The situation now offered the reader is worth a pause, if only to fix it in mind.
Constantine and Mahommed, soon to be contestants1 in war, are coming face to face, lovers both of the same woman. The romance is obvious; yet it is heightened by another circumstance. One of them is in danger.
We of course know Aboo-Obeidah, the Singing Sheik, is Prince Mahommed in disguise; we know the Prince also as heir of Amurath the Sultan, a very old man liable to vacate place and life at any moment. Suppose now the rash adventurer--the term fits the youth truly as if he were without rank--should be discovered and denounced to the Emperor. The consequences can only be treated conjecturally2.
In the first place, to what extremities3 the Prince would be put in explaining his presence there. He could plead the invitation of the Princess Irene. But his rival would be his judge, and the judge might find it convenient to laugh at the truth, and rest his decision on the prisoner's disguise, in connection with his own presence--two facts sufficiently4 important to serve the most extreme accusation5.
Constantine, next, was a knightly6 monarch8 who knew to live nobly, and dared die as he lived; yet, thinking of what he might do with Mahommed fallen into his hands under circumstances so peculiar9, there was never a Caesar not the slave of policy. In the audience to Manuel the sailor, we have seen how keenly sensitive he was to the contraction10 the empire had suffered. Since that day, to be sure, he had managed to keep the territory he came to; none the less, he felt the Turk to whom the stolen provinces invariably fell was his enemy, and that truce11 or treaty with him did not avail to loosen the compression steadily12 growing around his capital. Over and over, daytime and night, the unhappy Emperor pondered the story of the daughter of Tantalus; and often, starting from dreams in which the Ottoman power was a serpent slowly crawling to its victim, he would cry in real agony--"O Constantinople--Niobe! Who can save thee but God? And if He will not--alas13, alas!" The feeling thus engendered14 was not of a kind to yield readily to generosity15. Mahommed once securely his, everything might be let go--truth, honor, glory--everything but the terms of advantage purchasable with such an hostage.
The invitation to the imaginary Sheik had been a last act of grace by Irene, about to embark16 for the city. Mahommed, when he accepted, knew Therapia by report a village very ancient historically, but decaying, and now little more than a summer resort and depot17 of supplies for fishermen. That its proverbial quietude would be disturbed, and the sleepy blood of its inhabitants aroused, by a royal galley18 anchoring in the bay to discharge the personnel of the empire itself, could have had no place in his anticipations20. So when he stepped into a boat, the Aboo-Obeidah of his eulogy21, and suffered himself, without an attendant, to be ferried across to Roumeli-Hissar; when he there took an humble22 wherry of two oars23, and bade the unliveried Greeks who served them pull for Therapia, it was to see again the woman who was taking his fancy into possession, not Constantine and his court bizarre in splendor25 and habitude. In other words, Mahommed on setting out had no idea of danger. Love, or something very like it, was his sole inspiration.
The trireme, with the white cross on its red sail, its deck a martial26 and courtly spectacle, had been reported to him as the hundred and twenty flashing scarlet27 blades, in their operation a miracle of unity28, whisked it by the old Castle, and he had come forth29 to see it. Where are they going? he asked those around him; and they, familiar with the Bosphorus, its shipping30 and navigation, answered unanimously, To exercise her crew up in the Black Sea; and thinking of the breadth of the dark blue fields there, the reply commended itself, and he dismissed the subject.
The course chosen by his boatmen when they put off from Roumeli-Hissar kept him close to the European shore, which he had leisure to study. Then, as now, it was more favored than its Asiatic opposite. The winds from the sea, southward blowing, unloaded their mists to vivify its ivy31 and myrtle. The sunlight, tarrying longest over its pine-clad summits, coaxed32 habitations along the shore; here, a palace; there, under an overhanging cliff, a hamlet; yonder, a long extended village complaisantly adapting itself to the curvatures of the brief margin33 left it for occupancy. Wherever along the front of the heights and on the top there was room for a field the advantage had been seized. So the Prince had offered him the sight of all others most significant of peace among men--sight of farmers tilling the soil. With the lucid34 sky above him summer-laden, the water under and about him a liquid atmosphere, the broken mountain-face changing from lovely to lovelier, and occasionally awakening35 him with a superlative splendor, the abodes36 so near, and the orchards37 and strawberry and melon patches overhead, symbolizing38 goodwill39 and fraternity and happiness amongst the poor and humble--with these, and the rhythmic40 beating of the oars to soothe41 his spirit, fierce and mandatory42 even in youth, he went, the time divided between views fair enough for the most rapturous dreams, and the Greek, of whom, with all their brightness, they were but dim suggestions. Past the stream-riven gorge43 of Balta-Liman he went; past Emirghian; past the haven44 of Stenia, and the long shore-town of Yenikeui; then, half turning the Keuibachi bend, lo! Therapia, draggling down the stony45 steep, like a heap of bangles on a brown-red cheek. And there, in the soft embracement of the bay, a bird with folded wings asleep--the trireme!
