those,  which, 
more  atrocious  than  many  that  call  forth  the  ut- 
most rigour  of  justice,  yet  deride  its  Hmited  power. 
I  therefore  took  into  my  own  hands  the  punish- 
ment of  so  dire  an  offender :  nor  did  that  circum- 
stance render  her  chastisement  more  lenient. 

This  unlooked-for  event  seemed  somewhat  to 


ANASTASIUS.  95 

refresh  me.  For  a  time  I  felt  the  thirst  of  my  soul 
assuaged,  the  raging  fever  of  my  blood  allayed :  but 
the  cessation  of  pain  was  only  transient :  the  image 
of  Euphrosyne  expiring  on  a  bed  of  wretchedness, 
and  in  the  belief  that  I  was  hailing  the  hour  of  her 
final  departure  with  songs  of  cruel  joy,  when  I 
would  have  given  my  own  Hfe  to  have  found  the 
poor  sufferer,  to  have  taken  her  back  to  my  now 
softened  bosom,  and  there  to  have  cherished  her  to 
the  end  of  her  happier  days,  soon  began  to  haunt 
me  incessantly;  and  too  truly  I  found  that  the 
fury  Sophia  had  succeeded  in  insinuating  into  my 
contrite  heart  a  canker,  which  I  was  destined  to 
carry  alive  to  the  grave  ! 


96  ANASTASIUS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  painful  chapter  is  concluded :  that  chapter  to 
which  I  looked  forward  with  dismay  ;  and  which  I 
hurrried  over  with  shame  and  sorrow.  Frequently 
during  the  dreary  course  of  the  last  pages  has  my 
hand  felt  as  if  arrested,  and  my  pen  ready  to  drop 
from  my  fingers  :  but  I  wished  to  offer  in  the  faith- 
ful narrative  of  my  injustice,  the  only  sacrifice  in 
my  power  to  the  memory  of  my  Euphrosyne  ;  and 
having  performed  this  severe  but  wholesome  pe- 
nance, I  seem  to  breathe  somewhat  more  freely,  and 
to  proceed  on  the  sequel  of  my  narrative  with  less 
reluctance.  Too  forcibly  however  do  I  feel  that 
the  film  which  obscured  my  judgment  during  the 
sad  events  of  which  I  have  made  a  full  confession, 
will  be  admitted  with  the  unimpassioned  reader  as 
a  feeble  paUiation  only  of  my  offences :  nay,  that 
even  my  bitter  repentance  itself  will  scarcely  pre- 
veiit    such    an    abhorrence    of  my  fault   to    take 


ANASTASIUS.  97 

possession  of  his  mind,  as  must  pursue  me  with  its 
blasting  influence  to  the  end  of  ray  tale. 

After  learning  the  fate  of  my  unfortunate  mis- 
tress, there  still  remained  one  other  task  of  fearful 
anxiety  to  be  performed  ;  namely,  to  ascertain  that 
of  my  no  less  pitiable  child.  I  knew  not  whether 
the  babe  had  followed  its  mother  to  the  grave,  or  was 
still  alive  to  share  its  father's  misery  :  but  no  Sophia 
any  longer  intervening  between  me  and  the  object 
of  my  search,  it  was  soon  successful.  I  discover- 
ed the  poor  people  under  whose  humble  roof  my 
Euphrosyn^  had  breathed  her  last :  I  found  in 
their  arms  a  lovely  infant,  depending  on  charity  for 
its  support,  and  learnt  that  the  smiling  babe  was 
my  own.  External  proof  was  not  requisite  to  con- 
firm the  assertions  of  its  fosterfather :  too  brightly 
shone  in  the  cherub's  eye  the  heaven  of  its  mo- 
ther's looks ;—  that  heaven  in  which,  but  for  my  own 
waywardness,  I  might  have  lived  for  ever  blessed. 
Alexis  had  her  radiant  brow,  her  pouting  playful 
Up,  her  dimpled  chin.  The  very  rag  which  enve- 
loped the  poor  infant  was  a  relic  of  Euphrosyn(^\s 
last  earthly  vestment :  once,  in  her  days  of  splen- 
dor, a  rich  tissue  of  purple  and  gold  ;— now  so  tar- 
nished, so  stripped  of  its  original  lustre,  that  it 
seemed  to  have  continued  to  the  last  the  faithful 
emblem  of  her,  whose  graceful  limbs  it  had  encir- 
cled until  they  waxed  cold  in  death. 

VOL  III.  H 


98  ANASTASIUS. 

I  pressed  my  child  to  my  bosom,  to  my  lips,  to 
my  eyes.  Hurt  by  the  roughness  of  my  face,  per- 
haps annoyed  by  the  copious  flowing  of  my  tears, 
the  poor  babe  began  to  cry.  So  full  of  terror  were 
its  looks,  one  might  have  fancied  it  had  recognised 
its  father :  I  therefore  reluctantly  laid  it  down 
again  and  discontinued  my  endearments  :  but  fear- 
ful lest  gratuitous  care  might  have  less  merit  in  the 
execution  than  it  had  in  the  design,  I  told  the  poor 
people  I  should  rid  them  of  the  burthen,  and  take 
my  child  away.  They  turned  pale  at  the  intelli- 
gence, and,  though  rewarded  to  the  full  extent  of 
my  scanty  means,  wept  on  resigning  my  Alexis  into 
other  hands.  What  little  sum  I  was  able  to  raise 
by  the  sale  of  my  remaining  trinkets,  I  deposited 
for  his  maintenance  with  the  most  trustworthy  peo- 
ple I  could  find :  and  then  began  to  consider  how  I 
should  live  myself.  The  Turkish  law,  it  is  true, 
grants  not  to  the  disappointed  creditor  the  vin- 
dictive pleasure  of  shutting  up  for  life  his  disabled 
debtor,  nor  punishes  the  man  who  has  got  into 
debt,  by  preventing  him  from  ever  getting  out 
again  ;  but  still  in  Turkey,  as  elsewhere,  one  may 
starve  even  out  o'f  gaol. 

There  were  some  who  would  have  had  me  in- 
form my  friend  Spiridion  of  my  distress:  but  I 
cjould  not  bear  to  ask  a  favor  of  one  to  whom  I 
could  make   no  return.      "  Far  better  was  it,** 


iVNASTASIUS.  99 

thought  I,  ^^  to  be  indebted  for  my  subsistence  to 
my  own  bravery,  than  to  the  reluctant  compassion 
of  others.     Weary   of  hfe,   and  anxious  only  to 
banish  reflection,  I  meditated  joining  some  of  those 
bold  fellows  who,  having  occupied  an  abandoned 
district,  imitate  greater  states,  and   very  fairly  tax 
the    traveller    for    trespassing   on    their    domain. 
Theirs  was   the  employment— doubtless  noble  in 
itself — of  transferring  to  the  needy  the  superfluities 
of  the  affluent ;  and  who  could  plead  more  pinch- 
ing wants  than  a  father  burthened  with  the  neces* 
sities  of  a  motherless  babe,  and  forced  to  fight  for 
subsistance,  or  to  see  his  infant  starve !     Nor  in 
Turkey  did  the  profession  of  a  bandit  lack  its  re- 
spectability.    A  high  minded  man  might  embrace 
the  career  of  the  haidoot  without  blushing.     While 
most  busily  employed  in  reaping  its  benefits,  he  still 
recognised  certain  principles  of  honor ;  and  when 
tired  of  its  perils, — if  fortunate  enough  never  to 
have  been  caught  in  the  fact — nothing  prevented 
his  laying  down  his  dangerous  trade  unmolested, 
boasting  of  his  past  exploits,  and  seeking  some  safer 
and  less  precarious  employment,  on  a  par  with  such 
among  his  fellow  citizens  as  had,  in  the  capacity  of 
magistrates  or  rulers,  pursued  the  same  profession 
more  unostentatiously.  Sick  at  heart  and  ruined  in 


100  ANASTASIUS. 

purse,  I  saw  in  a  roober's  life  the  only  remedy 
for  both  diseases.  Besides,  the  scheme,  if  wel! 
managed,  might  be  rendered  preparatory  to  ano- 
ther, which  I  had  secretly  cherished  ever  since  the 
commencement  of  my  embarrassments.  At  Bagdad 
was  seated  on  the  throne  of  the  ancient  Kaliplis,  a 
Pasha  more  resembling  an  independant  sovereign 
than  a  Sultan's  representative.  Himself  the  dis- 
poser of  sundry  lesser  Pashaliks,  his  wide  domain 
and  constant  warfare  with  his  manifold  neighbours 
offered  to  the  soldier  of  fortune  a  fertile  field  for 
promotion.  I  wished  to  try  his  service.  Some  of 
the  principal  troops  of  banditti  that  grace  the  Turk- 
ish empire,  lined  the  various  roads  to  his  capital; 
and  I  might,  in  my  way  to  that  new  theatre  of  my 
ambition,  either  occasionally  join  their  numerous 
marauding  parties,  or  sportsman-like,  take  my  gun, 
and  singly  arrest  the  flight  of  some  passsing  travel- 
ler, to  while  away  my  time,  or  supply  my  necessities 
during  the  tedious  journey. 

Nobler  game,  however,  was  for  a  moment  near 
attracting  me  to  more  distant  realms,  where  rulers 
themselves  were  despoiled,  and  kings  hunted  down. 
An  Italian  had  dropped  as  if  from  the  clouds  at 
Smyrna,  who  in  appearance  only  wooed  the  Muses, 
but  in  reahty  belonged  to  the  sect  of  political  propa- 


ANASTASIUS.  101 

gandists,  about  that  time  disseminated  all  the  world 
over,  to  preach  emancipation  from  every  bondage, 
natural,  civil,  and  religious.  The  disturbance  of 
my  mind  and  the  distress  of  my  situation  could  not 
remain  long  concealed  from  the  keen-eyed  improvi- 
satore,  and  he  resolved  to  make  them  subservient 
to  his  secret  purposes. 

"  Listen,'"'  would  he  say  in  a  prophetic  tone  : 
"  The  time  is  at  hand  when  all  the  tottering  monu- 
ments of  ignorance,  credulity,  and  superstition,  no 
longer  protected  by  the  foolish  awe  they  formerly 
inspired,  shall  strew  the  earth  with  their  wrecks. 
Every  where  the  young  shoots  of  reason  and  liberty, 
starling  from  between  the  rents  and  crevices  of  the 
worn-out  fabrics  of  feudalism,  are  becoming  too 
vigorous  any  longer  to  be  checked:  they  soon  will 
burst  asunder  the  baseless  edifices  of  self-interest 
and  prejudice,  which  have  so  long  impeded  their 
growth.  Religious  inquisition,  judicial  torture,  mo- 
nastic seclusion,  tyranny,  oppression,  fanaticism,  and 
all  the  other  relics  of  barbarism  are  to  be  driven 
from  the  globe.  Total  annihilation  awaits  the  whole 
code  of  hereditary  rights,  exclusive  privileges,  and 
mortifying  distinctions,  only  derived  by  men  born 
equal,  from  mouldering  ancestors  and  musty  parch- 
ments.    Soon  shall  armorial  bearings,  empty  titles, 


102  ANASTASIUS. 

and  frivolous  orders  cease  to  insult  man's  under- 
standing.    Whatever  appeared  great  only  through 
the  mist  of  error ;  whatever  was   magnified  into 
importance  only  through  the  medium  of  prejudice, 
shall  have  its  deceitful  size  detected  by  the  torch  of 
reason,  and  shall  then  be  hurled  back  into  its  pris- 
tine insignificance.     Sceptered  imbecility,  nodding 
on  its  crazy  thrones,  shall  ere  long  be  laid  prostrate 
in  the  dust ;  and  subjects,  making  sovereigns  their 
footstools,  shall  assert  man' s  primeval  equality,  by 
mounting  upon  their  tyrants'  necks  into  their  tyrants' 
places.     Already  does  in  more  than  one  realm  the 
hallowed  work  of  regeneration  advance  with  rapid 
strides :  already  throughout  Gallia  streams  day  and 
night  the  blood  of  victims  :  already  dungeons  forced 
open,  castles  levelled  with  the  ground,  and  feudal 
records  committed  to  the  flames,  mark  the  approach 
of  a  happier  era;  while  one  monarch  shot  in  the 
midst  of  his  court,  and  another  dragged  to  the  scaf- 
fold by  his  own  subjects,  are  but  the  first  fruits  of- 
fered up  at  the  new-raised  shrine  of  liberty,  whose 
temple  must  some  day  encompass  the  whole  universe. 
You  then,  who  here  pine  in  inglorious  sloth,  drive 
away  the  tedium  which  oppresses  your  spirits,  by 
joining  the   noble  cause.      Enlist  among  the  up- 
rising liberators  of  mankind.     Leave  this  worn  out 


ANASTASIUS.  103 

empire  of  despotism  and  slavery,  this  den  of  tigers 
doomed  to  speedy  destruction,  and  seek  on  the  yel- 
low banks  of  the  Seine  the  blessed  dawn  of  a  fast 
spreading  revolution.  Hasten  to  that  busy  capital 
of  all  nations,  where,  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe 
flock  the  lovers  of  hberty,  and  the  haters  of  kings; 
and  meet  with  welcome  and  with  denizenship  all 
that  yearn  to  establish  sword  in  hand  more  hberal 
opinions.  Your  part  on  this  grand  theatre  already 
is  marked  out  for  you.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to 
present  yourself  in  the  august  assembly  of  the 
great  nation,  as  the  representative  of  oppressed  and 
mourning  Greece.  Be  the  eloquent,  the  pathetic 
organ  of  its  ardent  wish  to  share  in  the  benefits 
which  France  confers  on  the  world.  Tell  of  the 
myriads  that  to  her  lift  their  imploring  hands. 
Your  person  is  shewy,  your  lungs  are  potent,  your 
speech  untramelled  by  troublesome  timidity,  and 
with  a  dress  designed  by  the  painter  David  (I  would 
advise  a  Grecian  tunic)  and  a  few  attitudes  of  uncon- 
trollable emotion,  imitated  from  the  sublime  Talma, 
it  will  be  your  own  fault  if,  in  the  convention,  you 
are  not  hailed  as  the  worthy  descendant  of  Harmo- 
odius  and  Aristogiton  !" 

This  rhapsody  made  me  laugh;  but  I  thought 
the  subject  serious.  In  the  midst  of  all  my  grief,  it 
iiterested  my  vanity,  and  I  enquired  the  shortest 


104  ANASTASIUS. 

way  to  Paris.  We  agreed  that  as  soon  as  arrived 
on  European  ground,  Cirico  (the  poet)  should  in 
view  of  his  superior  local  knowledge  act  as  my  avcmt 
courier.  Unfortunately  his  impatience  marred 
the  project.  Desirous  of  giving  a  specimen  of  his 
talent,  he  improvised  himself  away  from  Smyrna  .ere 
I  had  the  least  intimation  of  his  departure.  In  his 
hurry,  he  left  his  bill  unpaid,  and  to«:)k  away  his 
landlord's  silver  spoons.  This  mistake  cast  a  shade 
upon  his  doctrine.  I  bade  mourning  Greece  wipe 
away  her  tears  without  me,  and,  instead  of  journey- 
ing in  behalf  of  universal  liberty  to  Paris,  resumed 
the  plan  of  my  predatory  expedition  to  Bagdad. 

In  conformity  to  the  nature  of  my  views,  I  set 
out  lightly  provisioned  but  heavily  armed,  and  the 
first  stage  of  my  journey  witnessed  the  first  trial  of 
my  skill.  At  a  hamlet  where  travellers  sometimes 
stop  to  refresh,  a  caravan  of  Franks  was  waiting  for 
the  cool  of  the  evening  to  proceed  in  greater  comfort. 
Only  come  from  Sedi-Keui,  and  only  intending 
to  visit  Ephesus— or  rather  the  spot  once  adorned 
by  that  city  —  these  dilettanti  in  ruins  had  pro- 
vided no  guard.  1  proposed  to  two  or  three  loiterers 
whom  I  picked  up  by  the  way  to  teach  them  more 
prudence.  Neither  I  nor  they,  we  agreed,  would 
commit  a  serious  robber}',  but  this  was  only  a  frolic ; 
and  we  swore  to  each  other  faithfully  to  restore  what 


ANASTASIUS.  105 

we  took,  unless  we  thought  it  very  particularly 
worth  keeping. 

A  little  circuit  and  a  quicker  pace  brought  us 
first  to  a  defile,  which,  very  soon  after,  and  just  at 
dusk,  our  travellers  al^^o  entered.  Their  attendants 
were  suffered  to  pass  on ;  but  we  could  not  help 
interrupting  a  very  earnest  discussion  in  which  the 
two  principal  personages,  lagging  behind  a  few  paces, 
were  engaged  :  —  it  was  only  for  the  purpose  of 
demanding  their  money.  The  request  they  readily 
enough  complied  with  ;  and  to  his  purse,  the  elder 
of  the  two,  in  the  excess  of  his  liberality,  moreover 
added  a  ver)'  appropriate  lecture. 

But  for  this  circumstance,  the  orator's  somewhat 
singular  travelling  garb  would  eternally  have  kept 
concealed  from  my  knowledge  that  I  had  ^he  honor 

of  stripping  the  Baron  H ,  Swedish  Coi;sul.ge- 

neral  at  Smyrna,  and  my  own  very  worthy  acquaint- 
ance. Residing  in  the  season  at  Sedi-Keui.  he  had 
insisted  on  accompanying  his  young  friend  •  an 
Eastern  tourist — on  this  antiquarian  excursion  ;  and 
I  was  the  first  object,  not  quite  two  thousand 
years  old.  which  I  sui){;ose  had  engaged  their  atten- 
tion. It  was  impossible  to  keep  the  money  of  a 
man  whose  good  fare  I  had  more  than  once  enjoyed; 
wherefore,   falling   at  the  Consul's  feet :    "  Take 


106  ANASTASIUS. 

back  your  purse  I"  cried  I ;  "it  would  bring  me 
ill  fortune ;  and  I  have  had  enough  already !" 

At  these  words  H stared  on  me  in  mute 

astonishment,  until,  convinced  that  his  senses  did 
not  deceive  him,  he  at  last  exclaimed  with  a  loud 
groan,  "  Selim  Aga,  for  heavens  sake  is  it  you  ?""* 
"  It  is,''  answered  I. 

"  And  what,"  resumed  the  Consul,  "  can  have 
brought  you  to  this  ?*" 

I  blushed  ;  and  seeing  my  companions  had  cho- 
sen to  decamp  during  the  parley,  "  We  are  alone,''* 
said  I,  "  let  me  go  on  with  you  to  your  next  halt- 
ing-place, and  there  you  shall  hear  all." 

The  proposal  was  accepted,  and  the  stage  achieved 
in  five  or  six  hours, — for  my  travellers  never  went 
out  of  a  foot-pace.  By  a  little  brook,  under  the 
already  acceptable  shade  of  a  plane  tree,  we  sat 
down  an  hour  after  sun-rise,  and  I  told  a  not  very 
exhilarating  story.  At  its  conclusion  the  Consul 
was  again  entreated  by  me  to  take  back  his  purse; 
but  this  he  would  not  hear  of  He  had  not  much 
liked,  he  owned,  to  have  it  forcibly  taken  from 
him ;  but  he  now  earnestly  begged  I  might  think 
it  worthy  my  acceptance. 

"  To  what  purpose  .?"  exclaimed  I : — "  my  object 
was  to  try  my  hand  at  a  highway  robbery,  more  for 


ANASTASIUS.  107 

the  sake  of  the  act  than  the  plunder.     The  things 
which  money  may  purchase  I  can  no  longer  prize. 
Life  to  me  has  lost  its  sweets !'' 
**  Subdue  your  passions,  young  man  ;"  answered 

H ,  "  it  is  to  them  yOu  owe  all  your  misery. 

"  Alas !""  was  my  reply,  '•'  what  am  I  to  believe? 
Do  not  philosophers  maintain  that  the  passions  are 
the  only  road  to  knowledge,  to  power  and  to  virtue  ? 
that  the  inert  being  who  never  has  felt  their  in- 
fluence on  his  own  mind,  knows  not  how  to  guide 
the  will  of  others,  sees  man  as  a  machine  wliose 
movements  baffle  his  skill,  constantly  miscalculates 
the  conduct  of  his  fellow  creatures,  and,  only  at- 
tempting to  move  men  like  blocks,  by  force,  must 
'  find  a  resistance  which  mocks  his   merely  physi- 
cal impulse.     Without  the  passion  of  love  would 
women  encounter   the  pangs  which  preserve  our 
species  on   the  globe?   without   that  of  ambition 
would  man  endure  the  toil  of  maintaining  order, 
through  means  of  a  well  conducted  government, 
among  his  headstrong  fellow-creatures?  Is  it  not  the 
passion  of  avarice  alone  that  brings  in  contact,  for 
universal  benefit,  the  industry  and  the  produce  of 
the  most   distant   countries ;    and   what  but   the 
passion  for  fame  makes  man  risk  health,  fortune, 
nay  life  itself,  for  the  advantages,  perhaps  the  amuse- 
ment, of  generations  yet  unborn  ?  Like  the  heat  of 


108  ANASTASIUS. 

the  sun,  that  of  the  passions  may  strengthen  a  few 
poisons,  but  alone  it  brings  forth  all  the  sweets  and 
healthful  plants  of  the  creation." 

H shook  his  head.     '^  It  is  feeling,"  said  he, 

"  which,  like  the  sun's  genial  warmth,  ripens  each 
fairest  fruit.  Passions,  like  a  scorching  blaze,  only 
burn  them  to  ashes.  Would  you  behold  the 
effects  of  the  former ;  look  at  my  young  friend 
here.  Calm,  healthful  and  blooming,  he  is  the  bee 
that  sucks  the  flowers  of  every  clime,  some  day  to 
add  their  honey  to  the  stores  of  his  grateful  coun- 
trymen. Would  you  know  the  consequence  of  the 
latter  ;  look  in  the  brook  beside  you." 

I  advanced  my  head  over  the  glassy  pool :  but 
from  its  deep  bosom  up  rose  to  meet  my  searching 
eye,  a  countenance  so  pale  and  ghastly — a  cheek  so 
wan  and  so  feverish,  that  I  started  back  with  horror. 
I  felt  the  reproof,  bowed  assent,  and  said  no  more. 

To  his  purse,  which  H positively  refused  to 

take  back,  but  allowed  me,  if  I  liked,  to  keep  only 
as  a  loan,  his  companion,  rich  as  well  as  romantic, 
now  insisted  on  adding  his  mite.  He  tore  a  leaf 
out  of  his  pocket-book,  and  with  the  pen  and  ink 
which  he  carried  in  a  case  about  him,  wrote  a  draft 
on  a  banker  at  Haleb,to  whom  he  was  already  known. 
This  order  he  made  me  promise  solemnly  to  present. 

Greatly  could  I  have  wished  to  devote  to  the 


ANASTASIUS.  109 

new  friends  thus  strangely  made,  the  time  which 
they  meant  to  stay  at  Ephesus :  but  I  feared  lest  my 
presence  might  be  a  restraint  upon  the  freedom  of 
their  rambles,  and  when  Ayasolook  rose  in  sight, 
with  its  Moorish  mosque  and  its  citadel,  I  blessed 
them,  kissed  the  hand  of  the  elder,  embraced  the 
younger,  and  went  my  lonely  \\ay. 

As  nothing  happened  in  the  sequel  of  my  journey 
to  answer  the  promises  of  the  beginning,— as  I 
stopped  no  more  travellers  on  the  road,  nor  received 
no  more  purses,  I  shall  be  brief.  Alternately  push- 
ing on  by  land  or  by  sea,  according  as.  opportuni- 
ties offered,  I  found  the  one  irksome  and  the  other 
tedious.  A  Turkish  vesssel  conveyed  me  to  Scan- 
deroon.  The  cabin  had  been  hired  for  a  wealthy 
merchant's  harem.  Nothmg  so  little  seen  except 
thunder  ever  made  so  much  noise.  On  the  least 
motion  of  the  ship,  all  the  women  used  to  abuse  the 
captain.  The  only  instrument  capable  of  restoring 
them  to  order  was  the  husband's  pipe  stick  :  indeed 
it  was  much  oftener  applied  to  his  wives"*  backs  than 
to  his  own  lips ;  and  the  whole  of  this  good  gen- 
tleman's active  life  seemed  to  be  divided,  letween  a 
puff  and  a  blow. 

The  very  day  I  landed  at  Scanderoon  I  proceed- 
ed on  to  Bailan,  there  to  wait  in  a  purer  air  a  cara- 
van of  Armenian  merchants.  On  the  arrival  of  the 
good  folks  I  thought  I  beheld,  instead  of  the  most 


110  ANASTASIUS. 

pacific  people  on  earth,  a  troop  of  Tartars,  only 
breathing  war  and  blood-shed.  Each  man  looked 
like  a  walking  armoury,  stuck  all  round  with  every 
species  of  offensive  weapon.  In  confidence,  how- 
ever, they  soon  desired  me  not  to  be  alarmed : 
*'  they  made  it  a  rule,"  they  said,  "  never  to  use 
the  arms  they  carried."" 

Of  this  circumstance  a  detachment  of  Coordish 
horsemen^  which  we  met  on  the  road  seemed  per- 
fectly aware.  Though  not  quite  half  our  number, 
they  no  sooner  saw  us  approach,  than  they  drew 
their  sabres,  flung  a  sheep-skin  across  the  path,  and 
civilly  desired  each  of  us  to  drop  into  it  as  we  passed 
the  sum  of  five  piastres.  I  took  the  liberty  of 
expostulating:  but  my  friends  were  so  averse  to 
acts  of  violence  and  so  anxious  for  the  honor  of  pay- 
ing my  share  of  the  contribution,  that  I  could  not, 
either  in  conscience  or  good  breeding,  deny  them 
that  pleasure.  Notwithstanding  these  little  ren- 
contres might  lead  to  a  contrary  conclusion,  there 
are  guards  stationed  in  the  narrow  passages  of  the 
mountains,  to  protect  the  travellers,  and  to  awe  the 
banditti ;  but  they  constantly  make  mistakes,  and 
inform  the  Coords  of  the  approaching  traveller, 
instead  of  warning  the  traveller  of  the  neighbouring 
Coords. 

The  fourth  and  last  night  of  our  journey  we 
stopped  at  Martahwan ;  a  village  of  Ansarieh's,*  of 


ANASTASIUS.  Ill 

pleasurable  notoriety  among  the  Halebines.  The 
owner  of  the  hovel  marked  out  for  my  lodging, 
however,  seemed  ill  provided  :  but  the  piteous  man- 
ner in  which  he  apologised  for  the  poorness  of  the  en- 
tertainment, by  informing  me  that  his  wife  was  dead, 
his  daughter  an  infant,  and  his  mother  a  decrepit 
old  woman,  made  me  hasten  to  relieve  his  mind,  by 
stating  that  a  mouthful  of  rice,  and  a  corner  to 
lie  down  in,  were  all  the  comforts  I  aspired  at. 
As  to  the  conductor  of  our  caravan,  whose  whole 
life  was  spent  in  travelling  backward  and  forward 
between  Haleb  and  Scanderoon,  he  liad  wisely 
contrived  that  his  conveniences  should  not  depend, 
like  those  of  its  other  ever  changing  members,  on 
the  chances  of  the  road.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
utmost  latitude  of  the  Mohammedan  law,  he  had 
not  only  provided  himself  with  four  wives,  but  had 
distributed  these  so  judiciously  between  the  four 
stations  of  the  journey,  that,  though  every  night 
on  the  road,  he  every  night  slept  at  home. 

At  Haleb  I  failed  not  to  go— lest  I  might  seem 
forgetful  of  the  kindness  shewn  me — to  the  sub- 
urb of  Djedaide,  and  there  to  present  the  draft, 
given  me  by  the  young  traveller  for  my  trouble  in 
waylaying  him.  It  was  addressed  to  an  old  Pro- 
ven9al  merchant :  a  sort  of  humourist,  who  always 
appeared  in  a  rage,  never  agreed  with  any  body, 
contradicted  himself  when  he  found  no  one  else  to 


112  ANASTASIUS. 

contradict,  and,  if  a  stranger  to  his  whims  incau« 
tiously  fell  into  his  opinion,  took  it  as  an  affront, 
and  demanded  explanation.  On  my  handing  him 
the  check,  he  alternately  looked  at  the  bill  and  at 
me,  and  seemed  to  wonder  how  the  two  came  toge- 
ther. This  I  explained  to  a  certain  degree,  and 
thereupon  he  readily  paid  me,  launching  out  into 
long  praises  of  our  common  friend,  "  who,""  he  said, 
^'  was  a  3  outh  capable  of  teaching  many  old  ones.*" 
I  observed,  that  to  me  he  had  seemed  quite  the  child 
of  nature  ;  but  here  I  found  1  had  got  on  the  wrong 
scent.  "  Child  of  nature  !"  cried  the  Provencal,  "no 
more  than  you,  or  I,  or  pickled  olives.  If  he  were,  I 
should  expect  to  be  devoured  by  him.  The  human 
beings  that  are  nearest  to  nature  eat  their  enemies,, 
make  love  to  their  mistresses  by  felling  them  to  the 
ground  with  a  club,  beat  out  their  wives'  brains  when 
they  get  tired  of  their  persons,  and  inter  with  the 
dead  mothers  their  living  babes.  Except  such 
monsters  as  these,  all  our  fellow  creatures  are  in 
different  degrees  the  children  of  art ;  the  Indian  and 
the  Arab,  as  well  as  the  European  and  the  Chinese  : 
for  with  reason  begins  art ;  and  the  first  man  who 
made  use  of  the  reasoning  faculty — if  it  were  only 
to  scoop  out  a  drinking  bowl,  or  the  point  of  a  fish- 
ing hook — for  ever  took  leave  of  simple  nature ; 
and  did  very  wisely  !" 

After  this  tirade,  the  worthy  gentleman,  mviting 


ANASTASIUS.  US 

me  to  be  seated,  informed  me  that  finding  little  of 
the  resource  of  conversation  at  Aleppo,  where  the 
natives  were,  to  use  his  own  words,  naturellement 
betes,  and  his  own  countrymen  passablement  ani- 
maux,  he  had  addicted  himself  to  philosophy  a 
corps  perdu:— am  expression  perhaps  not  wholly 
applicable,  as  I  found  him  on  the  contrary  to  be  of 
the  sect  who,  only  seeking  the  useful,  never  by 
any  chance  lose  sight  of  the  body,  and  only  esti- 
mate things  according  as  they  can  be  eaten  or  drank, 
"  In  fact,  fragrant  odors,  delicious  music,  beautiful 
gardens  and  such  like,*"  my  friend  observed,  "  lose 
all  their  merit  the  moment  one  becomes  deaf,  or 
blind,  or  afflicted  with  a  cold  in  the  head  !"  He 
therefore — only  esteeming  le  solide, — held  them  in 
great  contempt,  as  totally  unphilosophical ;  and, 
whenever  they  were  praised  in  his  hearing,  used 
shrewdly  to  ask :  "  a  qiu)i  6on  tout  cela  9 

Meanwhile,  dinner  being  announced,  he  jumped 
up,  and  cried  out  with  exceeding  glee ;  "  allons-^, 
car  il  est  tres  pliilosophiqu£  de  manger  :'"  a  truth  to 
which  I  so  fully  assented  that  I  was  invited  to  take 
my  share,  and  for  once  had  an  opportunity  of  be- 
holding a  sage  truly  intent  upon  putting  his  doc- 
trine in  practice.  Indeed  he  did  this  to  such  a 
degree  as  almost  to  overshoot  the  mark,  and  to 
exceed  the  limits  of  utility ;  for,  though  at  every 

VOL.  m.  I 


114  ANASTASIUS. 

one  of  the  good  dishes  which  a  well  trained  confi- 
dential servant  successively  enumerated  in  a  loud 
voice,  he  emphatically  exclaimed,  "  Eh  mon  JJieUy 
qu'est-ce  que  cela  me  fait  9"^  yet,  being  wholly  ab- 
sorbed in  the  eloquent  invective  this  gave  rise  to 
against  the  pernicious  art  of  cookery,  he  wen|  on 
practically  evincing   its  dangers,  until  I  feared  his 
philosophy  might  end  fatally,  and  was  going  to  im- 
part my  apprehension  to  his  servant,— when  luckily 
the  same  idea  struck  this  faithful  domestic.    He 
whispered  something  in  his  master's  ear ;  who,  here- 
upon reddened,  and  turning  round  to  me,  said,  "  Je 
Jms  si  peu  attention  a  ce  que  je  mangCy  que  je 
suis  siijet  a  mouhlier,  et  a  ne  pas  discontinuer  jus^ 
qu'd  ce  qu"  on  nCavertisse :"  in  order  to  ensure  the 
performance  of  which  necessary  office,  the  prudent 
Proven9al   had   with  infinite   forecast  granted  his 
trusty  attendant  a  considerable  annuity ;— but  upon 
his  own  more  philosophic  life. 

Dinner,  desert,  coffee  and  liqueurs  being  over,  I 
thanked  my  host  for  his  entertainment  and  took  my 
leave.  "  Ah  !"  exclaimed  he,  "  why  must  I  remain 
here  to  look  after  pistachios  and  tobacco,  while  you 
are  going  to  behold  the  august  site  of  ancient  Baby- 
lon ;  that  cradle  of  wisdom,  that  fountain  head  of 
gnosticism,  which  let  man  into  all  the  secrets  of  the 
Divine  emanation,  and  into  all  the  mysteries  of  the 


ANASTASIUS.  U5 

universal  soul !  No  doubt  you  will  tread  with 
veneration  its  hallowed  soil,  kiss  with  rapture  its 
sacred  dust,  and  make  an  ample  store  of  its 
inestimable  bricks.  But,  no  —  you  only  go  to 
seek  the  filthy  .gold  of  a  Pasha  !'  I  laughed;  owned 
I  saw  more  of  the  utile  in  a  few  sequins  than  in  a 
whole  cart  load  of  worn  out  brick  bats,  with  inscrip- 
tions which  no  one  could  understand,  even  though 
they  should  have  been  manufactured  in  Babylon ; 
begged  the  merchant's  commands  for  that  august 
place,  and  took  my  departure. 

To  an  unphilosophical  traveller  Aleppo  was  not  a 
disagreeable  abode,  though  it  had  its  inconveniences. 
The  stranger  risked  being  torn  to  pieces  by  the  She- 
reefs  if  he  liked  the  Jenissaries  best,  stoned  by  the 
Jenissaries  if  he  preferred  the  Shereefs,  and  knocked 
down  by  both  if  he  liked  neither  pre-eminently. 
Every  day  the  city  was  disturbed  by  the  feuds  be- 
tween these  rival  bodies.  I  left  them  to  settle  their 
differences  without  my  assistance,  and  made  my  bar- 
gain with  the  Kerwan-bashi  of  a  small  kafBe,^  for  my 
conveyance  to  Bagdad.  The  conductor  of  the  ca- 
ravan was  to  defray  all  expences, — tolls  to  Turks, 
Arabs  and  Turkmen  included ;  and  to  go,  not  by 
the  great  desert,  where  we  expected  nothing  but  pil- 
fering Bedoweens,  pestilential  winds,  and  clouds  of 
parching  dust,  but  by  the  longer  and  more  agreea- 
ble circuit  of  Moossool,  described    as  an  uninter- 


116  ANASTASIUS. 

rupted  succession  of  populous  villages  and  cultivated 
tracts. 

On  the  appointed  day  we  set  out.  Among  the  party 
was  an  inquisitive  prying  marmoset,  who  could  not 
rest  until  he  had  sifted  out  the  business  and  profes- 
sion of  every  member  of  the  caravan.  When  it  came 
to  my  turn  to  be  cross-questioned,  I  honestly  told 
him,  under  promise  of  betraying  me  to  nobody,  that 
I  was  a  physician,  disguised  as  a  military  man,  to 
avoid  the  annoyance  of  consultations.  The  secret 
was  soon  buzzed  about,  and  immediately  the  whole 
party  paid  court  to  no  one  but  me.  Each  indivi- 
dual contrived  in  turns  some  opportunity  cunningly 
to  introduce  the  topics  of  health  and  disease,  and 
in  a  discreet  way  to  consult  me  on  all  his  complaints, 
past,  present,  and  future.  One  Arab  only  of  the  suit 
was  endowed  with  so  perversely  good  a  constitution 
as  not  to  be  able  to  discover  in  himself  the  symptom 
of  a  single  lurking  ailment ;  and  feelingly  lamented 
his  ill-luck  in  being  obliged  to  forego  so  fine  an  op- 
portunity for  a  cure.  The  first  medicines  I  distri- 
buted were  mere  balls  of  bread  and  soap ;  but  I 
soon  found  the  bowels  of  the  company  too  exigeant 
for  so  gentle  a  prescription.  I  therefore  made  bold 
to  purloin  some  portion  of  a  bale  of  ipecacuanha, 
directed  to  the  missionaries  at  Bagdad,  which  I 
knew  by  the  smell,  and  so  found  means  to  satisfy 
my  friends      They   were  not  particular  as  to  the 


ANASTASIUS.  117 

mode  in  which  the  medicine  operated,  but  merely  as 
lo  the  vehemence  of  its  action.  A  man  in  a  fever 
slily  drank  off  the  restorative  I  had  prepared  for 
one  with  an  absces ;  and  one  in  the  cbolic  put  into 
his  stomach  the  lorion  intended  for  the  leg  of  ano- 
ther who  had  broken  his  shin  :  but  these  trifles  af- 
fected not  my  reputation.  It  presently  grew  so 
splendid,  that  in  our  evening  halts  I  no  longer 
dared  to  stir  out  of  the  khan  where  we  stopped,  for 
fear  of  being  forcibly  dragged  away  to  feel  pulses. 
Fortunately,  the  crossing  of  the  small  desert,  which 
we  preferred  to  coasting  the  banks  of  the  Tigris, 
enabled  me  to  drop  my  assumed  character,  by  inter- 
rupting for  a  while  the  affluence  of  patients.  I  de- 
clared I  was  not  a  physician ;  and  immediately  the 
complaints  of  my  travelling  companions,  which  they 
thought  radically  cured,  all  returned  upon  them  with 
double  force. 

Halting  in  a  plain  between  Nissabeen  and  Mos- 
sool,  we  came  in  contact  with  a  party  of  travellers, 
whose  rout  crossed  our  track,  and  who  stopped  to 
rest  where  we  did.  At  first  our  guides  and  the 
strangers  conversed  together  very  amicably,  but 
presently  high  words  arose  between  them,  and  the 
quarrel  at  last  became  so  loud  and  violent  that  I  ex- 
pected it  to  end  in  a  pitched  battle.  We  thought  it 
"wisest  not  to  interfere,  and  contented  ourselves  with 


118  ANASTASIUS. 

listening  attentively.  For  a  long  while,  however,  none 
of  us  could  make  any  thingof  the  dispute,  except  that 
it  was  about  some  great  personage,  whom,  it  seems, 
our  Arabs  ha  I  not  mentioned  with  due  reverence. 
When  the  matter  came  to  be  explained,  this  per- 
sonage turned  out  to  be  the  devil.  The  strarfgers 
were  Yezidees  ;  a  sect  who  maintain  that,  whether 
Satan  be  at  present  in  or  out  of  favor  in  heaven,  he 
continues  not  the  less  to  exert  great  sway  upon 
earth,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  treated  with  pro- 
per respect ;  and,  as  they  think  it  wise  to  make 
friends  every  where — not  knowing  where  their  des- 
tiny may  ultimately  place  them— they  judiciously 
divide  their  worship  between  the  powers  of  light  and 
of  darkness.  The  party  in  question  was  on  a  pil- 
grimage from  mount  Sindjar  their  residence,  to  the 
tomb  of  Schaich  Adi  their  patron. 

Hearing  all  these  circumstances,  I  immediately 
walked  over  to  these  worthy  people,  and  begged  most 
earnestly  to  state  to  them  that  we  were  all  in  reality 
much  more  in  his  satanic  majesty's  interests  than  we 
pretended  ;  for  my  own  share  requested  particularly 
to  have  a  good  word  spoken  for  me  in  their  prayers 
to  him,  and,  after  mutual  civilities  on  parting,  very 
respectfully  wished  them  at  the  devil. 

New  figures  joined  the  caravan  at  Moossool. 
Among  them  stood  prominent  a  fat,  sleek,  ruddy- 


ANASTASIUS.  119 

feced  Armenian.  His  nominal  residence,  he  to]d  me, 
was  Yulfa/  his  real  abode  any  part  of  the  road  Le> 
tween  Turkey,  Persia  and  India.  Already  had  he 
spent,  in  carrying  merchandise  backward  and  for- 
ward between  those  countries,  two  good  thirds  of 
man's  ordinary  span  of  life  ;  and  still  did  he  as  httle 
as  ever  meditate  a  more  tranquil  mode  of  existence 
for  the  remainder  of  his  days.  It  is  true,  that  though 
maallim  Moorsa's  body  was  in  constant  motion, 
his  mind  seemed  stationary,  and  neither  to  advance 
nor  to  retrograde  an  inch  :  and  it  was  no  doubt 
owing  to  the  complete  repose  of  his  intellectual 
part,  that  the  corporeal  portion  so  well  stood  the 
fatigue  he  made  it  undergo.  With  him,  the  sword, 
so  far  from  wearing  out  the  scabbard,  appeared  of 
no  use  but  to  keep  that  scabbard  properly  poised, 
amid  the  jolting  of  his  horse  or  camel. 

"  TeD  me,  maallim  Moorsa/'  said  I  one  day,  as 
we  stopped  to  water  our  camels,  "  what  can  tempt 
you,  at  your  age  and  with  your  fortune,  to  toil 
harder,  and  to  allow  yourself  fewer  indulgences  than 
the  meanest  of  your  own  domestics  ?  and  far  from 
home  and  friends  to  spend  your  days  jolting  on  a 
rough-paced  dromedary,  and  your  nights  sweltering 
in  a  wretched  birth  ?  Are  hunger,  thirst,  burning 
sands,  nipping  blasts,  tormenting  insects,  venomous 
reptiles,   extortionary    guides,    rapacious   enemies. 


120  ANASTASIUS. 

ruinous  engagements,  and  unexpected  losses  so  very 
indispensable  to  your  happiness,  that  you  must 
travel  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  miles  in  search  of 
these  little  adventitious  enjoyments  ?" 

"  I  will  tell  you ;"  answered  the  placid  Arme- 
nian. "  It  is  habit,  all  powerful  habit  that  makes 
me  live  as  I  do :  habit,  more  persuasive  than  the 
suggestions  of  reason,  and  the  remonstrances  of 
friends.  When  first  I  commenced  my  wandering 
mode  of  life,  I  only  intended  to  continue  it  during 
a  limited  period.  The  repose  at  home  which  fol- 
lowed each  journey  seemed  short,  the  setting  out 
afresh  was  irksome  :  I  reluctantly  quitted  a  young 
and  handsome  wife,  a  group  of  fond  and  playful 
children,  and  a  set  of  jovial  and  hospitable  friends, 
for  new  fatigues  and  dangers,  and  never  did  I 
startwithout  saying  to  myself : — "well !  Let  me  only 
possess  a  decent  competency,  and  I  shall  sit  down 
never  more  to  move,  until  packed  up  like  my  own 
goods,  to  be  carried  to  the  grave  !'' 

"  But  mark  the  sequel !  As  years  rolled  on,  my 
wife  grew  old  and  cross,  my  children  left  me  to  set  up 
separate  establishments,  my  convivial  friends  became 
sedate  and  parsimonious,  and  I  myself  by  degrees 
began  to  lose,  in  my  lonely  journeys,  my  former 
keen  relish  for  society.  As  with  my  increasing  wealth 
my  ideas  of  a  decent  competency  enlarged,  my  taste 


ANASTASIUS.  121 

for  the  things  it  was  intended  to  secure  diminished. 
Instead  of  feeling  a  greater  impatience  to  get  home, 
and  more  pleasure  in  staying  under  my  own  roof, 
than  I  used  to  do,  I  now  find  precisely  the  reverse 
to  be  the  case.  "  I  travel  honuewards  more  leisurely  ; 
I  am  able  to  sleep  more  soundly  on  the  night  which 
precedes  my  arrival ;  and  the  happiness  of  being 
with  my  family  sooner  loses  its  zest.  My  increas- 
ing torpor  of  mind  and  of  body  more  speedily  crave 
that  excitement  which  only  the  bustle  and  shaking 
of  the  caravan  can  give :  the  desire  of  returning 
to  my  business  and  journeys  revives  more  quickly  : 
I  am  bent  with  greater  force  upon  still  achieving 
one  last  lucrative  expedition  ere  I  sit  down  for  ever ; 
and  I  can  less  bear  the  idea  of  already  crossing 
myself  up,  like  the  worm  in  the  web  of  its  own 
weaving,  for  the  whole  of  the  time  that  is  to  precede 
my  final  change." 

"  Man,  man  !'*  cried  I,  "  struggle  against  this 
increasing  restlessness ;  or  what  good  are  your 
riches  to  do  yourself  or  others  ?" 

"  Alas,  I  have  struggled !"  replied  the  Armenian. 
"  It  was  but  the  very  last  time  of  my  being  at  home 
that  I  said  to  myself:  maaUim  Moorsa,  maallim 
Moorsa^  dost  thou  mean  never  to  be  quiet  ?  Thy 
daughters  are  well  married,  thy  sons  in  excellent 
business,  thou  possessest  three  times  as  much    as 


12^  ANASTASIUS. 

with  thy  old  Rachel  thou  canst  spend  in  the  most 
profuse  Uving.  Then  wander  not  any  longer  about 
the  world,  like  one  bereft  of  house  and  home ;  but, 
by  staying  among  thy  friends,  and  giving  up  all 
further  ventures,  secure  thyself  from  the  risk  of 
losses  and  sorrows,"  and  thereupon  I  forced  myself 
to  try  to  enter  into  all  the  various  enjoyments  of  a 
sedentary  life.  But  alas  !  the  thing  would  not  do : 
I  soon  found  a  noisome  evil  steal  upon  me,  pene- 
trate my  inmost  marrow,  and  spoil  the  relish  of  all 
my  pleasure.  It  was  not  loss;  it  was  not  sorrow: 
but  it  was  far  more  intolerable  than  either  ; — it  was 
ennui !  An  insuperable  listlessness  took  possession 
of  my  being,  a  nausea  past  all  enduring  pursued 
me  incessantly.  In  the  midst  of  friends,  of  good 
cheer,  and  of  comforts  of  every  description,  I  cast  a 
look  of  envy  upon  every  human  being  who  set  out 
to  encounter  new  fatigues  and  dangers.  The  recital 
of  the  speculations,  the  purchases,  the  sales,  the  com- 
missions and  the  profits  of  other  merchants,  made 
my  heart  bound,  and  my  mouth  water  with  longing. 
My  own  existence,  while  unemployed  in  similar  tran- 
sactions, appeared  to  me  a  mere  blank,  or  rather,  a 
gloomy  expanse  of  entire  darkness ;  and  my  melan- 
choly and  pining  must  at  last  have  brought  me 
prematurely  to  the  grave,  had  not  a  sensible  physi- 
cian been  called  in  to  give  his  opinion  of  the  actual 


ANASTASIUS.  123 

disease  of  the  body  into  which  my  mental  gloom 
had  degenerated.  Instead  of  a  certain  dose  of  bark 
and  senna,  to  be  taken  at  noon  and  at  night,  he 
prescribed  so  many  pieces  of  shawl  and  bales  of 
silk,  to  be  bought  in  Cashmeer  and  to  be  sold  at 
Smyrna.  The  very  prescription  made  me  revive. 
The  moment  I  set  about  taking  the  remedy  I  felt 
like  a  fish  put  back  into  the  water  ;  my  decaying 
strength  returned,  and  my  fading  cheek  resumed 
its  pristine  hue."" 

"  Your  case,""  said  I,  shrugging  up  my  shoulders, 
"  I  see,  is  hopeless." 

"  I  fear  it  is,''  answered  Moorsa.  "  I  have  lived 
a  constant  traveller,  and  a  traveller,  I  suppose,  I 
shall  die.  On  these  roads  on  which  I  spent  my 
youth  and  manhood,  I  feel  destined  to  end  my 
days.  But  I  do  not  much  repine  at  this  ordination : 
it  affords  me  a  pleasure  which  no  other  could  give. 
I  talk  not  of  that  of  seeing  different  manners  and 
customs.  Those  are  things  we  Armenians  care  little 
about.  But  while  abroad,  I  fancy  that  all  the  beings 
I  possess  at  home  are  angels  ;  and  I  never  stay  at 
home  long  enough  to  be  undeceived." 

This  account  of  maallim  Moorsa  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  my  mind :  it  alarmed  me  for  my- 
self. If  a  heavy  Armenian  with  a  comfortable 
home,  had,  by  excessive  indulgence,  suffered  roving 


124  ANASTASIUS. 

habits  to  take  such  root  in  his  constitution,  as  to 
despair  of  ever  enjoying  a  stationary  existence  on 
this  side  the  grave,  how  much  more  was  a  state  of 
incurable  restlessness  likely  to  become  the  confirmed 
disease  of  one  who,  like  me,  was  by  nature  more- 
over averse  from  domestication,  and  possessed  not 
in  space  the  least  little  clod  of  earth  of  my  own, 
on  which  to  sit  down  when  tired  of  rambling,  but 
like  the  loose  sands  in  the  desert  ever  remained  liable 
to  be  blown  about  from  place  to  place,  by  every 
slightest  gust  of  wind.  I  felt  the  danger  so  great 
that  from  that  instant  I  determined,  on  the  first 
opportunity,  to  fix  myself  somewhere.  Already  I 
possessed  in  my  little  Alexis  a  polar  star,  to  which 
began  to  point  all  my  thoughts,  all  my  wishes : 
a  magnet,  whose  attraction  I  felt  even  when  steering 
in  a  contrary  direction.  Him  I  should  some  day 
have  near  me,  him  1  should  educate,  him  I  should 
make  the  sole  object  of  my  care :  but  to  execute 
that  project  I  must  have  a  home ;  I  must  have 
means  ; — and  in  search  of  that  home,  and  of  those 
means,  I  must  for  the  present  go  on  wandering  as 
before. 


ANASTASIUS.  }^5 


CHAPTER  V, 


Our  journey  ended  not  with  maallim  Moorsa's  des- 
cription of  his :  we  still  passed  on  the  road  many  a 
weary  day.  At  last,  however,  we  reached  a  vast 
suburb  of  mud,  crossed  a  long  bridge  of  boats,  and 
entered  the  celebrated  city  of  Bagdad.  As  I  ad- 
vanced I  could  not  help  at  every  step  exclaiming: 
"  Is  tbis  the  capital  of  Haroon-al-raschid  ?  this  the 
residence  of  Zobeide ;  this  the  favorite  scene  of 
Eastern  romance?  How  fallen  from  its  ancient 
splendor  \" 

Suleiman  still  governed  the  vast  Pashalik  of  Bag- 
dad ;  the  last  and  highest  fruit  of  many  successive 
vicissitudes  and  promotions.  A  Georgian  by  birth, 
and  by  condition  a  Mamluke,  he  had  in  1775,  on 
the  death  of  his  predecessor  and  patron,  been  ap- 
pointed to  the  Mootsellimlik  of  Basra.  Besieged  in 
that  city  by  Kherim-khan,  the  usurper  of  the  Per- 
sian monarchy,  he  held  out  fifteen  months  ere  he 


1^6  ANASTASIUS. 

surrendered  the  place ;  was,  in  consequence  of  the 
capitulation,  carried  a  captive  to  Sheeras,  and, 
after  a  two  years  detention,  had,  on  the  death  of 
Kerim,  the  good  fortune  to  be  again  restored  to  his 
government.  To  this  subordinate  appointment  the 
Porte,  in  consideration  of  his  valor  and  his  serv^pes, 
soon  after  added  the  Pashalik  of  Bagdad,  the  most 
extensive  and  powerful  of  the  Turkish  empire. 

Long  did    Suleiman  sustain   with  unexampled 
dignity   the  weight  of  his  manifold  honors.     His 
warlike  talents  kept  in  awe  the  fierce  hordes  of 
tributary  Koords  and  Arabs  at  the  two  opposite  ex- 
tremities of  his  vast  province,  while  his  justice  and 
moderation  endeared  him  to  the  milder  inhabitants 
of  the  intervening  districts.     But  ere  I  beheld  his 
dominions  his  glory  had  begun  to  fade,  his  res- 
plendant  sun  to  set.     For  some  time  past  both  the 
body  and  the  mind  of  the  mighty  Suleiman  seemed 
to  have  lapsed  from  their  former    energy  into  a 
state   of  imbecility  and  torpor.     Achmet,  once  a 
groom  in  Suleiman  s  stable,  now  held  in  his  stead 
the  reins  of  empire.     In  the  capacity  of  the  Pasha's 
keha}a,  he  enjoyed  both  the  direction  of  his  coun- 
cils and  the  command  of  his  armies :  but  he  was 
not  content  merely  to  represent ;  he  totally  super- 
seded his  master.     Suleiman  was  forgotten  in  his 
favorite,  and  while  the  Pasha  only  resembled  the 


ANASTASIUS.  127 

inert  idol  concealed  in  the  sanctuary,  the  Kehaya 
was  the  high-priest,  who  holding  the  keys  of  the 
adytum,  ruled  the  people  with  despotic  sway,  and 
swept  away  aU  their  offerings. 

My  former  situation  and  services  in  Turkey  pro- 
cured me  access  to  this  all  powerful  personage.  I 
was  received  at  his  levee  with  the  utmost  courtesy. 
Nothing,  indeed,  could  be  more  fascinating  than 
Achmet's  exterior.  His  features  were  fine,  his  fi- 
gure noble,  his  manners  dignified  yet  mild,  his  wit 
playful  without  pungency :  he  seemed  to  promote 
unrestrained  liberty  of  speech,  even  where  it  attacked 
most  directly  his  opinion  and  interests  ;  his  own  ex- 
pressions often  dropped  as  if  from  an  unguarded 
lip  and  a  guileless  heart.  He  spoke  with  affability 
to  all,  and  never  ceased  bewailing  the  pomp  his 
situation  required.  No  passion  ever  could  be  per- 
ceived to  disturb  the  serenity  of  his  countenance,  or 
the  placidity  of  his  temper.  He  v/ould  occasionally 
perform  acts  of  great  liberality ;  always  expressed 
his  repugnance  to  harsh  or  cruel  measures,  and 
when  compelled  by  reasons  of  state  to  sign  the 
death  warrant  even  of  his  bitterest  enemy,  shed 
tears  of  sympathy  which  he  seemed  afraid  to  show. 

But  black  was  the  heart  wrapped  in  this  fair 
covering.  If  AchmeOs  countenance  remained  ever 
serene, — if  no  angry  word  escaped  his  lip,  no  pas- 


198  ANASTASIUS. 

sionate  gesture  ever  gave  vent  to  his  resentment,  L 
malignant  feelings  only  rankled  the  more  fiercely 
within  his  steel-hardened  bosom :  his  apparent  can- 
dour was  but  the  snare  in  which  he  entrapped  the 
confidence  of  the  unwary.  Humble  in  his  mariner, 
his  heart  swelled  with  unbounded  pride :  for  every 
piastre  he  gave  in  gifts,  his  agents  doubled  their  ex- 
actions tenfold:  his  aversions,  his  hatreds,  undis- 
coverable  in  the  presence  of  their  object,  broke  out 
with  greater  virulence  in  distant  times  and  places. 
The  more  he  expatiated  on  the  pleasure  of  pardon- 
ing, the  more  certain  it  was  that  he  meditated  some 
act  of  signal  revenge ;  and  if  he  sighed  at  being 
obliged  to  represent  his  master,  it  was  because  he 
longed  for  Suleiman'^s  death,  to  be  master  himself. 

Achmet  had  for  some  time  been  waging  war,  in 
the  Pasha's  name,  with  a  new  sect  of  heretics,  sprung 
up  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia,  under  the  name  of 
Wahhabees.  A  short  sketch  of  the  origin  and 
progress  of  these  innovators  may  not  be  inapposite 
in  this  place. 

The  arid  but  extensive  province  of  Nedjd,  the 
inmost  centre  of  Arabia,  was  not  only  the  first 
cradle  of  Islamism,  but  the  country  where  in  after 
ages  the  doctrine  of  Mohammed  remained  most  ex- 
empt from  adulteration.  The  roving  children  of 
Anahsse,  of  Kaibar  and  of  Tai,  distantly  dotted  in 


ANASTASIUS.  I09 

small  tribes  over  its  wide  and  sterile  surface,  had 
but  little  communication  with  each  other,  and  no 
intercourse   with    strangers.      They    were   neither 
numerous   nor    stationary    enough    to   breed    any 
religious  ferments  in  their  own   bosom,  and  they 
lived  too  far  removed  from  all  foreign  influence  to 
receive  the  infection  of  new  and  heretical  doctrines 
from  without.     Their  erratic  life  allowed  neither 
time  nor  inclination  to  burthen  with  idle  specula- 
tions and  difficulties  the  simphcity  of  their  original 
creed,  nor  to  institute  a  cumbrous  hierarchy  and  a 
complicated  ritual.     The  text  of  the  Prophet  was 
their  only  rule,  the  surface  of  the  desert  their  only 
temple,  and  the  Schaich  or  leader  of  each  tribe  its 
only  Imam  or  priest.     Constant  motion,  to  which 
the  stream  owes  its  limpidity,  preserved  the  faith  of 
the  Arabs  from  alloy,  and  their  practices  from  cor- 
ruption :   they  transmitted  the  Koran  to  their  pos- 
terity, as  they  had  received  it  from  their  ancestors, 
in  all  its  primitive  purity,  unchanged  by  explana- 
tions, and  unperverted  by  comments.  It  is  true  that 
the  very  circumstance  of  their  rejecting  the  distinc- 
tive forms   of  any  mode  of  worship  in  particular, 
facilitated  their  assimilating  with  whatever  sect  they 
were  led  amongst,  either  by  business  or  by  pleasure. 
The  casual  ramification  of  Islamism,  to  whose  shade 
the  care  of  their  flocks  or  the  conduct  of  their  cara- 

VOL.  III.  K 


130  ANASTASIUS. 

vans  brought  them  nearest,  was  that  under  whicli 
they  outwardly  ranged  themselves ;  and,  Sunnees  on 
the  borders  of  the  Turkish  empire,  they  no  sooner 
approached  the  vicinity  of  Persia,  than  they  became 
to  appearance  very  notable  Sheyees. 

However  great  might  be  the  abhorrence  or  cbn- 
tempt  entertained  for  the  absurd  dogmas  and  super- 
stitious practices  superadded  to  the  Koran,  this  feel  - 
ing  could  only  by  the  lonely  inhabitant  of  the  de- 
sert be  cherished  in  the  recesses  of  his  own  bosom. 
He  neither  had  the  means  to  collect  his  meditations 
into  a  regular  code  of  doctrine,  nor  to  preach  them 
to  other  nations.  But  when  these  same  opinions 
insensibly  penetrated  from  the  sterile  plains  of  the 
Nedjd  into  the  hilly  and  fertile  districts  of  Ared, 
what,  among  thinly  scattered  tribes,  pitching  their 
tents  at  random,  had  remained  mere  vague  insulated 
sentiments,  amid  a  stationary  population,  crowded 
in  towns  and  villages,  became  condensed  into 
positive  precepts,  and  a  peculiar  code,  which  en- 
abled its  adherents  distinctly  to  mark  their  scission 
from  the  rest  of  the  Mohammedans. 

And  this  happened  towai*d  the  close  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  At  that  period  the  district  of 
Ayani  was  ruled  by  a  Schaich  of  the  name  of  Su- 
leiman, descended  from  the  same  noble  family  of 
the  Korei'sch — mow  reduced   to   a  few  obscure  in- 


ANASTASIUS.  131 

dividuals —whence  sprung  the  Prophet.  This 
Schaich  derived  a  considerable  income  from  the 
numerous  herds  of  camels  which  he  let  out  to  the 
Indian  Mohammedans  who  yearly  disembarked  at 
Katif,  and  traversed  Ared  in  their  way  to  Mekkah : 
but  loaded  with  riches,  he  long  remained  unblessed 
with  progeny.  In  his  old  age,  and  when  he  no 
longer  had  any  hopes  of  offspring,  heaven  most  vm- 
expectedly  bestowed  on  him  a  son. 

Every  species  of  prodigy  is  said  to  have  an- 
nounced and  accompanied  the  birth  of  this  high 
fated  child.  An  universal  earthquake  made  every 
mosque  that  rests  upon  the  ground  shake  unto  its 
foundations,  and  every  minaret  that  shoots  up  in 
air  topple  on  its  base  ;  and  while,  during  several  suc- 
cessive nights,  cities,  villages,  castles  and  fields  shone 
with  a  supernatural  and  brilliant  light,  the  lamps 
which  burned  in  the  sepulchral  chapels  of  Moham- 
med and  of  the  other  saints  of  Islamism,  were  dim- 
med and  went  out  preternaturally,  spite  of  Imams 
and  of  snuffers : — miracles  so  well  attested,  that  no 
one  can  doubt  them,  except  determined  unbelievers - 

Abd-ool-wahhab,  or  the  Slave  of  the  Most  High, 
was  the  name  given  to  the  infant  for  whom  heaven 
seemed  to  reserve  such  Ipfty  destinies.  Sent  to 
study  the  law  in  the  most  celebrated  medresses  of 
Damascus,    the   youth   learnt    from   the   sturdiest 


132  ANASTASIUS. 

Mohammedans  themselves  to  attack  the  corrupt 
tions  introduced  into  their  creed.  He  no  sooner 
returned  to  his  home,  than  he  began  pubhcly  to 
preach  the  necessity  of  a  thorough  reformation. 

His  doctrine  has  been  represented  as  pure  Deism : 
but  nothing  can  be  more  erroneous.  Abd-ool-Wah- 
hab  maintained  notmerely  the  divine  origin  of  the 
Koran ;  he  might  even  be  said  to  enhance  the  impor- 
tance of  the  sacred  text,  by  asserting  that  alone  it 
was  able  to  supply  all  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
faithful,  without  any  adventitious  aid,  and  by  di- 
gesting of  the  smallest  remnant  of  authority  every 
article  of  faith  or  rule  of  conduct,  since  added  to 
the  book  sent  from  heaven,  either  by  the  Prophet 
himself,  or  by  any  of  the  later  doctors  of  Islamism : 
for  while  Abd-ool-wahhab  regarded  the  Koran  as  re 
ceived  directly  from  the  Most  High,  he  considered 
Mohammed  its  organ  as  only  an  ordinary  mortal. 
Endowed,  according  to  the  new  sectary,  with  no 
one  superhuman  attribute,  no  gift  of  miracles,  no 
pecuhar  sanctity,  this  man  resembhng  other  men 
could  not  give  a  stamp  of  holiness  even  to  such 
oral  precepts  distinct  from  the  Koran  as  he  himself 
spontaneously  uttered  ;  and  if  any  worship  addressed 
even  to  Mohammed  was  reprehensible  in  the  eyes 
of  Abd-ool-wahhab,  still  infinitely  more  so  was  the 
least  character  of  sanctity  attached  to  other  indivi- 


ANASTASIUS.  133 

duals — Imams,  doctors,  or  expounders  of  the  law. 
pilgrimages  performed  to  peculiar  tombs,  virtue  at- 
tributed to  peculiar  relics,  were  treated  as  rank  ido- 
latry ;  and  the  first  pious  performance,  enjoined 
the  new  proselytes  when  they  had  acquired  suffici- 
ent strength,  was  the  destruction  of  the  chapels  of 
Mekkah  and  Medina,  of  Iman-Aly  and  Iman-Hus- 
sien,  where  Sunnees  and  Scheyees  yearly  unite  in  de- 
vout orisons  to  the  ashes  of  pretended  saints.  Their 
dust  was,  like  that  of  the  desert,  to  be  scattered  in  the 
wind  ;  and  the  treasures  which  adorned  their  monu- 
ments were  to  reward  the  piety  of  their  despoilers. 

When  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  centu- 
ry, Abd-ool-wahhab, — oppressed  with  years  of  re- 
nown and  sanctity,  was  at  last  gathered  unto  his 
fathers,  his  son  Mohammed,  educated  like  himself  in 
the  study  of  the  law,  and  consequently  also  distin- 
guished by  the  title  of  MooUah,  succeeded  him  as 
preacher  of  the  new  doctrine.  Mohammed  gave  him- 
self more  wholly  up  to  its  internal  light,  since  that 
from  without  penetrated  not  his  eyes,  struck  from 
his  childhood  with  incurable  blindness.  This  cir- 
cumstance indeed  prevented  him  from  leading  out 
his  proselytes  himself,  in  the  wars  for  the  defence 
or  propagation  of  his  new  creed,  but  its  irrefragra- 
ble  truth  had  already  found  a  champion  of  the 
most  martial   description   in  Ibn-Sehood,  the   su- 


134  ANASTASIUS. 

preme  ruler  of  Ared,  who  resided  at  Derayeh,  and 
who  became  the  temporal  chief  of  the  Wahhabees, 
while  MooUah-Mohammed  remained  their  spiritual 
leader. 

From  the  moment  that  the  new  doctrine,  adopted 
by  old  established  princes,  became  enabled  to  add 
the  force  of  arms  to  that  of  arguments,  it  made  ra- 
pid and  extensive  progress.  Almost  immediately 
on  the  promulgation  of  Wahhabism,  its  more  recent 
name  had  sanctioned  the  tenets  already  professed  of 
old  by  the  roving  tribes  of  the  desert ;  and  soon 
after  its  establishment  in  the  Ared,  the  stationary 
Schaichs  of  the  province  of  Kherdj  enlisted  under 
its  banners.  It  now  rapidly  approached  the  Hed- 
jas ;  and  the  Shereef  of  Mekkah,  the  guardian  of 
the  Kaaba,  began  to  tremble  for  his  power  and  for 
his  dominions.  Loudly  inveighing  against  the  apa- 
thy with  which  other  states  saw  the  danger  approach 
them,  he  determined  to  avert  it  from  the  realms  he 
ruled,  by  promoting  a  powerful  diversion. 

To  the  eastward  of  the  Nedjd  extends  the  half 
desert  half  cultivated  province  of  Hadjar ;  the  an- 
cient domain  of  the  mighty  tribe  of  Beni-Haled. 
One  part  of  the  year,  Ibn-Arar  its  chief  roves  with 
his  tents  over  the  boundless  plain,  the  other  part  he 
resides  in  El-Hassa  the  capital.  This  city  once  re- 
cognised the  authority  of  the  Sultan  ;  but  has  since 


ANASTASniS.  135 

been  reclaimed  by  its  Arab  founders.  Turkish  for- 
tifications, however,  still  surround  its  precincts,  and 
Turkish  famiUes  form  a  principal  part  of  its  popula- 
tion. Its  Ayals  or  primates  bore  the  Wahhabees  a 
peculiar  hatred  both  in  their  quality  as  Osmanlees 
and  as  Sunnees.  The  Shereef  of  Mekkah  found 
little  difficulty  in  exciting  them  to  hostilities  against 
the  spreading  heretics ;  Arar  took  up  arms  and 
marched  to  Derayeh. 

Already  had  internal  anarchy  and  dissensions  be- 
gan to  shake  to  its  foundations  the  new  doctrine. 
Nothing  therefore  seems  more  probable  than  that, 
like  many  older  heresies,  that  of  the  Wahhabees 
would  have  blazed  an  instant  in  the  district  where  it 
arose,  and  then  have  sunk  again  for  ever  into  obli- 
vion, had  not  the  unseasonable  interference  of  stran- 
gers providentially  preserved  it  from  the  general  fate 
it  seemed  destined  to  share.  The  danger  which 
threatened  the  Wahhabees  from  without,  forced 
them  to  stifle  their  internal  feuds.  They  united 
for  common  defence  and  safety.  Sehood,  before 
harassed  by  continual  murmurings  and  mutinies, 
now  found  his  subjects  all  obedience  and  zeal.  And 
after  several  years  of  warfare  with  Arar,  instead  of 
the  children  of  Beni- Haled  getting  nearer  Derayeh, 
the  sons  of  Wahhab  had  seilsibly  approached  El- 
Hftssa. 


136  ^     ANASTASIUS. 

As  soon  as  Abd-ool-azeez,  the  son  and  successor 
of  Ibn-Sehood,  felt  himself  secure  on  the  side  of 
Hadjar,  he  turned  his  views  towards  Mekkah. 
Revenge  as  well  as  avarice  animated  him  against 
its  chief.  But  where  all  lived  upon  the  holy  things 
which  he  came  to  destroy,  he  found  very  few  within 
the  city  disposed  to  second  his  attempts  from  with- 
out. It  was  only  at  the  close  of  the  third  campaign 
that  he  got  sight  of  the  fortress  of  Tayif,  situated 
on  a  high  mountain,  at  a  small  distance  from  Mek- 
kah  ;  and  before  he  could  lay  siege  to  the  place,  the 
death  of  his  spiritual  partner^  Moollah-Mohammed, 
— whose  earthly  career  had  extended  to  near  a  cen- 
tury,— ^forced  him,  by  the  confusion  it  caused 
among  his  sectaries,  to  return  to  Derayeh. 

The  Shereef  of  Mekkah  thought  this  the  time 
for  changing  his  defensive  into  an  offensive  war,  and 
pursued  the  Wahhabees  into  their  own  territory. 
There,  however,  rapidly  facing  about,  these  sectaries, 
with  their  strength  now  refreshed,  so  completely 
routed  his  harassed  army,  that  he  was  hardly  able, 
in  his  flight,  to  reach  the  gates  of  his  capital. 

The  Porte  now  awoke  from  its  trance,  and  began 
to  feel  some  alarm  at  the  progress  of  the  Wahhabees. 
The  Sultan  directed  the  Pasha  of  Bagdad  to  provide 
for  the  defence  of  the  holy  city ;  and  the  Pasha  of 
Bagdad  transmitted  the  Sultan*'s  instructions  to  his 


ANASTASIUS.  137 

vassals,  the  Arab  Schaichs  of  Montefih  and  of 
Beni-Haled.  Both  prepared  immediately  to  obey  : 
but  the  Schaich  of  Montefih  was  murdered  by  a 
disguised  Wahhabee,  in  his  own  tent;  and  the 
Schaich  of  Beni-Haled,  after  an  unsuccessful  cam- 
paign, saw  El-Hassa,  his  capital,  sacked  by  the  vic- 
torious enemy,  who  took  Sobier  by  storm,  made 
Basra  tremble,  and  threatened  Meschid-Aly  with 
annihilation. 

Suleiman's  kehaya  at  last  himself  determined  to 
advance.  In  1 793 — the  year  before  my  arrival  at 
Bagdad, — he  had  succeeded  in  making  Abd-ool- 
azeez  evacuate  his  new  conquests,  and  return,  though 
with  immense  plunder,  to  Derayeh.  Great  con- 
sternation continued,  nevertheless,  to  prevail  at 
Bagdad  :  for  the  Wahhab  doctrine  had  now  exten- 
ded its  sway  to  almost  every  part  of  Arabia  north 
of  Yemen,  and  had  gained  the  very  core  of  the 
tribe  of  Montefih  itself,  hitherto  considered  as  the 
chief  bulwark  of  the  Otthoman  Empire  against 
the  new  sectaries.  It  is  true  the  Turkish  mob  tried 
to  hush  its  fears  by  asking  with  a  sneer  what  could 
be  effected  by  an  undisciplined  rabble  armed  only 
with  matchlocks,  against  regular  armies  and  fortified 
places ;  but  the  shrewder  part  of  the  community  felt 
that  no  temporary  check  could  ensure  a  vast  province 
vulnerable  in  every  point,  an  empire  tottering  to  its 


138  ANASTASIUS. 

base,  and  a  militia  enervated  by  sloth  and  luxury^ 
against  a  race  of  men  with  bodies  of  steel,  with 
souls  of  fire,  whose  abode  was  the  inatessible  heart 
of  the  desert,  whose  patience  of  fatigues,  hardships, 
and  privations  exceeded  all  idea,  as  their  rapidity 
of  motion  baffled  all  calculation ;  who,  while  they 
heeded  not  heat  or  hunger  or  thirst,  appeared  in  the 
most  sudden  and  unexpected  manner  on  the  points 
most  distant  from  each  other,  and  most  unprepared 
for  their  reception  ;  who,  on  the  smallest  reverse 
always  had  their  sands  open  behind  them  to  retire 
to,  beyond  the  reach  of  pursuit ;  whose  obedience 
to  their  chiefs  in  whatever  concerned  the  interests 
of  their  new  creed  knew  no  bounds,  while  their 
bravery  in  battle  and  their  contempt  of  death  were 
fed  by  a  fanaticism  far  exceeding  the  long  worn- 
out  zeal  of  the  Turks ;  and  who  in  all  their  ex- 
peditions were  equally  animated  by  the  interests  of 
religion,  and  by  the  hopes  of  plunder.  Nay,  timid 
men  pretended  that  in  the  very  midst  of  Bagdad,  in 
the  broad  face  of  day,  Wahhabees  had  been  seen, 
scarcely  disguised,  to  take  note  of  the  individuals 
and  to  mark  the  houses,  which  then*  vengeance  or 
their  avarice  had  devoted  to  destruction. 

Mean  while  Achmet  kehaya  was  preparing  to 
employ  the  leisure  which  the  temporary  retreat  of 
these    sectaries    had   left   him,   in    an    expedition 


ANASTASIUS.  139 

against  the  district  of  Kara-Djoolan,  one  of  the 
fiefs  of  the  Pashalik  of  Bagdad.  Its  Coordish  in- 
habitants  had  of  their  own  authority  appointed  one 
of  their  countrymen  as  governor,  and  this  new 
delegate  was  trying  to  obtain  the  Pasha's  confirma- 
tion by  force  of  arms. 

I  offered  to  raise  a  corps  of  DeUis  for  this  ex- 
pedition, and  was  accepted.  Knowing  dispatch  to 
be  the  soul  of  war,  I  did  not  in  my  recruits  stickle 
much  for  age  or  size,  and  when  my  bairak^  was 
complete,  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  offer  a  most 
agreeable  variety  of  ages  a«d  statures  :—  but  what  of 
that  ?  courage  was  not  measured  by  the  inch,  nor 
bravery  estimated  according  to  the  colour  of  the 
beard.  With  my  raw  recruits  I  was  ready  for  tlie 
kehaya,  long  before  he  was  ready  for  me. 

