BOOK 4.
Piri-reis and Prince Jehangir

THE Sultan of the Ottomans, Allah’s Deputy, Ruler of Rulers, Commander of Believers and Unbelievers, Emperor of East and West, Shah of Shahs, Great Khan of Khans, Gate of Victory, Refuge of all Peoples, and the Shadow of the Eternal—in short, Sultan Suleiman, the son of a slave girl—was at this time thirty-four years old. Sitting cross legged on the cushions of his low throne he was more breath taking in the fantastic splendor of his dress than any jeweled idol. From a canopy blazing with rubies and sapphires a tassel of giant pearls hung down over his head. A damascened and jewel-hilted blade lay within his reach, while on his head he wore the turban of the sultans, ringed with a triple diamond tiara. The backward-sweeping plume was held in place by a diamond crescent; his dress flashed with myriads of precious stones and must have been heavier to wear than iron chains. At every movement, at every breath, he sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow. Yet it was the man behind the glory who held my attention.

His rather thin face and slender neck appeared pale against the glittering gems; he had the smoke-colored complexion often seen in those of melancholy temperament. The keen, aquiline nose reminded me that the symbol of Ottoman sovereignty was the vulture. The lips under the narrow mustache were thin, and the cold sternness of his gaze was such as to inspire the profoundest awe in those of his subjects who had the supreme privilege of pressing their foreheads to. the ground before him. But when I scrutinized this face to read its secret, there seemed to flow from it a fathomless, hopeless woe, telling me that he of all men best understood the futility of power and knew himself to be as mortal as the meanest of his subjects. Perhaps he too harbored within him an incorruptible judge.

At his right hand stood Ibrahim, the Grand Vizier, as splendidly arrayed as the Sultan himself, though without a tiara. On his left stood the second and third viziers, Mustafa-pasha and Ajas-pasha, whose long beards and air of covert suspicion threw into yet stronger relief the open, noble bearing of Ibrahim. I contemplated this most remarkable man with even greater interest than I felt for the Sultan, seeing personified in him the glorious future standing guard over the Ottoman throne; the two old men were but the vanquished past.

Ibrahim addressed Torgut-reis on behalf of the Sultan and received from him Khaireddin’s letters in a silken bag. Seraglio attendants then brought forward some of Khaireddin’s most princely gifts, which Sultan Suleiman was graciously pleased to survey. In token of his favor he extended his hand for Torgut to kiss; no doubt Torgut’s proud warrior face appealed to him. With this the audience was at an end. We were led back into the courtyard, where our escort took their hands from our arms and held them out for reward.

While we yet lingered in the forecourt by the Gateway of Peace, dazed by the honor conferred upon us, a languid little assistant of the Defterdar approached and ordered his clerks to make a list of the presents Khaireddin had sent. Andy and I were included in the roll of slaves, and but for Torgut-reis and the eunuch we should have been sent off at once with the Italian boys for a medical inspection. But Torgut spoke so warmly on our behalf that the assistant set us down for special duties. For his part, he said, we might go where we pleased; he couldn’t find a crib for every donkey they sent him.

We rewarded him for his good will and returned to our vessel, where servants of the second and third viziers presently arrived to acquaint us with their masters’ willingness to receive gifts from Khaireddin, as a mark of favor to us. We sent our eunuch to the Old Seraglio with an assortment of costly stuffs and ornaments for the Sultan’s mother, receiving in return a Koran bound in gold and silver, which she hoped might stimulate Khaireddin to strenuous and unceasing warfare against the unbeliever.

Meanwhile Abu el-Kasim wandered about the great bazaar negotiating for the purchase of a shop. Near the shore he found a dilapidated house and invited Giulia and me to live there with him, if we would bear our share of household expenses. But for the present I thought it well to remain in the house that had been put at Torgut’s disposal, at least until I received orders as to my future.