The sight startled the Prince. He spoke46 to the rowers, and they ceased fighting the current, and with their chins over their shoulders, looked whither he pointed47. From ship to shore he looked; then, pursuing the curve inland to the bridge at the upper end; thence down what may be called the western side, he beheld48 people crowding between a quay49 and a red kiosk over which pended a wooded promontory50.
"There is a Princess living in this vicinity," said he to one of the rowers, slightly lifting the handkerchief from his face. "Where is her palace?"
"In the garden yonder. You see the gate over the heads of the men and women."
"What is her name?"
"Princess Irene. She is known on this shore as the Good Princess."
"Irene--a sound pleasant to the ear"--Mahommed muttered. "Why is she called good?"
"Because she is an angel of mercy to the poor."
"That is not usual with the great and rich," he said next, yielding to a charm in the encomiums.
"Yes," the boatman responded, "she is great, being akin24 to the Emperor, and rich, too, though"--
Here the man broke off to assist in bringing the boat back from its recession with the current, at this point boisterously51 swift.
"You were saying the Princess is rich," Mahommed said, when the oars were again at rest.
"Oh, yes! But I cannot tell you, my friend, how many are partners in her wealth. Every widow and orphan52 who can get to her comes away with a portion. Isn't it so?"
His companion grunted53 affirmatively, adding: "Down yonder a man with a crooked54 back lives in an arched cell opening on the water. Perhaps the stranger saw it as he came up."
"Yes," Mahommed answered.
"Well, in the back part of the cell he has an altar with a crucifix and a picture of the Blessed Mother on it, and he keeps a candle burning before them day and night--something he could not do if we did not help him, for candles of wax are costly55. He has named the altar after the Princess, Sta. Irene. We often stop and go in there to pray; and I have heard the blessings56 in the light of that candle are rich and many as the Patriarch has for sale in Sta. Sophia."
These praises touched Mahommed; for, exalted57 as he was in station, he was aware of the proneness58 of the poor to berate59 the rich and grumble60 at the great, and that such had been a habit with them from the commencement of the world. Again the boat slipped down the current; when it was brought back, he asked: "When did the ship yonder come up?"
"This morning."
"Oh, yes! I saw it then, but thought the crew were being taken to the sea for practice."
"No," the boatman replied, "it is the state galley of His Majesty61 the Emperor. Did you not see him? He sat on the throne with all his ministers and court around him."
Mahommed was startled.
"Where is the Emperor now?" he inquired.
"I should say, seeing the crowd yonder, that His Majesty is in the palace with the Princess."
"Yes," said the second rower, "they are waiting to see him come out."
"Row out into the bay. I should like to have the view from that quarter."
While making the detour62, Mahommed reflected. Naturally he remembered himself the son of Amurath; after which it was easy to marshal the consequences of exposure, if he persisted in his venture. He saw distinctly how his capture would be a basis of vast bargaining with his father, or, if the sturdy old warrior63 preferred revenge to payment of a ruinous ransom64, how the succession and throne might slip to another, leaving him a prisoner for life.
Yet another matter presented itself to him which the reader may decide worthy65 a separate paragraph. Its mention has been waiting this opportunity. The Prince from Magnesia, his seat of government, was on the way to Adrianople, called thither66 by his father, who had chosen a bride for him, daughter of a renowned67 Emir. Regularly he would have crossed the Hellespont at Gallipoli; a whim68, however, took him to the White Castle--whim or destiny, one being about as satisfactory as the other. Pondering silently whether it were not best to return, he thought, apropos69 the Princess Irene, of the nuptials70 to be celebrated71, and of his bride expectant; and a Christian72, pausing over the suggestion, may be disposed to condemn73 him for inconstancy.