Babefs  ancient  confusion  of  tongues  still  seems  to 
prevail  at  Bagdad.  Turks,  Persians,  Indians, 
Jews,  Egyptians,  Greeks,  and  Arabs  were  constant- 
ly vying,  which,  in  their  various  dialects,  should 
outbawl  the  other.  Among  the  motley  group  col- 
lected in  the  market  place,  the  fat  paunch  and 
ruddy  face  of  maallim  Ibrahim  often  shone  pre- 
eminent. Whenever  he  saw  me  he  failed  not  to  hail 
his  old  travelling  companion ;  and  one  day  that  his 
mercantile  transaction  left  him  at  leisure,  he  introdu- 
ced the  captain  of  Dellis  to  some  Ispahan  merchants, 


140  ANASTASIUS. 

who  had  left  their  country  on  the  dissensions  which 
followed  the  elevation  of  the  eunuch  Aga  Moham- 
med. They  were  Scheyees,  and  certainly,  in  the 
eyes  of  a  true  Sunnee,  a  very  abominable  set  of 
people ;  for  not  only  did  they  maintain  Aly  to  be 
first  in  rightful  succession  to  Mohammed,  and 'not 
Aboo-bekr ;  but  they  made  no  scruple  of  carrying 
little  paintings  of  pretty  faces  in  their  books  of 
poetry.  As  well  might  they  have  had  them  in 
their  Koran. 

Notwithstanding  such  extreme  relaxation  of 
morals,  I  could  not  help  thinking  my  Persians 
agreeable  companions  enough.  It  was  long  since  I 
had  met  with  men  who  occasionally  sought  relief 
from  the  drudgery  of  trade  in  the  elegancies  of 
literature.  One  of  them,  Aboo-Reza,  possessed  a 
very  pretty  turn  for  poetry  himself  His  imagina- 
tion, it  is  true,  was  not  of  that  soaring  order  which, 
like  the  eagle,  rises  far  above  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  embraces  in  its  rapid  glance  the  most 
distant  similitudes  which  the  wide  expanse  of  the 
heavens  affords.  It  rather  resembled  the  playful 
butterfly  which,  hovering  near  the  enamelled  sur- 
face of  the  field,  is  content  to  sip,  in  gaudy  attire, 
the  honied  cup  of  each  humble  daisy  half  concealed 
among  the  herbage.  He  was  happy  in  the  art  of 
seizing   the  a-^ropos  of  the   moment,  the  flitting 


ANASTASIUS.  141 

shadow  of  the  insect,  in  its  noon  day  flight ;  and  his 
inpromtu  verses  on  the  events  of  the  day  were,  by 
his  friends,  extolled  far  above  the  productions  of 
Hafeez  and  of  Ferdousi, — poets,  as  it  was  thought, 
grown  somewhat  musty  with  age.  The  most 
felicitous  fits  of  inspiration  used  to  seize  him,  when 
half  a  dozen  of  us  were  assembled  in  a  little  back- 
room, over  a  large  bowl  of  a  certain  ruby  colored 
liquor,  whose  fumes  seem  in  all  ages  to  have  had 
the  property  of  exciting  the  poetic  fervor.  It  was 
then  that  his  eyes  began  to  sparkle,  and  his  lips  to 
pour  forth  almost  involuntary  eflPusions.. 

One  evening  Aboo-Reza  looked  so  much  more  so- 
lemn than  usual,  that  all  wondered  what  monstrous 
mouse  the  mountain  was  going  to  produce.  It  kept 
us  not  long  in  suspense.  Striking  against  the  china 
vessel  round  which  we  were  seated,  for  the  purpose 
of  in  forcing  silence  ;  "  Mourn  Persia,  mourn  !''  ex- 
claimed our  friend,  in  fine  poetic  phrenzy : — "when 
the  ancient  gem  of  the  empire,  the  primeval  seat  of 
the  Sovereign,  the  proud  city  of  Ispahan,  fell  into 
solitude  and  ruin ;  when  its  crystal  fountains  only 
continued  to  play  to  the  hooting  owl,  and  its  brilliant 
basons  robed  themselves  in  a  veil  of  green  shme;  when 
the  King  of  Kings  withdrew  the  radiance  of  his  favor 
from  the  stately  matron,  and  gave  himself  up  to  the 
warmer  and  more  voluptuous  concubine  ;  when  gay 


142  ANASTASIUS. 

Sheeraz,  crowned  with  crimson  roses,  flushed  with 
sparkhng  wine,  and  pouring  forth  a  fragrant 
breath,  received  him  to  her  bosom,  then  began 
trouble  and  confusion  to  spread  throughout  the 
land ;  then  burst  open  on  all  sides  the  flood  gates 
of  purple  blood  !— but  when  the  whirlwind  of  war 
again  tore  up  the  blazing  throne  of  the  Sofis, 
scarcely  rooted  in  the  South,  and,  on  its  iron 
wings  carried  the  fringed  canopy  of  state  to  the 
frozen  tracts  of  the  North ;  when  the  gemmed 
carpet  of  the  Sovereign,  erst  sprinkled  with  fragrant 
flowers,  was  spread  on  sheets  of  ice,  under  the  be- 
numbing shadow  of  frowning  Demawend,  — then 
indeed  did  the  genius  of  the  chilling  blast  imprint 
on  eternal  snows  the  seal  of  Persia's  ruin:  then 
rushed  forth  to  the  destruction  of  Djemshid'^s  tot- 
tering empire  every  demon  of  darkness,  brought 
forth  with  frightful  throes  by  the  polar  lightning ; 
then, — while  ensanguined  streams  crimsoned  heaven 
as  well  as  earth,  —  was  heard  among  the  Sun'*s 
orphan  children,  no  sound  but  the  wail  of  sorrow, 
and  the  cry  of  despair  !" 

Here  Aboo-Reza  stopped,  to  enjoy  our  admira- 
tion, and  to  collect  our  applause :  but  our  lips  con- 
tinued locked  in  silent  wonder  at  the  sublime  thought 
of  delivering  the  aurora  borealis  of  a  parcel  of  Rus- 
sian soldiers, — until  in  rushed  in  actual  tangible  form 


ANASTASmS.  143 

a  grim  looking  detachment  of  those  of  the  Pasha,  to 
take  us  to  prison,  as  conspirators  against  the  state. 
The  loudness  of  Aboo-Reza's  voice,  while  reciting  his 
effusion,  had  made  this  valiant  troop — bent  in  quest 
of  our  party — stop  at  the  door  to  listen ;  and  the  less 
its  members  had  understood  of  the  drift  of  the 
sonnet,  the  more  they  had  considered  it  as  an  un- 
deniable proof  of  the  guilty  purpose  of  our  meet- 
ing. Nothing,  they  all  swore,  could  be  so  evident 
as  that  the  peak  of  Demawend  meant  the  Pasha's 
kehaya,  in  whose  name  they  had  come  to  confine 
us;  and  that  we  were  the  hurricane  that  would 
tear  him  up  by  the  root,  if  not  prevented  in  good  time. 
This  was  effected  ny  clapping  us  in  prison,  where  we 
felt  rather  uncomfortable,  notwithstanding  Aboo- 
Reza  tried  to  give  us  comfort,  by  assuring  each  of 
our  party  individually,  that,  die  when  we  might,  he 
had  all  our  epitaphs  ready  written  in  his  pocket. 

A  descendant  of  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  was 
the  secret  instigator  of  this  unmerited  attack  upon 
our  liberties.  Formerly  chief  of  the  customs  at 
Basra,  the  Jev/  Abd-allah  had  been  removed  from 
that  situation  on  some  complaint  of  the  English 
factory.  He  was  since  become  at  Bagdad  not  only 
the  cashier,  but  the  chief  counsellor  of  the  Kehaya, 
whose  financial  operations  he  entirely  managed, 
Achmet  would  sooner  have  affronted  many  a  gi-eat 
man  in  office  than  his  little  Jew.     Abd-allah,  lea\'- 


144  ANASTASIUS. 

ing  his  ancient  wife,  with  his  old  employment,  at 
Basra,  had  entirely  new  furnished  his  harem  at 
Bagdad ;  and  it  was  said  that,  in  honor  of  the  young 
spouse  with  whom  he  adorned  his  new  establish- 
ment, he  abstained  three  whole  days  from  usury, — the 
sabbath  however  included.  Little  had  this  proof  of 
love  availed  him.  The  fascinating  Sarah  made  but 
an  inadequate  return  for  such  sacrifices;  and  while 
the  husband  passed  his  mornings  with  the  kehaya, 
one  or  other  of  the  kehaya's  officers  used  to  beguile 
the  solitude  of  the  wife.  Anxious  to  get  some  money 
advanced  me  upon  my  bairak,  I  went  several  times 
to  the  seraff  s.  Sarah,  from  her  grated  balcony,  es- 
pied my  visits  to  her  husband's  serdar,  and  seemed 
determined  to  console  me  for  his  backwardness. 
But  as  well  might  the  fair  Israelite  have  tried  to 
communicate  her  new  flame  to  a  heap  of  ashes  as  to 
my  worn-out  heart.  It  was  proof  against  all  her  at- 
tractions, natural  and  acquired. 

Among  Jews  and  among  gentiles,  in  scripture 
and  in  fable,  in  ancient  times  and  in  modern,  it 
has  been  the  invariable  rule  for  ladies  to  accuse  of 
too  much  warmth  those  in  whom  they  found  too 
little.  Sarah  departed  not  from  the  established  rule. 
She  represented  me  as  having  manifested  a  slight 
opinion  of  her  virtue ;  and  her  husband  was 
delighted  to  see  its  severity  thus  confirmed.  He 
had    heard  of    my    nocturnal   meetings   with   the 


J 


ANASTASIUS.  145 

Persian  merchants.  Forthwith  he  denounced  us  to 
the  kehaya  as  guilty  of  treasonable  practices  ;  but, 
on  an  investigation,  those  of  his  wife  alone  came  to 
light. 

Our  Hberation  followed  speedily.  The  indignity 
of  the  imprisonment  however  rankled  in  my  mind, 
and  I  swore  to  the  kehaya  an  irreconcilable  ha- 
tred. From  different  causes,  many  in  Bagdad 
shared  in  this  feeling;  and  a  small  knot  of  us,  chiefly 
officers  of  the  Jenissaries,  never  met  without  very 
freely  expressing  our  resentment.  One  evening,  in 
an  armourer's  shop  where  we  used  frequently  to 
assemble,  we  by  some  chance  began  mimicking  a 
Greek  superstition.  I  knotted  a  handkerchief  into 
a  little  puppet,  christened  it  Achmet,  and,  after 
loading  it  with  invectives,  invited  the  party  to 
plunge  their  swords  into  the  little  kehaya.  Not  until 
he  was  fairly  demohshed  did  we  perceive— squatted 
in  a  dark  corner  of  the  shop — an  Arab,  who  had 
been  cheapening  a  lot  of  muskets.  He  seemed  as 
little  anxious  to  be  noticed  by  us,  as  we  were 
pleased  to  discover  him:  but  our  conversation 
had  been  in  Turkish,  and  we  gave  ourselves  little 
concern  about  the  impression  it  might  make  on  a 
Bedoween. 

A  few  evenings  after  this  meeting,  as  I  passed 
through  a  back  street  far  away  from  my  lodging,  I 

VOL.  III.  L 


146  ANASTASIUS. 

saw  myself  rather  abruptly  approached  by  a  man 
enveloped  in  his  abbah,  who  had  been  observing  me 
for  some  time.  I  clapped  my  hand  on  my  pistol : 
but  the  stranger,  assuring  me  he  came  in  peace, 
only  begged  a  moment's  audience,  in  some  place 
where  no  one  might  overhear  us.  I  made  a  signt  to 
him  to  walk  on  before  me,  and  when  we  got  to  an 
open  area,  bade  him  stop  at  some  distance,  and  dis- 
close his  mysterious  business. 

He  first  disclosed  his  person :  opening  his  cloak, 
he  asked  whether  I  remembered  him. 

"  You  are,"  replied  I,  "  the  Arab  of  Montefih, 
whom  we  met  the  other  evening  in  Feristah's  shop." 

"  Not  of  Montefih,  thank  God !"  cried  the  stranger 
shaking  his  head  ;  "  not  of  that  amphibious  race, 
half  Turk,  half  Arab,  which  pretends  to  respect  the 
Bedoween,  and  yet  pays  tribute  to  the  Pasha.  Mine 
is  a  purer  blood,  and  a  less  corrupt  creed.  I  am  a 
son  of  Anahsse,  and  a  follower  of  Wahhab.  Only 
to  serve  my  faith  do  I  stoop  to  wear  the  garb  of  my 
enemies  :  only  to  seek  among  my  foes  the  weapons 
with  which  to  slay  them,  do  I  breathe  their  foul  at- 
mosphere. You  think  my  mission  dangerous. — Know 
that  for  one  of  us  who  falls  in  this  task  fifty  are 
found  imploring  to  fill  his  place.  We  fear  little  on 
earth,  whose  wreath  of  glory  is  weaving  in  heaven  ! 
Your  hatred  to  the  kehaya  is  known  to  equal  our 


ANASTASIUS.  147 

own.  Many  a  time  have  I  stood  unnoticed  by  your 
side,  listening  to  your  discourse  and  watching  your 
actions,  when  you  dared  to  paint  him  in  his  true 
colours.  Then  join,  if  not  our  belief,  at  least  our 
measures.  We  want  not  bravery,  nor  zeal,  but  tactics 
and  disciphne.  Such  as  bring  among  us  military 
skill  may  expect  the  highest  honors.  Leisurely  con- 
sult your  feelings,  and  let  me  have  your  answer."" 

This  answer  I  felt  ready  enough  to  give  on  the 
spot,  provided  I  knew  my  friend  commissioned  to 
take  it.  I  saw  little  prospect  of  advantage  in  staying 
at  Bagdad,  and  I  was  inclined  to  try  the  Wahhabees. 
All  I  required  on  the  part  of  the  Arab  was  a  sight  of 
his  credentials.  In  proof  of  his  mission,  he  took  off 
his  turban  and  shewed  me  his  poll : — it  had  not  the 
lock  of  hair  which  other  Mohammedans  leave  as  a 
handle  by  which  to  be  taken  up  to  heaven.  In  fur- 
ther confirmation  of  his  character,  he  pulled  out  of 
his  bosom  the  signet  of  his  leader;  and  as  a  third  tes- 
timonial, he  offered  to  introduce  me  to  a  conventicle 
of  Arabs  and  others,  friendly  to  his  sect,  who  would 
vouch  for  his  veracity.  This  party  I  saw,  and  was  sa- 
tisfied. Determining  upon  the  journey,  I  received 
the  seal  of  the  fraternity,  and  settled  the  day 
on  which  I  was  to  be  furnished  with  the  letters 
and  other  instruments,  which  the  Arab  purposed  to 
commit  to  my  care. 


148  ANASTASIUS. 

As  I  went  home,  I  met  one  of  those  Tartar  mes- 
sengers of  the  Pasha,  who,  Uke  maallim  Moorsa, 
spend  their  Hves  on  the  road  ;  but  only  carrying 
words  instead  of  wares,  fly  like  lightning  where 
the  merchants  creep  like  slugs.  This  man,  Feiz-ul- 
lah  by  name,  had  served  the  Capitan-Pasha  during 
his  short  Visirate.  I  had  known  him  on  the  banks 
of  the  Danube,  and  had  done  him  some  service, 
which  he  now  took  the  opportunity  of  repaying  on 
those  of  the  Tigris.  "  I  was  on  the  watch  for  you," 
cried  he,  as  soon  as  he  saw  me.  "  What  you  may 
have  done,  I  know  not,  but  what  will  be  done  to 
you,  if  you  stay,  I  can  pretty  well  guess.  In  a  long 
conference  between  the  kehaya  and  the  Jenissary- 
Aga,  of  which  I  caught  a  few  words,  your  name 
was  so  frequently  mentioned,  and  so  angrily  blend- 
ed with  the  terms  of  conspiracy,  secret  meetings 
and  Wahhabees,  that  I  slipt  out  ere  I  got  my  mes- 
sage, to  warn  you  not  to  stay  till  I  receive  it.  As 
you  value  your  Hfe,  leave  Bagdad  immediately. — 
Ishallah  ^  you  will  be  safe  among  the  robbers  of 
the  desert. 

On  uttering  these  last  words,  my  informer  was 
already  out  of  sight.  I  ran  not  after  him  for  fur- 
ther particulars,  A  month's  pay  of  my  troop,  just 
received,  was  still  in  my  pocket ;  and  purposing 
within  the  hour  to  review  my  noble  dellis,  I  had 


ANASTASIUS.  149 

ordered  my  horse  round  to  a  particular  spot.  No- 
thing remained  for  me  to  do  but  to  hie  me  thither, 
and  vault  into  my  saddle.  Bidding  a  mental  adieu 
to  my  corps,  which  was  actually  waiting  for  me 
under  arms,  I  borrowed  its  pay  for  my  travelling 
expences,  clapped  spurs  to  my  steed,  got  out  of  the 
city  by  a  circuitous  route,  overset  a  long  file  of  bar- 
bers going  in  procession  to  the  tomb  of  their  patron 
the  Prophet's  barber,  at  Madai'n,  crossed  the  bridge, 
traversed  the  suburbs,  and  reaching  the  outer  gate, 
took  the  road  to  Hillah. 

Divided  in  two  by  the  Euphrates,  and  encom- 
passed by  delightful  gardens,  that  city  might,  after 
a  fatiguing  journey,  have  tempted  a  less  hurried  tra- 
veller to  repose;  but  I  feared  its  constant  intercourse 
with  Bagdad,  and  pushed  on  to  Kefil,where  I  stopped 
a  few  hours.  Refreshed  by  my  halt,  I  left  the 
burying  place  of  the  prophet  Ezechiel  to  go  to  that 
of  the  nephew  of  Mohammed.  A  wide  desert 
intervenes  between  the  two  sanctuaries,  and  few 
were  the  thanks  I  gave  the  pious  souls  who,  in  the 
burning  sands  that  lie  between  them,  have  built 
fifty  houses  of  prayer,  and  not  one  place  of  rest. 
My  lassitude  at  last  grew  so  extreme  as  to  throw 
me  into  utter  despair :  for  my  faithful  courser, — till 
then  wont  to  ride  as  on  the  wind,  and  scarce  to 
leave   the   print  of  his  hoof  in  the  wavy  sands— 


150  ANASTASIUS. 

seemed  still  more  worn-out  than  myself,  was  scarcely 
able  to  set  one  foot  before  the  other  and  ready,  at 
every  step,  to  drop  down  from  sheer  fatigue :  yet 
I  made  him  toil  on,  much  as  it  grieved  me,  lest  I 
should  be  benighted  where  we  must  both  have 
perished  from  absolute  want.  At  last,  after  several 
more  hours  of  a  slow  and  painful  progress,  during 
which  I  frequently  was  tempted  to  lie  down,  and 
breathe  my  last  on  the  spot,  I  began  to  discern  a 
luminous  speck  in  the  horizon,  as  if  kindled  all  at 
once  by  some  fairy  torch.  It  looked  from  the 
boundless  plain  like  a  beacon  descried  at  night  on 
the  wide  ocean.  Yet  was  it  not  a  blazing  fire,  nor 
yet  a  twinkling  star.  It  was  the  gilt  cupola  of  the 
tomb  of  Aly,  reflecting  from  its  burnished  surface 
the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun.  Its  splendor,  gleam- 
ing far  in  the  desert,  and  marking  amidst  dreary 
solitudes  the  busy  haunts  of  man,  restored  glad- 
ness to  my  drooping  soul.  1  knew  I  saw  the 
spot,  however  distant,  which  was  to  end  my  labours. 
Even  my  horse  caught  the  influence.  He  shook 
his  mane,  pricked  up  his  ears,  snorted,  and  direct- 
ing his  wide  expanded  nostril  to  whence  seemed 
to  blow  the  fair  promise  of  relief,  made  fresh 
efibrts  to  reach  the  wished-for  goal.  I  patted  him 
on  the  neck  in  gratitude,  and  during  the  remainder 
of  the  journey  kept  my  eye  steadily  rivetted  on  the 


ANASTASIUS.  151 

blazing  dome  as  on  my  polar  star.  Anxiously  I 
watched  its  increase,  in  order  to  judge  of  the  lessen- 
ing distance;  but  much  time  still  elapsed,  and 
many  a  wearisome  step  was  still  performed,  and 
complete  darkness  overcast  the  lonely  scene  around 
me,  ere  I  drew  sensibly  near  the  end  of  my  jour- 
ney. Nor  did  I  quit  the  dismal  mounds  of  barren 
sands  which  on  all  sides  encompassed  my  scarce 
perceptible  path,  until  at  the  very  gates  of  the 
town.  When  indeed,  in  the  uncertainty  how  much 
further  I  still  might  have  to  crawl,  I  saw  the  bat- 
tlements over  the  pointed  arch  rise  all  at  once 
before  me,  at  the  small  distance  of  scarce  fifty 
yards,  I  gave  a  scream  of  joy ;  and  when  I  passed 
under  the  sounding  vault,  dark  and  gloomy  as  it 
looked,  I  felt  as  if  entering  the  portals  of  paradise. 

Anived  at  the  khan,  my  first  care  was  directed 
to  the  faithful  companion  of  my  toil.  I  myself  led 
my  weary  steed  to  the  stall,  and  with  one  hand  I 
stroked  his  panting  loins  in  thanks  for  his  services, 
while  with  the  other  I  offered  him  his  dearly 
earned  repast.  Alas !  He  would  not  touch  his 
food,  turned  away  from  his  drink,  and  lying 
down  on  the  ground,  thrust  his  head  between  his 
legs,  cast  on  me  his  keen  full  eye,  and,  seized  with  a 
convulsive  shivering,  fell  on  his  side,  and  died. 

"  Oh  my  noble,  my  beloved  steed  !  who  bore  me 


15^2  ANASTASIUS. 

through  so  many  toils,  and  saved  me  from  so  many 
dangers ;  who  with  such  gentleness  combined  such 
fire;  whose  mettle  my  voice  ever  could  raise  or 
could  repress  at  will, — were  then  your  unslackening 
efforts  to  save  my  life,  to  cost  your  own  !  Had  I 
been  Sultan  Mahmoud,  I  would  have  raised  ^a 
monument  over  your  body ;  an  Alexander,  I 
would  have  built  a  city  to  your  memory  :  Anasta- 
sius  could  only  give  you  his  tears  !"*' 

I  looked  about  to  replace  my  loss.  An  Arab 
brought  me  a  horse,  of  whose  high  pedigree  he  ex- 
hibited the  most  splendid  testimonials.  I  thought 
it  prudent  to  enquire  into  the  character  of  the 
seller  himself.  He  had  occasionally  stopped  travel- 
lers on  the  road,  and  he  might,  in  ordinary 
matters,  be  a  little  addicted  to  lying,  as  well  as  to 
thieving;  but  in  an  affair  in  which  his  honor  stood 
so  materially  committed  as  in  the  present,  he  was 
above  suspicion.  Sooner  would  he  spill  the  blood 
of  his  father  than  falsely  warrant  that  of  his  horse. 
All  his  certificates  were  authenticated  :  I  made  the 
purchase  I  could  not  avoid ;  ate  my  supper,  and 
having  bestowed  on  the  kehaya  a  few  hearty  cyrses, 
lay  down  and  soon  fell  asleep. 


ANASTASIUS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Earlier  in  the  morning  than  a  man  might  have 
preferred  who  had  gone  late  to  rest,  I  was  awaked 
bj  a  prodigious  clamour.  At  first  I  thought  Mes- 
chid-Aly  on  fire  ;  then,  invaded  by  the  Wah- 
habees :  but  on  rising  found  the  noise  only  pro- 
ceeded from  a  few  Sunnees  and  Scheyees,  assembled 
round  the  tomb  of  the  saint  to  whom  the  place  is 
consecrated,  and  engaged  in  a  trial  of  lungs  : — each 
sect  endeavouring  in  its  orisons  to  outbawl  the 
other.  Meschid-Aly  belongs  to  the  Sunnee  in- 
habitants, but  derives  its  chief  support  from 
Scheyee  pilgrims.  Within  its  precincts,  therefore, 
neither  persuasion  dares  to  insult  the  other  more 
grievously  than  by  invoking  with  all  its  might  its 
own  peculiar  patron :  and  the  Sunnees  cry  out 
Omar !  and  the  Scheyees  bawl  out  AJy  !  until 
Avant  of  voice  reduces  both  alike  to  silence. 

Among  the  other  strange  faces,  attracted  like  my 
own  by  the  clamour,  I  espied  some  which  I   was 


154  ANASTASIUS. 

quite  sure  I  had  left  at  Bagdad.  This  discovery 
made  me  resolve  entirely  to  quit  the  jurisdiction  of 
Suleiman,  for  the  scarcely  less  extended  though 
somewhat  less  definite  domain  of  the  powerful  Arab 
Schaich  of  Montefih,  whose  authority  extends  far 
along  the  banks  of  the  Phrat  and  of  the  Schat-el- 
Arab.  I  therefore  crossed  the  city,  and  again 
plunged  into  the  desert. 

Winding  round  the  western  extremity  of  the 
dry  bason  of  Nedgef,  I  insensibly  advanced  in  the 
lonely  waste,  without  precisely  knowing  whither  in 
the  first  instance  I  was  going,  but  intending  by 
degrees  to  work  my  way  from  one  lesser  Kabile '  or 
tribe  to  another,  until  I  should  reach  the  domain 
of  the  Wahhabees,  the  final  object  of  my  journey. 
An  old  abbah  covered  my  Turkish  dress ;  a  sack 
of  rice  on  one  side,  and  a  cruise  of  water  on  the 
other,  were  suspended  from  my  saddle  ;  and  thus 
carrying  my  bed  and  board,  and  at  liberty  to 
spread  my  table  and  couch  wherever  I  pleased 
under  the  canopy  of  heaven,  I  trusted  for  the  re- 
mainder to  my  pistols  and  to  Providence,  not  doubt- 
ing that  I  should  soon  reach  some  Bedoween  casmp^ 
where  I  might  claim  hospitality  and  protection. 

Meantime,  beginning  to  feel  entirely  out  of  reach 
of  my  enemies,  I  experienced  a  lightness  of  heart 
and  a  freedom  of  breathing  to  which  I  had  for 


ANASTASIUS.  155 

some  time  been  a  stranger.  It  was  rapture  to  me 
to  roam  at  liberty  through  a  plain  without  visible 
boundary,  as  over  a  vast  trackless  sea,  where  I 
might  steer  my  course  in  any  direction,  or  make 
for  any  point  I  choose,  unchecked  by  fence,  un- 
impeded by  hindrance  of  any  sort,  and  only  guided, 
while  the  day  lasted,  by  the  course  of  the  sun,  and 
when  the  dusk  came  on,  by  the  glittering  constella- 
tions which  seemed  to  succeed  to  his  glorious  em- 
ployment. 

"  Here,''  thought  I,  ends  the  domain  of  civilised 
man ; — of  that  man  whose  greater  polish  of  surface 
only  conceals  greater  hardness  of  heart,  and  who 
only  receives  a  smoother  edge  to  inflict  deeper 
wounds.  Here  gilded  daggers,  silken  bowstrings, 
and  honied  poisons  no  longer  dance  around  my 
steps  :  here  the  name  of  a  Sultan  ceases  to  sanction 
measures  which  his  mind  never  conceived,  and  the 
shadow  of  a  Visier  to  smite  men  whom  his  own  arm 
cannot  reach :  here  no  one  obeys  a  sovereign  he 
nevCT  saw,  oris  bound  by  laws  he  never  heard  of: 
here  man  will  give,  and  woman  will  deny  :  here 
no  walls  are  raised  to  keep  travellers  out,  nor 
are  tolls  demanded  for  letting  them  in :  no  one  here 
legally  detains  the  property  of  the  stranger,  nor 
churlishly  avoids  his  person.  Here  I  may  con- 
sider all  things  my  eyes  embrace  as  my  own  ;  and 


]56  ANASTASIUS. 

in  a  succession  of  short  easy  saunters,  roam  free  as 
air  unto  my  journey's  end  !" ' 

At  this  period  of  my  reverie,  out  started  from 
behind  a  little  knoll  a  fierce  looking  Bedoween, 
who,  couching  his  lance  against  my  breast,  haughtily 
bade  me  stop.  This  was  unexpected,  and  disagreably 
interrupted  my  exultation  at  my  newly  acquired 
freedom  of  motion.  The  Arab  pointed  to  a  small 
group  of  goat-skin  tents  which  I  had  taken  for  low 
mounds  of  earth,  as  to  the  place  where  I  must  go, 
whether  I  chose  or  not,  and  give  an  account  of  my 
views  and  proceedings.  Seeing  my  opponent  thus 
strongly  backed,  I  thought  it  as  well  for  the  present 
to  waive  my  privilege  of  unrestrained  liberty,  and 
to  make  a  friend  of  him,  ere  he  head  leisure  to  treat 
me  as  an  enemy.  I  therefore  jumped  off  my  horse, 
flung  my  pistols  to  the  ground,  and  calling  myself 
his  guest,  laid  hold  of  his  girdle.  Disarmed  by  this 
act  of  submission,  he  changed  his  threatening  tone 
into  milder  language,  bade  me  welcome,  and  offered 
to  conduct  me  to  the  Schaich.  So  rapid  indeed 
was  in  his  breast  the  transition  from  hostile  to  hos- 
pitable feelings,  that  he  insisted  by  the  way  on  his 
right  to  entertain  me  himself,  in  consequence  of 
having  been  the  first  of  his  troop  to  see  me  ;  and 
could  only  be  diverted  from  his  purpose,  by  my 
stating  that  I  had  special  business  with  the  chief. 


ANASTASIUS.  157 

At  the  entrance  of  the  most  roomy  tent  in  the 
camp,  sat  on  his  wicker  stool,  surrounded  by  a  num- 
ber of  naked  children  squatted  on  the  ground  before 
him,  this  eminent  personage.  Engaged  in  the 
homely  occupation  of  teaching  a  favorite  grandson 
to  hurl  the  hollow  reed  in  imitation  of  the  heavier 
spear, — as  yet  too  unwieldly  for  his  infant  arm, — the 
countenance  of  the  sire  seemed  to  radiate  with  rap- 
turous delight  at  the  feats  of  his  anxious  pupil; 
and  his  coal  black  eye,  still  sparkling  with  the  fire 
of  youth,  shone  the  brighter  from  its  contrast  with 
the  snow-white  beard  which  marked  his  advanced 
age.  On  seeing  me  unexpectedly  stand  before  him, 
he  gave  a  start  of  surprise :  but  soon  recovering 
from  it,  and  seeming  slightly  to  blush  for  its  mani- 
festation, he  pohtely  returned  my  salute;  and 
when,  having  stated  my  wish  to  pass  the  night  in 
his  camp,  I  claimed  his  protection  as  a  defenceless 
wanderer,  my  request  was  immediately  granted 
with  the  utmost  courtesy.  The  Schaich's  kindness 
stopped  not  here  :  calling  out  to  a  female  occupied 
in  the  right-hand  division  of  the  tent,  and  whose 
exterior — as  she  peeped  from  under  the  carpet 
which  concealed  her  employment — seemed  the  least 
of  her  merits:  "  Ackshid,"  cried  he,  "  a  stranger 
is  come  to  us  ;  make  haste  and  bake  some  bread  .*" 
to  which  injunction  the  diligent  Ackshed  replied  in 


158  ANASTASIUS. 

terms  expressive  of  her  readiness. — "  This  begin- 
ning," said  I  to  myself,  "  augurs  well !  Bread  once 
broken  witfi  my  host,  I  am  safe  under  his  roof." 

A  few  mintues  suffered  for  the  diligent  housewife 
to  produce  her  handy  work  in  the  shape  of  large 
flat  cakes,  with  the  distinctive  mark  of  her  own 
palm  left  impressed  upon  the  middle.  These,  with 
some  sour  camel's  milk  and  other  equally  primitive 
dainties,  were  set  out  before  me,  and  I  fell  to.  Soon 
seeing  me  sated  :  "  now  go  to  repose,"  said  the 
Schaich. — "  When  rested,  I  no  longer  shall  hesitate 
to  ask  you  who  you  are,  whence  come,  and  whither 
going  ?"  This  respite  gave  me  pleasure.  I  made 
myself  a  bolster  of  a  dromedary^s  pilion,  and  lying- 
down,  soon  fell  asleep. 

On  again  awaking  the  stars  already  twinkled 
in  the  firmament:  so  likewise  in  their  sockets 
did  the  inquisitive  eyes  of  a  dozen  of  the  no- 
tables of  the  tribe,  ranged  in  a  circle  round 
the  Schaich  to  hear  my  story.  I  took  my  seat 
beside  them,  and  expressed  my  readiness  to  be 
questioned: — the  answers  remained  in  my  own 
hands.  I  knew  httle  yet  whom  I  was  among,  and 
I  neither  wished  to  own  that  I  ran  away  from  Sulei- 
man, nor  that  I  was  going  to  join  Abd-ool-Azeez. 
"  I  am  a  Turkish  officer ;"  said  I,  "  I  come  from 
Bagdad,  and  wished  to  go  to  El-Hassa. 


ANASTASIUS.  159 

This  seemed  to  surprise  the  party.  "  Stranger,"' 
cried  a  Httle  shrivelled  old  man,  with  a  shrewd  dis- 
trustful countenance  and  a  harsh  grating  voice, 
seated  in  a  corner,  "  tell  us,  pray,  what  particular 
motive  can  induce  you,  thus  alone  as  you  are,  to 
prefer  the  dangerous  and  difficult  road  of  the 
desert,  to  the  easy  way  by  Basra,  Sobier,  Gram,  and 
Katif,  which,  in  eighteen  or  twenty  days  at  most, 
would  be  sure  to  bring  you  to  your  destination  ?" 

The  observation  had  a  something  so  just  and  per- 
tinent in  it,  as  to  be  rather  appalling.  "  I  am  a 
lover  of  difficulties,"  said  I,  laughing.  "  My  soul 
contracts  a  rust  in  ease  :  a  few  rubs  serve  to  keep  it 
bright.  Besides,  I  wished  for  an  opportunity  of 
paying  homage  to  the  virtues  of  the  Bedowees.'"* 

The  party  were  too  civil  to  tell  me  to  my  face 
they  believed  this  whole  flourish  a  lie :  but  I  read  it 
in  their  looks.  They  said,  "  they  hoped  my  dif- 
ficulties might  not  exceed  my  wishes,  and  that  their 
virtues  might  answer  my  expectations  ;"  whereupon, 
— the  night  advancing, — they  took  their  leaves, 
and  went  to  their  respective  homes. 

As  soon  as  I  remained  alone  with  my  host: 
"  Osmanlee,"  cried  he  in  an  earnest  tone,  "  you 
conceal  your  true  design.  And  yet,  why  should 
you  ?  By  giving  us  your  confidence,  you  would 
secure  our  good  offices.     Believe  me;  it  is  not  from 


160  ANASTASIUS. 

frivolous  curiosity  I  speak  :  Schaich  Mansoor  wants 
not  topics  for  idle  talk.  Your  own  welfare  makes 
me  anxious  that  those  who  have  just  left  us  teeni- 
ing  with  perhaps  unfounded  suspicions,  should  be 
induced  willingly  to  assist  a  helpless  stranger, 
rather  than  led  to  thwart  his  views,  from  mere 
ignorance  of  this  nature.  If  however  the  subject 
be  distressing  to  your  feehngs,  remain  silent.  I 
urge  you  no  further."*' 

There  was  in  the  tone  as  well  as  in  the  matter  of 
this  speech  a  something  not  only  so  earnest  but  so 
affeetionate  as  half  to  unlock  my  heart.  "  Mansoor,*" 
said  I,  "  a  soldier  in  Roum,  I  fought  the  Sultan's 
battles  in  the  name  of  the  Prophet  :  I  came  to  Bag- 
dad's Pasha  neither  wholly  destitute  of  rank,  nor  of 
renown ;  yet  I  was  slighted,  or,  if  noticed  at  all, 
it  was  by  a  proud  kehaya,  only  to  have  snares  laid 
against  my  life.  From  these  I  fly ;  from  these  I 
seek  shelter  in  the  depths  of  the  desert." 

"  And  of  this,"  cried  Mansoor;  "  you  feared  to 
apprise  me  ?  How  unjustly !  If  the  supreme 
chief,  the  Kbir  of  Montefih  himself,  the  daring 
Hameed — vulnerable  as  he  is  on  the  side  whpre  his 
peasantry  or  his  flocks  penetrate  within  the  pale  of 
Turkestan, — yet  only  pays  Suleiman  an  unwilling 
allegiance,  can  you  suppose  that  the  lesser  Schaich s 
of  his  house,  roaming  m  much  deeper  in  the  desert, 


ANASTASIUS.  161 

should  feel  desirous  to  espouse  the  resentment,  just 
or  unjust,  of  every  creature  of  the  Sultan  ?  Ah  !  so 
far  from  this  being  the  case,  rest  assured  that,  if  as 
a  mere  stranger  we  greet  you  with  good  "^vill,  as  a 
sufferer  by  Achmet  you  may  command  our  utmost 
services.  The  only  risk  you  might  run  would  be 
that  of  our  suspecting  a  better  understanding  to 
exist  between  you  and  the  kehaya  than  you  avow, 
and  the  grievance  you  talk  of  to  be  only  a  feint, 
through  means  of  which  to  draw  out  and  to  dis- 
cover our  secret  sentiments.  I  still  remember  too 
well  how  Achmet,  by  calumniating  me  and  my 
neighbour  Beni-Tamim  to  each  other,  was  near 
making  the  friends,  the  brothers  of  early  youth, 
offer  each  other  in  old  age  the  cup  of  perdition  ! 
But  even  with  this  example  imprinted  on  my  mind, 
my  heart  rejects  such  a  thought,  and  you  shall 
witness  that  we  pay  Suleiman  the  tribute  of  our 
herds,  not  of  our  feelings." 

"  But  why,''  said  I, — interrupting  the  Schaich's 
harangue, — "  with  such  proofs  of  treachery  on  the 
part  of  the  Sultan's  delegates,  not  prefer  the 
security  of  an  open  rupture  to  the  dangers  of  a 
secret  enmity  ?  Why  not  renounce  at  once  all 
allegiance  to  Suleiman  ?'* 

"  Ah  r  replied  Mansoor,  "  fate  forbids  my  num- 
bering myself  among  those  chiefs  so  entirely  beyond 

VOL.  III.  M 


162  ANASTASIUS. 

the  Pasha's  grasp  as  to  have  nothing  whatever  to 
fear  from  his  resentment.  My  subjects  hve  not  all 
yet  in  the  portable  tent ;  move  not  all  yet  from  place 
to  place  free  and  unconstrained  as  the  antelope. 
Many  of  my  vassals,  fixed  by  the  attraction  of  a 
richer  soil,  have  driven  deep  in  the  ground » the 
stakes  on  which  rest  their  stationary  huts,  and,  like 
plants,  adhere  to  the  clod  of  earth  which  their  habi- 
tations compass.  I  myself,  permitted  for  nine 
months  of  the  year  to  forget  that  Suleiman  exists, 
am  obliged  annually,  during  the  three  moons 
employed  in  collecting  the  contributions  on  my 
tenantry  within  his  jurisdiction,  to  refresh  my  re- 
membrance of  his  being,  and  to  pay  him  my  tithe 
of  the  monies  I  collect,  and  of  the  homage  I  re- 
ceive."" 

At  the  thoughts  of  these  periodically  returning 
burthens  of  vassalage,  a  cloud  seemed  to  overcast 
the  Schaich''s  countenance.  Its  serenity  however  soon 
returned,  as,  resuming  his  discourse,  he  added  with 
encreased  animation ; — "  but  I  too,  with  my  liability 
to  incur  wounds,  possess  my  power  to  sting.  Not  only 
for  every  injury  done  to  my  few  stationary  tenants, 
can  I  retaliate  tenfold  on  the  Pasha*'s  wholly  immove- 
able population :  I  can  refuse  the  escorts  and  the 
beasts  of  burthen  wanted  for  the  conveyance  of  his 
goods  and  the  safety  of  his  pilgrims  :  I  can,  if  his 


ANASTASIUS.  1€3 

ti'oops,  weighed  down  with  their  arms,  should  venture 
into  the  desert,  leave  my  battles  to  be  fought  by 
thirst  and  famine,  by  the  stifling  sands  and  by  the 
fearful  Simoom  ;  I  can  commit  to  the  power  of  the 
elements  the  protection  of  Mansoor: — -therefore, 
stranger,  since  I  now  know  who  you  are,  rest  secure ; 
and  may  soft  slumbers  keep  locked  your  eyelids  the 
remainder  of  this  night !  Tomorrow,  in  honor  of 
your  coming,  shall  fall  the  fatted  sheep." 

There  was  nothing  in  this  conversation  with  Man- 
soor calculated  to  disturb  the  repose  to  which  I 
soon  retired :  accordingly  it  lasted,  as  little  inter- 
rupted by  irksome  waking  thoughts  as  by  trouble- 
dreams,  until  broad  day  hght.  My  first  care  on 
getting  up  was  to  edify  my  host  by  the  unction  of 
my  morning  prayer ;  my  next  business  to  renew  the 
evening's  talk.  I  wanted  to  bring  him  on  the  subject 
of  the  Wahhabees.  At  first  he  rather  hung  back, — 
apprehensive,  no  doubt,  of  committing  himself:  but 
the  respectful  terms  in  whicli  I  at  all  hazards  men- 
tioned the  new  sect,  induced  him  at  last  to  become 
more  unreserved. 

"  Removed,"  said  he,  *'  as  I  am  from  the  Ared, 
and  on  the  borders  of  Irak,  any  avowed  union  with 
the  sons  of  Wahhab  would,  in  the  present  stage  of 
their  progress,  be  of  little  advantage  to  them  and 
of  certain  detriment  to  myself.     It  must  draw  upon 


\ 


164  ANASTASIUS. 

my  head  the  wrath  of  Suleiman,  without  ensuring 
me  the  support  of  Abd-ool-Azeez.  Besides,  a  man 
of  my  years  wants  repose  during  the  few  days  God 
still  gi'ants  him  to  live ; — were  it  only  to  prepare  for 
death ;  and  when  the  domain  of  the  Wahhal»ees 
shall  have  approached  nearer  to  us,  and  shall  se^  the 
authority  of  a  father  at  rest  devolved  to  my  children, 
these  may,  if  they  think  the  measure  expedient, 
join  more  openly  the  standard  of  the  new  sectaries  : 
but  though  a  Sunnee  in  name,  my  religious  senti- 
ments have,  in  reality,  always  differed  little  from 
those  of  Abd-ool-Wahhab .  Bigotry  therefore  raises 
not  its  insuperable  barrier  between  me  and  his  fol- 
lowers, and  when  all  other  barriers  shall  fall,  and 
the  opposite  floods  come  near,  they  must  of  their 
own  accord  run  into  each  other." 

The  only  thing  which,  after  this  candid  confes- 
sion of  Mansoor's  sentiments,  still  restrained  me  from 
disclosing  all  my  own  designs,  was  the  presence  of 
his  youngest  child, — a  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  years  of 
age,  who,  standing  by  the  side  of  his  father,  and 
alternately  fixing  his  keen  eye  on  whichever  of 
us  spoke,  seemed  with  outstretched  ears  to  catch 
our  words  almost  ere  they  fell  from  our  lips,  and 
imbibed  them  as  the  thirsting  plant  drinks  the 
summer  dews.  "  Might  it  not  be  well,"  whispered 
I  therefore  to  the  Schaich,  "  to  send  to  his  sports 


ANASTASIUS.  ]65 

this  lad,  whose  hps  move  not,  but  whose  mind 
devours  all  we  say  P"' 

"  Does  it  ?"  cried  Mansoor ;  "  Ah  then  by  all 
means  let  him  stay :  let  him  attend  to  the  converse 
of  men  ;  that-  by  so  doing  he  may  learn  to  become 
one  !  Fear  not  his  indiscretion  :  he  has  left  the 
womens'  chamber ;  hke  ourselves  he  has  learnt  to 
fetter  his  tongue." — On  such  a  commendation  from 
his  parent  a  Greek  boy  would  have  spoken  to  as- 
sure me  of  his  silence ;  the  young  Arab  only  looked 
his  delight,  in  the  bright  glow  Avhich  suffused  his 
downy  cheek. 

I  now  freely  confessed  to  Mansoor  that  my  des- 
tination was  Derayeh.  "  My  acquaintance  with  the 
plans  and  resources  of  the  government  of  Bagdad,'" 
said  I,  "  might  be  useful,  and  my  wish  to  see  them 
marred,  must  at  all  events  be  acceptable." 

Hereupon  Mansoor  ruminated  a  little  :  —at  last, 
**  since  such  is  your  design,"  cried  he,  *^  I  think  I 
may  do  a  thing  which  will  forward  it,  and  be  of 
advantage  to  both.  For  some  time  past  I  have 
been  thinking  of  sending  Abd-ool-Azeez  a  token  of 
go9d-will.  I  shall  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity. 
The  bearers  of  my  offerings  may  be  your  guides 
and  escorts,  and  you  the  bearer  of  my  assurance 
of  peace  and  amity." 

This  mission  I  most  gladly  accepted ;  and   the 


^66  ANASTASIUS. 

preparations  were  immediately  begun.  The  dif- 
ficulty lay  not  in  mustering  the  gifts : — they  had 
been  long  collected  for  the  purpose.  The  most 
prominent  consisted  of  two  handsome  blood  mares, 
"  able," — observed  Mansoor  — "  to  fly  without 
wings  ;■"  an  abbah  tissued  with  gold ;  some  rich 
Damascus  blades,  and  some  choice  Persian  stuffs 
from  the  markets  of  Bagdad  and  Basra :  but  the 
spoke  in  the  wheel  seemed  to  be  the  letter  which 
was  to  accompany  these  presents.  Mansoor's 
secretary  was  become  a  recording  angel  in  the  re- 
gions above :  Mansoor  himself  never  had  shone  as 
a  penman  ;  and  as  to  his  vassals  at  present  in  the 
camp,  they  were  more  remarkable  for  wielding  the 
knotty  reed  whose  point  is  steeped  in  blood,  than 
the  smoother  tube  whose  end  is  dipped  in  ink.  My 
whole  embassy  was  on  the  point  of  faUing  to  the 
ground  for  want  of  a  scribe. 

In  this  dilemma  I  bethought  myself  of  my  own 
savoir-faire.  It  is  true  it  extended  not,  in  Eastern 
characters,  beyond  the  most  ordinary  Nesh-khi  sort. 
For  want  however  of  a  more  skilful  hand,  I  offered 
mine,  such  ^s  it  was;  not  indeed  to  write  in  Arabic ; — 
that  was  out  of  all  question: — but  to  indite  an 
epistle  in  Turkish. 

After  a  little  hesitation  my  services  were  accepted. 
I  was  told  the  substance  of  what  I  was  to  pen,  and 


ANASTASIUS.  167 

left  to  give  it  my  own  form.  For  this  purpose  I  re- 
tired to  the  most  secluded  corner  of  the  tent,  and 
sat  down  to  my  work.  Alas  !  I  soon  felt  that 
neither  materials  for  writing,  nor  leisure  to  meditate, 
could  carry  -me  through  with  the  task  I  had  so 
incautiously  undertaken.  I  sat  poring  on  my  endless 
sheet  of  paper,  like  a  school  boy  at  his  theme,  biting 
my  nails,  and  not  knowing  what  to  write.  At  last 
a  bright  thought  came  to  my  relief.  "  Why  not, 
where  my  Turkish  lore  failed  me,  eke  it  out  with 
Greek,  and  conceal  the  scantiness  of  the  substance, 
under  the  exuberance  of  the  ornament  ?". 

By  this  expedient  I  at  last  completed  my  manu- 
script, and  brought  it  to  the  Schaich.  He  looked 
it  over  with  an  air  of  astonishment.  "  I  do  not," 
said  he, — twirling  his  turban  round  and  round  on 
his  head,  and  straining  his  eyes  to  make  out  a 
sentence, — "  pretend  to  be  conversant  in  Turkish 
writing ;  but  I  sometimes  have  seen  the  penman- 
ship of  the  Divan,  and  certainly  it  never  looked 
like  this  !" 

"  No  more  it  could,''  boldly  answered  I.  "  Peo- 
ple in  the  North  are  constantly  changing  their 
fashions.  They  now  think  it  graceful  in  the  Ottho- 
mStn  chancery  to  combine  the  Greek  characters  with 
the  Persian  phraseology.     But  if  this  new  mode 


168  ANASTASIIJS. 

displeases  you, — give  back  the  letter,  and  let  me 
tear  it !'' 

"  No  no,"''  earnestly  cried  the  old  Schaich,  hold- 
ing my  hand  from  executing  the  sentence.  "  It 
has  already  cost  us  trouble  enough.  If*  it  should 
not  be  very  intelligible,  Allah-Akbar  :  God  is  great ! 
my  presents  will  explain  its  meaning.'"'  So  saying, 
he  dipped  his  seal  in  the  ink,  and  impressed  it  on 
the  paper.  It  was  then  rolled  up,  inclosed  in  a 
case  sewed  by  Ackshid"'s  own  henna-tipped  fingers, 
and  handed  over  to  my  care. 

Mean  time  the  fatted  sheep  was  already  smoking 
in  the  platter.  Invited  to  the  feast,  all  the  chiefs 
of  the  camp  flocked  to  the  Schaich's  tent.  An  iii- 
fei'ior  sort  of  self  invited  guests  followed.  None 
were  refused  that  came  ;  and  each  sating  his  ap- 
petite in  the  order  of  his  arrival,  and  then  retiring 
to  make  room  for  others,  the  tide  of  comers  and 
goers  only  ceased  when  the  carcase  was  stripped  to 
the  bone. 

Now  commenced  the  bustle  of  my  departure. 
In  order  to  elude  the  hawk's  eye  of  the  roving  free- 
booter I  enveloped  my  Greek  features  after  the 
country  fashion  in  a  striped  handkerchief,  a  gift  of 
the  fair  Ackshid.  The  horses  were  led  out,  and 
the  guides  sallied  forth. 


ANASTASIUS.  1C9 

"  These  trusty  servants,"  cried  Mansoor,  "  will 
take  you  the  shortest  and  safest  road  to  my  neigh- 
bour the  Schaich  (I  think  he  said)  of  Schoreifath. 
Coming  as  you  do  from  me,  he  will  receive   you 
well,  and,   wh.en  you  leave  him,   will  give  you   a 
fresh  escort.     From  camp  to  camp  you  thus  finally 
will  reach  Derayeh.     Here  and  there,  however,  you 
will  find  perilous  passes.     All  the  Kabile's  are  not 
equally   friendly:     some    might     be   named   with 
whom  meeting  is  fighting ;  and  lately  the  combats 
have  been  so  sanguinary,  that  the  private  vengeance 
to  be  sated  on  both  sides  leaves  little  hopes  of  a  re- 
concihation.  Mind  therefore  every  where  to  enquire, 
and  always  to  be  prepared  both  for  defence  and 
flight.     But  on  this  subject  my  friend  Nasser,  more 
advanced  in  the  desert  than  your  servant,  wiU  give 
you  more  pointed  directions." — Then,  taking  me 
aside,  and  charging  me  to  inform  Abd-ool-Azeez  how 
well  disposed  he  was   to  his  cause,  but  how   ill 
situated  to   shew  that    disposition    except   by   his 
backwardness   in   assisting  Suleiman,  the  Schaich 
held  the  stirrup  for  me  to  mount,   and  bade  me 
farewell.     I  set  forward  just  as  the  sun  dropped 
behind  the  horizon,  and  followed  by  the  Arabs,  the 
led  mares,  and  the  camels  which  carried  the  pre- 
sents, slowly  proceeded  on. 

The  month  of  March  was  just  opening,  and  the 


iro  ANASTASIUS. 

heat,  save  only  at  mid-day,  still  easily  borne.  The 
verdant  carpet  of  the  desert,  bruised  by  the  horses' 
hoofs,  emitted  at  night  its  most  aromatic  exhala- 
tions ;  and  the  plants  and  shrubs  in  full  bloom  sent 
forth  invisible  clouds  of  the  most  powerful  per- 
fumes. In  the  morning;  scarlet  anemonies  and 
purple  ranunculuses  were  seen  to  enamel  the  blush- 
ing plain  unto  th^i  utmost  range  of  the  eye;  in  so 
much  diat  the  rosy  tint  of  the  dawn  only  seemed 
their  fainter  reflection  cast  upon  the  blue  sky.  Every 
where  our  cattle  found  abundant  pasture,  and  our 
own  appetite  feasted  on  milk  of  an  ambrosial 
flavour. 

Two  short  days  journey  and  a  half,  unclouded 
by  any  danger  or  molestation,  took  us  to  Nasser's 
camp.  It  is  true  that  now  and  then,  like  a  single 
fleece  in  the  azure  sky,  appeared  far  off*  in  the 
desert  some  solitary  Bedoween,  seeming  to  rove  in 
quest  of  plunder ;  but  none  came  within  hearing 
distance,  except  one  small  party ;  and  this,  the 
moment  it  recognised  the  Arabs  of  Schaich  Man- 
soor,  again  quietly  walked  off*,  and  vanished  in  the 
horizon. 

The  same  hospitality  which  had  marked  the  re- 
ception of  Mansoor,  shone  pre-eminent  in  that  of 
Nasser.  In  him  I  even  found,  with  less  loquacity, 
a  more  ready  frankness.     All  within  and  around 


ANASTASIUS.  171 

him  savoured  stronger  of  the  freedom  of  the  desert. 
The  wife  of  Mansoor  had  only  suffered  herself  to 
be  perceived  :  the  consort  of  Nasser  came  forth, 
and  met  our  gaze  without  scruple.  Not  only  she 
permitted  me  to  see  her  features  unveiled,  but  she 
very  minutely  scrutinised  my  own.  A  native  of  the 
West  was,  I  suppose,  a  novel  sight  to  the  lady  :  for 
my  person  and  my  attire  seemed  equally  to  attract 
her  attention.  Indeed  her  investigations  became 
by  degrees  so  close,  that,  to  my  great  satisfaction, 
the  husband  thought  fit  at  last  to  interfere.  I 
must  otherwise  have  been,  by  little  and  Jittle,  com- 
pletely undressed.  Even  after  she  had  been  com- 
pelled reluctantly  to  retire,  I  heard  the  fair  Far- 
sane  (or  whatever  was  her  name)  loudly  complain 
to  her  sympathizing  maids  of  the  check  offered  by 
her  husband  to  her  inquisitive  spirit. 

The  individual  of  our  embassy,  on  whose  powers 
of  persuasion  with  Abd-ool-Azeez  Mansoor  seemed 
to  have  most  relied, — namely  the  finest  of  the  blood 
mares  sent  him  as  a  present, — on  this  halt  happened 
to  evince  her  irresistibility  in  a  less  desirable  quar- 
ter:  not  indeed  from  any  fickleness  of  disposition 
in  the  poor  beast  herself,  nor  for  want  of  proper  care 
in  her  keeper ;  since,  of  the  chain  of  which  one  end 
confined  her  legs  at  night,  the  other  was  wrapped 


172  ANASTASIUS. 

roundthebodyof  her  guide,  whenever  he  lay  down  to 
sleep,  in  so  much  that  no  beauty  in  a  harem  could 
be  more  strictly  watched.  Yet  had  a  dexterous  thief 
nearly  succeeded  in  cutting  her  fetters  asunder  with 
a  file,  when  the  groom,  awakened  by  the  noise, 
caught  the  robber  in  the  fact.  A  sound  beating  was 
immediately  inflicted  upon  the  culprit,— intended  to 
extort  from  him  a  renunciation  of  the  right  he  pos- 
sessed of  naming  a  protector  in  the  camp:  but  while 
the  more  wary  natives  kept  aloof  during  the  opera- 
tion, I  must  heedlessly  thrust  in  my  person, — and 
accordingly  was  caught.  In  the  midst  of  the  cor- 
rection he  was  suffering,  the  robber  contrived  to  fling 
his  skull  cap  at  my  unguarded  head  so  dexterously, 
that,  touched  by  the  insidious  implement,  I  became 
bound  in  honor  to  pay  the  scoundrel's  ransom  and 
to  obtain  hii  release :  but,  in  return  for  this  good 
office,  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  hear  him  recount  in 
the  utmost  detail  rll  his  former  predatory  exploits 
as  honourable  achievements,  and  to  witness  the 
respect  they  inspired  for  his  person.  In  short, 
if  I  had  paid  dearly,  it  was  to  liberate  a  hero,  whose 
only  loss  in  the  affair  consisted  in  having  to  return 
to  his  own  camp  as  he  had  come  from  it,  on  his 
own  legs.  In  the  desert,  a  man's  thefts  are  only 
called  his  gain. 


ANASTASIUS.  173 

When,  after  this  little  episode  which  I  could  have 
■dispensed  with,  I  too  disposed  myself  to  leave 
Nasser's  tribe,  the  chief  pressed  me  to  stay  with  that 
blended  warnith  and  discretion,  which  left  me  an 
entire  liberty  to  accept  or  to  refuse.  Indeed,  com- 
bining with  the  energy  of  the  desert  all  the  polite- 
ness of  the  courtier,  the  Shaich  was  like  a  rock 
covered  with  flowers.  Seeing  me  determined  to  pro- 
ceed, he  gave  me  all  the  assistance  in  his  power, 
and  advised  me,  by  means  of  a  little  cu'cuit,  to 
avoid  his  next  neighbour  with  whom  he  was  on 
indifferent  terms:  then,  having  supplied  me  with 
a  double  provision  of  rice  and  dates,  arid  with  an 
encreased  escort,  he  wished  me  a  prosperous  jour- 
ney, and  tarried  at  the  entrance  of  his  tent  while  I 
remained  in  sight. 

For  the  purpose  of  eluding  as  much  as  possible 
all  observation,  I  now  travelled  only  at  night. 
Before  the  dawn  I  sought  some  hollow  in  the  plain, 
in  which  lay  concealed  the  body  of  the  caravan, 
while  on  its  outskirts  one  single  Arab  kept  watch, 
stretched  out  on  the  ground.  Thus,  making  way 
but  slowly,  we  took  five  days  to  reach  the  encamp- 
ment of  Schaich  Amrob,  chief  of  a  tribe  bound  by 
the  strongest  ties  of  reciprocal  services  to  that  of 
Nasser.  With  him  however  I  staid  but  half  a 
day. 


174  ANASTASIUS. 

On  my  next  march  we  took  such  exceeding  pre- 
cautions to  avoid  a  particular  horde  against  which 
I  had  been  cautioned,  that  we  walked  right  into 
the  midst  of  it.    The  encampment  had  movfed  from 
the  spot  which  it  was  supposed  to  occupy  i  and, 
thanks  to  our  cunning  zigzags,  we  fell  in  with  the 
troop,  just  where  we  thought  ourselves  most  com- 
pletely out  of  its  reach.     Its  vanguard,  however, 
contented  itself  with  demanding,  in  the  name  of  the 
chief,    a    considerable    sum   for    letting    us   pass, 
"  You   escort   strangers,"   added   the   spokesman, 
"  whom  we  distrust,   and  you  carry  goods  which 
owe  us  a  toll.'"*     This  observation  suggested  to  me 
the  idea  of  trying  the  virtue  of  my  cipher  received 
at   Bagdad.     "  Let   the   chief  himself,"  cried    I, 
"  come  forward,  and  state  his   claims.""     This  he 
presently  did.     Taking  him  by  the  wrist,  I  whis- 
pered  in   his   ear  the   Wahhab   watchword,    and 
shewed  him  the  signet.      At  this  sight  he   looked 
scared,  for  some  time  darted  his  eyes  in  silence  on 
the  instrument  as  on  a  talisman  which  kept  his  limbs 
and  features   spell  bound,   and  then,   waving  his 
hand,  "  pass  on,"  he  cried  in  surly  disappointment, 
— and  immediately  fell  away  behind  his  wondering 
attendants. 

This  incident  greatly  enhanced  my  importance  , 
among  my  own  troop.  Mansoor's  Arabs  now  saw  very 


ANASTASIUS.  175 

clearly  that  I  was  some  great  personage,  respected 
even  in  the  heart  of  the  desert ;  and  they  paid  me 
additional  deference.  It  went  not  however  so  far 
as  to  agree  with  me  in  an  unqualified  reprobation 
of  the  fines  levied  by  the  Bed o ween  on  the  pas- 
senger. "  What  the  last  Schaich  we  fell  in  with 
had  attempted  was  certainly  very  wrong,  but  what 
they  themselves  did  was  perfectly  right.  Because 
people  allowed  themselves  the  free  range  of  their 
own  premises,  were  they  to  lose  the  right  of  keep- 
ing out  strangers  ?  When  the  incautious  traveller 
neglected  to  make  his  bargain,  to  be  sure  he  was 
mulcted;  sometimes  even  he  was  stripped  to  the 
skin :  but  what  then .?  were  not  they  the  descen- 
dants of  Ismail  ?  Had  not  Ismail  been  unjustly 
disinherited  by  Ibrahim  his  father,  and  had,  not 
the  posterity  of  Ismail  an  undoubted  right  to  seize 
upon  its  lawful  inheritance,  in  whatever  hands  it 
might  have  fallen  i^"*' — I  attempted  not  to  combat 
this  argument.  All  I  did  was  inwardly  to  pray 
that  I  might  meet  as  few  as  possible  of  these  dis- 
inherited children. 

The  remainder  of  the  journey  only  offered  a  tire- 
some repetition  of  fatiguing  marches  and  of  tedious 
halts ;  of  wells  missed  in  one  place  and  found  filled  up 
in  another  ;  of  skirmishes  and  of  flights.  Our  recep- 
tion in  the  different  camps  varied  throughout  every 


IfB  ANASTASIUS. 

intermediate  degree  between  the  most  cordial  friend- 
ship, and  positive  fighting :  and  so  uninterrupted 
was  the  succession  of  expostulations,  of  threats  and 
of  protestations,  that,  ere  we  had  achieved  half  the 
way,  my  voice  became  almost  extinct,  and  I  had  to 
argue  in  complete  dumb  shew.  Every  tribe  in  whose 
vicinity  we  came,  supplied  our  caravan  with  some 
new  member,  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  reach, 
under  our  protection,  some  neighbouring  district ; 
and  as  those  who  joined  us  constantly  exceeded  in 
number  those  that  fell  off,  our  troop  at  last  grew 
formidable  enough  to  awe  an  enemy  of  moderate 
strength.  This  was  fortunate  :  for  the  further  we 
advanced,  the  greater  became  the  concupiscence 
excited  by  Mansoor^s  mares.  Every  Arab  on  the 
road  would  gladly  have  given  for  them  wife,  chil- 
dren, and  friends. 

Before  the  end  of  the  journey  we  had  to  en- 
counter an  enemy  more  formidable  than  any  Arab 
tribe,  not  excepting  the  most  savage  of  the  desert. 
I  mean  the  dread  Samiel.  Our  caravan  was  slowly 
pacing  through  the  boundless  plain, — the  horses'" 
steps  sounding  more  hollow  than  usual  on  the 
earth,  and  a  more  awful  stillness  reigning  in  the 
atmosphere.  Suddenly  a  lurid  glare  overspread  the 
eastern  extremity  of  the  horizon,  while  a  thick  sul- 
phureous mist  arose  from  the  ground,  which — first 


ANASTASIUS.  177 

revolving  round  and  round  in  rapid  eddies, — next 
mounted  up  to  the  sky,  and  finally  overcast  with 
tfireatening  darkness  the  whole  heavenly  vault. 
At  these  terrific  symptoms  our  Arabs  turned  pale, 
and  goaded  on  our  cattle  with  headlong  hurry — in 
order,  if  possible,  still  to  outrun  the  baleful  blast. 
But  in  vain  !  Hoarsely  murmuring^  the  hot  stream 
swept  the  ground  with  frightful  speed,  and,  much 
as  we  might  quicken  our  pace,  gained  fast  upon  us. 
Perceiving  themselves  encompassed  on  all  sides  by 
its  fiery  breath  our  people  shrieked  with  terror, 
our  very  cattle  howled  with  instinctive  anguish, 
and  all  that  had  life  fell  flat  on  the  ground,  burying 
nose  and  mouth  deep  in  the  shifting  sands, — in  hopes 
that  the  envenomed  current,  gliding  over  the  pro- 
strate limbs,  might  not  penetrate  into  the  vitals. 

Near  half  an  hour  did  the  raging  hurricane  keep 
us  thus  rivetted  to  the  ground,  without  daring  to 
move  or  to  speak  or  scarce  to  draw  breath,  and 
soon  entirely  covered  with  a  fine  impalpable  dust, 
which  not  only  found  its  way  into  every  fold  of  our 
garments,  but,  as  we  afterwards  found,  into  every 
inmost  recess  of  our  boxes  and  luggage, — when  at 
last  our  beasts  of  burthen,  as  if  awaking  out  of  a 
profound  trance,  began  to  shake  themselves,  and, 
by  all  again  of  one  accord  rising  upon  their  legs, 
gave  the  signal  that  the  danger  was  past.     Every 

VOL.  III.  N 


178  ANASTASIUS. 

creature  now  stood  up  that  was  able,  and  thanked 
Providence  for  his  escape.  Only  one  member  of  the 
caravan,  a  foreign  merchant,— too  tardy  perhaps 
in  prostrating  himself  before  an  unknown  enemy, — 
rose  no  more.  On  approaching,  we  already  found 
him  breathless,  and  weltering  in  the  thick  black 
blood  that  gushed  in  streams  from  his  nose,  mouth, 
and  ears.  My  guides  lost  no  time  in  committing 
his  corrupt  mass  to  the  earth,  ere  the  limbs  should 
detach  themselves  from  the  swelling  trunk :  then 
heaped  some  stones  over  the  spot,  to  protect  it  from 
the  insults  of  the  ounce  and  jackall ;  and, — these 
short  rites  and  simple  monument  completed, — ^again 
proceeded  onwards. 

This  catastrophe  closed  the  adventures  of  the 
desert.  Soon  after  we  began  to  descry  before  us, 
like  a  cloud  of  more  benign  and  promising  aspect, 
the  distant  mountains  of  the  Nedjd  and  the  domain 
of  the  Wahhabees  ;  and  with  rapturous  delight  our 
long  procession  by  degrees  penetrated  into  verdant 
vallies  filled  with  date  and  lemon  trees,  intermixed 
with  towns  and  villages.  After  resting  at  Ramah, 
at  Makren,  and  in  other  places  equally  inviting  by 
their  situation  and  their  produce,  we  at  last  reached 
Derayeh,  the  capital. 


ANASTASIUS.  179 


CHAPTER  VII. 


No  sooner  had  my  person  and  Mansoor's  presents 
been  made  fit  to  offer  themselves  before  Abd-ool- 
Azeez,  than  I  requested  an  audience  in  all  due  form. 
This  was  immediately  granted.  It  took  place  in 
the  open  air,  at  the  gates  of  what  I  must  needs  call 
— more  from  the  dignity  of  its  tenant  than  its  own — 
a  palace ;  and  the  Schaich  received  me  squatted  on 
a  rush  mat.  Notwithstanding  his  advanced  age  of 
seventy-five,  he  still  displayed  good  features  and  a 
handsome  though  somewhat  harsh  and  forbidding 
countenance,  and  through  all  the  affected  mean- 
ness of  his  dress,  shone  a  lofty  and  commanding 
air.  I  felt  a  sensation  of  awkwardness  at  the  rich- 
ness of  my  own  apparel,  so  much  exceeding  that  of 
the  high  personage  whose  favor  I  came  to  seek. 
On  this  subject  however  I  might  have  spared  my- 
self any  uneasiness.  The  Schaich  seemed  to  con- 
template my  ghtter — if  noticed  by  him  at  all— with 


180  ANASTASIUS. 

perfect  indifference ;  and  when  I  presented  to  him 
the  gifts  of  Mansoor,  he  cast  upon  them  the  care- 
less survey  of  a  man  who  considers  such  things  as 
beneath  his  attention.  The  letter  certainly  puzzled 
him.  He  seemed  to  feel  as  if  it  ought  not,  and  he 
saved  himself  by  his  supercilious  glance  the*  em- 
barrassment of  owning  that  he  knew  not  what  to 
make  of  it.  When  at  the  conclusion  of  my  ha- 
rangue I  repeated  to  him  the  sentence,  and  shewed 
the  signet,  imparted  to  me  by  his  emissary  at  Bag- 
dad, his  brow  unfurled  and  his  features  relaxed 
into  a  more  affable  expression.  Still  he  remained, 
after  I  had  done,  a  few  moments  musing  and  silent. 
At  last :  "  stranger,"  said  he,  in  a  slow  and  delibe- 
rate manner;  "  wonder  not  if  an  old  warrior,  ac- 
customed to  treachery  and  deceit,  should  not  feel 
immediate  confidence  in  Mansoor^s  protestations. 
If  the  light  of  truth  has  really  penetrated  his  heart, 
the  Lord  be  thanked,  especially  by  himself,  who 
must  be  the  greatest  gainer, — since  the  choicest 
blessings  of  heaven,  both  here  and  hereafter,  never 
fail  to  reward  sincere  conversion  ;  but  I  know 
the  faith  of  Turks,  and  I  distrust  the  very  Arab 
whose  breath  mingles  often  with  theirs.  Mansoor's 
artful  conduct  may  have  deceived  you,  and  it  is 
only  on  trial  that  I  shall  think  myself  secure  of 
his   sincerity.     "The  decisive  hour,''   added  he, 


ANASTASIUS.  181 

—  suddenly  starting  up  from  his  seat,  "  is  perhaps 
not  far  off,  when  all  who  appear  not  for  us  shall  be 
treated  as  if  they  had  been  against  us.  The  spears 
already  are  pointing,  and,  at  a  distance  which  no 
no  other  eye  pan  reach,  I  already  perceive  the  war 
dust  rising.  As  to  you,  stay  among  us :  in  the 
midst  of  my  own  children  no  treachery  can  reach 
me,  and  I  shall  have  pleasure  in  trying  your 
talents.'' 

I  expressed  my  thanks ;  and  fancying  that  the 
Schaich,  during  our  conversation,  had  eyed  my 
pistols  with  peculiar  complacency,  resolved  upon 
the  sacrifice  to  conciliate  his  good  will.  Arabs  of 
all  ages,  like  children,  always  think  most  desirable 
the  thing  that  is  withheld  from  them ;  whence  Abd- 
ool-Azeez  shewed  himself  much  more  gratified  with 
my  pair  of  pistols,  than  with  all  the  rich  presents  of 
Mansoor.  He  immediately  directed  that  my  ex- 
pences  should  be  defrayed,  and,  recommending  his 
new  guest  to  the  care  of  his  attendants,  mounted 
his  horse  and  rode  off,  followed  by  a  numerous 
and  motley  suite. 

Scarcely  had  he  proceeded  a  dozen  yards,  when, 
just  at  the  turning  of  the  street,  he  was  met  by  a 
young  man  also  on  horseback,  arriving  from  the 
country,  and  like  himself  attended  by  a  considerable 
retinue.     The  opinion  which  the  air  of  the  stranger 


182  ANASTASIUS. 

made  me  conceive  of  his  importance,  was  fully  con- 
firmed by  the  reception  which  the  Schaich  of  the 
Wahhabees  gave  him.  He  immediate}  turned 
back  with  the  new  comer,  and  when  both  were  dis- 
mounted, there  commenced  between  them  a  conflict 
of  civilities  partly  in  speech  and  partly  in  dumb 
shew,  which  lasted  several  minutes.  Each  repeated 
the  same  inquiries  and  the  same  protestations  a 
dozen  times,  and  each  a  dozen  times  touched  the 
hand  of  the  other.  In  the  midst  however  of  this 
mutual  assault  of  pohteness  i  still  thought  I  could 
discern  in  Abd-ool-Azeez'*s  manner  a  sort  of  con- 
scious superiority ;  and  the  imposing  reserve  which 
tempered  his  professions,  formed  a  strong  contrast 
with  the  visible  eagerness  of  expression  and  gesture 
of  the  stranger.  *  This  latter,  they  told  me,  was  the 
Schaich  of  a  smaller  Kabile,  connected  with  the 
chief  of  the  Wahhabees  by  the  double  tie  of  kin- 
dred and  of  vassalage. 

Presently  the  two  personages  sat  down  in  the 
court  of  the  palace,  and  seemed  preparing  to  dis- 
cuss an  affair  of  importance.  The  fear  of  appear- 
ing curious  made  me  retire  out  of  hearing ;  a  cere- 
mony which  seemed  entirely  waived  by  the  rest  of 
the  bystanders.  The  conference  soon  became 
animated.  Gesticulation,  which  is  never  spared 
among  the  Arabs,  rose  higher  and  higher ;  opinions 


ANASTASIUS.  183 

seemed  more  and  more  to  clash ;  and  such  at  last 
became  the  loudness  of  vociferation  and  the  violence 
of  gesture,  that,  from  expecting  to  see  the  two 
chiefs  devour  each  other  with  caresses,  I  now  began 
to  apprehend,  that  another  kind  of  fate  would  befall 
them.  I  know  not  how  it  was,  but  some  words 
which  reached  me  where  I  stood  struck  me  as  re- 
lating to  myself.  I  now  accused  my  stupidity  in 
tarrying  so  long  to  guess  the  subject  of  the  dispute. 
The  chiefs  had  met  in  perfect  amity ;  they  had  sat 
down  to  converse  with  the  utmost  good  humour ; 
and  the  only  subject  of  difference  which  could  have 
arisen  must  be  my  visit,  and  my  merits.  Nothing 
seemed  so  clear  as  that  one  of  the  Schaichs  was  my 
advocate,  and  the  other  my  enemy.  At  this  dis- 
covery all  my  former  discretion  forsook  me,  and,  as 
the  audience  increased  every  instant  in  numbers 
and  in  boisterousness,  I  resolved  to  mix  with  the 
crowd,  and  to  advance  within  hearing.  The  first 
words  which  distinctly  struck  my  ear  were  an  un- 
qualified sentence  of  death. 

