Grand Vizier

“ The moment he cast his eyes on the forty basins, brim-full of the most precious, brilliant, and beautiful jewels he had ever seen, and the fourscore slaves, who looked, from the comeliness of their persons and the richness and magnificence of their dress, like so many kings, he was so struck that he could not recover from his admiration; but, instead of answering the compliment of Aladdin's mother, addressed himself to the grand vizier, who could no more than the sultan comprehend from whence such a profusion of riches could come. ”

“ All we want of thee is to show us the place whence thou camest out and after go thy ways; for we have those with us who will take the Queen of the Serpents and fetch her to us.’ Then all the other Viziers and officers and grandees flocked about Hasib and conjured him, till they were weary, to show them the abode of the Queen; but he persisted in his denial, saying, ‘I never saw nor heard of such a creature.’
When the Grand Vizier saw that entreaties availed nothing, he called the hangman and bade him strip Hasib and beat him soundly. ”

“ The chief of the officers went to Aladdin’s mother, and at a sign he gave her, she followed him to the foot of the sultan’s throne, where he left her, and retired to his place by the grand vizier. Aladdin’s mother, bowed her head down to the carpet, which covered the steps of the throne, and remained in that posture till the sultan bid her rise, which she had no sooner done, than the sultan said to her, Good woman, I have observed you to stand a long time, from the beginning to the rising of the divan; what business brings you here? ”

“ At this the Vizier made sure of the success of his errand and saluted the new-comers, who escorted him to the King's palace and forewent him to the seventh vestibule, where none might enter on horseback, for it was near the presence chamber of the King. So the Vizier alighted and walked on till he came to a lofty hall, at the upper end whereof stood a couch of alabaster, set with pearls end jewels and having four elephants' tusks for feet. ”

“ Then she seated him on the couch and said to him, “O my lord, these thy clothes and turban are the apparel of the vizierate; so leave them to their own time and don this light gown, which is better fitted for carousing and making merry and sleep.” So he put off his clothes and turban and she dressed him in a blue cassock and a tall red cap, after which she began to toy with him and he with her, and he would have done his desire of her; but she put him off saying, “O my lord, this shall not escape us.” Presently there came a knocking at the door, and the Vizier said to her, “Who is that?” ”

“ Is there any one that seeketh?' As he was thus crying and the people remonstrating with him, King Ghaïour heard his voice and the clamour of the folk and said to his Vizier, 'Go down and bring me yon astrologer.' So the Vizier went down and taking Kemerezzeman from the midst of the crowd, carried him up to the King, before whom he kissed the earth, repeating the following verses:
Eight elements of high renown are all comprised in thee; By them
may Fortune never cease thy bounder slave to be! ”

“ For none, that heaven than earth of moons is worthier, may deny.
My soul, to pleasure thee, I give, nor ever yet of one, His soul to pleasure one who gave, before myself, heard I.
The thing pleased En Nasir and he requited him with much treasure and the Vizier became high in favour with him. After this, a slave-girl, one of the loveliest women in the world, was presented to the Vizier, and he feared lest this should come to the King’s ears and he desire her, and the like should happen as with the boy. ”

“ The Vizier returned thanks to God the Most High for his safety and said, "Let us at once depart hence, for the ambassadors that were with us are gone to inform their king of our arrival, and belike he will hasten to fall on us and seize us." So they rode on in haste, till they came to the camp, when Sherkan commanded to depart forthright, and the army set out and journeyed by forced marches for five days, at the end of which time they alighted in a thickly wooded valley, where they rested awhile. ”

“ Then said the King to the assembly, ‘O Viziers and Amirs and grandees, this is Hasib Kerimeddin, who hath healed me of my sickness, and I make him my chief Vizier in the room of the Vizier Shemhour. He who loves him loves me and he who honours him honours me and he who obeys him obeys me.’ ‘We hear and obey;’ answered they and flocked to kiss Hasib’s hand and give him joy of the Vizierate. ”