In countries where many wives are allowed the same husband he is not required to love any of them. Indeed, his fourth spouse74 may be the first to command him; hers the eyes for his enslavement; hers the voice of the charmer charming both wisely and forever. Mahommed did now think of the Emir's daughter, but not with compunction, nor even in comparison. He had never seen her face, and would not until after the wedding days. He thought of her but to put her aside; she could not be as this Christian was, neither so accomplished75 nor courtly; besides which, it was dawning upon him that there were graces of mind and soul as well as of person, while perfection was a combination of all the graces in equal degree. Gleams of the latter had visited him while gazing into the radiant face of the Emperor's kinswoman; and how, at such favoring times, his fancy had gone out to her and come back warmed, enlivened, glorified76! There is a passion of the mind and a passion of the blood; and though one and one make two, two is still a multiple of one.
Looking thus at the galley, Mahommed thought of the tales in the East not less common than in the West, and believed in them faithfully, for chivalry77 was merely on the wane--tales of beauteous damsels shut up in caves or adamantine castles, with guardian78 lions couchant at the gates, and of well-sworded heroes who marched boldly up to the brutes79, and slew80 them, and delivered the captives always with reward. Of course, in making the application, the Princess was the prisoner, the ship the lion, and himself--well, in want of a sword, he laid hand upon his dagger81, precisely82 as a liberating83 knight7 up to the ideal would do.
Nor was this all. The revelations of the Prince of India were still fresh to him. He wished to see his competitor. How did he look? Was there enough of him to make battle? He smiled thinking of the pleasure there would be in slyly studying the Princess and the Emperor at the same time. He drew the handkerchief down, looked at his brown-stained hands, and adjusted the folds of his burnoose. The disguise was perfect.
"Take me to the landing--there before the gate of the Good Princess," he said, with the air of a traveller above suspicion.
His resolution was taken. Challenging all chances, he would respond to the invitation of the Princess. And so completely were doubt and hesitation84 dismissed with our adventurer, that it was not Mahommed who stepped from the boat where the populace was in densest85 assemblage, but Aboo-Obeidah, the Singing Sheik, and as such we will speak of him.
The guard at the gate, viewing him askance, detained him until he could be reported.
A fair conception of the scene presented when the Sheik stood on the floor of the portico86 is probably in the reader's mind; yet a glance at it may be pardoned. It was at first like a sudden introduction to an oriental garden. There were the vines, flowering shrubs88, fruiting trees, many-fronded palms, and the effect of outdoors derived89 from the shadows of the pillars, and the sunshine streaming brilliantly through the open intervals90. The tables bore proofs of the collation91 served upon them. Overhead was the soft creaminess of pure marble in protected state mellowed92 by friendly touches of time. At the end of the vista93, the company was indistinctly visible through the verdure of obtruding94 branches. Voices came to him from that part, and gleams of bright garments; and to get to them it seemed he must pass through a viridescent atmosphere flecked with blooms, and faintly sweet with odors. For in losing the masculinity of their race the Greeks devoted95 themselves more and more to refined effeminacies.
Moving slowly forward under the guidance of Lysander, whose javelin96 beating the floor accentuated97 the rasping shuffle98 of his sandals, the Sheik came presently to a full view of the concourse.
He stopped, partly in obedience99 to a fine instinct of propriety100 teaching him he was now subject to the pleasure of his hostess, and partly to single out the royal enemy against whom he believed he was about to be pitted by destiny.