A  thunder  bolt  falhng  at  my  feet  could  not  have 
more  astounded  me.  Had  I  met  with  no  impedi- 
ment I  would  immediately  have  been  off.  But 
fearful  to  betray  my  fear,  and  to  draw  upon  me  the 
eyes  of  the  multitude  by  attempting  to  force  my 
way  through  their  closely  wedged  ranks,   I  was 


184  ANASTASIUS. 

contented  with  making  myself  as  small  as  possible, 
in  order  to  elude  observation.  With  a  throbbincr 
heart  I  continued  to  listen  :  — but  my  palpitation 
prevented  me  from  hearing  another  word,  and  all  I 
could  do  was  to  Avatch  the  looks  of  ihe  disputants. 
After  the  hawk's  eye  of  Abd-ool-Azeez  had  severed 
times  wandered  round  and  round  the  crowd  as  if 
seeking  its  prey,  I  at  last  saw  it  pounce  upon  me, 
and  remain  from  that  moment  rivetted  upon  ray 
person.  "  It  is  all  over  with  me  now  !"*"  thought  I ; 
and  indeed  an  Arab  to  my  right  made  but  too  in- 
telligible a  sign  to  another  on  my  left,  that  no 
mercy  must  be  expected.  I  was  therefore  ready 
to  sink  in  the  ground,  when  a  third  Arab  who 
stood  before  me,  shrugging  up  his  shoulders,  cried 
out :  "  his  fate  is  sealed  ;''  and  then  with  a  deep 
sigh  added  :  "  alas  !  poor  Omar  !" 

Oh  how  I  felt  relieved  on  hearing  that  death  was 
to  be  Omar's  portion,  not  mine.  My  heart  dilated, 
my  lungs  expanded,  and  my  blood  again  began  to 
flow.  Ashamed  of  my  silly  apprehensions,  I 
stretched  myself,  resumed  my  erect  posture,  and 
felt  as  if  I  rose  the  whole  height  of  my  head  above 
the  surrounding  multitude,  over  which  I  now  cast 
all  round  a  complacent  look. 

'''  Who  is  this  Omar  ?^  said  I  to  my  neighbour  ; 
"  whose  fate  seems  to  excite  such  interest .?" 


ANASTASIUS.  185 

"  The  boast  of  his  tribe,  the  flower  of  his  family, 
and  the  pride  of  his  parents/'  answered  the  man, 
— wiping  the  tears  from  his  face. 

"  And  for  these  offences,''  resumed  I,  "  doomed 
to  inevitable  death  ?"" 

"  Tis  too  certain^"  replied  my  informer.  "  His 
liberality  excited  the  envy  of  the  ferocious  Mook- 
tar,  who,  only  intent  upon  tempting  Providence 
by  the  daily  recension  of  his  growing  riches,  never 
admitted  mortal  man  to  partake  of  his  goods. 
Wroth  that  Omar,  less  wealthy,  should  yet  be  more 
respected,  he  added  outrage  to  jealousy,  every 
where  insulted  the  object  of  his  hate,  and  even 
lifted  his  lance  against  him ;  until  at  last  Omar,  in 
defence  of  his  own  life,  took  the  life  of  his  foe. 
Hereupon,  lest  Mooktar's  powerful  relations  should 
sacrifice  justice  to  pride,  he  absconded,  and  his 
antagonist's  friends  swore  to  revenge  their  slaugh- 
tered kinsman  on  whatever  friend  of  the  homicide — 
within  the  fifth  generation' — their  vengeful  spears 
could  reach.  From  this  sanguinary  resolve  they 
now  however  in  part  desist.  They  agree  to  accept 
a  ransom  for  the  lives  of  Omar's  kindred ;  but 
from  their  mercy  Omar  himself,  of  course,  remains 
excluded.  If  found,  he  still  must  fall.  Ibn-Aly, 
the  strange  Schaich,  himself  related  to  Omar,  came 
in  hopes  of  the  youth's  inclusion  in  this  compromise. 


186  ANASTASIUS. 

He  has  just  been  representing  in  the  strongest 
terms  to  our  cliief — to  whom  Mooktar  owed  vas- 
salage— the  intolerable  provocations  on  one  side, 
and  the  long  patience,  and  at  last,  the  unpremedi- 
tated retort  on  the  other :  but  in  vain  !  Even 
Abd-ool-Azeez  cannot  compel  Mooktar'^s  friends  to 
renounce  the  price  of  blood, — the  right  they  have 
on  Omar's  hfe.  Behold  them  all  ranged  in  a  row 
behind  our  Schaich,  hissing  like  scotched  snakes : 
see  the  looks  of  rage  they  dart  on  Q mar's  kinsmen, 
ranged  on  the  opposite  side  behind  their  own  chief 
Aly.  Does  it  not  seem  as  if  each  troop  were  only 
waiting  for  the  signal  to  fall  on  the  other  like  beasts 
of  prey,  and  to  quench  their  thirst  for  blood  only 
in  the  entrails  of  the  last  of  their  enemies  ?'' 

This  account  of  my  neighbour's  was  confirmed 
by  the  words  which  Abd-ool-Azeez  now  uttered. 
''  Omar,"*'  said  he,  "  has  incurred  capital  punish- 
ment, and  while  he  remains  concealed  the  sentence 
cannot  be  mitigated.  If  he  have  any  thing  to 
alledge  in  his  defence,  let  him  come  forward ;  let 
him  plead  his  own  cause :  let  him  submit,  should 
he  fail  in  proving  his  innocence,  to  the  wrath  his 
crime  deserves.  In  fine,  let  him  seek  the  grant  of 
his  forfeited  life  in  the  generosity  of  his  adversaries, 
and  not  in  the  impotence  of  their  resentment.'' 

"  I  understand  ;*"  replied  with  a  bitter  smile  the 


ANASTASIUS.  187 

strange  Schaich,  "  Omar  is  to  be  by  a  false  hope  of 
pardon  drawn  out  of  his  concealment,  in  order  that 
his  enemies,  spurning  his  defence,  may  at  their 
leisure  drink  his  blood  unto  the  last  drop." 

Abd-ool-A?:eez  gave  the  stranger  a  daunting  look, 
but  coolly  proceeded.  "  I  doubt  not,"  rejoined  he, 
*'  that  the  kinsmen  of  the  deceased  would  pledge 
themselves  for  the  safety  of  the  murderer,  not  only 
while  the  pleading  lasted,  but  until  he  were  again 
conducted  beyond  the  pale  of  this  district.  What 
say  they  ?"  exclaimed  he,  looking  all  round, — as  if 
to  invite  the  party  concerned  to  confirm  his  sup- 
position. 

*'  We  would,  we  would ;"  answered  several  voices 
from  among  the  cluster  of  Mooktar''s  relations ;  and 
this  was  the  first  symptom,  on  their  part,  of  a  re- 
turn to  something  like  moderation.  But  what  be- 
came the  universal  astonishment  when,  upon  this, 
a  young  man  of  the  most  prepossessing  appearance, 
after  struggling  to  break  away  from  among  the  fol- 
lowers of  Ibn-Al}-,  at  last  was  seen  to  spring  for- 
ward into  the  open  space  left  between  the  two 
Schaichs  as  an  arena  for  combat,  and  to  offer  to 
tlie  astonished  eyes  of  the  beholders  the  actually 
present  Omar!  Submitting  only  to  concealment 
in  compliance  with  his  friends'  desires,  this  noble 
minded  youth  had  impatiently  brooked  the  crouching 


188  ANASTASIUS. 

attitude  of  fear  and  disguise.  He  thought  the 
circumstances  of  his  case  needed  only  be  known  to 
make  his  most  inveterate  antagonists  own  the  guilt- 
lessness of  his  conduct;  and  the  confused  and 
tumultuous  assent  of  some  of  Mooktar's  kinsmen  to 
the  proposal  of  the  supreme  Schaich  he  had  con- 
sidered a  challenge  which  his  character  no  longer 
allowed  him  to  disregard.  But  Omar  wholly  trust- 
ed to  the  dictates  of  justice  :  he  had  left  out  of  his 
reckoning  the  suggestions  of  passion.  When  the  bro- 
thers of  the  deceased, — those  who  most  reluctantly 
had  yielded  even  to  the  partial  compromise  in  favor 
of  the  innocent  friends  of  the  guilty  Omar, — actually 
saw  before  their  eyes  and  within  reach  of  their 
poniards  the  youth  they  had  so  long  and  so  fruit- 
lessly sought,  they  could  not  contain  their  fury. 
Drawing  the  already  sharpened  dagger  out  of  his 
bosom,  the  eldest  of  the  party  sprung  forward  like 
a  tiger  upon  his  unsuspecting  prey,  and  plunged 
the  shining  blade  into  Omar's  side,  ere  the  atten- 
dants of  the  Schaich  had  leisure  or  presence  of 
mind  to  arrest  his  heavy  arm  : — the  blood  spouted 
from  the  wound. 

At  this  sight  the  Prince  sprang  up;  and,  rending 
his  vestment :  "  friends  of  Mooktar,"  he  cried, 
''  what  have  you  done  !  Under  my  own  eyes,  in 
my  very  court,  thus  to  break  the  faith  just  pledged. 


ANASTASIUS.  189 

to  perjure  yourselves,  to  set  me  at  nought,  and  to 
disgrace  our  whole  tribe  !  O  Arab,  Arab  !  Time, 
while  it  lasts,  never  can  wipe  out  this  foul  stain !  '^ — 
and  he  beat  his  naked  breast. 

"  Our  assent,''  answered  deeply  blushing  the  al- 
most breathless  offender,  "  was  only  founded  on  the 
solemn  assurance  that  none  of  the  murderer's  friends 
knew  what  spot  on  earth  his  presence  defiled  :  you 
see,  he  was  in  the  midst  of  their  very  troop." 

"  And  what  of  that !"  resumed  the  Schaich. 
To  me  you  had  committed  the  task  of  procur- 
ing you  justice;  and  all  know  whether  J  fulfilled 
my  trust.  Speak,  foes  of  Omar,  as  well  as  his 
friends,  if  I  shewed  any  undue  partiality.  But  you 
have  infringed  your  promise  ;  you  have  trodden 
upon  your  engagement ;  and  if  Omar  dies,  murder 
has  only  been  repaid  by  equal  murder.  Your  own 
blood  will  have  to  atone  for  the  blood  which  vou 
spilt." 

These  words  were  heard  by  Omar.  Weak  as 
he  was,  and  expecting  his  wound  to  prove  mortal, 
yet  could  he  not  brook  to  rest  the  fairness  of  his 
own  character  merely  on  the  foul  deed  of  his  ad- 
versaries He  insisted  on  making  the  defence 
which  before  had  been  granted  him,  and  proving 
his  entire  innocence.  The  Schaich  gave  the  re- 
quisite permission ;  and  in  order  that  his  almost 


190  ANASTASIUS. 

extinct  voice  might  be  heard,  immediately  imposed 
on  all  the  strictest  silence. 

Supported  by  two  of  his  nearest  relations  Omar 
now  advanced,  and  in  words  few  and  faint  but 
most  clear  and  impressive  stated  the  manifold  in- 
sults he  had  received,  and  the  daily  forbearance  he 
had  shewn,  until  human  patience  no  longer  could 
endure  the  provocation,  and  the  chastisement  had 
been  extorted,  which,  beyond  his  intention,  had 
ended  in  Mooktar's  death.  Few  were  those  among 
his  hearers  who,  when  he  concluded  his  speech, 
pronounced  him  not  in  their  hearts  far  more  than 
merely  acquitted : — worthy  of  applause,  of  reward, 
of  every  honor. 

But  among  those  was  not  the  supreme  Schaich. 
Whether  prompted  by  extreme  love  of  justice,  or 
by  a  latent  bias  toward  his  own  tribe :  "  Omar,"" 
exclaimed  he  to  the  dismay  of  all ;  "  you  have 
chosen  to  rest  your  safety  on  the  merits  of  your 
case,  and  have  compelled  me  to  sit  in  judgment  on 
one  I  could  have  wished  to  save.  I  own  you  de 
serving  of  pity,  but  I  cannot  pronounce  you  entitled 
to  pardon.     That  word  may  not  pass  my  hps." 

Then,  turning  to  the  kinsmen  of  Mooktar : 
"  Friends  of  the  slain,"  continued  he,  "  I  am  going 
to  deliver  into  your  hands  that  which,  though  in 
part  too  hastily   anticipated,   yet  in  its  whole  is 


ANASTASIUS.  191 

yours.  I  am  going  to  give  you  full  possession  of 
your  victim.  If.  not  satisfied  with  having  drawn 
blood  for  blood,  you  must  have  the  full  certainty  of 
taking  life  for  hfe,  achieve  your  work  of  vengeance ; 
plunge  deeper  your  daggers  into  the  heart  of  Omar; 
and  secure  yourselves  against  any  remaining  pos- 
sibility of  his  surviving  his  wound  and  boasting  of 
his  deed," 

At  these  cruel  words,  Omar,  exhausted  with 
agitation  and  with  loss  of  blood,  fell  senseless  on  the 
pavement ;  his  friends  uttered  mournful  groans, 
and  the  leader  of  his  enemies,  having  whetted  his 
knife  on  the  steps  of  the  palace,  stooped  to  perform 
the  last  act  of  revenge,  by  plunging  his  poniard  to 
the  hilt  in  the  heart  of  the  already  speechless  youth : 
— when  Abd-ool-Azeez,  yet  holding  back  his  hand, 
in  a  louder  voice  continued 

"  After  however,""  said  he,  "  having  thus  per- 
formed my  duty  both  as  arbitrator  and  as  judge ; 
let  me  add  this  one  thing  more,  that  the  act  I  am 
forced  to  permit  must  perpetuate  between  two  dis- 
tinguished famihes  the  rancour  just  kindled,  and 
doom  it  only  to  end  in  the  destruction  of  the  tribes 
to  which  they  belong.  I  therefore  denounce,  as  ruler 
of  these  realms,  as  minister  of  the  Most  High, 
and  as  apostle  of  the  only  pure  faith^  on  whoever 
shall  draw  down  upon  his  country  so  heavy  an  evil 


]92  ANASTASIUS. 

my  eternal  malediction.  Cursed  be  the  hand  that 
shall  advance  to  extinguish  the  embers  of  an  already 
fleeting  life ;  cursed  the  lip  that  shall  from  an  al- 
ready agonised  enemy  withhold  a  free  and  un- 
qualified forgiveness!" 

"  Yes  ;  cursed  be  that  hand,  and  cursed  be  those 
lips !"  now  re-echoed  in  unison  from  all  the  behold- 
ers— save  one,  who  himself  however,  as  if  already 
struck  by  the  anathema,  and  no  longer  daring  to  op- 
pose the  universal  impulse,  now  with  a  ghastly  look 
and  quivering  lip  faintly  uttered :  "  take  my  par- 
don ;"*'  and,  overwhelmed  with  disappointment  and 
rag^e,  fell  back  among  his  troop, — and  disappeared. 

Shouts  of  joy  now  arose  from  every  quarter.  Of 
the  dead  Mooktar  all  further  thoughts  were  dis- 
missed, and  the  still  breathing  Omar  alone  con- 
tinued the  object  of  general  solicitude.  Abd-ool- 
Azeez  assigned  him  a  small  abode  near  the  palace  ; 
and  thither  the  youth  was  carried  on  the  shoulders 
of  his  friends,  but  with  httle  hopes  of  saving  his 
life.  In  honor  of  the  reconciliation  between  the 
two  famiUes  the  supreme  chief  ordered  a  sumptu- 
ous feast.  While  the  entertainment  Avas  preparing 
he  presented  me  to  his  kinsman.  "  This  stranger," 
said  he,  "  is  come  to  bend  the  knee  with  us  to  the 
Most  High  in  the  rightful  worship.  He  abandons 
the  luxuries  of  the  Turks  for  the  frugal  life  of  the 


ANASTASIUS.  193 

Wahhabees,  and  brings  the  sciences  taught  in  cities, 
that  they  may  fructify  in  our  camps."  Then,  turn- 
ing to  me  : — *'  the  Otthoman's,"  added  he,  "  boast 
of  once  having  conquered  these  regions.  Their 
armies  crossed  them  indeed;— but  as  the  arrow 
cleaves  the  air,  without  leaving  a  trace.  The  Wah- 
habees  soon  shall  march  through  the  land  of  the 
Turks :  but  they  shall  go  as  the  plough  goes  through 
the  ground ; — cutting  up  all  it  meets  in  its  way,  and 
leaving  behind  it  an  indelible  track.  In  vain,  to 
conceal  his  wrinkles,  old  Suleiman  paints  his  care- 
worn face:  at  the  bare  sound  of  our  name  the 
paleness  of  fear  overcasts  all  his  features,  and  pro- 
claims his  true  feehngs  through  the  lying  crimson 
that  glows  on  his  cheek !" 

The  repast  being  ready,  the  various  groups  of 
guests  sat  down  round  the  loaded  platters,  accord- 
ing to  their  rank.  Mine  being  that  of  a  foreign 
embassador  procured  me  the  honor  of  a  place  near 
the  Schaichs.  Scarce  had  I,  according  to  the  coun- 
try fashion,  thrust  my  fingers  in  the  dish,  when  an 
Arab,  so  enveloped  in  his  haick^  that  his  figure 
was  not  more  cognizable  than  his  face,  walked  into 
the  room,  with  great  solemnity  approached  the 
place  where  I  sat,  put  the  hem  of  my  garment  to 
his  Ups,  and  his  lips  to  my  ear,  and  in  a  whisper 
interrupted  by  loud  and  frequent  sobs  invited  me 

VOL.  III.  O 


194  ANASTASIUS. 

to  leave  my  dinner,  and  to  go  where  he  should 
precede  me.  He  most  obstinately  indeed  refused  to 
explain  who  he  was,  and  for  what  purpose  he  de- 
sired my  company,  but  there  appeared  something  so 
earnest  and  impressive  in  his  manner  that  I  could 
not  say  nay ;  and  though  my  neighbours  pressed  me 
to  stay,  and  loudly  inveighed  against  the  unmannerly 
Arab  who  called  a  new  comer  away  from  the  feast 
at  its  very  beginning,  I  followed  my  mysterious 
herald,  and  bade  him  lead  the  way. 

Contenting  himself  with  thanking  me  for  yielding 
to  his  entreaty  by  a  silent  but  earnest  pressure  of 
the  hand,  he  conducted  me  to  a  hovel  at  the  bottom 
of  a  narrow  lane.  There,  gently  opening  the  door 
of  a  back  room  into  which  he  preceded  me  on  tip 
toe,  he  ushered  me  amongst  a  large  assembly  of 
persons  of  both  sexes,  so  intent  upon  the  object 
around  which  they  were  collected,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  push  them  aside  in  order  to  shew  me 
where  lay,  on  a  species  of  litter,  wan,  pale,  and  seem- 
ing at  the  last  gasp,  the  wounded  Omar. 

The  party  assembled  round  this  poor  youth  were 
his  parents  and  relations,  who,  when  Ibn-Aly  his 
cousin  set  out  for  Derayeh  to  negociate  his  safety, 
had  not  been  able  to  prevent  him — impatient  as  he 
felt  under  the  imputation  of  cowardice — from  fol- 
lowing, mixed  among  his  kinsman's  suite ;  and  had 


ANASTASIUS.  195 

therefore  in  their  turn  also  followed,  in  order  if 
possible  to  check  his  impetuosity,  or  at  least  to  sup- 
port his  valour:— a  circumstajnce  which   enabled 
them   after    the    imprudence   he    committed   im- 
mediately to  come  forward  to  his  assistance,  and  to 
afford    him    all  the   care  his    situation   required. 
Though  his  wound  seemed  not  to  have  reached  the 
vital  parts,  yet  had  Mooktar's  dagger  gone  deep  in 
his  breast,   and  the  fever  and  debility  it  had  left 
rendered  his  state  to  all  appearances  so  critical,  that 
his  friends  felt  the  utmost  apprehension  for  his  Hfe. 
Hearing   that  a  stranger  had  arrived  at  Derayeh 
skilled  in  the  knowledge  of  the  West,  they  determin- 
ed to  request  his  advice ;  and  it  was  the  father, — 
the  afflicted  Beder  himself, — who  came  for  me  to 
the  palace.     The  fear  of  marring  the  hilarity  of 
the  feast  by  his  mournful  looks  had  made  him  con- 
ceal his  face,  and  the  dread  of  incurring  the  re- 
proaches of  the  host  for  taking  away  his  guest,  had 
induced  him  to  keep  closed  his  lips.    Even  now  that, 
put  o£  hearing  of  the  mirthful  board  and  arrived 
idth  me  near  the  bed  of  sickness,  he  attempted  to 
speak,  he   could  only  point  in  silence  to  his  son, 
lying  almost  insensible  on  his  couch, — and  moved 
his  lips  in  vain.     No  sound  came,  and  the  tears 
which  mechanically  trickled  down  his  cheeks  he^ 
lied  the  look  ©f  composure  he  strove  to  preserve. 


196  ANASTASIUS. 

As  to  his  wife  and  daughters,  they  made  not  even 
an  attempt  to  suppress  their  emotion.  Casting 
away  all  Mussulman  reserve,  they  convulsively 
grasped  my  hand,  covered  it  with  kisses,  and  bathed 
it  in  tears.  "  Cure,  ah  cure  our  loved  Omar  !*" 
they  cried  with  heart-rending  moans ;  "  for  we 
know  that  it  is  in  your  power ."'' 

This  supposition  was  rather  appalling ;  and  the 
first  thing  I  did  was  to  disclaim  every  pretension  to 
infallibility. 

After  that  protest,  indispensable  on  the  occasion, 
but  which  met  with  little  credence,  I  walked  up  to 
the  patient,  and,  while  all  the  rest  of  the  party  form- 
ed around  us  an  immoveable  and  breathless  circle, 
of  which  every  eye  centered  on  my  looks  and 
tried  to  dive  into  my  soul,  I  endeavoured  to  as- 
certain Omar's  condition.  The  chief  medicine  his 
case  seemed  in  my  opinion  to  require,  was  bodily 
rest  and  mental  composure. 

"  Sir,''  said  I  therefore  to  the  father,  whose 
breath  while  I  spoke  answered  not,  but  whose  eyes 
devoured  my  words :  *'  The  character  in  which  I 
come  to  this  country  is  that  of  envoy  of  Schaich 
Mansoor,  not  of  disciple  of  Ibn-Senna.  What  little 
skill  in  medicine  I  may  possess  was  acquired  as  an 
object  of  curiosity,  not  as  a  means  of  profit.  The 
gratuitousness  of  my  assistance  entitles  me  to  stipu- 


ANASTASIUS  19r 

late  before  hand  for  the  most  impHcit  obedience  to 
all  my  prescriptions." 

"  Order  us  to  wrest  from  Aly's  tomb  his  plumed 
turban,''  hereupon  cried  the  fiither.  "  Command 
us  to  crawl  on  our  bare  knees  to  the  Kaaba,'^  ex- 
claimed the  mother.  "  Bid  us  renounce  all  the 
honors  of  the  married  state,"  spoke,  in  faultering 
accents,  the  daughters. 

"  All  these,"*"  I  observed,  "  would  be  very  ^f- 
ficult  achievements  ;  but  of  very  little  efficacy  as  a 
cure.  A  much  easier  thing  might  be  of  infinitely 
more  advantage  :  namely,  for  the  relations  not  to 
keep  the  patient  in  a  constant  fever  by  their  alarms 
and  their  surmises ;  but  to  retire,  to  stay  outside 
the  room,  and  not  to  re-enter  it,  except  with  my 
permission.'"* 

This  prescription,  however,  was  in  itself  much  too 
easily  obeyed,  to  have  a  chance  of  being  enforced 
without  the  utmost  difficulty.  Nothing  but  the 
threats  of  losing  their  son  to  a  certainty  unless  it 
were  adhered  to,  could  make  the  good  people  clear 
the  chamber,  and  commit  their  dearest  treasure  to 
my  sole  unwatched  care. 

Left  alone  with  my  patient  I  very  quietly  mixed 
up  a  draught,  and  with  an  air  of  important  solem- 
nity composed  a  charm;  pledged  myself  only  for 
the  efficacy  of  the  amulet,  but  took  care  to  see  the 


198  ANASTASIUS. 

potion  drunk  off  to  the  last  drop.  The  confidence 
in  the  spell,  the  composing  nature  of  the  medicine, 
and  the  quiet  of  the  room,  procured  the  youth  a  re- 
freshing sleep,  and  when  he  awoke  he  found  his 
fever  abated  and  his  strength  recruited.  I  now 
dressed  his  wound,  gave  him  some  liquid  food,  ai\d, 
calling  in  his  friends,  shewed  them  the  improvement 
in  his  looks.  But  so  loud  were  their  exclamations 
of  joy,  and  so  boisterous  the  blessings  they  bestowed 
on  my  ancestors  for  three  generations  back,  that  I 
soon  turned  them  all  out  again.  My  part  of  Cer- 
berus was  unremittingly  supported,  until  long  int^v 
vals  of  tranquillity  and  visits  of  an  instant  only  had 
removed  all  danger.  When,  owing  to  his  good 
constitution,  the  youth  became  visibly  convalescent, 
I  stepped  modestly  forward  to  receive  tlie  thanks 
due  to  nature  for  preserving  the  hopes  of  a  power- 
ful house,  whose  gratitude  was  proportionate  to  my 
apparent  merits.  Had  I  saved  Omar  only  through 
dint  of  the  most  consummate  skill  and  the  most 
unwearied  toil,  the  feehngs  expressed  could  not 
have  been  more  ardent  or  more  sincere. 


ANASTASIUS.  199 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Abd-ool-Azeez  had  provided  me  at  Derayeh  with  a 
lodging  such  as  became  a  guest  of  my  distinction. 
In  fair  weather  it  let   in  no  rain,  and  in  foul  it 
stopped   not   the  water  from   running  out,     My 
meals,  which  came  ready  dressed  from  the  Schaich's 
own  kitchen,  had  at  least  one  great  merit ;  that  of 
affording  little  excitement  to  intemperance.     Now 
and  then   there  arrived  in  single  state,  before  or 
after  my  dinner,  a  plate  of  sweetmeats  or  a  bowl  of 
hoshab,  as  a  more  pointed  mark  of  attention.     If 
the  custom  of  the  country — I  should  rather  say  the 
strictness   of  the   Wahhabee  tenets — forbade  my 
being  entertained  with  bands  of  singers  and  dancers, 
my  leisure  was  equally  well  employed  in  myself  en- 
tertaining all  the  idle  and  curious  of  the  place,  an 
assembly  of  whom  attended  my  levee  every  morn- 
ing, except  when  I  went  out  to  pay  my  own  court 
to  the  prince,  or  to  visit  my  patient.     With  the 
Schaich  I  used  to  talk  of  Suleiman,  of  his  force, 


200  ANASTASIUS. 

his  policy,  the  intrigues  of  those  who  usurped  his 
authority,  and  the  cabals  of  those  who  coveted  his 
succession.  With  Omar  I  used  to  handle  a  topic  to 
me  still  more  interesting :  my  own  dear  self.  I  re- 
lated to  him  every  extraordinary  object  I  had  seen, 
and  every  strange  adventure  I  had  experienced. 

No  one  could  help  loving  the  young  Bedoween. 
Combining  gentleness  with  spirit,  and  modesty  with 
noble  pride,  his  mind  displayed  in  the  midst  of  the 
desert  the  cultivation  of  the  college  and  the  graces 
of  a  court.  He  used  to  lie  for  hours  listening  to 
my  narrations,  which  often  drew  a  deep  sigh  from  his 
bosom  ;  and  when  I  had  done  speaking,  he  would 
sometimes  raise  himself  on  his  couch,  and, — in 
his  turn  taking  up  the  discourse — relate  the  history 
of  his  tribe  and  the  vicissitudes  of  his  family.  Above 
all  he  loved  to  expatiate  on  the  purity  of  his  blood 
and  the  virtues  of  his  parents:  to  tell  how  his  father, 
abhorring  the  frequent  divorces  in  vogue  among  the 
Arabs,  and  the  sacrifice  they  made  of  lasting  affec- 
tions to  transient  enjoyments,  had  never  had  any  wife 
but  his  mother ;  and  how  he  himself  proposed  to 
follow  his  sire''s  good  example.  So  exalted  were  his 
sentiments  and  so  pleasing  his  conversation,  that  when 
I  shut  my  eyes  I  sometimes  could  fancy  I  heard  my 
friend  Spiridion.  Externals  only  differed;  their 
hearts  wore  the  same  hue  :  and  let  me  add,  that  the 


I 


ANASTASIUS.  gol 

right  feelings  of  the  Arab,  of  which  I  became  the 
constant  witness  at  a  time  when,  softened  by  sorrow 
and  steadied  by  experience,  my  mind  was  prepared 
to  receive  the  full  benefit  of  the  communication, 
operated  a  real  and  important  change  in  my  own 
disposition.  I  resembled  the  clay,  which,  situated 
near  the  rose,  imbibes  some  of  its  fragrance. 

What  wonder  then  that  each  thus  imparting  to  the 
other  new  and  valued  means  of  enjoyment  or  happi- 
ness, a  tender  friendship  should  by  degrees  have 
arisen  between  us.  It  acquired  such  intensity  that, 
after  the  period  had  been  fixed  for  Omar*s  return  to 
El-Gaddeh  the  place  of  his  residence,  he  found 
means  to  linger  at  Derayeh  some  time  longer  on  the 
score  of  debility,  with  no  other  view  but  to  put  off 
the  evil  day  of  our  separation  ;  and  when  at  last  he 
no  longer  could  urge  any  new  excuse  for  staying, 
he  made  it  his  last  solemn  request,  on  taking  leave 
of  the  great  Schaich,  that  I  might  be  permitted  to 
accompany  him  home,  and  to  stay  under  his  roof. 
This  favour,  the  prince,  after  some  demur,  was  pre- 
vailed upon  to  grant :  but  only  for  a  limited  period, 
and  on  the  express  condition  that  I  should  hold 
myself  in  readiness  to  return  to  Dtrayeh  the  moment 
I  was  summoned. 

At  El-Gaddeh,  and  in  Beder's  abode,  I  need  not 
say  that  I  felt  more  at  ease  than  I  had  done  at 


202  ANASTASIUS. 

Derayeh.     My  kind  hosts  treated  me  to  every  di- 
version which  the  country  afforded.    Sometimes  we 
went  out  hunting,  at  others  we  witnessed  sports  of 
agility  and  strength;  and  on  the  days  we  passed  at 
home,  Omar  used  to  collect  all  the  poets  and  story 
tellers  of  the  country  to  pay  me  high  flown  compli- 
ments.    According  to  their  accounts,  I  might  trace 
my  descent  at  pleasure  either  from  the  Genii  or  the 
Peris  ;  and  as  to  my  achievements, — those  of  Antar 
himself  were  child's  play  in  comparison.     Omar's 
relations  and  friends  behaved  to  me  as  if  all  this  high 
strained  praise  had  been  mere  matter  of  fact :  his 
father  seemed  to  rejoice  in  our  growing  attachment, 
and  Ibn-Aly  himself,  the  head  of  the  family  as  well 
as  of  the  tribe,  paid  me  every  most  flattering  atten- 
tion.   Strange  to  tell,  but  true — the  place  where  in 
the  course  of  my  chequered  life  I  experienced  most 
of  that  glowing  kindness  which  springs  from  the 
heart,  was  that  where  I  sat  down  the  greatest  stran- 
ger, and  which,  in  point  of  geographical  situation, 
lay  furthest  removed  from  the  land  of  my  birth. 

I  yet  only  reckoned  the  length  of  my  stay  at  El- 
Gaddeh  by  single  days,  when  one  evening,  return- 
ing with  Omar  from  a  camp  pitched  on  the  skirts  of 
the  desert,  the  youth  suddenly  stopped  to  contem- 
]^late  the  setting  sun.  After  some  time  watching 
its  decline  with  a  pensive  air ;   "  Selim,"  said  he, 


ANASTASIUS.  203 

pointing  to  that  part  of  the  horizon  where  its  broad 
disk  was  rapidly  gliding  behind  the  earthly  globe, 
''  your  heart,  I  fear,  still  lingers  there.  Do  what  we 
may,  some  day  we  shall  see  you  take  up  your  staff, 
and  bend  back  your  steps  to  the  regions  of  the  West." 

"  Omar,"  answered  I,  "  there  certainly  arose  the 
first  affections  of  my  youth ;  In  those  regions  were 
knit  the  strongest  ties  that  bind  my  soul !''— and 
though  this  speech  might  seem  only  framed  for  the 
occasion,  and  intended  to  enhance  the  merit  of  my 
stay,  it  had  begun  to  be  the  language  of  truth. 
When  I  thought  of  my  no  longer  existing  Euphro- 
syne,  of  my  still — as  I  hoped — breathing  Alexis, 
and  of  my  ever  faithful  friend  Spiridion,  tears  of 
tenderness  started  in  my  eye,  and  the  longing  to 
return  to  the  soil  which  had  been  blessed  by  their 
shadow,  really  made  my  heart  swell  with  ill  sup- 
pressed emotion. 

"  Ah  !"  rejoined  Omar,  "  w^y  cannot  we  offer 
you,  among  us,  ties  strong  as  those  that  draw  you 
away  !  I  wished  my  Selim  to  marry  one  of  my  sis- 
ters, in  order  that  our  blood  might  be  mixed  ;  that 
you  might  strike  root  in  our  soil.  O  that  my 
parents,  who  so  doat  upon  the  preserver  of  their 
son,  would  for  once  sacrifice  the  pride  o{  ihtir  race 
to  the  promptings  of  their  gratitude  and  affections  ^P 

"  Sir,"'  replied  I,  somewhat  nettled,"  supposing 


204  ANASTASIUS. 

you  parents  wished  for  the  alliance,  know  you  that 
I  can  accept  it  ?  I  told  you  before  that  I  once  was 
married  :  I  told  you  that  I  had  had  for  my  wife  the 
daughterof  a  Bey  of  Egypt :  I  since  have  sworn  never 
to  plight  my  vows  again.  Inform  your  parents  of 
this  engagement,  in  order  that  they  may  be  troubled 
on  my  account  neither  with  scruples  or  with  fears. 
To  free  them  from  all  restraint,  and  to  rid  them  of 
all  uneasimess,  I  soon  shall  return  to  Derayeh.  In- 
deed I  am  to  blame — in  my  situation — thus  to  stay 
away  from  the  great  Schaich,  to  whom  my  employers 
sent  me.'' 

^'  Forgive  the  unintentional  offence,""  resumed 
Omar,  reclining  his  head.  "  I  could  mean  no  re- 
flection on  your  birth.  The  genuine  Arab  thinks 
the  purity  of  his  pedigree  sullied  even  by  mixture 
with  the  Tartar  blood  of  the  Sultans, — who  pro- 
bably would  with  equal  care  shun  the  taint  of  Arab 
blood.  These  are  man's  follies  in  every  quarter  of 
the  globe !" 

An  effort  now  was  made  to  turn  the  conversa- 
tion to  other  topics ;  but  with  little  success.  Con- 
strained, it  first  languished,  and  then  died  away. 
Omar,  so  far  from  appearing  relieved  by  the  indif- 
ference I  expressed  to  the  prejudices  of  his  friends, 
would  rather  have  seen  me  anxious  to  overcome 
their  objections.     He  regretted  my  lukewarm  desire 


ANASTASIUS.  205 

for  a  permanent  connexion  with  his  house ;  and 
from  the  day  of  this  excursion  a  despondency  came 
over  him,  which,  having  its  source  in  the  mind,  baf- 
fled every  power  of  medicine. 

Finding  I  could  do  my  friend  no  good  by  my  stay, 
and  was  wasting  my  time  at  El-Gaddeh,  I  seriously 
prepared  to  make  good  nay  words,  and  return  to 
Derayeh.  The  hour  was  aheady  fixed  for  my  de- 
parture, when  Ibn- Aly  sent  to  speak  with  me. 

*'  Selim,"  said  he,  as  soon  as  we  were  alone, 
"  you  have  now  associated  with  us  long  enough  to 
knew  our  customs  and  our  disposition.  See  whe- 
ther you  could  like  for  ever  to  turn  away  from 
the  West,  and  sit  down  among  our  tribes,  so  you 
were  made  a  sharer  in  all  their  prerogatives ; — so 
you  were  given  a  wife  from  that  house  in  which 
you  already  have  gained  so  many  friends.  I 
must  not  conceal  from  you  that  my  kinsmen  have 
brought  their  minds  to  this  proposal  only  after 
a  considerable  struggle.  Rarely  we  marry  out  of 
our  district,  more  rarely  still  out  of  our  country : 
but  such  is  the  love  we  bear  Omar,  such  the  fear 
which  his  languor  inspires  us  with  of  losing  him,  if 
we  refuse  what  alone  can  fix  you  for  ever  in  the 
land  of  the  Wahhabees,  that  for  his  sake  we  not 
only  permit,  we  ardently  desire  the  union.  Nor  need 
you  fear  that  objections,  wholly  unconnected  with 


206  ANASTASIUS. 

your  person,  when  once  removed,  will  leave  a  root 
from  which  to  spring  up  afresh.  Once  adopted  as 
the  son  of  my  friends,  you  may  to  the  end  of  your 
days  rely  on  their  support  and  affection."" 

Had  an  alliance  with  the  children  of  Wahhab 
never  been  proposed  to  me,  I  should  probably  have 
left  their  country  in  the  full  conviction  that  in  my 
present  state  of  mind  I  could  not  have  accepted  it. 
I  had  originally  sought  these  sectaries  only  to  fly 
from  Suleiman,  and  I  had  since  only  prolonged  my 
stay  with  them,  because  I  could  no  where  else  ex- 
pect so  hospitable  a  reception  :  but,  though  resigned 
to  live  awhile  in  Arabia,  it  was  not  among  Arabs  I 
wished  to  die.  Unfortunately,  after  people  so  proud 
as  these  lords  of  the  desert  had  overcome  their 
own  scruples  to  the  connexion,  it  became  expedient 
for  me  to  conquer  my  more  reasonable  reluctance, 
or  to  quit  their  abode  immediately.  I  could  not 
tarry  where  I  had  refused  what  was  offered  with  so 
great  an  effort,  and  was  considered  as  so  signal  an 
honor.  I  therefore  resolved  upon  the  sacrifice  of 
my  feelings  to  my  situation :  but,  still  apprehensive 
of  diminishing  my  importance  by  too  ready  an  ac- 
ceptance of  an  offer  unwillingly  made,  I  appeared 
yet  a  while  to  hang  back,  and  again  alleged  my 
vow,  as  I  had  done  before  to  Omar.  Tlictt  however 
was  not  admitted  to  have  any  weight  but  what  my 


ANASTASIUS.  207 

inclination  gave  it.  No  oath,  taken  during  my  state 
of  darkness,  could  remain  binding  after  my  eyes 
were  opened  to  the  true  Hght ;  and  on  Ibn-Aly  assur- 
ing me  very  solemnly  that  the  Wahhabee  was 
only  held  to  perform  what  the  Wahhabee  had  pro- 
mised, I  yielded  at  last  to  so  powerful  an  argument. 
The  sanction  of  the  grand  Schaich  however  was 
deemed  necessary,  before  a  marriage  so  greatly  out 
of  the  common  rule  could  be  concluded:  it  was 
asked,  and,  after  some  httle  hesitation,  obtained. 

Among  sisters  all  equally  straight,  whose  faces 
I  had  scarcely  had  a  glimpse  of  during  their  bro- 
ther's danger  at  Derayeh,  and  whose  voices  I  had 
seldom  heard  since,  I  harboured  no  preference,  -  and 
therefore  submitted  implicitly  to  the  choice  of  my 
friends:  it  fell  upon  the  eldest  of  the  brood,  who 
still  remained  unmarried; — a  maiden  no  longer 
reckoned  quite  in  her  prime,  as  she  had  attained  the 
mature  age  of  fifteen.  The  reason  of  her  continu- 
ing so  unusual  a  time  a  barren  plant  in  so  prolific 
a  soil,  was  the  untimely  death  of  two  young  men 
both  of  distinguished  rank,  to  whom  she  had  been 
successively  betrothed.  The  one  fell  in  battle,  the 
other  was  cut  off  by  a  fever;  and  perhaps  the 
idea  of  some  fatahty  attached  to  her  name  had 
since  kept  off  other  suitors.  I  felt  no  superstitbn 
on  that  score,  and  was  as  well  pleased  with  the  fair 


208  ANASTASIUS. 

one  allotted  me  as  I  would  have  been  with  any 
other  female  of  the  family.  No  sooner  had  the 
union  obtained  Abd-ool-Azeez's  consent,  than,  for 
fear  I  suppose  lest  the  new  suitor  should  again 
slip  through  the  noose,  the  wedding  day  was  fixed 
at  a  very  early  period. 

All  my  remaining  cash  was  employed  in  fitting 
out  my  future  spouse  with  necklaces  and  bracelets, 
ear,  nose,  wrist,  finger,  ancle  and  toe  rings, — which, 
though  a  Wahhabee,  I  found  that,  as  a  woman,  my 
bride  could  endure.  The  presents  which  in  my 
turn  I  received  from  her  parents  and  friends  were 
of  a  more  useful  description  :  a  fine  horse  completely 
equipped  with  mace,  lance,  and  carbine ;  a  commo- 
dious goat  skin  tent,  with  its  apartment  to  the  right 
and  left ;  a  Persian  carpet ;  a  handsome  sofa  case, 
and  a  variety  of  household  articles.  My  friend 
Omar,  anxious  to  see  me  in  every  respect  on  a  par 
with  the  proudest  of  his  house,  supplied  whatever 
others  might  omit.  I  except  pipes  and  chaplets  : 
Wahhabees  neither  smoke  nor  count  their  beads. 

The  very  last  items  of  the  menage  of  which  I 
was  permitted  to  make  an  inventory,  were,  as  usual, 
the  charms  of  my  bride.  When,  however,  after 
running  from  tent  to  tent — as  is  deemed  absolutely 
indispensable  among  decorous  females — in  order  to 
escape  me,  she  at  last  suffered  herself  to  be  caught 


ANASTASIUS.  209 

by  her  more  nimble  companions,  and  brought  by 
force  to  her  expectant  bridegroom,  I  could  not  help 
thinking  that  others,  more  worth  pursuing,  had 
come  more  reaclilv  ;  and  found  nothing  to  drive 
from  my  miiid  the  deep  sunk  image  of  my  Eu- 
phrosyne.  The  circumstance  was  rather  a  relief  to 
my  feeHngs  than  a  disappointment  to  my  taste.  Had 
Aische  been  so  superlatively  handsome  as  to  kindle 
anew  in  my  heart  any  very  violent  flame,  I  should 
have  felt  as  if  committing  an  infidelity  to  the  me- 
mory of  her  whom  I  could  now  only  honour  by 
tardy  and  unavailing  regrets. — Not  that  jthe  sister 
of  Omar  must  positively  be  called  plain.  The  sun 
indeed  might  have  found  little  to  spoil  in  her  com- 
plexion, had  it  been  allowed  freely  to  shine  upon  her 
person :  but  with  teeth  as  white  as  ivory  and  eyes 
and  hair  as  black  as  jet,  she  had  a  countenance 
which,  like  Omar's,  beamed  with  sweetness,  and  the 
Arabs  all  declared  that  her  limbs  resembled  the 
branches  of  the  date  tree  waving  in  the  wind ;  which 
only  meant,  that  she  moved  very  gracefully.  Her 
features,  besides,  were  regular,  and  the  least  touch 
of  those  cosmetics,  so  plentifully  used  by  our  artful 
Chiotes,  would  have  enabled  her  in  a  civilized  coun- 
try to  pass  for  a  positive  beauty,  or  at  least  for  a  very 
captivating  brunette, — had  she  not  most  perversely 
destroyed  her  chance  for  ever,  by  having  every  pro- 

VOL.  III.  P 


210  ANASTASIUS. 

minent  part  of  her  face,  neck,  and  arms,  indelibly 
sprigged  over  in  marks  of  gunpowder,  after  the 
most  approved  pattern. 

Her  mind,  like  her  person,  resembled  that  of  her 
brother.  It  was  fraught  with  every  amiable  qUa- 
hty ;  and  in  its  overflowings  of  love  and  of  confi- 
dence, I  learnt  what  even  Omar  had  carefully  kept 
from  my  knowledge;  namely  that,  while  employed 
at  Derayeh  in  curing  the  wound  of  the  brother,  I 
had  unconsciviusly  insinuated  love*'s  shaqiest  dart  in 
the  heart  ol'  the  sister.  Her  secret  passion  had,  per- 
haps, contributed  as  much  as  the  professed  friendship 
of  Omar  to  determine  the  parents  in  favour  of  the 
union. — The  solicitude  of  these  worthy  people  in 
behalf  of  their  children  remained  not  unrewarded : — 
the  son  and  the  daughter,  each  obtaining  what  they 
so  long  had  wished  for,  each  seemed  to  acquire  new 
health  and  new  spirits. 

But  if  the  bud,  which  had  pined  for  want  of  the 
refreshing  dews  from  heaven,  now  revived,  it  re- 
vived only  to  become  the  sport  of  storms  and  whirl- 
winds: for  where  warm  affections  are  considered  as 
the  homage  due,  cold  esteem  soon  is  construed  into 
the  crime  of  aversion, — and  that  crime  tarried  not 
to  be  laid  to  my  charge.  At  first  indeed  Aisch^ 
sought  the  cause  only  in  herself.  *^  Alas !"  cried 
she,  "  how  should  a  poor  Bedoween  girl  be  able  to 


ANASTASIUS.  211 

fix  those  affections  on  which  have  been  lavished  all 
the  fascinations  of  the  women  of  the  cities  !  Nature 
has  not  given  me  their  charnis,  nor  education  their 
art.  I  have  only  my  poor  simple  love  with  which 
to  retain  Igve ;  and  they  sav  that  the  more  of  its 
ardours  are  bestowed,  the  fewer  are  obtained  in 
return:" — but  by  degrees  my  restless  spouse  began 
to  render  my  own  imaginary  fickleness  responsible  for 
her  disappointments.  In  a  country  where  the  heart 
resembles  a  volcano  whose  eruptions  never  cease, 
the  fires  of  mine  could  not  be  supposed  wholly  to 
slumber,  and  superior  attractions  abroad  were  ac- 
cused of  my  indifference  at  home. 

No  assurance  of  mine  could  remove  this  idea: 
no  behaviour  natural  or  assumed  could  quiet  these 
fears.  My  looks,  my  gestures,  my  very  motions, 
— ever  watched,  ever  weighed,  and  ever  found  want- 
ing,— were  ever  considered  as  confirming  my  trea- 
son. The  most  opposite  conduct  incurred  the  same 
sinister  interpretations.  Aischd  was  always  ready 
to  believe  without  proofs  what  she  dreaded  without 
reason.  Her  ingenuity  had  no  employment  but  to 
establish  my  imaginary  crimes,  and  to  build  upon 
them  her  real  unhappiness.  Did  her  unfounded 
jealousies  lay  my  spirits  completely,  "  she  saw  how 
matters  stood:  her  person,  no  longer  possessed 
the  smallest  power  to  please ;  her  love  c/)uld  not 


212  ANASTASIUS. 

afford  me  the  least  solace ;  her  very  company  was 
become  to  me  a  burthen  V  Did,  on  the  contrary, 
in  spite  of  her  unceasing  anxiety,  a  momentary 
glimpse  of  cheerfulness  unfurrow  my  brow,  "  she 
wondered  at  the  sudden  change ;  she  tried  to  find 
out  what  success  I  had  met  with  abroad,  so  great  as» 
even  to  carry  home  the  remains  of  my  yet  unallayed 
hilarity !"  Nothing  but  the  most  insidious  and 
perplexing  scrutiny  ever  was  my  welcome,  and  af- 
ter succeeding  to  embarass  me  completely  by  ques- 
tions, the  answers  to  which,  in  whatever  shape  they 
might  be  framed,  ever  led  to  the  same  conclusions, 
Aischd  was  always  sure  to  found  upon  the  very  em- 
barrassment which  she  caused  the  confirmation  of 
her  unjust  surmises,  until  at  last  I  no  longer  knew 
how  to  act  or  to  look,  always  in  her  presence  had 
an  air  of  constraint,  concealed  from  her  my  most 
innocent  actions  as  if  they  had  been  culpable,  and, 
thanks  to  her  own  unremitting  labour,  with  a  clear 
conscience  wore  a  face  of  guilt. 

The  brother,  who  always  kept  me  company  when 
I  was  not  with  the  sister,  at  last  succeeded  by  his 
representations  to  remove  in  a  certain  degree  my  con- 
sort's suspicions  of  my  fidelity.  Who  would  not  have 
thought  every  point  of  repose  and  of  comfort  carried 
by  this  change  ?  Not  at  all !  Tender  minds  must 
have  their  grievances.     They  axe  to  them  food  and 


ANASTASIUS.  213 

i^iiient.  It  was  a  worse  symptom  that  nothing 
could  attach  me :  it  shewed  a  total  disgust  of  the 
country ;  it  increased  the  danger  of  losing  me  al- 
together. From  only  fearing  I  might  withdraw 
from  her  arms,  Ai'sche  now  began  to  tremble  least 
some  day  I  should  entirely  abandon  her  home,  her 
country,  and  her  friends.  The  moment  she  saw  me 
at  all  thoughtful  she  was  sure  I  meditated  nothing 
less  than  to  make  my  escape,  and  to  return  to  the 
land  of  my  fathers.  It  was  useless  to  deny  the 
charge:  the  stronger  the  protestations  I  made, 
the  closer  Ai'sche  seemed  to  cling  to  h^r  chimera. 
*'  Speak  not ;  utter  not  a  syllable,  give  me  no  as- 
surance,''  she  would  cry  in  her  agitation ;  "  I  know 
you  Osmanlees  abhor  truth.  If  you  pledge  not 
your  word,  if  you  waste  not  your  faith  in  empty 
vows,  you  may  perhaps  continue  to  love  me,  to  stay 
with  me,  to  press  me  to  your  bosom  a  little  while 
longer  ;  but  if  you  make  a  promise,  if  you  take  an 
oath,  I  am  undone  at  once.  The  promise  only 
made  to  be  broken,  the  oath  only  taken  for  the 
sake  of  the  perjury,  will  goad  you  on  the  faster  to 
my  destruction ;  and  you  will  have  no  rest  till  I  am 
become  a  deserted,  forsaken,  widowed  wretch  r 
And  hereupon  she  sometimes  would  clasp  her  hands 
round  my  neck,  imploring  that  before  I  abandoned 
her  I  would  plunge  my  dagger  to  her  heart,  lest 


214  ANASTASIUS. 

she  should  survive  my  loss.  At  other  times  she 
would  throw  herself  on  the  ground,  and  with  loud 
waihngs  tear  her  hair  and  beat  her  breast,  as  if  my 
desertion  had  already  come  to  pass. 

A  sturdy  and  robust  attachment  might  have 
weathered  these  constant  hurricanes;  but  mine,* 
never  sufficiently  rooted,  had  remained  weak  and 
delicate.  It  soon  got  bruised,  and  more  than  once 
was  in  danger  of  total  eradication.  I  began  to 
dread  home  as  a  theatre  of  constant  strife  and  con- 
tention. Sure  to  be  reproached  when  with  Aische, 
for  the  want  of  that  ardour  which  she  had  not 
known  how  to  cherish  and  to  strengthen,  I  valued 
solitude  even  as  affording  me  leisure  to  feel  the 
esteem  which  still  remained,  and  I  longed  most 
anxiously  for  a  change  of  scene,  for  a  more  active  life, 
for  the  bustle  of  a  camp  and  for  the  agitation  of  ^v'ar- 
fare,  as  the  only  means  to  enjoy  domestic  peace. 

Unfortunafely  there  prevailed  this  year  among 
the  Wahhab  tribes  an  unusual  listlessness.  The 
last  expedition  of  Achmet  kehaya,  though  not  suc- 
cessful enough  to  make  the  Wahhabees  stay  quietly 
at  home,  had  yet  diminished  their  eagerness  for  dis- 
tant warfare.  While  some  of  the  yet  unsubdued 
kabiles  of  Montefih  and  Beni-Haled  were  making 
nearer  approaches  than  they  had  done  of  late  years 
to  the  domain  of  Abd-ool- Azeez,  that  portion  of  the 


ANASTASIUS.  215 

Schaich's  own  subjects,  whose  chief  residence  was  in 
towns  and  villages,  shewed  greater  dilatoriness  than 
in  preceding  seasons  to  lead  their  flocks  into  the 
<3esert  for  pasture.  It  was  even  doubted  awhile 
whether  Ibn-Sehood,  Abd-ool-Azeez's  eldiest  son,  to 
whom  his  father  had  for  some  years  past  on  account 
of  his  great  age  intrusted  the  conduct  of  his  war- 
like expeditions,  would  go  into  camp  at  all;  and 
tliere  seemed  at  one  moment  no  chance  whatever  of 
mj  beholding  the  stopping  of  the  least  caravan,  or 
the  plundering  of  the  smallest  sanctuary,  in  honor 
of  God — when  all  at  once  the  whole  nation,  men, 
women,  and  children,  sallied  forth  from  their  sta- 
tionary habitations,  to  pitch  their  tents  in  the 
wilderness. 

Each  tribe  had  its  separate  camp,  at  the  distance 
of  a  league  or  two  from  its  nearest  neighbours.  In 
each  camp  the  tent  of  the  chief  occupied  the  most 
elevated  and  central  spot ;  round  him  the  members 
of  his  own  family  formed  the  innermost  circle  ;  and 
round  these  again  his  remoter  vassals  and  subjects 
ranged  themselves  in  wider  concentric  circles,  of 
which  their  respective  ranks  and  possessions  re- 
gulated the  distance. 

Ibn-Sehood's  encampment  of  course  was  the  most 
considerable.  To  that  as  to  head  quarters  was  sent 
from  all  the  smaller  and  remoter  camps,  constant 


216  ANASTASIUS. 

intelligence  of  every  interesting  occurrence  in  their 
immediate  vicinity.  There  also  the  Schaichs  of  the 
minor  divisions  met,  to  liold  council  with  the  com- 
mander on  the  general  plan  of  the  campaign,  and 
to  receive  their  several  instructions  respecting  it's 
conduct.  Ibn-Sehood's  camp  was  the  capital  for , 
action,  as  Derayeh  was  that  for  repose. 

The  assemblage  of  tents  among  which  stood  my 
own,  professedly  bore  a  warlike  form  and  had  a 
warlike  destination;  yet  it  must  be  owned  that 
shght  were  the  shades  of  difference  between  the 
Bedoween''s  most  martial  array,  and  their  most 
peaceful  establishment.  Even  in  times  of  pro- 
foundest  peace  the  Arab  of  the  desert  lives  in  camps, 
constantly  moving  from  place  to  place,  and  ready 
alike  for  attack  and  for  defence ;  and  during  the 
periods  of  the  briskest  warfare  the  combatants  still 
only  advance  and  retreat  surrounded  by  their 
families,  and  as  solicitous  to  feed  their  flocks  as  to 
fight  their  enemies.  On  ordinary  occasions  each 
subordinate  Schaich  at  the  head  of  his  immediate 
subjects,  halts,  moves  on,  attacks  or  flies  as  his  in- 
dividual fancy  or  judgment  prompts  him  ;  dreams 
not  of  acting  in  concert  with  his  brother  Schaichs  ; 
and  evinces  no  sort  of  attention  to  the  movements 
of  the  chief  ruler.  It  is  only  when  the  commander 
of  the  whole  nation  purposes  some  definite  expedition 


ANASTASIUS.  217 

or  coup-de-main  of  great  importance  and  short  du- 
ration, that  all  the  lesser  Schaichs  and  their  vassals 
close  in  round  his  standard.  Nor  do  they  then  even 
consider  themselves  as  engaged  to  assist  him  longer 
than  suits  their  own  convenience.  As  soon  as  they 
become  tired  of  the  service,  or  find  the  plunder 
short  of  their  expectations, — without  asking  leave 
of  the  commander,  or  waiting  the  end  of  the  cam- 
paign— they  quietly  secede,  and  return  to  their 
own  peculiar  district.  The  voice  of  fanaticism,  the 
interests  of  religion  may  at  times  excite  to  the  most 
daring  and  perilous  enterprises ;  but  they  fail  to 
enforce  a  patient  and  persevering  discipline ;  and 
nothing  do  the  Wahhab  tribes  so  much  resemble  in 
their  mode  of  warfare  as  those  swarms  of  devouring 
locusts,  offspring  of  the  same  country,  who  often 
when  least  expected  invade  a  district,  according  as 
the  wind  sets  one  way  or  another  fall  on  this  field  or 
on  that,  and  when  all  is  devoured,  again  rise,  fly 
elsewhere,  and  in  no  place  leave  the  marks  of  a 
permanent  possession. 

Some  of  the  Wahhab  divisions  more  to  the  west- 
ward had  very  soon  after  encamping  the  happiness 
to  be  engaged  in  skirmishes  with  the  children  of 
Beni-Haled.  Our  camp  was  left  in  a  state  of  in- 
activity somewhat  longer.  Once  or  twice  indeed 
we  received  intelligence  from  our  scouts  of  hostile 


218  ANASTASIUS. 

detachments  hovering  at  a  distance.  Ibn-Aly  im- 
mediately gave  the  signal  for  the  alert,  and  sallied 
forth  with  all  that  were  able  to  bear  arms  ;  but  the 
first  time  we  could  not  even,  spite  of  all  our  dili- 
gence, get  sight  of  the  retreating  enemy :  the  se- 
cond time,  indeed,  we  descried  him,  and  in  such 
superior  force,  that  we  had  our  tents  taken  down 
and  our  harems  packed  up  in  baskets,  in  order  to 
be  ready  for  retreat  if  necessary ;  but  on  this  oc- 
casion as  on  the  former  the  foe  at  our  approach  fell 
back  and  disappeared  in  the  desert,  without  giving 
us  any  other  trouble  than  that  of  again  unpacking 
our  families,  and  unfolding  our  tents.  My  regrets 
were  not  outrageous.  The  age  was  past  of  my 
disinterested  passion  for  blows;  and  I  saw  a  chance 
of  little  else,  where  Arab  met  Arab. 

Nothing  thus  materially  accelerating  or  retarding 
the  swiftness  of  our  march,  except  the  greater  or 
less  abundance  of  provender  for  our  horses  and 
pasture  for  our  sheep,  we  advanced  till  within  three 
or  four  conacks  '  of  El-hassa.  Unfortunately  the 
facility  of  our  progress  had  lulled  us  into  a  fatal 
security.  Every  evening  the  whole  camp  used  at 
an  early  hour  to  yield  to  the  sweets  of  repose,  trust- 
ing almost  entirely  for  safety  to  the  vigilance  of  the 
watch  dogs  that  guarded  its  approaches.  One  night 
a  most  tremenduous  barking  of  our  four-footed 


ANASTASIUS.  219 

centinels  on  a  sudden  spread  a  general  alarm. 
Those  among  us  already  sunk  in  tlie  arms  of  sleep 
started  up,  and  those  still  watchful  ran  to  their 
weapons.  Busy  with  some  preparations  for  the  next 
day's  march,*  I  had  continued  up,  and  already  had 
incurred  reproaches  for  my  restlessness,  when  this 
appaUing  concert  drove  away  for  the  moment  all 
thoughts  save  of  combat.  I  took  a  hasty  farewell  of 
Aische,  ran  to  untie  my  horse's  legs,  ^  vaulted  into 
my  saddle,  and  rode  in  the  direction  whence  the 
noise  proceeded.  The  whole  camp  was  already 
stirring.  Every  one  issued  forth  in  the. greatest 
confusion  from  his  tent  to  inquire  of  the  other 
what  had  happened; — ^but  this  no  one  could  tell. 
Presently  a  distant  clash  of  lances  gave  to  our  ap- 
prehensions a  more  definite  form  and  a  greater 
intensity.  A  hostile  detachment,  which  the  whole 
day  before  was  perceived  to  keep  us  in  sight,  had 
contrived,  under  favour  of  the  night,  to  approach  us 
in  such  complete  silence  as  to  leave  every  one  of  our 
vedettes  on  two  legs  unaware  of  its  proximity,  until 
our  more  watchful  four-footed  outposts  raised  then- 
warning  howl.  Not  knowing  the  number  of  our 
assailants,  darkness  with  its  magnifying  powers 
reported  it  to  be  so  great  that  retreat  was  judged 
the  only  means  of  escaping  discomfiture.  Even  this 
liowever  could  not  be  effected  except  under  cover  of 


220  ANASTASIUS. 

a  partial  resistance ;  and  as  soon  as  Ibn-Aly  had 
collected  a  sufficient  number  of  men,  he  went  out 
in  quest  of  the  enemy.  I  joined  him  on  his  way, 
as  did  my  friend  Omar.  Never  was  disorder  equal 
to  that  whieh  our  camp  now  presented.  The  group 
of  watch  dogs  first  alarmed,  had,  by  their  bowlings, 
gradually  set  barking  aU  the  remainder  in  the  most 
opposite  quarters;  whence,  with  the  certainty  of  being 
attacked  on  some  point,  we  knew  not  in  the  least 
where  to  direct  our  defence,  ran  like  blind  people 
to  the  sound,  and  left  the  guidance  of  our  motions 
entirely  to  chance.  Sometimes  thinking  ourselves 
in  contact  with  the  enemy  v/hen  farthest  from  the 
point  of  his  attack,  and  at  others  fancying  our 
assailants  a  mile  off  when  in  the  midst  of  their 
troop,  our  oflPensive  and  our  defensive  operations 
were  equally  ill  timed :  half  the  night  we  fought 
with  empty  space,  and  the  other  half  pursued  our 
own  comrades.  The  watch  dogs  themselves,  be- 
wildered by  the  engagement,  and  no  longer  distin- 
guishing in  the  fray  between  friends  and  foes,  fell 
on  both  alike,  and  not  only  by  their  incessant  yells 
so  increased  the  horrors  of  the  fight,  but  by  their 
savage  fury  so  augmented  the  bloodshed,  that  we 
were  obliged  to  kill  several  of  our  old  guardians, 
now  unwittingly  become  our  destroyers.  As  how- 
ever every  instant  brought  from  the  interior  af  the 


ANASTASIUS.  221 

camp  fresh  supplies  to  the  scene  of  action,  we  con- 
trived to  make  a  stout  defence,  without  sensibly 
losing  ground. 

Mean  time  the  portion  of  the  tribe  not  engaged 
in  its  protection,  was  no  less  busily  employed  in  its 
removal.  Some  were  taking  down  the  tents,  others 
putting  up  the  utensils  and  baggage,  others  again 
loading  the  beasts  of  burthen — while  here  and 
there  a  party  stole  out,  and,  unseen  by  the  hostile 
troop,  drove  the  cattle  into  the  part  of  the  desert 
most  out  of  reach  of  danger.  Thus,  in  less  than 
two  hours,  the  whole  camp  was  broken  up,  and  on 
the  move.  The  combatants  on  our  side  hereupon 
began  to  slacken  their  exertions,  and  to  keep  up  a 
more  retreating  skirmish.  This  was  the  easier  as  the 
enemy  himself,  finding  an  unlooked  for  resistance, 
seemed  more  anxious  to  secure  the  booty  made, 
than  to  incur  fresh  blows  in  trying  to  make  fur- 
ther prizes,  and  testified  a  great  desire  to  slink 
quietly  away,  ere  the  dawn  should  discover  his 
weakness,  and  increase  our  strength  by  reinforce- 
ments from  the  neighbouring  camp.  Thus,  while 
we  fell  back  in  one  direction,  our  assailants  did  the 
same  in  the  other;  and  several  times  we  were 
greatly  tempted  to  wheel  about,  and  to  attempt  the 
recovery  of  our  captured  equipages :  but  the  fear  of 


222  ANASTASIUS. 

a  surprise  overcame  this  desire.  Continuing  our 
retrograde  movemeni  imslackened  while  darkness 
lasted,  we  compassed  a  distance  of  near  six  leagues 
from  the  place  of  combat  before  the  incipient  dawn 
threw  any  light  upon  our  condition.  The  first  rays 
of  the  sun  shewed  the  whole  plain,  as  far  as  tlje 
eye  could  reach,  covered  mth  camels  and  other 
beasts  of  burthen,  pacing  singly  or  in  small  groups, 
loaded  with  tents,  luggage,  women  and  children, 
and  intermixed  with  droves  of  oxen  and  flocks  of 
sheep,  who  were  every  moment  endeavouring  to  stop 
and  to  graze,  unconscious  of  danger.  The  horsemen, 
who  thus  far  had  kept  together  in  tolerably  close 
order,  now  fell  asunder  like  a  bundle  of  untied  sticks, 
and  set  off  at  full  speed  each  for  some  different  point 
of  the  compass ;  so  that  presently  nothing  was  seen 
in  every  direction  but  warriors  crossing  each  other 
at  full  speed  like  shooting  stars :  each  seeking, 
among  the  widely  dispersed  apparatus  of  the  camp, 
his  own  family,  furniture,  and  equipages. 

For  my  part  I  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  de- 
scrying my  Ai'sche,  exalted  in  the  midst  of  her  re- 
tinue on  a  dromedary  as  tall  as  a  house,  towering 
above  all  her  surrounding  women,  and,  bating  the 
uneasiness  she  had  felt  on  my  account,  in  perfect 
health  as  well  as  safety.    On  seeing  me,  after  much 


ANASTASIUS.  223 

anxious  search,  suddenly  reappear  before  her  eyes 
alive  and  unhurt,  her  joy  was  indescribable :  she 
gave  a  scream  of  delight ;  and  at  the  same  mo- 
ment her  whole  suite  welcomed  me  with  shouts  of 
pleasure. 

It  is  dreadful  at  all  times  to  lose  what  we  love ; 
but  far  more  dreadful  is  the  shock,  when,  after  a 
period  of  intense  alarm  the  loss  takes  place  just  as  all 
danger  seems  to  be  gone  by,  and  nothing  apparently 
remains  but  to  exult  in  a  renewed  term  of  safety 
and  bhss ;  when  the  fresh  blow  of  sorrow  is  struck 
just  as  the  heart  begins  anew  to  dilate  with  all  the 
fullest  exuberance  of  frantic  joy;  and  above  all, 
when  that  blow  arises,  not  from  the  evil  dreaded, 
but  precisely  from  its  being  overcome. 

Such  was  my  fate.  Forgetting  her  exalted  situa- 
tion or  unable  to  check  her  impatience,  Aische  tried, 
unassisted,  to  meet  my  embrace.  In  the  hurry  of 
the  break  up,  her  camel  had  been  loosely  girt.  The 
sudden  pressure  made  the  pillion  turn ;  she  fell  to 
the  ground,  received  a  hurt  which  her  condition 
rendered  mortal,  and  in  a  few  hours  expired  in  my 
arms. 

Assuredly  at  no  time  had  my  love  for  the  Uving 
Aische  equalled  the  passion  kindled  in  my  breast 
for  Euphrosyne,  since  her  loss.  But  without  being 
violent,   my   regard  for  my  Bedoween  wife  was 


224  ANASTASIUS. 

sincere.  It  rested  on  esteem  and  on  gratitude,  on 
endearing  recollections  and  on  fond  and  flattering 
hopes.  All  was  dashed  to  the  ground  in  an  instant, 
and  long  I  dwelt  on  the  first  of  my  sorrows  inflicted 
only  by  Providence,  and  free  from  all  mixture  of 
self  reproach. 


ANASTASIUS.  225 


CHAPTER  IX. 


The  first  anguish  of  my  feelings  had  scarcely  begun 
to  subside,  when  the  Schaichs  of  the  different 
Wahhab  tribes  received  a  summons  to  meet  Ibn- 
Sehood  with  their  followers  near  a  particular  well 
in  the  desert,  whence  they  were  to  start  on  a  distant 
expedition.  The  name  of  the  enemy  or  the  point 
of  attack  we  were,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
Wahhab  commanders,  only  to  learn  on  setting  out 
from  the  place  of  rendezvouz.  Ample  room  was 
left,  mean  while,  for  conjecture,  and  every  instant 
new  surmises  arose,  and  were  abandoned  for  others 
of  still  later  birth.  Some  expected  a  coup-de-main 
on  Mekkah,  others  an  attempt  upon  Imam-Aly. 
From  all  quarters  the  Schaichs  of  every  rank  has- 
tened with  their  vassals  to  the  spot  where  the  secret 
was  to  be  disclosed,  some  on  dromedaries  swifter 
than  the  wind,  others,  on  steeds  not  less  fleet ;  one 
half  armed  with  pistols  and  match-locks,  the  other 
accoutred  only  with  sabres  and  lances ;  and  none 

VOL.  III.  Q 


2  26  ANASTASIUS. 

encumbered  vfrith  more  provision  than  two  skins 
could  hold,  the  one  filled  with  flour,  and  the  other 
with  water.  When  collected,  we  might  muster 
about  fifteen  thousand  men — though  our  enemies, 
deceived  by  the  rapidity  of  our  motions,  which 
often  shewed  us  almost  at  the  same  instant  in  the 
most  distant  places,  gave  us  credit  for  double  the 
number.  No  army  could  be  better  appointed  than 
ours  both  for  offensive  and  defensive  warfare,  or 
could  combine  more  active  courage  with  more  pas- 
sive hardihood.  Every  where  the  wariest  caution 
accompanied  the  most  undaunted  fanaticism,  and 
whatever  the  supreme  Schaich  of  the  nation  might 
command  for  the  advancement  of  the  faith,  his  fol- 
lowers expressed  themselves  determined  to  achieve, 
—  or  to  die.  In  short,  we  seemed  to  hold  in  our 
hands  the  fate  of  the  Turkish  empire. 

But  here  let  me  for  a  moment  interrupt  my  nar- 
ration: warned  by  aches  which  had  only  relented 
for  a  while  to  return  with  double  fury,  let  me  en- 
quire for  what  purpose  my  Memoirs  were  begun, 
and  in  what  guise  I  must  pursue  them  to  insure  its 
attainment.  The  interruption  will  not  be  long,  and 
the  story  proceed  the  more  rapidly  afterwards. 

Unprincipled  as  my  conduct  must  have  appeared 
throughout,  I  might  perhaps  propitiate  my  reader, 
by  representing  this  unqualified  disclosure  of  its 


ANASTASIUS.  227 

errors  as  a  sort  of  voluntary  penance,  undertaken 
to  atone  for  my  offences,  and  to  avert  the  just 
wrath  of  Omnipotence :  but,  in  doing  so,  I  should 
forfeit  all  claims  to  veracity.  It  never  was  my 
belief  that,  where  bitter  tears  or  better  deeds  had 
not  in  the  sequel  of  man's  existence  washed  away 
the  guilt  of  prior  periods,  an  idle  confession,  only 
extorted  by  fear  on  the  brink  of  eternity  and  when 
as  it  were  the  downfall  of  the  sinner  had  already 
begun,  could  still  intercept  his  final  doom,  waft  him 
safe  to  the  portals  of  heaven,  and  close  in  his  very 
sight  the  yawning  furnaces  of  hell. 

In  a  totally  opposite  view  of  things,  I  might  per- 
haps have  deemed  it  imposing  to  appear  as  i£  I 
•wished  not  only  to  brave  the  opinion  of  the  world, 
but  actually  to  defy  its  fellest  vengeance,  by  making 
my  misdeeds  a  subject  of  positive  exultation  and 
boast.  Even  of  this  pretence,  however,  the  impo- 
sition must  soon  be  detected.  On  the  eve  of  es- 
caping from  all  human  pursuit  in  the  protecting 
arms  of  death — fast  approaching  that  period  when 
the  shafts  of  man's  resentment  will  only  recoil  from 
the  insensible  jaws  of  my  tomb,  such  an  assertion 
could  not  fail  to  be  speedily  recognised  as  the  vain 
vaunting  only  of  secure  cowardice. 

The  truth  is,  that,  so  far  from  having  been 
prompted  to  write  my  life  by  views  the  most  dis* 


228  ANASTASIUS. 

tant  and  daring  which  the  human  intellect  can  har» 
bour,  I  have  only  been  urged  to  the  undertaking 
by  considerations  the  most  minute  and  proximate 
that  can  influence  human  actions  :  namely,  the  wish 
to  beguile  one  by  one,  as  they  heavily  crept  on, 
those  slowly  revolving  hours  which,  but  for  scgme 
object  capable  of  entirely  absorbing  my  attention, 
must  have  been  passed  in  dwelling  on  my  present 
impotence  and  sufferings,  and  must  have  left  me  a 
prey  to  weariness  or  pain. 

On  a  bed  of  sickness,  in  a  state  of  which  death 
alone  holds  out  the  cure,  and  yet,  while  incapable 
of  bodily  exertion,  retaining  sufficient  mental  energy 
to  struggle  with  my  weakness,  and  to  render  it 
more  irksome,  I  saw  no  other  means  of  diverting  my 
mind  from  the  gloomy  contemplation  of  a  future 
which  no  longer  can  be  mine,  but  by  bending  all 
my  thoughts  on  that  past  of  which  I  have  enjoyed 
my  portion.  Thus  only,  though  the  sun  of  my 
days  was  setting  to  rise  no  more,  might  I  still,  in 
the  glimmering  dusk  which  precedes  my  last  sleep, 
and  amidst  the  separation  I  am  doomed  to  from  the 
living,  conjure  up  around  my  couch  such  phan- 
toms of  the  dead  or  the  distant  as — once  my 
friends  or  acquaintance — would  hot  even  now,  in 
imagination,  deny  me  the  sweets  of  an  occasional 
converse. 


ANASTASIUS.  229 

This  indeed  must  have  shewn  itself  throughout 
almost  every  page  of  my  Memoirs  the  sole  real  ob- 
ject of  my  labours ;  for  every  where — as  the  reader 
cannot  fail  to  perceive,  —  I  have  rather  directed 
my  views  to  outward  occurrences  than  to  the  in\yard 
workings  of  my  own  breast;  rather  sought  the 
amusement  of  describing  scenes  I  had  witnessed 
on  the  busy  stage  of  the  world  as  a  mere  specta- 
tor, than  the  more  serious  occupation  of  analysing 
my  own  feelings  as  an  actor  in  the  performance. 
In  short,  setting  at  defiance  every  rule  of  unity 
in  composition,  and  more  intent  upon  stringing  to- 
gether a  variety  of  desultory  events  and  characters 
than  upon  carrying  on  through  all  its  successive 
developements  the  history  of  a  single  individual,  I 
have  made  myself  the  occasion,  rather  than  the  hero 
of  my  tale. 

But  though  beguiling  the  passing  hour  was  my  first, 
it  remained  not  to  the  last  my  only  object.  Had  it 
done  so,  the  task  must  at  every  stage  of  its  progress, 
have  produced  its  fulfilment.  Content  every  even- 
ing with  having  lessened  the  listlessness  or  the 
pangs  of  another  day  by  an  additional  chapter  of  my 
journal,  I  should  at  no  one  period  of  my  Memoirs 
have  regarded  the  chance  of  their  being  cut  short  by 
the  great  radical  cure  of  all  lassitude  and  all  pain,  ere 
the  account  of  my  active  life  had  been  brought  to  a 


S30  ANASTASIUS. 

close,  as  a  subject  of  apprehension.  I  should  rather^ 
on  the  contrary,  have  sought  so  to  spin  out  my  slen-- 
der  materials  as  to  be  certain  of  becotiiing  indepen- 
dent of  the  occupation  ere  the  occupation  forsook 
me  :  unfortunately,  whatever  task  we  have  long  pur- 
sued ends  [)y  inspiring  us  either  with  unspeakable 
disgust  or  with  immoderate  affection :  and  the  latter 
I  find  to  be  my  fate.  Having  proceeded  thus  far  un- 
checked in  my  narrative,  I  should  now  with  regret 
leave  it  truncated  :  I  now  feel  anxious  to  bring  it 
down  to  that  decisive  day  which  saw  me  placed  at 
last  in  a  situation  no  longer  liable  to  changes  wortk 
recording. 

