Aga

“ Delighted at this intelligence, the Aga paid the price demanded, and had his purchase sent to his rooms. Her beauty and manners were everything that could be desired, but Tumbel had not long had his purchase home before he discovered that she was likely to increase his household in a way neither wished for nor calculated upon. Indignant at the deception which had been practised upon him, but probably somewhat softened by the beautiful captive's manner, the old Aga pretended to chase her out of the seraglio, but meanwhile gave private orders that she should be cared for in every respect. ”

“ Zeineb-Khanoun. O you for whom I would give my life, can such a lie be uttered?
Aga-Merdan. If the sister of Hadji-Ghafour had anyone to maintain her cause do you think that she would fail to defeat us? But to-day she has no one to oppose us, and plead her cause for her. If she had married Aga-Hassam, the merchant, the business would have been very difficult for us. But now, Aga-Hassam, himself, and all his influential kinsfolk have become enemies of this young lady; they desire that this fortune should not be hers. The girl is deserted and left with her lover, who is good for nothing. ”

“ This general was originally promoted to the rank of Aga out of the corps of janizaries. But as this was the occasion of much jealousy, and gave rise to various cabals, which frequently rendered the Aga contemptible in the eyes of his followers, the grand Signor at present appoints him from the Ichnoglans belonging to the seraglio.
The daily pay of the Aga amounts to one hundred aspres, which are equal to 20 ecus, or French half-crowns, making 55 cents of our money ”

“ I was at a loss to whom to address myself, unknown as I was in the city, and I was thinking of making my case known to the cadi, when, approaching the gate of the caravanserai, I was accosted by the old capiji. 'Peace be unto you, Aga!' said he; 'may you live many years, and may your abundance increase! ”

“ Of hearts and homes laid waste through misplaced faith,
Uplifts his hands in wonderment to think
That men can be such fools; and, thanking Heaven
That he is not as blind as others are,
He trusts a pretty woman to his friend!
Aga. But see, she comes! Quick! take me hence away. Enter Faustus and Gretchen, lovingly. Gretchen, seeing Agatha, advances to speak to her. Agatha turns about, and exit quickly with Friedrich.
Gret. Oh, Faustus, didst thou see? She turned from me!
Faus. Nay, nay, she saw thee not. ”

“ Two Janizaries accompanied Constantine beyond the Turkish lines.
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"What new scheme has the Aga hatched in his brain now?" said one of them, as they returned.
"He has twisted that fellow's brain so that he will never serve Scanderbeg truly again," was the knowing reply. "The Aga is the very devil to throw a spell over a man. They say that when he captured the fellow yesterday, he had only to squint into his face a moment, when, as quick as a turn of a foil, the man changed his looks, and was as much like the Aga as two thumbs." ”

“ The Aga had sent four servants belonging to his stables to accompany us; active, lively, and good-humoured fellows. Our people too, were all recruited. Ismael, and blind Georgis, were left to take care of the house in my absence. About twelve o'clock we got into a valley, and hid ourselves in the lowest part of it, under a bank, for the night was exceeding cold; but we had spirits with us, which we drank with moderation. We there refreshed our beasts about half an hour, and again stopt in a valley among trees. ”

“ The forest folk have been very good to me, and much concerned about my progress. And now I am able to go out again. To-day I was watching a spider in the thicket, when I saw Aga rushing towards me. "Ah, it's you!" she cried. "You must help us. We want to live in honour and decency. The priest won't marry us. You can ask for our blessing." The next moment Berthold had joined her and they were kneeling before me. And I pronounced the words which I had no right to pronounce. I married them in the heart of the green forest. ”

“ The village Aga is a sort of reduced copy of the great Pasha of his island, and his konak is a rude imitation of the konak of the capital. The salle de réception is a large square room with no furniture in it; chairs and tables are Frank innovations, only to be met with in towns like Mytilene. Along one side rims a divan, above which the whole wall is full of windows. In the corner of this divan sat the Aga, a keen, shrewd, good-looking man, of about fifty, with a very good address, talking Greek to those who could not speak Turkish. ”