Constantine was sitting at ease, his left elbow resting on an arm of the sedilium, his forefinger101 supporting his cheek, his cloak across his lap. The attitude was reflective; the countenance102 exposed under the lifted visor of the helmet, was calm and benignant; except there was no suggestion of an evil revery holding the current of his thought, or casting a shade of uncertainty103 over his soul, he looked not unlike the famous Il Penseroso familiar to art-seekers in the Medici Chapel104 of Florence. Then the eyes of the rivals met. The Greek was in no wise moved. How it would have been with him could he have seen through the disguise of the Sheik may never be said. On the other part, the Sheik lifted his head, and seemed taking on increase of stature106. A projecting fold of the head-kerchief overhung his face, permitting nothing to be seen but red-hued cheeks, a thin beard, and eyes black and glittering. The review he felt himself undergoing did not daunt107 him; it only sent his pride mounting, like a leap of flame. "By the Virgin108!" said one of the courtiers to another, in a louder tone than the occasion demanded. "We may indeed congratulate ourselves upon having seen the king of camel drivers." There was a disposition109 to laugh amongst the lighter-minded of the guests, but the Princess checked it by rising. "Bid the Sheik approach," she said, to the old domestic; and, at a sign from her, the waiting-women drew closer about her chair. The figure of the Princess clad all in white, a bracelet110 of plain gold upon her left arm, fillets in her hair, one red, the other blue, a double strand111 of pearls about her neck--this figure, with the small head, perfect in turn, set matchlessly upon the sloping shoulders, the humid eyes full of violet light, the cheeks flushed with feeling--this figure so bright in its surroundings, admitted no rivalry112 in attention, none in admiration113; the courtiers, old and young, turned from the Sheik, and the Sheik from the Emperor. In a word, every eye centred upon the Princess, every tongue bade hush114 lest what she said might be lost. Etiquette115 required the Sheik's presentation to the Emperor first, but seeing her about to comply with the rule, he prostrated116 himself at her feet. As he arose, she said: "When I invited you to come and give me more of the cheer there is in your art, O Sheik, I did not know my gracious kinsman118, to whom every Greek is proud and happy to be allegiant, designed visiting me to-day. I pray you will not suffer too much from his presence, but regard him a royal auditor119 who delights in a tale well told, and in verses when the theme and measure go lovingly together. His Majesty, the Emperor!"
"Hist! Didst hear?" whispered the Professor of Philosophy to the Professor of Rhetoric120. "Thyself couldst not have spoken better."
"Ay, truly," the other answered. "Save a trifle of stiffness, the speech might have served Longinus."
With her last word, the Princess stepped aside, leaving Mahommed and Constantine front to front.
Had the Sheik been observant of the monarch's dues, he would have promptly121 prostrated himself; but the moment for the salutation passed, and he remained standing122, answering the look he received calmly as it was given. The reader and the writer know the reason governing him; the suite123, however, were not so well informed, and they began to murmur124. The Princess herself appeared embarrassed.
"Lord of Constantinople," the Sheik said, seeing speech was his, "were I a Greek, or a Roman, or an Ottoman, I should make haste to kiss the floor before you, happy of the privilege; for--be the concession125 well noted"--he glanced deferentially126 around him as he spoke--"the report which the world has of you is of a kind to make it your lover. After a few days--Allah willing--I shall stand before Amurath the Sultan. Though in reverencing127 him I yield not to any one simply his friend, he will waive128 prostration129 from me, knowing what Your Majesty may not. In my country we cleanse130 the ground with our beards before no one but God. Not that we are unwilling131 to conform to the rules of the courts in which we find ourselves; with us it is a law--To kiss a man's hand maketh him the master; prostrate117 thyself to him, and without other act, thou becomest his subject. I am an Arab!"
The Sheik was not in the least defiant132; on the contrary, his manner was straightforward133, simple, sincere, as became one interposing conscience against an observance in itself rightful enough. Only in the last exclamation134 was there a perceptible emphasis, a little marked by a lift of the head and a kindling135 of the eyes.
"I see Your Majesty comprehends me," he said, continuing; "yet to further persuade your court, and especially the fair and high-born lady, whose guest, with all my unworthiness, I am, from believing me moved in this matter by disrespect for their sovereign, I say next, if by prostration I made myself a Roman, the act would be binding137 on the tribe whose Sheik I am by lawful138 election. And did I that, O thou whose bounties139 serve thy people in lieu of rain! though my hand were white, like the first Prophet's, when, to assure the Egyptian, he drew it from his bosom140, it would char19 blacker than dust of burned willow--then, O thou, lovelier than the queen the lost lapwing reported to Solomon! though my breath were as the odor of musk141, it would poison, like an exhalation from a leper's grave--then, O my lords! like Karoon in his wickedness, I should hear Allah say of me, O Earth, swallow him! For as there are crimes and crimes, verily the chief who betrays his brethren born to the practice of freedom, shall wander between tents all his days, crying, Oh, alas! oh, alas! Who now will defend me against God?"
When the Sheik paused, as if for judgment142, he was not only acquitted143 of intentional144 disrespect; the last grumbler145 was anxious to hear him further.
"What astonishing figures!" the Philosopher whispered to the Rhetorician. "I begin to think it true that the East hath a style of its own."
"I commend thy sagacity, my brother," the other replied. "His peroration146 was redolent of the Koran--A wonderful fellow nevertheless!"
Presently the whole concourse was looking at the Emperor, with whom it rested whether the Sheik should be dismissed or called on for entertainment.