Even  vanity,  perhaps — that  passion  which  re- 
presents the  forgetfulness  of  the  world  as  the 
direst  of  calamities,  and  makes  man  prefer  the  cruel- 
lest persecution  itself  to  peaceful  obscurity, — may 
add  its  secret  impulse  to  my  fear  of  leaving  the  pour- 
traiture  of  my  actions  an  imperfect  fragment :  for  too 
sensibly  I  feel  that  the  deepest  humiliations  eradi- 
cate not  entirely  from  the  human  breast  that  only 
permanent  friend  of  humanity,  which,  when  themore 
volatile  desires,  companions  of  youth  and  vigor,  are 
chilled  by  age  or  warned  off  by  infirmity,  alone  re- 
mains to  warm  and  to  support  the  sinking  frame,  and 
enables  us  as  it  were  to  survive  ourselves,.by  living  in 
the  past  and  the  future  when  the  present  begins  to 


ANASTASIUS.  231 

«lude  our  feeble  grasp  :  and  though  I  can  only  ex- 
pect, in  my  present  circumstances,  to  have  for  my 
readers  those  strangers  of  the  West,  who  from  their 
distant  corner  of  the  globe  watch  the  inhabitants  of 
its  more  genial  zones  as  children  do  a  worm,  to  won- 
der at  its  motions,  and  to  thank  God  they  do  not  re- 
semble it — yet  a  place  even  in  their  memory  seems 
preferable  to  entire  oblivion,  and  even  to  them  I  wish 
«re  1  die  to  say  :  ''  I  too  lived,  I  too  strutted  my  day 
on  the  stage  of  the  world,  and,  like  others,  I  too  had 
my. puppets  toplay  with.^  Nay,  lest  I  should,  to  these 
curious  dissectors  who  only  prize  a  dead  body  in 
proportion  as  while  alive  it  exhibited  diseases  more 
strange  and  monstrous,  appear  a  subject  too  sound 
for  their  investigation,  I  have  perhaps  even  exagge- 
rated rather  than  extenuated  my  infirmities,  and 
kept  my  better  quahties  in  the  back  ground,  as  things 
of  no  value  except  to  the  owner. 

Thus  become  more  anxious  every  day  to  bring 
my  story  to  its  final  conclusion,  and  at  the  same 
time  warned  more  forcibly  every  hour  that  unless 
I  encrease  my  speed,  my  illness,  advancing  with 
more  rapid  strides  than  my  pen,  must  bring  my 
life  to  a  close  ere  my  tale  is  achieved,  I  feel 
that,  to  ensure  my  attaining  the  goal,  I  must  tarry 
less  time  on  the  road,  and  therefore,  as  my  sojourn 
In  the  distant  regions  which  I  have  just  described 


^2  ANASTASIUS. 

forms  but  an  insulated  period  in  my  existence,  lit- 
tle connected  with  what  precedes,  and  still  less  so 
with  what  follows, — except  in  as  far  as  by  breaking 
through  old  and  evil  habits,  it  afforded  an  interval 
for  reflection,  and  made  me  re-enter  my  former 
haunts  with  new  feelings  and  a  mind  matured  and 
chastened, — I  shall  hie  me  from  thedesert,  and  return 
to  civilised  society  with  the  least  possible  delay. 

Suffice  it  therefore  to  say  with  regard  to  the 
great  schemes  meditated  by  the  Wahhabees,  that, 
whatever  might  be  their  purport,  I  beheld  not  their 
execution.  Suleiman's  crafty  kehaya,  informed  of 
my  stay  among  these  sectaries,  and  aware  of  the 
advantage  they  might  derive  from  my  counsels, 
hastened  to  effect  the  greatest  injury  his  enmity 
could  do  me— that  of  making  me  appear  his  friend. 
So  ingeniously  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  the 
miscreant,  fraught  with  whatever  might  give  my 
conduct  the  appearance  of  treachery  towards  my 
employers,  made  to  fall  into  iheit  hands,  that  Abd- 
ool-Azeez  could  not  refrain  from  summoning  me 
beforie  him  to  vindicate  my  innocence,  or  to  suffer 
for  my  crime.  My  punishment  was  to  consist  in 
utter  expulsion  from  the  tribe  whose  countenance  I 
had  forfeited.  Former  hospitality  forbade  severer 
penalties. 

Had  my  Aische,  by  still  possessing  life  and  health. 


ANASTASIUS.  233 

promised  to  cheer  my  waning  days  with  many  an 
encreasing  blessing,  even  simple  banishment  might 
liave  seemed  an  infliction  sufficiently  severe.  Be- 
come used  to  the  manners  of  the  Wahhabees,  I 
could,  with  my  somewhat  anxiousbut  yet  affectionate 
wife,  gladly  have  ended  my  days  where  I  had  most 
unexpectedly  found  friends,  a  family  and  a  home. 
One  object  had  indeed  by  degrees  so  entwined 
itself  in  my  imagination  with  all  my  future  shemes 
of  fehcity,  as  to  have  become  its  indispensible  con- 
dition in  whatever  abode  I  might  choose ;  and  this 
was  my  darling  child,  my  Alexis :  but  him  I  had 
purposed  soon  to  send  for;  and  then — forgetting 
and  forgotten  in  the  land  of  my  birth, — I  might 
without  repining  resign  my  breath  among  stran- 
gers, and  leave  my  worthless  bones  to  whiten  in 
the  desert. 

But  far  differently  now  stood  the  case.  Aischewas 
no  more,  and  I  again  become  the  lone  mortal  I  first 
had  entered  these  distant  realms.  Since  the  severing 
of  the  strong  ties  that  bound  me  to  their  rulers,  the 
secret  wish  of  again  joining  my  Alexis  on  his  native 
soil  had  gained  such  entire  possession  of  my  breast, 
that  I  no  longer  could  see  the  least  pleasure  in  any 
other  scheme.  To  return  to  the  only  being  in  this 
world  whom  I  could  call  my  own,  to  bestow  upon 
him  that  paternal  care  which  he  thus  far  had  never 


234  ANASTASIUS, 

known,  to  cherish  him  in  my  long  estranged  bosomjr 
and  to  render  him  the  sole  and  permanent  solace 
of  my  remaining  days,  was  henceforth  the  only 
happiness  after  which  I  thirsted  ;  and  under  the  in- 
fluence of  this  all  subduing  feeling  I  almost  hailed 
Achmefs  fraud  as  a  fortunate  event, — as  a  circum- 
stance which,  by  causing  me  to  be  banished  from  the 
desert  for  hostile  intentions  harboured  against  the 
Wahhabees  long  ere  I  had  experienced  their  kind- 
ness, might  spare  me  the  pain  of  appearing  in  con- 
tempt of  all  gratitude  to  leave  them  from  choice, 
after  all  their  best  gifts  had  been  showered  on  my 
head. 

When  therefore  the  charge  of  treachery  was  pre- 
ferred against  me,  when  the  Kehaya's  letter  was 
read,  and  when  my  expected  defence  kept  every 
breath  suspended,  every  eye  intently  gazing  and 
every  neck  on  the  stretch,  I  only  answered  the 
accusation  with  sullen  and  haughty  silence :  but,  if 
that  very  strangeness  of  my  behaviour  made  Abd- 
ool-Azeez  doubt  my  guilt,  and  Omar  loudly  assert 
my  innocence — it  left  the  one  without  power  to  ab- 
solve, and  the  other  without  means  of  detaining  me. 
They  suffered  the  wayward  stranger  to  depart  from 
among  them,  and  I  disdainfully  went  on  my  ways  : 
taking  with  me  only — a  few  endearing  recollections 
excepted — the  little  I  had  brought.     My  course 


ANASTASIUS.  235 

lying  westward  I  proceeded  at  once  in  that  direction; 
and 

[In  this  place  the  manuscript  leaves  us  to  regret  the  loss 
a  few  pag-es,  which  have  been  either  cancelled  by  the  author 
himself,  or  torn  out  by  strange  hands  after  his  death. 
The  interruption  however  seems  to  be  of  little  conse- 
quence; the  text,  where  it  recommences,  shews  Anastasius 
moving  on  a  new  but  not  very  distant  stage,  and  describing 
only  a  different  Arab  tribe  from  that  among  which, — as  he 
himself  says, — he  found,  and  again  lost,  a  friend,  a  wife, 
and  a  home.] 

It  is — he  resumes — the  most  numerous  and  pow- 
erful of  those  which  reside  in  the  interior  of  the 
Hedjas.  Its  principle  Schaich  can  singly  bring  into 
the  field  an  army  of  upwards  of  three  thousand 
horse,  well  armed  and  well  equipped :  nearly  twenty 
inferior  Schaich s  acknowledge  him  as  their  supreme 
lord;  and  the  great  Schaich  of  the  tribe  of  Anahsse, 
who  resides  at  Keibar  in  the  Nedjd,  never  fails,  in 
any  expedition  worthy  of  their  joint  powers,  to 
assist  him  with  a  numerous  division  of  his  choicest 
troops. 

By  means  of  this  union  of  strength  the  Arabs  of 
the  Harb  find  themselves  enabled  to  mock  the  Sul- 
tan, whenever  he  still  tries  to  revive  his  obsolete 
claims  to  the  sovereignty  of  that  province  ;  and  for 
the  permission   to  lead  the  pilgrims   through   its 


536  ANASTASIUS. 

trackless  sands  on  their  journey  to  Mekkah,  they 
exact  from  his  representative  the  Pasha  of  Damas- 
cus a  yearly  fine,  which  this  Visier  fails  not  in  his 
turn  to  charge  to  the  account  of  the  Porte. 

Djezzar,  in  the  year  I79'i5  still  reigning  governor 
of  Damascus  as  well  as  of  Acre,  persuaded  hiift- 
self  that  a  double  escort  would  carry  him  across  the 
Hedjas  more  usefully  and  more  agreably  than  the 
payment  of  this  impost ;  and  when  the  Schaichs  of 
the  desert  presented  themselves  on  his  passage  to 
claim  the  customary  toll,  they  only  received  an  in- 
sulting refusal.  Unprepared  for  compulsory  mea- 
sures, they  were  for  the  moment  obhged  to  abide  the 
indignity,  but  early  the  next  season  the  Schaichs  of 
the  Harb  and  of  Anahsse  quitted  their  abodes  of 
Keibar  and  of  KhafF,  to  watch  in  their  camps  the 
opportunity  for  joint  and  just  revenge. 

The  annual  march  of  the  Hadj  is  so  regular, 
the  different  stations  where  it  halts  are  so  exactly 
determined,  the  day  and  hour  of  its  passing  through 
every  district  on  its  route  vary  so  little,  that  what- 
ever Bedoween  may  have  any  suits  to  settle  with 
any  of  its  divisions,  need  only  consult  their  own 
convenience  as  to  the  time  and  place.  They  may 
stop  the  caravan  according  to  their  pleasure  either 
in  its  coming  or  its  return,  and  of  the  far  stretch- 
ing string  of  pilgrims  they  may  select  for  their  res- 


ANASTASIUS.  237 

pondents  just  whatever  part  they  think  most  likely 
to  afford  them  both  easy  and  ample  satisfaction. 

On  this  present  occasion  the  caravan  was  suffered 
in  its  outward  march  to  reach  Mekkah  unmolested, 
in  order  that,  on  its  return,  a  presumptuous  security 
might  render  it  an  easier  prey.  Khedieh,  a  town 
situated  two  days  journey  from  Medineh,  was  fixed 
upon  as  the  spot  most  favourable  for  the  meditated 
surprise  ;  and  as  the  pilgrims  always  make  a  three 
days  halt  at  Medineh,  in  order  to  pay  their  devo- 
tions at  the  Prophet's  tomb,  the  day  on  which  they 
were  to  arrive  in  that  city  was  that  of  our  departure 
from  our  different  stations  to  meet  near  Khedieh. 

The  Emir's  own  division  was  the  foremost  to 
arrive  at  the  place  of  rendezvous.  It  took  post 
behind  a  small  hill,  whose  summit  afforded  every 
convenience  for  watching  the  approaching  Hadj, 
and  whose  reverse  was  equally  well  adopted  for  con- 
cealing our  own  force.  Emissaries  were  immediately 
dispatched  to  reconnoitre,  and  to  report  at  what 
distance  the  pilgrims  might  still  be. 

Mean  time  the  Emir  went  about  giving  his  last 
instructions  to  his  troops.  "  Remember  !"  said  he ; 
'*  we  only  wish  to  obtain  our  dues  from  an  unjust 
visier ;  not  to  injure  a  set  of  unoffending  hadjees. 
Therefore,  attack  property — ^but  spare  lives.  Direct 
your  chief  efforts  where  you  see  the  most  merchan- 


238  ANASTASItlS. 

dise,  and  the  fewest  soldiers.  Useless  shedding  of 
blood  should  be  avoided.  If  we  kill  the  Osmanlees, 
who  will  hereafter  want  our  camels  ?" 

This  excellent  advice  seemed  for  once  fated  to  be 
thrown  away.  The  scouts  sent  out  had  advanced 
but  a  very  little  way  before  they  returned  utterly 
dismayed,  and  already  from  a  distance  making 
signs  of  bad  news.  As  soon  as  within  hearing : 
"  all  is  lost,"  they  cried.  "  Djezzar  pushed  on  fi:om 
Medineh  the  very  day  of  his  arrival.  While  we 
stand  here  waiting  for  the  miscreant,  he  is  already 
gone  by, — laughing,  no  doubt,  at  our  suffering  our- 
selves to  be  twice  deceived  by  his  wiles.  Perhaps 
from  some  eminence  you  may  still  have  the  satis^ 
faction  of  seeing  the  rear  of  his  force  just  slinking 
out  of  sight !" 

At  these  provoking  words  the  Emir  immediately 
galloped  off  at  full  speed  to  a  commanding  height, 
about  half  a  mile  distant.  Most  of  us  followed. 
Arrived  within  a  few  yards  of  the  summit  we  dis- 
mounted, and,  crouching  down,  advanced  among 
the  bushes. 

In  an  instant  all  conjecture  was  at  an  end.  Along 
the  furthermost  outskirts  of  the  boundless  plain  still 
remained  clearly  discernible  the  long  dark  line  of 
close  wedged  pilgrims,  winding  their  weary  Avay 
through  the  white  sands,  like  a  black  and  slender 


ANASTASIUS.  239 

millipede  w^ose   anterior    extremity  already    lias 
entered  some  crevice,  while  the  thousand  legs  of  the 
bodv  and  tail  still  move  in  sight.     Ere  however  the 
other  detachments  not  yet  arrived  had  joined  our 
force,  it  would  have  been  foolhardiness  to  pursue 
the  enemy,  and  after  we  were  all  collected,  it  would 
be  too  late  to  overtake  his  flying  troop?.     So  adieu 
all  our  hopes  {    A  bird's  eye  view  of  the  fleeting- 
caravan  was  the  reward  of  our  mighty  preparations. 
At  this  sight  a  deep  gloom  overspread  the  Emir's 
countenance.     He  struck  his  spear  with  fury  into 
the  ground,  convulsively  grasped  the  long  braid  of 
black  hair  which  hung  over  his  shoulders,  and,  after 
musing  awhile, — his  eyes  all  the  time  fiercely  rolling 
in  his  head — "  let  us  return,""  he  cried,  "  to  oir 
homes ;    and  after  having  sounded  the  trump  of 
war  through  the  desert,  hush,  if  we  can,  the  irksome 
echo  !^^ 

Down  the  hill  he  now  again  rushed,  and  after 
him  all  his  followers,  heaping  every  variety  of  male- 
diction upon  that  vile  Djezzar,  who,  against  all  rule 
and  precedent,  had  hurried  on  where  no  Pasha  had 
ever  hurried  on  before, — and  that  too,  merely  to  give 
us  the  slip. 

Just  as  we  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  came 
scrambling  up  to  meet  us  the  last  of  our  scout?. 
We  cared  so  little  for  a  fresh  confirmation  of  our 


240  ANASTASIUS. 

disappointment,  that  ere  the  man  had  time  to  un- 
close  his  Hps  we  desired  him  not  to  take  the  trouble 
of  dehvering  his  message,  and  this  the  more,  as  he 
seemed  to  carry  a  face  of  joy  which  we  thought 
exceedingly  ill  timed,  and  for  which  the  Emir  gave 
him  a  sharp  and  proper  rebuke.  Long  therefore 
did  he  struggle,  and  many  fruitless  attempts  did  he 
make,  before  he  could  convey  to  our  understandings 
that  he  really  brought  good  news ; — and  this  was  its 
purport. 

The  Pasha  of  Damascus,  goaded  by  his  evil  con- 
science, had  indeed  escaped  our  vengeful  clutches ; 
but  the  Bey  of  Egypt  remained  after  him  at  Me- 
dineh,  and  was  to  escort  back  part  of  the  way,  in 
addition  to  his  Cairo  caravan,  a  great  portion  of 
that  of  Syria,  which,  wholly  unprepared  for  Djez- 
zar's  diligence,  had  been  left  in  the  care  of  El- 
Ashkar.  The  number  of  pilgrims  would  thus  be 
nearly  the  same  as  before,  and  that  of  troops  alone 
sensibly  diminished :  but  this  reduction,  though  it 
might  leave  the  Emir  fewer  laurels  to  gather,  he 
could  contemplate  with  becoming  philosophy.  Out 
therefore  he  poured  his  whole  weight  of  anxiety  in 
one  single  long  protracted  sigh  of  rehef  and  of  joy ; 
and  scarce  was  it  brought  to  a  conclusion,  when  all 
the  different  divisions  of  our  allies,  still  wanting,  ar- 
rived in  sight  at  once.  We  now  spent  the  night  in 


ANASTASIUS.  241 

delightful  expectations,  and  the  next  morning  sta- 
tioned ourselves  in  ambush  behind  a  range  of  low 
hills,  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  track  of  the 
looked-for  caravan. 

According  to  immemorial  custom,  the  Magarbis 
or  men  from  the  West — in  other  words  the  Barba- 
resques, — in  going  form  the  rear,  and  in  returning 
the  van  of  the  Cairo  Hadj.  Loaded  with  arms, 
and  light  of  baggage,  they  were  deemed  unworthy 
the  honor  of  our  notice.  So  far  from  attempting 
to  stop  these  honest  gentlemen,  apt  to  deal  in  no 
weighty  article  save  blows,  we  on  the  contrary  wished 
heaven  might  speed  them  on  their  way.  Even  the 
lofty  Osman  himself,  who  came  next  with  his  ke- 
hayas,  his  body  guard,  and  his  remaining  troops,  we 
permitted  to  pass  unmolested ;  though  I  longed  to 
break  one  more  lance  with  some  of  my  old  Cairo 
cronies :  but  when  the  great  fat  merchants,  who  kept 
aloof  even  from  their  own  escort, — as  much  feared  by 
them  as  any  Arabs,  —  in  their  turn  were  seen  to 
approach,  panting  with  heat,  and  in  a  cluster  formed 
for  the  very  purpose  that  we  might  lay  hands  upon 
it  and  seize  it  at  one  grasp,  the  eyes  of  our  men  glis- 
tened with  joy,  and  my  fingers  began  to  itch  like 
those  of  a  physician  at  sight  of  his  fee.  In  the 
interval  between  the  passing  on  of  the  worthless  fry 

VOL.  III.  R 


245  ANASTASIUS. 

which  preceded  and  the  approach  of  these  men  of 
substance,  we  sprang  forward,  and  posting  ourselves 
in  the  middle  of  the  way,  cut  off  the  rear  completely 
from  the  body  of  the  caravan,  and  called  to  our 
friends  to  stop  and  be  rifled. 

At  the  shouts  of  terror  occasioned  by  this  little 
compliment,  it  is  said  that  the  great  Ashkar  himself 
disdained  not  to  turn  round  his  head,  in  order  to 
inquire  the  cause :  of  which  being  duly  informed, 
he  valiantly  clapped  his  stirrups  to  his  horse,  and 
set  off  Sit  full  speed ; — all  his  veterans  gallantly  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  their  chief. 

Thus  abandoned  by  their  defenders,  the  pilgrims 
only  sought  to  save  their  persons,  and  left  their 
property  to  its  fate.  In  less  than  five  minutes  the 
whole  field  of  battle  was  strewed  with  camels,  horses, 
and  mules,  laden  with  every  sort  of  goods.  We  had 
nothing  to  do  but  to  gather  the  manna  showered 
around  by  Providence.  Every  man  seized  upon 
what  was  nearest  to  him,  and  when  two  or  three 
happened  to  pull  at  the  same  parcel,  they  drew  their 
sabres  and  divided  the  bundle  fraternally. 

Where  predatory  expeditions  like  the  present 
were  considered  as  legitimate,  as  honourable,  as 
praiseworthy,  not  only  in  the  leaders  of  tribes  but 
in  their  humblest  followers ;  where  each  successful 
robbery  only  conferred  fresh  distinction  on  it  au- 


ANASTASIUS.  243 

thors ;  where  every  wayfaring  man  resigned  himself 
before  hand  to  the  chance  of  being  despoiled,  and 
the  sufferer  regretted  his  loss  without  blaming  his 
assailant,  I  carried  not  my  scruples  of  honesty  so 
far  as  alone  to  deny  myself  a  share  in  the  common 
privilege :  but  it  was  my  folly  on  this  occasion  to 
be  fastidious  in  its  exercise.  I  would  not  strip  a 
poor  pedlar  or  a  hadjee  in  humble  trim.  All  the 
ordinary  pickings  I  haughtily  passed  by,  and  aban- 
doned with  a  look  of  contempt  to  the  greedier  Arabs. 
Indeed  I  did  worse :  to  my  eternal  shame  be  it 
spoken,  I  assisted  two  or  three  wretches  in  making 
their  escape,  after  helping  them  to  lift  up  their  bun- 
dles. At  the  same  time  I  felt  no  very  insurmountable 
objection  to  some  single  rich  prize  falling  in  my  way, 
rather  than  in  that  of  a  parcel  of  vagabonds  who 
would  not  know  its  value.  Unfortunately  I  pro- 
ceeded on  so  far  in  my  desultory  ramble,— disdain- 
ing every  unimportant  gift  of  fortune  which  I  met, — 
that  at  last  I  met  nothing  more,  got  clean  out  of 
the  track  of  the  plunder,  and  fell  in  with  no  further 
booty  dither  great  or  small. 

I  now  began  to  repent  me  of  my  squeamishness. 
Small  prizes  after  all  were  better  than  blanks ;  and 
it  happened  not  unfrequently  that  a  pilgrim's  tat- 
tered garments  concealed  a  perfectly  whole  purse. 
This  reflection  would  have  urged  me  to  retrace  my 


244  ANASTASIUS. 

steps  backward,  but  that  I  was  sure  of  no  longer 
finding  even  what  I  had  left  untouched.  While  my 
time  had  been  spent  in  idle  promenading,  there  was 
Kttle  doubt  that  the  field  must  have  been  gleaned  by 
my  more  Industrious  companions  unto  the  last  ear. 

Precisely,  however,  when  I  thought  all  chance  of 
doing  any  good  entirely  gone  by,  fortune  was  pleased 
to  reward  my  forbearance.  In  an  interstice  be- 
tween two  small  hillocks  which  suddenly  opened 
upon  my  view,  appeared  at  the  head  of  a  string  of 
camels  heavily  laden  a  well  mounted  merchant, 
only  intent  upon  rejoining  the  hindmost  troop  of 
the  Bey's  soldiers,  just  diving  into  a  hollow  before 
him. 

I  cried  to  the  diligent  hadjee  to  stop,  and  to 
deliver  up  his  prop^ty, — and  thus  addressed  he 
thought  fit  to  look  round;  but  seeing  me  quite 
alone  he  only  answered :  "  I  was  welcome  to  what- 
ever I  could  take,*" — and  spurred  on  his  horse  with 
all  his  might  and  main.  He  judged  rightly  enough, 
that  unsupported  as  I  was,  I  could  scarce  be  deemed 
a  match  for  six  or  eight  sturdy  and  well  armed  fel- 
lows, who,  while  he  spoke,  sprung  forth  from  behind 
his  towering  camels,  and,  grinning  from  ear  to  ear  at 
their  master's  ready  wit,  shewed  me  with  their  white 
teeth  the  black  muzzles  of  their  guns.  This  sight 
somewhat  cooled  the  ardor  of  my  pursuit:  from  a 


ANASTASIUS.  245 

full  gallop  I  fell  into  a  canter,  and  from  that  into 
a  trot,  until  at  last  I  pulled  up  entirely,  and,  puzzled 
how  to  act,  stood  awhile  stock  still,  not  liking  to 
advance,  and  not  less  averse  to  retiring  empty- 
handed.    * 

Fortunately  at  that  moment  came  up  from  the 
eastward  a  troop  of  ten  or  twelve  Arabs,  belonging 
to  a  tribe  usually  buried  in  the  deepest  sands  of 
the  desert.  These  gentry  had  not  origioally  partici- 
pated in  our  plan  of  attacking  the  Hadj,  had  only 
heard  of  the  scheme  by  accident,  and  had  advanced 
beyond  their  usual  beat,  on  the  mere  chance  of  what 
they  might  pick  up.  With  the  utmost  alacrity  they 
consented — on  seeing  my  dilemma — to  lend  me  their 
assistance ;  while  the  merchant's  escort,  perceiving 
this  reinforcement,  at  once  passed  from  a  shew  of 
the  utmost  resolution  to  that  of  the  most  dastardly 
fear.  In  their  confusion  these  brave  guardians  of 
the  property  committed  to  their  care,  fired  from 
behind  their  four  footed  battery  one  single  volley, — 
just  to  exasperate  their  pursuers, — and  then  scam- 
pered off  with  all  their  might,  leaving  me  in  undis- 
turbed possession  of  the  goods  and  chattels  which 
their  master  had  before  most  formally  made  over  to 
me,  in  the  presence  of  reputable  witnesses. 

Luckily  I  had  to  divide  the  richest  prize  of  the 
caravan  with  the  most  ignorant  Arabs  of  the  desert. 


246  ANASTASIUS. 

My  associates  in  this  excellent  affair  only  valued 
goods  according  to  their  bulk  and  weight.  The 
refuse  articles,  the  outside  envelopes — coarse  cot- 
tons, clumsy  shaloons,  stuffs  like  packing  cloth,  and 
trinkets  like  horse  trappings, — were  what  they  chiefly 
coveted.  The  shawls  fine  as  cobwebs,  the  muslins 
thin  as  gossamer,  the  silks  like  summer  clouds, 
they  held  in  utter  contempt.  A  bag  of  pearls  from 
the  Ormus  bank,  of  the  size  of  full-grown  filberts, 
they  tasted ;  but  finding  them  hard  and  insipid, 
they  flung  the  good-for-nothing  vetches  away,  and 
left  them  for  me  to  thrust  in  my  bundle.  In  like 
manner,  when,  —  searching  about  for  the  pearls 
which  had  dropped  out, — I  picked  up  a  little  casket 
which  lay  by  itself  on  the  ground,  and  seemed  to 
have  been  lost  only  from  a  special  anxiety  to  save  it, 
my  tasteful  friends,  who  saw  nothing  in  the  oriental 
rubies  and  diamonds — none  in  truth  much  larger 
than  myrtleberries — of  which  it  was  brimful,  but 
a  parcel  of  glass  beads  fit  only  for  children,  let  me 
keep  them  in  exchange  for  a  huge  bale  of  calicoes. 
In  consequence  of  these  two  lucky  hits,  I  became 
so  generous  in  the  division  of  the  remainder  of  the 
spoil,  that,  grave  as  the  party  seemed  by  nature, 
they  could  not  help  smiling  at  my  folly  ;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  some  facetiousness  on  the  subject 
would  have  come  out  in  due  time,  but  for  the  fear 


ANASTASIUS.  247 

which  haunted  my  companions  of  being  observed, 
treated  by  the  Braird's  followers  as  interlopers,  and 
made  to  give  an  account  of  their  capture.  This 
rather  serious  consideration  now  rendered  them 
anxious  to  .be  gone,  and  with  good  wishes  to  me  and 
significant  glances  at  each  other,  they  sped  away. 

I  myself  was  not  sorry  to  find  a  secluded  nook 
safe  from  intrusion,  in  which  to  take  the  first  inven- 
tory of  my  newly  acquired  riches.  When  I  opened 
them  and  took  a  full  survey  of  the  treasure  I 
possessed,  I  fell  upon  my  knees,  and  devoutly 
thanked  Providence  for  having  made  the  merchant 
to  whom  1  owed  it  a  wag,  and  inspired  him  with 
a  witticism  which,  without  being  particularly  good 
in  itself,  was  nevertheless  a  most  happy  one  for  me, 
whom  it  enabled  to  keep  the  property  acquired, 
with  a  safe  conscience.  This  act  of  devout  grati- 
tude performed,  I  neatly  inserted  my  baubles  be- 
tween the  folds  of  my  belt  and  the  pleats  of  my 
turban,  and  thus  safe  from  the  danger  of  exciting 
envy,  went  back  to  our  party,  trailing  after  me 
with  great  apparent  exertion  an  enormous  bundle 
of  very  ordinary  goods,  over  which  I  most  pitifully 
bemoaned  my  ill  luck,  which  among  such  a  variety 
of  rich  plunder  had  left  me  nothing  else  to  make 
prize  of. 

My  present  opulence  would  alone  have  sufficed 


248  ANASTASIUS. 

to  renew  my  yearnings  after  more  polished  regions, 
had  I  felt  none  before.  Undoubtedly  poverty  was 
easist  to  be  borne  among  the  poor :  but  with  a  pocket 
full  of  Ormus  pearls,  who  could  live  upon  dry  lo- 
custs ?  especially  when  possessing  in  the  West,  as  I 
did,  a  little  treasure  far  more  precious  than  dia- 
monds and  pearls,  which  the  gems  I  had  gained 
would  enable  me  to  adorn  like  the  little  jewel  of  my 
heart.  The  longing  to  return  to  Smyrna,  already 
powerfully  felt  among  the  Wahhabees,  now  en- 
creased  to  such  a  degree  that  the  soil  of  the  desert 
seemed  to  burn  under  my  feet.  My  impression  was 
that  unless  I  quitted  it  immediately,  some  insur- 
mountable obstacle  would  inevitably  keep  me  spell 
bound  for  the  remainder  of  my  life  within  it  dreary 
precincts. 

My  companions,  however,  were  not  people  to  en- 
trust with  these  feehngs.  They  dealt  not  much  in 
sentimentality,  but  had  a  notion  of  keeping  in  the 
desert  things  earned  in  the  desert.  With  a  proper 
respect  for  this  prejudice  I  equipped  myself  as  if 
only  going  to  visit  a  neighbouring  camp,  and  set 
out  at  a  slow  pace,  in  a  careless  and  indolent  man- 
ner :  but,  like  a  school-boy  who  designs  to  play 
truant  I  by  degrees  quickened  my  step,  got  into  an 
easy  trot,  from  that  into  a  canter,  and  finally, — as 
soon  as  I  had  turned  the  last  corner  from  which  I 


ANASTASIUS.  249 

thought  I  could  be  watched,— clapped  my  stirrups 
to  my  horse,  and  darted  through  the  plain. 

I  had  scarce  performed  three  leagues,  when  a 
little  way  before  me  appeared  a  personage  whose 
accoutrement  belonged  not  to  the  desert,  and  who 
in  fact  proved  to  be  a  hadjee  separated  from  his 
companions  by  the  discomfiture  of  the  morning.  I 
spurred  on  to  join  the  stranger,  as  he  did  with  all 
his  might  and  main  to  avoid  me.  At  last,  finding 
his  pursuer  gain  ground  fast  upon  him,  he  looked 
back,  and  without  stopping  or  taking  the  least  aim, 
fired  at  me  both  his  pistols.  Neither  of  them  for- 
tunately bore  within  thirty  yards  of  the  mark: 
but  I  took  the  will  for  the  deed,  and  ran  at  the  un- 
courteous  pilgrim  with  my  couched  spear.  He 
escaped  the  shock  by  his  alacrity  in  ducking.  Not 
chusing  to  waste  my  powder  or  to  alarm  the  desert, 
I  hereupon  drew  my  dagger.  My  hadjee  now 
assumed  a  most  piteous  and  supplicating  posture. 
"  Crush  not,"  he  cried,  "  the  insect  that  crawls  in 
the  dust.  It  was  fright  alone  made  me  fire.  I 
never  shew  the  least  symptom  of  bravery  except 
when  half  dead  with  fear  !'' — The  defence  made  me 
laugh  :  "  take  your  life  ;""  said  I,  but  give  up  your 
money.  "  Alas  !''  replied  the  Hadjee,  "  what 
money  would  you  have  me  possess  ? — I,  that  am 
contracted  for.   I  visit  the  holy  places  as  proxy  only 


250  ANASTASIUS. 

for  a  rich  man,  who  bargained  not  to  pay  me,  un- 
less he  saw  me  return  safe  and  sound.'"  The  excuse 
was  ingenious;  but  my  friend  proved  to  have  a 
purse  of  his  own  notwithstanding,  and  I  doubted 
a  while  whether  I  should  not  take  the  money  which, 
by  his  own  account,  he  did  not  want,  and  the  pistols 
which  he  knew  not  how  to  use :  but  the  ample  for- 
tune which  I  had  just  acquired  enabled  me  to  dis- 
dain the  paltry  prize.  So  I  wished  the  insect  well 
through  the  deep  sands — and  resumed  my  former 
pace. 

Unwilling  to  travel  close  on  the  heels  of  the 
caravan  which  I  had  helped  to  hghten  of  its  bur- 
then,  I  determined  to  lean  rather  more  to  the  left, 
and  to  steer  towards  Acre,  in  preference  to  Damas- 
cus. Long  therefore  was  the  journey,  and  many 
were  the  perils,  and  much  was  I  beholden  to  the 
swiftness  of  my  horse,  even  though  I  only  travelled 
in  the  night  time.  Sometimes  I  had  a  guide ;  at 
others  the  stars  alone  directed  my  course.  On  so 
long  and  solitary  a  journey,  and  with  so  few  objects 
to  amuse  my  eye,  endless  were  the  schemes  I  formed 
in  my  mind.  But  first  and  foremost  was— laugh 
not,  reader,  if  you  can  help  it — that  of  becoming 
inflexibly  honest ! 

When  arrived  within  half  a  days  jouney  of  Acre, 
I  considered  in  what  shape  I  might  best  meet  the 


ANASTASIUS.  251 

gaze  of  cities.  Constant  alarms  and  fatigues  had 
so  altered  my  appearance  that  it  was  impossible  to 
know  me.  My  eyes  were  sunk  in  their  sockets, 
and  my  bones  starting  through  the  skin.  By  con- 
triving on  the  road  to  run  my  lance  through  my 
foot  I  had  produced  a  wound,  and  this  wound  was 
become  so  inflamed,  that  it  made  a  halt  an  indis- 
pensible  condition  to  the  cure.  At  the  same  time, 
in  the  residence  of  the  conductor  of  the  late  Hadj, 
whose  attention  I  had  once  before  attracted  at  Da- 
mascus by  cropping  a  friar's  beard,  some  disguise 
seemed  advisable.  Tlie  character  of  a  ^edoween 
my  long  features  and  ungutlural  accent  scarce  al- 
lowed me  to  support,  especially  among  men  fami- 
liar with  the  idiom.  I  determined  upon  the  part  of 
a  Turkish  Santon.^  Its  sacred  garb  would  enable 
me  at  once  to  avoid  the  inconveniences  of  poverty, 
and  the  suspicion  of  wealth.  The  transformation 
was  speedily  effected.  I  pushed  on  again,  and  soon 
reached  Acre, — -just  two  years  from  the  day  on 
which  I  left  Bagdad. 

The  first  face  I  met  in  the  city  appeared  short  of 
its  nose ; — 1  had  witnessed  that  deficiency  elsewhere. 
The  next  was  minus  an  eye  ; — that  too  is  sometimes 
seen  in  other  countries : — but  the  third  had  no  ears, 
the  fourth  no  lips ;  and  there  seemed  to  be  walking 


252  ANASTASIUS. 

about  as  many  people  possessed  of  one  hand  only  s 
of  two.  At  last,  meeting  a  man  whom  I  was  not 
afraid  to  question  on  this  local  singularity,  in  as 
much  as — by  some  singular  piece  of  good  luck  ap- 
parently— he  still  retained  the  possession  of  his  full 
set  of  limbs  and  features,  I  civilly  accosted  hinr, 
expressed  my  joy  at  seeing  his  eyes,  ears^  nose, 
mouth,  &c.  all  complete  ;  and  finally  begged  to  ask 
how  it  had  happened  that  this  occurrence  was  so 
rare  at  Acre? 

"  You  are  a  stranger,"^  answered  the  man,  "  and 
know  not  yet,  it  seems,  the  mark  of  our  master: — it  is 
by  these  peculiarities  our  shepherd  knows  his  flock. 
Saint  as  you  appear,  let  me  advise  even  you,  in  this 
place,  to  take  care  of  your  ears.'"* 

I  thanked  my  informer  for  his  friendly  caution  : 
and  fearing  that  Djezzar  might  take  it  into  his 
head  to  set  his  ugly  mark  upon  some  part  of  my 
thus  far  at  least  unmutilated  person,  I  chose  for 
my  unwilling  abode  the  obscurest  hole  I  could 
find.  There  I  only  made  the  few  pious  grimaces, 
and  performed  the  few  miraculous  cures,  which 
I  could  not  possibly  avoid  in  support  of  my  cha- 
racter. My  healing  powers,  however, — like  those 
of  most  sainted  personages, — proved  very  little  con- 
vertible to  my  own  use;     Amidst  all  the  bedevilled 


ANASTASIUS.  253 

whom  I  exorcised,  and  all  the  epileptics  whom  I 
unfitted,  my  own  wound  healed  very  slowly ;  and  I 
had  full  time  to  hear,  ere  I  got  well  upon  my  legs 
again,  the  history  of  the  abominable  Djezzar, 
which  I  am  glad  to  introduce,  only  to  get  rid  for  a 
few  pages  of  that  eternal  I  which  haunts  all  the 
rest  of  my  narrative. 


254  ANASTASIUS. 


CHAPTER  X. 


Bosnia  brought  forth  the  monster,  since  most  ap- 
propriately sirnamed  el-Djezzar  or  the  Butcher. 
Bom  a  Christian,  and  bred  a  carpenter,  young 
Dimitri  first  signaHsed  himself  by  slaying  his  bro- 
ther. This  feat  compelled  him  to  fly  from  his 
country:  but  as  gratitude  is  the  characteristic  of 
noble  minds,  and  as  one  of  the  implements  of  Dimi- 
tri's  trade  had  been  the  instrument  of  his  fratricide, 
he  in  after  times  remembered  the  axe  which  had 
opened  his  way  to  greatness,  and  to  his  other  titles 
added  that  of  Aboo-balta,  or  father  of  the  axe. 
The  place  in  which  he  first  sought  refuge,  was  that 
sink  of  every  vice  and  asylum  of  every  miscreant, 
the  capital.  On  the  road  he  had  subsisted  by 
begging,  on  his  arrival  he  sold  himself  as  a  slave. 
His  flaxen  hair  and  fair  complexion  suited  the 
Cairo  market.  Aly-bey  became  his  purchaser. 
Converted  to  Islamism.  and  called  by  the  name  of 


ANASTASIUS.  255 

Achmet,  our  hero  soon  distinguished  himself  by  his 
proficiency  in  magic ; ' — and  under  the  guidance  of 
Egypt's  ambitious  ruler,  this  art  remained  not  in 
Achmet's  hands  an  idle  pursuit :  it  afforded  him 
the  means  of  conjuring  away  with  more  adroitness 
such  as  had  either  disobliged,  or  had  obliged  the 
Bey  too  much.  Many  heavy  debts  of  gratitude 
were  thus  cancelled  in  a  way  which  left  the  con- 
ferers  no  possibility  of  complaining.  For  these 
services  Aly-bey  first  created  Achmet  a  ki:;chef,  and 
next,  governor  of  the  Bahai're.  It  was  in  this  pro- 
vince that  one  single  year's  exploits  were  sufficient 
to  acquire  for  him  the  title  of  Djezzar :  but  his 
patron,  conceiving  some  suspicions  of  his  fidelity, 
ended  not  the  less  that  year  by  destining  for  the 
Butcher  himself  that  reward  which,  through  his 
means,  he  had  conferred  on  so  many  others.  In- 
formed of  his  danger,  Achmet  now  a  second  time 
fled  for  his  life.  He  found  an  hospitable  reception 
at  the  court  of  Osman,  Pasha  of  Damascus.  This 
Visier  was  waging  war  at  the  time  against  the  Arab 
Daher,  by  inheritance  prince  of  the  small  territory  of 
Saphad,  and,  by  conquest,  ruler  of  the  larger  district 
of  Acre — dismembered  from  the  Pashalik  of  Seiide. 
He  sent  Djezzar  against  the  successful  enemy  at  the 
head  of  a  troop  of  his  own  countrymen — of  Bos- 
niaques :  but  spite  of  their  valour  and  achievements. 


2  56  ANASTASIUS. 

the  Butcher  could  not  prevent  Daher  from  at  last 
rendering  Seide  itself  an  appendage  to  Acre,  as 
Acre  had  formerly  been  to  Seide. 

A  singular  race,  inserted  between  the  sea  on. one' 
side  and  Mount  Lebanon  on  the  other,  owns   al- 
legiance to  the  government  of  Seide,     Its  name  'is 
Deroozi,  its  capital  Dair-el-Khammar  or  the  city  of 
the  Moon,  and  its  religion  a  remnant  of  the  theology 
of  the  ancient  Magi.     In  their  schools  the  initiated, 
as  I  am  told,  were  taught  that  all  things  sensible 
and  intellectual  emanated  from  a  single  first  essence  ; 
that  the  souls  of  particular   individuals — brute  or 
human — were  only   so   many  different  lesser  por- 
tions detached  from  this  primal  essence  through  an 
act  of  its  own  volition ;  that,  deprived  on  their  first 
separation  of  their  former  consciousness,  these  lesser 
divisions  of  the  great  Whole  were  only  awakened 
to  different  degrees  of  partial  knowledge,  through 
means  of  the  different  species  of  bodily  envelopes 
which  it  pleased  the  supreme  Essence,  their  parent, 
successively  to  weave  around  them;  that  the  apparent 
removal  and  transmigration  of  these  distinct  souls 
only  arose  from  the  formation  and  decayof  thevarlous 
bodies  by  which  they  were  in  turns  occupied ;  and 
finally  that,  as  all  things  sensible  and  intellectual  first 
from  a  single  primary  Essence,  so  all  things  emanated 
were  ultimately  again,  after  a  vast  circle  of  vicissi- 


ANASTASIUS.  257 

tudes  and  developements — each  rising  in  perfection 
beyond  every  former  one— to  be  reabsorbed  into 
that  primary  Essence,  and  made  partakers  of  its 
unbounded  knowledge,  and  power,  and  glory.  It 
must  however  be  owned,  that,  if  the  knowing  ones 
among  the  other  sects  prevailing  in  Syria,  pretend 
to  trace  in  the  belief  of  the  Deroozi  the  wrecks  of 
liiis  high  and  ancient  doctrine,  the  vulgar  herd  of 
the  Mohammedans  and  Christians  of  that  province, 
loth  to  burthen  their  intellects  with  such  subtleties, 
cut  the  matter  short  by  asserting  the  creed  of  the 
Deroozi  to  be  the  exact  reverse  of  that  of  every 
other  nation,  and  averring  that  whatever  others 
abominate  these  pagans  hold  in  reverence,  and 
whatever  others  regard  as  sacred  they  treat  as  ex- 
ecrable;— and  strange  to  tell,  the  Deroozi  them- 
selves, who  might  be  expected  to  know  best  of  any 
the  truth,  and  to  possess,  though  no  one  else  did, 
the  secret  of  their  own  doctrine,  live  in  utter 
and  contented  ignorance  on  the  subject.  Among 
this  singular  nation  not  only  religious  practices, 
but  religious  creed, — not  only  rites,  worship,  offer- 
ings, fasts  and  prayers,  but  doctrine  and  faith  — 
remain  exclusively  confined  to  a  peculiar  cast,  na- 
med Akkhals  or  Sanctified ;  in  whose  society  none 
can  be  admitted  that  have  not  previously  given  up 
Vol.  III.  S 


258  ANASTASIUS. 

all  wordlj  concerns,  and  completely  renounced  the 
interests,  the  occupations,  and  the  converse  of  the 
seculars.  It  is  these  who  exclusively  take  upon 
themselves  the  faith,  and  hold  themselves  responsi- 
ble for  the  salvation  of  the  whole  community ;  and 
while  they  are  so  jealous  of  their  knowledge  that 
they  suflPer  no  secular  even  of  their  own  nation  to 
be  initiated  in  their  dogmas,  they  are  so  intolerant 
in  their  dogmas  themselves,  that  they  admit  no  in- 
dividual of  any  other  race  to  the  salvation  exclusive- 
ly reserved  for  their  own  nation.  In  vain  would  a 
stranger  wish  to  subscribe  to  their  doctrine,  or 
desire  to  be  received  into  their  community.  The 
gates  of  eternal  bliss  remain  not  the  less  shut  against 
him  for  ever.  He  might  during  the  whole  of  his 
life  profess  the  religion  of  the  Deroozi  with  un- 
remitting zeal :  still  must  he  at  his  death,  like 
the  infidel  he  was  born,  be  forbidden  their  higher 
heaven ;  and  only  go  to  whatever  less  enviable  place 
is  reserved  for  the  remainder  of  his  unenlightened 
race. 

As  to  the  seculars,  called  by  the  priests  Djahels 
or  simples,  they  are  all,  from  the  prince  down  to 
the  peasant,  held  alike  exempt  from  the  performance 
of  religious  practices,  and  from  the  profession  of 
religious  tenets.     The  Emir  or  sovereign  of  the 


ANASTASIUS.  259 

nation  is  not  more  than  the  meanest  of  his  subjects, 
admitted  by  the  Akkhals  to  the  mysteries  of  their 
belief  or  to  the  secrets  of  their  worship ;  but,  hav- 
ing no  rites  or  doctrine  of  their  own,  the  Deroozi 
laymen  are  the  more  ready  to  adopt  in  respect  to 
externals,  those  of  whatever  more  powerful  nation  it 
is  their  policy  to  court ; — whence  their  town  and  vil- 
lages are  filled  with  mosques,  which  the  inhabitants 
never  enter  except  when  visited  by  a  Turk. 

Among  the  Deroozi  as  among  the  Arabs,  every 
subject  is  a  citizen,  and  every  lay-citizen  a  soldier. 
Military  exercises  are  reckoned  by  this  warlike 
nation  the  highest  of  pleasures,  and  contempt  of 
death  the  first  of  virtues.  Each  district  of  their 
country  obeys  the  commands,  or  rather  enjoys  the 
protection,  of  an  hereditary  Schaich,  w  ho  with  the 
utmost  simplicity  of  manners  usually  combines  the 
loftiest  pride  of  birth,  and  while  he  excludes  no 
one  from  his  table,  deems  very  few  worthy  of  his 
alliance.  Among  these  families  that  of  Schebab 
enjoys  the  privilege  of  supplying  the  general  ruler 
of  the  nation,  who,  chosen  by  his  brother  chiefs, 
takes  the  title  of  Emir  and  resides  at  Dair-el- 
Khammar.  His  authority  is  limited,  and  on 
every  affair  of  consequence  he  consults  the  other 
chiefs. 

To  the  north  of  the  land  of  the  Deroozi  lies  the 


260  ANASTASIUS- 

country  of  the  Mawarnee  or  Maronites,  called  Kes- 
rowan,  and  divided,  like  the  former,  into  lesser  dis- 
tricts governed  by  hereditary  Schaichs.  This  pro- 
vince pays  allegiance  to  the  Emir  ot  the  Deroozi, 
who  holds  it  of  the  Pasha  of  Trabloos,  as  he  does 
his  own  district  of  the  Pasha  of  Seide.  The  cha- 
racter and  mode  of  living  of  the  Maronites  only 
differ  from  those  of  the  Deroozi  in  a  very  few  par- 
ticulars, such  as  must  naturally  arise  from  the 
Christian  rehgion  they  profess^  and  the  communica- 
tion they  have  with  the  sea,  through  the  port  of 
Bayroot.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Kesrowan  display 
greater  industry,  and  possess  more  skill  in  business 
than  their  neighbours  the  Deroozi;  and  thence  the 
Deroozi  Schaichs  generally  chuse  Maronites  as  stew- 
ards to  their  estates,  and  preceptors  to  their  children  : 
the  difference  of  creed  forming  a  less  weighty  objec- 
tion, where  the  tutor  is  only  called  upon  to  abstain 
from  inculcating  in  his  pupil  any  religious  belief 
whatsoever. 

Emir  Melhem,  one  of  their  rulers  of  whom  the 
Deroozi  speak  with  the  most  veneration,  was  among 
the  few  men  who  wish  to  leave  an  interval  between 
the  pride  of  sovereignty  and  the  nothingness  of  the 
grave.  He  abdicated  his  worldly  power,  left  the 
society  of  the  Djahels,  and  among  the  Akkhals 
commenced  preparing  his  soul  for  its  higher  flight, 


ANASTASIUS.  261 

about  four  years  previous  to  its  release  from  its 
earthly  shackles.  His  brother  Mansoor  was,  by  the 
Schaichs  of  Dair-el-Khammar,  named  regent  of  the 
Deroozi  until  his  son  Youssoof  should  come  of  age ; 
but  Youssoof  saw  himself,  through  the  interest  of 
Sad-el-Koori  his  guardian, — a  Maronite  of  the  noble 
family  of  the  Aw^kri, — immediately  recognized  as 
ruler  of  the  Kesrowan.  Of  this  honor  the  young 
Prince  appeared  fully  worthy  : — in  the  course  of  a 
single  campaign  he  conquered  and  reannexed  to  his 
province  the  district  of  Djebail,  long  dismembered 
from  it  by  a  horde  of  Scheyee  Moslemen,  called 
Mootaweelis,  living  on  the  reverse  of  Mount  Leba- 
non in  the  fertile  plain  of  Baalbeit. 

Military  renown  thus  adding  its  support  to  his 
hereditary  lights,  Youssoof  early  claimed  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  Deroozi,  with  such  means  of  enforcing 
his  pretensions  as  Mansoor,  his  uncle,  thought  it 
prudent  not  to  disregard.  Clothing  necessity  in  the 
garb  of  virtue,  this  chief  professed  only  to  have  held 
the  supreme  authority  in  trust  for  his  nephew,  and  in 
1770  solemnly  placed  on  Youssoof 's  finger  the  seal 
of  the  reigning  sovereign. 

This  event  took  place  while  Daher,  prince  of  Acre, 
was  pursuing  his  conquests  in  Syria.  Not  satisfied 
with  taking  Seide,  he  at  last  laid  siege  to  Bayroot, 
the  seaport  of  the  Kesrowan,  to  which  Djezzar  had 


262  ANASTASIUS. 

retreated  before  him.  The  Butcher  succeeded  in 
driving  back  the  Arab .  but  instead  nf  restoring 
Bayroot  to  Youssoof  its  rightful  prince,  tor  whom 
he  had  undertaken  to  defend  the  place,  he  now 
declared  he  <)nly  held  it  in  trust  for  the  Sultan ; 
and  with  Youssoof 's  treasures,  deposited  in  it  foi* 
safety,  bought  the  investiture  for  himself  When, 
soon  after,  Hassan  Capitan-Pasha  drove  Daher  out 
of  Acre  and  Sei'de,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  confer 
the  whole  of  these  Pashaliks  on  Djezzar,  in  recom- 
pense for  his  loyalty. 

Following  the  example  of  his  Arab  predecessor, 
Djezzar  made  Acre  his  residence  in  preference  to 
Seide,  The  place  was  capable  of  an  easier  defence, 
both  on  the  sea  and  the  land  side.  Nor  did  he 
only  give  it  strength  :  he  also  added  beauty.  The 
splendid  relics  of  Tyre  and  Caesarea  were  employed 
to  adorn  its  new  erections ;  and  soon  arose  within 
Acre's  turreted  walls,  a  palace,  a  mosque,  a  bazar, 
and  a  bath,  whose  architecture,  achieved  as  if  by 
magic,  seemed  worthy  of  the  Devas. 

But  joy  was  banished  from  these  gorgeous  edifices. 
Djezzar's  rapacity  suffered  it  to  enter  neither  the 
hovels  of  the  little  nor  the  conacks  of  the  great.  By 
converting  every  source  of  wealth  into  an  article  of 
monopoly,  he  kept  his  subjects  poor,  while  he  mea- 
sured out  his  taxes  as  if  he  suffered  them  to  grow 


.\NASTASIUS.  263 

rich ;  and  when  his  cupidity  by  its  excess  defeated 
its  own  purpose,  it  was  in  acts  of  refined  cruelty 
that  he  sought  his  consolation.  Every  rising  sun 
saw  the  torture  applied  ;  every  day  that  passed  was 
marked  by  fresh  executions.  The  tyrant's  ghttering 
galleries  re-echoed  only  with  moans,  his  poHshed 
pavements  were  moistened  with  tears,  and  his  mar- 
ble terraces  seemed  adorned  with  chrystal  rills,  only 
in  order  that  their  pure  waters  might  wash  away 
the  streams  of  blood  with  which  they  daily  were 
crimsoned.  The  wailings  of  the  tortured  mixed  them- 
selves with  the  murmur  of  the  fountains  ;  and  from 
behind  the  porphyry  and  jasper  pannels  of  Djezzar's 
wide  extending  porticoes,  were  heard  the  groans  of 
wretches  expiring  immured  within  their  unrelenting 
walls. 

According  to  the  immemorial  custom  of  all  East- 
ern despots,  their  treasure  and  their  wives  are  kept 
in  the  same  enclosure,  under  the  same  ponderous 
bolts: — the  sacredness  of  the  gynecoeum  is  rendered 
subservient  to  the  security  of  the  hazne.  InDjezzar's 
intended  palace  and  citadel,  however,  a  greater  excess 
of  distrust  had  chosen  a  still  more  mysterious  spot 
for  Plutus's  sanctuary :  the  most  internal  recesses 
of  the  Butcher's  harem  only  formed  the  outermost 
entrance  of  the  receptacle  where  lay  concealed  his 


264  ANASTASIUS 

gold.  Strength  without  and  secrecy  within  guarded 
this  holy  of  holies.     High  ramparts,  deep  fosses, 
and  bulwarks   bnslhng    with    cannon    surrounded 
the  sacred  cells,  and  dark   subterraneous  passages 
only  led  to  them  by  the  most  intricate  windings.  Of 
these  Djezzar  alone  possessed  both  the  design  and* 
the  key  : — never  had    their  hapless  artificers  been 
permitted  to  return  to  the  day  light  which  they 
quitted  to  build  them ;    and  their  knowledge  and 
their  bodies  still  reposed  within  their  fatal  works. 
While  none  of  the  officers  of  the  palace  durst  follow 
Djezzar  into  his  harem,  none  of  the  tenants  of  the 
harem   itself  were    suffered  to  cast  after  him  the 
slightest  look  of  enquiry,  when,  like  a  threatening 
meteor  he  rushed  by  his  women,  darted  through 
their  numerous  chambers,  and  vanished  at  last  in 
the  mysterious  labyrinth  that  led  to  his  treasure. 

Djezzar  was  a  barbarous  husband  as  well  as  a 
merciless  master.  His  Mamlukes,  therefore,  suc- 
ceeded in  opening  a  correspondence  with  his  wives, 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  his  death  and  dividing 
his  spoil.  No  one  knows  what  foe  to  humanity 
betrayed  the  well  concerted  plot :  all  saw  too  soon 
that  Djezzar  knew  his  danger.  Infuriate  he  rushed 
into  his  harem,  and  for  a  while  stabbed  indiscrimi* 
nately  all  he  met  in  his  way.  But  soon  he  regretted 


ANASTASIUS.  265 

the  too  easy  death  vouchsafed  to  the  first  victims  of 
his  rage,  and  caused  the  remainder  to  envy,  by  the 
tortures  he  made  them  endure,  the  milder  fate  of 
their  predecessors.  His  own  hands — it  is  said — 
submitted  to  the  rack  those  charms  in  which  he  had 
rioted  by  preference,  and  the  greatness  of  the  rap- 
tures he  had  tasted,  became  the  measure  of  the 
pangs  he  inflicted. 

Even  the  seclusion  and  the  thick  walls  of  the 
women''s  chambers,  could  not  stifle  the  cries  of  so 
many  suffering  wretches.  The  Mamlukes  heard, 
and  guessed  their  own  impending  fate.  Imme- 
diately they  rose,  stormed  the  batteries  which  sur- 
rounded the  sanctuary,  and,  mastering  their  crested 
summits,  pointed  its  own  cannon  against  the  fortress, 
and  against  the  relentless  tyrant  wading  in  blood 
within  its  precincts. 

Unable  to  make  his  escape  without  falling  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies,  Djezzar  now  plunged  into  the 
deepest  recesses  of  his  treasury.  There  he  shut  himself 
in  with  his  hoards ;  and  there,  alone,  and  without  the 
smallest  chance  of  any  other  mortal  following  to 
assist  or  to  defend  him,— to  bring  him  intelhgence  or 
take  his  orders, — he  remained  stretched  on  his  heaps 
of  gold,  in  expectation  of  every  instant  being  disco- 
vered, and  dragged  out  at  once  to  light  and  to  death. 
An  hour  was  thus  spent,  by  the  Mamlukes  in 


£66'  ANASTASIUS. 

incessant  firing,  and  by  Djezzar  in  indescribable 
anguish.  That  period  elapsed^  the  fire  of  the  assail- 
ants began  to  slacken  and  to  leave  longer  pauses, 
until  by  degrees  the  report  of  musketry  entirely 
ceased,  and  even  the  roar  of  cannon  only  was  heard 
at  distant  periods.  At  last  all  din  of  arms  subsided 
in  a  dead  and  awful  silence.  Djezzar  no  longer 
doubted  that  the  harem  was  forced,  and  the  Mam- 
lukes  only  employed  in  seeking  the  hidden  entrance 
of  his  last  retreat.  Every  instant  their  approaching 
footsteps  seemed  to  vibrate  nearer  on  his  ear  ; — and 
thus  he  spent  another  hour  in  still  greater  agony 
than  the  first. 

The  continued  tranquilhty  however  now  began 
to  cast  upon  his  mind  a  gleam  of  hope.  With 
watchful  ear  and  cautious  tread  he  crept  forth : — but 
first  only  a  few  paces  beyond  the  inmost  vault ; — by 
degrees  a  little  further  into  the  winding  galleries  ; 
— and  at  last  unto  the  very  verge  of  the  forbidden 
precincts.  There,  having  again  listened  awhile  at 
the  grated  door,  without  being  able  to  perceive  any 
sound,  he  ventured  to  open  the  ponderous  jaws  of 
the  iron  gate,  and  finally,  with  breath  suspended 
and  faultering  steps,  he  again  issued  forth  into  the 
realms  of  light. 

Here,  the  various  chambers  of  the  harem  were 
the  first  he  re-entered  :   but  in  them  he  only  beheld 


ANASTASIUS.  267 

« — still  exposed  to  all  the  garish  glare  of  day — the 
mangled  carcases  he  had  left.    All  was  silent ;  and^ 
but  for  the  pale  corpses  lying  about,  all  was  soli- 
tary.    No  living  being — neither  foe  nor  domestic, 
— presented  himself  on  the  Butcher's  way  in  these 
his  well-stocked  shambles,  until,  bursting  forth  from 
their  inclosure,  he  all  at  once  beheld,  marshalled 
in  two  long  rows  at  its  entrance  and  hailing  him 
with   loud  acclamations,  his   faithful   Bosniaques. 
This  chosen  band  was  the  tyrant's  bulwark  against 
the  just  wrath  of  his  remaining  subjects.     Having 
fallen  on  the  Mamlukes  and  forced  them  to  retire, 
its  chiefs  were  waiting  for  their  master's  appearance, 
to  acquaint  him  with  his  safety,  and  the  flight  of 
the  rebels  : — the  greatest  part  of  these  ill-fated  men 
were  afterwards  slain  in  a  pitched  battle  near  Seide. 
Meanwhile  Osman,    Pasha  of  Damascus,   had 
died,  and  Mehemed,  Osman's  eldest  son  and  sue- 
cessor,  had  been  poisoned  by  Derwish  his  younger 
brother.     Djezzar, — ^possesse^l  of  more  troops  and 
more  money  than  Derwish, — now  bullied  the  Sultan 
and  bribed  the  ministers  into  giving  him  the  investi- 
ture of  that  important  government.    Still,  however, 
only  considering  Damascus   as  a  precarious  pos- 
session, and  Acre  as  a  sort  of  patrimony,  the  But- 
cher continued  to  make  the  place  of  his  creation 
that  of  his  habitual  residence.     His  accession  of 


268  ANASTASIUS. 

power  only  enabled  him  to  pursue  more  steadily  his 
plan  of  weakening  the  Deroozi  into  gradual  and 
complete  subjection.  the  allegiance  which  the 
Emir  owed  him  as  Pasha  of  Seide,  he  made  a  pre- 
tence for  interfering  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  country ; 
and  whatever  Schaichs  of  Youssoof's  family  formed' 
a  cabal  against  their  chief,  were  always  sure  of  sup- 
port from  Djezzar.  Long  however  did  Youssoof, 
in  spite  of  this  insidious  conduct,  forbear  from  open 
hostilities  against  the  lord  to  whom  he  owed  al- 
legiance :  but  at  last  he  found  the  only  means  to 
avoid  ruin  was  to  embrace  rebellion.  He  rose  up 
in  arms  against  Djezzar,  gave  him  battle,  was 
defeated,  and  with  the  remnant  of  his  army  fled 
into  the  fastnesses  of  the  Kesrowan,  which  had 
always  preserved  unimpaired  their  loyalty  to  Mek 
hem's  son. 

Djezzar  offered  the  Prince  a  free  pardon,  on  con- 
dition of  sueing  for  it  at  Acre.  Youssoof  left  his 
two  sons  Sad-el-din  and  Selim  under  the  care  of 
his  trusty  Maronites,  and  with  his  old  preceptor 
Sad-el-koori,  who  still  continued  his  adviser,  went 
to  the  Butcher's  court.  He  was  admitted,  was 
caressed  at  first,  was  soon  found  fault  with,  was 
lured  into  a  fresh  semblance  of  mutiny,  and  with 
his  faithful  tutor  was  condemned  to  death.  In  vain 
the  whole  Kesrowan  interceded  for  a  beloved  prince 


ANASTASIUS  269 

and  for  a  respected  countryman.  Djezzar  never 
forgave  ;  and  the  prince  and  the  tutor  were  led  out 
to  meet  their  doom. 

It  is  reported  that  on  their  way  to  the  place  of 
execution,  Youssoof,  seeing  all  his  fair  prospects  end 
in  a  gibbet,  could  not  refrain  from  reproaching  his 
aged  counsellor  with  having  made  him  the  victim 
of  his  own  ambitious  views.  "  But  for  you,*"  he 
exclaimed,  "  I  might  have  died  of  old  age  !"*" 
^'  Your  father,""  answered  the  firmer  Sad-el-koori, 
"  charged  me  to  make  you  live  a  sovereign.  I 
may  have  erred  in  the  means,  but  I  too  pay  the 
penalty.  I  asked  nothing  from  you  when  in  power  ; 
I  followed  you  when  ruined  ;  I  accompany  you  in 
death.     What  more  could  I  do  .?"" 

The  Prince  burst  into  tears ;  embraced,  and 
begged  his  tutor's  pardon.  They  were  hung  side 
by  side  from  the  part  of  Acre's  wall  which  faces 
Mount  Lebanon  ; — and  Youssoof 's  last  dying  look 
fell  on  the  blue  mountains  of  his  distant  dominion. 

During  his  persecution  of  Youssoof,  Djezzar  had 
annexed  to  the  Pashalik  of  Acre  the  district  of  Sa- 
phad  by  the  assassination  of  Daher's  sons,  the  valley 
of  Baalbeit  by  the  destruction  of  the  Mootawelis, 
and  the  territories  of  Tabarieh  and  Caesarea  by  the 
expulsion  of  the  Arabs  of  Sakr.  One  place  alone, 
in  the  very  heart  of  Djezzar's  new  acquisitions, — the 


"270  ANASTASIUS. 

poor  and  small  district  of  Nabloos, — derided  all  his 
efforts.  Aboo-Djerrar  its  Schaich — nestled  aloft  in 
his  inexpugnable  castle  of  Sannoor — preserved  his 
independance  amid  his  subdued  neighbours ;  and  it 
is  said  that  his  sturdy  resistance  gave  Djezzar  more 
pain,  than  all  his  other  successes  could  afford  him 
pleasure. 

Djezzar  had  however  now  attained  that  degree 
of  power  and  independance,  which  induced  the 
Porte  to  send  him  alternately  avowed  favors  and 
concealed  daggers.  The  former  were  all  duly  ac- 
knowledged, and,  by  some  unlucky  chance,  the 
latter  never  reached  their  destination.  Their  bear- 
ers disappeared,  and,  as  usual,  were  no  more  in- 
quired after.  At  last  a  new  device  was  struck  out. 
According  to  one  of  those  ancient  customs  held 
more  sacred  in  Turkey  than  positive  laws,  the  Pasha 
of  Trabloos,  who,  on  the  pilgrims'  return  from 
Mekkah  brings  them  at  a  fixed  place  a  supply  of 
fresh  provisions,  only  enjoys  the  honors  of  the  two 
horse-tails,  in  order  that  his  lesser  rank  may  not 
clash  with  the  pre-eminence  of  the  Emir-Hadj. 
The  year  1794  beheld  the  first  exception  to  this 
rule.  Geretly  Hussein,  ex-Capitan  Pasha,  and 
governor  of  Trabloos,  went  to  meet  the  caravan, 
preceded  by  three  tails.  The  circumstance  looked 
suspicious.     Djezzar  saw  in  Geretly  a  personage 


ANASTASIUS.  271 

qualified  to  step  into  his  place.  He  determined  to 
be  before  hand  with  his  entertainer,  and  sent  him  a 
jar,  properly  sealed,  of  the  holy  water  from  the  well 
Zemzem.     Geretly  drank — and  died. 

It  was  for  the  fith  time  that  Djezzar,  in  his  quality 
of  Pasha  of  Damascus,  conducted  the  holy  caravan 
to  Mekkah,  when,  as  related,  he  chose  to  defraud 
of  their  dues  the  children  of  Anahsse.  I  have  already 
shewn  how  they  resented  the  injury,  and  how  the 
offending  leader  escaped  the  avenging  blow,  con- 
trived to  make  it  miss  his  guilty  head,  and  let  it 
fall  upon  the  innocent  hadjees,  by  ghding  from 
under  the  hand  already  lifted  to  strike.  Djezzar 
arrived  safe  and  sound  at  Damascus  about  the  time 
I  reached  Acre ;  but  he  made  so  short  a  stay  in  the 
place,  that,  ere  any  one  yet  thought  him  near,  he 
entered  his  own  sea-girt  capital. 

A  bomb,  bursting  in  the  middle  of  its  assembled 
population,  could  not  have  spread  at  Acre  a  greater 
dismay  than  did  Djezzar's  arrival.  Immediately 
every  eye  became  fixed,  every  tongue  tied,  and  every 
Hmb  motionless  and  paralised,  as  if  by  the  force  of 
a  fascination.  None  durst  speak,  or  look,  or  even 
hsten : — for  the  fate  of  all  Djezzar's  enemies,  cut  off 
one  after  the  other,  made  the  vulgar  believe  in  the 
supernatural  powers  he  affected;  while  the  wise 
dreaded  what  supplied  the  place  of  magic, — spies 


272  ANASTASIUS. 

who  informed  him  of*  every  thing,  and  agents  who 
stopped  at  nothing. 

For  my  own  part,  I  no  sooner  heard  in  the  even- 
ing that  the  Butcher  had  come  in  at  one  gate,  than 
I  prepared,  a  cripple  as  I  still  was,  to  take  my  de- 
parture the  next  morning  at  the  other.  But  even' 
this  proved  too  great  a  delay.  Just  as  I  was  slip- 
ping my  last  parcel  of  diamonds  into  my  belt,  in 
stepped  a  messenger  of  the  Pasha,  to  summon  me 
before  his  master.  I  ran  for  my  santon's  cloak. 
"  Spare  yourself  that  trouble  !"  said  the  fellow ; 
"  We  know  you  well  enough ;  wary  eyes  watched 
your  proceedings  when  at  Khedieh  you  murdered 
the  wealthy  Dgiaffar,  and  plundered  his  rich  equi- 
page !^' 

The  most  heinous  part  of  this  accusation  cer- 
tainty laboured  under  the  defect  of  falsehood. 
Still  it  came  too  near  the  truth  to  leave  me  any 
hopes  of  escaping  through  the  difference  between 
the  fact  and  fiction  ;  especially  with  Djezzar  for 
my  arbitrator.  The  point  therefore  was,  not  to 
constitute  him  judge  of  the  matter.  With  this 
view :  "  Your  name,  pray  P^'  said  I  to  the  mes- 
senger.—" What  can  it  signify?'*  cried  he  in 
answer.  "  I  ask  it  as  a  favor;'"  replied  I. — "  Well 
then  :    Mustapha   Sakal ;"    suflily   rejoined    the 


ANASTASIUS.  273 

^'  Mustapha  Sakal  T'  I  now  exclaimed ;  "  Yon 
are  the  very  man  I  have  been  seeking.  Know  that, 
before  I  approached  the  poor  dear  dying  Djiaifer, 
— who  never  was  killed  in  his  life, — in  order  to 
afford  him  in  his  misfortune  what  assistance  I  could 
render,  he  said  to  me  in  an  unintelligible  voice : 
'  generous  stranger,  you  look  so  honest  that  I  must 
trust  you  with  my  last  bequest.  Seek,  among  the 
servants  of  the  Emir-Hadj,  for  a  youth  of  rare 
merit,  named  Mustapha,  for  whom  I  always  enter- 
tained, unknown  to  himself,  a  particular  regard ; 
and  give  him  in  my  name  this  valuable  jewel.'  I 
cannot  doubt,  O  Mustapha  Sakal !  but  you  are  the 
person.  So  take  the  gem.  But  as  the  Emir-Hadj 
is  unreasonable  enouojh  to  constitute  himself  univer- 
sal  legatee  to  all  who  die  under  his  special  protec- 
tion, assist  me  to  make  my  escape,  lest  in  my 
dreams  I  should  blab  out  your  good  luck.*" 

The  Tchawoosh  entered  into  the  spirit  of  my  tale, 
even  beyond  my  intention.  "  It  can  only  be,"  said 
he,  taking  the  jewel  without  any  ceremon)^,  "  from 
the  total  failure  of  his  memory,  that  the  worthy 
Djiaffer  asserted  my  ignorance  of  his  regard  for  my 
person,  since,  besides  the  bauble  you  give  me,  he 
promised  me  at  his  demise  a  hundred  sequins, 
which  no  doubt  you  will  pay  me  with  equal  readi- 
ness.*"    '*  Truly  ;"  answered  I — fearful  there  might 

VOL.  III.  T 


274  ANASTASIUS. 

be  no  end  to  the  codicils — "  he  never  mentioned 
the  sequins ;  nor  have  I  them  to  give." 

The  Tchawoosh  hereupon  grew  insolent.  "  Look 
in  your  belt,''  he  cried,  "  and  you  will  find  them  f 
at  the  same  time  laying  his  broad  fist  upon  me,  and 
beginning  to  use  violence.  The  question  now 
seemed  whether  it  might  not  be  expedient  to  do 
by  Mustapha,  what  I  had  not  done  by  Djiaffer; 
and  while  debating  the  thing  in  my  mind,  I  at  all 
events  grasped  the  dagger  concealed  under  my 
saint's  cloak, — when  all  at  once  a  loud  noise  was 
heard  at  the  door.  It  boded  Mustapha  as  little 
good  as  myself.  Fearing  that  a  second  messenger 
might  come  to  supersede  him  in  his  office,  he  turn- 
ed as  pale  as  ashes,  and  with  a  haggard  look  and 
wild  gesture:  "  Off,"  he  cried  ;  "  oflp to  the  moun- 
tains this  instant!"  I  waited  not  a  second  bidding. 
Rushing  by  some  person  in  the  passage  whom  I 
stopped  not  to  look  at,  I  was  in  a  trice  out  of  Acre, 
and  in  less  than  an  hour  out  of  sight  of  its  loftiest 
towers ; — having  left  my  horse  behind  me  as  my 
hostage. 

All  the  remainder  of  the  day  was  spent  in  making 
the  most  of  my  way.  Toward  dusk  I  lay  down 
am.ojig  some  bushes,  slept  a  few  hours,  and,  while 
yet  the  stars  twinkled  in  the  firmament,  rose  again, 
and  performed  several  leagues,  ere  the  sua  opened 


ANASTASIUS.  275 

to  my  right  the  purple  gates  of  the  morning.  I 
made  such  speed  that  its  setting  saw  me  clear  of 
Djezzar'*s  dread  dominions;  for  in  recompence  of 
his  last  frolic,  the  Porte  had  just  taken  from  him 
the  Pashahk  of  Damascus,  toward  which  I  was 
travelling. 

The  next  day,  two  leagues  only  from  its  capital, 
while  pacing  pretty  smartly  and  quite  wrapt  up  in 
thought,  I  felt  myself  suddenly  slapped  on  the  back 
by  an  arm  of  lead.  Djezzar  and  his  myrmidons 
still  haunted  my  imagination ;  and  without  looking 
round,  I  set  off  at  full  speed,  until  a  cry  of :  "  com- 
rade, whither  scampering  so  fast?"  made  me  stop 
and  face  the  enemy.  He  was  not  the  most  terrific 
in  the  world  ;  and  only  appeared  in  the  shape  of  a 
derwish  with  his  sugar  loaf  cap,*  who  laughed  at  my 
panic  most  outrageously. 