“ But for the hope of union with thee, that lures me on, My weary
body had no strength to furnish forth the way.
When he had finished, he wept and Aziz wept with him, from a lacerated heart, till the Vizier was moved to pity by their weeping and said to the prince, 'O my lord, take courage and be of good cheer; all will yet be well.' 'O Vizier,' said Taj el Mulouk, 'indeed I am weary of the length of the way. ”

“ The Vicar’s wife saw her opportunity, and grasped it.
“I agree with you, Mrs Beverley. The tendency of the age is to spend far too much time over games. My husband considers that it is a national danger. There are so many other things better worth doing!”
“Oh, yes,” cried Grizel promptly. “There’s bridge.” The strain of the conversation was beginning to tell, and she told herself impatiently that she would not be “preached.”
“Bridge is so comfy; you can sit still, and have a cushion to your back, and smoke, and talk between the deals. It’s quite a good way of getting through the afternoon. ”

“ The Vizier accordingly took the queen and killed her, whilst Shehriyar, going into the slave girls and concubines, drew his sword and slew them all. Then he let bring others in their stead and took an oath that every night he would go in to a maid and in the morning put her to death, for that there was not one chaste woman on the face of the earth. ”

“ She did so, and bound the Vizier's arms with a scarf, which so amused the Wazir that he laughed loud and long. Then she bound the Wazir's arms in the same manner and it was the Vizier's turn to laugh. Into their laughing mouths she thrust two poisoned pills so that in another instant they fell over, quite dead, amongst the chessmen.
The omnivorous Goat delivered the Shepherd from his chains with his strong teeth and they all returned to the Distance, where they still dwell in more-than-perfect bliss and may be discerned through an ivory telescope any fine afternoon. ”

“ When I rose as though to leave, the Vizier, in a state of the utmost excitement, implored me to reconsider so sudden a decision. He was prepared (he swore) to take but an instalment of the whole. Ready money was absolutely necessary. And if, with my profound knowledge of finance, I could devise some way of escape for his master, the most substantial proofs of gratitude would be afforded me. ”

“ Once again he raised his head; but in his pallid face there lay an expression of haughtiness, of defiance, with which he met the Viceroy's hostile gaze.
[Pg 75]
"I take my leave, my lord! As for my future life, it is not of sufficient import to require or merit your consideration."
The Viceroy pointed silently to the door.
As one dazed, Francesco crept to his chamber.
There with a great sob he sank into a settle.
He gazed about. Nothing seemed altered since the days when he had been alive. Not a trifle was changed because a human soul, a living human soul had been struck down. ”

“ Grizel laughed softly, pushing him from her with determined hands. “Now—let’s be sensible!—Sit over there, and I’ll tell you just what I will do, and what I won’t—I won’t marry you until the old Buddy has been dead for some months, and I won’t ever live in this house. We’ll find another, that looks to the sun, and I’ll furnish it in my own way, with my own fads. Buddy gave me lots of treasures for my own rooms. They are mine whatever I do, and I must have room for them. I have five hundred a year, you know, Martin. Shall you be able to afford a better house with an extra five hundred?” ”

“ On the inside of the door is a wooden bolt that you can fasten. Once inside, you are the sole master of your castle and no person can come whom you wish to keep out.”
Now the aunt came down again.
“Everything is ready for you,” she said. “And look, nephew, over there is the stream, where you can wash yourself. No one will disturb you there. I laid a towel for you on the bench. Good-night.”
The cousins all wished him good-night, too, but Jos turned round once more.
“Are you coming up to the pasture with us tomorrow morning, Vinzi? Do you expect to stay with us all day while we mind the cows?” ”