“ I then went to the castle for an audience, and intreated the Aga that he would procure six or eight camels to mount my men upon, and [607] bring my baggage from Saffieha. He gave a start at the first request, and would not by any means hear of that proposal; he called it tempting God, and assured me I should be cut off by the very men that had murdered Mahomet Aga; that, having seen the cases and things which I had thrown away at Umarack, they would follow my tract on to Saffieha, would have taken every thing that I had left, and would be now pursuing me up to the gates of Assouan. ”

“ In the capital and at court the citizens and courtiers are formed in the same school with those of Christianity; but there does not exist a more honourable, friendly, and high-spirited character than the true Turkish provincial Aga, or Moslem country gentleman. It is not meant here to designate the governors of towns, but those Agas who, by a kind of feudal tenure, possess lands and houses, of more or less extent, in Greece and Asia Minor. ”

“ The Kislar Aga had at last discovered a Circassian slave, who, he thought, would effect the purpose. She was beautiful, and I had already engrossed the sultan's attentions for more than two years. Men will be fickle, and I expected no otherwise. What I required was the dominion over the mind; I cared little about the sultan's attentions to other women. Like the tamed bird which flies from its cage, and after wandering a short time, is glad to return to its home and reassume its perch, so did I consider it would be the case with the sultan. ”

“ He tells her that an old woman like her ought to know better than to attempt so mad a freak, and asks, if she is not ashamed of herself? She replies, ‘Tush! you know not the might of love, and God grant that you may never experience its power.’ At this the Aga could not restrain his laughter ”

“ Nay, I am not quite Such a child but what I can dry my own. [Hugo goes out. Agatha retires.] Orion (singing outside the window of Agatha's chamber) : 'Neath the stems with blossoms laden, 'Neath the tendrils curling, I, thy servant, sing, oh, maiden! I, thy slave, oh, darling! Lo! the shaft that slew the red deer, At the elk may fly too. Spare them not! The dead are dead, dear, Let the living die too. Where the wiles of serpent mingle, And the looks of dove lie, Where small hands in strong hands tingle, Loving eyes meet lovely: Where the harder natures soften, And the softer harden— Certes! ”

“ Aga is mountain, unable to walk, fixed.
According to a Pauranik legend, the Vindhya mountain began to rise higher and higher so as to obstruct the path of the sun and moon. The gods being alarmed sought the aid of Agastya who was the teacher of Vindhya. The Rishi approached the mountain and asked it to bend down and give him an easy passage to the south and to retain the same position till his return. Vindhya obeyed the order of his teacher, but Agastya never returned from the south and Vindhya never attained the height of Meru. ”

“ If I lose my own life, and the king's, Metical Aga can never think it was in my power to preserve that of his stranger."—"No, no," says Ayto Aylo, who was then present, "you don't know the man; he is a devil on horseback; he rides better, and shoots better, than any man that ever came into Abyssinia; lose no time, put him about the king, and there is no fear of him. He is very sober and religious; he will do the king good. "Shoot!" says Michael, "he won't shoot at me as the Armenian did ”

“ Yes, yes; they will be at your house in less than an hour. [Aga-Selman rises and goes out. Aziz-Bey and Sekiné-Khanoun remain alone.]
Scene XVI
Aziz-Bey. As for me, I am going to tell the whole story to the Prince Royal.
Sekiné-Khanoun. Sit down. First of all write the names and addresses of the soldiers, and send them to Aga-Selman; then you can leave me. [Aziz-Bey sits down to write.]
ACT SECOND Scene I The action passes in the house of Aga-Merdan, son of the confectioner.
Aga-Merdan [discovered seated alone] . I do not know what can have happened that Aga-Kerim is so late in coming. ”

“ Agatha answered simply, and said,
' Renounce thou thy gods which are of stone and wood,
and pray to thy Creator who truly liveth;
if thou despisest Him, thou shalt suffer in eternal torments.'
Then the impious man became incensed, and bade stretch her on the rack,
and cruelly twist her like a withy-rope, and said,
' Forsake thy self-will, that thy life may be saved.'
Agatha answered on the rack thus,
'So greatly I rejoice in these painful torments
even as he that seeth him whom he hath desired,
or as he that findeth many hoards of gold. ”

