Murad the Unlucky and Other Tales

M >> Maria Edgeworth >> Murad the Unlucky and Other Tales


"My brother came out of his room to inquire the cause of all this
disturbance; and when he saw the fine mirror broken, and me lying amongst
the glass chandeliers at the bottom of the stairs, he could not forbear
exclaiming, 'Well, brother! you are indeed Murad the Unlucky.'

"When the first emotion was over, he could not, however, forbear laughing
at my situation. With a degree of goodness, which made me a thousand
times more sorry for the accident, he came downstairs to help me up, gave
me his hand, and said, 'Forgive me if I was angry with you at first. I
am sure you did not mean to do me any injury; but tell me how all this
has happened?'

"Whilst Saladin was speaking, I heard the same kind of noise which had
alarmed me in the ante-chamber; but, on looking back, I saw only a black
pigeon, which flew swiftly by me, unconscious of the mischief he had
occasioned. This pigeon I had unluckily brought into the house the
preceding day; and had been feeding and trying to tame it for my young
nephews. I little thought it would be the cause of such disasters. My
brother, though he endeavoured to conceal his anxiety from me, was much
disturbed at the idea of meeting the favourite's displeasure, who would
certainly be grievously disappointed by the loss of her splendid looking-
glass. I saw that I should inevitably be his ruin if I continued in his
house; and no persuasions could prevail upon me to prolong my stay. My
generous brother, seeing me determined to go, said to me, 'A factor, whom
I have employed for some years to sell merchandise for me, died a few
days ago. Will you take his place? I am rich enough to bear any little
mistakes you may fall into from ignorance of business; and you will have
a partner who is able and willing to assist you.'

"I was touched to the heart by this kindness, especially at such a time
as this. He sent one of his slaves with me to the shop in which you now
see me, gentlemen. The slave, by my brother's directions, brought with
us my china vase, and delivered it safely to me, with this message: 'The
scarlet dye that was found in this vase, and in its fellow, was the first
cause of Saladin's making the fortune he now enjoys: he therefore does no
more than justice in sharing that fortune with his brother Murad.'

"I was now placed in as advantageous a situation as possible; but my mind
was ill at ease when I reflected that the broken mirror might be my
brother's ruin. The lady by whom it had been bespoken was, I well knew,
of a violent temper; and this disappointment was sufficient to provoke
her to vengeance. My brother sent me word this morning, however, that
though her displeasure was excessive, it was in my power to prevent any
ill consequences that might ensue. 'In my power!' I exclaimed; 'then,
indeed, I am happy! Tell my brother there is nothing I will not do to
show him my gratitude and to save him from the consequences of my folly.'

"The slave who was sent by my brother seemed unwilling to name what was
required of me, saying that his master was afraid I should not like to
grant the request. I urged him to speak freely, and he then told me the
favourite declared nothing would make her amends for the loss of the
mirror but the fellow-vase to that which she had bought from Saladin. It
was impossible for me to hesitate; gratitude for my brother's generous
kindness overcame my superstitious obstinacy, and I sent him word I would
carry the vase to him myself.

"I took it down this evening from the shelf on which it stood; it was
covered with dust, and I washed it, but, unluckily, in endeavouring to
clean the inside from the remains of the scarlet powder, I poured hot
water into it, and immediately I heard a simmering noise, and my vase, in
a few instants, burst asunder with a loud explosion. These fragments,
alas! are all that remain. The measure of my misfortunes is now
completed! Can you wonder, gentlemen, that I bewail my evil destiny? Am
I not justly called Murad the Unlucky? Here end all my hopes in this
world! Better would it have been if I had died long ago! Better that I
had never been born! Nothing I ever have done or attempted has
prospered. Murad the Unlucky is my name, and ill-fate has marked me for
her own."



CHAPTER III


The lamentations of Murad were interrupted by the entrance of Saladin.
Having waited in vain for some hours, he now came to see if any disaster
had happened to his brother Murad. He was surprised at the sight of the
two pretended merchants, and could not refrain from exclamations on
beholding the broken vase. However, with his usual equanimity and good-
nature, he began to console Murad; and, taking up the fragments, examined
them carefully, one by one joined them together again, found that none of
the edges of the china were damaged, and declared he could have it mended
so as to look as well as ever.