"Daughter," said Constantine to the Princess, "I know not enough of the tribal147 law of thy guest to have an opinion of the effect upon him and his of the observance of our ancient ceremony; wherefore we are bound to accept his statement. Moreover it does not become our dignity to acquire subjects and dominion148, were they ever so desirable, in a method justly liable to impeachment149 for treachery and coercion150. Besides which--and quite as important, situated151 as we are--thy hospitality is to be defended."
Here the Sheik, who had been listening to the Emperor, and closely observing him, thrice lightly clapped his hands.
"It remains152 for us, therefore, to waive the salutation in this instance."
A ripple153 of assent154 proceeded from the suite.
"And now, daughter," Constantine pursued, "thy guest being present to give thee of his lore105, it may be he will be pleased to have us of his audience as well. Having heard much of such performances, and remembering their popularity when we were in our childhood, we will esteem155 ourselves fortunate if now favored by one highly commended as a master in his guild156."
The Sheik's eyes sparkled brighter as he answered, "It is written for us in our Holiest, the very Word of the Compassionate,--'If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a better greeting, or at least return it.' Verily my Lord dispenseth honor with so light a hand as not to appear aware of the doing. When my brethren under the black tents are told of my having won the willing ear of their Majesties157 of Byzantium and Adrianople, they will think of me as one who has been permitted to walk in the light of two suns simultaneous in shining."
So saying, he bowed very low.
"My only unhappiness now is in not knowing the direction in which my Lord's preferences run; for as a stream goes here and there, but all the time keeps one general course, seeking the sea, so with taste; though it yield a nod now, and then a smile, it hath always a deeper delight for the singer's finding. I have the gay and serious--history, traditions--the heroics of men and nations, their heart-throbs in verse and prose--all or any for the Lord of Constantinople and his kinswoman, my hostess,--may her life never end until the song of the dove ceases to be heard in the land!"
"What say you, my friends?" asked Constantine, glancing graciously at those around him.
Then they looked from him to the Princess, and in thought of the betrothal158, replied, "Love--something of love!"
"No," he returned, unflinchingly. "We are youths no longer. There is enlightenment in the traditions of nations. Our neighbors, the Turks-- what hast thou of them, Sheik?"
"Didst thou hear?" said Notaras to one at his elbow. "He hath recanted; the Empress will not be a Greek."
There was no answer; for the Sheik, baring his head, hung the kerchief and cord upon his arm, preliminaries which gave him perfectly159 to view. A swarthy face; hair black, profuse160, closely cut along the temples; features delicate but manly--these the bystanders saw in a general way, being more attracted by the repressed fire in the man's eyes, and his air high and severely161 noble.
When the Princess caught sight of the countenance, she fell into a confusion. She had seen it, but where and when? The instant he was beginning he gazed at her, and in the exchange of glances she was reminded of the Governor bidding her adieu on the shore of the Sweet Waters. But he was youthful, while this one--could it be he was old? The feeling was a repetition of that she had in the Castle when the storyteller appeared the first time.
"I will tell how the Turks became a Nation."
Then, in Greek but a little broken, the Sheik began a recital162.
ALAEDDIN AND ERTOGHRUL
I
A tale of Ertoghrul!--
How when the Chief
Lay one day nooning with his stolen herds163,
A sound of drumming smote164 him from the East,
And while he stood to see what came of it,
The West with like notes fainter, echo-like,
Made answer; then two armies rode in view,
Horses and men in steel, the sheen of war
About them and above, and wheeling quick
From column into line, drew all their blades,
Shook all their flags, and charged and lost themselves
In depths of dusty clouds, which yet they tore
With blinding gleams of light, and yells of rage,
And cheers so high and hoarse165 they well might seem
The rolling thunder of a mountain storm.
Long time the hosts contended; but at last
The lesser166 one began to yield the ground,
Oppressed in front, and on its flanks o'erwhelmed:
And hasted then the end, a piteous sight,
Most piteous to the very brave who know
From lessons of their lives, how seldom 'tis
Despair can save where valor167 fails to win.
Then Ertoghrul aroused him, touched to heart.
"My children, mount, and out with cimeter!
I know not who these are, nor whence they come;
Nor need we care. 'Twas Allah led them here,
And we will honor Him--and this our law;
What though the weak may not be always right,
We'll make it always right to help the weak.
Deep take the stirrups now, and ride with me,
Allah-il-Allah!"