I soon began to suspect, however, that my future depended upon chance alone, for my first impression of the Seraglio was one of utter confusion and disorder. Its functionaries shuffled off duties and responsibilities upon one another or neglected them altogether, for fear of making a mistake. And while a most irksome and finicking exactitude was observed in all matters of routine, any novelty was the source of infinite worry to the officials. From woodcutter to baker, from groom to kennelman, each slave had his minutely prescribed duties which might not be exceeded by a hair’s breadth. Whether he held a high or low position, his task, rank, and payment were fixed by statute. So there was nothing for Andy and me to do but wait patiently for suitable vacancies to occur, through either death or disgrace. Only by an order from the very highest level could a special appointment be created for us, and as I learned afterward, respect for the Sultan entailed the continuance of such appointment after our death and forever, whether necessary or not.

Thus I came gradually to see that it was not so very easy to run a household of several thousand people, and I was assured that the most rigid order was needful if friction was to be avoided. For example, a special sum was set aside for the maintenance of a slave girl whose sole duty was to appear silently before the Sultan wearing a flame-colored dress, whenever a great fire broke out in the city. With the exception of the mosques, the buildings were of wood and such a conflagration might cause untold destruction. As I wandered about the capital I came upon huge ravaged areas where goats and donkeys grazed among the ruins. The superstitious Moslems did not willingly build new houses on land that had been swept by fire.

My anxiety proved groundless. Difficult as it had seemed for an outsider to gain a footing in the Seraglio, all went smoothly as soon as the necessary order was issued from above. When we carried Khaireddin’s gifts to the Grand Vizier’s gleaming palace, beyond the janissaries’ training ground, Ibrahim gave me no sign of recognition. But on the following day the Chief Pilot of the Cartographer’s Office, Piri-reis, sent a servant to bring me to his house, while almost at the same moment an artilleryman in leather breeches came for Andy.

I followed the barefoot slave, who guided me past the Seraglio to the shores of the Marmara. Here on a slope near the sea wall, stood the house of Piri-reis, surrounded by a wooden fence and a number of acacia trees whose leaves were already turning yellow. Round the usual stone basin lounged a group of retired or invalided sea janissaries. Many were maimed or scarred, and had evidently been given these light guard duties in return for a lifetime of service at sea. Yet they were not idle, but with great skill carved models of ships and furnished them with oars and sails. They bowed respectfully as I greeted them in the name of the Compassionate.

The house was low and shabby, but unexpectedly spacious. I was taken to a meagerly carpeted room, where models of many types of ships hung from the ceiling. The Chief Pilot sat on a dirty cushion, turning the pages of a great atlas on a stand before him. To my surprise I noted that he was wearing a rich kaftan and a ceremonial turban in honor of my coming. I threw myself on the ground before him to kiss his slipper and greet him as Light of the Sea, who had turned night into day for those who sailed remote and unknown waters.

My humility so won his heart that he cordially invited me to rise and sit beside him. He was nearly sixty years old, his beard was silver gray, and wrinkles without number surrounded his short-sighted eyes. I found him a delightful old man.

“You have been commended to me as a man of learning,” he began, speaking in Italian. “It seems you have command of many Christian languages and know the kings of Christendom and their statecraft. You now wish to extend your knowledge of seafaring and map reading so as to be of service to the Refuge of all Peoples. I shall not name your patron, for you know well enough who he is. Of him may be said in the words of the Prophet, ‘Allah makes easy the fulfillment of his desires.’ So you’ve only to command me, Michael el-Hakim, and I will obey, placing my skill at the service of your benefactor. Mention this to him, if at any time he is pleased to hear you.”

I saw that this distinguished old man actually feared me and fancied me to be in special favor with the Grand Vizier. So I at once assured him that I had no other object than to serve him faithfully to the best of my poor ability and that no task was too humble for me, though I should prefer to be given work connected with map making. I hoped soon to become proficient enough in the Turkish language to be of use as dragomin to the Cartographer’s Office.

Piri-reis said with a sweeping gesture, “The Cartographer’s Office, in the service of the Abode of Bliss, you see before you. I beg you not to take offense when I tell you that many a learned Christian navigator has visited me, boasting loudly and making very impudent claims. Some of them took the turban to please the High Porte while in their hearts they remained idolaters, and aroused scandal and indignation by their manner of living. They stole and dirtied my charts, arrived drunk and broke my models, annoyed my slave girls with indecencies, and even molested married women. I had more trouble than help from them, and therefore dislike having ex-Christians living in my house. Pray do not ask to lodge here, at least until I know you better; don’t be angry with me for what I’ve said, for I’m an old man and love peace and quietness.”