I  laughed  in  my  turn,  and  in  this  merry  mood 
we  approached.  "As  one  of  the  godly  like  myself,"" 
cried  the  derwish,"  I  was  going  to  offer  you  hos- 
pitality in  our  convent  at  Damascus."  I  readily 
accepted  an  invitation  which  would  prevent  my 
being  seen  in  public,  and  we  proceeded  on  together. 

Entering  a  small  village  on  the  road,  my  com- 
panion made  a  sudden  stop.  "  Hark  ye,  comrade," 
said  he ;  "a  bright  thought  this  minute  strikes  me. 
We  are  so  near  our  journey's  end,  that  without 


376  ANASTASIUS. 

a  little  management,  we  must  stumble  upon  home 
before  we  are  aware  of  it.  Let  us  therefore  make 
the  most  of  what  little  time  remains  ours ;  parti- 
cularly as  the  sun  is  hot,  and  we  have  not,  like  the 
prophet,  a  canopy  of  angels  to  shelter  us  from  its 
rays."" 

Upon  this  he  lugged  me,  without  waiting  my 
answer,  into  the  house  of  a  Syriac  Christian,  where 
it  seems  he  was  well  known.  After  saluting  the 
party  within,  he  boldly  called  for  an  okka  of  the 
best  wine.  1  must  have  looked  surprised,  for  he 
added,  "  It  is  to  rub  my  limbs  with,  and  bad  stuff 
gives  the  cramp."  The  wine  was  brought,  and  set 
before  us  in  a  little  back  room  safe  from  unwelcome 
intrusion. 

As  soon  as  seated  ;  "  I  have  little  faith,''  observed 
our  derwish,  "  in  external  applications  :  therefore, 
O  my  soul !""  added  he  in  an  emphatic  tone,  "  bend 
all  your  thoughts  upon  Heaven,  lest  you  share  in 
the  defilement  which,  much  against  my  will,  I  am 
going  to  inflict  upon  my  body."  And  hereupon, 
carefully  stroking  up  his  whiskers,  in  order  that 
they  too  should  avoid  partaking  in  the  sin  of  his 
lips,  he  apphed  the  vessel  to  his  mouth,  and  most 
devoutly  began  his  internal  ablution.  For  some 
minutes  he  continued  in  this  employment,  with  up- 
lifted eyes  and  an  appearance  of  entire  abstraction ; 


ANASTASIUS.  277 

until  I  at  last  began  to  think  that  he  and  the 
jug  would  part  no  more.  This  however  finally 
happened,  but  with  a  long  protracted  sigh ;  after 
which  he  handed  the  half  empty  vessel  to  me.  The 
santon  therefore  easily  finished  what  the  derwjsh 
had  begun ;  and  setting  down  the  jar,  I  took  up 
my  staff  to  march  out. 

This  movement  was  still  premature.  Making  the 
most  of  time  had,  with  my  derwish,  a  more  extensive 
signification  than  I  apprehended.  "  Not  so  fast," 
brother,  said  he,  "  This  place  affords  other  gifts  of 
Providence  besides  the  juice  of  the  grape,  which 
man  should  not  in  his  presumption  contemn  ;''''-  and 
forthwith  he  went  and  whispered  significantly  to  our 
host,  who  upon  the  hint  stepped  out. 

Faithful  to  his  rule  of  making  the  most  of  time, 
our  derwish  meanwhile  fell  mumblincr  his  evenino- 
orisons,  in  order  that  matters  of  business  might  all 
be  dispatched  ere  our  landlord  returned  ;  but  this 
diligence  proved  fruitless.  The  personage  came 
back  empty  handed,  throwing  the  fault  on  the  vast 
demands  of  the  last  caravan  of  pilgrims.  The  holy 
satjnr  therefore  had  no  further  motive  for  delay,  and 
we  proceeded  on  our  way. 

I  could  not  help  expressing  some  wonder,  as  we 
went  along,  at  his  very  open  indulgence  in  prophane 
pleasures,  marked  as  he  was  by  his  religious  habit : 


273  ANASTASIUS. 

but  the  observation  seemed  only  to  excite  his  raiU 
lery."  How  you  mistake  my  drift,"  answered  he 
with  a  pious  sigh.  ''  If  I  mix  with  sinners,  it  is  but 
to  mend  them;  and  how  could  this  be  done,  if 
I  were  to  scare  them  by  a  premature  severity  of 
manners  ?" 

My  companion's  whole  system  of  ethics  seemed  of 
a  piece  with  this  small  specimen.  "It  is  your  half 
sinners  only,''  he  cried  soon  after,  "  who  risk  most  to 
find  the  gates  of  Paradise  shut  against  them.  Carry 
the  thing  to  its  proper  length,  and  the  danger  sub- 
sides :— you  then  are  sure  of  salvation.'" 

This  doctrine  sounding  new  in  my  ears,  I  begged 
an  explanation.  "  W  hy,''  exclaimed  he,  "  is  it  not 
acting  against  one's  conscience,  that  alone  consti- 
tutes what  is  wrong,  and  leads  to  damnation ,?"" — I 
agreed. 

"  Then,"  replied  he,  "  if  you  only  sin  on,  until 
habit  has  silenced  that  officious  monitor,  and  pre- 
vents your  thinkirg  any  more  ahout  its  qualms,  is 
it  not  as  clear  as  day  light,  that  you  revert  to  a 
state  of  perfect  innocence  ?" 

All  I  had  to  do  was  to  regret  that  so  incontro- 
vertible a  truth  should  be  so  little  understood :  only 
I  took  care — as  my  companion  might  possibly  have 
attained  that  degree  of  perfection — to  keep  him  in 
my  eye  durirg  the  remainder  of  the  journey:  ror 


ANASTASIUS.  279 

was  I  sorry  to  arrive  at  the  convent,  where  he  intro- 
duced me  in  form  to  his  brethren. 

Whatever  met  my  eyes  in  the  monastery,  seemed 
at  first  sight  to  breathe  the  very  essence  of  holiness. 
None  of  the  derwishes  walked  otherwise  than  Avith 
downcast  eyes.  Their  domestics  kept  time  in  their 
work  with  pious  ejaculations  ;  and  the  very  cats  of 
the  convent  looked  as  if,  like  Mohammed's  tabby, 
they  were  constantly  meditating  on  the  perfections 
of  the  Koran.  A  word  whispered  by  my  travelling 
companion  in  the  ears  of  the  superior,  speedily 
produced  an  entire  change  of  scene,  and  procured 
me  ocular  demonstration  of  what  small  boundaries 
divide  saint  and  sinner.  The  minor  gaieties  of  the 
evening  ended  in  a  grand  burlesque  on  the  pious 
ecstacies  with  which  the  order  edified  the  public. 

The  sort  of  gravity  which  I  could  not  help  pre- 
serving among  scenes  of  grossness  no  longer  to  my 
taste,  was  noticed,  and  appeared  to  give  umbrage. 
One  of  the  derwishes,  taking  me  aside :  "  What 
ails  you,  brother  ?"  said  he,  "  I  thought  we  had  been 
sticks  of  the  same  bundle ;  but  I  know  not  what  to 
make  of  you.  As  we  let  ourselves  out,  you  draw 
in.     Have  we  mistaken  our  man  ?" 

I  felt  the  danger  of  encouraging  this  idea.  "  By 
no  means;"  answered  I,  rousing  myself  to  look 
uprightly.    "  My  foot  just  now  pains  me  a  little.  But 


2S0  ANASTASIUS. 

for  that  circumstance  you  would  be  astonished  at 
my  mirth  :"  and  immediately  I  poured  out  a  volley 
of  bad  jokes  to  prove  my  assertion.  Still  did  I  most 
joyfully  hail  the  dawn,  which  saw  me  safe  out  of  the 
Tekkieh,^  and  again  on  the  road.  As  I  pa^ed  along, 
I  smiled  to  think  I  should  have  lived  to  feel  myself  ' 
in  danger  from  being  too  demure. 


ANASTASIUS.  :28l 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  LITTLE  kafle'  of  Mussulmen  happened  to  be,  like 
myself,  bound  for  Hems.  I  joined  it,  and,  in  my 
quality  of  santon,  acted  as  Imam*  to  the  party.  It 
was  1  who  settled  the  whole  business  of  the  common 
worship,  took  the  lead  in  the  prayers  of  my  com- 
panions, and  chid  those  who  appeared  inattentive 
in  their  devotions. 

The  city  of  Hems  tempted  me  to  take  a  few  days 
rest.  Caravans  from  the  most  distant  parts  of  the 
empire,  by  making  that  place  their  thoroughfare, 
give  it  an  appearance  of  uncommon  bustle.  In  the 
bazar  my  santon's  habit  and  practices  collected  round 
me  such  a  crowd,  that  the  Mootsellim  thought  fit 
to  inquire  into  my  vocation.  Little  disposed  to 
answer  his  questions,  I  pushed  him  aside,  and  dart- 
ing forward,  as  if  I  saw  something  strange  which 
no  one  else  beheld,  prostrated  myself  two  or  three 
times,  and  began  to  hold  discourse  with  vacant  space. 
It  was  evident  to  all  present  that  I  had  visions  ;  and 


282  ANASTASJUS. 

the  Mootsllim  began  to  be  looked  upon  by  the  mob 
with  an  eye  of  wrath,  for  wishing  to  interrupt  my 
converse  with  the  world  of  spirits.  He  therefore 
prudently  ceased  to  interpose  his  word,  lest  his 
voice  should  be  silenced  altogether,  and  slunk  away, 
muttering  a  few  curses  on  all  the  saints  and  santons 
that  infested  his  district. 

With  the  Mootsellim  had  come  the  Moollah  of 
the  place.  This  latter  looked  significantly  during 
the  interrogatory,  but  abstained  from  speaking,  I 
felt  obliged  to  him  for  his  discretion  ;  and  as  soon 
as  *I  was  rid  of  the  importunities  of  the  governor, 
went  and  sat  by  the  divine.  "  The  fearful,"  said  I 
to  him .  in  a  gracious  manner,  "  build  aloof  on  the 
inaccessible  rock,  but  the  secure  mix  with  their  bre- 
thren in  the  valley."  My  meaning  was  understood, 
and  the  Moollah,  to  shew  that  he  felt  his  place 
to  be  among  the  secure,  began  to  let  himself  out. 
"  How  I  envy  you  !"  he  exclaimed  with  a  deep  sigh. 

I  pointed  to  his  costly  fur,  and  to  my  ragged 
cloak.  "  No  matter  !""  rejoined  he, — "  sackcloth  is 
a  bait  for  consideration  full  as  much  as  silks  :  but 
by  being  offered  to  the  mob  only,  has  procured  you 
what  you  souglrt." 

This  speech  made  me  wish  to  raise  my  character 
in  the  Moollah's  estimation.  I  gave  him  a  few  traits 
of  my  history,  and  he  grew  disposed  in  m}'^  favour. 


ANASTASIUS.  ^285 

« 

His  mind  was  stored  with  much  information,  and 
hence  it  thirsted  for  more ;  while  few  of  those  he 
lived  with  had  a  single  idea  to  add  to  his  stock. 
The  tenets  and  the  views  of  the  Wahhabees  inte- 
rested him  particularly.  I  employed  the  greatest 
portion  of  my  stay  at  Hems  in  giving  him  a  descrip- 
tion of  these  sectaries.  In  return  he  favoured  me 
\\ith  a  sketch  of  his  own  life. 

"  My  father's  humble  roof,"  he  said,  "  acci- 
dentally afforded  shelter  from  a  storm  to  a  ma- 
gistrate of  high  degree.  On  going  away  the  Cazi- 
asker,^  in  order  to  save  a  present,  gave  his  host  a 
counsel.  It  was  to  send  me  to  school,  and  to  rely 
on  his  patronage.  Till  then  my  worthy  parent  had 
never  boasted  but  of  manufacturing  good  pipe-heads; 
he  now  fancied  himself  destined  to  be  the  author  of 
a  head  of  the  law.  His  fortune  was  spent  in  placing 
me  in  a  Medresse,*  and  my  health  ruined  to  do 
credit  to  the  situation.  My  examination  took  place 
the  same  day  with  that  of  a  dunce,  descended  from 
so  long  a  line  of  distinguished  dunces,  that  he  re- 
ceived his  degrees  with  unbounded  applause  for 
having  answered  right  a  single  question,  while  I 
was  near  losing  mine  for  answering  one  wrong.  I 
was  however  qualified  for  promotion :  but,  to  render 
it  the  more  acceptable,  my  generous  patron  kept  it 
back  as  long  as  possible  ;    or  rather  did  nothing  for 


\ 


284  ANASTASIUS. 

me  till  his  son  wanted  a  tutor.  He  then  proposed 
the  place  to  my  necessities,  and  soon  they  saw  me 
the  reluctant  khodgea^  to  the  young  Bey-Moollah ; 
— for  he  had  been  aggregated  to  the  college  of 
Muderrees^  before  he  knew  his  letters.  It  certainly 
-was  unnecessary  for  him  to  learn  them  after.  Yet 
somehow  my  stupidity  was  several  years  in  finding 
out  the  exceeding  bad  compliment  I  paid  the  father, 
by  requiring  diligence  of  the  son.  The  mistake 
became  evident,  when,  in  recompense  for  devoting 
to  his  service  the  best  years  of  my  life,  I  was  made 
Cadi  of  a  miserable  country  town.  Since  that  first 
step  my  promotion  has  proceeded  at  the  slowest  rate 
our  rules  would  admit  of:  and,  too  old  now  for 
new  advancement  here  below,  I  only  look  for  fur- 
ther promotion,  where  I  wish  my  Cazi-asker  no 
worse  punishment  than  himself  becoming  a  precep- 
tor,— were  it  an  angel's  family.'* 

'^  Long  may  the  sun  still  revolve!"  said  I  to 
the  MooUah  as  he  finished  his  story,  "  ere  you 
witness  the  accomplishment  of  your  vrish.  Long 
may  your  wisdom  still  shine  on  Hems !'' 

This  city  I  left  to  pursue  my  way  northward 
through  a  smiling  well  watered  plain  ; — thinking  as 
1  went  along  how  dissatisfied  the  wealthy  and  the 
great  always  were  with  their  lot.  "  Not  so,"  added 
I,  "  the  poor  and  the  lowly ;'' — and  to  confirm  myself 


ANASTASIUS.  285 

in  my  assumption,  I  stopped  to  felicitate  a  passing 
peasant  on  the  beauty  and  richness  of  his  country. 

"  Reserve  your  congratulations,"  answered  he 
surlily,  "  for  the  Mahwali  Ai*abs  ;  we  sow,  but  they 
reap.  El-Korfan,  their  Emir,  lays  upon  us  what  con- 
tributions he  pleases.  The  monopoly  of  camels  for 
all  the  caravans  that  cross  Syria  has  made  him  so 
rich  and  powerful,  that  he  fears  neither  governor  of 
Haleb  nor  Pasha  of  Damascus :  and  why  should 
he  ;  who  can  at  his  pleasure  bring  into  the  field  his 
ten  thousand  well  appointed  horse  !" 

It  was  my  special  good  fortune,  soon  after,  to 
meet  this  formidable  Schaich  himself,  encamped  in 
the  middle  of  the  road.  He  too  was  out  of  humour 
as  well  as  the  peasant.  Numbers  of  his  camels  had 
perished  in  the  desert.  But  his  frowns  made  not 
the  pilau  in  his  tent  look  the  less  inviting.  ''  Let 
the  Pasha  of  Damascus  dread,  his  ill  temper,'' 
thought  I ;  "  his  ten  thousand  horse  dare  not  hurt 
a  hair  of  a  houseless  san ton's  head  f — and  resolutely 
I  walked  in,  made  my  salam,  and  sat  down  to  the 
seasonable  repast.  Having  refreshed  myself,  I 
thanked  the  Prince  for  his  good  cheer,  and  wishing 
him  and  his  remaining  camels  good  health,  marched 
on  to  Hamah. 

At  Haleb,  where  I  stopped  next  to  purcha.se  a 
new  steed,  I  inquired  for  the  French  phihsophe, 


I 


286  ANASTASIUS. 

— the  worshipper  of  Vutile.  Alas  !  even  the  annuity 
granted  to  the  director  of  his  health,  on  his  own 
precious  life,  had  been  unavailing.  An  indigestion  had 
carried  him  off. — I  sowed  pistachio  nuts  on  his  grave ! 
Descending  into  the  plain  which  leads  to  Anta- 
kieh,7  some  Turkmen  invited  me  to  their  camp.  As 
they  were  come  all  the  way  from  Diarbek,  their 
country,  to  dispose  of  their  cattle  in  the  Syrian  mar- 
kets, I  thought  I  could  not  be  far  from  the  mark 
in  saluting  them  as  shepherds.  But  I  mistook  the 
thing  completely  :  they  were  noblemen.  The  head 
of  the  troop  had  himself  addressed  by  his  followers 
as  Aga ;  and,  on  introducing  me  to  the  lady  his  wife, 
who  was  churning  her  milk,  and  to  the  other  ladies 
his  daughters,  who  were,  the  one  kneading  a  barley 
cake,  the  other  working  a  sheep's  wool  carpet,  and 
the  third  darning  her  own  camel's  hair  trowsers, 
he  took  an  opportunity  of  informing  me  in  his  bad 
Turkish  dialect,  of  the  antiquity  of  his  race  and 
the  pure  nobility  of  his  blood  :  " — a  boast  which  he 
would  not  have  thought  it  necessary  to  make,  but 
that  lately  so  many  Christian  peasants,  fled  from 
the  oppression  of  their  Pashas,  had  assumed  the 
name  of  Turkmen,  and  brought  it  into  disrepute,  by 
taking  their  revenge  of  their  tyrannic  governors  on 
the  innocent  traveller."  I  professed  myself  highly 
delighted  with  the   intelligence,  and,   after  eating 


AJNASTASIUS.  287 

some  cream  cheese  and  drinking  some  buttermilk, 
in  the  most  respectful  manner  bade  the  exalted 
circle  adieu,  and  went  on.  Every  step  I  performed 
I  grew  more  impatient  to  cast  off  my  rags, — but  the 
time  was  not  yet  come. 

At  Antakieh  I  made  a  party  with  three  mer- 
chants, a  jenjssary,  and  some  domestics,  to  go  toge- 
ther to  Scanderoon ;  there  to  embark  for  Smyrna, 
the  final  limit  of  my  pilgrimage.  The  man  of  war 
was  of  course  to  be  our  defender.  I  had  nothing  to 
do  but  to  pray,  in  my  quality  as  santon,  for  his 
success : — and  what  could  seem  less  doubtful  than 
that  it  must  be  entire  in  whatever  he  undertook. 
It  did  one's  heart  good,  only  to  hear  from  his  own 
lips — ere  the  journey  was  well  begun — the  whole 
list  of  feats  of  bravery  he  had  at  various  times  per- 
formed. When  indeed,  a  little  further  on  the  road, 
a  discussion  arose  with  a  few  wandering  Coords  who 
shewed  a  wish  to  fleece  us,  our  protector's  generous 
disposition  got  a  little  the  better  of  his  martial 
ardour: — "  was  it  worthwhile  squabbling,"  he  asked, 
"  about  a  few  piastres,  especially  with  wretches 
whom  if  it  came  to  fighting  we  could  not  help  an- 
nihilating ?"" — and  though,  on  this  occasion,  he  de- 
plored nothing  so  much  as  the  valuable  time  we  lost 
in  these  debates,  yet,  when  a  mile  further  on  a 
countryman  informed  us  of  a  more  considerable 


28S  ANASTASIUS. 

detachment  of  the  same  tribe,  stationed  in  a  defile 
between  us  and  our  intended  resting  place,  he  was 
most  strenuous  for  stopping  altogether,  and  lying 
down  where  we  were, — only  for  the  sake  of  coolness  : 
and  to  be  sure  he  did  shew  violent  symptoms  of , 
heat !  However,  seeing  the  merchants  determined  to 
push  on,  in  spite  of  his  raptures  with  the  place,  he 
came  and  asked  me  in  a  whisper,  "  whether  I  did 
not  think  that, in  charging  the  enemy  too  vigorously, 
his  belt,  in  which  he  had  all  his  money,  might 
burst  ?"  in  which  as  I  agreed,  he  begged  of  me,  as 
one  protected  by  my  holiness,  to  take  charge  of  his 
purse.  Unfortunately  in  attempting  to  slip  it  un- 
seen by  the  merchants  into  my  hand,  the  excessive 
courage  which  vibrated  in  his  own,  caused  the  bag 
to  drop,  and  with  such  prodigious  clatter  as  to 
attract  every  eye.  Mahmood  looked  ready  to  faint, 
and  only  revived  a  little  on  my  winking  at  him  to 
leave  the  explanation  of  the  affair  to  me.  "  The 
deuce,""  cried  I,  '^  is  in  these  leaden  images,^  which 
the  Damascus  derwishes  have  given  me  for  their 
Smyrna  brethren; — people  will  fancy  I  am  made  up 
of  gold !'''  At  his  speech  the  merchants  looked  very 
arch,  as  if  to  hint  that  the  good  santon  took  care 
not  to  trust  to  Providence  alone ;  while  Mahmood 
brightened  up  with  delight  at  my  lucky  hit,  nor  in 
the  least  opposed  my  putting  the  money  deliberately 


ANASTASIUS.  889 

into  my  own  pocket,  before  all  the  witnesses  pre- 
sent, as  my  own  undisputed  property ;  not  doubting 
my  intention  to  restore  it  in  due  time  most  con- 
scientiously. 

For  this,  unluckily,  I  had  not  leisure.  I  do  not 
know  what  it  was  that  got  wrong  about  my  saddle, 
almost  immediately  after  the  transaction,  which 
made  me  lag  behind  a  little  ;  and  when  I  called  to 
my  companions  to  wait  for  me,  they  thought  it  a 
clever  joke  to  spur  on  their  horses,  and  to  leave  the 
good  santon,  with  his  great  bag  of  money,  alone  on 
the  road  I  did  not  think  it  a  very  bad  joke  my- 
self, and — determined  to  leave  those  that  left  me, 
— while  they  turned  to  the  left,  I  turned  to  the  right. 
I  even  had  the  malice,  when  a  little  afterwards  I 
caught  a  distant  glimpse  of  their  procession,  just  as 
they  were  entering  the  obnoxious  defile  mentioned 
above,  to  fire  a  pistol  ;  at  which  they  set  off  as  if 
possessed,  fancying  all  the  Coords  of  Coordestan  at 
their  heels,  -and  very  soon  entirely  disappeared. 

Night  coming  on  apace,  I  missed  my  way  en- 
tirely, and  the  next  morning  I  found  I  had  con- 
siderably overshot  Scanderoon,  which  could  now  be 
distinctly  descried  from  the  mountains.  It  would 
have  been  madness  to  turn  back.  So  I  went  on, 
refreshed  myself  at  the  first  little  village  I  reached, 
and   there,  having  made   inquiries   respecting  the 

VOL.  III.  U 


290  ANASTASIUS. 

road,  resolved  to  give  up  all  immediate  thoughts  of 
Smyrna,  and  to  strike  into  the  courier's  track  to 
Constantinople,  from  which  I  was  not  far  distant. 
The  capital,  after  all,  must  be  the  place  for  convert- 
ing my  jewels  into  gold.  That  weighty  matter 
once  accomplished,  I  should  take  up  my  Alexis  at 
Smyrna  in  my  way  to  Christendom,  where  I  in- 
tended finally  to  settle,  and  to  commence  my  new 
profession  of  an  honest  man. 

I  might  have  been  travelling  about  five  leagues 
in  my  new  direction,  and  had  just  got  into  the 
track  of  the  Tartar  messengers,  when,  in  fact,  a  per- 
sonage of  that  description  passed  by  me  with  the 
customary  salute  of  peace.  This  I  duly  returned. 
Upon  which, — the  sound  of  my  voice  striking  the 
courier  as  familiar  to  him — he  looked  round  to 
survey  me.  "  Heavens !""  cried  he  presently,  "  is 
it  the  lord  Selim  I  see  in  this  strange  attire  ?" 
^'  It  is,"  answered  I,  "  Feiz-ullah  ;" — for  by  this 
time  I  too  had  recognised  my  friend.  He  was  no 
other  than  the  honest  fellow  who,  at  Bagdad,  had 
cautioned  me  against  staying  in  that  city,  and  whom, 
for  all  the  thanks  I  owed  him,  I  now  wished  at  the 
devil  for  his  quicksightedness.  "  You  see,"  con- 
tinued I,  "  what  it  is  to  have  a  timorous  conscience. 
I  felt  so  oppressed  with  the  weight  of  my  sins — par- 
ticularly that  of  having  fought  among  those   vile 


ANASTASIUS.  291 

Wahhabees  — -that  I  begged  of  all  the  Saints  in 
paradise  to  assist  me  in  wiping  out  the  stain.  None 
heeded  my  prayer,  save  Hadjee-Becktash,^  who  one 
night  visited  me  in  my  sleep,  and  bade  me  take  his 
habit.  As  you  may  perceive,  it  has  extracted  almost 
every  impurity  out  of  my  heart,  and  I  shall  soon 
come  forth  as  spotless  as  the  new  born  babe.  Mean- 
while, tell  me  what  is  the  news  from  Bagdad.*" 

"  Great,''  cried  Feiz-uUah  ;  "  great  indeed  !  I  do 
not  ask  whether  you  remember  your  friend  the 
Kehayah.  Suleiman  had  toiled  so  many  years  to 
give  this  faulty  diamond  a  sort  of  false  lustre,  that 
he  felt  loth  to  throw  away  his  labour,  and  to  own 
his  choice  a  bad  one.  Determined  to  leave  a  monu- 
ment of  his  might,  he  was  too  old  to  begin  a  new 
creation.  All  the  insinuations  against  Achmet 
therefore  w^ere  treated  as  sheer  envy ;  until  a  day 
when  there  came  to  hand  a  something  passsing 
hints; — a  packet  from  the  Reis-Effendee,  inclosing  a 
letter  to  the  Porte  in  the  Kehaya's  own  hand 
writing.  It  represented  Suleiman  as  wholly  su- 
perannuated ;  and  the  child  of  his  favour  only  mo- 
destly proposed  to  set  him  aside,  and  to  step  into 
his  place.  On  the  receipt  of  this  document,  a  divan 
was  immediately  convened  of  all  the  individuals 
hostile  to  the  Kehaya,  and  the  business  laid  before 
them.     Suleiman  wished   onlv  to   dismiss   his  old 


I 


292  ANASTASIUS. 

favorite ;  but  being  with  much  difficulty  renderetA 
sensible  of  the  danger  of  this  lenity,  he  at  last  re- 
luctantly signed  the  Kehaya's  doom.  Scarce  was 
the  order  issued,  when  Achmet  himself  appeared. 
He  suspected  some  plot  against  his  authority,  and 
came  to  daunt  his  enemies.  Suleiman  gave  him  the 
wonted  reception,  while  the  Kehaya,  casting  a  look 
of  rage  round  the  astonished  circle,  only  seemed  to 
count  the  new  victims  he  intended  immolating  to 
his  safety.  No  time  was  to  be  lost.  Aly-Khasnadar 
boldly  rushes  forward,  and  strikes  the  first  blow : 
— all  the  rest  follow.  Dropping  down  on  his  knees 
Achmet  now  raises  towards  the  Pasha  his  suppli- 
cating hands :  but  the  Pasha  had  thrown  his  shawl 
over  his  face  in  order  not  too  see  the  execution, 
and  in  an  instant  the  favorite  was  dispatched. 
His  mangled  body,  thrown  out  on  the  steps  of  the 
divan,  remained  exposed  during  the  whole  day  to 
glut  the  greedy  eyes  of  the  populace,  and  his  head,"" 
— added  the  Tartar,  pointing  to  a  little  bundle  tied 
behind  him, — "  I  have  here.  As  it  has  been  care- 
fully pickled,  I  entertain  no  doubt  of  carrying  it 
safe  to  the  Sultan,  according  to  my  instructions." 

Feiz-ullah  here  stopping,  I  gave  a  deep  sigh,  not 
so  much  in  compassion  for  Achmet,  as  from  regret 
that  all  this  had  not  happened  while  I  was  at  Bag- 
dad.    It  however  brought  me  some  real  advantage, 


ANASTASIUS.  293 

in  addition  to  the  pleasure  one  finds  in  the  fall  of 
an  enemy.  Feiz-ullah,  as  a  public  messenger,  every 
where  found  horses  ready  at  his  command.  It  was 
more  than  santons  did.  He  proposed  to  me  to  go 
in  his  company;  and  for  the  sake  of  sharing  his 
privilege,  I  determined  to  keep  up  with  his  pace. 

The  Tartar  rate  of  travelling  leaves  little  leisure 
for  a  journal.     The  curiosities  even  of  such  cities  as 
Kutayeh    I   scarcely   saw;  but  I   had  the  best  of 
every  thing  on  the  road.     Yet  was  I  less  unrea- 
sonable than  my  companion,  who,  after  an  excellent 
meal,  did  not  feel  ashamed  to  ask  a  douceur  for 
what  he   called   the   wear   and  tear  of  his  teeth. 
Once  indeed  his  demand  was  resisted,  in  a  Mal- 
kyane'°  of  the  Sultana  Valide,   whose  Waywode 
swore  he  would  not  part  with  a  single  aspre  of  his 
mistress's  slipper  money  for  all  the  booted  Tartars 
in  the  universe.    Feiz-ullah  had  nothing  to  do  but 
to  curse  the  sovereign's  mother  for  an  old  toothless 
jade   as   she   was,   without   bowels  of  compassion. 
Except  on  this  single  occasion,  the  Tartar's  whip, 
which  never  quitted   his  hand,   was  more   than  a 
scepter  to  him, — it  was  an  enchanter's  wand  :   for 
kings  themselves,  says  the  proverb,  lose  their  right 
where  there  is  nothing ;  but  through  means  of  this 
little  instrument  Feiz-ullah  always  succeeded  to  pro- 
duce something; — fat  fowls,  for  instance,  where  the 


294  ANASTASIUS. 

inhabitants  pretended  not  to  have  a  grain  of  barley ; 
sheep  in  good  case,  where  there  was  not  a  blade  of 
grass  ;  nice  fruit  where  not  a  tree  or  a  shrub  seemed 
to  grow.  Alternately  applied  with  the  same  spirit 
to  man  and  beast,  its  persuasive  powers  made  the 
most  jaded  horse  go  on,  and  the  most  reluctant 
host  supply  an  ample  meal. 

At  Isnik  I  took  leave  of  my  companion,  and, — 
with  all  due  respect  for  Hadjee-Becktash, — of  his 
shabby  uniform,  my  santon's  habit.  As  we  travelled 
along  I  had  gradually  collected  all  the  articles  of 
apparel  necessary  for  my  transformation.  Here,  a 
rich  stuff  for  a  turban  ;  there,  a  handsome  vest  and 
cloak ;  further  on,  fine  French  cloth  trowsers ; 
elsewhere,  papooshes  bright  as  burnished  brass. 
With  my  parcel  under  my  arm  I  entered  a  house 
of  entertainment,  engaged  a  snug  back  chamber, 
shut  myself  up,  slipped  off  at  a  single  shake  all  my 
uncouth  rags,  with  impious  hands  shaved  close  my 
shaggy  hair ;"  nay,  without  giving  them  the  smallest 
warning,  disturbed  all  the  angels  in  my  beard" 
itself,  and  maimed  the  Lord  knows  how  many  tiny 
sprites,  deemed  its  tenants  for  life  ;  made  a  bonfire 
of  my  Santon's  cloak  and  staff;  submitted  my  person 
to  all  sorts  of  ablution  ;  and,  thus  purified  by  fire 
and  water — after  standing  sometime  gazing  in  a 
state  of  nature  on  the  various  articles  of  new  ap- 


ANASTASIUS.  295 

pareJ,  methodically  laid  out  in  a  circle  around  me, 
— ^proceeded  leisurely  to  put  on  one  by  one  the  items 
of  my  new  garb. 

Stepping  out  of  my  cell  after  this  refreshing  pro- 
cess, so  completely  metamorphosed  as  not  to  be  re- 
cognised even  by  the  people  in  the  shop  through 
which  I  had  to  pass,  I  truly  felt  like  the  insect, 
which  only  casts  off  the  unsightly  slough  of  the  but- 
terfly, to  come  forth  when  older,  a  gayer,  gaudier, 
nay  younger  butterfly.  The  species  of  ease  and 
delight  derived  from  my  transformation,  positively 
baffles  all  my  powers  of  description.  My  chest 
seemed  to  dilate,  my  breathing  to  acquire  a  free- 
dom before  unknown,  and  my  limbs  and  gait  to 
have  gained  a  fresh  vigour  and  buoyancy.  Though 
now  advanced  to  the  wrong  side  of  thirty,  and 
already  beginning  before  to  think  myself  grown  old 
and  faded,  I  might  fancy  I  had  dipped  afresh  in 
the  fountain  of  youth.  Like  the  revolving  year, 
after  passing  through  the  decay  of  autumn  and 
winter,  I  had  recovered  anew  all  the  smiling  attri- 
butes of  spring. 

The  new  companion  I  engaged  with  in  the  coffee- 
house was  suited  to  my  new  character, — a  young 
Algerine  captain  of  a  man  of  war,  come  from  Con- 
stantinople on  business,  and  glad  to  have  me  as  a 
fellow  traveller  to  return  with  to  the  capital.     We 


<296  ANASTASIUS. 

talked  all  the  way ;  I,  like  all  men  already  some- 
what advanced  in  life,  praising  times  past ;  while 
my  companion  vvould  only  laud  in  the  present  tense. 
"  Hold  your  tongue,''  cried  he,  "  about  your  great 
Hassan.  Our  little  Hussein''  (Kootchook  was  the 
new  grand  Admiral's  by-name)  "  is  worth  a  dozen 
of  him.  We  make  more  improvements  in  the 
navy  in  a  day  now,  ihan  you  used  to  do  in  a 
twelvemonth.  Hussein  sets  about  every  thing  at 
once,  has  every  new  invention  before  it  comes 
out,  never  loses  time  in  examining,  and  regularly 
every  year  new  models  the  arsenal  from  end  to  end. 
It  almost  confuses  one  to  see  the  builders  he  has 
collected  from  every  country  :  France,  Sweden,  and 
whence  not ! — each  speaking  a  different  language ; 
each  following  a  different  method,  and  each  point- 
ino-  out  the  faults  of  what  all  the  others  do.  He 
would  sooner  build  in  the  Chinese  fasliion,  than 
copy  any  one  who  went  before  him  ;  and  his  designs, 
when  executed,  will  prove  the  finest  in  the  world  ? 
Every  dock  yard  in  the  empire, — Mytilene,  Rhodes, 
Boodroon,  the  Dardanelles,  Sinope  and  Galatsch, 

is  vying  uth  the  rest  which   shall  knock  up  a 

ship  of  the  line  with  the  greatest  speed ;  and  the 
capital  prepares  to  launch  a  three-decker  so  pro- 
digious, that  none  of  our  seas  will  have  room 
enough  to  work  her.'*     I  laughed  at  the  eulogium ; 


ANASTASIUS.  297 

wished  my  friend  the  command  of  this  wonder,  and 
stepped  into  the  boat  which  landed  me  at  Con- 
stantinople. 

My  first  care  was  to  enquire  after  the  merchant 
who,  at  Khedieh,  had  so  obligingly  made  me  wel- 
come to  his  travelling  equipage,  for  the  mere 
trouble  of  taking  it.  At  Damascus  I  had  under- 
stood him  to  be  gone  to  the  capital :  in  the  capital 
I  found  that  he  had  commenced  the  longer  journey 
to  heaven.  For  not  only  he  was  departed  this 
world,  but,  in  order  to  ensure  a  good  reception  in 
the  next,  he  had  piously  bequeathed  dl  his  pro- 
perty to  an  hospital  of  cats  and  dogs,  to  the  utter 
exclusion  of  his  nearer  relations,  expressly  disin- 
herited, and  in  fact  well  able,  as  I  heard,  to  spare 
his  bequests.  My  finances  being  by  nature  some- 
what less  brilliant  than  those  of  the  personages  in 
question,  I  determined,  upon  this  information, 
fairly  to  keep  what  I  before  thought  I  had  fairly 
acquired,  and  on  Dgiaffer's  own  express  terms: 
assured  that  I  did  not  even  do  his  four  footed 
legatees — only  named  by  a  disposition  subsequent 
to  our  meeting — an  injury  of  which  they  could 
complain.  There  were  donanmas^^  goi^g  forward 
in  the  capital ;  and  the  Porte,  very  busy  purchasing 
at  all  hands  diamonds  for  presents,  afforded  me  an 
opportunity  of  selling  part  of  mine  to  a  very  great 


298  ANASTASIUS. 

advantage,  and  still  to  reserve  the  stones  of  the 
first  water,  for  what  I  deemed  the  better  markets  of 
Vienna  and  Petersburg.  Meantime,  informed  that 
some  of  DgiafFer's  relations,  less  fortunate  than  the 
remainder,  had  fallen  into  want,  I  took  upon  my- 
self to  correct  in  their  behalf  their  kinsman's  omis- 
sions, and  by  paying  them,  like  a  good  Moslemin, 
the  tithe  of  my  profit,  restored  them  to  ease  and 
comfort.  After  this  I  felt  quite  at  peace  with  my 
conscience,  for  retaining  what  certainly  no  other 
man  breathing  had  any  legal  claims  upon; — nor 
even,  in  truth,  the  cats  themselves. 

On  each  occasion  of  my  passing  through  Con- 
stantinople since  my  separation  from  Spiridion  at 
Chio,  something  or  other  had  occured  to  prevent  our 
meeting : — either  my  own  reluctance  to  intrude 
upon  him ;  or  his  impending  marriage  which  made 
it  desirable  to  himself  not  to  see  me  ;  or  his  absence 
from  the  Capital.  I  now  made  a  fresh  attempt  to 
embrace  my  old  friend,  and  called  upon  the  father, 
but  could  not  see  the  son.  To  the  indescribable 
horror  of  all  his  friends  and  relations,  he  was  ac- 
tually gone  on  a  voyage  to  the  Venetian  islands  and 
to  the  other  parts  of  Christendom  ;  and  that,  from 
motives  of  mere  curiosity,  and  without  any  views 
of  advantage,  save  instruction  ! — The  best  chance 
I  had  of  finding  him  was  at  Paris  or  in  London. 


ANASTASIUS.  299 

Mavrocordato  had  a  friend  :— a  man  of  weight 
and  respectability,  who,    throughout    all   my   dif- 
ferent vicissitudes  had  constantly  shewn  me  a  more 
steady  and  uninterrupted  interest  than  even  Mav- 
rocordato himself,  and,  while  he  never,  it  must  be 
confessed,  had  risen  quite  so  high  in  his  admiration 
of  my  worth  as  the  latter,  never  either  fell  quite  so 
low  in  his   estimation  of  my  qualities,    as    Signor 
Mavrocordato  had  since  chosen  to  do.     I  had  par- 
ticularly noticed  Costandino  Caridi  for  one  circum- 
stance  in   his   conduct,   in  which  he  stood  single 
among    his   countrymen:   namely,   that,    though 
far   from   wealthy  himself,  he  used  to  keep  most 
aloof  from  me,  whenever  I    seemed   to  have  the 
greatest  command  of  cash  : — giving  as  his  reason  for 
this  singularity,  that  I  never  became  bearable  until 
I  was  half  starved.     This  old  friend  now  met  me 
with  a  totally  new  face  ;  for,  though  he  knew  me  to 
possess  the  amplest  means,  he  yet  paid  me  a  degree 
of  attention  which  I  had  never  before  been  able  to 
extort  from  him,  even  when  I  was  absolutely  in  want 
of  bread.    In  fact,  he  seemed  so  very  determined  to 
obtain   complete  possession  of  my  mind  by  every 
species  of  address  and  flattery,  that  at  last  I  grew  dis- 
trustful of  him  whom  I  never  had  distrusted  before, 
and  conceived  that,  through  daily  society  with  men 
of  a  selfish  and  intriguing  disposition,  he  had  at  last 


300  ANASTASIUS. 

totally  changed  his  own  character.  One  day,  indeed, 
I  could  not  help  telling  him  so  in  direct  terras. 
Sick  of  his  obsequiousness,  and  quite  out  of  pa- 
tience with  his  over-strained  compliments  on  my 
wit,  my  figure  and  my  taste,  I  ironically  begged  of 
him  not  to  waste  his  breath  in  flattering  one,  who 
himself  felt  so  impressed  with  his  utter  perfection 
in  every  particular,  as  to  consider  all  attempts  at 
praise  as  inadequate,  and  to  loathe  every  compliment 
paid  him  to  his  face,  except  that  addressed  to  his 
good  sense,  in  sound  and  well  timed  abuse. 

At  this  speech  signor  Caridi,  instead  of  looking 
somewhat  confused  as  I  expected,  began  to  laugh 
most  immoderately  ;  and  forcibly  taking  me  by  the 
hand  :  "  bravo !"  he  cried,  "  this  is  at  last  as  I 
wished  it.  I  now  have  hopes,  and  shall  report 
accordingly.  My  commission  need  no  longer  be 
deferred." 

I  asked  what  he  meant. 

"  You  remember,''  resumed  Costandino ;  "  your 
kinsman  of  IVieste,  who  so  cruelly  left  you  in  the 
lurch  at  Smyrna  ?" 

"  I  do,"  was  my  reply — "  as  a  very  great 
roffue." 

o 

"  That  is  precisely,"  answered  Caridi,  "  the 
thing  he  understood  you  to  be ;  and  the  attribute 
which  made  him  transfer  his  views  from  the  son  of 


ANASTASIUS.  301 

Kts  relative  Sotiri,  to  another  youth, — an  entire  stran- 
ger to  his  blood ;    but  who  had  been  a  clerk  in  his 
counting  house,  and  seemed  to  bear  himself  as  a  lad 
of   unexceptionable   morals.      Unfortunately,  poor 
Elevtheri  was   not  as  sound  in  constitution  as  in 
principles ;  and  when  your  cousin,  adopting  him  as 
his  son,  thought   it   necessary   to  coax   him   into 
being  his  intended  heir,  the  hapless  youth  had  to 
undergo    such   excessive   petting,   and   care,   and 
exclusion   from   those   fresh   gales  which   he  used 
formerly  to  inhale  unrestrained,  that  the  first  draft 
of  air  he  sat  in,  after  he  had  become  disaccustomed 
from  its  contact,  he  died  of.    Delvinioti,  now  again 
adrift,  wrote  to  me  to  make  fresh  enquiries  after 
his  worthy  cousin  Anastasius,  in  order  that,  should 
age,  or  disappointment,  or  other  desirable  circum- 
stances   have    produced   wholesome   fruits   in   his 
bosom,  new  proposals  might  be  made  him,  on  the 
old  conditions.      The    letter  which  I  received   to 
this  pursose  is  dated  six  months  back ;    and  I  con- 
fess I  had  so  little  hopes  of  ever  seeing  you  again, 
that  I  was  going  to  answer  it  as  relating  to  a  despe* 
rate   business, —  when  suddenly   you  reappeared. 
Since  that  period  I  have  neglected  no  opportunity  of 
watching  your  conduct,  and  trying  your  temper : 
and  you  yourself  must  do  me  the  justice  to  own 
that  I  have  laid  every  trap  in  your  way  which  my 


302  ANASTASIUS. 

imagination  could  suggest.  I  therefore  now  begin 
to  think  mere  time  has  done  enough,  to  warrant  my 
expecting  from  motives  so  powerful  as  a  respectable 
situation  and  a  rich  inheritance,  all  that  still  remains 
to  be  achieved  :  and  I  hesitate  no  longer  to  starpp 
your  improvement  with  the  mark  of  your  cousin's 
splendid  offer." 

^'  Or  rather,"  cried  I,  "  to  submit  my  prudence  to 
some  fresh  and  arduous  trial; — in  order  to  ascertain 
whether  I  am  weak  enough  to  be  taken  in  a  second 
time  by  the  same  wily  relation,  and  can  be  made  to 
perform  another  longer  journey  than  the  first,  only 
to  look  at  the  conclusion  like  a  more  egregious  fool.^' 
"  Right !"  exclaimed  Caridi,  "  you  are  fully 
warranted  to  form  such  a  surmise,  and  tlierefore,  as 
v^  security  against  its  being  realized,  I  see  nothing 
for  you  to  do,  but  to  take  this  letter  of  credit  to 
defray  your  expences.  It  includes,  as  you  see, 
every  place  on  your  way  up  the  Adriatic,  and  ends 
with  Trieste.  Thus,  after  all,  should  you  and  your 
cousin  not  suit  each  other,  you  will  have  been 
franked  during  a  pleasant  voyage,  and  treated  with 
a  peep  at  Christendom,  which  at  any  rate  I  under- 
stand you  meant  to  vist. 

I  had  indeed  occasionally  thrown  out  some  idea 
of  the  kind,  as  a  thing  which  might  be  of  advan- 
tage to  my  child's  education  :   but  when  directly 


ANASTASIUS.  303 

called  upon  to  decide  whether  I  chose  to  sit  down 
for  life  in  distant  realms,  to  whose  habits  and  man- 
ners 1  was  a  perfect  stranger,  I  recoiled  from  the 
thought,  and  for  a  while  kept  turning  a  deaf  ear  to 
Caridi's  remonstrances.  At  last  he  set  in  so  strong 
a  light  the  expediency,  in  my  situation,  of  retiring 
to  Franguestan,  both  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
my  fortune  to  my  son,  and  for  that  of  providing  him 
with  the  best  instruction,  that  I  suffered  myself 
to  be  persuaded,  and  resolved,  after  taking  up 
my  Alexis  at  Smyrna,  gradually  to  work  my  way 
out  of  the  precincts  of  Islamism,  and '  into  those 
where  soars  the  Cross.  I  deposited  the  letter  of 
credit  in  my  pocket-book,  converted  my  cash  into 
bills,  and  prepared  for  my  journey. — Unfortunately 
an  illness  which  awaited  me  the  moment  I  had  lei- 
sure to  attend  to  my  health,  and  a  stab  I  received 
one  night  in  a  mistake  when  convalescent,  detained 
me  about  eight  months  longer,  ere  I  was  able  finally 
to  set  out. 

All  things  being  ready  at  last  for  my  departure 
from  Stambool,  I  ascended  the  hill  crowned  by  Noor 
Osmany,  and  from  the  loftiest  galleries  of  this  su- 
perb building  took  a  last  parting  view  of  the  proud 
capital  which  I  had  made  the  first  scene  of  my 
youthful  revels,  which,  during  the  fairest  portion 
of  my  life  I  had  considered  as  my  honie,  and  which 


304  ANASTASIUS. 

I  was  now  probably  going  to  quit  for  ever.  For 
the  last  time  my  eye,  moistened  with  tears,  wandered 
over  the  dimpled  hills,  glided  along  the  winding 
waters,  and  dived  into  the  deep  and  delicious  del]s, 
in  which  branch  out  its  jagged  shores.  Reverting 
from  these  smiling  outlets  of  its  sea-beat  suburbs 
to  its  busy  centre,  I  surveyed  in  slow  succession 
every  chaplet  of  swelling  cupolas,  every  grove  of 
slender  minarets,  and  every  avenue  of  glittering 
porticoes,  whose  pinnacles  dart  their  golden  shafts 
from  between  the  dark  cypress  trees  into  the  azure 
sky.  I  dwelt  on  them  as  on  things  I  never  was  to 
behold  more ;  and  Jiot  until  the  evening  had  deep- 
ened the  veil  it  cast  over  the  varied  scene  from 
orange  to  purple,  and  from  purple  to  the  sable  hue 
of  the  night,  did  I  tear  myself  away  from  the  im- 
pressive spot.  I  then  bade  the  city  of  Constantine 
farewell  for  ever,  descended  the  high-crested  hill, 
stepped  into  the  heaving  boat,  turned  my  back  upon 
the  shore,  and  sunk  my  regrets  in  the  sparkling 
wave,  across  which  the  moon  had  already  flung  a 
trembling  bar  of  silvery  light,  pointing  my  way  as 
it  were  to  other  yet  unknown  regions. 

During  the  whole  of  my  voyage  to  Smyrna,  one 
only  thought  kept  possession  of  my  soul.  It  was 
the  rapture  which  awaited  me  on  landing,  in  pres- 
sing to  my  bosom  my  darling  child.     Four  years 


J 


ANASTASIUS.  505 

and  an  half  had  now  elapsed  since  his  joyless  birth : 
— he  must  be  grown  full  of  grace,  loveliness  and 
artless  prattle  ;  heir  to  all  the  charms  of  his  mother, 
and  ready  to  return  all  the  endearments  of  his 
father :'  and  such  became,  on  stepping  on  shore,  my 
impatience  to  behold  the  fond  object  of  these  daily 
dreams,  that  it  scarcely  left  me  patience  to  go  with 
composure  through  the  tedious  forms  and  func- 
tions, from  which  none  are  exempt  who  transfer 
their  persons  finally  from  the  watery  element  to  a 
firmer  footing  on  land. 

When  indeed,  after  traversing  the  busier  parts 
of  the  city  around  the  quay,  I  arrived  at  that 
remote  and  lonely  suburb  where  I  expected  to  find 
my  affections  crowned,  and  which,  but  for  my  me- 
lancholy search  after  my  lost  Euphrosyne,  I  might 
never  had  visited,  or  at  least,  have  remembered : — ■ 
when  I  passed  by  the  obscure  hovel  which  I  entered 
while  my  lovely  victim  lay  in  all  the  agonies  of 
child  birth,  praying  for  a  last  farewell  look  from 
the  author  of  her  woes  ;  which  I  left  without  seeing 
her;  and  where  she  breathed  her  last, — the  clouds 
of  despair  seemed  for  a  moment  to  overcast  the 
sunshine  of  my  hopes,  and  the  son  was  forgotten  in 
the  mother:  or  rather,  I  felt  that  after  losing  the 
one  as  I  did,!  deserved  not  to  find  the  other  : — but 

VOL.  III.  X 


S06  ANASTASIUS. 

this  gloom  again  subsided  when  I  beheld  the  abode 
of  those  in  whose  care  I  had  left  my  Alexis. 

It  was  only  on  their  threshold  that  my  delightful 
vision  at  last  vanished  entirely.  There  I  first  heard, 
and  from  strangers,  not  only  that  the  merchant 
entrusted  with  the  small  pittance  for  my  child's 
support,  had  become  a  bankrupt,  and  had  disap- 
peared— but  that  even  the  woman,  in  whose  cai'e 
I  had  left  my  darling  babe,  had  taken  herself  off. 
No  body  could  give  me  the  least  information  res- 
pecting herself  or  her  charge  ;  nor — ^^vhat  seemed 
the  strangest  part  of  the  story — did  distress  or  fai- 
lure of  the  promised  supplies  appear  to  have  been 
her  motive  ;  for  so  far  from  leaving  a  chance  to 
any  succour  of  reaching  her,  she  had  evidently 
taken  pains  to  baffle  all  enquiry  respecting  the  place 
of  her  concealment.    Had  Sophia  still  enjoyed  the 

breath  of  life,  I  should But  she  was  dead. 

Yet  might  her  evil  spirit  still  haunt  the  chief  scene 
of  her  infernal  wickedness. 

Once,  on  my  homeward  journey  from  the  eternal 
desert — oppressed  with  heat,  and  in  vain  soliciting 
my  cruise  for  a  drop  of  water  to  wet  my  parched 
lips — I  had,  when  on  the  point  of  fainting  with  ex- 
haustion, beheld  in  a  valley  before  me  the  semblance 
of  a  Umpid  lake,  ready  to  slake  mj  raging  thirst  and 


ANASTASIUS.  307 

to  lave  my  wearied  limbs, — had  collected  my  last 
strength  to  reach  its  winding  banks —  and,  when 
near  the  delusive  spot,  had  found  the  vision  a  mere 
mockery,  and  nothing  real  around  me  save  sands 
more  dry  and  burning  than  those  I  had  left  be- 
hind :  but  what  was  this  disappointment  of  the  sense, 
— even  with  hfe  at  stake, — compared  with  that  which 
struck  my  inmost  mind  at  this  dreadful  moment ! 
for  the  anguish  of  the  actual  shock  was  still  exceed- 
ed by  the  gloom  of  my  forebodings,  since  it  seemed 
that  no  other  motive  could  have  made  the  person  I 
sought  take  pains  to  evade  my  enquiry,  but  having 
made  away  M'ith  or  abandoned  my  child.  Probably 
it  had  long  ceased  to  exist ;  long  probably  had  my 
Alexis  followed  his  hapless  mother  to  the  grave ;  and, 
while  I  was  conjuring  up  in  my  fertile  fancy  every 
brightest  image  of  his  beauty  and  his  sprightliness^ 
his  lifeless  form  was  already  mouldering  in  its  grave  : 
or  if  he  still  was  permitted  to  breathe,  in  common 
with  the  meanest  of  insects,  on  this  vile  inhospi- 
table earth,  it  could  only  be  to  experience  suffer- 
ings worse  than  death  : — every  pang  of  illness,  of 
desertion  and  of  want.  The  least  untoward  feat  I 
dared  fancy  for  the  relic  of  thy  adored  Euphrosyne, 
was  begging  his  bread  like  a  wretched  orphan  from 
door  to  door.  Even  his  father  might  have  met 
him  without  knowing  whom  he  met ;— might  have 


I 


SOS  ANASTASIUS. 

bestowed  on  his  own  babe  the  scanty  boon  of  com- 
mon and  churlish  charity ! 

Impressed  with  this  idea,  I  examined  with  anxious 
solicitude  every  child  on  which  fell  my  searching 
eye:  .stopped  to  enquire  into  its  parentage  and 
birth  place ;  and  suffered  no  little  creature  under 
five  or  six  years  of  age  to  escape,  until  it  had  passed 
through  the  regular  ordeal  of  my  questions :  but 
no  child  I  beheld  resembled  my  Alexis  ;  none  made 
my  heart  bound  on  meeting  its  first  glance.  "  Ah  !"" 
was  now  my  constant  cry :  "why  had  I  ever  lost  sight 
even  for  an  instant  of  that  hearts  only  remaining 
treasure ; — Why  had  I  roamed  far  from  his  humble 
abode !  Would  it  not  have  been  better  a  thousand 
times  to  possess  my  child  without  bread  to  eat,  than 
all  the  riches  of  the  universe  without  my  darling 
child !" 

At  last  a  faint  ray  of  hope  broke  in,  arid  threw 
a  gleam  of  light  upon  my  dark  despondency.  It 
dimly  shewed  my  mind  a  track  to  pursue,  though 
it  marked  not  its  issue.  Indeed  so  vague,  so  f^nt, 
so  flitting  remained  the  forms  it  here  and  there 
pointed  out,  that  I  feared  to  trust  to  them  as  to 
realities.  A  Smyrniote  lady,  who  had  witnessed  my 
distress,  and  had  even  assisted  me  in  my  enquiries, 
sent  to  inform  me  of  a  circumstance  which  she  had 
heard  by  accident.     The  wife  of  a  foreign  Consul 


ANASTASIUS.  309 

at  Alexandria,  on  a  visit  the  year  before  with  a 
friend  at  Smyrna,  was  said  on  her  return  to  Egypt 
to  have  taken  with  her  in  the  capacity  of  waiting 
woman,  a  person  intrusted  by  a  stranger  with  a 
child  of  such  singular  beauty,  that  the  Consuless, 
unblessed  with  a  family  of  her  own,  rather  con- 
sidered the  improtected  babe  as  a  prize  than  as  an 
encumbrance.  Further  particulars  to  identify  the 
child  could  not  be  collected  at  Smyrna,  and  rather 
than  engage  in  a  tedious  and  ineffectual  correspon- 
dence with  Alexandria,  I  resolved  immediately  to 
embark  for  that  place. 

Walking  impatiently  backward  and  forward  on 
the  quay,  while  the  boat  was  getting  ready,  I  spied 
a  large  circle  of  towns-people  gathered  round  a 
jenissary  employed  in  telling  a  tale  of  wonder.  It 
was  no  other  than  that  of  the  innumerable  Coords 
killed  by  the  vahant  Mahmood,  in  defending  a  cer- 
tain purse  which  I  pocketed  on  the  road  to  Scan- 
deroon,  and  still  happened  to  have  in  my  possession. 
Nor  need  I  add,  that  Mahmood  himself  was  the 
relater  of  his  own  achievements.  At  this  instance  of 
shameless  bragging  I  could  not  resist  slipping  behind 
the  fellow,  and  whispering  in  his  ear  :  "  coward,  you 
lie ;  here  is  the  object  of  your  vauntings,  and  claim 
it  if  you  dare  !"  upon  which,  throwing  the  purse 
down  before  him,  I  folded  my  arms  in  each  other. 


310  ANASTASIUS. 

and  waited  some  little  time  to  see  what  he  would 
do  It  was  but  to  stand  still  speechless  and  pale  as 
a  ghost,  looking  alternately  at  the  money  and  at  me, 
until,  giving  up  all  hopes  of  his  uttering  a  syllable, 
I  flung  the  purse  to  a  beggar,  and  stepped  into  the 
boat. 


ANASTASIUS.  SH 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Behold  me  now  for  the  third  and  last  time  on  ray- 
passage  to  Egypt;  a  country  which  I  had  not 
visited,  and  had  thought  Httle  of,  since  the  memo- 
rable expedition  of  the  Capitan-Pasha  which  ended 
in  leaving  Ismail-bey  Schaich-el-belled  at  Cairo,  and 
Ibrahim  and  Mourad  in  possession  of  the  Said. 
Plague,  famine,  and  the  Grand-Admiral  had  already 
miserably  exhausted  the  land  of  the  Mamlukes  pre- 
vious to  IsmaiTs  appointment :  but  the  partition  with 
the  rebels,  to  which  Hassan  consented,  completed 
the  difficulties  of  the  new  Schaich-el-belled  :  it  left 
an  enemy  constantly  hovering  over  his  province, 
against  whom  it  was  necessary  to  employ  extraordi- 
nary means  of  defence,  while  the  income  of  the 
chief  was  diminished  in  the  same  proportion  as  his 
expences  were  encreased.  Fortunately  IsmaiTs 
abilities  were  equal  to  his  task.  By  his  firmness  he 
awed  the  open  hostily  of  the  party  in  Upper  Egypt, 
and  by  his  vigilance  he  defeated  the  treachery  in  his 


312  ANASTASIUS. 

own  councils :  he  made  the  heavier  burthens  which 
he  was  forced  to  impose,  seem  hghter  by  causing 
them  to  bear  more  equally  on  all  classes  ;  he  applied 
himseJf  with  equal  skill  to  curing  wounds  inflicted, 
and  to  obviate  impending  evils ;  and,  finally,  he 
carried  from  the  mountains  of  Lybia  to  the  city  of 
Cairo,  a  line  of  walls  and  batteries  so  judiciously 
disposed  as  to  be  inexpugnable,  at  least  by  the  un- 
disciphned  troops  which  threatened  him  from  the 
South. 

After  these  labours  Ismail  seemed,  in  1/90,  to 
have  nothing^  further  left  to  do  but  to  sit  down  and 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  toil,  when  that  scourge  of 
the  East,  the  plague,  imperfectly  subdued,  broke 
out  afresh  with  a  virulence  far  exceeding  its  former 
fury.  From  the  close- wedged  hovels  of  the  poor  it 
soon  reached — more  ravenous  in  proportion  as  it 
found  richer  food — to  the  spacious  palaces  of  the 
great,  and  spread  dismay  and  death  among  the 
haughty  Mamlukes,  as  it  had  done  among  the  hum- 
ble natives.  At  last  it  penetrated  into  the  abode  of 
the  Schaich-el-belled  himself,  and  struck  his  dart  at 
the  chief,  while  in  the  very  act  of  concerting  mea- 
sures to  stem  its  devastations.  In  the  midst  of  all 
his  glory  Ismail  fell  a  prey  to  its  vengeance, — and  a 
few  hours  saw  him  dragged  from  the  pinnacle  of 
power  to  the  brink  of  the  grave. 

Put  me  disease  which  conquered  his  body  could 


ANASTASIUS.  313 

boast  no  conquest  over  his  mighty  soul.  I'o  the 
last  his  mind  continued  intent  upon  the  welfare  of 
Egypt.  Finding  his  end  draw  near  he  cast  his 
eyes  around,  to  seek  among  his  followers  some  one 
fit  to  become  his  successor,  and  to  support,  at  his 
fall,  the  fabric  which  he  had  raised.  Summoning 
all  his  friends  into  his  presence,  he  offered  the  re- 
version of  his  dignity  successively  to  Hassan-bey 
Djeddawee,  to  Aly-bey  Deftcrdar,  and  to  all  his 
other  veterans  who  seemed  in  any  degree  equal  to 
the  arduous  task. 

But  all  alike  declined  the  tempting  offer.     De- 
prived, by  the  same  contagion  under  whose  venom 
their  chief  had  sunk,  of  the  most  faithful  of  their 
adherents,   these  ambitious   leaders  who   at  other 
times  would  have  disputed  sword  in  hand  for  Is- 
maifs  rich  succession,  now  wholly  unnerved,  were 
compelled  when  the  honor  courted  their  acceptance, 
one  after  the  other  reluctantly  to  avert  from  it  their 
longing  eyes.  The  supreme  rank  therefore  devolved 
on  the  very  last  of  those  to  whom  Ismail  had  thought 
of  making  the  offer, — on  his  own  creature,  Osman- 
bey  Toobbal;  a  youth  as  crooked  in  mind  as  he 
was  distorted  in  body  :  but  who  alone  with  alacrity 
accepted   what    all   the   others   with    deep   regret 
refused. 

Wishing  to  give  a  last  instance  of  his  power,  or, 
rather,  to  render  manifest  to  all  men  breathing  the 


314  ANASTASIUS. 

last  act  of  his  authority,  Ismail  commanded  the  pro- 
clamation of  Toobbal  to  take  place  while  he  him- 
self still  had  life.  From  his  death-bed  he  heard  his 
successor  announced ;  and  gave  up  the  ghost. 

Toobbal  had  accepted  the  dignity  of  Schaich-el- 
belled,  which  he  was  conscious  he  could  not  main- 
tain, only  to  sell  it  to  the  Beys  in  the  Said.  He 
sent  them  speedy  advice  of  the  death  of  Ismaifl,  and 
of  the  utter  debility  of  his  party.  On  this  welcome 
intelligence  they  immediately  descended  along  the 
Western  bank  of  the  Nile  :  but,  startled  by  the  un- 
looked  for  and  new  fortifications  which  they  found 
at  Dgize,  they  retraced  their  steps  backward  until 
they  could  collect  craft  enough  to  cross  the  river ; 
and,  on  the  reverse  of  the  chain  of  Arabic  moun- 
tains, again  redescended  with  such  rapidity,  that 
scarce  had  the  Beys  of  Cairo  received  intelligence 
of  their  retreat  from  before  Dgiz^,  when  they  rush- 
ed from  behind  the  Mokhadem,  and  summoned  the 
capital  to  surrender. 

At  this  appalling  intelligence  the  Beys  marched 
out  with  what  force  they  could  muster,  headed  by 
the  treacherous  Toobbal.  He  seized  the  first 
opportunity  of  passing  over  to  the  enemy,  whom  he 
led  triumphant  into  the  capital,  while  his  own 
party  fled  to  the  Said.  There  its  now  oldest  leader, 
Djeddawee,  was  suffered  to  reinstate  himself  in  his 
ancient  government  of  Es-souan ;    where  he  since 


ANASTASIUS.  315 

has  been  left  undisturbed  to  reflect  on  the  singularity 
of  his  fate,  which,  though  acknowledged  the  bravest 
of  a  fearless  race,  has  yet  rendered  him  chiefly 
celebrated  through  his  flights.  Toobbal,  who  im- 
mediately abdicated  his  recent  honors  in  favour  of 
the  new  comers,  soon  fell  into  the  oblivion  he  de- 
served ;  while  Ibrahim  recovered,  with  the  rank  of 
Schaich-el-belled,  the  government  of  all  the  country 
from  Cairo  southward,  including  the  harbour  of 
Suez  ;  and  Mourad  obtained  the  tract  between  the 
capital  and  the  Mediterranean,  together  with  the 
duties  of  the  ports  on  that  coast : — advantages  which 
were  duly  confirmed  by  Ezid-Mehemet,  the  Grand 
Signor''s  Pasha,  on  the  candidates  paying  the  custo- 
mary fees  of  investiture. 

The  person  who  gave  me  the  substance  of  this 
account  was  a  middle  aged  man,  speaking  Greek  like 
a  native,  whom  I  met  on  my  way  at  Cos.  Fresh 
arrived  from  the  country  whither  I  was  bound,  he 
had  excited  my  curiosity  more  still  by  his  own  conse- 
quential manner,  than  by  the  information  he  had  to 
impart.  On  some  slight  offence  given  him  in  one  of 
the  coflee-houses  under  the  gigantic  plane-tree  in  the 
market  place : — "  Is  this  a  treatment,"  he  cried 
trembling  with  rage,  "  for  a  Capitan-Pasha  !" — at 
which  words  I  started,  and,  after  considering  the 
personage  for  some  time  with  encreased  wonder : — 


816  ANASTASIUS. 

"  Capitan-Pasha  I  To  whom  I  beseech  !"  was  the 
question  I  could  not  help  proposing. 

"  To  Mourad-bey,  to  be  sure/'  was  the  answer. 
"  In  order  to  maintain  a  Lord  High  Admiral,"^ — 
I  ventured  to  observe, — "  one  should  have  some- 
thing of  a  navy." 

"  And  who  has,*"  rejoined  my  informer,  "  if 
Mourad  has  not  !  It  rides  at  anchor  under  the 
very  windows  of  the  Bey's  palace  at  Dgize,  is  the 
best  appointed  within  an  hundred  mil^s  of  the  sea, 
and,  when  the  Nile  has  attained  its  full  height,  sails 
^ip  as  high  as  Boolak,  and  down  as  low  as  Fostat. 
At  other  times  indeed  it  remains  properly  moored 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  for  fear  of  running 
aground  in  its  bed."*' 

"  Great,  no  doubt,  were  the  naval  achievements 
which  raised  you  to  the  honor  of  commanding  this 
fleet  ?" 

"As  you  may  suppose. — When  Osman-bey 
Tamboodgee  grew  tired  of  the  banishment  which 
Hassan  procured  him  to  Stambool,  1,  Nicola -Had- 
jee  of  Tchesme,  was  the  man  who  conveyed  him  to 
Derneh,  whence  he  easily  regained  his  home.  This 
signal  service  recommended  me  to  his  party,  and 
made  Mourad  give  me  the  command  of  his  naval 
force,  as  soon  as  he  learned  my  transcendant  abi- 
lities.  Unfortunately  I  was  tenacious  of  the  privi- 


ANASTASIUS.  317 

ledges  attached  to  my  high  office.  I  one  day 
battered  a  kiachefs  windows  for  protecting  a  run- 
away sailor.  This  spirited  act  brought  me  into 
disgrace,  and  like  other  great  people  I  now  travel 
for  a  change  of  air." 

"  It  gives  me  pleasure,""  replied  I,  '^  to  find  that 
the  rage  for  novelties  is  not  confined  to  Constanti- 
nople." I  however  condoled  with  the  Ex-Capitan 
Pasha  on  his  dismissal,  and,  having  filled  a  bag  with 
the  fine  bergamots  of  the  island  miscalled  Stanchio, 
reimbarked  for  my  destination. 

On  the  coast  of  Syria  the  reis  took  on  board,  much 
against  my  advice,  two  Latin  friars, — the  one  an 
Italian  from  the  convent  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  other 
a  Spaniard  form  the  hospice  at  Ramleh. 

If  they  had  been  Greeks  they  could  not  have 
quarrelled  more  unceasingly.  Under  the  delusion 
that  no  one  understood  their  idiom,  they  were 
constantly  refreshing  each  other's  memory  with  all 
the  little  peccadilloes  of  their  respective  establish- 
ments. "  The  convent  at  Jerusalem  had  suffered  the 
schismatics  to  invade  all  the  sanctuaries;  the  hospice 
at  Ramleh  had  bribed  the  Arabs  to  plunder  the 
pilgrims  :  the  monks  of  the  former  place  had  set 
their  blood  on  fire  with  drams  ;  those  of  the  latter 
with  pimento  and  quarrels/' 

That — whatever  might  be  the  cause — the  hu- 


318  ANASTASIUS. 

mours  of  both  these  representatives  of  their  respec- 
tive communities  w  ere  in  a  state  of  high  fermenta- 
tion, no  one  could  deny.  More  than  once  I  ex- 
pected an  explosion,  which  would  end  fatally  for 
both.  Luckily  breath  only — not  blood — was  wasted; 
and  we  had  the  satisfaction  to  land  both  fra.  Diego 
and  fra.  Giacomo,  sound  in  body,  though  very  sore 
in  mind,  on  the  quay  of  Alexandria. 

My  feet  had  not  yet  pressed  the  long  looked-for 
shore,  when  I  began  to  enquire  for  the  consular 
mansion  in  which  centred  all  my  hopes.  With  trem- 
bling steps  and  throbbing  heart  I  hied  me  to  its 
threshold.  A  vague  report,  an  idle  story  might 
have  deceived  me  :  I  might  have  gone  away  from 
the  child  I  came  to  seek ;  and  when  near  the  door, 
I  was  on  the  point  of  turning  back,  in  order  yet 
awhile  to  defer  the  inquiry,  and  to  gather  more  for- 
titude for  an  answer,  which  must  bring  with  it  in- 
expressible happiness  or  bitter  disappointment. 

Apprehensive  lest  the  sight  of  a  stranger  in  the 
Turkish  garb  might  alarm  the  family,  I  first  gave 
a  gentle  knock.  No  one  answered : — I  then  repeated 
the  summons.  A  domestic  at  last  appeared.  "  Both 
his  master  and  mistress  were  out,*'  he  said,  "  and  it 
was  uncertain  when  they  would  return."" 

"  Had  they  a  child  with  them  ?""  I  asked. 

^'  There  was  a  child  in  the  house." 


ANASTASIUS.  319 

"  Found  at  Smyrna, — and  belonging  to  a  stran- 
ger?" 

"  Oh  no !  brought  up  in  the  family  by  its  own 
mother." 

This  seemed  to  dash  all  my  hopes  to  the  ground  ! 
However ;  *^  might  I  see  the  little  boy  ?"   I  asked. 

He  too  had  been  taken  out  to  walk. 

"Where?" 

"  It  was  impossible  to  tell.'^ 

Perplexed,  I  now  left  word  I  would  call  again, 
and  withdrew  from  the  door  in  deep  despondency. 
Yet  when  I  reflected  that  the  servants  might  be 
strangers  to  the  concerns  of  their  masters,  and  these 
latter  not  desirous  to  own  their  little  favourite  a 
foundling,  I  did  not  entirely  despair.  I  paced  up 
and  down  the  road  in  sight  of  the  mansion,  to  watch 
the  coming  home  of  the  infant. 

Nor  was  I  long  without  descrying  at  a  distance  a 
child  approaching,  whose  dress  belonged  not  to  the 
country.  A  female  held  it  by  the  hand ;  but  from 
her  my  very  first  glance  recoiled  as  from  a  total 
stranger, — one  who  bore  not  the  least  resemblance 
to  the  nurse  of  my  Alexis. 

"  It  cannot  be  he  i"  sighed  I  to  myself; — and  yet, 
so  playfully  did  the  little  fellow  trip  along,  so  erect 
was  his  gait,  and  so  noble  his  mien ;  with  so  lively 
and  inquisitive  a  manner  did  he  stop  to  survey  each 


320  ANASTASIUS. 

new  object  on  his  way,  that  I  envied  his  too  happy 
parents,  and  could  immediately  have  given  up  all 
paternal  claims  elsewhere,  for  a  good  title  in  the 
treasure  before  me.  '^  Ah  !''  thought  I,  "  had  this 
angel  been  my  own !  But  as  he  drew  nearer,,  as 
by  degrees  I  discerned  more  of  his  countenance  and 
his  features,  as  I  became  enabled  more  distinctly 
to  trace  the  outline  of  his  serene  and  radiant  front, 
of  his  dimpled  downy  cheek  and  of  his  wavy  coral 
lip,  as  above  all  he  himself,  with  a  look  at  once 
arch  and  innocent,  fixed  upon  me  his  full  bright 
eye — that  eye  which  so  eloquently  spoke  the  heaven 
of  his  heart, — O  God  !  O  God  !  all  Euphrosyne  at 
once  burst  upon  my  sense ;  entire  conviction  in  an 
instant  filled  my  mind.  I  felt  it  must  be,  it  zvas 
my  own  Alexis,  my  own  babe,  1  beheld  ! 

Unable  to  repress  my  emotion,  I  darted  forward, 
and  was  going  to  clasp  my  child  to  my  bosom,  when 
the  woman,  who  already  from  a  distance  had  noticed 
my  eager  look,  and  had  made  a  circuit  to  avoid  me, 
frightened  at  my  frantic  manner,  snatched  up  the 
infant,  and  ran  screaming  to  the  house. 

Fearful  of  increasing  her  alarm,  I  purposely 
slackened  my  pace,  and  gave  her  time  to  gain  ad- 
mittance ere  I  followed  her  lovely  charge  to  the 
door :  but  when  I  did,  I  found  it  immovably  closed 
against  me.    No  entreaty,  however  earnest,  could 


ANASTASIUS.  321 

obtain  its  being  re-opened.  "  Strangers",  was  the 
plea,  "  never  were  admitted  when  the  Consul  was 
abroad.""  I  was  not  even  allowed,  hard  as  I  begged 
for  it,  another  view  of  my  Alexis  from  without. 
"  What  business  could  I  have  with  the  child? 
An  evil  eye,  or  an  evil  intent  must  with  reason  be 
apprehended  f'  and  lest  I  should  by  my  urgency 
confirm  the  growing  distrust,  I  at  last  retired.  But 
I  had  beheld  my  boy ;  and  the  tumult  in  my  breast, 
though  extreme,  was  a  tumult  of  bliss ! 

As  soon  as,  by  my  calculation,  the  Consular  pair 
must  be  come  home,  I  called  again.  After  a  little 
parleying  within,  of  which  I  could  not  guess  the 
drift,  I  was  told  I  might  see  the  lady. 

This  promised  well. — "  For  the  wife  to  encoun- 
ter my  visit" — thought  I, — "  she  must  know  my 
business,  and  have  made  up  her  mind  to  acquiesce 
in  my  right."  I  was  ushered  into  a  back  chamber, 
where  however  so  many  attendants  crowded  in  after 
me,  that  it  looked  as  if  they  either  intended  or 
expected  some  violence. 