Murad recovered his spirits upon this. "Brother," said he, "I comfort
myself for being Murad the Unlucky when I reflect that you are Saladin
the Lucky. See, gentlemen," continued he, turning to the pretended
merchants, "scarcely has this most fortunate of men been five minutes in
company before he gives a happy turn to affairs. His presence inspires
joy: I observe your countenances, which had been saddened by my dismal
history, have brightened up since he has made his appearance. Brother, I
wish you would make these gentlemen some amends for the time they have
wasted in listening to my catalogue of misfortunes by relating your
history, which, I am sure, they will find rather more exhilarating."

Saladin consented, on condition that the strangers would accompany him
home and partake of a social banquet. They at first repeated the former
excuse of their being obliged to return to their inn; but at length the
sultan's curiosity prevailed, and he and his vizier went home with
Saladin the Lucky, who, after supper, related his history in the
following manner:--

"My being called Saladin the Lucky first inspired me with confidence in
myself; though I own that I cannot remember any extraordinary instances
of good luck in my childhood. An old nurse of my mother's, indeed,
repeated to me twenty times a day that nothing I undertook could fail to
succeed, because I was Saladin the Lucky. I became presumptuous and
rash; and my nurse's prognostics might have effectually prevented their
accomplishment had I not, when I was about fifteen, been roused to
reflection during a long confinement, which was the consequence of my
youthful conceit and imprudence.

"At this time there was at the Porte a Frenchman, an ingenious engineer,
who was employed and favoured by the sultan, to the great astonishment of
many of my prejudiced countrymen. On the grand seignior's birthday he
exhibited some extraordinarily fine fireworks; and I, with numbers of the
inhabitants of Constantinople, crowded to see them. I happened to stand
near the place where the Frenchman was stationed; the crowd pressed upon
him, and I amongst the rest; he begged we would, for our own sakes, keep
at a greater distance, and warned us that we might be much hurt by the
combustibles which he was using. I, relying upon my mood fortune,
disregarded all these cautions; and the consequence was that, as I
touched some of the materials prepared for the fireworks, they exploded,
dashed me upon the ground with great violence, and I was terribly burnt.

"This accident, gentlemen, I consider as one of the most fortunate
circumstances of my life; for it checked and corrected the presumption of
my temper. During the time I was confined to my bed the French gentleman
came frequently to see me. He was a very sensible man; and the
conversations he had with me enlarged my mind and cured me of many
foolish prejudices, especially of that which I had been taught to
entertain concerning the predominance of what is called luck or fortune
in human affairs. 'Though you are called Saladin the Lucky,' said he,
'you find that your neglect of prudence has nearly brought you to the
grave even in the bloom of youth. Take my advice, and henceforward trust
more to prudence than to fortune. Let the multitude, if they will, call
you Saladin the Lucky; but call yourself, and make yourself, Saladin the
Prudent.'

"These words left an indelible impression on my mind, and gave a new turn
to my thoughts and character. My brother, Murad, his doubtless told you
our difference of opinion on the subject of predestination produced
between us frequent arguments; but we could never convince one another,
and we each have acted, through life, in consequence of our different
beliefs. To this I attribute my success and his misfortunes.

"The first rise of my fortune, as you have probably heard from Murad, was
owing to the scarlet dye, which I brought to perfection with infinite
difficulty. The powder, it is true, was accidentally found by me in our
china vases; but there it might have remained to this instant, useless,
if I had not taken the pains to make it useful. I grant that we can only
partially foresee and command events; yet on the use we make of our own
powers, I think, depends our destiny. But, gentlemen, you would rather
hear my adventures, perhaps, than my reflections; and I am truly
concerned, for your sakes, that I have no wonderful events to relate. I
am sorry I cannot tell you of my having been lost in a sandy desert. I
have never had the plague, nor even been shipwrecked: I have been all my
life an inhabitant of Constantinople, and have passed my time in a very
quiet and uniform manner.

"The money I received from the sultan's favourite for my china vase, as
my brother may have told you, enabled me to trade on a more extensive
scale. I went on steadily with my business, and made it my whole study
to please my employers by all fair and honourable means. This industry
and civility succeeded beyond my expectations: in a few years I was rich
for a man in my way of business.

"I will not proceed to trouble you with the journal of a petty merchant's
life; I pass on to the incident which made a considerable change in my
affairs.