His words alarmed me, for I thought he wanted to be rid of me altogether. I said, “I have a wife, and prefer to live with her in the city. But don’t send me away, for I must feed and clothe myself and my wife as befits our rank, and for that a steady income is essential.”

With lifted hand he invoked Allah and said, “Don’t misunderstand me. In accordance with the wishes of your exalted patron you will of course receive the highest possible salary—and with all my heart, for I’ve taken a liking to you. But I beg you not to roar and yell like other Christians, or stamp and tear the turban from your head when I assure you that I can give you no more than twelve aspers a day and a new suit of clothes once a year.”

He looked at me appealingly while I rapidly calculated that twelve aspers a day came to about six gold ducats a month—no mean sum for a man who could at most distinguish an oar from a sail. I therefore kissed his veined hand and blessed him in the name of the Compassionate for his generous treatment of a renegade exile. My sincere gratitude delighted him, and he added, “Believe me, this modest fee will secure your future better than the weightiest purse, provided you truly desire knowledge and are as fond of maps and charts as I am. No one will envy you and you’ll make no enemies to plot against you, slander you, and profit by your mistakes to overthrow you. You may come and go daily as you please. You may speak with my slaves, clerks, and map makers, and ask me for what you want as if you were my son. One thing only I beg. Never come to my house in a drunken state, but send word that you’re ill in bed.”

It was clear that his experience of renegades had been most unfortunate. But I would not show that he had hurt my feelings. Instead, I resolved to prove by my behavior that where I was concerned his suspicions were unjustified. I spoke to him as to my father, and followed Grand Vizier Ibrahim’s advice by saying, “Noble Chief Pilot Piri-reis ben-Mohammed. If I have not already troubled you too much, I should like above all things to see your celebrated manual of navigation, named Bahrije. Its fame has spread to Christian lands and by its help the seafarers of Islam can safely navigate Greek waters as well by night as by day, in fair weather or foul.”

Nothing could have been more acceptable to him than this; his brown, wrinkled face lit up as he pushed the reading desk toward me and said, “Here is my own copy of this modest work, which nevertheless I have sought to make as complete as possible. Besides my own observations I have consulted ancient Mohammedan and Christian charts, maps, and books, and in the course of years have made continual revisions and additions. But I have to beware of ignorant seafarers who from conceit and boastfulness seek to impose much nonsense on me. Just now I was examining the pages relating to Algeria, having heard that Khaireddin, that light of Islam, has torn down the Spanish fortress there and built a breakwater. As his intentions were no doubt of the best, I forgive him the trouble he has caused me by necessitating the alteration to my map.”

He opened the book at the passage concerning Algeria, and in a singsong voice read aloud the description of the town of Algiers and its harbor. I clapped my hands with delight, assuring him of its accuracy in every detail, though it seemed almost beyond belief that such perfection could be attained. Then I handed him drawings by the master builders and map makers in Khaireddin’s service, showing the alterations in the harbor, also a plan of the arsenal. I said, “Compared with you Khaireddin is an ignorant man, though able enough in the pursuit of Christian ships. It was with great diffidence that he bade me present you with these plans and he humbly begs forgiveness for having been compelled to demolish the fort and build the breakwater without your permission, thus doing violence to the perfections of your work. To regain your favor he sends you all the maps and charts found aboard the Spanish vessels and also these finely wrought sextants from Niirnberg, which were taken from the Spanish admiral’s stateroom after the great victory off Algiers. You will no doubt understand their use, though he does not, despite the efforts of the Spanish prisoners to curry favor with him by explaining it. He further bids me hand you this silken purse containing a hundred gold ducats, in part compensation for the expense of altering your most excellent atlas.”

Piri-reis rejoiced over the sextants like a child with a new toy, and stroking them tenderly he said, “I well know these new nautical instruments; it’s with their aid that Spaniards and Portuguese sail the vast Western ocean. And I gladly accept the maps and charts for my collection, which is the largest in the Ottoman Empire and possibly in the world. If the Divan should ask my opinion of Khaireddin I shall most certainly speak in his favor. Take ten gold pieces from the purse for yourself, for you have given me very great pleasure. And now let us read together from my Bahrije.”