Presently  walked  in  a  stately  matron,  who,  dis- 
daining to  be  seated,  and  of  course  keeping  me 
standing,  asked  with  a  sort  of  lofty  civility  in  what 
she  could  oblige  me,  but,  when  informed  of  the 
purport  of  my  visit,  affected  the  utmost  amazement 
at  my  demand.     "  She  was  wholly  ignorant  of  the 

VOL.  III.  Y 


I 


322  ANASTASIUS. 

circumstances  alluded  to, — had  no  stranger's  child 
under  her  roof.  The  little  boy  I  met  was  the  son  of 
her  own  servant :—  the  mother,  marrying  again,  had 
left  him  in  her  care ;  and  she  had  no  knowledge  of 
any  other  child.  As  to  the  >myrna  transaction  upon 
which  I  founded  my  claim,  it  must  be  the  invention 
of  some  idle  person,  or  the  report  of  some  enemy."" 
In  a  word,  my  Alexis  was  refused  me,  and  all  my 
entreaties  could  not  even  obtain  me  the  permission 
to  give  him  a  single  embrace.  It  was  feared  I  might 
cast  some  speli  upon  the  child.  "  In  fact" — it  was 
observed — "  I  might  have  done  so  already  :"  and 
presently  the  lady,  affecting  apprehensions  for  her- 
self, hastily  withdrew,  while  her  servants  perempto- 
rily urged  me  not  to  protract  my  intrusion. 

I  myself  at  the  moment  saw  no  advantage  in 
staying;  for,  whether  the  Consuless  believed  her  own 
story  or  not,  it  was  plain  that  she  had  framed  it 
with  deliberation,  and  meant  to  support  it  with  bold- 
ness. Any  remonstrance  on  my  part  could  therefore 
only  redouble  her  caution,  and  perhaps  give  me  the 
appearance  of  temerity  ;~nay,  be  construed  into  an 
act  of  violence.  It  was  wiser  that  I  should  appear 
to  submit,  until  I  had  acquired  a  little  more  local 
information  of  the  personages  and  circumstances, 
and  had  armed  myself  with  such  proof  not  only  of 
my  right  to  a  child  I  had  lost,  but  of  its  identity 


^VNASTASIUS.  333 

with  the  child  I  had  found,  as  could  not  be  resisted, 
either  with  justice,  with  reason,  or  with  safety.  Mean 
time  I  retired  for  the  present ;  but  full  of  dismay, 
doubt,  and  disappointment. 

The  first  stone  that  lay  by  the  way  side  I  made 
my  seat,  and  there  began  to  ruminate  upon  what 
had  passed.  "  After  all,"  said  I  to  myself,  "  may 
not  my  excessive  wish  to  find  my  child,  have  de- 
ceived me  ?  May  I  not  have  cause  to  distrust  my 
own  imagination  rather  than  the  veracity  of  others? 
So  vague  were  the  reports  on  which  I  came  to  Alex- 
andria, so  perfectly  did  my  fears  always  balance  my 
hopes,  so  little  could  I  at  any  time  have  been  jus- 
tified in  laying  the  least  stress  on  my  expectations, 
that,  with  an  indifierent  person  addressed  as  I  had 
been,  the  account  of  the  Consuless  would  have  found 
imphcit  credence :  and  only  because  I  was  not  suffi- 
ciently unconcerned  in  the  business  impartially  to 
weigh  the  evidence  on  both  sides ;  because  I  could 
only  bear  to  dwell  upon  such  circumstances  as 
seemed  to  favour  my  own  hopes ;  because  the  child 
I  had  met  offered  to  the  image  impressed  upon  my 
mind  a  resemblance  which  I  had  been  every  where 
sighing  to  find,  did  I  persevere  thus  to  consider  my- 
self certain  of  what  others  would  have  long  begun 
to  doubt, — or  rather — would  have  ceased  to  believe." 

Yet,  was  that  resemblance  itself  on  which  I  thus 


324  ANASTASIIIS. 

boldly  built  my  conviction,  so  great  as  it  appeared 
to  my  eagerness  ? — Beauty  alone  surely  could  not 
make  it  so.  However  heavenly  a  child  of  Euphro- 
syne  ought  to  be,  it  still  was  not  the  only  child  on 
this  globe  entitled  to  bear  the  countenance  of  a 
cherub  !  and,  as  to  any  other  more  definite  condi- 
tions of  similitude,  they  could  hardly  yet  be  said  to 
exist  in  a  ver}"  striking  degree  in  the  still  vague  and 
uncertain  lineaments  of  childhood,  prirticularly 
where  their  very  symmetry  was  such  as  to  prevent 
any  decisive  peculiarity  :  but,  supposing  even  the 
likeness  to  have  been  as  great  as  it  was  possible  to 
conceive;  how  often  is  such  resemblance  found  to 
be  the  mere  effect  of  chance  ! 

"  Should  then,"  continued  I,  '^  this  single  circum- 
stance be  allowed  to  outweigh  the  solemn  assertions 
of  people  holding  a  respectable  rank  in  society,  and 
a  conspicuous  situation  in  the  place  :  of  people  not 
seemingly  interested  to  support  a  disgraceful  tale  of 
fraud,  and,  though  taken  wholly  by  surprise,  yet 
agreeing  perfectly  in  their  account  with  that  which 
their  servants  had  given  before  them  ?  —Especially 
when  the  female  I  found  about  the  child,  instead  of 
being  the  nurse  I  left  with  my  babe,  and  whom  an 
idle  report  had  placed  about  the  Consuless  as  her 
maid,  was  a  totally  different  person." 

Here  my  reason,  having  urged  all  it  could  tliink 


ANASTASIUS.  S-ZS 

of  to  check  my  imagination,  ceased  its  remonstran- 
ces :  butspite  of  its  arguments,  my  feelings  would 
not  be  convinced.  When  with  the  report  spread  at 
Smyrna,  and  with  the  Consuless's  own  acknowledg- 
ment that  a  woman  no  longer  in  the  family  was 
mother  to  the  child,  I  combined  an  indescribable 
something  in  the  look  and  manner  of  all  concerned, 
which  bespoke  them  to  be  acting  parts  rehearsed 
before; — and  above  all, —  when  I  reflected  upon 
those  internal  yearnings  first  and  only  felt,  among 
all  the  children  I  had  seen,  in  favour  of  this  angel 
now  so  near  me,  and  which  I  could  only  consider  as 
the  cry  of  blood,  I  still  persisted  in  my  former 
belief,  and  resolved  to  set  on  foot,  as  soon  as  I  nad 
got  a  covering  over  my  head,  the  most  minute  and 
circumstantial  perquisitions. 

They  were  chiefly  carried  on  among  the  neigh- 
bours and  tradesmen  who,  from  their  situation  and 
concerns,  must  be  best  acquainted  with  the  Consul's 
family  and  domestics — and  this  was  the  restdt : — 

Neither  the  child,  nor  its  pretended  mother, 
had  been  known  in  Egypt  previous  to  the  lady's 
return  from  Smyrna.  The  person  who  called  her- 
self, but  had  never  obtained  belief  for  being  the 
mother,  had  very  soon  after  her  arrival  again  quitted 
the  consular  mansion,  to  marry  and  to  follow  to 
his  native  island  a  Taooshan ;  and  the  little  boy. 


326  ANASTASIUS. 

left  behind,  had  yet  continued  to  experience  in 
the  consular  family  such  truly  parental  tenderness, 
as  to  render  evil  tongues  busy  with  the  name  of  the 
Consul,  and  even  with  the  fair  fame  of  the  Consuless 
herself. 

Mine  was  a  totally  different  conclusion.  When, 
in  addition  to  the  circumstances  here  mentioned,  I 
moreover  found  the  description  of  the  pretended 
mother  tally  in  every  respect  most  accurately  with 
the  features  and  figure  of  the  woman  to  whom  I 
had  entrusted  my  Alexis,  I  became  confirmed  in 
my  original  behef,  and  no  longer  retained  the 
smallest  doubt  of  two  things :  firstly,  that  the  child 
was  my  own,  and  secondly,  that  the  Consul  and 
his  wife  fully  intended  that  I  never  should  recover 
it.  Determined  in  some  way  to  obtain  a  treasure 
which  nature  had  denied  them,  they  had  stooped 
to  steal  the  offspring  of  another ;  and  having  al- 
ready set  at  defiance  both  the  tongues  of  slander 
and  the  voice  of  truth,  it  could  not  be  doubted 
but  that  they  were  fully  resolved  to  go  any  lengths 
in  support  of  their  imposition  and  their  theft. 

Nor  did  their's  appear  a  scheme  of  danger  or  of 
difficulty.  The  testimony  of  a  respectable  family, 
fixed  at  Alexandria  in  a  public  situation,  must  in- 
trinsically offer  so  much  more  weight  than  the  bare 
assertion  of  a  stranger,— of  a  roving  individual,— on 


ANASTASIUS.  327 

whom  the  very  mode  of  his  appearance  cast  the  air 
of  an  adventurer,  that^  so  far  from  the  Consul 
having  to  fear  any  blame  for  not  admitting  my 
unsupported  claim,  the  only  conduct  for  which  he 
must  unavoidably  incur  censure,  would  be  giving 
easy  credence  to  my  statement,  and  committing  to 
my  suspicious  care,  upon  my  bare  word,  the  fate  of 
a  lovely  unprotected  babe.  Until  I  could  back  my 
pretensions  by  the  most  irrefragable  proofs,  the  Con- 
sul must  be  justified  to  every  indifferent  beholder  in 
treating  my  claims,  my  complaints,  an(J  my  threats 
as  those  of  an  impostor,  only  come  with  extortionary 
views . 

Yet  how  was  I  to ,  obtain  those  proofs,  the  want 
of  which  must  leave  me  patiently  resigned  to  m)' 
wrongs,  and  quiet  spectator  of  my  Alexis  remaining 
the  undisputed  property  of  strangers  ?  My  right  to 
my  own  progeny  had  always  appeared  to  me  so 
notorious  and  so  incontestible  :  I  so  fully  expected 
to  find  its  depositaries  only  sighing  for  a  release 
from  their  trust,  and  alarmed  at  my  protracted  si- 
lence ;  I  had  so  little  idea  that  there  existed  on  the 
face  of  the  globe  a  being  disposed  to  rear  at  his 
expence  a  stranger's  child  ;  and  I  so  much  less 
conceived  the  possibility  of  there  being  an  individual 
anxious  to  claim  my  poor  foundhng  as  his  own  le- 
gitimate offspring,  that  not  only  I  had  never  thought 


3^8  ANASTASIUS. 

of  bringing  the  legal  vouchers  for  my  paternity  to 
Egypt,  but  had  not  even  had  its  proofs  duly  esta- 
blished in  the  place  where  it  commenced.  How 
difficult  therefore  must  it  be,  after  so  much  time 
elapsed,  to  obtain  on  that  subject  any  sufficient  evi- 
dence !  Euphrosyne,  when  she  became  a  mother, 
was  a  deserted  female ;  she  died  a  lonely  outcast ; 
and  Alexis,  left  from  the  moment  he  saw  the  light 
of  day,  in  the  obscurity  of  entire  abandonment,  had 
passed  the  first  period  of  his  wretched  existence, 
unclaimed  by  a  father,  unowned  by  a  relation,  and 
in  such  entire  concealment  from  all  who  could  feel 
the  least  interest  in  substantiating  his  parentage, 
that  I  myself,  the  first  time  I  beheld  him,  had  to 
recur  to  testimonials  on  which  no  one  else  durst 
have  relied,  ere  I  pressed  him  to  my  bosom  as  my 
own  flesh  and  blood.  Even  after  that  meeting  I 
had  never  come  forward  in  the  world  as  his  parent: — 
on  the  contrary ; — without  seeming  on  any  occasion 
to  affiDrd  him  the  care  or  to  shew  him  the  love 
becoming  that  sacred  character,  I  had  only  one  in- 
stant— and  as  it  were  by  stealth — beheld  my  babe, 
from  that  moment  again  to  leave  it  wholly  unen- 
quu:ed  after,  and  to  roam  to  the  re^ons  most  distant 
from  its  abode.  Two  individuals  indeed,  possessed 
my  secret,  were  apprised  of  my  sentiments;  the 
nurse  entrusted  with  the  person  of  my  child,  and  the 


ANASTASIUS.  329 

merchant  depositary  of  the  poor  pittance  left  for  its 
education :  but  the  man  was  become  a  bankrupt, 
the  woman  had  betrayed  her  trust : — the  one  could 
no  where  be  found  to  give  evidence  in  my  behalf; 
and  the  other  was  no  doubt  amply  paid  to  support 
the  untrue  tale  of  my  adversaries. 

All  these  circumstances  however  only  rendered 
my  task  more  difficult,  without  in  the  least  altering 
the  line  of  conduct  I  was  bound  to  pursue.  Ere  I 
dared  to  make  my  unavailing  remonstrances  grow 
into  more  peremptory  measures,  I  must  tty  to  collect 
what  judicial  proofs — however  scanty — Providence 
had  still  left  within  my  reach. 

In  order  to  proceed  on  this  arduous  business  with 
all  the  advantages  of  local  knowledge  and  all  the 
diligence  of  a  direct  interest,  I  first  thought  of 
going  back  to  Smyrna  myself;  thence,  if  necessary, 
to  proceed  on  to  Scyra,  and  to  bribe  the  nurse  in 
the  cause  of  truth  more  richly  than  she  had  been  in 
that  of  falsehood :  but  considerations  which  I  durst 
not  disregard  prevented  me  from  pursuing  this 
plan.  Common  report  represented  the  Consul  and 
his  family  as  intending  early  in  spring  to  return  to 
Europe.  In  that  case  my  child  would  again  be 
removed,  and  that  to  realms  wholly  beyond  my 
confined  sphere  of  action ; — and  whether  the  journey 
really  was  in  agitation   or   not,  to  absent  myself 


330  ANASTASIUS. 

from  Alexandria,  or  even  in  that  place  to  lose  sight 
a  single  instant  of  my  boy,  seemed  to  me  highly 
dangerous,  lest,  availing  themselves  of  the  opportu- 
nity, his  unjust  detainers  should  drag  him  to  some 
spot  where  they  iright  baffle  all  my  attempts'  to 
discover  his  abode,  or  at  least  deride  all  my  efforts 
to  enforce  my  right: 

I  therefore  determined  not  to  stir  from  where  I 
was,  and  to  employ  the  best  and  most  intelligent  of 
the  friends  I  still  possesed  at  Smyrna,  to  act  for  me 
in  that  city  and  in  the  Archipelago.  Informing 
him  of  all  the  particulars  of  my  case,  I  begged  he 
would  collect  all  the  testimonials  attainable  in  my 
favour.  The  letter  was  sent  by  a  messenger,  who 
promised  to  use  the  greatest  possible  speed  ;  and, 
until  I  should  receive  the  answer,  I  prayed  to  God 
to  grant  me  patience. 

The  paltry  lodging  where  meanwhile  I  fixed  my 
residence  obliquely  faced  the  consular  mansion. 
No  important  occurrence  within  its  wall,  productive 
of  external  symptoms,  could  well  escape  my  obser- 
vation ;  and  while  I  hired  three  or  four  lynx-eyed 
emissaries  to  prowl  about,  and  to  report  on  every 
€vent  at  the  outposts,  I  myself  remained  immoveably 
stationed  under  my  roof,  where  I  commanded  all 
the  accessible  parts  of  the  corps-de-logis.  De- 
termined not  to  stir  from  my  observatory   while 


ANASTASIUS.  331 

my  Alexis  remained  in  the  opposite  house,  I  con- 
tinued day  after  day  in  the  same  unalterable  posture, 
concealed  behind  the  lattice  work  of  my  window, 
waiting  an  answer  to  my  letter,  and  watching  the 
abode  of  my  child. 

Sometimes  indeed  the  tediousness  of  my  situation 
was  relieved  by  the  inexpressible  pleasure  of  seeing 
my  Alexis  himself,  when  taken  out  to  enjoy  his  little 
exercise  before  the  door ;  and  beyond  all  conception 
was  the  rapture  with  which  my  eager  eye  pursued 
my  darling  infant,  in  the  various  little  gambols  and 
froHcs,  suggested  by  his  delight  at  his  short  and 
rare  emancipation  from  an  irksome  confinement : 
for  even  to  him  an  excursion  of  the  sort  was  now 
become  a  rare  occurrence.  It  seems  that  the  dread 
of  my  secret  designs  constantly  haunted  my  adver- 
saries, and  never,  after  my  visit,  as  before,  did  they 
suffer  my  child  to  be  taken  to  any  distance  or  even 
out  of  sight  of  the  threshold,  on  which  moreover — 
besides  the  woman  who  attended  him — always  stood 
waiting  three  or  four  male  domestics,  with  eyes 
rivetted  on  the  boy  during  the  whole  of  the  time 
he  remained  out. 

All  this  however  proved  how  highly  he  was 
prized,  with  what  tenderness  he  was  treated,  and 
how  much  his  infantine  happiness  must  be  con- 
sulted, by  those  who  detained  him  from  his  father; 


S32  ANASTASIUS. 

and  amidst  all  my  impatience  I  still  blessed  God, 
and  sometimes  almost  my  opponents  themselves — 
miserable  as  they  made  me — for  their  love  of  my 
child. 

For  fear  of  unnecessarily  exciting  a  premature 
alarm,  which  must  still  increase  the  distrust  of  the 
consular  family  and  diminish  the  liberty  of  my  boy, 
I  took  care  never  to  shew  myself  out  of  doors  in  the 
day  time  ;  and  only  at  night,  and  when  all  else  in 
Alexandria  went  to  repose,  ventured  out  to  seek  the 
little  air  and  exercise  which  my  health  indispensibly 
required. 

The  detached  cluster  of  habitations  of  which 
mine  was  the  humblest,  stood  nearly  midway 
between  the  busy  haunts  of  the  modern  town  and 
the  deserted  site  of  the  ancient  city;  and  it  was 
among  the  gloomy  ruins  of  the  latter  that  I  by  pre- 
ference went  at  dusk  to  take  my  lonely  walk.  The 
few  stragling  pillars — some  nodding  on  their  bases 
and  others  deprived  of  their  capitals — which,  though 
dismal  trunks  at  best,  still  stood  erect  among  the 
prostrate  remains  around,  as  the  lonely  and  deserted 
memorials  of  the  splendid  and  busy  scene  of  which 
they  once  formed  a  part,  presented  to  my  imagine^ 
tion  a  fate  so  like  my  own,  that  I  often  thought  I 
read  in  the  looks  of  these  impassible  monuments, 
the  sympathy  withheld  from  me  by  man. 


ANASTASIUS  533 

One  evening,  after  a  few  hasty  turns  round  that 
wide  deserted  area,  which  once  contained  the  finest 
library,  the  most  celebrated  school,  and  the  busiest 
population  of  antiquity,  I  sat  down  to  rest  myself 
in  the  most  dreary  part  of  the  dreary  solitude,  on 
the  margin  of  a  yawning  catacomb,  whose  sloping 
gallery  seemed  to  penetrate  unto  the  inmost  bowels 
of  the  earth.  Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  my  melan- 
choly musings,  sprang  up  from  the  dark  recesses  of 
the  subterraneous  vault  almost  underneath  my  feet, 
a  phantom  of  pi'eternatural  appearance,  which,  after 
taking  two  or  three  strides,  stopped  to  look  round ; 
but  no  sooner  caught  the  first  glimpse  of  my  person, 
than  it  again  darted  forward,  and  disappeared 
among  the  mouldering  masses.  Except  two  large 
glaring  eyes,  I  had  been  able  to  distinguish  no  one 
feature  intervening  between  the  monstrous  turban 
and  enormous  beard,  which  encircled  the  face  of  this 
strange  figure.  Its  height  seemed  to  exceed  the 
ordinary  stature  of  man.  Wrapped  up  in  an  ample 
robe  which  trailed  on  the  ground,  it  glided  along 
rather  than  walked^;  and  I  thought  that  if  it 
belonged  to  the  world  above  ground,  and  not  to  that 
of  the  Gouls  from  which  it  came  last,  it  could 
scarcely  be  regarded  as  any  thing  but  a  lineal  des- 
cendant of  Pharaoh's  own  body  sorcerers. 

To  whatever  class  of  beings  the  apparition  might 


S34  ANASTASIUS. 

belong,  this  seemed  equally  certain,  that  it  felt 
little  wish  to  be  better  known : — but  it  was  that  very 
circumstance  precisely  which  made  me  resolve  to 
pursue  it  and  find  out  its  real  nature ;  heedless  of 
dangers  which  caution  might  not  be  able  to  see,  or 
courage  to  overcome.  The  motion  of  my  shadow, 
cast  forward  by  the  moon,  officiously  announcing 
my  intention,  the  mysterious  personage,  who  seemed 
to  have  stopped  behind  some  wall  or  pier  to  recon- 
noitre his  observer,  again  rushed  forward  from  his 
ambush,  and  went  on.  It  is  true  he  lengthened 
his  steps  in  such  a  way  only  as  to  avoid  the  appear- 
ance of  positively  running  away  from  my  pursuit : 
but  his  knowledge  of  the  intricacies  and  windings 
of  the  place  nevertheless  gave  him  so  great  an 
advantage,  that  in  spite  of  my  superior  agility  I 
hardly  gained  ground  upon  him,  except  when  I 
was  expressly  allowed  to  overshoot  the  mark,  by  his 
sliding  behind  some  friendly  wall  or  hillock,  whence 
he  no  sooner  saw  me  on  a  wrong  scent,  than  away 
he  again  dived  in  an  opposite  direction. 

Thus  did  the  chase  last  full  half  an  hour,  when, 
to  my  utter  astonishment,  I  found  myself  again 
brought  back,  by  an  immense  circuit,  to  the  mouth 
of  the  very  cave  from  whose  dark  entrails  the 
phantom  first  had  darted  forth,  and  into  whose  un- 
fathomable abyss  it  would  now  again  irrecoverably 


ANASTASIUS.  335 

have  plunged,  but  for  the  circumstance  most 
pointedly  intended  to  avoid  detection  ; — I  mean  the 
ample  flow  of  its  garment,  which,  just  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  vault,  caught  a  projecting  stone,  and 
in  defiance  of  all  the  pulling  and  tearing  of  its 
wearer,  would  not  be  disentangled,  and  brought  the 
fugitive  to  a  dead  stop. 

I  now  grasped  him  tight  round  the  waist,  forced 
up  his  head  which  he  was  trying  to  hold  down,  and 
by  the  light  of  the  moon  beheld — with  wonder 
beheld,  spite  of  his  enormous  turban,— the  Itahan 
improvisatore  who  at  Smyrna,  after  promising  me 
promotion  in  the  empire  of  reason,  had  cruelly  left 
me  to  languish  in  that  of  despotism.  "  Heavens ;" 
cried  I,  "  Cirico,  is  it  you  ?" 

"  It  is,"  answered  the  detected  poet ;  after  he  had 
stood  a  while  considering  whether  he  should  say  yes 
or  no :  "  and  would  you  had  been  in  Erebus,  ere 
you  found  me  out !" 

"  And  what  business,  may  I  ask,  can  a  man, 
accustomed  to  preach  Jacobinism  along  the  high- 
ways, have  to  dress  like  a  bearded  Magus,  and 
take  up  his  abode  under  ground  in  the  catacombs 
of  Egypt?" 

"  Do  you  promise  secrecy,"  said  Cirico — looking 
at  me  earnestly. 


3  36  ANASTASIUS 

"  While  I  live/'  cried  I ; — "  provided,  for  once, 
you  choose  to  abstain  from  fiction." 

"  Then  listen,"  replied  the  son  of  Apollo  ;  '*  and 
be  content  with  plain  prose,*" — upon  which,  offering 
me  a  seat  beside  him  on  the  prostrate  obelisk  -to 
which  we  now  had  advanced,  he  began  as  follows. 

"  You  remember  my  sudden  disappearance  from 
Smyrna.  Prompted  however  to  my  departure 
rather  by  an  abstract  wish  to  leave  that  city,  than 
by  a  distinct  preference  for  any  other  particular 
place,  I  had  myself  rowed  to  the  first  vessel  in  the 
harbour  ready  to  set  sail ;  and,  when  under  weigh, 
asked  whither  I  was  going  ?  To  Alexandria  was 
the  answer, — and  it  pleased  me.  I  remembered 
hearing  a  certain  Embassador  at  Constantinople  talk 
of  his  Consul  in  Egypt  as  a  man  entirely  absorbed, 
not  in  trade  or  poHctics,  but  in  magnetism  ;  and  it 
was  on  the  never-sufiiciently-to-be-praised  virtues 
of  that  mysterious  fluid  that  1  built  my  little  scheme. 
The  chain  of  evidence  as  to  my  identity,  between 
the  sea  ports  of  the  Levant  more  to  the  westward, 
and  Alexandria,  was  easily  broken  by  my  landing 
at  Damiat,  assuming  the  garb  of  the  country,  and 
only  appearing  at  Alexandria  some  months  after 
my  departure  from  Smyrna,  so  completely  smoke 
dried,  and  with  such  a  beard,  and  such  a  benish. 


ANASTASIUS.  337 

that,  but  for  pulling  off  my  turban  as  you  did,  you 
yourself  would  never  have  found  me  out.  I  there- 
fore burst  upon  this  new  world  like  one  of  those 
torrents  which,  from  an  unknown  source  in  the  snow- 
Alps,  plunge  down  all  at  once  into  the  vale  below. 
It  must  however  be  confessed  that,  when  first  intro- 
duced to  the  Consul  on  whom  I  intended  to  operate, 
in  the  character  of  an  Italian  nobleman  on  his  way 
to  the  Pyramids,  the  colossal  figure  of  my  enter- 
tainer, his  shaksheer  hanging  about  his  heels,  his 
turban  awry  on  his  head,  and  still  more  than  all 
that,  his  face  resembling  that  of  an  old  leopard, 
w^ith  a  pair  of  whiskers  diverging  from  under  his 
broad  flat  nose  like  the  bristles  of  a  clothes  brush, 
so  disconcerted  me,  as  at  first  to  put  my  whole 
story  out  of  my  head  :  nor  was  the  little  tale  I 
had  prepared  of  much  use  when  recalled  to  my  re- 
membrance, as  I  found  by  the  Consul's  account  that 
he  himself  was  filled  with  so  vast  a  supply  of  the 
magnetic  virtue,  as  only  to  want  a  person  as  void  of 
intellect  as  full  of  faith,  for  the  purpose  of  being 
made  the  passive  recipient  of  his  all  powerful  in- 
fluence. Nothing  therefore  was  required  of  me  in 
this  affair,  but  to  seem  a  chef-cfoeuvre  of  natural 
dulness — a  vacuum  that  should  contain  no  single 
thought  of  its  own  to  clash  with  the  brilliant  cor- 
ruscations  of  which  I  was  to  become  the  vehicle. 

VOL.  III.  Z 


338  ANASTASIUS. 

'^  And  could  an  improvisatore  of  the  first  water,'' 
cried  I,  interrupting  Cirico,  "  submit  thus  to  conceal 
his  talents ;  to  hide  his  light  under  a  bushel ;  to 
stem  the  tide  of  his  poetic  estro,  by  which  I  have 
been  more  than  once  nearly  overwhelmed  ?"** 

"  Friend !"  resumed  Cirico,  "  no  difficulties  could 
for  an  instant  arrest  a  genius  like  mine.  A  plan  im- 
mediately presented  itself  to  my  mind,  which  might 
combine  in  any  proportion  I  wished  the  imbecihty 
detnanded  of  me  by  my  magnetiser,  and  the  unin- 
terrupted worship  1  had  vowed  the  Muses  : —  the 
Consul's  offers  were  accepted ;  1  left  the  Pyramids 
to  their  fate,  and  staid  to  be  magnetised." 

''  But ! — when  thrown  into  the  customary  coma : 
in  what  shape  do  you  think  that  the  emanations  of 
the  Consul's  intellect,  with  which  his  dumpy  claws 
had  been  cramming  me  until  the  perspiration  trick- 
led hke  dew  drops  down  his  whiskers,  flowed  from 
my  hps?  Can  a  bell  —  whatever  substance  may 
strike  it — give  any  sound  but  that  of  metal  ?  Can 
a  harp,— touched  by  whom  it  may — be  mistaken  for 
a  drum  ?  Then  let  who  might  magnetise  Giacinto 
Cirico,  I  still  could  only  spout  Itahan  operas. 
Availing  myself  of  the  leisure  which  my  apparent 
idiocy  gave  me,  to  spend  the  whole  day  in  composi- 
tions intended  some  time  or  other  to  echpse  those  of 
Metastasio  himself,  I  recited  these  high  wrought  pro- 


ANASTASIUS.  339 

Auctions  of  my  own  Muse,  on  the  magnetic  evenings 
as  the  spontaneous  explosions  of  the  Consul's 
prompting  genius :  and  though  this  gentleman  felt 
a  little  startled  at  first  at  the  strange  form  his  ema- 
nations assumed,  and  wondered  he  should  have  in- 
spired me  with  the  scenas  of  a  pastoral  or  a  ballet ; 
he  soon  discovered  in  my  recitatives  and  arias  a 
mystic  sense,  as  1  soon  derived  from  them  a  sohd 
support: — for  1  affected  to  feel  much  exhausted  by 
the  operation,  and  took  special  care  that  the  sit 
tings  should  not  be  gratuitous." 

**  Even  this  however  could  hardly  make  me  amends 
for  the  mortification  I  constantly  experienced,  since 
the  Consul  felt  so  fearful  lest  the  world  might  not 
give  his  magnetic  virtue  the  credit  of  my  effusions, 
that  to  my  own  face  he  used  to  tell  every  new  comer 
what  an  idiot  I  was  ;    until,  to  avoid  this  daily  dis- 
gust, as  well  as  the  danger  of  being  detected  while 
at  my  work,  I  took  the  habit  of  retiring  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  day  to  these  ruins,  where  I  write 
undisturbed,  and  whence  I  only  issue  forth  in  the 
evening  at  the  magnetic  hour.     I  was  just  going 
to  my  task,  when,  by  squatiing  yourself  down  over 
the  mouth  of  my  cavern,  ^ou  kept  me  entrapped, 
until,  fearing  to  be  late  1  made  a  bold  push,  which 
ended  in  my  discovery.     But  I  believe  you  too  ho- 
nourable to  betray  the  exceeding  confidence  you  see 
I  repose  in  you.^' 


340  ANASTASIUS. 

The  poet  here  stopped^  and  I  ruminated.  After 
a  few  moments  of  silence,  "  Cirico,"  said  I,  "  tell  me 
one  thing.     I  have  upet  Consul  as  well  as  yourself. 

I  know  they  frequently  visit.  Is  Signor  R ^also 

bitten  ?" 

"  He  is ;"  repKed  the  improvisatore. 

*'  Evreka !''  cried  I, — and  once  again  felt  hope  and 
joy  revive :  then  told  Cirico  my  story,  and  having 
concluded  it ;  "  Now,"  added  I  "  you  must  do  me 
a  favour.  In  your  comas  you  must  impress  my 
Consul — whether  in  song  or  in  recitativo,  no  mat- 
ter ! — with  the  the  heinousness  of  keeping  other 
people's  children,  and  the  inconvenience  v/hich  may 
arise  from  such  proceedings  ;  and  if  by  so  doing 
you  get  mine  restored  to  me,  depend  upon  my 
eternal  gratitude  and  services."  Cirico  promised  to 
compose  an  interlude  on  purpose ;  and  departed  to 
join  his  expectant  circle : —  so  did  I  to  return  to 
my  lonely  lodging. 

And  more  lonely,  more  sad  still  was  it  fated  to 
become  :  for  presently  even  the  transcient  gleams  of 
happiness  reflected  upon  its  walls  from  the  opposite 
mansion — the  occasional  glimpses  I  had  of  my  child 
— were  destined  to  cease ;  and  this  through  my 
own  fault  too  ! 

It  was  the  day  after  the  interview  with  the  poet. 
As  usual  my  eyes  were  rivetted  upon  the  door  of 
the  consular  mansion :   as  usual  it  began    to  vibrat  e 


ANASTASIUS.  341 

slowly  to  turn  upon  its  hinges,  and,  cautiously  half 
opened,  to  let  out  as  if  by  stealth  my  Alexis  and 
his  nurse,  to  take  a  little  air  within  its  immediate 
reach  :  but  while  the  woman  settles  some  part  of 
her  garment,  the  little  fellow — moved  by  a  sudden 
impulse — shly  slips  his  hand  through  her  negligent 
fingers,  and  feeling  himself  at  liberty,  darts  forward 
like  an  arrow,  and  in  play  runs  and  hides  behind 
ray  projecting  wall.  From  my  own  window  my 
eye  plunging  right  upon  him,  beheld  his  §weet  face 
peeping  out  now  and  then  to  enjoy  his  nurse's 
search ;  and  down  I  rushed  to  embrace  my  heart's 
darling : — but  already  it  was  too  late  !  Already  had 
Alexis,  unwilhng  to  distress  his  favourite,  run  back 
to  her  arms;  and  when  I  came  out,  he  seemed, 
by  the  warmth  of  his  caresses,  to  be  craving  her 
pardon. 

Could  a  father  witness  such  endearments,  and 
abstain  from  claiming  his  share  !  Great  as  was  the 
imprudence  of  the  act,  I  ran  after  my  child,  and  in 
its  nurse's  own  resisting  arms,  imprinted  on  its  lovely 
face  a  thousand  hurried  kisses. 

From  the  moment  my  person  had  appeared  in 
sight,  the  woman  had  set  up  such  a  yell  of  frantic 
imprecations,  as  soon  brought  out  into  the  road  all 
the  other  too  remiss  attendants.  Immediately  they 
strove  to  tear  the  child  away  from  me, — and  fearful 


342  ANASTASIUS. 

lest  it  should  suffer  in  the  struggle,  I  relinquished 
my  hold  ;  but  going  home  I  kissed  as  I  went  along 
each  print  of  its  dear  little  feet. 

From  that  hour  I  no  longer  beheld  my  darling 
boy  .'  One,  two,  three  whole  subsequent  days^ — 
spent  by  me  in  the  most  anxious  expectation  and 
watching — were  slowly  brought  to  their  conclusion, 
without  my  being  able  to  perceive  the  least  glimpse 
even  of  those  to  whose  care  my  child  seemed  espe- 
cially committed ;  and  while  in  the  day  time  I  was 
thus  disappointed  of  my  former  solace,  I  could  as 
little  at  night  obtain  sight  of  Cirico.  As  if  actuated 
by  some  new  impulse,  he  had  ceased  frequenting  his 
former  haunts  ;  he  answered  not  even  my  notes  of 
enquiry  into  the  progress  of  the  business  entrusted 
to  him ;  and  at  last  it  struck  me  that  the  traitor, 
aware  how  much  I  had  to  say  to  his  disadvantage, 
so  far  from  labouring  in  my  cause,  might  rather  be 
trying  to  avoid  me  altogether,  and  secure  himself  a 
firmer  support  by  services  elsewhere  to  my  dis~ 
advantage.  From  his  unaccountable  silence  as 
well  as  disappearance,  I  concluded  that  not  only  he 
had  imparted  to  my  adversaries  all  my  designs, 
but  had  assisted  them  in  eluding  my  vigilance 
and  conveying  my  Alexis  away.  At  this  idea, 
which  every  thing  I  perceived  only  tended  to  con- 
firm, I  no  longer  felt  able  to  set  bounds  to  my 


ANASTASIITS.  34S 

paternal  anguish ;  ran  out  on  the  road,  into  the 
street,  and  on  the  quay ;  and  wherever  I  went,  de- 
nounced the  detainers  of  my  child,  loaded  them  with 
imprecations,  and  tried  to  stir  up  the  populace  to 
demolish  their  abode.  Of  this  sally  too  I  had  to 
pay  the  penalty 

Mourad,  against  whom  I  had  joined  the  insur- 
gents—Mourad,  whom  I  since  had  fought  with 
Hassan — Mourad,  whose  blood  my  hand  had  drawn, 
and  whose  face  it  had  disfigured,  now  ruled  the 
northern  district  of  Egypt,  and  consequently  was 
master  at  Alexandria.  How  ill  I  must  stand  in  this 
Bey's  favour  could  not  fail  to  be  found  out  by  those 
interested  in  baffling  my  exertions,  and  marring  my 
project.  They  represented  me  as  a  spy  of  the  Porte 
upon  the  rulers  of  Egypt,  and  gave  to  the  real 
object  of  my  journey  the  colour  of  a  mere  pretence. 
Accordingly,  a  few  days  only  after  I  had  seen  my 
Alexis  for  the  last  time,  I  received  a  formal  injunc- 
tion from  the  governor  of  the  place,  in  the  name  of 
the  authorities  of  Cairo,  to  quit  the  land  of  Egypt 
within  twenty-four  hours,  under  pain  of  instant 
forfeiture  of  life. 

At  this  blow  I  almost  lost  my  senses.  "  They 
triumph  then  !"  I  cried,  "  my  inhuman  oppressors. 
They  part  me  for  ever  from  the  only  object  capable 
of  throwing  a  charm  over  ray  remaining  days  !  Then 


344  ANASTASIUS. 

why  seek  to  preserve  an  odious  existence :  why  not 
take  away  my  child  by  force,  or  perish  in  the  at- 
tempt !  And  hereupon  I  determined,  unless  my 
Alexis  was  restored  to  me  immediately,  to  deal  death 
around,  and  to  end  with  myself; — and,  drawing  otit 
my  handjar,  sallied  forth  into  the  street  to  execute 
my  purpose. 

Just  on  turning  the  corner  I  met  a  messenger 
from  Cirico  in  search  of  my  lodging.  He  slipped 
into  my  hands  a  pencil  note,  only  containing  these 
short  words,  "  To  the  catacombs  without  delay  !" 

Without  delay  I  went.  I  had  always,  it  is  true, 
believed  Cirico  to  be  a  rogue ;  but  not  an  ill  na- 
tured  rogue.  Though  he  would  most  gladly  have 
seen  all  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  stuck  like 
pumpkins  upon  poles,  1  was  convinced  that  he  would 
rather  of  the  two  help  to  keep  that  of  a  private 
friend  upon  its  own  shoulders.  Already  had  he 
been  waiting  some  time,  when  I  reached  the  place 
appointed. 

'"  Hush  !"  cried  he  in  a  solemn  tone,  seeing  me 
more  my  lips  to  speak,  "  waste  not  uselessly  your 
breath  :  it  may  be  wanted  hereafter.  Magnetism  ; 
— that  mystery  which  reveals  all  other  mysteries — 
has  informed  me  of  all  that  you  are  burning  to 
relate.  I  might  have  predicted  it ;  but  why  an- 
nounce evils  which  we  cannot  prevent !" 


ANASTASIUS.  345 

"  Is  this  all  you  have  to  say  ?"  exclaimed  I,  dis- 
appointed. 

"  Not  at  all ;''  answered  Cirico.  "  The  Consul 
has  by  my  magnetic  speeches  been  made  to  feel  com- 
punction for  his  unjust  proceedings :  he  is  certain 
now  your  brat  will  bring  him  ill  luck." 

"  Then  why  does  he  not  restore  the  angel  to  its 
parent  ?" 

'^  Because  he  is  prevented  by  superior  fears." 

"  Of  what?'' 

"  Of  the  thing  to  him  most  awful, — of  his  wife ; 
whose  attraction  I  always  found  to  be  of  the  nega- 
tive sort.     After  my  magnetic  sleep  I  took  R — 

into  a  corner,  and  spoke  to  him  awake.  He  then 
ventured  to  acknowledge  his  dread  of  his  rib ;  and 
owned  he  would  give  the  world  to  see  justice  done 
you,  provided  he  had  no  hand  in  the  doing.  In 
short,  you  have  his  leave  to  recover  your  child  in 
whatever  way  you  please— by  stratagem  or  by 
force."" 

"  Little  thanks  to  any  man  for  that  privilege ;" 
cried  I : — "  such  a  sort  of  leave  I  might  have  taken 
without  asking  it." 

"  R means,"  rejoined  the  poet,  "  that  if  you 

should  devise  a  clever  method  of  smugling  the 
urchin  out  of  his  mansion,  or  even  of  storming  the 
house— if  nothing  else  will  do, — he  will  not  stand  in 


34^  ANASTASIUS. 

the  breach  to  repel  you,  nor  yet  run  very  hard  to 
overtake  one  so  desperate,  should  you  seize  upon, 
and  carry  off  the  prize." 

"  But  if  I  fail,  I  must  take  all  the  consequences.'^ 
"  Just  so.    He  will  then  enforce  in  all  its  rigour 
the  decree  of  the  Beys,  in  order  to  clear  himself  to 
his  loving  wife  from  all  suspicion  of  connivance." 

I  paused  a  while  : — at  last,  "  Cirico,""  cried  I, 
"  fires  are  frequent  evils  in  these  realms.  Tell  the 
Consul — the  instant  he  smells  the  least  smoke — ^not 
to  fail  turning  his  whole  gynecaeum  into  the  street.'' 
And  thus  having  given  a  hint  of  my  scheme,  we 
discussed  the  best  mode  of  execution,— having 
settled  which,  not  without  a  good  deal  of  argumen- 
tation, we  parted  for  the  present :  but  soon  to  meet 
again  in  a  different  spot. 


ANASTASIUS.  347 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Beginning  with  the  object  in  which  my  plan  was 
to  end,  I  first  went  to. the  harbour,  to  see  what 
vessels  were  ready  for  sailing.  Besides  a  felucca, 
brimful  of  fresh-made  hadgees,  going  to  be  dropped 
at  the  different  Barbary  ports,  I  only  found  a  small 
polacre  laden  with  grain  for  Ancona,  already  in  the 
roads,  and  only  waiting  the  evening  land-breeze  to 
set  sail.  I  agreed  with  the  captain  for  my  passage, 
on  receiving  security  for  our  weighing  anchor  the 
moment  I  came  on  board. 

My  business  thus  settled  on  one  element,  I  began 
to  consider  how  to  manage  the  other  on  which  my 
scheme  depended :  but  I  own  I  saw  much  greater  dif- 
ficulty in  making  an  useful  ally  of  fire  than  of  water ; 
and  it  puzzled  me  not  a  little  how  to  raise  a  flame 
round  the  consular  mansion  and  not  to  pass  for  an 
incendiary.  Tlie  gynecaeum  besides,  which  I  was 
most  anxious  to  smoke,  lay  at  the  back  of  the 
house,  and  stood  screened  from  external  approach  by 


348  ANASTASIUS. 

a  high  and  impervious  wall.  To  kindle  combusti- 
bles under  its  well  screened  windows  in  such  a  way 
as  to  occasion  a  great  fright  and  very  little  real 
mischief,  might  have  baffled  the  skill  of  an  abler 
engineer.  My  expedient  was  to  suspend  bundles 
of  wool,  straw,  and  other  stuff,  by  means  of  wires, 
from  long  slender  poles. 

The  hour  being  arrived  which  was  wont  to  wit- 
ness the  first  consular  slumbers,  our  hostile  opera^ 
tions   commenced.     Part   of  my   myrmidons  hid 
themselves  with  their  fire  apparatus  behind  some 
rubbish  near  the  quarter  which  I  meant  to  alarm, 
and  there  waited  my  signal,  while  the  remainder, 
with  myself,  lay  perdu  behind  a  low  shed  near  the 
entrance  door.     The  shrill  whistle  which  was  to  set 
all  in  motion  soon  was  sounded,  and  presently  we 
saw  slowly  rise  from  behind  the  beleaguered  build- 
ing a  thick  column  of  smoke,  which  not  only  over- 
canopied  the  spreading  roof,  but  circulated  in  a 
wavy  stream  round  the  various  apartments.     Loud 
cries  of  "  fire"  hailed  its  appearance  from  without : 
the   alarm  was   given   to   the  inhabitants   by  re- 
peated knocking  at  all  the  apertures  ;  and,  in  a 
few  minutes  it  was  evident  that  every  soul  within 
was  on  foot. 

Yet  did  not  a  creature  venture  out.     The  door 
on  which  my  eyes  were  rivetted  remained  as  im- 


ANASTASIUS.  349 

moveably  fast  as  before,  and  while  the  neighbours 
began  to  flock  from  all  quarters  to  the  spot,  the 
inert  inmates  of  the  house  seemed  to  make  no  at- 
tempt'to  escape. 

My  mind  now  again  misgave  me,  and  suspicions 
of  every  sort  rushed  into  my  imagination.  Perhaps 
after  all  Cirico  had  played  me  false ;  perhaps  the  Con- 
sul had  found  his  courage  or  his  cowardice  fail  him ; 
perhaps  my  enemies  were  actually  watching  to  sur- 
prise me  in  the  commission  of  a  seemingly  heinous 
crime.  Meanwhile  minute  after  minuta  was  elaps- 
ing :  the  night  watch  of  the  Franks  would  soon  go 
its  rounds  ;  nay  my  combustibles,  almost  burnt  out, 
threatened  to  put  a  speedy  end  to  the  seige,  even  in- 
dependant  of  a  sally  or  a  rescue ; — ^when  no  other 
fate  could  befall  Alexis''s  miserable  father  but  being 
driven  out  of  Egypt,  and  forced  to  bid  his  child — 
his  darling  child — farewell  for  ever. 

In  this  situation  I  had  already  begun  to  consider 
whether  it  might  not  be  better  to  take  myself  off  at 
once,  than  to  await  the  issue  of  my  desperate  scheme, 
when  at  last  the  house  door, — suddenly  bursting 
open  with  a  tremendous  crash, — poured  forth  in 
one  single  rapid  stream  into  the  street  a  far  longer 
string  of  females  than  1  had  fancied  the  whole  man- 
sion could  contain. 

The  Consuless  herself  led  the  van,  enveloped  in 


S50  ANAStASlUS. 

a  loose  wrapper.  Immediately  after  came  my 
Alexis,  still  half  asleep,  in  the  arms  of  his  nurse.  A 
set  of  pale  and  ghastly  attendants,  screaming  to 
attract  notice,  brought  up  the  rear. 

No  time  was  to  be  lost; — while  my  trusty  at- 
tendants darted  across  the  way  to  break  the  line  of 
the  procession,  and  to  insulate  the  nurse,  I  sprung 
forward  to  snatch  away  the  child  :  but  already  had 
my  figure  caught  the  eye  of  his  ever  watchful 
guardian.  She  gave  her  usual  warning  scream,  and 
instinctively  all  the  other  women  echoed  the  yell. 
The  concert  brought  around  us  all  the  bystanders 
who  had  gradually  collected,  and  who,  seeing  a  tall 
fellow  lay  hold  of  an  infant  and  carry  it  off,  stopped 
not  to  ask  by  what  right  I  did  it,  but  immediately 
set  up  after  me  a  general  cry  and  pursuit. 

For  rendering  it  ineffectual  I  rehed  on  my 
agility,  assisted  by  the  deep  shadows  of  the  night : 
but  the  pursuing  troop  was  too  near,  and  at  every 
step  I  advanced,  its  numbers  were  encreased  by  all 
those  who,  running  to  the  fire,  met  us  on  the  way, 
and  turned  back  to  join  the  chase.  The  only  thing 
I  could  do  was  to  draw  my  yatagan,  and,  while  I 
tried  with  one  arm  to  shield  my  child  from  the 
incessant  shower  of  stones,  with  the  other  to  bran- 
dish my  weapon,  and  to  beat  off  the  pelting  mob* 
Sometimes,  in  order  to  prevent  being  closed  in  upon, 


ANASTASIUS.  351 

1  was  obliged  to  face  about  and  to  make  a  few 
passes,  calculated  to  teach  those  who  came  too  near 
their  proper  distance:  but  in  so  doing  a  sharp 
pebble  hit  my  lovely  infant's  face,  and  made  the 
blood  gush  in  streams  from  his  cheek.  At  this 
sight  I  grew  desperate:  my  strength  seemed  to 
increase  tenfold  ;  and  at  every  stroke  of  my  sabre 
some  miscreant  was  maimed,  or  bit  the  ground. 

What  power  could  resist  a  father  fighting  for  his 
child !  Terror  gradually  seized  all  the  nearest 
rabble :  the  rest  slackened  their  pace ;  and  a  cer- 
tain interval  arose  between  the  pursuers  and  their 
intended  prey.  I  was  about  a  dozen  yards  a-head 
of  the  foremost,  when  the  lanthom,  agreed  upon  as 
the  signal  of  the  boat,  began  to  glimmer  on  the 
shore.  I  now  mustered  all  my  remaining  strength, 
and,  with  only  such  few  windings  as  were  necessary 
to  throw  the  blood-hounds  off  the  scent,  made  for  the 
beacon.  Many,  tired  of  the  chase,  had  already 
given  in ;  and  a  small  portion  only  of  the  pack  still 
kept  yelping  at  a  distance. 

I  therefore  thought  myself  safe ; — when  all  at 
once  between  me  and  the  goal  flashed  like  forked 
lightning  two  sabres,  whose  wearers,  guessing  my 
intention,  had  by  a  shorter  cut  got  before  me,  and 
were  now  waiting  to  cut  off  my  retreat. 

What  was  to  be  done  ? — An  instant  J  stopped 


352  ANASTASIUS. 

and  hesitated  :  but  with  a  dozen  rascals  at  my  heels, 
and  only  two  in  front,  I  had  no  choice,  and  went 
forward.  At  the  critical  moment  I  suddenly  waved 
my  hand,  and,  as  if  addressing  some  friends  sta- 
tioned near,  cried  out  to  fire.  The  expectant  pair 
on  this  started  back,  and  looked  round,  while  I 
seized  my  opportunity,  and  darted  by  them  hke 
lightning.  They  soon  however  rallied  again,  and 
one  actually  had  his  hand  on  my  shoulder,  and  was 
at  last  going  to  stop  my  career,  when,  wheeling 
half  round,  I  released  my  person  at  the  expense  of 
his  fingers.  The  low  reef  now  lay  before  me  under 
which  was  moored  the  boat,  and,  having  scrambled 
on  the  platform,  I  was  going  to  leap  in,  when,  just 
at  that  moment  a  loose  stone  made  me  slip,  and  I 
plunged  into  the  waves  between  the  rock  and  the 
barge.  My  child  escaped  all  injury.  Caught  by 
Cirico,  who  stood  on  the  projecting  ledge  waiting 
my  arrival,  he  was  handed  safe  to  the  sailors  :  but 
his  father  had  less  luck.  The  zeal  of  the  boatmen 
to  disentangle  me,  making  them  all  press  upon  the 
side  of  the  boat  under  which  I  lay  wedged,  their 
collective  weight  almost  crushed  me  to  death ;  and 
I  was  only  extricated  with  a  couple  of  ribs  broken, 
my  chest  miserably  bruised,  and  my  loins  almost 
pierced  through  by  the  sharpness  of  the  rocks. 
Having  fainted  the  instant  I  was  dragged  into 


ANASTASIUS.  353 

the  boat,  I  continued  in  that  state  until  conveyed 
on  board  the  ship.  There,  when  various  appUca- 
cations  had  at  last  brought  me  to  life  again,  I  found 
that  we  were  under  weigh,  and  already  far  out  at 
sea.  Still  could  my  first  sensations  scarcely  be 
called  very  pleasant.  With  consciousness  had  come 
pain :  my  inward  bruises  now  tortured  me,  and 
occasioned  constant  expectorations  of  blood.  As 
soon,  however,  as  I  recovered  my  speech  I  enquired 
after  my  child,  and  he  was  pointed  out  to  me  by 
the  captain,  lying  in  a  httle  crib,  and  just  lapsed 
— after  a  world  of  woe — into  a  profound  sleep. 
When  first  put  on  board,  the  blood  mixed  with  dust 
which  entirely  covered  his  face,  had  rendered  him  a 
frightful  spectacle  :  but  on  the  unsightly  crust 
being  washed  off,  there  only  remained  a  small  cut 
under  his  eye,  of  little  importance.  His  chief  dis- 
tresses had  been  those  of  his  susceptible  mind. 
Tom  in  the  middle  of  the  night  from  an  elegant 
mansion,  a  troop  of  tender  females,  and  an  affec- 
tionate nurse,  and  that,  to  be  the  object  of  a  san- 
guinary contest,  to  receive  a  smarting  wound,  and 
to  be  put  on  board  a  miserable  vessel,  where  nothing 
met  his  eye  but  strange  and  hard  featured  sailors, 
whose  very  offices  of  kindness  looked  more  like  acts 
of  violence,  no  wonder  that  the  sensitive  child  should 
at  first  have  shrunk  with  terror  from  the  novel  and 
VOL.  III.  A  a 


354  ANASTASIUS. 

appalling  scene  ; — and  it  was  only  when  exhausted 
with  fruitless  entreaties  and  crying,  that  he  fell  into 
the  quiet  slumber  in  which,  on  recovering  my  senses, 
I  found  the  little  angel  deeply  sunk. 

Notwithstanding  my  aches  and  my  weakness, 
when,  after  so  many  difficulties  and  dangers,  I  thus 
saw  the  object  of  all  my  hopes  and  fears  at  last  safe 
in  my  possession,  I  could  not  be  restrained  from 
giving  full  scope  to  my  raptures,  crawled  to  the 
crib  entrusted  with  my  treasure,  and  there — afraid 
to  disturb  its  soft  slumbers — knelt  and  gazed  upon 
it  in  an  ecotacy  of  joy.  Scarce  could  I  believe  so 
much  loveliness  to  be  my  own,  and  in  my  transport 
— as  I  was  afterwards  told — I  laughed  and  cried  in 
turn,  until  the  whole  crew  thought  me  positively 
crazed.  By  degrees  however  I  became  somewhat 
more  cibmposed ;  but  as  the  ferment  of  my  joy 
abated,  my  pains  put  in  their  claims  afresh,  until 
at  last,  unable  nny  longer  to  bear  an  upright  pos- 
ture,  I  lay  down  1 ;}  my  babe,  awaiting  the  moment 
when,  breaking  from  his  sleep^,  he  should  leave  me 
at  hberty  to  press  him  to  my  bosom. 

Far  different  from  mine  however,  were,  on  first 
awaking,  my  boy'^s  own  emotions.  The  moment  he 
unclosed  his  eyes  a  look  of  terror  overcast  his  sweet 
countenance.  He  stared  fearfully  around,  seemed 
awhile  wholly  lost  in  amazement  at  things  so  new 


ANASTASIUS.  355 

and  strange,  and  then,  recollecting  the  change  he 
had  experienced,  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  and 
loudly  called  his  paramana.  In  vain  I  addressed 
him  in  the  most  soothing  language, — saying  I  was 
his  father,  and  my  care  for  my  child  should  exceed 
all  other  care.  His  only  answer  was  to  entreat  I 
would  restore  him  to  the  friends  from  whom  I  had 
stolen  him  ;  and  on  my  stating  the  impossibility  of 
granting  his  petition,  he  loaded  me  with  all  the 
innocent  invectives  which  his  gall-less  imagination 
could  suggest.  No  peace  offering  of  which  I  could 
think  was  accepted,  whether  addressed  to  the  eye 
or  the  palate;  all  my  gifts  were  spuraed,  and 
only  a  fast,  protracted  long  beyond  the  usual  period, 
could  for  an  instant  make  hunger  impose  silence  on 
grief.  Reluctantly  my  Alexis  then  consented  to 
take  some  food  at  my  hands ; — and  this  was  the 
first  paternal  office  I  ministered  to  my  child. 

For  several  days  I  myself  continued  to  want  the 
nursing  I  bestowed.  It  was  only  while  I  lay  motion- 
less on  my  back  that  I  felt  any  relief.  The  smallest 
exertion  renewed  all  my  agonies,  and  called  forth 
fresh  streams  of  blood  from  my  chest.  Insensibly 
however  the  symptoms  of  an  internal  injury  became 
less  alarming ;  the  broken  ribs  seemed  to  knit  again, 
and  the  external  bruises  healed  apace :  but  I  remained 
languid,  incapable  of  enduring  the  least   fatigue. 


356  ANASTASIUS. 

totally  bereft  of  appetite,  and  seldom  visited  by  re- 
freshing slumbers. 

Those  of  my  child  were  my  only  cordial.     De- 
termined not  to  be  disheartened  by  his  first  repulses, 
which  only  shewed  the  steadiness  of  his  infant  mind, 
I  continued  my  endearments  with  unwearied  per- 
severance, until  at  last  I  gained  his  good-will  and 
his  confidence.     IVIany,  it  is  true,  were  the  days 
ere  I   could  drive  from  his  memory  the  constant 
thoughts  of  his  regretted  home,  and  even  after  he 
seemed   in   general   reconciled  to  the   change,  he 
would  still  at  particular  hours,  and  sometimes  in 
the  very  midst  of  his  mirth  and  laughter,  display  a 
sudden  revulsion  of  features,  and  break  into  fresh 
and  poignant  paroxysms  of  grief:  but  in  the  yet  soft 
and  pliant  organs  of  his  infant  brain  the  impression 
of  things  and  persons  wholly  gone  by  were  gra- 
dually effaced,  and  the  later  objects  which  replaced 
these,  stamped  on  it  their  fresher  and  more  recent 
forms  with  at  least  equal  force :  he  accustomed  him- 
self to  his  situation,  and  recovered  his  serenity.  His 
anxious  mind  became  susceptible  of  a  new  species 
of  uneasiness, — that  of  losing  sight  of  me  ;  and  at 
last  won  over  entirely  by  my  love,  he  transferred 
to  me  all   the  warm   affections  of  his  susceptible 
heart. 

He  even  gave  me  more  than  he  had  given  yet 


ANASTASIUS.  357 

for,  to  the  singularly  early  developement  of  his 
reason  and  moral  feeling,  his  former  guardians  had 
not  yet  thought  of  addressing  themselves ;  and 
by  appealing  the  first  to  these  new  expanding 
faculties,  I  obtained  over  him  a  stronger  hold, 
while  I  paid  him  a  more  flattering  homage,  than 
any  one  else  yet  had  done.  I  had  begun  by  con- 
soling him.  It  was  he  now  who,  whenever  I  ap- 
peared ill,  endeavoured  to  comfort  me,  watched 
every  change  in  my  countenance,  and  studied  to 
alleviate  every  symptom  of  my  complaint ;  amused 
me  with  his  prattle  v.hen  I  felt  in  spirits,  and  lay 
down  in  silence  by  my  side,  when  I  looked  dejected 
and  sorrowful.  How  therefore — in  the  absence  of 
all  other  feelings,  and  on  the  cessation  of  every 
other  tie, —  I  began  to  doat  on  him,  no  words  can 
express.  Hour  after  hour  I  hung  over  his  cherub 
face,  contemplating  as  in  a  mirror  that  of  his  lovely 
and  unhappy  mother :  and  many  a  time,  when  his 
heavenly  smile  beamed  upon  me,  when  his  little 
arms  hung  round  my  neck,  and  when  his  lips  im- 
printed soft  kisses  on  my  cheek,  I  thought :  "  Anas- 
tasius,  Anastasius,  what  hast  thou  done  to  deserve 
so  much  bliss  !  Tremble  lest  it  should  prove  an 
honied  cup,  offered  to  thy  lips  by  an  avenging  Pro- 
vidence, only  for  an  instant  to  be  tasted, — then 
dashed  to  the  ground  !" 

Our  voyage  was  prosperous  enough,  until  we  got 


358  iVNASTASIUS. 

into  the  latitude  of  Cerigo.  There  a  perverse  tra- 
montana  seemed  to  lie  in  wait  with  no  other  object 
than  to  shut  against  us  the  narrow  entrance  of  the 
Adriatic.  If  now  and  then  the  wind  did  coiaie 
about  for  a  moment,  we  no  sooner  began  to  make*a 
little  way  than,  as  if  on  purpose  to  mock  us,  it 
immediately  again  shifted  back  to  its  old  quarter. 
It  afforded  a  Malthese  privateer  every  convenience 
for  making  us  bring  to ;  and  the  ship's  papers  being 
deemed  somewhat  suspicious,  and  the  cargo 
Turkish  property  outright,  the  vessel  was  compelled 
to  change  its  course  to  Maltha ;  there  to  undergo 
legal  investigation.  That  island  wanted  corn,  and 
the  captain  himself  seemed  to  have  no  objection  to 
a  shorter  voyage  and  a  better  market.  Useless, 
under  such  circumstances,  would  have  been  the 
opposition  of  a  passenger.  What  is  he  by  the  side 
of  the  cargo,  —by  that  of  a  single  bale  of  goods  ? 
and  I  comforted  myself  with  the  thought  that  I 
should  sooner  be  on  land,  and  more  speedily  obtain 
medical  advice. 

A  Lazaretto  is  a  sort  of  purgatory,  intervening 
between  the  regions  of  infidelity  and  the  realms  of 
true  belief;  and  quarantine  may  be  termed  an 
ordeal  through  which  all  must  pass,  who,  coming 
from  the  one,  seek  admittance  into  the  other. 
Arrived  in  mine  at  Maltha,  I  employed  the  period 
of  confinement,  required  to  prove  my  freedom  from 


ANASTASIUS.  359 

one  sort  of  disease,  in  taking  remedies  for  another, 
less  violent — but,  alas  !  more  tenacious.  The  in- 
ward soreness  continued  unabated,  spite  of  all  the 
emollients  and  drugs  liberally  supplied  me  from  the 
medicine  chest  of  a  traveller,  who  had  been  encaged, 
on  his  return  from  a  voyage  to  the  Levant,  about 
the  same  time  with  myself 

Designing,  I  suppose,  to  write  a  book,  this  gen- 
tleman seemed  as  anxious  to  extend  his  knowledge 
with  regard  to  the  nations  he  had  just  quitted,  as 
I  felt  desirous  of  acquiring  information  with  respect 
to  those  whom  I  was  coming  amongst ;  whence  our 
conversation  chiefly  turned  upon  the  difference  be- 
tween the  natives  of  the  East  and  those  of  the 
West.  The  strong  predestinarian  principles  of  the 
latter  were  a  topic  which  my  friend  was  p'articularly 
fond  of  handling.  Nothing,  he  averred,  surprised 
him  so  much  as  the  tenaciousness  with  which  ideas 
of  this  sort  seemed  to  have  clung  even  to  one  so 
unprejudiced  in  other  things  as  myself: — "and 
yet,"  cried  he,  "  what  can  be  at  once  more  incon- 
sistent in  itself,  and  more  injurious  in  its  effects  than 
a  conviction  that,  whatever  may  be  the  nature  of 
intervening  occurrences,  certain  ultimate  events — 
such  as  the  choice  of  a  wife,  the  birth  of  a  child, 
the  accession  to  an  estate,  the  hour  of  death,  or  our 
state  in  the  hfe  hereafter, — must  still  take  the  same 


360  ANASTASIUS. 

course.  It  is  a  doctrine  destructive  of  all  exertion, 
and  inimical  to  all  prudence.  It  paints  wisdom  at- 
tended with  no  advantage,  and  virtue  productive 
of  no  reward.*" 

I  entirely  agreed  with  my  friend ;  and  only- 
added  that  the  doctrine  he  reprobated  was  the  very 
doctrine  which — in  as  far  as  it  every  where  broke  the 
connection  between  cause  and  effect — must  be  the 
first  to  fall  away  where  predestination,  instead  of 
only  being  adopted  by  halves,  and  limited  to  a  few 
of  the  most  conspicuous  events  of  our  lives,  was  ex- 
tended to  all  the  minutest  occurrences  in  the  uni- 
verse, without  any  exception  whatsoever. 

"  As  to  the  partial  preordination,"'  said  I,  *'  which 
you  justly  reject,  I  too  reject  it,  and  do  so,  precisely 
from  believing  in  preordination  as  an  universal  con- 
dition of  things  created,  which  admits  of  no  deviation 
however  trifling ;  from  conceiving  the  connection 
between  cause  and  effect,  beginning  with  the  origin 
of  the  sensible  world,  to  suffer  no  interruption  until 
its  end ;  from  feeling  assured  that  there  is  always 
a  preponderating  tendency  to  whatever  actually 
takes  place  ;  from  conceiving  that  even  where  man 
appears  to  possess  the  greatest  latitude  of  delibera- 
tion, motives  anterior  to  or  independant  of  his  volition 
c^n  alone  after  all  put  an  end  to  his  suspense  and 
determine  his  will ;  from  regarding  what  in  human 


ANASTASIUS.  361 

beings  is  most  pre-eminently  dignified  \^th  the  name 
of  free  agency,  as  after  all  consisting  in  nothing 
more  than  the  faculty  of  founding  their  choice  upon 
the  suggestions  of  that  experience  and  the  dictates 
of  that  reason,  whose  extent  and  soundness  must 
still  depend  upon  extraneous  and  incidental  circum- 
stances ;  and,  in  fine,  from  considering  entire  free 
agency  (and  without  being  entire,  free  agency  can- 
not subsist  at  all)  as  an  attribute  wholly  inapphca- 
ble  to  the  creature  man,  incomprehensible  by  hu- 
man intellect,  and  only  appertaining  to  that  Deity 
which  is  equally  incomprehensible  in  all  its  attri- 
butes. 

"  And  do  you  not,^'  cried  my  friend,  "  bold  as 
you  seem  in  your  opinions,  shrink  from  the  conse- 
quences of  such  a  doctrine  r" 

"  It  is  my  very  timidity,""  answered  I,  "  which 
leads  me  to  assert  it.  My  mind  possesses  not  the 
courage  to  reject  that  which,  the  further  I  look 
into  the  past,  the  more  firmly  I  find  it  founded  on 
every  basis  of  experience  and  analogy,  merely  in 
view  of  some  uncertain  consequences  to  which  it  may 
only  seem  to  lead,  from  my  still  dim  and  imperfect 
insight  into  the  future.  However ;'"' — added  I,  after 
some  further  reflection, — "  the  worst  consequence 
I  can  thus  far  perceive  to  arise  from  supposing  all 


362  ANASTASIUS. 

things  alike  preordained,  is  exemption  from  respon- 
sibility and  punishment  hereafter  for  such  actions 
here  below  as  have  been  necessarily  performed; — a 
thing  which  I  for  one  cannot  think  much  to  be 
deprecated." 

"  A  worse  consequence  attending  your  doctrine,'' 
replied  my  friend,  "  than  mere  retrospective  pu- 
nishments in  eternity,  when  sin  can  no  longer  be 
continued,  would  be  the  want  of  motives  for  making 
sacrifices  to  virtue  in  this  transitory  life.' 

"  There  we  differ  completely,"  exclaimed  I ;  "  for 
since  things  are  not  only  preordained,  but  preor- 
dained in  such  a  manner  that  already  in  this  world, 
order,  regularity,  and  virtue  ultimately  produce  be- 
nefits which  cannot  arise  from  disorder,  irregularity, 
and  vice,  it  follows  that  the  more  universally  this 
preordination  is  seen  and  acknowledged,  the  stronger 
will  be  the  incitement  to  acting  rightly.  Where 
ignorance  or  passion  still  continue  to  overlook  or 
disregard  these  nearer  motives,  the  fear  of  the  re- 
moter punishments  in  another  existence  has  seldom 
been  found  to  produce  any  effectual  check, — and  at 
any  rate  can  stamp  little  merit  on  the  forbearance." 

"  But,"  rejoined  my  friend,  "  what  signifies  it 
that  man  should,  through  insight  into  such  a  pre- 
ordination, feel  the  superior  advantages  of  good  and 


ANASTASIUS.  363 

the  ill  eflPects  of  evil,  ia  our  present  state :  above  all, 
why  should  he  take  the  trouble  of  preaching  them  to 
others :  why  should  he  strive  either  to  induce  his 
neighbours  to  virtue,  even  by  the  promise  of  tempo- 
ral rewards,  or  to  withhold  them  from  vice  by  the 
threats  of  temporal  punishments,  if  man  is  deprived 
of  his  free  agency  ? — Thus  tied  hands  and  feet,  we 
have  nothing  to  do  but  to  lie  still,  and  be  swept 
down  the  stream  of  our  uncontrollable  destiny  !" 

"  Quite  the  contrary  !"  said  I,  " — fur  if  by  some 
fortunate  accident  or  some  greater  reach  of  under- 
standing, a  man  happens,  independant  of  any  merit 
or  design  of  his  own,  to  have  observed  or  to  have 
been  taught  that  good  is  more  beneficial  than  evil ; 
and  thence  to  have,  through  an  irresistible  impulse, 
conceived  a  desire  to  diffuse  that  useful  discovery 
or  doctrine,  for  the  purpose  of  extending  its  desirable 
fruits  he  will  feel  more  anxious  so  to  do,  he  will 
with  greater  zeal  bend  all  his  efforts  to  that  purpose, 
if  convinced  that  his  own  influence  may  in  its  turn 
irresistibly  sway  his  neighbour's  mind  and  will,  than 
if  persuaded  that  after  all  his  toil,  that  neighbour 
must  still  preserve  his  free  agency  as  unoiminisned 
as  before,  still  feel  equally  devoid  as  before  of  any 
superior  inclination  to  virtue,  and  still  retain  all  his 
pristine  power  of  equally  taking  the  wrong  way  as 
the  right." 

*'  In  a  future  more  perfect  state  of  things,''added  I 


364  ANASTASIUS. 

"  the  connection  between  good  actions  and  beneficial 
results,  more  immediate  in  itself,  must  also  be  by 
more  enlightened  minds  so  much  more  promptly  felt, 
as  to  leave  an  inclination  to  evil  a  thing  no  longer 
possible,  to  render  virtue  as  well  as  happiness  tBe 
universal  lot,  and  to  make  the  difference  between 
those  that  have  been  more,  or  less,  a  prey  to  igno- 
rance and  temptation  in  this  transitory  life,  only  to 
consist  in  that  which  in  fact  alone  preserves  stings 
sufficient  for  a  sensitive  mind — in  their  retrospec- 
tions !" 

Here  the  Lazaretto  bell  interrupted  the  discus- 
sion ;  and  we  separated,  neither  of  course  in  the 
least  convinced  by  the  arguments  of  the  other — or 
perhaps,  by  his  own.  How  much  my  sentiments 
at  least  have  since  changed  ! — but  is  this  wonderful, 
when  at  the  very  instant  that  my  reasonings,  or  if 
you  please  my  sophistry,  took  the  direction  describ- 
ed, my  feelings  already  inclined  in  a  wholly  opposite 
direction  ? 

In  fact  the  thought  which  at  the  time  occupied 
me  most  constantly,  was,  whether,  on  entering  Chris- 
tendom, I  should  make  a  solenm  and  public  abjura- 
tion of  Islamism,  or  content  myself  with  sliding  back 
unperceived  into  the  bosom  of  the  church.  The 
latter  had  been  the  mode  of  proceeding  recom- 
mended by  the  friend  entrusted  with  the  letter  from 
Trieste,  and  who  had  chiefly  promoted  my  voyage 


ANASTASIUS.  365 

to  the  West.  "  Why,"  used  he  to  say,  "  make  your 
return  to  the  faith  of  your  fathers,  which  in  reality 
can  only  be  an  act  of  the  mind,  a  spectacle  for  the 
multitude?    It  is  a  thing  more  likely  to  scandalise 
than  to  edify  :    to  remind  people  that  the  church 
suffered  an  infidelity,  than  that  it  recovered  a  stray 
sheep  :*" — and  my  reason  gave  assent  to  the  remark, 
though  my  heart  recoiled  from  the  counsel.     I  felt 
as  if  it  wanted  the  outward  shew  of  penitence  and 
demonstration  of  sorrow,  to  atone  for  its  errors, — 
suffering  to  hush  its  remorse,  and  tears  to  wash  out 
its  stains.  But  I  considered  that  a  measure,  of  which 
the  publicity  must  so  greatly  affect  my  situation  in 
society,  should  not  be  embraced  without  the  sanction 
of  the  relation  whom  I  was  going  to  join :  nay,  I  even 
felt  some  objections  to  it  on  the  score  of  a  still  nearer 
and  dearer  tie ;  for  as  every  day  encreased  my  love 
for  my  boy,  it  also  strengthened  my  reluctance  to 
his  w^itnessing  my  penance  and  suspecting  my  guilt. 
What  parent  but  must  wish  for  the  esteem  of  his 
child  !    I  therefore  thought  it  best  at  all  events  to 
defer  gratifying  the  curious  with  an  act  of  ostenta- 
tious  humility,  and  cursing  Mohammed  and   the 
koran  in  ceremony,  until  my  arrival  at  Trieste,  and 
in  the  mean  time  only  to  avail  myself  of  the  deep 
soUtude  and  the  high  walls  of  my  temporary  prison, 
to  resume  in  silence  the  solemn  rites  of  my  ances- 


366  ANASTASIUS. 

tors,  and  my  old  and  often  regretted  Christian  name 
of  Anastasius. 

Determined  to  shake  oiF  as  much  as  possible  all 
that  marked  the  native  of  the  East,  and  to  adopt 
all  that  might  assist  me  to  assimilate  with  the  cl;il- 
dren  of  the  West,  I  proceeded  from  the  inward  to 
the  outward  man ;  but  though  my  person  was  no 
longer  as  erst  the  dearest  idol  of  my  heart,  I  yet 
continued  sufficiently  impressed  with  the  advantage 
of  good  looks,  to  feel  a  very  different  sensation  on 
quitting  the  Osmanlee  attire  from  that  which  I  had 
experienced  on  doffing  the  Santon's  rags.  It  seemed 
to  me  a  sort  of  degradation  to  exchange  the  rich 
and  graceful  garb  of  the  East,  which  either  shews 
the  limbs  as  nature  moulded  them,  or  makes  amends 
for  their  concealment  by  ample  and  majestic  dra- 
pery, for  a  dress  which  confines  without  covering, 
disfigures  without  protecting,  gives  the  gravest  man 
the  air  of  a  mountebank,  and,  from  the  uncouth 
shape  of  the  shreds  sowed  together,  only  looks  like 
the  invention  of  penury  for  the  use  of  beggars : — 
and  when  I  came  to  mutilating  my  very  person,  to 
cutting  into  its  quick  ; — when,  without  being  able  to 
give  my  face  a  feminine  softness  I  was  only  going  to 
deprive  it  of  the  signs  of  manhood ;  to  sever  from 
my  lips  my  long  cherished  mustachios,  I  own  it 
required  all  the  philosophical   reflections  I  could 


ANASTASIUS.  367 

muster  on  the  nothingness  of  a  few  hairs,  to  per- 
suade me  to  lay  the  fearful  steel  to  their  roots. 