Thus spake Ertoghrul;
And at the words, with flying reins168, and all
His eager tribe, four hundred sworded men,
Headlong he rode against the winning host.
II
Beneath the captured flags, the spoils in heaps
Around him laid, the rescued warrior stood,
A man of kingly mien169, while to him strode
His unexpected friend.
"Now who art thou?"
The first was first to ask.
"Sheik Ertoghrul
Am I."
"The herds I see--who calls them his?"
Laughed Ertoghrul, and showed his cimeter.
"The sword obeys my hand, the hand my will,
And given will and hand and sword, I pray
Thee tell me, why should any man be poor?"
"And whose the plain?"
"Comes this way one a friend
Of mine, and leaves his slippers170 at my door,
Why then, 'tis his."
"And whose the hills that look
Upon the plain?"
"My flocks go there at morn,
And thence they come at night--I take my right
Of Allah."
"No," the stranger mildly said,
"'Twas Allah made them mine."
Frowned Ertoghrul,
While darkened all the air; but from his side
Full pleasantly the stranger took a sword,
Its carven hilt one royal emerald,
Its blade both sides with legends overwrought,
Some from the Koran, some from Solomon,
All by the cunning Eastern maker171 burned
Into the azure172 steel-his sword he took,
And held it, belt, and scabbard too, in sign
Of gift.
"The herds, the plain, the hills were mine;
But take thou them, and with them this in proof
Of title."
Lifted Ertoghrul his brows,
And opened wide his eyes.
"Now who art thou?"
He asked in turn.
"Oh, I am Alaeddin--
Sometimes they call me Alaeddin the Great."
"I take thy gifts--the herds, the plain, the hills,"
Said Ertoghrul; "and so I take the sword;
But none the less, if comes a need, 'tis thine.
Let others call thee Alaeddin the Great;
To me and mine thou'rt Alaeddin the Good
And Great."
With that, he kissed the good King's hand;
And making merry, to the Sheik's dowar
They rode. And thus from nothing came the small;
And now the lonely vale which erst ye knew,
And scorned, because it nursed the mountain's feet,
Doth cradle mornings on the mountain's top.
Mishallah!
The quiet which held the company through the recitation endured a space afterwards, and--if the expression be allowed--was in itself a commentary upon the performance.
"Where is our worthy Professor of Rhetoric?" asked Constantine.
"Here, Your Majesty," answered the man of learning, rising.
"Canst thou not give us a lecture upon the story with which thy Arabian brother hath favored us?"
"Nay173, sire, criticism, to deal justly, waiteth until the blood is cool. If the Sheik will honor me with a copy of his lines, I will scan and measure them by the rules descended174 to us from Homer, and his Attic175 successors."
The eyes of the Emperor fell next upon the moody176, discontented face of Duke Notaras.
"My lord Admiral, what sayest thou of the tale?"
"Of the tale, nothing; of the story-teller--I think him an insolent177, and had I my way, Your Majesty, he should have a plunge178 in the Bosphorus."
Presuming the Sheik unfamiliar179 with Latin, the Duke couched his reply in that tongue; yet the former raised his head, and looked at the speaker, his eyes glittering with intelligence--and the day came, and soon, when the utterance180 was relentlessly181 punished.
"I do not agree with you, my Lord," Constantine said, in a melancholy182 tone. "Our fathers, whether we look for them on the Roman or the Greek side, might have played the part of Ertoghrul. His was the spirit of conquest. Would we had enough of it left to get back our own!--Sheik," he added, "what else hast thou in the same strain? I have yet a little time to spare--though it shall be as our hostess saith."
"Nay," she answered, with deference183, "there is but one will here."
And taking assent from her, the Sheik began anew.
Bismillah!
Ertoghrul pursued a wolf,
And slew it on the range's tallest peak,
Above the plain so high there was nor grass
Nor even mosses185 more. And there he sat
Him down awhile to rest; when from the sky,
Or the blue ambiency cold and pure,
Or maybe from the caverns186 of the earth
Where Solomon the King is wont187 to keep
The monster Genii hearkening his call,
El Jann, vast as a cloud, and thrice as black,
Appeared and spoke--
"Art thou Sheik Ertoghrul?"
And he undaunted answered: "Even so."
"Well, I would like to come and sit with thee."
"Thou seest there is not room for both of us."
"Then rise, I say, and get thee part way down
The peak."
"'Twere easier," laughed Ertoghrul,
"Madest thou thyself like me as thin and small;
And I am tired."