My account of Piri-reis ben-Mohammed may lead some to suppose him an absent-minded old bookworm who was of little use to the Sultan. But in fact he was a man of acute intelligence in all concerning navigation and the sea, an eminent designer of ships, and a learned astronomer. His weakness was his book of Mediterranean charts, the Bahrije; like all authors he detested amendments and was vexed whenever the smallest addition became necessary. At heart he suffered from perilous ambitions and even dreamed of commanding a great fleet. But however eagerly he maneuvered his model squadrons about the sandbox, one could see at a glance that whatever else he might be he was no fighter.

I won his good will by listening to the more fanciful parts of his Bahrije, but he had no notion of my talents and preferred to treat me as a sympathetic listener rather than as a useful assistant. His conversation was no more than an exposition of his own views, yet I came away with an agreeable sense of having taken the first step along the path to success. In the blue twilight I strolled past the ruins of gigantic Byzantine palaces where poor Moslems still searched for treasure, past the high walls of the Seraglio, and so on down to the harbor and the house that Abu el-Kasim had rented.

Giulia had taken possession of the two inner rooms for our use and furnished them with things we had brought with us from Algiers. From behind the iron lattice and reed blind of her window she could survey the street unseen. She had already made the acquaintance of women in the neighboring houses and obtained their advice concerning the purchase of food and other domestic matters. The wretched deaf-mute was all at sea in these strange surroundings and dared not venture into the street; he sat in the courtyard strewing dust upon his head. My dog sat beside him equally bewildered, sniffing all the new smells and suspiciously eying the cats that in the evenings nimbly leaped upon the walls and mewed like wailing babies. Rael had an amiable nature but could not endure cats, and was ill at ease in a city that contained so many.

Lamps were burning in all the rooms when I returned, and Giulia, flushed with excitement, rushed to embrace me and tell me of her many purchases. She begged me to buy a eunuch to accompany her on her walks about the city, while Abu tore his sparse beard and pointed by turns to Giulia and his own head. In the glow of the new lamps our house looked like a palace from a fairytale. The expensive water cooler would no doubt have its uses in the heat of summer, but on that chilly autumn evening I longed rather for a hot drink, and was aghast to learn that Giulia had but a handful of aspers left out of my whole fortune. I exclaimed, “Giulia, Giulia! Everything is quite charming and I appreciate your motives, but you seem to have a false idea of my means. Why should we buy a lazy eunuch and feed him at our expense when he would bring us nothing but trouble ? Eunuchs are the most expensive of all slaves, and even distinguished ladies are content with a slave girl to attend them.”

Giulia was much dashed at my cool response and said, “I’m worn out with running about the city; my feet ache and I was laughed at when I haggled in the bazaar and with the greedy porter who carried the things home for me. And is this my thanks for trying to lay out your money to the best advantage? Of course eunuchs are expensive. But you could buy a Russian boy quite cheaply and make him into one.”

“How can you suggest such a thing, Giulia! Never would I allow any man, whether Christian or Moslem, to be castrated just to gratify your vanity. Besides, the operation is dangerous; that’s why the price of eunuchs is so high. We might lose our money. I must say I’ve never heard a sillier suggestion.”

Giulia flared up. “Indeed! Even the Holy Father in Rome has a number of boys castrated every year for his choir, and many conscientious Italian parents send their boys to Rome of their own accord for that purpose, to secure for them a better future than their homes can offer. And it’s not as dangerous as you say; you’re only trying to annoy me and you don’t love me at all.”

She broke into bitter weeping and declared herself the unhappiest of women, since no one appreciated her good intentions. And because I saw that she was sincerely mourning our poverty and her broken dreams I sat down beside her with my arm about her neck, to console her by recounting my success with Piri-reis. Wiping away her tears she stared at me in utter amazement.

“Michael Carvajal! You, who have knelt before Allah’s shadow on earth—can you have been so mad as to accept twelve aspers a day, and that for meekly serving a senile old creature like Piri-reis? Then you’re no longer responsible for your actions. If there’s a scrap of manhood in you, Michael, you’ll go at once to the Grand Vizier and complain of such unfair treatment.”