But  what  was  the  difficulty  of  changing  the  out- 
ward trappings  of  the  body,  to  that   of  dismissing 
the  habits  rooted  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  mind  ? 
what  was  that  of  adopting  the  dress  which  the  tailor 
could  model,  to  that  of  assuming   manners  which 
must  be  the  result  of  the  nicest  observation  and  the 
longest  practice  ?    In  the  East  each  different  age, 
and  sex,  and  nation,  and  rank,  and  profession,  how- 
ever closely  intermixed  with  the  others,  still  retains 
its  peculiar  garb  and  formulas,  its  stated  place  and 
boundaries,  as  distinctly  marked  as  they  are  immu- 
tably fixed.  In  the  East  centuries  succeed  centuries; 
new  generations  step   on   those  which   have  gone 
before  them,  and  empires  themselves  are  founded 
and  are  destroyed,  without  the  limits  that  circum- 
scribe the  different  races  of  men  and  orders  of  so- 
ciety being  confounded  or  transgressed.  In  the  East 
nothing  in  point  of  forms,  of  address,  and  of  man- 
ners is  indefinite,  or  arbitrary,  or  mutable,  or  left  to 
the  impulse  of  the  moment  or  the  taste  of  the  indi- 
vidual.   In  the  East  therefore  it  is  easy  to  learn  by 
rote  the  unchangeable  exigencies  of  society  ;    and 
every  individual,  whatever  situation  he  may  obtain 
— whether  from  a  slave  he  become  a  master,  from 
a  civilian  a  soldier,  or  from  a  subject  a  sovereign 


368  ANASTASIUS. 

immediately  knows  how  to  fit  himself  to  his  new 
place,  and  how  to  act  his  new  part,  void  of  embar- 
rassment and  aukwardness  ;    nay — of  vulgarity. 

Far  different  was  my  prospect  in  the  AV  est!  Th^re, 
on  the  contrary,  whatever  the  eye  coidd  view  or  the 
mind  comprehend  —  from  the  most  fundamental 
organization  of  states  to  the  most  superficial  gloss 
of  social  intercourse,  seemed  unfixed,  discretional, 
subject  to  constant  revolution,  and  like  the  coat  of 
the  cameleon,  borrowing  a  different  hue  from  every 
passing  cloud.  There  each  different  sex,  age,  na- 
tion, rank  and  profession,  instead  of  the  strongly 
marked  outlines  and  forcibly  contrasted  colours  of 
the  East,  on  all  sides  only  shewed  blending  shades, 
evanescent  forms,  prominences  rubbed  away,  and 
features  confounded — tones,  looks,  and  language, 
distinguished  only  by  gradations  so  imperceptible, 
by  shades  so  delicate,  that  a  long  study  alone  could 
disclose  the  theory,  and  long  habit  alone  teach  the 
performance  of  their  ultimate  refinements.  There 
the  prejudices  of  the  individual,  constantly  at  vari- 
ance with  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  the  duties 
imposed  by  religion,  uniformly  clashing  with  the 
latitude  required  by  custom,  were  each  to  be  in 
turns  distinguished  and  yet  blended,  obeyed  and 
yet  disregarded,  without  the  act  appearing  an  effort, 
or  the  effect  producing  a  discordance ;  nay,  there, 


ANASTASIUS.  3C9 

the  mind,  always  kept  on  the  stretch,  was  not  even 
allowed  to  unbend  in  repose  after  business  was  end- 
ed, but  must  still,  in  the  hours  of  leisure — not  hours 
of  relaxation — encounter  the  new  toil  of  constantly 
supplying  matter  for  discourse,  suited  at  once  to  the 
peculiar  character  of  the  speaker,  and  to  those  of 
the  diversified  listeners. 

Yet  was  I, — alone,  untutored  and  uncounselled — 
to  embody  with  my  (original  substance,  ideas  and 
habits,  these  intangible  new  forms  and  these  indefi- 
nable new  shades,  which  many  of  the  natives  them- 
selves but  aukwardly  wear  ; — and  that  at  an  age  too 
when  the  cast  of  my  own  character  was  fixed  and 
stiffened  into  irremediable  permanence  by  the  cold 
hand  of  time  :  on  pain  of  exciting  the  sneers  of 
the  cold,  fastidious,  unsympathizing  spectators  of 
the  new  stage  which  I  was  going,  uncheered  and 
unsupported,  to  tread. — Arduous  was  the  task;  small 
the  hope  of  success ! 

In  fact,  whether  from  the  loss  of  health  and  the 
prostration  of  spirits  I  had  laboured  under,  ever 
since  the  accident  which  marked  the  last  pressure 
of  my  feet  on  the  shores  of  the  East,  or  whether 
from  the  more  appalling  form  assumed  by  the  new 
objects  before  me  as  I  approached  them  nearer,  I 
every  day  began  to  contemplate  with  encreasing  awe 
the  idea  of  encountering  a  new  world  with  which  I 

VOL.  HI.  B  b 


S70  ANASTASIUS. 

had  nothing  in  common.  Every  day  that  new  world 
presented  itself  to  my  imagination  more  as  a  gloomy 
desert,  to  me  without  interest,  without  friends,  and 
without  happiness.  The  people  of  Europe  seemed 
heartless,  the  virtues  of  the  Franks  frigid,  the  very 
crimes  of  the  West  dull  and  prosaic  ;  and  I  was  hke 
a  plant  which,  reared  in  all  the  warmth  of  a  hothouse, 
is  going  all  at  once  to  be  launched  into  all  the  in- 
clemency of  an  atmosphere,  ripe  with  chilling  blasts 
and  nipping  frosts. 

Far  therefore  from  waiting  with  impatience  for 
the  period  that  was  to  dismiss  me  from  the  narrow 
cell  of  my  quarantine  into  the  unlimited  space  of 
this  new  scene,  I  could  not  help  looking  forward  to 
it  with  trepidation.  As  long  as  I  remained  within 
the  pale  of  the  establishment  devoted  to  purification 
from  my  eastern  stains^  I  felt  as  if  only  standing  on 
the  extremest  verge  of  my  native  realms ;  as  if  not 
yet  entirely  removed  from  all  contact  with  the  pa- 
rental soil,  and  not  yet  entirely  beyond  the  influence 
of  the  paternal  atmosphere  ;  as  if  still  able  to  fall 
back  at  will  upon  the  fostering  bosom  on  which  I  had 
been  reared,  and  to  regain  by  a  timely  retreat  all  my 
native  rights  and  privileges : — but  the  threshold  of 
the  Lazaretto  once  crossed  ;  the  barred  doors  of  the 
quarantine  ground  once  closed  behind  me,  it  seemed 
as  if  a  barrier  deep  as  the  centre  of  the  earth,  high 


ANASTASIUS.  371 

^s  the  heavenly  vault,  was  to  rise  between  the  scenes 
of  my  youth  and  the  remainder  of  my  dreary  exist- 
ence ;  as  if  nothing  that  had  been,  could  preserve 
the  last  connection  with  what  was  still  to  be. 

When  therefore  the  hour  of  my  liberation  struck ; 
when  I  was  bidden  to  walk  forth, — ready  to  take  my 
flight,  and,  like  the  bird  driven  from  its  downy 
nest,  to  plunge  into  boundless  space, — I  shrunk 
back,  and  for  a  few  moments  still  doubted  whether 
I  should  not  after  all  forego  my  rash  design,  and, 
instead  of  walking  forth  among  strangers,  rather 
stay,  and  seek  the  first  vessel  in  which  I  might 
return  to  the  genial  shores  of  the  East. 

But  one  great,  one  mighty  thought  superseded 
all  others,  and  determined  me  to  proceed.  It  was 
not  for  myself  I  went, — it  was  for  my  child :  it  was 
to  perfect  his  education,  to  secure  his  future  wel- 
fare, to  render  him  in  all  respects  a  man  different 
from  his  father.  This  idea  gave  resolution  to  my 
mind.  I  saw  my  luggage  removed,  took  my  Alexis 
by  the  hand,  and  hastily  walked  out. 

Yet  when, — arrived  in  the  midst  of  the  space  that 
separates  the  precincts  of  the  Lazaretto  from  the 
remainder  of  the  Malthese  territory, — I  heard  the 
fatal  gates,  only  opened  to  let  me  out,  again  close 
with  hollow  clang,  the  awful  sound  went  through 
my  inmost  marrow ;  my  heart  seemed  to  smk  within 


^79,  ANASTASIUS. 

me,  and,  turning  round,  for  the  last  time  to  con- 
template the  porch  whence  I  had  reluctantly  gone^ 
forth,  I  could  not  help  once  more  bidding  all  I  left 
farewell.  "  Glorious  sun  of  the  East  V  cried  I  with 
faultering  tongue,  "  balmy  breath  of  the  Levant 
warm  aifections  of  my  beloved  Greece, — adieu  for 
ever  !  The  season  of  flowers  is  gone  by :  that  of 
storms  and  whirlwinds  howls  before  me.  Among  the 
frosts  of  the  North  I  must  seek  my  future  fortunes : 
a  cradle  of  ice  must  rock  my  future  hopes.  For 
the  bleak  wastes  and  black  firs  of  Gothic  climes  I 
am  going  to  exchange  the  myrtle  groves  of  Grecian 
valleys ;  and  perhaps  on  the  further  borders  of  the 
chilly  Neva  it  may  be  my  fate  to  cherish  the  last 
remembrance  of  Ionia  and  of  Chio  !" 

Thus  saying,  I  took  my  cherub  in  my  arms,  pres- 
sed him  against  my  panting  bosom,  inclined  my  face 
agsdnst  his  downy  cheek — and  went  on. 


ANTASASIUS.  372 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Anxious  to  gain  the  place  of  my  destination,  I  hired 
a  speronara  to  convey  me  to  Sicily.  As  I  passed 
under  the  galleys  in  Valetta  harbour,  and  contem- 
plated the  batteries  bristhng  on  its  shore  :  "  see  ;' 
said  to  me  one  of  my  boatmen,  "  those  engines  of  war 
employed  to  diffuse  a  religion  of  peace,  by  men  who 
take  the  vows  of  priests  and  lead  the  lives  of  soldiers. 
One  would  suppose  man  short-lived  and  perishable 
enough  by  nature  to  have  no  need  of  so  many  con- 
trivances of  art,  still  to  abridge  his  brief  existence, 
and  that  not  piece  meal  but  wholesale  :  but  so  it  is 
notwithstanding ;  and  you  who  come  from  Turkey 
will  find  that  in  Christendom  the  trade  of  inflicting 
death  on  one  half  of  its  population,  is  precisely  that 
by  which  the  other  half  lives."" — I  had  indeed  heard 
before  that  standing  armies  were  become  both  the 
shield  and  the  gangrene  of  all  European  states. 

In  coasting  Sicily's  jagged  shores,  I  had  a  view 
of  Etna's  furnace  wrapped  in  eternal  snow  ;  landed 


S74  ANASTASIUS. 

at  Messina,  and  there  soon  reimbarked  straight  for 
Naples. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  capital  built  upon  a  vol- 
cano  seemed  to  me  completely  gone  out  of  their 
senses.  From  the  lowest  Lazzaroni  to  up  their  fishing, 
fowling,  Lazzaroni  king,  they  were  all  rejoicing  in 
a  peace  just  concluded  with  revolutionary  France, 
as  madly  as  if  war  could  thenceforth  be  no  more.  I 
carried  letters  from  Maltha  to  two  personages  of  the 
nohilta :    a  gentleman  and  a  lady ;  and  had  the  ex- 
treme satisfaction  of  finding  myself  precisely  recom- 
mended to  the  two  pec^ple  in  all  Naples  who  hated 
each  other  most  cordially.  M.  de  Silva  was  a  wit : — ^ 
on  my  first  visit  to  him  he  took  particular  pains  to 
warn  me  against  the  least  attempt  at  consistency  in 
my  words  or  my  actions.     *'  Like  our  bodies,"  he 
observed,  "our  minds,  our  opinions  and  our  feelings 
must  necessarily  change  every  day  ;  and  he  who, 
for  the  sake  of  that  chimera  consistency,  is  determin- 
ed ever  to  adhere  to  what  in  some  luckless  moment 
he  uttered,  must  sooner  or  later  renounce  all  pre- 
tensions to  truth."— To  Silva's  honour  be  it  spoken ; 
the  doctrine  which  he  preached  he  likewise  practised. 
Me.  de  B — ,  being  no  wit,  on  the  contrary  made 
that  consistency,  which  Silva  regarded  as  the  mark 
of  a  servile  plodding  spirit,  her  principal  boast.     It 
had  not  prevented  her — it  is  true — from  changing 


ANASTASIUS.  375 

her  lovers  very  frequently :  but  then  it  had  made 
her  take  particular  pains  to  retain  them  as  friends. 
Finding  her  speak  philosophically  of  her  own  con- 
duct— and  in  the  same  strain  in  which  she  would 
have  canvassed  that  of  a  neighbour — I  one  day 
begged  of  her  to  explain  to  me  how,  with  so  much 
freedom  of  manner,  she  had  contrived  to  incur  so 
Httle  censure?  "  Bv  leaving  my  reputation," 
answered  she,  "  as  all  good  Christians  should  do  all 
their  concerns,  entirely  to  the  care  of  Providence ; 
shewing  others  the  indulgence  I  wanted  for  myself, 
and  not  imagining  that  to  bespatter  my  neighbours 
could  wipe  away  a  spot  from  my  own  character.'' — 
This  was  not  wit,  assuredly,  nor  any  thing  ap- 
proaching it ;  but,  to  my  mind,  a  thing  of  better 
•wear. 

Wishing  to  cultivate  the  society  of  both  my 
friends  with  equal  care,  I  took  it  into  my  head  to 
patch  up  a  peace  between  them.  This  was  more 
difficult  than  that  with  France.  AVhen  I  told  Me. 
de  B —  of  the  encomiums  which  signor  Silva  fre- 
quently passed  upon  her  merit:  "  when  was  I 
sufficiently  intimate  with  the  fellow ;"  cried  she  in 
a  passion,  "  to  enable  him  to  know  for  what  to 
praise  me .?" 

Excluded  himself  from  the  lady's  parties,  Silva 


376  ANASTASIUS. 

undertook  to  estrange  me  from  her  circle ;  and  for 
this  purpose  proposed  to  take  me  to  a  dinner  of 
literary  friends, — "  with  whom,''  he  added,  "  it  was' 
absolutely  necessary  I  should  be  acquainted." 

I  always  bowed  to  necessity :  but  of  the  ac- 
quaintance I  found  I  had  little  chance  with  men 
who  all  fancied  to  have  rehearsed  their  parts  before- 
hand. Accordingly  I  hardly  opened  my  lips :  but 
Silva,  who  fancied  he  had  shone,  returned  home 
in  raptures  with  his  day.  "  Had  you  sufficient 
quickness,"  cried  he, — "  barbarian  as  you  are — to 
observe  the  incessant  circulation  of  the  most  ethe- 
real wit  ?  How  at  first  a  few  light  sparks  began  to 
flash  at  random  from  different  points  of  the  electric 
circle;  each  in  turns  eliciting  fresh  scintillations 
from  the  opposite  quarter,  until  at  last  the  whole 
table  fired  up  into  one  single  uninterrupted  blaze 
of  the  most  brilliant  eloquence,  repartee,  and  bon- 
mot.  What  preparation,  what  vigilance,  what  rea- 
diness such  conversation  requires  !  What  triumphs 
and  what  mortifications  it  causes  ! — Depend  upon  it, 
the  repose  of  half  the  party  has  been  disturbed  for 
a  fortnight,  by  the  good  things  the  other  half  said 
this  evening." 

"  Charming  effects,"  cried  I,  *^  of  a  convivial 
meeting  V — '^  And    yet,"   resumed   Silva,    ''  you 


ANASTASIUS.  377 

have  not  seen  the  genius  of  the  party  :  he  hkes  to 
make  himself  in  request.  To  morrow  we  go  and 
rouse  him  in  his  own  den  r 

A  part  of  this  den  consisted  of  a  handsome  Ubrary, 
into  which,  visitors  were  shewn  while  the  genius  pre- 
pared for  his  impromptu  effusions.  The  levee  had 
already  begun.  Three  or  four  personages  occupied 
the  farthest  recess  of  the  room.  One  was  humming 
a  bravura  air  as  he  walked  backwards  and  for- 
wards, another  trying  steps  and  attitudes,  a  third 
poring  upon  a  huge  folio  of  prints,  and  the  fourth, 
the  moment  we  walked  in,  turned  from  us  so  ab- 
ruptly to  contemplate  a  small  picture  hung  up  in  a 
niche,  that  I  never  saw  his  face. 

My  own  attention  was  wholly  engaged  by  the 
books.  Those  I  had  seen  at  Pera  seemed  to  me  a 
school-boy's  bundle  compared  with  this  abyss  of 
knowledge.  Besides  the  shelves  against  the  wall, 
absolutely  bending  under  the  weight  of  authors  al- 
ready marshalled  in  regular  battle  array  against 
every  denomination  of  ignorance — some  heavy  armed, 
others  as  light  troops,  others  again  as  voltigeurs, 
belonging  to  no  division  in  particular,  but  hovering 
in  turns  over  the  outskirts  of  each, — the  very  floor 
was  covered  with  piles  of  still  un sorted  science, 
lying  strewed  about  in  a  confused  mass.  I  was 
amazed  at  the  sight.     "  How  many  square  feet  of 


378  ANASTASIUS. 

reading,"  cried  I,  "  are  here  collected  in  one  single 
apartment !  How  many  ideas,  good,  bad,  indifferent, 
true,  erroneous  and  contradictory  are  jumbled  t6- 
getber— some  lying,  some  standing,  some  on  end, 
and  some,  I  apprehend,  head  over  heels: — and  will 
my  poor  Alexis  have  to  cram  all  this  lumber  into 
his  brain,  ere  he  can  pass  among  Franks  for  a  man 
of  understanding  !" 

^'  If  he  did,*'  replied  Silva^  "  I  am  afraid  he 
would  scarcely  have  a  spare  corner  left  for  his  own 
ideas  :  but  the  thing  is  wholly  out  of  the  question. 
Formerly  no  dust  equalled  that  of  books  for  blind- 
ing people's  eyes ;  modern  wits  wipe  it  clean  away  : 
— they  write  indeed,  but  no  one  reads.  Even  philo- 
sophers have  ceased  to  prize  knowledge  the  more 
for  being  at  second  hand.  Men  of  talent  now  buy 
libraries  only  to  say  :  "  thej'^  never  look  at  their 
contents. '"' 

A  clatter  of  doors,  and  a  shuffle  of  slippers,  now 
announced  the  approach  of  the  genius.  He  ap- 
peared with  locks  dishevelled  and  and  a  wild  stare, 
intended  for  a  look  of  inspiration  ; — ran  up  to  us  in 
an  ecstacy  ;  embi  aced  Silva,  then  me  ;  then  asked 
who  I  was;  then  congratulated  himself  upon  be- 
holding a  Greek,  and  me  upon  beholding  him ; 
then  dragged  us  by  main  force  into  what  he  called 
his  sanctum ;  then  told  us  the  quartette  we  had  left 


ANASTASIUS.  379 

in  his  anti-room  consisted  of  a  poet,  a  scene  painter, 
a  musical  composer  and  a  ballet  master,  all  waiting 
his  directions  for  the  new  opera  ;  then  complained 
of  the  endless  feboiirs  his  taste  entailed  upon  him ; 
then  shewed  us  the  list  of  the  virtuosi  and  virtuose 
he  patronised ;  then  ran  out  as  if  bitten  by  the 
tarantula ;  then  came  in  again  making  a  thousand 
apologies;  then  informed  us  that  Horace  had  no 
energy  and  Virgil  no  pathos  ;  then  recited  an  ode, 
three  sonnets,  and  half  the  first  canto  of  an  epic 
poem  of  his  own  composing ;  then  stopped  to  re- 
ceive our  applause,  and  to  contemplate  his  person 
in  the  looking  glass ;  then  took  a  few  lozenges  to 
ease  his  chest ;  then  asked  me  whether  I  did  not  in- 
finitely prefer  the  misty  subhme — that  of  Ossian — 
to  that  of  Homer ;  then  threw  out  a  witticism  or 
two,  which  he  laughed  at  most  heartily,  and  we  also 
out  of  complaisance;  tlien  entreated  to  see  me 
every  day,  except  six  of  the  week  on  which  he  was 
engaged ;  then  made  an  appointment  with  us  at 
the  masked  ball  at  San  Carlo,  and  then  dismissed 
us  to  return  to  the  sons  of  Apollo  he  had  left  in  his 
library. 

Forced  to  join  the  party  to  the  masquerade,  I 
found  but  little  pleasure  in  this  to  me  novel  enter- 
tainment. At  first  indeed  the  si^ht  dazzled,  but  it 
soon  tired,  and  at  last  annoyed  me.     I  could  not 


I 


3S0  ANASTASIUS. 

get  rid  of  a  soothsayer,  who  had  singled  me  out  as 
the  object  of  his  pursuit.  Succeeding  at  last  to  take 
hold  of  my  arm,  and  putting  his  mouth  to  my  ear : 
"  You  think  this  form  a  borrowed  one :"  he  whis- 
pered,— "  undeceive  yourself.  People  put  on 
masks  to  exhibit  their  characters  undisguised.  I 
really  see  all  that  is  hidden  from  others."" 

"  Then  who  is  it  you  are  speaking  to?"  was  the 
first  question  I  put  to  try  him. 

"  A  stranger :"  was  the  answer. 

"  Doubtless  !  but  from  what  country  ?" 

*'  From  one  to  which  you  have  sworn  in  your 
wrath  never  to  return." 

"  My  name?" 

"  An  appellation  very  early  forsaken." 

"  You  have  seen  me  unmasked." 

"  I  eould  even  tell  you  what  your  own  newly 
adopted  clothes  conceal." 

«  What  r 

"  An  asses  skin  !" 

Here  I  began  to  wax  wroth, — ^but  soon  recollected 
that  Spiridion's  tablets  were  composed  of  the  sub- 
stance so  called.'  To  no  mortal  in  Christendom 
however  had  I  yet  imparted  that  sacred  memento 
still  worn  next  my  heart : — "  Who  can  you  be  ?"  I 
therefore  now  cried,  with  encreasing  surprise. 

"  That  I  came  not  here  to  tell :  but  to  morrow 


ANASTASIUS.  381 

night  at  the  same  hour  meet  me  here  again ;  and 
when  you  see  me  retire,  dare  to  follow  me." 

I  promised,  and  came : — we  withdrew  together  ; 
and,  after  going  the  length  of  three  or  four  streets, 
the  wizzard  entered  a  mean  looking  house,  where  I 
was  ushered  by  him  into  a  room  dimly  lighted,  up 
four  pair  of  stairs. 

Here  my  entertainer  unmasked,  and  to  my  sur- 
prise shewed  features  of  which  I  had  not  the  smallest 
remembrance.  Still  it  was  something  to  see  a  real 
face  of  any  sort  in  so  suspicious  a  place. 

"  Now  tell  me" — said  I 

"  Questions,"  interrupted  the  stranger,  "  are 
here  only  answered  by  the  dead  : — evoke  whom  you 
please." 

In  faultering  accents  I  named  Euphrosyne.  The 
wizzard  shook  his  head.  Then  Helena: — he  frowned. 
— Anagnosti  then !  "  What  demon,"  he  now  cried, 
"  makes  you  enumerate  all  those  whom  you  have 
injured .?'" 

"  You  cannot  raise  spirits ;""  answered  I  sneer- 
ingly. 

"  Name  some  being  you  have  served,  ere  you 
judge,"  replied  the  wizzard: — "  Cirico  for  instance  " 

"  Cirico  is  alive." 

"  He  is  dead :  last  night,  at  Alexandria,  he  fell 
into  a  coma,  and  never  woke  again." 


382  ANASTASIUS. 

"  Then  be  it  Cirico."— And  Cirico  appeared. , 

The  poet  so  evidently  shewed  as  much  of  flesh 
and  blocd  as  ever  had  entered  into  his  spare  compo- 
sition, that  I  ran  to  embrace  him  :  but  I  grasped  only 
unsubstantial  air  !  Startled  at  the  circumstance,  I 
stepped  back:— again  the  spectre  advanced,  and 
probably  by  this  time  I  looked  a  little  scared ;  for 
on  the  phantom  opening  its  mouth  to  begin  a 
solemn  speech,  it  fixed  its  eyes  upon  me,  and  burst 
out  laughing. 

"  Where  ghosts  laugh,"  cried  T,  "  there  needs 
must  he  a  joke:" — and  I  again  sprang  forward. 
Again  the  figure  vanished  ;  but  this  time  no  longer 
dismayed,  I  rushed  on,  overset  every  thing  in  my 
way,  and  groped  about  until  1  hawled  forth  from 
behind  a  table  the  real  Cirico,  whose  imageonly  I  had 
thus  far  seen,  reflected  by  some  optical  contrivance. 

"  And  so  I  catch  you  again,"  1  cried  ;  "  and  at 
your  old  tricks  too  !" 

''  You  do,"  was  the  poet's  reply,  "  but  no  longer 
unwillingly  :  however,— as  this  is  but  an  uncomfort- 
able place, — we  shall  leave  my  Gaetano  to  settle  mat- 
ters here,  and  adjourn  to  a  coffeehouse,  where  I  will 
tell  you  all." 

Seated  in  the  hottega,  over  our  rirvfreschi : 
"  when  you  quitted  Egypt," — began  the  improvisa- 
tore, — "  I  had  just  killed  the  last  princess  of  my 


ANASTASIUS.  383 

tragedy,  and  secured  the  last  sequin  of  my  patron. 
It  therefore  became  expedient  to  return  to  Italy, — 
were  it  only  to  claim  that  diamond  on  your  finger 
there,  which  you  promised  me  for  my  services,  but  in 
your  fainting  fit  on  the  beach  at  Alexandria,  forgot 
to  bestow.  A  plausible  pretence  for  leaving  the 
Consul  was  the  least  of  my  difficulties.  I  asserted 
that  the  operas  which  I  had  spouted  were  mine : 
he  claimed  them  as  his :  we  quarrelled,  and  we 
parted.  I  soon  found  a  passage  straight  for  this 
place,  and  in  this  place  a  patron  in  that  transcendant 

genius  under  whose  roof. " 

''  I  yesterday," — cried  I,  finishing  the  sentence : 
"  met  you,  afraid  of  being  recognised,  and  in 
company  with  a  dancer,  a  fidler,  and  a  scene  shifter. 

But  take  your  stone,  and 

"  Receive  a  billet-doux  in  return," — resumed 
Cirico,  handing  me  a  letter,  of  which  the  very  form 
and  superscription  bespoke  a  female  writer. 

"  What,"  exclaimed  I ;  "  Apollo  turned  Mer- 
cury !" — But  my  suspicions  for  once  did  the  poet 
injustice:  the  letter  was  dated  from  Alexandria, 
and  the  signature,  that  of  the  Consuless,  my  defeat- 
ed adversary. 

''  You  know," — she  wrote, — "  how  at  Smyrna  I 
found  in  a  miserable  hovel  an  infant  unblessed  by 
a  parent's  care.     Both  nurse  and  child  were  pining 


384  ANASTASIUS. 

for  want ;  both  revived  under  my  roof :  but  soon 
the  affections  of  the  servant  wandered  from  her 
charge  to  a  young  Taooshan,  while  mine  became 
wholly  centered  in  the  lovely  boy.  Seeing  him 
hourly  grow  in  all  that  is  excellent,  I  became  so 
wrapped  up  in  the  feelings  and  duties  of  a  mother, 
as  to  forget  that  there  still  existed  a  father, — when 
in  an  evil  hour  you  appeared !" 

"  Parental  rights  over  the  offspring  of  unwedded 
love  are  unacknowledged  in  law,  and  by  you  could 
not  even  be  maintained  in  equity.  Your  child  must 
have  perished  but  for  the  care  of  strangers :  and, 
after  strangers  alone  had  cultivated  its  young  mmd, 
as  well  as  supplied  all  its  wants, — alone  had  rescued  it 
from  ignorance  and  from  vice,  as  well  as  from  misery 
and  death, — it  belonged  not  to  you  to  reap  what  you 
had  not  sowed.  To  have  yielded  up  into  your  un- 
hallowed hands  the  angel,  whose  keen  sensibilities 
I  had  pledged  myself  by  the  very  pains  taken  to 
cherish  them,  never  to  expose  to  the  risk  of  being 
wounded ;  to  have  tamely  suffered  that  angel  to  pass, 
— as  it  was  likely  to  do  under  your  guidance, — not 
only  from  consequence  to  contempt,  and  from  care 
to  neglect,  but  from  purity  to  corruption,  and  from 
happiness  to  misery,  I  must  have  been  bereft  of 
common  humanity :  and  had  you  possessed  the 
feeHng3  of  a  father,  you  yourself  must  have  wished 


ANASTASIUS.  385 

the  tried  and  tender  guardian  of  your  offspring  to 
have  ever  remained,  as  she  was  become,  its  mother.'* 
"  You  did  not:  you  recovered  your  boy,  and 
rendered  me  anew  childless.  Yet  such  is  the  love 
I  still  bear  your  Alexis,  that  for  his  sake  I  even 
humble  myself  before  you,  and  stoop  to  prefer  a 
prayer  to  him  whom  otherwise  I  must  have  cursed  ; 
and  it  is  this  : — that  you  will  duly  weigh  in  your 
mind  the  situation  and  prospects  of  which  your 
rashness  has  robbed  your  child,  by  v/resting  him 
from  my  arms  ;  and  that  you  will  thence  deduce 
how  heavy  is  become  in  his  behalf  your  own  res- 
ponsibility, and  how  much  it  behoves  you  to  do, 
in  order  to  make  him  amends  for  all  he  has  lost. 
Perform  this  with  religious  intentness  ;  be  as  ten- 
der a  father  as  you  have  been  a  thoughtless  one ; 
and  you  may  still  at  her  last  hour  obtain  the  bles- 
sings of  the  once  happy 

Athenats." 

^  This  letter  leaving  me  little  in  a  mood  to  enjoy 
Cirico^s  humour,  I  went  home  immediately,  and 
over  the  very  pillow  of  my  child,  already  hushed  in 
sweet  repose,  vowed  rigidly  to  yierform  its  contents. 
Many  years  before  I  had  received  a  similar  appeal 
to  my  parental  feelings,  in  behalf  of  another  off- 
spring of  my  lawless  passions,  by  another  hapless 
mother,  like  Euphrosyne  deserted  and  dead.     The 

VOL.  III.  C  c 


386  ANASTASIUS. 

two  epistles  seemed  intended  for  companions.  "  ,  If 
I  live,"  thought  I,  "  they  shall  be  hung  up  in  my 
chamber,  be  ever  under  my  eyes ; — and  by  deserving 
the  blessings  promised  in  the  one,  I  may  perhaps 
still  avert  the  curses  threatened  in  the  other  I" 

Meanwhile  I  determined  to  hasten  to  my  desti- 
nation :  for  so  far  from  the  pharmacopeia  of  Italy 
re-establishing  my  Greek  constitution,  I  had  fresh 
and  frequent  returns  of  aggravated  illness,  and  felt 
anxious  at  least  to  leave  my  boy  an  orphan  only 
among  such  as  were  able  to  supply  a  father's  care. 
Oil  mentioning  to  Silva  my  intention  of  quitting 
Naples  :  "  Good  !"''  said  he,  "  I  too  want  to  change 
its  air,  in  order  to  absent  myself  from  a  lady  who 
has  made  love  to  me  so  long  that  she  now  persuades 
herself  it  was  I  who  made  love  to  her,  and  resents 
her  own  mistake  as  my  infidelity.  We  will  travel 
together." 

And  so  we  did.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I 
journeyed  in  a  square  box  on  wheels :  two  servants 
having  their  backs  and  the  two  gentlemen  their  faces 
turned  towards  the  way  we  went ;  while  my  little 
Alexis,  the  most  delighted  and  the  most  amusing  of 
the  party,  sat  between  us  like  a  gem  surrounded  by 
its  inferior  accompaniments. 

As  I  approached  the  ancient  mistress  of  the  world, 
the  eternal  city,  the  destroyer  of  Greece,  my  heart 


ANASTASIUS.  ^       387 

]:)eat  high.  But,  alas  !  If  he  who  names  Rome  names 
energy,  "names  strength,  he  who  beholds  her  in  her 
present  fallen  state,  beholds  nothing  but  feebleness 
and  imbecility: — he  beholds  the  prostrate  members  of 
a  giant,  and  corruption  at  work  among  their  moulder- 
ing remains.  Sheep  graze  round  the  altar  where  cap- 
tive monarchs  were  slaughtered  in  the  name  of  Jove 
the  great  and  the  good,  and  silence  reigns  in  that 
arena  where  eighty  thousand  spectators  coyld  at  once 
count  the  panels  of  wretches,  tortured  in  frightful  re- 
ality to  represent  some  ancient  fable.  The  very 
monuments  of  a  more  recent  date  only  arise,  like 
fresher  weeds,  out  of  the  ashes  of  former  decay : — they 
are  only  the  fungus,  starting  forth  from  the  creviced 
base  of  some  nobler  pile,  and  which,  by  feeding 
on  that  fabric's  substance,  achieves  its  destruction. 

Silva  seemed  to  enjoy  my  disappointment ;  satire 
was  his  profession.  "  These  people,"  said  he,  "  can- 
not prevent  the  sun  of  their  fine  climate  from  shin- 
ing at  its  stated  hours,  but  they  make  their  streets 
impervious  to  its  cheering  light : — a  deep  gloom 
meets  the  eye  wherever  towers  man's  abode.  They 
cannot  prohibit  the  rich  vegetation  of  their  fertile 
soil  from  diffusing  its  fragrance,  but  they  collect 
every  villainous  odour  to  subdue  nature's  sweets,  and 
convert  one  sense  at  least  into  means  of  torture.  They 
cannot  cancel  the  spring's  ancient  privilege  of  ena- 


388  ANASTASIUS. 

mel ling  alike  with  flowers  the  hill  and  the  valley^ 
the  garden  and  desert,  but  they  tarry  in  their  fetid 
town  till  the  magic  has  vanished,  and  autumn  sears 
the  leaf,  and  embrowns  the  parched  meadow  : — no 
one  thinks  of  country  rambles  before  the  >ummer''s 
close.      They  cannot  stop    the  crystal  rills   while 
gushing  down  the  mountain's  slope,  but  they  suflPer 
their  acqueducts  to  ooze  out  th€  captive  stream,  and 
to  convert  the  healthy  plain  into  a  pestilential  marsh. 
They  cannot  dive  into  the  inmostrecesses  of  the  hu- 
man brain,  to  nip  in  its  very  first  germs  every  bright- 
est faculty,  but,  conducting  its  developments  as  the 
Chinese  do  that  of  their  peach  and  plum  trees,  they 
encompass  each  tender  shoot  of  the  intellect  with  so 
many  minute  fetters,  religious,  political  and  social, 
that  dwarfs  are  produced  where  giants  were  intend- 
ei.     Their  manuscripts  are  not  suffered  to  be  in- 
spected ;    their  pictures  are  left  to  rot ;   their  very 
city  has  been  allowed  to  slip  from  its  seven  hills 
into  the  sink  between.     They  clip  their  trees  into 
men,  and  their  men  into  singers.    In  their  vaunted 
Last  Judgment  heaven  appears  far  more  dismal  than 
hell.     Their  law  deems  infamous  not  the  thief,  but 
the  magistrate — the  bargello.     Their  tribunals  sell 
justice  to  the  highest  bidder ;  their  churches  protect 
from  it  the  criminal ;   and  the  huge  temple  on  which 
we  now  stand  (for  from  St.   Peter's  proud  dome 


ANASTASIUS.  389 

^'ent  forth  this  bitter  diatribe) — built  at  the  expense 
of  all  Christendom  on  a  foundation  which  stands 
awry,  and  with  a  cupola  which  yawns  with  rents, 
— contains  absolutions  for  every  sin  as  well  as  confes- 
sionals appropriated  to  every  language.  A  priest, 
habituated  only  to  the  duties  of  humility  and 
obedience  during  the  greatest  portion  of  his  life,  near 
its  close  becomes  the  sovereign,  and  assumes  the  su- 
preme power  when  his  failing  faculties  fit  him  to 
think  only  of  death  :  and  as  each  inferior  member  of 
the  imbecile  government  like  its  tottering  chief  must 
forego  a  lawful  lineage,  so  are  of  each  statesman  the 
views  oblique,  and  the  ways  devious  and  crooked. 
The  word  virtue  indeed  exists  in  the  language,  but 
is  applied  to  skill  in  singing ;  and  as  to  valour,  the 
former  signification  of  the  same  word,  it  is  a  quality 
which  during  so  many  ages  has  been  let  out  for  hire, 
iirst  in  the  gross  by  the  condottiere,  and  next  more 
in  detail  by  the  professed  bravo,  that  it  is  become 
discreditable,  and  cowardice,  under  the  name  of 
caution,  forms  not  only  the  privilege  of  the  priest, 
but  the  |)nde  of  the  cavalier.  Visit  a  friend  in  the 
day  time  and  he  surveys  you  through  a  grated 
hole  in  his  entrance  door,  ere  he  dares  to  let  you 
in :  venture  out  at  night,  a  ad  from  a  distance  you 
are  bidden  to  avert  your  eyes,  lest  one  murder  wit- 
nessed should  necessitate  a  second.  The  very  head  of 


S90  ANASTASIUS. 

the  church  when  in  the  holy  of  the  hohes,  dares  not 
take  the  consecrated  wine  except  through  a  gilded 
reed,  lest  his  lips  should  suck  in  poison  ;  and  in 
the  heart  of  his  capital  the  Pontiff  of  Rome  keeps 
in  his  pay — for  the  safety  of  his  person — the  rude 
mountaineer  of  Swisserland,  as  your  Turkish  pa- 
sha does  the  barbarian  from  Epirus  and  from  Coor- 
destan.  Thank  God  however,  this  map  of  imbeci- 
lity and  vice  hies  fast  to  its  fate  :  for  if  by  a  late 
submission  which  the  Romans  call  a  treaty,  the 
rotten  grant  of  St.  Peter's  rich  domain  is  yet  saved 
a  while  from  utter  ruin,  its  seals  are  all  torn  off,  and 
its  ornaments  effaced/  Nature  herself  conspires 
with  man  in  the  work  of  just  destruction.  In  that 
sky  so  transparent  lurks  a  permanent  poison,  which, 
formerly  only  creeping  like  the  adder  along  the 
hollow  valley,  now  soars  like  the  eagle  above  the 
steepest  hill,  and  invades  the  last  abodes  once  safe 
from  its  intrusion.  Thus  shall  soon  the  world's 
ancient  mistress  again  return  to  nought ;  and  as  the 
herdsman  erst  wandered  in  solitude  where  Rome 
in  later  days  arose,  so  shall  the  herdsman  again 
wander  in  solitude  where  Rome  has  ceased  to  be." 

Silva  here  ending  his  effusion,  we  again  began  to 
descend  the  thousand  and  one  steps  wliich  we  had, 
to  my  great  fatigue,  ascended.  In  the  midst  of  our 
downward  progress  my  companion  abruptly  stopped 


ANASTASIUS.  391 

short,  as  if  struck  with  a  sudden  thought.  "  So 
near  the  abode  of  your  ancient  Gods,  "  he  cried, 
''  they  might  feel  offended  if  we  did  not  pay  them 
a  farewell  visit,  previous  to  their  forced  departure 
for  the  banks  of  the  Seine.  This  is  their  second 
grand  removal  since  the  davs  of  Praxiteles. — Let  us 
go  to  the  Vatican,  and  see  them  packing  up." 

Already  tired,  and  somewhat  peevish  with  en- 
creasing  weakness :  "am  I  not  sick  enough"" — cried 
I, — "  of  real  man,  that  I  must  run  after  his  image 
in  stone  and  brass  ?'"*  but  after  some  ineffectual 
resistance  at  last  suffered  myself  to  be  over-ruled. 
When  indeed  I  beheld  what  was  called  the  Apollo, 
the  Mercury,  the  Jupiter,  the  Venus,  and  the  other 
gods  and  goddesses  of  my  forefathers,  I  cannot  deny 
that  I  felt  pleasure,  "  And  can  these  fair  forms,*" 
— thought  I  to  myself — "  have  been  the  production 
of  demons  and  of  witchcraft  ?  Can  it  be  Satan  that 
smiles  on  those  lovely  lips  ?  If  so,  ah,  wh?:t  cpuld 
withstand  his  wiles  !" — and  with  one  deep  sigh  my 
heart  absolved  all  paganism.  I  almost  wished  to 
have  lived  in  those  ages  and  amid  that  worship 
whose  wrecks  still  looked  so  attractive;  and  I  repined 
at  the  gloom  of  a  religion  whose  temples,  adorned 
like  charnel-houses,  display  even  in  the  freshness  of 
the  finest  marbles,  the  features  of  death  and  the 
forms  of  corruption. 


39^  ANASTASIUS. 

Scarcely  had  we  reached  our  lodging  when  Silvs 
was  called  upon  by  a  friend,  who  ad'ised  him  to 
leave  Rome  immediately,  lest  he  should  be  entombed 
alive  in  the  mausoleum  which  emperor  Adrian  only 
destined  for  his  repose  after  death." 

"  What  have  I  done,"*  cried  Silva,  astonished, 
"  to  be  thus  treated  to  the  honors  of  a  state  crimi- 
nal ?"— 'Assassination,  blasphemy,  profanation  would 
have  been  overlooked  in  this  indulgent  place :  but 
can  I  have  said  that  the  Pope  starved  his  subjects 
to  enrich  his  nephew  Braschi,  or  that  the  nephew 
sold  the  state  to  buy  the  Pontine  marshes? — can  I 
have  maintained  that  prince  B6rghese'*s  gems  were 
modern,  or  princess  Lanti's  charms  antique? — In 
fine,  can  I  have  admired  Pasquino's  wit,  or  abused 
Pius's  leg  ?*' 

.  "  You  once  returned  a  bow  from  the  arch-fiend 
Cagliostro,"  answered  the  friend,  "  — and  asserted 
that  free  masonry  need  not  always  harbour  trea- 
son/' 

''  If  so,"  exclaimed  Silva,  "  let  us  depart  this 
instant !  From  real  offenQps  I  might,  at  Rome  at 
least,  have  escaped.  With  imaginary  crimes  there 
is  no  contending." 

Accordingly  we  set  off  the  same  evening,  in  the 
\ery  teeth  of  the  still  white  and  threatening  Apen- 
nines,— I,  leaving  a  hundred  plans  unexecuted  and 


ANASTASIUS.  393 

performances  unfinished,  connected  with  my  Alexis. 
On  contemplating  from  the  last  hill  which  allowed 
a  view  of  Rome — as  if  painted  on  the  bar  of  gold  left 
by  its  setting  sun — that  long  range  of  purple  domes 
so  beautiful  in  its  appearance,  and  yet  destined  to 
so  speedy  a  decline,  I  felt  amid  my  own  accelerat- 
ing steps  towards  dissolution,  some  comfort  in  the 
thought  that,  like  the  lowliest  individuals,  the  proud- 
est empires  of  the  present  day  were  hastening  to- 
wards a  certain  and  a  proximate  end. 

The  ascent  of  the  mountains  seemed  to  last  an 
eternity.  At  Narni  we  found  every  horse  in  the 
place  engaged  for  Arezzo :  at  Terni  the  same  ;  and 
the  same  at  Spoleto.  Nor  was  it  otherwise  at  Fo- 
ligno.  I  began  to  complain,  but  excited  little 
sympathy.  *  "  When  saints  perform  miracles,'"  was 
the  answer,  "  sinners  should  stay  at  home.'*'  A 
person  enclined  to  cavil  might  have  replied  that 
three  drunken  ccblers  reeling  in  a  wine  vault, 
could  see  the  madonna  roll  her  eyes  about  any 
where  as  well  as  at  Arezzo : — but  the  prodigy  w^as 
become  a  mine  of  wealth  to  its  before  distressed 
church,  and  I  held  my  tongue.  "  Truth,"  as  Silva 
observed,  "  is  a  bad  travelling  companion.'" 

After  passing  through  several  cities  which  looked 
like  the  deserted  habitations  of  the  Titans,  in  which 


394  ANASTASIUS. 

had  crept  a  race  of  pigmies,  we  arrived  at  Loretto, 
where,  pulled  one  way  by  a  guardian  of  the  holy 
house,  anxious  that  I  should  wipe  away  my  old 
sins,  and  the  other  by  a  fair  vender  of  crucifixes, 
desirous  that  I  should  commence  a  new  score,  I  was 
only  saved  from  leaving  my  cloak  in  the  hands  of 
the  syren,  by  a  pilgrim  who  had  stolen  it  before. 

At  Ancona  Silva  pressed  me  to  go  on  with  him 
to  Venice.  "  The  sun  of  St.  Mark  indeed  is  set :" 
he  cried,  —  "  its  proud  Aristocrats  were  so  long 
considering  to  whom  they  should  sell  themselves, 
that  the  bargain  was  struck  at  last  without  their 
participation :  but,  though  Austria  has  finally 
swallowed  up  the  fat  and  torpid  oyster  of  the 
lagunas,  the  empty  shell  is  still  worth  beholding. 

"  Silva," — was  my  answer,  ''  were  I  still  the  man 
T  was,  I  might  perhaps  (whether  right  or  wrong) 
wish  to  become  something  more  than  a  mere  spec- 
tator of  European  changes.  At  a  moment  when  all 
the  old  monarchies  of  Europe  are  ploughing  up  to 
receive  the  seeds  of  a  more  promising  system,  I 
might  myself  like  to  assist  in  somewhere  planting 
that  tree  without  roots  of  which  the  fruits  are  yet 
worth  gathering :  but  you  need  only  look  at  me  to 
see  that  the  gods  no  longer  permit  my  health  the 
exertion,  or   my    spirits   the   hazard."      "  Here,'" 


ANASTASIUS.  395 

added  I,  " — laying  my  hand  on  my  Alexis'  curly 
head,  — "  is  the  sole  remaining  object  of  all  ray 
solicitude.  Him  I  wish  to  place  in  a  safe  harbour. 
Do  you  then  jolt  on  to  Venice.  As  to  me  I  must 
be  carried,  as  it  shall  please  the  winds  and  waves,  to 
Trieste.'' 

And  ill  it  pleased  these  capricious,  these  democra- 
tic powers,  to  smooth  my  journey  in  the  small  fe- 
lucca in  which  I  embarked,  the  day  after  I  had 
celebrated  the  accomplishment  of  my  boy's  fifth 
year.  Scarce  had  we  been  six  hours  at  sea  when 
there  arose  from  the  north-west  a  most  tremendous 
storm.  We  closed  our  hatches,  took  in  as  much 
sail  as  possible,  and  prepared  to  meet  the  hurricane. 
Every  instant  it  encreased,  and  at  last  the  sea  ran 
so  high  that  our  deck  was  completely  under  water. 
The  vessel  soon  sprung  a  leak,  and  the  hold  filled 
so  fast  that  every  man  who  could  be  spared  from 
the  deck,  ran  to  the  pumps  : — I  among  the  rest,  as 
soon  as  I  had  lashed  my  poor  boy  to  his  crib ; 
—though  small  was  my  strength,  and  trifling  my 
assistance. 

Contrary  to  every  suggestion  of  common  sense 
the  re'is  resolved  to  run  in  between  the  nearest  islets 
on  the  coast  of  Dalmatia.  It  was  in  vain  to  repre- 
sent the  danger  of  striking  against  some  hidden  reef, 
or  stranding  upon  a  lee-shore ;   and  we  only  won- 


396  ANASTASIUS. 

dered  which  of  the  two  would  be  our  fate,  when 
providentially  the  storm  abated  as  suddenly  as  it 
had  arisen,  and  enabled  us  with  our  ship  full  of 
water,  and  our  rigging  all  in  tatters,  to  put  into  a 
little  creek  on  the  island  of  Melada.  Here  we  found 
a  Ragusan  vessel,  driven  in  by  the  same  storm,  but 
with  a  miserably  foul  bill  of  health  ;  in  so  much 
that  the  crews  unguardedly  mixing,  we  learnt  to 
our  great  dismay  that  we  must  make  up  our  minds, 
on  our  arrival  at  Trieste,  to  a  fresh  quarantine. 

I  now  recollected  that  just  at  midnight,  and  when 
the  storm  raged  most  furiously,  a  tremendous  flash 
of  lightning,  which  seemed  to  set  the  heavens  on  fire, 
had  for  a  moment  brought  before  my  dazzled  eyes 
the  frightful  vision  of  the  spectre-ship,  doomed, 
as  I  was  told,  ever  to  sail  with  unstayed  speed 
round  the  globe,  announcing  destruction  to  the 
crews  to  which  it  shewed  itself  It  appeared  as  if 
advancing  full  sail  upon  our  vessel,  and  on  the  point 
of  cutting  it  in  two,  when  its  form  again  vanished ; 
and  I  now  doubted  not  that  we  must  all  fall  victims 
to  the  plague  : — but  on  enquiry,  none  save  myself 
had  seen  the  phantom. 


ANASTASIUS.  397 


CHAPTER  XV. 

As  soon  as  the  damage   was  repaired,   we   again 

hurried  on  board  and  put  to  sea.     All  now  looked 

most  propitious.    Nothing  could  exceed  the  serenity 

of  the  weather :  we  skudded  right  before  the  wind — 

now  become  a  steady  breeze  ;  and  though  my  health 

had  not  greatly  benefited  by  my  late  severe  labour, 

yet  the  sea- air  seemed  a  balm  destined  to  heal  the 

injuries  of  the  sea-water.  My  aches  were  less  acute, 

and  my  spirits  more  buoyant  than  for  some  time 

past ;  and  as  I  lay  on  the  deck  basking  in  the  April 

sun,  with  the  purple  dolphins  sporting  around  the 

ship,  and  my  own  little  cherub  playing  by  my  side, 

more  visions  of  delights  unutterable  danced  in  my 

imagination,  than  there  sparkled  liquid  diamonds 

upon  the  azure  wave.      With  that   yet   untasted 

repose  which  I  should  now  soon  enjoy,  my  ailments, 

I  thought,  might  still  slovvly  subside :    or,  if  I  was 

doomed  never  more  to  recover  my  former  vigour, 

what  then  ?  It  was  neither  in  the  palasstra  nor  on 

the  race  ground  that  I  purposed  to  shine.    I  should 

only  be  the  fitter  for  that  tranquil  life,  henceforth 


398  ANASTASIUS. 

the  only  object  of  my  tempered  wishes.  My  cousin's, 
letter  had  promised  me  a  brilliant  lot,  and — what 
was  better — my  own  pockets  ensured  me  a  decent 
competence.  The  refinements  of  an  European 
education  should  add  every  external  elegance  to  my 
boy's  innate  excellence,  and,  having  myself  mo- 
derately enjoyed  the  good  things  of  this  world, 
while  striving  to  deserve  the  better  promised  in  the 
next,  i  should,  ere  my  friends  became  tired  of  my 
dotage,  resign  my  last  breath  in  the  arms  of  my 
child. 

The  blue  sky  seemed  to  smile  upon  my  cheerful 
thoughts,  and  the  green  wave  to  murmur  approba- 
tion of  my  plan.  Almighty  God  !  What  was  there 
in  it  so  heinous,  to  deserve  that  an  inexorable  fate 
should  cast  it  to  the  winds. 

In  the  midst  of  my  dream  of  happiness  my  eye 
fell  upon  the  darling  object  in  which  centered  all  its 
sweets.  Insensibly  my  child's  prattle  had  diminished, 
and  had  at  last  subsided  in  an  unusual  silence.  I 
thought  he  looked  pale : — his  eyes  seemed  heavy, 
and  his  lips  felt  parched.  The  rose,  that  every  morn- 
ing still  so  fresh,  so  erect  on  its  stalk,  at  mid-da^ 
hung  its  heavy  head,  discoloured,  wan,  and  fading : 
— ^but  so  frequently  had  the  billows,  during  the 
fury  of  the  storm,  drenched  my  boy's  little  crib, 
that  I  could  not  wonder  he  should  have  felt  their 


ANASTASIUS.  899 

effect^  in  a  severe  cold,  I  put  him  to  bed,  and  tried 
to  hush  him  to  sleep.  Soon  however  his  face  grew 
flushed,  and  his  puJse  became  feverish.  I  failed 
alike  in  my  endeavours  to  procure  him  repose  and 
to  afford  him  amusement : — but  though  play  things 
were  repulsed,  and  tales  no  longer  attended  to,  still 
he  could  not  bear  me  an  instant  out  of  his  sight ; 
nor  would  he  take  any  thing  except  at  my  hands. 
Even  when — as  too  soon  it  did — his  reason  began 
to  wander,  his  filial  affection  retained  its  pristine 
hold  of  his  heart.  It  had  grown  into  an  adoration 
of  his  equally  doating  father ;  and  the  mere  con- 
sciousness of  my  presence  seemed  to  relieve  his  un- 
easiness. 

Had  not  my  feelings,  a  few  moments  only  before, 
been  those  of  such  exceeding  happiness,  I  should 
not  so  soon  perhaps  have  conceived  great  alarm : 
but  I  had  throughout  life  found  every  extraordinary 
burst  of  joy  followed  by  some  unforeseen  calamity; 
and  my  exultation  had  just  risen  to  so  unusual  a 
pitch,  that  a  deep  dismay  now  at  once  struck  me  to 
the  heart.  I  felt  convinced  that  I  had  only  been 
carried  to  so  high  a  pinnacle  of  joy,  in  order  to  be 
hurled  with  greater  ruin  into  an  abyss  of  woe.  Such 
became  my  anxiety  to  reach  Trieste,  and  to  obtain 
the  best  medical  assistance,  that  even  while  the  ship 
continued  to  cleave  the  waves  like  an  arrow,  I  fancied 


400  ANASTASIUS. 

it  lay  like  a  log  upon  the  main.  How  then  did  my 
pangs  increase  when,^as  if  in  resentment  of  my  un- 
just complaints,  the  breeze,  dying  away,  really  left 
our  keel  motionless  on  the  waters.  My  anguish 
baflfled  all  expression. 

In  truth  I  do  not  know  how  I  preserved  my  sen- 
ses, except  from  the  need  I  stood  in  of  their  aid  : — 
for  while  we  lay  cursed  with  absolute  immobility, 
and  the  sun  ever  found  us  on  rising  in  the  same 
place  V  here  it  had  left  us  at  setting,  my  child — my 
darling  child — was  every  instant  growing  worse,  and 
sinking  apace  under  the  pressure  of  illness.  To  the 
deep  and  flushing  glow  of  a  complexion  far  exceed- 
ing in  its  transient  brilliancy  even  the  brightest  hues 
of  health,  had  succeeded  a  settled,  unchanging, 
deadly  paleness.  His  eye,  whose  round  full  orb 
was  wont  to  beam  upon  me  with  mild  but  fervent 
radiance,  now  dim  and  wandering,  for  the  most 
part  remained  half  closed;  and,  when — roused  by  my 
address — the  idol  of  my  heart  strove  to  raise  his  lan- 
guid look,  and  to  meet  the  fearful  enquiries  of  mine, 
he  only  shewed  all  the  former  fire  of  his  countenance 
extinct.  In  the  more  violent  bursts  indeed  of  his 
unceasing  delirium,  his  wasting  features  sometimes 
acquired  a  fresh  but  sad  expression.  He  would 
then  start  up,  and  with  his  feeble  hands  clasped 
together,   and   big   tears   rolling   down   his   faded 


ANASTASIUS.  401 

cheeks,  beg  in  the  most  moving  terms  to  be  restored 
to  his  home:  but  mostly  he  seemed  absorbed  in 
inward  musings,  and — no  longer  taking  note  of  the 
passing  hour — he  frequently  during  the  course  of 
the  day  moved  his  pallid  lips,  as  if  repeating  to 
himself  the  little  prayer  which  he  had  been  wont 
to  say  at  bed  time  and  at  rising,  and  the  blessings 
I  had  taught  him  to  add,  addressed  to  his  mother 
in  behalf  of  his  father.  If, — wretched  to  see  him 
thus,  and  doubly  agonised  to  think  that  I  alone  had 
been  the  cause — I  burst  out  into  tears  which  I 
strove  to  hide,  his  perception  of  outward  objects 
seemed  all  at  once  for  a  moment  to  return.  He 
asked  me  whether  I  was  hurt,  and  would  lament 
that,  young  and  feeble  as  he  was,  he  could  not  yet 
nurse  me  as  he  wished  ; — but  promised  me  better 
care  when  he  should  grow  stronger. 

In  this  \Yay  hour  after  hour  and  day  aft^r  day 
rolled  on,  without  any  progress  in  our  voyage, 
while  all  I  had  left  to  do  was  to  sit  doubled  over  my 
child's  couch,  watching  all  his  wants,  and  studying 
all  his  looks, — trying,  but  in  vain,  to  discover  some 
amendment.  "  O  for  those  days  !"" — I  now  thought, 
— "  when  a  calm  at  sea  appeared  an  intolerable 
evil,  only  because  it  stopped  some  tide  of  folly,  or 
delayed  some  scheme  of  vice  !"" 

At  last  one  afternoon,  when,  totally  exhausted 
with  want  of  sleep,  I  sat  down  by  my  child  in  all 

VOL.  III.  D  d 


402  ANASTASIUS. 

the  composure  of  torpid  despair,  the  sailors  rushed 
in  one  and  all : — for  even  they  had  felt  my  agony, 
and  doated  on  my  hoy.  They  came  to  cheer  me 
with  better  tidings.  A  breeze  had  just  sprung  up  ! 
The  waves  had  again  begun  to  ripple,  and  the  lazy 
keel  to  stir.  As  minute  pressed  on  minute  the 
motion  of  the  ship  became  swifter  ;  and  presently, 
— as  if  nothing  had  been  wanting  but  a  first  impulse, 
— we  again  dashed  through  the  waves  with  all  our 
former  speed. 

Every  hour  now  brought  us  visibly  nearer  the 
inmost  recess  of  the  deep  Adriatic,  and  the  end  of 
our  journey.  Pola  seemed  to  glide  by  like  a  vision : 
presently  we  passed  Fiume :  we  saw  Capo  d'lstria 
but  a  few  minutes:  — at  last  we  descried  Trieste 
itself !  Another  half  hour,  and  every  separate  house 
became  visible ;  and  not  long  after  we  ran  full  sail 
into  the  harbour.  I'he  sails  were  taken  in,  the 
anchor  was  dropped,  and  a  boat  instantly  came 
along  side. 

All  the  necessary  preparations  had  been  made  for 
immediately  conveying  my  patient  on  shore.  Wrap- 
ped up  in  a  shawl,  he  was  lifted  out  of  his  crib,  laid 
on  a  pillow,  and  lowered  into  the  boat,  where  I  held 
him  in  my  lap,  protected  to  the  best  of  my  power 
from  the  roughness  of  the  blast  and  the  dashing  of 
the  spray,  until  we  reached  the  quay. 

In  my  distress  I  had  totally  forgotten  the  taint 


ANASTASIUS.  403 

contracted  at  Melada,  and  had  purposed,  the 
instant  we  stepped  on  shore,  to  carry  my  child 
straight  to  a  physician.  New  anguish  pierced  my 
soul  when  two  bayonets  crossed  upon  my  breast 
forced  me,  in  spite  of  my  alternate  supplication  and 
rage,  to  remain  on  the  jettee,  there  to  wait  his 
coming  and  his  previous  scrutiny  of  all  our  healthy 
crew.  All  I  could  obtain  as  a  special  favour  was 
a  messenger  to  hurry  his  approach,  while,  panting 
for  his  arrival,  I  sat  down  with  my  Alexis  in  my 
arms  under  a  low  shed  which  kept  off  a  pelting 
shower.  I  scarce  know  how  long  this  situation 
lasted.  My  mind  was  so  wrapped  up  in  the  danger 
of  my  boy  as  to  remain  wholly  unconscious  of  the 
bustle  around,  except  when  the  removal  of  some 
cask  or  barrel  forced  me  to  shift  my  station.  Yet, 
while  wholly  deaf  to  the  unceasing  din  of  the 
place,  I  could  discern  the  faintest  rumour  that 
seemed  to  announce  the  approaching  physician.  O 
how  I  cursed  his  unfeeling  delay:  how  I  would 
have  paved  his  way  with  gold,  to  have  hastened  his 
coming! — and  yet  a  something  whispered  con- 
tinually in  my  ear  that  the  utmost  speed  of  man  no 
longer  could  avail. 

Ah  !  that  at  least,  confirmed  in  this  sad  per- 
suasion, I  might  have  tasted  the  heart-rending  plea- 
sure of  bestowing  upon  my  departing  child  the  last 


404  ANASTASIUS. 

earthly  endearments  ! — but,  tranquil,  composed 
and  softly  slumbering  as  he  looked,  I  feared  to  dis- 
turb a  repose,  on  which  I  founded  my  only  remain- 
ing hopes.  All  at  once,  in  the  midst  of  my  des- 
pair, I  saw  a  sort  of  smile  light  up  my  darling's 
features,  and,  hard  as  I  strove  to  guard  against  all 
vain  illusions,  I  could  not  at  this  sight  stop  a  ray  of 
gladness  from  gliding  unchecked  into  my  trembling 
heart.  Short  however  was  the  joy  :  soon  vanished 
the  deceitful  symptom  !  On  a  closer  view  it  only 
appeared  to  have  been  a  slight  convulsion  which 
had  hurried  over  my  child's  now  tranquil  counte- 
nance, as  will  sometimes  dart  over  the  smooth  mirror 
of  a  dormant  lake  the  image  of  a  bird  in  the  air.  It 
looked  like  the  response  of  a  departing  angel,  to 
those  already  on  high,  that  hailed  his  speedy  coming. 
The  soul  of  my  Alexis  was  fast  preparing  for 
its  flight. 

Lest  he  might  feel  ill  at  ease  in  my  lap,  I  laid 
him  down  upon  my  cloak,  and  kneeled  by  his  side 
to  watch  the  growing  change  in  his  features.  The 
present  now  was  all  to  me :  the  future  I  knew  I  no 
longer  should  reck.  Feeling  my  breath  close  to  his 
cheek,  he  half  opened  his  eye,  looked  as  if  after  a 
long  absence  again  suddenly  recognising  his  father, 
and — putting  out  his  httle  mouth — seemed  to  crave 
one  last   token  of  love.     The  temptation  was  too 


ANASTASIUS.  405 

powerfuJ :  I  gently  pressed  my  lip  upon  that  of  my 
babe,  and  gathered  from  it  the  proffered  kiss. 
Life's  last  faint  spark  was  just  going  Ibrth,  and  I 
caught  it  on  the  threshold.  Scarce  had  I  drawn 
back  my  face,  when  all  respiration  ceased.  His  eye- 
strings  broke,  his  features  fell,  and  his  limbs  stiffened 
for  ever.  All  was  over :  Alexis  was  no  more — Eu- 
phrosyne  avenged, — and  Anastasius  the  wretch  he 
had  long  deserved  to  be ! 

I  shed  no  tears  ;  I  moaned  not ;  I  made  myself 
not  a  spectacle  for  the  gaping  multitude :  but, 
ordered  to  the  Lazaretto,  I  threw  my  cloak  over 
what  had  been  my  heart's  best  treasure,  and^  with 
the  sacred  burthen  in  my  arms,  silently  proceeded 
to  where  I  was  shewn  my  temporary  prison.  There, 
in  the  lonely  cell  allotted  for  my  more  favoured  con- 
finement, I  found  leisure  to  make  myself  acquainted 
with  my  grief,  and  to  contemplate  in  its  altered — its 
new  condition,  that  countenance,  that  form  and 
those  features,  once  all  the  company  I  coveted  upon 
this  globe,  and  now  leaving  me  in  solitude,  though 
placed  by  my  side. 

At  the  outset  of  my  voyage  from  the  East,  when, 
on  recovering  my  scattered  senses,  the  first  object 
which  met  m}'^  eyes  was  my  adored  child,  after 
infinite  toil  and  misgivings  at  last  safe  in  my  pos- 
session, I  had  in  all  the  ecstacy  of  unutterable  joy, 


406  ANASTAPIUS. 

fallen  on  my  knees  beside  the  sweet  babe,  wrapt  in 
soft  slumbers  before  me.  Now,  at  the  close  of  the 
same  voyage,  and  arrived  at  the  place  of  my  long 
looked-for  destination,  but  with  my  hopes  entirely 
blasted,  my  happiness  destroyed,  and  the  being  for 
whom  all  was  undertaken  and  achieved  no  more,  I 
knelt  a  second  time  in  all  the  agony  of  grief  beyond 
utterance  beside  that  same  beloved  boy,  again  lying 
before  me,  but — a  breathless  corpse  !  At  first 
indeed  I  gazed  as  if  insensible  of  the  awful  change. 
My  mind  was  so  confused,  so  bewildered,  that — 
perhaps  from  excess  of  grief— I  seemed  not  to  feel 
at  all,  and  could  only  upbraid  myself  for  my  strange 
insensibility.  My  imagination  refused  to  conceive 
that  lovely  frame,  so  lately  still  the  seat  of  the 
warmest  affection  and  the  tenderest  piety,  as  nothing 
now  but  a  clod  of  icy  clay,  unconscious  of  my 
anguish,  insensible  to  my  embrace.  Steadfastly 
as  I  contemplated  my  wretchedness,  it  was  so  great 
that  neither  eye  nor  intellect  could  compass  its 
extent . — and  for  a  while  I  thought  I  must  be 
labouring  under  some  dreadful  dream,  whose  illu- 
sion would  vanish,  and  whose  end  would  be  my 
waking. 

But  when,  from  the  object  immediately  before  me 
I  carried  my  eye  to  more  distant  points,  to  wider 
circles  of  time  and  space : — when  I  reflected  that  on 


ANASTASIUS.  407 

my  child  alone  I  had  built  all  my  remaining  pros- 
pects of  earthly  comfort  and  joy  ;  that  for  my  child 
alone  I  had  left  country,  home,  and  friends — and 
had  come  to  encounter  strange  regions,  climes,  and 
people  ;  that  to  my  child's  converse  alone  I  looked 
for  all  the  solace  of  what  few  days  might  still  be 
vouchsafed  me,  as  well  as  to  his  piety  for  the  few 
flowers  that  at  my  death  might  deck  my  bier  ;  that 
in  his  beloved  arms  I  had  hoped  to  breathe  my  last ; 
nay,  that  a  thousand  limes  in  the  idle  fancies  of  my 
entranced  brain  I  had  flattered  myself  with  leaving 
him  such  a  blessing  to  the  world  as  by  the  virtues 
of  the  son  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  the  father,  and  to 
cause  the  sire  himself  to  be  blessed  in  his  offspring  ; 
and  when  from  these  excursions  of  my  distracted 
mind  I  reverted  to  what  was  left  me  of  these  fond 
and  foolish  visions, — then  it  was  that  my  grief  at  last 
forced  its  way  through  the  weight  of  bodily  stupor 
by  which  it  seemed  compressed,  and  that  the  flood- 
gates of  my  tears,  long  locked,  at  last  burst  open. 
Then  did  my  encreased  agony  find  vent,  and  no 
longer  wear  the  semblance  of  a  stone-like  apathy. 

It  was  not  my  child  whose  change  demanded  pity. 
He  had  indeed  by  my  ill-fated  fondness  been  torn 
from  a  scene  of  every  bliss  which  could  surround 
his  tender  years.  From  a  nursery  of  comforts  he 
had  been  taken  by  force  on  a  journey  of  privations 


408  ANASTASIUS. 

and  perils,  and  his  series  of  youthful  sufferings  had 
ended  in  a  painful  illness  and  a  premature  death: 
— ^but  what   of  that  ?     Heaven,  it  has  long  been 
acknowledged,  marks  its  favourites  by  an  early  re- 
moval from  this  abode  of  sorrow.    My  child's  short 
cares  were  over  ;  and  his  irksome  career  closed  at  its 
very  outset.     He  had  quitted  a  world  of  bitterness 
and  corruption,  ere  yet  his   susceptible  heart  had 
felt  its   cruel  thorns,  or  his  pure  mind  had  been 
sulhed  by  its  foulness.     Called  away,  while  in  the 
gay  spring  of  his  existence  tears  only  soft  as  April 
showers  had  yet  bedewed  his  rosy  cheeks,  he  had 
been  wafted  on  high,  still  robed  in  all  the  brightness 
of  his  native  innocence,  and,  ere  his  guileless  mind 
could  yet  have  lost  aught  of  its  holiness,  he  had 
joined   his  brother  angels  in  the  realms   of  bhss 
eternal.  There, — while  his  father  was  still  struggling 
on  the  stormy  sea  of  life, — he,  already  safe  from  ill, 
dwelt  in  endless  glory  in  the  bosom  of  his  Maker. 

But  I — I  alone — remained  oppressed  by  a  weight 
of  woe  unutterable  !  Partly  by  chance,  partly  from 
my  own  fault,  every  relation,  every  friend,  every 
common  acquaintance  with  which  I  had  commenced 
life — estranged  by  degrees  through  my  own  way- 
ward conduct — had  left  me  a  being  wholly  insulated, 
precisely  at  that  age  when,  weaned  from  a  deceit- 
ful world,  man  begins  to  want  comfort  at  home. 


ANASTASIUS.  409 

Frightened  at  my  encreasing  loneliness,  I  had  in  my 
turn  looked  out  for  a  something  on  which  to  bestow 
those  affections,  doomed  to  run  to  waste  just  as  they 
began  to  rise.  Long  I  sought ;  often  fancied  I 
held ;  and  often  again  either  rejected  or  lost  the 
prize.  At  last  Heaven  seemed  to  smile  upon  a 
blameless  feeling.  After  much  anxiety  and  sore 
disappointment,  I  found  the  wished-for  object — 
and  found  it  in  my  own  child,  long  severed  from 
my  arms. 

Him  I  beheld  where  I  could  least  have  expected 
it :  him,  after  much  fear  and  doubt,  I  regained ; 
and  him  I  thenceforth  destined  to  become  my 
only  solace, — the  support  and  the  joy  of  my  re- 
maining life.  That,  with  regard  to  this  last  and 
dearest  treasure  of  my  soul  I  had,  for  once,  acted  up 
to  my  fair  intentions  and  fulfilled  all  my  duties,  my 
heart  bore  me  witness.  From  the  moment  I 
obtained  possession  of  my  Alexis  he  became  the 
sole  object  of  my  unceasing  solicitude,  the  sole 
theme  of  my  constant  contemplation.  Casting  off  all 
other  thoughts,  spurning  far  away  from  me  all  other 
vain  pursuits  ;  no  longer  caring  for  aught  of  whicli 
he  was  not  the  sole  end  and  motive,  nor  engaging 
in  aught  which  promoted  not  his  benefit,  1 4le voted 
to  him  all  the  strength  of  my  body,  and  all   the 


410  ANASTASIUS. 

powers  of  my  mind :  I  watched  over  his  develop- 
ment by  day  and  by  night. 

Heaven  seemed  for  a  while  determined  to  reward 
with  its  utmost  liberality  so  irreproachable  a  sentiment. 
Almost  from  the  first  hour  of  my  possessing  him  I 
reaped  every  day  some  fresh  fruit  of  my  care,  and 
received  earnests  every  day  of  far  richer  fruits  still 
ripening.  My  Alexis  possessed  exquisite  faculties  ; 
and  the  slightest  culture  sufficed  to  elicit  them.  At 
first  indeed  he  had  looked  upon  me  as  an  enemy ; 
as  one  who  had  torn  him  forcibly  from  his  friends : 
but  at  last,— and  when  convinced  by  my  tenderness 
of  the  excess  of  my  affection — he  had  realised  all 
my  long  trembling  hopes ;  had  fulfilled  in  every 
way  all  my  most  ardent  wishes  ;  had  begun  to  re- 
turn my  undivided  fondness  with  all  the  fervour  of 
his  own  affectionate  disposition.  No  child  ever 
doated  on  a  mother  as  he  did  on  his  father : — and, 
if  our  love  even  becomes  rivetted  to  an  object  by  the 
mere  unrequited  care  and  pains  bestowed  upon  it, 
how  unbounded  became,  with  the  return  which  I 
experienced,  my  adoration  of  my  angel  child,  need 
or  can  I  describe !  He  alone  was  the  joy  of  my 
eyes,  and  the  pride  of  my  vain  glorious  heart ;  and, 
as  I  walked  forth  with  him  in  public;  as  I  saw 
every  stranger  gazing  on  his  lovely  countenance. 


ANASTASIUS.  411 

smiling  at  his  playful  prattle,  and  almost  spell- 
bound by  the  charm  that  seemed  to  hover  around 
his  person,  parental  exultation  swelled  that  foolish 
heart  within  me,  and  made  my  eyes  overflow  with 
rapturous  dehght.  I  seemed  only  to  move  along 
for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  a  constant  triumph. 

Nay, — that  parental  fondness  which,  bearing  in 
all  its  parts  on  one  single  point,  and  in  that  single 
point  finding  the  firmest  support,  must  under  any 
circumstances  have  acquired  an  unexampled  in- 
tensity, had  still  had  its  growth  accelerated  beyond 
the  ordinary  measure  by  the  peculiarities  of  my 
anomalous  condition. 