A rushing sound ran round and up
And down the height, most like the whir of wings
Through tangled188 trees of forests old and dim.
A moment thus--the time a crisped leaf,
Held, armlength overhead, will take to fall--
And then a man was sitting face to face
With Ertoghrul.
"This is the realm of snow,"
He said, and smiled--"a place from men secure,
Where only eagles fearless come to nest,
And summer with their young."
The Sheik replied,
"It was a wolf--a gaunt gray wolf, which long
Had fattened189 on my flocks--that lured190 me here.
I killed it."
"On thy spear I see no blood;
And where, O Sheik, the carcass of the slain191?
I see it not."
Around looked Ertoghrul--
There was no wolf; and at his spear--
Upon its blade no blood. Then rose his wrath192,
A mighty193 pulse.
"The spear hath failed its trust--
I'll try the cimeter."
A gleam of light--
A flitting, wind-borne spark in murk of night--
Then fell the sword, the gift of Alaeddin;
Edge-first it smote the man upon his crown--
Between his eyes it shore, nor staying there,
It cut his smile in two--and not yet spent,
But rather gaining force, through chin and chine,
And to the very stone on which he sat
It clove194, and finished with a bell-like clang
Of silvern steel 'gainst steel.
"Aha! Aha!"--
But brief the shout; for lo! there was no stain
Upon the blade withdrawn195, nor moved the man,
Nor changed he look or smile.
"I was the wolf
That ran before thee up the mountain side;
'Twas I received thy spear as now thy sword;
And know thou further, Sheik, nor wolf nor man
Am I, nor mortal thing of any kind;
Only a thought of Allah's. Canst thou kill
A thought divine? Not Solomon himself
Could that, except with thought yet more divine.
Yield thee thy rage; and when thou think'st of me
Hereafter, be it as of one, a friend,
Who brought a parable, and made display
Before thee, saying--
"Lo! what Allah wills."
Therewith he dropped a seed scarce visible
Into a little heap of sand and loam197
Between them drawn196.
"Lo! Allah wills."
And straight
The dust began to stir as holding life.
Again El Jann--
A tiny shoot appeared; a waxen point
Close shawled in many folds of wax as white,
It might have been a vine to humbly199 creep--
A lily soon to sunward flare200 its stars--
A shrub87 to briefly201 coquette with the winds.
Again the cabalism--
"Lo! Allah's will."
The apparition202 budded, leafed, and branched,
And with a flame of living green lit all
The barrenness about. And still it grew--
Until it touched the pillars of the earth,
And lapped its boundaries, the far and near,
And under it, as brethren in a tent,
The nations made their home, and dwelt in peace
Forever.
"Lo!"--
And Ertoghrul awoke.
Mishallah!
This recitation commanded closer attention than the first one. Each listener had a feeling that the parable at the end, like all true parables203, was of continuous application, while its moral was in some way aimed at him.
The looks the Sheik received were by no means loving. The spell was becoming unpleasant. Then the Emperor arose, as did the Princess, to whom, as hostess, the privilege of sitting had been alone conceded.
"Our playtime is up--indeed, I fear, it has been exceeded," he said, glancing at the Dean, who was acting204 master of ceremonies.
The Dean responded with a bow low as his surroundings admitted; whereupon the Emperor went to the Princess, and said, "We will take leave now, daughter, and for myself and my lords of the court, I acknowledge a most agreeable visit, and thank you for it."
She respectfully saluted205 the hand he extended to her.
"Our gate and doors at Blacherne are always open to you."
The adieu was specially136 observed by the courtiers, and they subsequently pronounced it decorous for a sovereign, cordial as became a relative, but most un-loverlike. Indeed, it was a strong point in the decision subsequently of general acceptance, by which His Majesty was relieved of the proposal of marriage to the Princess.
The latter took his offered arm, and accompanied him to the steps of the portico, where, when he had descended, the lords one by one left a kiss on her hand.
Nor should it be forgotten, that as Constantine was passing the Sheik, he paused to say to him in his habitually206 kind and princely manner: "The tree Sheik Ertoghrul saw in his dream has spread, and is yet spreading, but its shadow has not compassed all the nations; and while God keeps me, it will not. Had not I myself invited the parable, it might have been offensive. For the instruction and entertainment given me, accept thou this--and go in peace."
The Sheik took the ring offered him, and the gaze with which he followed the imperial giver was suggestive of respect and pity.