“ The smile, flitting to Agatha, took a cheerfulness which hitherto in the sad subject of her talk Miss Valery had not displayed. A certain benevolent meaning, which Agatha rather guessed at than discerned, was likewise visible there.
“Come,” said she, “for this night we can do nothing; but having settled what we shall do, or rather what Mr. Harper will do, let us make ourselves at rest. Be content, my dear Nathanael. Heaven will take care of him for whom we fear.” ”

“ Mary and Eulalie exchanged frightened glances. Agatha alone, touched by the unexpected tribute to her husband, did not notice the one momentous word.
“Now, Squire, that's hardly fair,” cried Mr. Grimes, bursting into a hoarse vinous laugh. “A man may go wrong sometimes, but to be thrown overboard for it, and by one's father, too—think better of it, old fellow. And ladies by way of an antidote, allow me to give a toast—Success to my worthy and honourable—exceedingly honourable client, Major Frederick Harper.” ”

“ If any love us, and we believe it and trust them, they are sure to come out clear from all clouds, our own beloved, true to the end. Therefore, Agatha, above all blessings, may God bless you with love! May you be happy in your husband, and make him happy! May you live to see your home merry and full—not silent!—may you die among your children and your own people—not alone!”
The sudden solemnity of this blessing, enhanced by the feebleness of the voice that uttered it, awoke strange emotions in Agatha. She threw herself on her knees by the armchair, where Anne lay back—now faint and pale. ”

“ They did not squabble—Nathanael Harper never squabbled—but they always met with a gentle hissing, like water sprinkled on coals. Agatha, who was quite new to these harmless fraternalities, always occurring in large families, was mightily amused thereat.
The first house the little party looked over was, as Emma Thornycroft would have phrased it, “a love of a place!” Dining-room, drawing-rooms, conservatory, gardens—quite a gentleman's mansion. Agatha set her heart upon it at once, and it blotted out even her lingering regret over the lost home in the Regent's Park. ”

“ Agatha had known once, standing where she stood now, an exaltation of sense that was ecstasy; when every leaf and every blade of grass shone with a divine translucence; when every nerve in her thrilled, and her whole being rang with the joy which is immanent in the life of things. ”

“ There was a look never seen before in Ivor's face, and a soft gladness unknown in Agatha's; both faces were in clear sunlight outlined upon a rock-wall overhung by the quaint, goblin-handed boughs of prickly pear.
"Aggie," he cried, "dear, dearest Aggie, I was a beast yesterday. I was a beast! You were right. All you said was true. I had no right to ask such things of you—no man has of any woman. Yet you had saved me, you had picked me out of the gutter all the time. No, it's no use saying anything. I saw the necklace and guessed. The beast sold it to Strozzi—and made upon it, trust him! ”

“ Agatha, sensitive, enthusiastic, and easily impressed, grew silent, and wondered that her companions could laugh so carelessly, even when passing under the grey portal into the very precincts of the deserted castle.
“We shall not find a soul here,” said Harrie; “scarcely anybody ever comes at this season, except when our Kingcombe Oddfellows' Club have a picnic on this bowling-green; or schoolboys get together and climb up the ivy to frighten the jackdaws—my husband has done it many a time—haven't you, Duke?” ”

“ She went into the dining-room to write. Everything there appeared just as when this great shock struck the household into confusion; the dessert was not removed—the wine in which he had drunk Nathanael's health, remained yet in Mr. Harper's glass. Agatha shrank back. She half expected to see some shadowy form—not himself but Death, rise and sit in the arm-chair whence the old man had fallen. ”

“ Sweetwater was a made man. And Frederick? In a week he was the idol of the town. In a year—but let Agnes's contented face and happy smile show what he was then. Sweet Agnes, who first despised, then encouraged, then loved him, and who, next to Agatha, commanded the open worship of his heart.
Agatha is first, must be first, as anyone can see who beholds him, on a certain anniversary of each year, bury his face in the long grass which covers the saddest and most passionate heart which ever yielded to the pressure of life's deepest tragedy. ”