Deeply hurt, I replied, “Try to understand, Giulia, that my brains are my only fortune, and I shall be humbly thankful if by their help I can secure a comfortable income for us both without having to take risks. I never forced you to be my wife; you might have gone where you pleased. It’s not yet too late. If you’re as disillusioned as you’d have me believe, nothing need prevent us from going to the Cadi tomorrow. For a small sum he will dissolve our marriage, and you may use those different-colored eyes of yours to look about for a better man than I am.”

It was unkind of me to remind her of the blemish which, though to me it was her chief charm, made every sensible man avoid her after the first glance; and she was greatly cast down. She sobbed and protested that she loved me, though she could not think why she had attached herself to a man so devoid of any trace of ambition. We wept and kissed until Abu el-Kasim felt it was time for him to withdraw, and soon we were planning together in all harmony how best to live on an income of twelve aspers a day. Giulia had to confess that the sum was at least twice as much as could be earned in Christian countries by a fully trained and experienced mercenary with a large family. At length she laid her white arms about my neck and said tenderly, “Ah, Michael! I love you more than I can say, but at least let me dream of the fife we might have. By gazing into sand I can earn quantities of money as soon as my fame has spread in the city. Let me dream! I don’t care about the eunuch. Perhaps I can train our deaf- mute to carry things for me. I won’t ask you for anything more, Michael, if only I may have one or two cats. The cats here have wonderfully bushy tails and a blue sheen to their coats; every fine lady has one, and the Prophet loved them. It’s only fair that I should have a cat or two, since you have your dog.”

She kissed me fervently and I was induced to consent. But a day or so later I was saddened to see how hurt my dog was, when two cats with bushy tails appeared and took possession of our two rooms. Rael thenceforward had to keep to the courtyard and hardly dared show himself in the kitchen, even for his meals. Giulia bought these prodigiously expensive creatures with the money that Piri-reis had given me, and even then remained in debt for part of the price.

One evening at dusk Andy arrived flushed with his potations, roaring German soldiers’ songs and bringing a greeting from Master Eimer in whose tavern he had been celebrating his successes at the arsenal. The commander of the Sultan’s artillery had been pleased to give Andy his hand to kiss, and to examine him as to Imperial armaments. He then appointed Andy foreman at the foundry with a wage of twelve aspers a day. Andy had met there a number of skilled Italians and Germans who worked either as free renegades or as slaves of the Sultan, and who all declared that they had learned much from the Turks and respected the artillery commander and his lieutenants. Andy was now to lodge at the arsenal and might not leave it without permission, because of the military secrets involved.

I was reassured to learn that Andy received the same pay as myself, for it showed that these rates were laid down by statute and that it would therefore be useless to complain of them. It was certainly mortifying to think that Andy, a single man and unable even to write his name, should receive as much as I did, but I was glad of his success and felt no resentment.

So began our life in Istanbul, and it continued thus throughout the winter—if winter it could be called. Snow fell very seldom and melted at once, though there was much wind and rain. Not long after our official reception, Torgut-reis received at the Grand Vizier’s hands a gold-mounted horsehair switch, to be delivered to Khaireddin as the outward symbol of his new dignity as beylerbey. Torgut took back also a letter from the Sultan and three kaftans of honor.

During my life with Giulia I believe I developed more and acquired a greater knowledge of life than in all my former years of wandering. Compared with her, my first wife Barbara had been a straightforward, unpretentious woman, albeit a witch—or at least infected with witchcraft to some degree. Barbara had been content for us to live like two little mice in our hole and earn a bare crust, so long as we could be together. But Giulia was not afraid of life, nor did peace and quiet appeal to her. Idleness made her ill, and to satisfy her craving for action she committed the wildest follies, convinced that all she did was well considered and undertaken with the most praiseworthy motives. Moreover she was never satisfied. No sooner were the cats in the house than she disliked their color. When without my permission she bought a costly necklace, she found she had no gown suitable to wear with it, and wanted to renew her wardrobe, or at least buy some slippers sewn with the same kind of stones as were in the chain. She was amazed when I attempted to reason with her, and she explained patiently, as to a child, “You see, Michael, the necklace by itself is useless. And it would be waste to lock it up and never wear it. I’m only considering how to display it to the best advantage.”