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1
contestants
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| n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 ) | |
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conjecturally
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| adj.推测的，好推测的 | |
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extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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knightly
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| adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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18
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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char
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| v.烧焦；使...燃烧成焦炭 | |
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anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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21
eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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22
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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23
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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26
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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27
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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28
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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29
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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30
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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31
ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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32
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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33
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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34
lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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35
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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36
abodes
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| 住所( abode的名词复数 )； 公寓； （在某地的）暂住； 逗留 | |
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37
orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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38
symbolizing
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| v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的现在分词 ) | |
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39
goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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40
rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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41
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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42
mandatory
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| adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者 | |
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43
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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44
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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45
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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46
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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47
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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48
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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49
quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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50
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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51
boisterously
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| adv.喧闹地，吵闹地 | |
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52
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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53
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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54
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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55
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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56
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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57
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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58
proneness
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| n.俯伏，倾向 | |
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59
berate
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| v.训斥，猛烈责骂 | |
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60
grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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61
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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62
detour
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| n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道 | |
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63
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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64
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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65
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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66
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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67
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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68
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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69
apropos
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| adv.恰好地；adj.恰当的；关于 | |
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70
nuptials
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| n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 ) | |
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71
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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72
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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73
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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74
spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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75
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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76
glorified
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| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
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77
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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78
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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79
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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80
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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81
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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82
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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83
liberating
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| 解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 ) | |
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84
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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85
densest
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| 密集的( dense的最高级 )； 密度大的； 愚笨的； （信息量大得）难理解的 | |
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86
portico
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| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
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87
shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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88
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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89
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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91
collation
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| n.便餐；整理 | |
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92
mellowed
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| （使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香 | |
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93
vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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94
obtruding
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| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的现在分词 ) | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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96
javelin
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| n.标枪，投枪 | |
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97
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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98
shuffle
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| n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走 | |
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99
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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100
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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101
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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102
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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103
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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104
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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105
lore
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| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
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106
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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107
daunt
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| vt.使胆怯，使气馁 | |
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108
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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109
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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110
bracelet
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| n.手镯，臂镯 | |
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111
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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112
rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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113
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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114
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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115
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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116
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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117
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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118
kinsman
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| n.男亲属 | |
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119
auditor
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| n.审计员，旁听着 | |
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120
rhetoric
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| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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121
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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122
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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123
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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124
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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125
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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126
deferentially
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| adv.表示敬意地，谦恭地 | |
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127
reverencing
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| v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的现在分词 )；敬礼 | |
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128
waive
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| vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等) | |
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129
prostration
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| n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳 | |
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130
cleanse
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| vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗 | |
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131
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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132
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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133
straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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134
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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135
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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136
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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137
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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138
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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139
bounties
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| （由政府提供的）奖金( bounty的名词复数 )； 赏金； 慷慨； 大方 | |
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140
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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141
musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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142
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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143
acquitted
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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144
intentional
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| adj.故意的，有意（识）的 | |
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145
grumbler
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| 爱抱怨的人，发牢骚的人 | |
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146
peroration
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| n.（演说等之）结论 | |
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147
tribal
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| adj.部族的，种族的 | |
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148
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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149
impeachment
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| n.弹劾；控告；怀疑 | |
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150
coercion
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| n.强制，高压统治 | |
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151
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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152
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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153
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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154
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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155
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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156
guild
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| n.行会，同业公会，协会 | |
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157
majesties
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| n.雄伟( majesty的名词复数 )；庄严；陛下；王权 | |
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158
betrothal
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| n. 婚约, 订婚 | |
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159
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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160
profuse
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| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
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161
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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162
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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163
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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164
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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165
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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166
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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167
valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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168
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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169
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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170
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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171
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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172
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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173
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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174
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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175
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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176
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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177
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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178
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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179
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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180
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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181
relentlessly
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| adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断 | |
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182
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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183
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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184
parable
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| n.寓言，比喻 | |
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185
mosses
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| n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式 | |
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186
caverns
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| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
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187
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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188
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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189
fattened
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| v.喂肥( fatten的过去式和过去分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值 | |
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190
lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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191
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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192
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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193
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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194
clove
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| n.丁香味 | |
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195
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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196
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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197
loam
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| n.沃土 | |
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198
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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199
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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200
flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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201
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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202
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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203
parables
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| n.（圣经中的）寓言故事( parable的名词复数 ) | |
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204
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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205
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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206
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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