“ With him, then, you may be called upon to deal; but Villequier, I think, knows the hand of a Guise too well to call down a blow from it unnecessarily. However, he is as daring as he is artful, and impunity in crime has rendered him perfectly careless of committing it. He is Governor of Paris, one of the King's ministers, a Knight of the Holy Ghost. Now hear what he has done to merit all this. More than one assassin broken on the wheel has avowed himself the instrument of Villequier, sent to administer poison to those he did not love. ”

“ The vizir Atalmulc, however, pertinaciously adhered to what he had stated, so that the king, seeing him so strongly attached to his opinion, said to him:
"If no one is exempt from vexation, all the world, at any rate, is not like you, wholly overcome by affliction. You have made me, however, very curious to know what it is that has rendered you so pensive and sorrowful; tell me therefore the reason of your melancholy."
"I shall comply with your majesty's wish," replied the vizir, "and reveal the cause of my secret cares to you, by relating the history of my life." ”

“ The boys sat about in a close [125] group now, for every one of them wanted to be as near to Vinzi as possible to see how it was done. He was made to play on and on, every conceivable tune he had ever known. When finally his memory gave out, he made up pieces out of songs of birds and the sounds of bells he had heard.
The group of listeners had constantly grown, for the boys from the other pastures waiting in vain for Faz and Jos, had gone to seek them. They got together every afternoon, usually to perpetrate some mischief, and Jos and Faz being mostly the leaders, they needed them. ”

“ Everybody sat down, and Vinzi was asked to tell about his relatives. He grew constantly more lively and could not say enough of their kindness to him. When the father wished to know how the pasture up there had pleased him, Vinzi in blissful remembrance described the mountain-pasture to them. The violets up there filled the air with fragrance and the high larches spread their wide branches over the moss-covered stones. The cows grazed quietly between the trees so that their bells resounded far and wide like a song of peace. ”

“ I mean Vinzi. For whom should I do all of it if not for him, and what kind of a boy is he? He has no eyes in his head and shows not the slightest pleasure or interest in taking to pasture the most beautiful cows that can be found far and wide in the whole neighborhood. If I say to him, ‘Just look what wonderful fodder is in this meadow!’ he says ‘yes’ and stares into the distance so one can see that he has neither listened nor really looked at the meadow he is standing in. ”

“ Vichy is situated in the department of the Allier, 87 leagues from Paris, fifteen from Moulins and thirty two from Lyon, in a valley surrounded by beautiful and fertile hills. The excellent roads which lead to this town, the purity of the air, the comfort and amusement which may be found in it combine to render it one of the most frequented watering places in France.
Its mineral waters were known to the Romans, and vestiges of ancient baths, coins etc. have frequently been found here. ”

“ The next day he appeared again and quickly [143] ran to Vinzi. “I have to mind the cows today, but the others can stay,” he said breathlessly. “But I have a message for you. I showed grandfather the pipe and he made me play on it. When he said I didn’t know how to play, I told him that you could do it better than anybody else. So he wants you to come and play for him sometimes. Won’t you come some day when I have to stay up there? Please come tomorrow, if you can,” Vereli called back as he ran away.
“I must ask uncle first. Where shall I go if he lets me?” Vinzi called after the boy. ”

“ Wiseli was called, and told to get her clothes together, and tied in a bundle. The child obeyed, not daring to ask for a reason. It was exactly a year since she had brought the little bundle into the house. Nothing had been added to her scanty wardrobe in that time but a black frock. She wore that now, but it had been so long in use, that it hung about her almost in rags; and Wiseli looked shyly at Mrs. Ritter as she stood before her now, with her little bundle on her arm. ”

“ So Grizel had come. Memory again registered the fact that it was in response to one of her sallies that Martin had laughed for the first time: an honest, wholesome laugh. She had come again the next year, and had been warmly welcomed. Then had followed an interval. Lady Griselda’s health had begun to fail, she was much abroad, and when at home, disinclined to spare her niece. It was not until the fifth year of Martin’s widower-hood that Grizel again visited The Glen, but since then every six or seven months had brought about more or less fleeting visits. ”