“Then why in the devil’s name did you buy the thing?” I roared, infuriated. She looked at me indulgently and with a shake of her golden locks replied, “It was a unique opportunity and I was so fortunate as to have your month’s salary in my purse. In Venice such a chain would cost three or four times as much; I should have been mad not to take it, especially as such things never lose their value and are an excellent investment.”

“Allah help me!” I groaned. “I’m no miser, but neither am I a galley slave to live for days on end on pea soup and crusts, and all because of your extravagance.”

Giulia raised her hands to heaven in a prayer for patience. Then she screamed, “Extravagance! When I think only of our future and place our money in valuables which neither moth nor rust doth corrupt! If you want better food, then in God’s name earn a better wage.”

“Allah! Allah!” said I. “I never spy upon you, Giulia, but I know you have many good things in your larder—expensive fruit juices, for instance, fruits preserved in honey, and sweet cakes from the pastry cook. That sort of food’s no good to a man, but I can’t endure your habit of inviting crowds of gossiping women to eat it and of prattling with them from morning till night, while your husband when he comes home after a hard day’s work must put up with pea soup and stone-hard crusts.”

Giulia flushed and cried tearfully, “I’ve never in my life known a more ungrateful man than you! Of course I must offer my neighbors as good cakes as I taste in their homes, if not better. It’s the only way to sustain your reputation among them. You don’t love me any more or you’d never treat me like this.”

Our quarrels most often ended by my humbly begging Giulia’s pardon and assuring her that she was the dearest and kindest and cleverest wife that ever a man had. I would also reproach myself for my bad behavior. But such phrases came ever more frequently from the lips only and not from the heart, and I stooped to utter them because my body craved for her and could not bear the abstinence that she would otherwise impose. An invisible rift widened between us and sometimes I would sicken of it all and join my dog in the courtyard under the cold winter sky, with his warmth as my only Comfort. At such lonely moments I felt once more a stranger in the world, and wondered for what strange pattern the great Weaver could use so patchy and brittle a thread as myself.

Giulia’s irritability arose partly from her ill success as a soothsayer, for although her neighbors politely clapped their hands and admired her powers she earned nothing. The capital abounded in so many fortunetellers, astrologers, and throwers of chicken bones, of all races and creeds, besides heiromancers who practiced divination by means of blood and entrails, that it was hard for a newcomer to compete with them. Though Abu el-Kasim diligently sang her praises in the bazaar, he was not a man to inspire confidence. We began to feel shut out again from this mysterious city, where success depended less on reasoned action than on chance.

I slipped imperceptibly into the Ottoman way of life and soon ceased to be regarded as a foreigner; with my gift for languages I combined the faculty of changing my skin, as it were, and assuming a new identity. Piri-reis’s old sea janissaries were friendly, while his clerks and cartographers grew accustomed to seeing me among them every day. Now and again I would be given a task suited to my talents—some errand to the Seraglio library, perhaps, where learned Mussulmans and Greeks were busy with the translation and copying of ancient manuscripts. But among these scholars I found no one to be my friend.

I saw the Sultan once, at a distance, attended by a brilliant throng. A party of bowmen surrounded him as he rode> and as they might not turn their faces from him, those in front had to run backward. When on Fridays the Sultan rode to his father’s mosque, anyone—even the poorest—might present a petition to him at the end of a long, cleft stick. Many of these petitions were actually read and were dispatched by the Divan to the appropriate officials, for the wrongs recorded therein to be redressed.

The more I thought about this vast empire, built up by the Ottomans from small beginnings and now comprising within its borders more races than I could name, the more deeply impressed was I by the remarkable statesmanship that held it together and made life there agreeable and safe. This realm was governed by milder, juster laws than those of Christendom, and the moderate taxes were not to be compared with the merciless extortions practiced by so many Christian princes. And further, the tolerance shown by Ottomans toward other _ religions was something unheard-of elsewhere; no one was persecuted for his faith save the Persian Shiites, the heretics of Islam. Christians and Jews had their own places of worship and might even observe their own laws if they so chose.