That  very  same  instant  which  had  on  Egypt's 
barren  shore  brought  my  labours  for  the  possession 
of  my  child  to  a  happy  conclusion,  had  also  witnessed 
the  beginning  of  my  incessantly  continued  journey 
toward  the  distant  point  which  was  to  be  my  final 
goal,  and  where  I  hoped  to  sit  down  at  last  in  peaceful 
enjoyment  of  the  treasures  I  had  won.  From  the 
momentous  period  which  had  seen  my  Alexis  first 
pressed  to  my  still  panting  bosom,  every  later  suc- 
cessive day — nay,  almost  every  successive  hour — 
had  beheld  me  wafted  to  some  new  point  under  the 
heavens,  to  some  new  latitude  on  the  earth,  wholly 
distinct  and  different  from  the  preceding  ones. 
No  region,  no  city,  no  abode  had,  since  my  depar- 


412  ANASTASIUS. 

ture  from  Alexandria,  afforded  me  a  permanent 
sojourn,  or  fixed  me  long  enough  to  excite  in  my 
breast  the  smallest  local  attachment,  the  least  fond- 
ness of  which  I  had  not  brought  the  seeds  in  my 
own  bosom. — Or  should  even  in  any  place  some 
shght  interest  have  arisen,  not  unlawful  in  itself, 
and  which  might  in  a  more  stationary  condition 
have  been  allowed  to  take  some  hold  of  my  heart, 
have  covered  with  some  fair  exotic  the  spots  left 
bare  by  the  native  attachments  eradicated,  and  have 
in  some  degree  divided  my  affections  with  my  souPs 
chief  treasure, — bereft,  from  the  ever  changing  scene 
through  which  I  hurried,  of  all  leisure  for  its  cul- 
tivation, I  had  sedulously  crushed  its  first  shoots, 
as  those  of  an  intruding  and  troublesome  stranger. 
But  the  more  my  state  of  incessant  locomotion 
had  thus  made  all  else  pass  by  unregarded,  or  un- 
able to  leave  any  permanent  impression,  the  more 
had  it  caused  my  own  child,  my  only  never  failing 
companion,  to  entwine  himself  with  double  force 
round  every  fibre  of  the  paternal  heart :  for,  at  the 
same  time  that  that  constant  impulse  forward  which 
both  sire  and  son  obeyed,  had  suffered  no  other 
object  to  enter  into  the  smallest  competition  with 
my  boy  for  my  genuine  affections,  it  had  occasioned 
an  uninterrupted  closeness  in  our  daily  intercourse, 
had  demanded  on  my  part  a  minuteness  of  parental 


ANASTASIUS.  413 

offices  with  respect  to  my  child's  Utile  person,  had 
given  me  a  habit  of  unremittingly  hearing  his  sweet 
voice,  nay  had,  amid  all  this  seeming  sameness  of 
sentiments  and  impressions,  thrown  a  variety  in  the 
places,  the  modes,  and  the  circumstances  of  our  re- 
lative existence  and  endearments,  infinitely  ex- 
ceeding what  any  stationary  condition,  even  with 
my  Alexis — and  no  one  else  buthim— ever  clinging 
to  my  side,  could  have  afforded.  The  short,  the 
happy  period  of  my  life,  marked  by  the  recovery  of 
my  Euphros} ne's  last  bequt  st,  had  offered  the  trea- 
sure, not  merely — as  does  in  most  cases  so  transient 
a  possession — in  one  place,  one  pursuit,  one  form  : 
it  had  offered  my  Alexis,  while  constantly  placed 
in  view,  yet  constantly  in  a  different  form,  and 
action,  and  mode  of  being :  it  had  offered  him  suc- 
cessively in  Egypt,  at  Maltha,  in  Sicily,  at  Naples, 
at  Rome,  at  Ancona,  and  in  every  place  either 
of  repose  or  thoroughfare  intervening  between  these 
distant  points  :  it  had  offered  him  in  capitals 
and  on  the  road,  at  r^t  and  in  action  ;  now 
gliding  in  a  light  skiff  on  the  waves,  now  whirled 
on  smoaking  wheels  over  hill  and  dale ;  now 
wondering  at  the  sights  of  cities,  now  enjoying 
rural  amusements  and  scenery ;  now  in  the  simple 
garb  of  the  infant  traveller,  now  attired  for  the 
admiration  of  crowds  ;  i)ow  all  alertness,  and  rousing 


414  ANASTASIUS. 

by  his  arch  and  playful  caresses  even   his  listlesfis 
father,  now  himself  oppressed  with  the  fatigues  of 
the  journey  and  asleep  in   my  arms ;  and  thus  I 
had  gone  on  from  place  to  place,  collecting  and  com- 
pressing in  a  small  space  a  variety  of  pictures  of 
his  infantine  person,  pursuits  and  adventures — ^all 
lovely  and  yet  all  different — far  beyond  what  the 
longest  period  of  years  could  have  accumulated  in  the 
slow  changes  of  a  stationary  existence;  and  which, 
carefully  treasured  up  in  my  memory,  and  always 
present  to  my  imagination,  had  furnished  by  their 
multitude  materials  for  an  affection  and  a  worship 
far  exceeding  what  even  tender  parents,  when  dis- 
tracted by  a  variety  of  ties,  can  find  to  divide  among 
their  numerous  offspring, — and,  at  the  eve  of  ac- 
complishing my  labours,  and  reaching  my  destina- 
tion,   this  all   absorbing   adoration   of  a   child  in 
appearance   not  less  full  of  bodily  health  than  re- 
plete with   moral   excellence,    was   already  usher- 
ing  me  into  a  scene  of  rapturous  and  yet  lawful 
felicity   only  expected  to   end  with   my  own   life, 
when  all  at  once  a  Providence — mindful  of  my  sins 
when  I  had  forgotten  them, — had   even  reversed 
the  course  of  nature  to  cut  short  that  existence  on 
which  my  own  depended,  to  destroy  at  one  blow 
my  new  and  hard  earned  happiness,  and  to  leave 
me,  from  one  possessed  of  all  his  heart  desired,  a 


ANASTASITTS.  415 

forlorn  wretch,  in  a  strange  country,  and  among  a 
stranger  race  ; — with  not  one  object  to  cling  to  on 
this  side  an  obscure  and  lonely  grave. 

Yet  with  such  dismal  thoughts  rending  my 
mind,  and  the  more  dreary  object  laid  out  before 
my  eyes,  did  the  benumbing  powers  of  affliction 
itself — of  an  affliction  perfect  in  all  its  parts,  and, 
by  no  longer  leaving  room  for  hope  or  fear,  no 
longer  affording  an  excitement  or  permitting  a 
struggle — at  last  procure  me  a  short  respite  from  its 
sting.  Yielding  to  the  torpor  which  by  degrees 
came  over  my  senses,  I  fell  into  a  profound  sleep  ; 
and  the  trance  lasted  unbroken  until  the  dawn  of 
the  following  day :  but  the  moment  of  waking  was 
dreadful  beyond  all  former  moments.  I  had 
dreamed  of  my  child ;  I  had  in  the  lying  vision 
seen  him  convalescent:  my  heart's  treasure  had 
again  seemed  to  revive  and  to  thank  me  for  a  care 
no  longer  wanted,  when,— awaking  with  a  burst  of 
joy,  and  turning  round, — I  saw  .  .  .  .  O  God  of 
heavens  ! 

I  now  afresh  gave  way  to  my  despair  ;  with  fran- 
tic violence  hugged  to  my  bosom  the  cold  corpse  of 
my  boy,  and  swore  no  earthly  power  should  tear  it 
from  my  arms,  —until  by  degrees  the  mild  entreaties 
of  my  fellow  prisoners  made  my  grief  assume  a  less 
outrageous  form. 


416  ANASTASIUS. 

After  frequent  relapses  I  prepared  to  perform  to 
my  child's  sad  remains  the  last  duties  of  a  man,  a 
Christian,  and  a  father.  In  the  gloomy  precincts  of 
the  Lazaretto  I  saw  the  narrow  cell  dug,  which 
henceforth  was  to  hold  all  I  cared  for  on  earth. 
Then,  kissing  for  the  last  time  those  faded  eyes 
which  never  more  were  to  beam  upon  me,  and  those 
livid  lips  which  no  longer  felt  the  pressure  of  mine, 
I  suffered  the  dreary  winding-sheet  of  death  to 
shroud  from  my  further  view  my  angePs  altered 
features ;  and  carried  him  weeping  to  his  last  home  : 
but  when  the  moment  came — after  the  priest  had 
concluded  his  office — to  lower  into  the  foul  jaws  of 
the  grave,  and  to  resign  to  corruption  that  lovely 
body — that  last  relic  of  my  short  lived  felicity,  I 
scarce  felt  courage  for  the  dismal  task  :  I  clung  to 
what  I  was  going  to  lose,  until  fresh  violence  became 
necessary  ;  and  when  over  the  idol  of  my  boastful 
heart  I  again  beheld  the  ground  made  like  all  other 
ground :  "  Now  come,""  cried  I,  "  when  it  list  my 
own  final  hour !  I  shall  hail  it  as  the  healer  of 
sorrows ;  as  the  friend  who  springs  forward  to  re- 
ceive suffering  man,  v/hen  all  other  friends  depart. 

Sad  indeed  was  the  void  which  I  found  from  those 
days,  when  I  could  not  go  out  even  for  a  few  minutes, 
without  paying  the  tribute  of  a  farewell  embrace, 
and  coidd  never  come  home  without  finding  a  sweet 


ANASTASIUS.  417 

welcome  awaiting  me  on  the  very  threshold :  when 
every  look  of  sorrow  I  betrayed  was  met  by  filial 
sympathy,  and  every  glance  of  satisfaction  I  gave 
filled  my  child's  heart  with  gladness.  Ah  !  while 
these  raptures  had  been  mine,  the  very  confinement 
of  a  Lazaretto  had  been  a  scene  of  joy :  now  that  they 
were  to  be  no  more,  the  liberation  from  my  prison 
only  promised  fresh  grief. 

Soon  however  the  period  of  enlargement  came : 
for  the  quarantine  had  only  been  incurred  by  an 
untoward  accident ;  and  in  a  very  few  days  I  re- 
ceived a  formal  notice  that  its  term  had  expired. 
Once  more  I  went  to  the  hallowed  spot  where  lay 
buried  all  my  hopes,  and  once  more  bedewed  its 
turf  with  bitter  tears  : — then,  retiring  with  slow  and 
lingering  steps,  I  left  the  sad  enclosure,  and  launched 
forth  again  into  the  haunts  of  men. 

But  I  re-entered  them  without  joy,  as  I  did 
without  anxiety.  Things  gone  by  no  longer  gave 
a  value  to  things  to  come.  The  golden  link  by 
which  the  past  had  been  connected  with  the  future, 
had  been  broken — been  snapped  asunder.  The 
Anastasius  of  the  morrow  was  no  longer  the  Anas- 
tasius  of  the  eve.  The  wide  new  world  I  was 
going  to  tread  was  a  world  devoid  of  interest ;  and 
the  vast  new  prospects  unfolding  to  my  view,  were 
VOL.  III.  E  e 


418  ANASTASIUS. 

prospects  without  life,  animation  or  sunshine. 
Struck  by  heaven''s  vengeful  lightning,  my  soul  saw- 
nothing  in  the  dark  surrounding  waste  to  cheer  its 
deathlike  sadness,  and  shrunk  from  every  shghtest 
exertion  as  from  an  Herculean  labour.  On  every 
stone  I  met  in  my  way,  I  could  have  laid  me  down 
to  die. 

My  only  consolation  consisted  in  the  multiplicity 
of  my  sufferings,  and  in  the  sage  speculations  of  the 
medical  professors  whom  I  consulted  on  my  health, 
in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  gratuitous  prescriptions  of 
the  multitude :  for  though  the  members  of  the 
faculty  seemed  to  think  it  likely  that  the  effects 
of  the  storm  at  Melada,  the  anxious  watching 
during  my  child's  illness,  and  more  than  all,  the 
grief  for  his  loss,  might  have  very  much  aggravated 
the  symptoms  of  the  original  complaint,  yet  they 
agreed  unanimously  that  even  without  these  ad- 
ditional circumstances,  the  internal  injury  received 
on  the  beach  at  Alexandria  —  whether  in  the 
lungs,  or  the  liver,  or  the  spleen,  no  matter — 
must  still  alike  have  ended  in  my  not  very  distant 
demise  :— and,  what  cruel  regret,  what  dire  forebod- 
ings must  have  disturbed  my  death  bed,  had  I  been 
obliged  to  leave  my  Alexis  in  a  strange  land,  a 
helpless  unprotected  orphan,  exposed  not  only  to  all 


ANASTASIUS.  419 

the  violence  of  the  rapacious,  but  all  the  wiles  of 
the  profligate ;  and  perhaps,  in  the  weakness  of 
unsuspecting  childhood,  not  only  stripped  of  his 
property,  but  despoiled — for  ever  despoiled — of  his 
more  precious  innocence,  I  even  now  shuddered  to 
think  of.  The  dread  of  such  consequences  must  have 
rendered  the  last  hour  of  my  life  the  most  painful 
of  my  existence.  Instead  of  that,  ray  child's  short 
account  on  earth  was  closed  for  ever,  ere  the  least 
alloy  of  evil  could  dim  his  spotless  purity-.  His 
bliss  eternal  was  sealed  beyond  repeal.  Of  his 
endless  happiness  no  doubt  could  any  longer  sub- 
sist. Self;  wordiless  self  was  all  I  henceforth  had 
to  think  of ;  and  the  pangs  of  that  self  alone  to  lessen 
if  I  could. 

And  even  of  these  too  well  deserved  sufferings  the 
sting  was  greatly  blunted  by  the  consciousness  that 
their  period  was  limited.  My  loneliness  upon  earth 
could  not  be  of  long  duration ;  my  punishment  here 
below  must  soon  end  :  nay,  the  very  torments  that 
might,  in  the  severity  of  eternal  justice,  await  me 
hereafter,  would  be  soothed  by  knowing  that  my 
child  shared  net  in  them,  but,  while  his  father  paid 
the  penalty  of  his  manifold  offences,  enjoyed  in  other 
realms  the  reward  of  his  piety  : — and  I  sometimes 
even  presumed  to  think  that  perhaps,  after  so  dire 
an  affliction,  so  severe  a  trial  as  that  which  concluded 


420  ANASTASIUS. 

my  earthly  career,  some  portion  even  of  my  own  heavy 
debt  might  be  remitted  :— when  the  last  moment  of 
my  stay  here  below,  which  the  parting  from  my 
still  earth-bound  child  must  have  rendered  the  most 
irksome  of  my  life,  would,  by  reuniting  me  for  ever 
to  my  angel  above,  become  the  most  blessed  of 
my  existence. 

Mean  time, — a  stranger  in  f  e  place  to  which  my 
destiny  had  brought  me,  and  not  ranking  among 
those  privileged  children  of  the  globe,  licensed 
to  indulge  to  the  utmost  of  their  wish  in  every 
luxury,  even  unto  that  of  grief,—  I  felt  I  must  bestir 
myself,  under  pain  of  being,  like  a  bruised  reed, 
crushed  and  flung  on  the  dunghill.  Accordingly 
I  resolved,  if  dead  to  pleasure,  at  least  to  rouse  my- 
self to  business,  and,  hushing  in  my  heart  those 
deep  sorrows  which  no  one  around  me  could  share 
in  or  alleviate,  to  look,  to  speak,  and  to  act,  in  public, 
like  other  men. 

My  first  exertion  was  to  enquire  after  the  kindly 
intentioned  kinsman,  whose  invitation  had  brought 
me  to  Trieste,  but  whose  existence  I  had  for  a  time 
wholly  forgotten.  On  waking  from  my  trance,  and 
remembering  my  relation,  I  rather  wondered  that  he 
should  not,  in  my  distress,  have  been  the  first  to  seek 
me  out.  Alas  !  he  too  had,  since  I  last  heard  from 
him,  paid  the  debt  of  nature,  and  disabled  me  from 


ANASTASIUS.  421 

paying  that  of  gratitude.  I  say  of  gratitude, — for 
though  his  will  had  been  left  in  the  main  as  it  stood 
before  my  journey  ;  it  had  been  burthened  with  a 
handsome  legacy  in  mv  favour,  to  soften  my  dis- 
appointment, in  case  I  should  be  found  to  have  com- 
plied with  his  summons.  The  bequest  put  me  at 
once  in  possession  of  a  considerable  sum  of  ready 
money,  when  I  would  have  wanted  spirits  to  convert 
into  cash  my  now  loathed  jewels. 

Trieste,  which  I  had  before  intended  to  make  my 
permanent  residence,  was  become  since  my  misfortune 
the  place  least  fitted  for  my  abode.      Not  only  the 
living  multitudes  of  a  commercial  city  had  not  leisure 
to  sympathise  with  my  situation,  but  the  very  inani- 
mate objects  it  presented,  were  of  the  sort  most  dis- 
cordant with  my  present  frame  of  mind.     Those 
rocks  which,  left  in  their  native  rugged ness,  would 
have   harmonised  with  my  gloomy  feelings,   here 
were  only  beheld    shaped  in  bustling  quays  and 
busy  wharfs:  those  forests  which,    abandoned   to 
silence  and  solitude,  might  have  favoured  my  me- 
lancholy musings,  here  were  only  to  be  viewed, 
transformed  into   noisy   hulks   and   naked   masts. 
Gold  was  the   only  substance   worshipped  on  this 
altar   of  Mammon,   in  its  pure  primitive  shape ; 
but   gold   was   precisely   the  only    one   which    I 
would  rather  have  seen  by  a  later  transformation 


422  ANASTASIUS. 

converted  into  whatever  could  have  given  my  min^, 
a  wholesome  abstraction  from  its  sorrows.  I  there- 
fore thought  that,  if  I  returned  at  all  among  my 
fellow  creatures,  it  should  only  be  where  I  found 
them  collected  in  such  myriads,  as  to  recover  amidst 
their  overflowing  crowd  all  the  privileges  of  solitude. 
Upon  this  principle  Vienna  became  destined  in  my 
mind  for  my  ultimate  abode. 

While  I  staid  at  Trieste  however,  people  would 
insist  upon  diverting  me.  It  was  a  difficult  under- 
taking, with  my  mind  full  of  sorrow  and  an  abscess 
forming  in  my  side.  Once  only,  finding  myself 
somewhat  easier  than  usual,  T  abruptly  left  my  couch, 
and  indulged  my  curiosity  by  going  to  a  party. 

I  own  that,  when  launched  into  its  vortex,  and 
beholding  a  number  of  figures  towards  whom  I  felt 
no  attraction  either  of  kindred,  country,  or  even 
common  interests,  amusements  or  language,  whirl 
around  me  in  idle  hurry,  nay,  sometimes  stop  in 
the  midst  of  their  inane  bustle  to  look  at  myself,  to 
point  me  out  to  each  other,  and  to  see  how  my  ad- 
ventures sat  upon  me; — reflecting  moreover  how  soon 
even  this  mere  spectacle  must  to  me  cease  altogether, 
— I  felt  a  sort  of  pleasure.  But  it  was  the  pleasure 
of  one  who  wanders  in  the  delusion  of  a  morning 
dream,  through  imaginary  meads  and  gardens,' 
among  phantoms  flitting  about  him  in  their  twilight 


ANASTASIUS.  4S3 

i^vels  ;  and  who  feels  all  the  while  that  they  only 
wait,  to  glide  off  and  disappear,  for  that  approach- 
ing dawn  which  must  break  his  sleep,  and  cause 
his  final  waking  among  scenes  and  beings  wholly 
diiFerent. 

Loth  to  leave  the  place  where  slept  my  Alexis, 
and  for  ever  to  quit  the  last  shore  to  which  my 
child  had  been  wafted, — finding  my  only  solace  in 
listening  day  after  day  on  the  quay  facing  the  Laza- 
retto, to  the  surf  beating  against  its  piers  in  slow 
and  solemn  pulses,  I  do  not  know  how  long  I 
might  still  have  remained  at  Trieste,  taking  no  ac- 
count of  time,  but,  while  ever  intending  to  go,  ever 
putting  off  my  journey,  had  not  the  fear  of  travel- 
ling late  in  the  season  made  me  resolve  before  the 
summer  should  wholly  pass  by,  to  secure  my  winter 
quarters. 

Not  long  therefore  after  the  memorable  treaty 
of  Campo  Formio,  which  filled  Trieste  with  joy, 
by  sacrificing  Venice,  a  brilliant  autumn  eve  saw 
brought  to  their  conclusion  the  short  preparations 
for  my  departure  the  next  morning. 

My  bills  paid,  my  passports  signed,  my  post 
horses  ordered;— ha vmg  nothing  further  to  think 
of  or  to  settle  in  the  place  I  was  leaving, — I  went  to 
take  my  last  turn  on  my  favourite  quay. 


424  ANASTASIUS. 

The  sun  was  just  dropping  behind  the  purple  ex* 
panse  of  the  Adriatic,  and  I,  indulging  my  favourite 
dream,  that  perhaps  the  glorious  luminary,  which 
not  only  through  its  constant  emanations  supports 
the  inferior  surrounding  planets,  but  by  its  central 
situation  is  itself  exempted  from  all  the  vicissitudes 
they  suffer,  might  be  the  first  halting  place  of  the 
blessed  that  depart  from  other  orbs,  and  in  its 
bright  bosom  might  harbour  my  own  Alexis, — when 
I  was  diverted  from  this  object  of  vague  and  distant 
contemplation  by  one  less  remote — namely  two  per- 
sons, apparently  just  released  from  quarantine,  who 
were  advancing  towards  the  city,  and  consequently 
towards  me.  They  wore  the  Greek  dress,  and,  com- 
mon as  the  sight  was  at  Trieste,  it  yet  engaged  my  at- 
tention as  one  which  would  become  rare  on  my 
impending  removal.  Of  the  two  strangers  the  shortest 
particularly  attracted  my  notice.  As  he  approached, 
a  crowd  of  confused  images  rushed  upon  my  mind. 
I  almost  fancied  I  saw  ....  but  the  thing  seemed 
improbable ; — and  yet  at  every  successive  step  which 
brought  him  nearer,  the  impression,  so  far  from 
lessening  acquired  greater  strength,  until  at  last  I 
grew  quite  convinced  of  its  truth.  The  person  I 
gazed  upon  must  be — it  was  Spiridion  !  Spite  of  his 
darker  complexion  and  his  more  manly  forms,  I  no 


ANASTASItJS.  425 

longer  could  doubt  I  beheld  the  friend  of  former 
days.  As  to  himself, — intent  upon  the  surrounding 
scenery,  he  would  have  passed  me  by  unheeded,  but 
for  my  stopping  directly  in  his  way,  in  order  to 
take  one  more  silent  survey  of  his  person,  ere  I 
ventured  to  hail  my  long  estranged  companion. 

Thus  pointedly  approached,  he  looked  at  me  in 
his  turn,  first  indeed  with  an  expression  only  of 
surprise,  at  being  thus  scrutinised,  apparently  by  a 
Frank,  but,  by  degrees,  with  a  more  fixed  stare, 
as  of  one  under  a  delusion  which  he  strives  in  vain 
to  shake  off.  He  gazed  alternately  on  my  features, 
which  proclaimed  an  old  friend,  and  on  my  dress, 
which  bespoke  an  entire  stranger. 

Human  patience  could  hold  out  no  longer : 
'•  Am  I  then  so  changed,"  cried  I,  "  that  even  my 
Spiridion  cannot  recognise  his  Anastasius  .'^" 

My  voice  was  still  the  same.  At  its  once  fami- 
liar sounds  the  son  of  Mavrocordato  seemed  seized 
with  a  sudden  thrilling,  and  again  stepped  back : 
but  this  time  in  wonder — in  amazement. 

"  And  is  it  then  really,"  cried  he  at  last,  "  Anas- 
tasius I  behold  r 

Nothing  but  the  diffidence,  tardy  offspring  of 
misfortune,  had  prevented  me,  the  moment  I  re- 
cognised my  friend,  from  clasping  him  in  my  arms. 
Could  1  have  suspected  that,  without  the  same  cause 


426  ANASTASIUS. 

onhispartjhe  would  have  evinced  a  similar  hesitation 
to  press  me  to  his  bosom,  no  temptation  would  have 
induced  me  to  make  myself  known.  I  would  have  let 
him  pass  by  unstayed  ;  and  never — no  !  never  would 
I  again,  with  my  consent,  have  thrown  myself  in  his 
way.  His  cold  reception  chilled  me  to  the  heart, 
and  paralysed  my  tongue.  Spirldion  saw  me  ap- 
palled, and  Spiridion  enjoyed  the  sight  !  Without 
one  single  word  to  relieve  my  embarrassment,  he 
waited  in  solemn  silence  my  tardy  and  faultering 
speech.  His  looks  seemed  to  say  :  *'  each  his  turn  : 
your's  came  first."' — Yet  even  in  this  I  acquit  him 
of  every  cold  and  calculating  motive.  His  conduct, 
I  am  certain,  arose  from  resentnjent,  not  from 
meanness. 

But  whatever  was  the  cause, — "  Spiridion,*"  cried 
I,  as  soon  as  I  felt  able  to  speak  :  "  your  searching 
eye  need  not  tell  me  what  I  already  know  too  well. 
I  no  longer  am  he  who  looked  defiance  at  all  on 
earth  ;  and  at  Heaven  itself.  Sickness  and  sorrow 
have  bent  me  to  the  ground:"" — and,  overcome  by 
my  recollections,  I  burst  into  tears. 

A  blush  of  shame  now  tjnged  Spiridion's  fea- 
tures:  he  stammered  an  excuse;  and  telling  me 
where  he  meant  to  lodge,  begged  I  would  call  upon 
him :  but  awkward  in  his  very  apologies,  he  only, 
in  trying  to  withdraw  the  dagger  thrust  into  my 


ANASTASIUS.  427 

bosom,  gave  me  fresh  pangs.  I  inclined  my  head 
to  thank  him,  but  raised  it  with  a  glance  of  con- 
scious independance  which  I  left  him  to  digest, — and 
darted  away, 

As  soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight  I  turned  back, 
and  went  home.  All  my  business  at  Trieste  was 
concluded.  I  determined  to  set  off  immediately. 
My  chaise  was  brought  round :  the  horses  put  to 
it,  and  my  trunks  fastened  on. 

Among  the  stones  reserved  from  Khedieh  was  a 
singularly  beautiful  ruby.  Often  pressed  to  sell  the 
precious  gem,  I  had  always  refused  to  part  with  my 
carbuncle.  It  had  been  set  apart  to  please  my  own 
eye, —perhaps,  some  day,  to  purchase  a  powerful 
patron.  But  to  pleasure  I  was  become  indifferent, 
and  I  no  longer  needed  an  earthly  patron.  I  slipped 
the  sparkling  stone,  wrapped  up  in  paper,  between 
the  folds  of  Spirid ion's  pocket  book,  which  till  now 
had  never  been  out  of  my  bosom,  and,  putting  the 
whole  under  cover,  sent  it  to  him  with  the  following 
superscription : 

"  To  one  who  for  his  friend  once  gave  up  all, 
and  whose  devotion  is  best  remembered  when  it 
no  longer  can  avail,  Anastasius^  rich  in  worthless 
jewels,  poor  in  all  beside,  sends  this  last  token  of 
ancient  affection,  and  of  endless  gratitude." 

No  sooner  was  the  parcel  out  of  my  sight,  than  I 
too  departed. 


4^8  ANASTASIUS. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

It  was  my  intention  to  have  travelled  all  night : 
but  at  the  second  stage  Avant  of  horses  stopped  my 
progress.  I  therefore  desired  some  refreshment,  a 
fire,  and  a  bed.  The  stove  was  lighted,  a  slice  of 
cold  meat  set  before  me  between  a  bottle  of  wine 
and  a  flask  of  more  potent  spirits ;  and,  in  answer 
to  the  last  of  my  requests,  the  female  who  acted  as 
waiter,  pointed  to  a  huge  mountain  of  eiderdown 
in  a  corner  of  the  room. 

Having  finished  my  supper,  and  hanging  over 
the  slowly  warming  stove,  I  insensibly  fell  into  a  re- 
view of  all  the  various  and  motle}-  vicissitudes  which 
had  marked  my  portion  of  that  changeful  dream 
called  human  life. — First  I  went  back  to  its  remotest 
periods,  to  those  spent  in  the  place  of  my  nativity  ; 
played  over  all  the  gambols  of  my  infancy,  and  all 
the  frohcs  of  my  boy-hood  ;  viewed  in  its  minutest 
details  the  paternal  abode,  remembered  the  most 
trivial  incidents  of  the  family  circle,  and  heard  the 
peculiar  sound  of  voice  of  each  of  its  members — 


ANASTASIUS.  429 

their  gossip,  their  scolding,  and  their  loud  peals  of 
laughter — with  a  distinctness  and  a  proximity  which 
left  the  memory  of  the  more  important  events  of 
later  years  compara-ively  vague,  dark,  indistinct 
reminiscences.  With  the  rekindhng  of  my  youngest 
flame,  and  with  the  retracing  of  my  earliest  flight, — 
that  disgraceful  flight  which  cut  me  off  from  all 
connection  with  the  land  of  my  birth,  and  entirely 
divided  the  first  stage  of  my  life  from  all  its  later 
periods, — I  closed  the  first  chapter  of  my  history. 

Scarce  could  my  heart  even  now  refrain  from 
bounding,  as  I  recalled  the  rapturous  intoxication 
of  my  spirits,  when,  in  the  morning  of  my  days, — 
like  the  young  pilgrim  with  locks  flowing  in  the 
wind,  and  wallet  carelessly  flung  across  the  shoulder, 
— I  set  out  upon  the  second  stage  of  my  journey 
through  life :  when,  simply  but  smartly  attired,  the 
soft  down  just  budding  on  my  lips,  and  the  infant 
hopes  expanding  in  my  mind,  I  went  forth  with 
erect  crest  and  buoyant  step,  in  quest  of  pleasure  and 
of  fame;  and  finally  when  in  the  Morea,  reaping  an 
ample  harvest  of  both,  I  achieved  my  first  prowess 
and  heard  my  first  praises.  Hassan's  lip  had  long 
been  silenced  by  death :  but  the  music  of  his  ap- 
plause still  rung  in  my  ears. 

Launched  next  into  the  maddening  vortex  of  the 
capital,  I  still  smiled  at  the  recollection  of  the  Jew 


430  ANASTASIUS. 

doctor,  shuddered  at  that  of  the  Bagnio,  and,  though, 
quite  alone,  averted  my  eyes  as  from  a  spectre,  on 
remembering  Anagnosti,  pale,  bloody,  and  with  my 
murderous  dagger  buried  in  his  breast !  To  fly  the 
ghastly  image  I  crossed  the  main,  roamed  in  the 
plains  of  Egypt,  and,  alter  seeing  myself  succes- 
sively a  kiachef  rioting  in  luxury  and  an  outcast 
fleeing  for  his  life,  I  in  turns  became  a  humble 
hadjee  crawling  on  his  knees  at  Mekkah,  and  a  con- 
ceited coxcomb  sporting  his  saucy  wit  at  Stambool. 

Now  rose  predominant  the  figure  of  my  friend 
Spiridion!  I  mean  the  Spiiidion  all  heart,  all 
affection,  of  former  days, — between  whom  and  his 
namesake  of  yesterday  the  connecting  link  seemed 
wanting.  Parted,  by  my  own  fault,  from  my  only 
real  friend,  I  again  roved,  successively  a  soldier  of 
fortune  at  Cairo,  a  warrior  in  Wallachia,  and  a 
merchant  on  the  Bosphorus. 

But  Jsmir!  But  Euphrosyne! — The  thought 
harrowed  up  my  soul.  To  pluck  the  gnawing  worm 
from  my  bosom,  I  plunged  into  the  deepest  desert, 
and  joined  the  most  daring  of  sectaries.  At  last, 
become  a  tender  husband,  I  suffered  for  my  sins  in 
my  amendment,  and  soon  consigned  to  earth  a  fond 
and  virtuous  wife,  when — spurned  by  one  friend  as 
I  had  spurned  another — I  fled  to  Arabs  less  godly 
but  less  faithless  than  the  Wahhabees,  and,  under 


ANASTASIUS.  431 

their  new  banners,  fciirded  my  worldly  fortune  in 
the-  plains  of  Khedieli.  Growing  a  coward  as  I 
grew  rich,  I  pursued — leaded  with  rubies  and 
clothed  in  rags—  my  sr.litary  course  towards  the 
setting  sun,  un  il  casting  off  my  slough  in  the  con- 
cealment of  the  ca};ita],  I  flew  on  the  wings  of 
parental  love  to  the  coast  of  Egypt ; — and  at  Alex- 
andria sought,  saw,  arid  won  my  child  ! 

Oh  !  that  I  could  here  end  my  last  cliapter :  that, 
to  so  many  friends  and  relations^,  protectors  and 
protected,  one  after  the  other  swept  away  from  the 

earth,  I  had  not  to  add but  so  it  was  ! — 

and  now,  with  all  that  I  looked  forward  to  of  joy, 
of  pride,  and  of  stay,  laid  prostrate  for  ever,  I  had 
nothing  left  me  but  to  sink  irretrievably  under 
one  of  those  sorrows  the  more  corroding,  because 
they  are  unshared,  unnoticed,  unimagined  by  the 
surrounding  throng  ; — and  to  waste  away  my  small 
remains  of  life  in  tears  resembling  the  rain  drops  that 
fall  into  the  sea,  untcld,  unheeded,  and  without 
leaving  a  trace. 

Such  was  the  feeling  of  sad,  of  entire  abandon- 
ment in  which  my  reflections  terminated,  that,  to 
drive  them  away  and  to  warm  my  withered  heart, 
I  rapidly  drank  off  several  draughts  of  the  spirits 
placed  beside  me  :  after  which,  without  undressing, 


432  ANASTASIUS, 

I  crept  under  the  swelling  featherbed,  desiring  I 
might  be  called  the  instant  the  horses— expected 
home  in  the  night — were  ready  to  take  me  on. 

In  bed  I  found  sleep,  but  not  repose.  A  feverish 
restlessness  insensibly  grew  as  it  were  into  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  last  adventures  of  my  life.  I 
fancied  myself  dead,  and  lying  in  my  coffin.  The 
dim  tapers  already  cast  around  the  funereal  glare 
which  was  to  light  my  stiffened  body  to  the  dark- 
ness of  the  grave.  Yet  had  I  a  faint  perception  of 
what  was  going  forward.  My  limbs  indeed  were 
immoveable ;  but  my  eyes  beheld,  and  my  ears  re- 
tained the  power  of  hearing. 

First  appeared,  as  in  a  twilight,  the  persons  most 
closely  linked  to  my  existence  :  my  parents, 
Helena,  Mavroyeni,  and  others.  Their  busts — 
for  nothing  more  of  them  was  perceptible — seemed 
floating  in  air.  Sometimes  they  advanced,  as  if  to 
take  a  nearer  look  at  my  countenance,  gazed  some 
time  on  me  in  silence,  and  then  again  retired, 
making  room  for  others,  who  in  their  turn  per- 
formed the  same  evolutions,  and,  after  sating  their 
curiosity,  equally  vanished  in  space.  Two  persons 
only  of  the  mute  assemblage  remained,  after  all  the 
rest  had  disappeared.  At  first  they  presented  no 
features   which  I  recognised,   but  insensibly  they 


ANASTASIUS.  433 

assumed  the  resemblance,  the  one  of  Euphrosyne, 
the  other  of  a  venerable  priest  with  a  long  snow- 
white  beard,  whom  I  had  seen  at  Pera.  Euphrosyne 
began  by  contemplating  me  awhile,  like  all  the  phan- 
toms that  had  preceded  her,  in  total  silence,  and, 
though  seeming  to  smile  sweet  forgiveness  onher  un- 
feeling ravisher,  wore  a  funereal  look  which  thrilled 
me  to  the  soul.  She  repeatedly  beckoned  to  me  with 
emphatic  gesture  to  join  her :  but  each  time  my 
leaden  limbs  refused  to  do  their  office.  At  last  the 
old  man  spoke.  "  In  vain,''  he  cried,  "  you  try  to 
meet.    Your  patlis  in  life  ever  lay  too  far  asunder." 

"  Ah  r  now  exclaimed  in  her  turn  the  weeping 
maiden — whose  voice,  till  then  unheard,  thrilled  me 
to  the  soul : — "  if  he  cannot  come  to  me,  I  can  at 
least  go  to  him  !"— and  with  outstretched  arms  she 
sprung  forward  to  share  ray  darker  destiny ;  but 
her  lifeless  form  only  fell  like  a  mill  stone  on  my 
chest.  Gasping  for  breath,  I  struggled  to  dis- 
engage myself  from  the  intolerable  load, — when, 
suddenly,  what  I  held  in  close  embrace  no  longer 
was  Euphrosyne,  but — the  fiend  Sophia  ! 

Rage  now  swelled  my  breast,  as  fury  flashed 
from  the  eyes  of  my  antagonist.  The  lion  and  the 
serpent  grappled.  Each  fixed  his  fangs  in  tlie 
others  quivering  flesh :  each  strove  to   pluck   the 

VOL.  III.  F  f 


434  ANASTASIUS. 

heart  from  the  others  bleeding  bosom : — until  at 
last  the  baseless  ledge  on  which  we  fought  in  air, 
gave  way  with  a  tremendous  crash. 

Twined  in  each  others  arms  down  we  now  sank 
together ;  and  I  continued  falling,  until  I  woke  at 
last  in  inexpressible  horror,  and  found  myself  lying 
on  the  floor  of  the  room,  weltering  in  a  stream  of 
real  blood,  drawn  forth  from  my  vitals  by  my  un- 
conscious exertions.  The  confusion  of  my  ideas 
just  left  me  time  enough  to  rejoice  that  I  had  only 
been  dreaming,  ere  returning  perception  brought  to 
my  remembrance  how  much  there  was  in  my  dream 
of  sad  reality. 

Scarce  inferior  to  the  fancied  music  of  the  spheres 
themselves,  sounded  at  that  moment  in  my  stunned 
ear  the  hoarse  note  of  the  horn,  which  informed  me 
that  the  driver  was  seated  on  his  horse.  Ill  as  I 
felt  I  thought  I  could  not  get  away  too  fast.  The 
post-master  indeed  had  informed  me  of  a  novelty, 
only  witnessed  since  these  before  peaceful  regions 
had  become  the  seat  of  war  :  namely  robbers  prowl- 
ing in  the  neighbourhood.  But  who  durst  lay  un- 
hallowed hands  on  the  already  sentenced  criminal ! 
My  death  warrant,  long  signed,  kept  my  life  charm- 
ed, until  the  fatal  hour  of  its  lawful  execution  ;  and 
evil   glances   fall   not   more   innocuous  on   spirits 


ANASTASIUS.  435 

"broken  with  soitow,  than  would  the  deadliest  dagger 
on  my  heavy  hearty  already  turned  to  stone  by 
grief. 

Disregarding  therefore  every  entreaty  and  sinis- 
ter foreboding  of  tlie  landlord  and  his  crew,  I 
wrapped  myself  in  my  cloak,  stepped  into  my 
calesh,  and  spite  of  the  still  undiminished  darkness, 
rolled  on  again  with  renovated  speed.. 

All  that  day,  and  all  the  ensuing  night,  I  con-- 
tinued  travelling  without  interruption  :  for,  greatly 
as  I  wanted  rest,  I  could  no  where  bring  myself  to 
stop.  It  was  only  in  proportion  as  I  felt  my-  body 
whirled  alom^  Vith  greater  speed,  that  my  mind 
seemed  to  find  somewhat  more  repose.  A  mysterious 
impulse,  as  it  were,  goaded  me  on  without  ceasing. 

The  sun  of  the  third  day  was  already  lengthen- 
ing the  partial  shadows  that  precede  its  disappear- 
ance, when  I  entered  an  extended  heath,  to  whose 
beautiful  and  varied  weeds  heaven's  declining  lumi- 
nary at  that  instant  lent  the  glowing  transparency 
which  announces  its  proximate  setting.  With  sin- 
gular force  did  the  gaudy  scene  revive  all  the  deep- 
felt  impressions  whicli  one  of  a  similar  description 
had  once  made  on  my  younger  mind  in  the  plains 
of  Ak-hissar :  —or  rather  ;  it  produced  one  of  those 
moments  in  my  life,  when  my  sensations  became  so 
exactly  the  counterpart  of  what  they   once   liad 


436  ANASTASIUS. 

been,  at  some  definite  prior  period  perhaps  long' 
gone  by,  as  to  suggest  the  idea  of  my  having,  in  a 
new  point  of  space,  reverted  to  an  ah'eady  ex- 
perienced point  of  time;  and  of  my  going  over 
afresh  some  former  portion  of  my  existence,  already 
elapsed. 

And,  in  fact,  may  not  things  created  perform 
circles  in  time  as  they  do  in  space  ?  May  not  the 
limited  scope  of  our  present  perceptions  be  alone 
the  cause  that  prevents  our  embracing  the  vast  re- 
volutions produced  by  duration,  as  we  compass  the 
smaller  circuits  performed  within  the  equally  in- 
conceivable boundaries  of  extension? — and  may 
not  one  of  the  brightest  prerogatives  of  that  more 
perfect  promised  state,  when  time  is  said  to  cease, 
consist  in  that  removal  of  its  partial  barriers,  through 
means  of  which  we  shall  be  permitted  equally  to  see 
the  past  in  the  future,  and  the  future  in  the  past  ? 

Be  that  as  it  may: — no  scene  could,  in  the 
splendor  of  its  detail,  exceed  the  one  which  my 
mind  thus  irresistibly  retraced.  Every  where  a 
carpet  of  anemones,  hyacinths,  and  narcissuses 
covered  the  undulating  ground.  The  oleander, 
the  cistus  and  the  rhododendrons,  blushing  with 
crimson  blossoms,  marked  the  wide  margins  of  the 
diminished  torrents:  glowing  heaths,  odoriferous 
genistas,   thyme,   lavender    and    jesraine,   started 


ANASTASIUS.  437 

from  every  fissure  of  the  marble-streaked  rock  ;  while 
its  surface  was  clothed  in  a  moss  of  emerald  green, 
through  which  trickled  diamond  drops  of  never  fail- 
ing water.  AUernate  tufts  of  arbutus,  and  mimosa, 
and  bay,  intermixed  with  the  wild  rose  and  myrtle, 
canopied  the  beetling  brow  of  the  crag;  but 
from  the  deep  bosom  of  the  dell  between,  shot  up 
out  of  the  richer  soil,  likely  stately  pillars  support- 
ing a  cieling  of  Iretwork,  the  ilex,  the  poplar, 
and  the  wide  spreading  plane.  Here  and  there  a  pre- 
sumptuous creeper — wily  sycophant,  raised  by  his 
very  pliancy — overwhelmed  with  parasitic  blossoms 
the  topmost  boughs  of  the  tree  on  which  it  fasten- 
ed ;  and  from  its  supporter's  mighty  limbs,  again 
fell  in  gay  festoons  to  the  ground.  The  air  was 
loaded  with  fragrance :  birds  of  every  hue  balanced 
their  light  forms  on  the  bending  twigs,  and  myriads 
of  gilded  insects  emulated  in  brilliancy  the  flowers 
round  whose  honied  cup  they  hovered. 

Yet, — while  other  artists  prize  their  meanest  pro- 
ductions, nature  often  seems  to  set  so  little  value 
upon  her  choicest  works,  that  this  paradise  lay  in  a 
secluded  nook,  far  not  only  from  the  more  beaten 
track  of  the  traveller,  but  even  from  the  haunts  of 
the  thinly  scattered  natives.  No  path  ran  through 
it  in  any  direction  :  its  very  outskirts  were  scarce 


438  ANASTASIUS. 

ever  pressed  by  the  foot  of  man,  and  its  in-, 
most  recesses  had  not  perhaps  for  centuries  been 
darkened  by  his  shadow.  Every  where  the  most 
lovely  plants  sprung  up  and  again  faded  every  year, 
without  a  single  instant  meeting  the  human  eye  : — 
but  the  concealment  of  these  wonders  produced  not 
the  least  slackening  in  their  progress:  the  activity 
of  nature  was  not  checked  or  diminished  by  the 
ignorance  of  man  !  Still  did  each  later  season  see 
each  varied  form  of  vegetation,  reckless  of  human 
blindness,  expand  at  its  due  period,  blow  its  full 
time  in  all  its  wonted  splendor,  and  perform  every 
successive  function  of  its  maturation  and  seeding, 
as  it  had  done  each  former  year. 

Had  I  thence  only  inferred  how  little  that  self 
assumed  lord  of  the  creation,  man,  goes  for  in  the 
eyes  of  Providence,  even  on  that  verv  globe  of  which 
he  calls  himself  the  supreme  master,  and  which  he 
considers  as  created  for  his  sole  use  and  purposes, 
the  induction  would  probably  have  been  just,  though 
thus  far  httle  consoling:  — but  I  went  further. 
Since  it  seemed  incompatible  with  all  perfect  wisdom 
that  wonders,  capable  of  affording  exquisite  delight, 
should  be  endlessly  renewed  only  to  be  endlessly  un- 
enjoyed — endlessly  wasted,  I  inferred  that  even  our 
own  humble  globe  might  be  visited,  unknown  to  us  its 


ANASTASIUS.  439 

ostensible  tenants,  by  higher  beings  than  ourselves, 
hovering  in  purer  forms  over  their  primitive  haunts, 
and  mixing  unperceived  with  their  still  mortal 
kindred.  Who  could  tell  that  the  spirit  of  my  own 
Alexis — wafted  on  the  sun's  untiring  beams  from 
its  higher  abode — might  not  at  times  flit  among 
them;  might  not  have  sat  on  yon  fair  tulip 
which  I  so  fondly  gazed  upon,  and  which  bent  its 
graceful  head  as  I  slowly  passed  by: 

But  time  runs  short !  I  may  not  dwell  on  such 
rambling  reflections, — I  must  hasten  on  to  the  goal. 

Some  httle  perverse  incidents,  indeed,  seemed  now 
and  then  to  start  up  on  very  purpose  to  keep  it  longer 
in  prospect.  My  carriage  broke  down  at  one  place  : 
in  another  I  myself  was  stunned  by  a  fall : — but  these 
incidental  rubs  affected  me  no  longer.  The  single 
deep  affliction  which  encompassed  my  heart,  served 
as  an  impenetrable  ^gis  against  all  lesser  ills.  It 
rendered  me  impervious  to  their  superficial  punc- 
tures. Never  emerging  from  that  twilight  in  which 
there  are  no  partial  shades,  since  there  are  no  par 
tial  lights,  my  mind,  no  longer  accessible  to  hope,  no 
longer  felt  the  pressure  of  disappointment. 

A  little  before  the  dawn  of  the  fourth  day  how- 
ever, there  arose  a  somewhat  singular  circumstance, 
which  affected  me  sufficiently  to  give  a  new  direc- 
tion to  my  movements.     A  pretty  sharp  ascent  had 


440  ANASTASIUS. 

made  me  alight  among  the  Carinthian  hills,  to  walk 
a  few  yards,  and  shake  off  the  morning  chill,  by 
which  I  felt  quite  benumbed.  The  road  lay  across 
a  dark  forest  of  firs,  whose  outline  already  was 
marked  by  the  pale  light  of  the  morning  against 
the  cold  grey  sky,  but  whose  deep  bosom  still  pre- 
sented unbroken  all  the  black  and  mysterious  in- 
distinctness of  night.  The  trees  in  their  funereal 
hues  seemed  sable  mourners,  gliding  in  long  pro- 
cession down  the  hills,  to  range  themselves  on  my 
passage  :  the  bleak  winds  breathed  through  their 
waving  boughs  deep  and  mournful  sighs  ;  and  the 
torrent,  dashed  from  rock  to  rock,  roared  with 
hollow  murmur  in  the  chasm  below. 

All  at  once  1  heard — or  thought  I  heard — in  the 
wood  a  dismal  moan,  as  from  one  in  pain.  I  stopped, 
held  my  breath,  turned  my  ear  the  way  whence 
proceeded  the  sound,  and,  from  within  a  close 
thicket  not  thirty  yards  distant,  fancied  some  one 
addressed  me  the  following  words  :  "  Speed  on 
Anastasius  ;  thou  hast  not  far  to  go." 

My  blood  curdled  in  my  veins  :  a  chill  of  terror, 
thus  far  unknown,  crept  all  over  my  person  ;  I  felt 
an  inward  shudder, — yet  I  determined  to  look  bold. 
But,  though  I  dashed  like  one  dehrious  among  the 
rustling  bushes,  I  found  no  trace  of  mortal  man  I 

My  first  attempt  was  to  laugh  off  the  incident. 


ANASTASIUS.  441 

No  pne  joined  in  my  uninfectious  mirth  ;  and  soon 
the  forced  smile  died  av.ay  on  my  own  lips. 

Whether  however  the  ominous  words  had  ac- 
tually vibrated  on  my  ears,  or  had  only  rung  in  my 
heated  brain,  what  did  It  signify  ?  There  needed 
not  an  express  message  from  the  shades  below  to 
inform  me  that  my  company  was  waited  for :  that, 
with  a  frame  rent  at  every  joint,  I  was  at  best  but 
a  vampire,  only  permitted  to  walk  among  the  living 
until  the  last  awful  summons  should  fix  it  for  ever 
among  the  vaster  myriads  already  under  ground. 
After  a  long  period  of  very  little  change  in  my 
bodily  state,  I  had  felt  my  sufferings  encrease  so 
rapidly,  since  the  fatal  dream  at  the  first  stage  from 
Trieste,  that  I  could  almost,  by  the  regular  and 
distinct  progress  of  my  declension,  compute  the  ut- 
most term  I  might  reach,  and  the  hour  at  which  my 
last  sand  must  run  out,  and  make  me  bid  this 
world  farewell. 

And  little — in  truth— did  I  reck  the  circumstance, 
which  had  thus  narrowly  circumscribed  my  fate. 
Even  in  my  fullest  vigour  both  of  body  and  of  mind 
I  had  often  prayed  that  I  might  not  grow  old,— had 
endeavoured  only  to  crowd  events  so  thickly  within 
the  span  of  my  existence,  that  its  varied  recollec- 
tions might  make  my  career,  however  short,  appear 
longer  on  retrospect  than  the  longest  life  of  dull 


442  ANASTASIUS: 

undistinguished  uniformity.  —  "  Rather,'" — had  I 
often  exclaimed — "  let  me  even  be  felled  to  the 
ground,  while  an  ample  store  of  verdant  boughs, 
waving  in  the  breeze,  may  yet  grace  my  sudden 
fall,  than  be  permitted  to  wither  on  my  stalk,  un- 
able to  offer  any  attraction  or  to  resent  any  injury, 
and  indebted  as  for  an  obligation  to  those  who 
merely  suffer  my  presence.  Let  me  not  outlive  all 
those  from  whom  I  might  have  obtained  a  passing 
tear,  only  to  excite  derision  in  those  destined  to  out- 
live me  !^' 

And  now  that  health  and  spirits  were  already 
drained  to  the  last  drop  ; — now  that,  cankered  by 
an  inward  worm,  each  bough  already  withered 
hung  drooping  to  the  ground,  and  not  even  a  shoot 
remained  to  cheer  by  its  later  spring  my  own  un- 
timely autumn  \ — now  that  both  what  I  loved  best 
and  what  I  hated  most  had  already  attained  the 
final  goal  before  me, — could  I  still  wish  to  live — 
to  live  alone  in  the  universe,  without  a  spark  of 
affection,  or  even  of  animosity  left^tolight  withitsfire 
my  last  lingering  steps  :  Could  I  brook  to  stand,  like 
the  scathed  oak  in  the  wilderness,  a  conspicuous 
monument  of  heaven''s  fiercest  wrath  ? — God  forbid ! 

Then,  what  was  the  use  of  torturing  my  worn- 
out  frame,  only  to  seek  far  aw^ay  what  I  might  find 
so  near  ?     I  could  die  any  where. 


ANASTASIUS.  443 

Immediately  I  formed  my  resolution.  Two 
stages  back  1  remembered  being  struck  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  fir-clotlieri  cottage,  close  to  a  country 
town,  wliose  few  inhabitants— kept  up  somewhat 
later  than  usual  by  some  h  )liday  festivity — had  at- 
tracted my  notice  by  their  cheerful  clusters. 
*' Might  not''-  thou^^htl  — ''  that  gold,  now  become 
so  indifftTeni  to  its  \\  eary  possessor,  obtain  me  the 
loan  of  this  c jveted  habitation,  for  the  short  time 
my  body  wanted  one  above  ground  ?'"* 

"  This  I  determined  to  try  :  but  found  obstacles 
to  my  scheme  even  sooner  than  I  had  expected. 
My  driver  was  of  the  true  German  breed — an  auto- 
maton who,  throughout  the  whole  length  of  his 
stage,  could  only  move  according  to  the  impulse 
received  on  setting  out.  The  advantage  of  receiv- 
ing full  payment  for  a  task  only  half  performed, 
was  what  his  brain  refused  to  conceive :  only,  he 
never  had  heard  of  people  stopping  halfway  on  their 
journey,  to  turn  back  to  whence  they  came  ;  and  he 
never  should — God  helping -lend  his  assistance  to 
such  an  innovation.  The  cane  was  shaken  in  vain  at 
this  imperturbable  idiot, — even  thepistoPs  threaten- 
ing muzzle  made  to  exert  its  dumb  oratory  close  to  his 
ear,  without  the  smallest  effect.  The  immoveable 
scliwager  would  rather  be  shot  dead  on  the  spot  than 
submit  to  become  instrumental  in  the  nefarious  deed 


444  ANASTASIUS. 

of  turning  his  horses  heads  :  so  that  my  servant  had 
to  pull  hini  at  last  off  his  brother  brute,  and  to  usurp 
his  lawful  place,  ere  I  could  effect  my  retrograde 
movement : — nor  did  I  consider  this  as  one  of  the 
least  achievements  of  my  life. 

Equally  arduous  did  I,  on  my  return  to  L — ,  find 
the  main  business  which  brought  me  back.  The 
owners  of  the  cottage — dull  plodding  people  like  the 
postboy — wanted  time  to  consider  of  my  singular 
proposal.  They  could  not  resolve  on  such  a  measure 
in  a  hurry  :  and  the  first  determination  they  were 
able — after  much  hesitation — to  come  to,  only  con- 
sisted in  a  promise  of  the  habitation  at  a  period  so 
remote,  that  I  must  have  taken  possession  of  a  more 
lasting  mansion  long  ere  it  arrived.  Even  when 
afterwards  the  wary  couple  agreed — on  the  strength 
of  my  ill  looks,  and  hollow  cough — to  let  me  have  the 
hovel  immediately  for  the  whole  term  of  my  life,  they 
still  evinced  some  desire  of  inserting  as  a  clause  in 
the  lease,  when  1  was  to  die.  At  last  however, 
through  dint  of  constantly  enhancing  my  offers,  all 
difficulties  were  overcome.  I  took  possession  of  my 
cot,  and  my  tenacious  landlord  went  away,  half 
grumbling  at  his  good  bargain,  half  grinning  at  my 
strange  whim,  and  wondering  at  the  stranger  price  I 
paid  for  its  indulgence. 

The  last  stage  of  my  terrestrial  journey  thus 


ANASTASIUS.  445 

achieved,  the  last  place  of  halting  on  this  side  the 
house  to  be  changed  no  more,  thus  occupied,  I  im- 
mediately made  the  few  arrangements  necessary  for 
the  comfort  of  my  transient  abode,  and  sent  for  a 
physician  from  the  neighbouring  town,  to  render  my 
bargain  as  little  losing  as  possible.  On  examining 
my  symptoms  the  sage  shook  his  head,  and  judici- 
ously observed  that  I  might  linger  a  good  while  yet, 
or  might  die  very  soon :  but  would^  do  well  at  all 
events,  to  take  his  medicine.  This  I  received,  but 
took  care  not  to  waste  on  my  incurable  ailments : 
notwithstanding  which  cautious  conduct  my  weak- 
ness soon  encreased  to  such  a  degree,  that  a  walk 
round  my  garden  became  an  exertion. 

Near  me  lived  a  young  couple,  whom  my  other 
neighbours  made  the  constant  theme  of  their  praise : 
—and  most  disinterested  it  seemed  ;  for  the  husband 
had  only  gained,  by  serving  his  country  as  a  soldier, 
some  severe  and  painful  wounds,  while  the  wife 
had  lost,  by  preferring  the  wounded  soldier  to  a 
hale  peasant  with  a  heavy  purse,  the  countenance 
of  all  her  kindred.  In  return  she  had  secured  the 
smiles  of  a  large  family  of  her  own  ;  and  her  only 
embarrassment  was  how  to  give  her  children  bread. 
Of  love  alone  there  remained  a  most  plentiful  store  : 
but  even  of  this  ingredient  it  was  difficult  to  say 


446*  ANASTASIUS. 

whether,  by  rendering  each  consort  an  object  of. 
constant  anxiety  to  the  other,  it  alleviated  their 
sufferings  or  encreased  their  solicitude. 

To  get  sight  of  these  worthy  people  was  not  so 
easy  as  it  might  seem.  They  were  proud :  they 
liked  not  a  stranger  to  witness  their  honourable  in- 
digence, and  they  dreaded  the  importunate  offer  of 
his  superfluity.  Even  when  at  Jast— through  dint 
of  unabating  perseverance — I  obtained  leave  to  visit 
them,  they  shewed  the  greatest  ingenuity  in  eluding 
the  drift  of  my  visits.  With  respect  to  the  state  of 
their  finances  they  were  downright  hypocrites. 
One  would  have  supposed  they  wanted  for  nothing. 
Fate  however  ordained  me  to  collect  from  their  own 
mouths — without  any  thanks  to  their  candour — the 
most  practicable  mode  of  relieving  their  necessities. 

Once,  on  a  Sunday  evening,  as  the  husband,  at 
rest  from  the  week's  labour,  and  with  only  the 
weight  of  his  own  little  wife  hanging  on  his  arm, 
had  sat  listening  across  the  fence  which  divided  our 
properties,  to  the  narrative  of  some  of  my  ad- 
ventures, and  had  heard  w  ith  equal  awe  and  con- 
cern how  the  soundest  parts  of  mv  life  had  been 
full  of  death  spots ;  how  pride,  passion,  love  and 
hatred— every  feeling,  every  lure,  and  every  stimu- 
lus— had  in  turns  swayed  my  existence  with  such 


ANASTASIUS.  447 

ill-poised  force,  that  each  during  its  reign  wholly- 
silenced  all  the  rest,  until,  exhausted  by  indulgence, 
each  again  left  its  rivals  to  take  a  dire  revenge; 
how  by  my  own  ingenuity  I  had  contrived  ever  to 
render  useless  all  the  gifts  profusely  showered  upon 
me;  and  how  finally  my  whole  life  had  been  a  struggle 
with  a  bounteous  Providence,  which  should  do  and 
which  undo  the  most, — the  little  woman  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  story  fetched  a  deep  sigh,  and  the 
husband  hereupon  giving  her  a  sharpish  look,  she 
with  a  blush  observed,  what  a  pity  it  was,  a  tale  so 
eventful  and  so  strange  should  remain  unrecorded : 
— Conrad  was  so  good  a  penman  ! 

At  first  I  spurned  the  idea.  I  had  indeed  learnt  a 
little  of  the  world,  and  at  my  cost ;  but  of  com- 
position I  knew  nothing  ;  and  though,  in  my  days  of 
buoyancy  and  conceit,  I  might  frequently  have  plan- 
ned to  gratify  the  world  with  my  motley  memoirs,  in 
my.  days  of  humiliation  and  weakness  I  recoiled 
from  the  arduous  task.  That  very  weakness,  how- 
ever, at  last  persuaded  me.  I  was  no  longer  able  to 
take  any  exercise,  and  I  wanted  some  occupation 
sufficiently  interesting  to  prevent  a  still  restless  mind 
from  pieying  upon  a  feeble  and  failing  body. 
Besides — I  own  that  I  felt  a  faint  wish  not  to  let 
oblivion  wholly  blot  out  of  man's  remembrance  the 


448  ANASTASIUS. 

name  of  Anastasius.  Nor  could  the  scheme  en- 
counter great  difficuhy  on  the  score  of  the  difference 
of  idiom  between  me  and  my  destined  secretary:  for 
Conrad,  educated  as  a  gentleman,  had  moreover 
acquired  In  his  campaigns  a  sufficient  knowledge  of 
the  French  language^our  thus  far  ordinary  medium 
of  communication — to  write  in  it  correctly  what  I 
should  dictate. 

If  therefore  I  still  only  caught  at  the  proposal 
slowly  ;  if  I  still  a  while  made  a  shew  of  outward 
reluctance  survive  my  inward  assent,  it  was  only  to 
obtain  on  my  own  terms  the  assistance  proffered — 
and  to  extort  a  right  to  estimate,  at  least  in  a  limited 
degree,  my  obligations  to  my  scribe,  as  merchants 
do  the  services  rendered  by  their  correspondents, — 
a  proceeding,  however,  so  haughtily  rejected  at  first, 
that  I  must  have  despaired  of  success,  but  for  the 
soft  whisperings  of  pity  in  the  bosom  of  my 
new  friends.  They  saw  my  frame  waste  away  so 
fast,  that  at  last  they  blushed  to  let  an  unseason- 
able— I  may  say  an  unsympathising — delicacy,  any 
longer  deprive  my  few  remaining  days  of  their  only 
solace  ;  and  permitted  me  to  name  them  in  my  will. 
This  I  eagerly  did,  and  then  committed  to  their 
care  my  person  and  my  fame.  No  sooner  was 
the   bargain  thus  struck,    than   we  sat  down.     I 


ANTASASlUS.  449 

dictated, — more  or  less  at  a  time,  according  to  my 
strength  and  spirits — Conrad  wrote  :  and  this  is  the 
fruit. 

Upon  the  whole  the  task  has  afforded  me  a 
salutary  relief  from  the  tedium  of  my  constrained 
situation.  Only  when  I  have  happened,  while 
ruminating  upon  my  own  affairs,  to  cast  my  eyes 
upon  my  honoured  scribe— who  sits  there  smiling  to 
be  thus  himself  unexpectedly  brought  forward, 
while  waiting  with  uplifted  pen  the  sequel  of  my 
meditations  —  and  chanced  to  catch  the  stolen 
glances  of  affection  exchanged  between  him  and  his 
amiable  helpmate,  working  by  his  side,  some  drops 
of  bitterness  would  mix  even  with  this  last  pleasure. 
*^  Such,"  thought   I,   "  might  have  been  my  own 

fate  with  my  Euphrosyne  ;  and  such  also ," 

but  already  Conrad's  incipient   frown  checks   my 
digressing  any  further. 

Once  or  twice,  indeed,  encreasing  weakness  has 
been  near  putting  a  stop  to  my  work,  in  the  midst 
of  its  progress.  Each  time,  however,  the  perform- 
ance was,  after  a  short  interruption,  again  duly 
resumed :— and  Heaven  has  at  last  permitted  its 
completion. 

At  thirty  five  I  here  complete  its  last  page  and 
sentence.  At  thirty  five  I  take  leave  of  all 
further  earthly  concerns:  at  thirty   five   I   close, 

VOL.  III.     .  G  g 


450  ANASTASItJS. 

— nevermore  to  re-open  it — the  crowded  volume  of 
my  toilsome  life.  In  a  few  weeks,  days — perhaps 
hours — will  for  ever  drop  over  my  person,  my  actions, 
and  my  errors,  the  dark  curtain  of  death  ; — when 
nothing  will  remain  of  the  once  vain  and  haughty 
Anastasius,  but  an  empty  name,  and  a  heap  of 
noisome  ashes. 

O  ye  who  tread  their  scattered  remnants  ! — ere 
you  execrate  that  name,  the  theme  of  so  much 
obloquy,  remember  my  sufferings :  be  merciful  to 
my  memory, — and  may  Heaven's  mercy  rest  upon 
yourselves  ! 

Here  ends  the  author's  own  narrative :  what  fol- 
lows has  been  added  from  the  account  of  the  gentle- 
man he  names  Conrad. 

Anastasius,  having  completed  the  last  pages  of 
his  memoirs  with  great  effort  only,  fell  almost  im- 
mediately after  into  an  irremediable  languor. 
Every  day  that  dawned  now  threatened  —or  rather 
promised — to  be  his  last:  for  his  existence  was 
become  so  fuU  of  misery,  that  his  end  seemed 
desirable.  Yet  could  not  his  sufferings — intense  as 
they  were — for  a  moment  subdue  his  fortitude. 
Never  was  he  heard  to  utter  a  syllable  of  impatience 
or  complaint.  Whenever  his  debility  permitted 
him  to  converse,  the  theme  was  his  adored  child. 


ANASTASIUS.  451 

"  Were  my  heart  opened"' — said  he  one  day — 
^'  you  would  find  his  name  inscribed  in  its  core.  In 
the  winning  of  my  Alexis  I  lost  health  and  strength, 
but  it  was  the  losing  of  him  which  gave  me  the 
death  blow.  Now  that  nothing  more  remains  for 
me  to  do  but  to  prepare  for  my  exit,  I  could  have 
wished — had  1  been  a  great  man,  enabled  to  indulge 
all  his  fancies  -  to  be  carried  to  the  spot  where  he 
lies,  there  to  breathe  my  last  by  his  beloved  side : 
but  such  luxuries  an  outcast,  a  homeless  wanderer 
must  not  think  of.  Enough  for  me,  when  my 
hour  is  at  hand,  to  have  in  his  gentle  spirit  an 
angel  on  high,  to  intercede  w  ith  his  father  in  Heaven, 
for  his  mortal  one  departing  this  earth."" 

The  third  morning  after  this  speech,  Conrad, 
coming  in  at  an  early  hour,  found  not  his  patient, 
as  usual,  on  his  pillow.  Anastasius  had  made 
shift  to  creep  out  of  bed,  and  was  kneeling  before  a 
chair  on  which  rested  his  face.  At  first  he  seemed 
in  a  swoon  : — but,  discerning  the  approach  of  his 
friend,  he  held  out  his  trembling  hand  to  him,  and, 
trying  to  raise  his  head,  faintly  cried  out :  "  Heaven 
takes  pity  at  last.  Thanks,  O  thanks  for  all  your 
goodness  !'" — and  immediately  relapsed.  After  a 
second  interval  of  apparent  absence,  a  second  fit  of 
momentary  consciousness  followed,  when  Conrad, 
stooping,  heard  the  poor  sufferer  utter,   but  in  a 


45^  ANASTASIUS. 

voice  almost  extinct:  "O  my  Alexis,  I  come!'*' 
and  immediately  saw  his  head  f  11  forward  again. 
Conrad  now  tried  to  lilt  him  into  bed,  in  order  that 
he  might  be  more  at  ease.  There  was  no  occasion  : 
Anastasius  was  no  more 

His  body,  laidoUt — by  those  who  owed  to  him  their 
restoration  to  comfort  and  affluence— in  a  sort  of 
state,  was  by  them  committed  to  its  last  mansion  with 
somewhat  more  solemnity  than  he  had  desired.  They 
inherited  half  his  property  :  the  other  half  had  been 
bequeathed  to  the  poor  of  the  place ;  and,  though 
staunch  Roman  Catholics,  its  inhabitants — it  is  said 
— still  bless  the  memory  of  the  young  Greek. 


Note. 

The  editor  acknowledges  that  the  effect  produced  by  the 
loss  of  his  child  on  a  man  like  Anastasius,  seemed  to  him — 
even  allowing  for  the  peculiarity  of  the  adventurer's  situa- 
tion— somewhatimprobable,  until  in  Mariner's  account  of 
Finow,king  of  the  Tonga  islands,  he  found  what  power  the 
feelings  of  nature  will  sometimes,  dmoug  semi-barbarous 
nations,  retain  even  over  minds  in  other  respects  ferocious 
and  pitiless. 


NOTES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Note. 

1.  p.  5.  Confiscation  of  the  paternal  estate  :  those  who 

accept  offices  and  titles  from  the  Sultan, 
are  considered  as  submitting  to  become 
his  slaves,  and  giving  him  an  arbitrary 
right  over  their  lives  and  inheritance. 

2.  p.  6.  Bergamo:  the  ancient  Pergamus. 

3.  p.  9.  Its  immense  cemeteries :    among  the  Turks, 

in  proportion  as  death  extends  its  con- 
quests, cemeteries  are  enlarged;  and  as 
in  the  vicinity  of  great  cities  the  tombs 
have  cypress-trees  planted  round  them, 
their  distant  appearance  is  that  of  a  forest. 
The  burying  places  which  surround  Con- 
stantino})le  on  all  sides  are  immense  ;  but 
chiefly  those  at  Scutari ;  from  the  pre- 
dilection which  even  the  Turks  of  Europe 
preserve  for  being  buried  in  Asia. 

4.  p.  12.  Sultan  Mahmoud's  horse :  actually  interred  in 

the  cemetery  of   Scutari,  under  a  dome 
supported  by  eight  pillars. 
5.  p.  l6.  Shah-Nishi7i :  name  given  to  the  project- 


454  NOTES. 

Note 

ing  windows  or  gazebos  in  use  at  Con- 
stantinople. 
6.  p.  20.  Halebeen  :  from  Haleb  or  Aleppo. 

CHAPTER  II. 

l.p.  44.  St.  Mark's  dazzling  images:   Venetian  se- 
quins, stani,td   with   the  figure  of  that 

saint,  and  the  most   current  gold  coin  in 

the  Levant. 
'2.  p.  51.  J  light  Barbary  hdick :    or  cotton   cloak, 

worn  by  the  Barbaresques. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

1.  p.  110.   Coordish  horsemen:  the  Coords  or  inhabi- 

tants of  Coordistan,  lead,  like  the  Tartars, 
a  pastoral  and  predatory  life  ;  and  roam 
all  over  Asia  Minor,  for  the  purposes  of 
pasture  and  of  plunder. 

2.  p.  110.  Ansariehs  :  a  tribe  supposed  to  worship 

the  evil  spirit,  and,  unlike  the  Moham- 
medans, by  no  means  tenacious  of  the 
chastity  of  their  wives  and  daughters. 

3.  p.  115.  Kaffi4 :  small  caravan. 

4.  p.  119.   Yulfa :  a  suburb  of  Ispahan. 

CHAPTER  V. 
1.  p.  139.  Bairak :  Turkish  standard,  or  regiment. 


NOTES.  455 

Note 
^.  p.  144.  Serdar:  reception  room. 
3.  p.  148.  Ishallah  :  please  God  ! 

CHAPTER  VI. 

1.  p.  Id4.  KahiU :  small  Arab  tribe,  subordinate  to 
a  larger. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

1.  p.  185.  Within  the  fifth  generation:  tlius  far  ex- 
tends in  honour  the  obligation  of  an  Arab 
to  carry  his  revenge  for  the  slaughter  of 
a  kinsman. 

3.  p.  193.  Hoick :  vide  supra,  page  51. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

1.  p.  218.  Within   three  or  four   Conacks:   or   days 

journey. 

2.  p.  219.    To  untie  my  horses  legs  :  the  Arab  mode  of 

securing  horses  during  the  night,  consists 
in  tying  their  legs  to  a  stake  driven  in 
the  ground. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

i.  p.  251.  Turkish  Santon  :  or  itinerant  saint,  of  the 
sort  that  travel  about,  living  upon  the 
credulity  and  superstition  of  the  lower 
orders. 


466  NOTES. 

Note 

CHAPTER  X. 

1.  p.  255.  He  soon   distinguished  himself  by  his  pro- 

Jiciency  in  magic: — an  art  believed  in  by  all 
the  Mamlukes,  and  cultivated  by  many. 

2.  p.  275.  A  derwish  with  his  sugarloaf  cap  :  made  of 

felt. 

3.  p.  280.  Tekkieh  :  monastery  or  building  in  which 

the  derwishes  perform  their  devout  ex- 
ercises. 

CHAPTER  XL 

1.  p.  281.  Kajii:  small  caravan. 

2.  p.  281.  Imam:  priest. 

3.  p  .283,  Cazi-asker:  chief  of  the  order  of  Turkish 

magistrates ;    of  which  there   are  two : 
one  for  Roumili,  and  one  for  Anadoly. 

4.  p.  283.  Medresse:  Mohammedan  endowed  college. 

5.  p.  284.  Khodgea;  teacher,  preceptor. 

6.  p.  284.  Muderrees  :  members  of  the  higher  depart- 

ments of  the  law. 

7.  p.  286.  Antakieh :  the  ancient  Antioch. 

8.  p.  288.  Leaden  images  :  of  their  saints,  which  some 

of  the  orders  of  derwishes  distribute. 

9.  p.  291.  Hadjee-Becklash  :  the  patron  saint  of  one 

of  the  principal  orders  of  derwishes. 
10.  p.  293.  Malkyan^ :   (vide   vol,  first,   page   288): 


NOTES.  457 

Note 

fief  of  the  nature  of  an  appanage  or  join- 
ture. 

11.  p.  294.  My  shaggy  hair:  some   of  the   orders  of 

derwishes  deviate  from  the  custom  of  the 
Turks,  in  wearing  their  hair  very  long. 

12.  p.  294.  Disturbed  all  the  angels  in  my  beard :  the 

Moiiammedans,  from  some  such  preju- 
dice, deem  it  a  sin,  after  once  they  have 
suffered  their  beards  to  grow,  to  cut  them 
off  again. 

13.  p.  295,  Donanmas :  Fetes  given  by  the  Turkish 

government  on  the  occasion  of  public 
rejoicings,  &c. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1.  p.  380.  Spiridion's  tablets  were  composed  of  the  sub" 

stance  so  called  : — peau  d'ane  is  the  special 
name  given  in  French  to  tablets  of  that 
description. 

2.  p.  390.  Its  seals  are  all  torn  off,   and  its  ornaments 

effaced  :  by  the  treaty  of  Toleiitino,  con- 
cluded between  the  Pope  and  Buonaparte, 
the  fairest  provinces  of  the  Patrimony 
of  St.  Peter,  and  the  finest  statues  of 
the  Vatican,  had  been  ceded  to  the  French. 

THE  END. 


London  :  printed  by  W.  Bulmer  and  Co. 
Cleveland-row,  St.  James's. 


EMMA,  a  Novel.  By  the  Author  of  Pride  and 
Prejudice,  3  vols.  12mo.  IZ.  Is. 

NORTHANGER  ABBEY,  a  Romance ;  and  PER- 
SUASION, a  novel ;  by  the  Author  of  Pride  and  Pre- 
judice, Mansfield-Park,  &c.  With  a  Biographical 
Notice  of  the  Author.  4  vols.  12mo.  24^. 

ROMANCES.  By  I.  D'Iskaeli,  Esq.  Third 
Edition,  Svo.  7s.  6d, 

JOURNAL  of  PENROSE,  a  Seaman.  4  vols,  small 
Svo.     1/.  4s. 

The  DESATEER,  with  the  Ancient  Persian  Trans- 
lations, and  Commentary ;  and  a  Glossary  of  the  ancient 
Persian  Words.  By  Mulla  Feruz  Bin  Mulla  Kaws. 
To  which  will  be  added,  an  English  Translation,  2  vols. 
4 to.     In  the  Press. 

The  Desdteer  is  cue  of  the  most  singular  books  that  has 
appeared  in  the  East.  It  professes  to  be  a  Collection  of 
the  Writings  of  the  different  Persian  Prophets,  from  the 
time  of  Mohdbdd  to  the  time  of  the  fifth  Sdssdn,  being  fif- 
teen in  number  ;  of  whom  Zerdusht,  whom,  following  the 
Greeks,  we  call  Zoroaster,  was  the  thirteenth,  and  the  fifth 
Sassdn  the  last.  This  Sdssdn  lived  in  the  time  of  Khusrou 
Purvez,  who  was  contemporay  with  the  Emperor  HeracUus, 
and  died  only  nine  years  before  the  destruction  of  the 
ancient  Persian  monarchy. 

TRANSACTIONS  of  the  Literary  Society  of  Bom- 
bay.   With  Plates.  4to.  2/.  12s.  6d. 

ASIATIC  RESEARCHES,  or  Transactions  of  the 
Society  instituted  in  Bengal,  for  an  Inquiry  into  the 
History  and  Antiquities,  the  Arts,  Sciences,  and  Litera- 
ture of  Asia,  Vol.  12.  4 to.  2 Z.  2s.    Printed  at  Calcutta. 

The  same,  reprinted  in  London,  Svo.  18s. 


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