"A terrible fire broke out near the walls of the grand seignior's
seraglio. As you are strangers, gentlemen, you may not have heard of
this event, though it produced so great a sensation in Constantinople.
The vizier's superb palace was utterly consumed, and the melted lead
poured down from the roof of the mosque of St. Sophia. Various were the
opinions formed by my neighbours respecting the cause of the
conflagration. Some supposed it to be a punishment for the sultan's
having neglected one Friday to appear it the mosque of St. Sophia; others
considered it as a warning sent by Mahomet to dissuade the Porte from
persisting in a war in which we were just engaged. The generality,
however, of the coffee-house politicians contented themselves with
observing that it was the will of Mahomet that the palace should be
consumed. Satisfied by this supposition, they took no precaution to
prevent similar accidents in their own houses. Never were fires so
common in the city as at this period; scarcely a night passed without our
being wakened by the cry of fire.

"These frequent fires were rendered still more dreadful by villains, who
were continually on the watch to increase the confusion by which they
profited, and to pillage the houses of the sufferers. It was discovered
that these incendiaries frequently skulked, towards evening, in the
neighbourhood of the bezestein, where the richest merchants store their
goods. Some of these wretches were detected in throwing _coundaks_, or
matches, into the windows; and if these combustibles remained a
sufficient time, they could not fail to set the house on fire.

"Notwithstanding all these circumstances, many even of those who had
property to preserve continued to repeat, 'It is the will of Mahomet,'
and consequently to neglect all means of preservation. I, on the
contrary, recollecting the lesson I had learned from the sensible
foreigner, neither suffered my spirits to sink with superstitious fears
of ill-luck, nor did I trust presumptuously to my good fortune. I took
every possible means to secure myself. I never went to bed without
having seen that all the lights and fires in the house were extinguished,
and that I had a supply of water in the cistern. I had likewise learned
from my Frenchman that wet mortar was the most effectual thing for
stopping the progress of flames. I, therefore, had a quantity of mortar
made up in one of my outhouses, which I could use at a moment's warning.
These precautions were all useful to me. My own house, indeed, was never
actually on fire; but the houses of my next-door neighbours were no less
than five times in flames in the course of one winter. By my exertions,
or rather by my precautions, they suffered but little damage, and all my
neighbours looked upon me as their deliverer and friend; they loaded me
with presents, and offered more, indeed, than I would accept. All
repeated that I was Saladin the Lucky. This compliment I disclaimed,
feeling more ambitious of being called Saladin the Prudent. It is thus
that what we call modesty is often only a more refined species of pride.
But to proceed with my story.

"One night I had been later than usual at supper at a friend's house;
none but the watch were in the streets, and even they, I believe, were
asleep.

"As I passed one of the conduits which convey water to the city, I heard
a trickling noise; and, upon examination, I found that the cook of the
water-spout was half turned, so that the water was running out. I turned
it back to its proper place, thought it had been left unturned by
accident, and walked on; but I had not proceeded far before I came to
another spout, and another, which were in the same condition. I was
convinced that this could not be the effect merely of accident, and
suspected that some ill-intentioned persons designed to let out and waste
the water of the city, that there might be none to extinguish any fire
that should break out in the course of the night.

"I stood still for a few moments, to consider how it would be most
prudent to act. It would be impossible for me to run to all parts of the
city, that I might stop the pipes that were running to waste. I first
thought of wakening the watch and the firemen, who were most of them
slumbering at their stations; but I reflected that they were perhaps not
to be trusted, and that they were in a confederacy with the incendiaries,
otherwise they would certainly before this hour have observed and stopped
the running of the sewers in their neighbourhood. I determined to waken
a rich merchant, called Damat Zade, who lived near me, and who had a
number of slaves whom he could send to different parts of the city, to
prevent mischief and give notice to the inhabitants of their danger.

"He was a very sensible, active man, and one that could easily be
wakened; he was not like some Turks, an hour in recovering their
lethargic senses. He was quick in decision and action; and his slaves
resembled their master. He despatched a messenger immediately to the
grand vizier, that the sultan's safety might be secured, and sent others
to the magistrates in each quarter of Constantinople. The large drums in
the janissary aga's tower beat to rouse the inhabitants; and scarcely had
they been heard to beat half an hour before the fire broke out in the
lower apartments of Damat Zade's house, owing to a _coundak_ which had
been left behind one of the doors.

"The wretches who had prepared the mischief came to enjoy it, and to
pillage; but they were disappointed. Astonished to find themselves taken
into custody, they could not comprehend how their designs had been
frustrated. By timely exertions, the fire in my friend's house was
extinguished; and though fires broke out during the night in many parts
of the city, but little damage was sustained, because there was time for
precautions, and, by the stopping of the spouts, sufficient water was
preserved. People were awakened and warned of the danger, and they
consequently escaped unhurt.

"The next day, as soon as I made my appearance at the bezestein, the
merchants crowded round, called me their benefactor, and the preserver of
their lives and fortunes. Damat Zade, the merchant whom I had awakened
the preceding night, presented to me a heavy purse of gold, and put upon
my finger a diamond ring of considerable value; each of the merchants
followed his example in making me rich presents; the magistrates also
sent me tokens of their approbation; and the grand vizier sent me a
diamond of the first water, with a line written by his own hand, 'To the
man who has saved Constantinople.' Excuse me, gentlemen, for the vanity
I seem to show in mentioning these circumstances. You desired to hear my
history, and I cannot, therefore, omit the principal circumstance of my
life. In the course of four-and-twenty hours I found myself raised, by
the munificent gratitude of the inhabitants of this city, to a state of
affluence far beyond what I had ever dreamed of attaining.

"I now took a house suited to my circumstances, and bought a few slaves.
As I was carrying my slaves home, I was met by a Jew, who stopped me,
saying, in his language, 'My lord, I see, has been purchasing slaves; I
could clothe them cheaply.' There was something mysterious in the manner
of this Jew, and I did not like his countenance; but I considered that I
ought not to be governed by caprice in my dealings, and that, if this man
could really clothe my slaves more cheaply than another, I ought not to
neglect his offer merely because I took a dislike to the cut of his
beard, the turn of his eye, or the tone of his voice. I, therefore, bade
the Jew follow me home, saying that I would consider of his proposal.

"When we came to talk over the matter, I was surprised to find him so
reasonable in his demands. On one point, indeed, he appeared unwilling
to comply. I required not only to see the clothes I was offered, but
also to know how they came into his possession. On this subject he
equivocated; I, therefore, suspected there must be something wrong. I
reflected what it could be, and judged that the goods had been stolen, or
that they had been the apparel of persons who had died of some contagious
distemper. The Jew showed me a chest, from which he said I might choose
whatever suited me best. I observed that, as he was going to unlock the
chest, he stuffed his nose with some aromatic herbs. He told me that he
did so to prevent his smelling the musk with which the chest was
perfumed; musk, he said, had an extraordinary effect upon his nerves. I
begged to have some of the herbs which he used himself, declaring that
musk was likewise offensive to me.

"The Jew, either struck by his own conscience or observing my suspicions,
turned as pale as death. He pretended he had not the right key, and
could not unlock the chest; said he must go in search of it, and that he
would call on me again.

"After he had left me, I examined some writing upon the lid of the chest
that had been nearly effaced. I made out the word 'Smyrna,' and this was
sufficient to confirm all my suspicions. The Jew returned no more; he
sent some porters to carry away the chest, and I heard nothing of him for
some time, till one day, when I was at the house of Damat Zade, I saw a
glimpse of the Jew passing hastily through one of the courts, as if he
wished to avoid me. 'My friend,' said I to Damat Zade, 'do not attribute
my question to impertinent curiosity, or to a desire to intermeddle with
your affairs, if I venture to ask the nature of your business with the
Jew who has just now crossed your court?'

"'He has engaged to supply me with clothing for my slaves,' replied my
friend, 'cheaper than I can purchase it elsewhere. I have a design to
surprise my daughter Fatima, on her birthday, with an entertainment in
the pavilion in the garden, and all her female slaves shall appear in new
dresses on the occasion.'

"I interrupted my friend, to tell him what I suspected relative to this
Jew and his chest of clothes. It is certain that the infection of the
plague can be communicated by clothes, not only after months, but after
years have elapsed. The merchant resolved to have nothing more to do
with this wretch, who could thus hazard the lives of thousands of his
follow-creatures for a few pieces of gold. We sent notice of the
circumstance to the cadi, but the cadi was slow in his operations; and
before he could take the Jew into custody the cunning fellow had effected
his escape. When his house was searched, he and his chest had
disappeared. We discovered that he sailed for Egypt, and rejoiced that
we had driven him from Constantinople.

"My friend, Damat Zade, expressed the warmest gratitude to me. 'You
formerly saved my fortune; you have now saved my life, and a life yet
dearer than my own: that of my daughter Fatima.'

"At the sound of that name I could not, I believe, avoid showing some
emotion. I had accidentally seen this lady, and I had been captivated by
her beauty and by the sweetness of her countenance; but as I knew she was
destined to be the wife of another, I suppressed my feeling, and
determined to banish the recollection of the fair Fatima for ever from my
imagination. Her father, however, at this instant threw into my way a
temptation which it required all my fortitude to resist. 'Saladin,'
continued he, 'it is but just that you, who have saved our lives, should
share our festivity. Come here on the birthday of my Fatima; I will
place you in a balcony which overlooks the garden, and you shall see the
whole spectacle. We shall have a _feast of tulips_, in imitation of that
which, as you know, is held in the grand seignior's gardens. I assure
you the sight will be worth seeing; and besides, you will have a chance
of beholding my Fatima, for a moment, without her veil.'

"'That,' interrupted I, 'is the thing I most wish to avoid. I dare not
indulge myself in a pleasure which might cost me the happiness of my
life. I will conceal nothing from you, who treat me with so much
confidence. I have already beheld the charming countenance of your
Fatima, but I know that she is destined to be the wife of a happier man.'

"Damat Zade seemed much pleased by the frankness with which I explained
myself; but he would not give up the idea of my sitting with him in the
balcony on the day of the feast of tulips; and I, on my part, could not
consent to expose myself to another view of the charming Fatima. My
friend used every argument, or rather every sort of persuasion, he could
imagine to prevail upon me; he then tried to laugh me out of my
resolution; and, when all failed, he said, in a voice of anger, 'Go,
then, Saladin: I am sure you are deceiving me; you have a passion for
some other woman, and you would conceal it from me, and persuade me you
refuse the favour I offer you from prudence, when, in fact, it is from
indifference and contempt. Why could you not speak the truth of your
heart to me with that frankness with which one friend should treat
another?'

"Astonished at this unexpected charge, and at the anger which flashed
from the eyes of Damat Zade, who till this moment had always appeared to
me a man of a mild and reasonable temper, I was for an instant tempted to
fly into a passion and leave him; but friends, once lost, are not easily
regained. This consideration had power sufficient to make me command my
temper. 'My friend,' replied I, 'we will talk over this affair
to-morrow. You are now angry, and cannot do me justice, but to-morrow
you will be cool; you will then be convinced that I have not deceived
you, and that I have no design but to secure my own happiness, by the
most prudent means in my power, by avoiding the sight of the dangerous
Fatima. I have no passion for any other woman.'

"'Then,' said my friend, embracing me, and quitting the tone of anger
which he had assumed only to try my resolution to the utmost, 'Then,
Saladin, Fatima is yours.'

"I scarcely dared to believe my senses; I could not express my joy! 'Yes,
my friend,' continued the merchant, 'I have tried your prudence to the
utmost, it has been victorious, and I resign my Fatima to you, certain
that you will make her happy. It is true I had a greater alliance in
view for her--the Pacha of Maksoud has demanded her from me; but I have
found, upon private inquiry, he is addicted to the intemperate use of
opium, and my daughter shall never be the wife of one who is a violent
madman one-half the day and a melancholy idiot during the remainder. I
have nothing to apprehend from the pacha's resentment, because I have
powerful friends with the grand vizier, who will oblige him to listen to
reason, and to submit quietly to a disappointment he so justly merits.
And now, Saladin, have you any objection to seeing the feast of tulips?'

"I replied only by falling at the merchant's feet, and embracing his
knees. The feast of tulips came and on that day I was married to the
charming Fatima! The charming Fatima I continue still to think her,
though she has now been my wife some years. She is the joy and pride of
my heart; and, from our mutual affection, I have experienced more
felicity than from all the other circumstances of my life, which are
called so fortunate. Her father gave me the house in which I now live,
and joined his possessions to ours; so that I have more wealth even than
I desire. My riches, however, give me continually the means of relieving
the wants of others; and therefore I cannot affect to despise them. I
must persuade my brother Murad to share them with me, and to forget his
misfortunes: I shall then think myself completely happy. As to the
sultana's looking-glass and your broken vase, my dear brother," continued
Saladin, "we must think of some means--"