Christians indeed had one heavy tribute to pay, in that every third year they must hand over their sturdiest sons to be trained from their eleventh year upward as the Sultan’s janissaries. But these boys did not complain; they were proud of the honor and became more vigorous champions of Allah than Moslems born and bred.

The High Porte was indeed the Refuge of all Peoples. Not only did the core of the Sultan’s army consist of professional soldiers born of Christian parents, and adopted, brought up, and trained by Turks; the highest appointments in the Empire were held by men of every race who were slaves of the Sultan. To him alone they owed advancement, to him their heads were forfeit if they failed in prompt and meticulous execution of his commands. The Sultan bestowed great power on these men, but his incorruptible agents constantly toured every district of every province and listened to the people’s complaints; thus the local governors were prevented from overstepping the limits of the authority vested in them by custom and the Sultan’s laws.

My life was now bound up with the welfare and success of this empire, and so at first I strove to see everything in the most favorable light. There were signs that the Sultan was preparing for a great campaign, and without wishing ill to anyone I was keenly curious to know what would become of the King of Vienna. I had had experience of the Emperor’s poverty and did not believe he could send much help to his brother; moreover an inherent feature of the Ottoman Empire was its tendency to expand. In this it followed the doctrines of Islam, which preached unceasing war against the unbeliever. Also the janissaries grew restless and discontented if the Sultan failed to lead them at least once a year into a war in which plunder and fresh honors were to be gained.

Whereas the Emperor Charles’s campaigns cost enormous sums and far exceeded his economic resources, the Sultan’s wars by an ingenious and farsighted arrangement paid for themselves. His regular cavalry, the spahis, drew their income from farms which they held from the Sultan and which were worked by slaves taken in battle. Thus these spahis served their sovereign for almost no wages. In districts bordering the Christian countries light cavalrymen, known as akindshas, lived on a war footing; their traditional banditry inclined them to enter the service of the Sultan. Similar tastes brought a vast number of idle men to the Sultan’s colors as auxiliary troops, which were commonly thrown in as cannon fodder at the forefront of any attack. The Sultan therefore found himself in a far more advantageous position than the Christian leaders and could, even while sustaining losses, slowly but surely wear down enemy resistance. And so, when like Giulia I indulged in dreams of a splendid future, I saw nothing fantastic in the idea that one day I might find myself governor of some wealthy German city, in reward for my services.

But when I discussed Seraglio affairs with Giulia she warned me against relying too much on Ibrahim’s favor, and asked in some derision what it had done for me so far. From our neighbors and at the baths she heard gossip enough, and knew that the Sultan’s favorite slave, Khurrem the Russian, had already borne him three sons. This young and ever vivacious woman had so captured her lord’s heart that he paid not the least attention to the rest of his harem, and had even shamefully dismissed the m®ther of his first-born son. It was now this underbred Russian woman on whom foreign envoys showered their presents; they called her Roxelana and sought by every means to gain her favor. Such was her influence over the Sultan that he would do anything to gratify her smallest wish, and envious voices in the harem had begun to hint at sorcery. Giulia said, “Grand viziers come and go, but woman’s power over man is eternal and her influence stronger than that of even the closest friend. If in some way I could win Sultana Khurrem’s favor I know I might do a great deal more for both of us than the Grand Vizier ever could.”

I smiled at her simplicity, but warned her, “Speak low, woman, for in this city walls have ears. I came here to serve the Grand Vizier and through him Khaireddin, lord of the sea. And you’re mistaken—nothing in the world is so fleeting as sensual passion. How can you suppose that the Sultan will be bound to one woman forever, when the choicest virgins of every race and country wait to obey his slightest sign? No, Giulia, women have no place in high politics; no future can be founded on a wayward houri of the harem.”

Giulia retorted with some asperity, “I’m edified to learn from you that love and passion are such ephemeral things. I shall not forget. But perhaps some men are less fickle than you.”

A few days later the Sultan held a Divan on horseback at which, according to ancient Ottoman custom, questions of peace and war were debated. He appointed Ibrahim commander in chief, or seraskier, of the whole Turkish army and once again confirmed Ibrahim’s position as Grand Vizier, whose commands and ordinances were to be obeyed by high and low, rich and poor, as if they had been the Sultan’s own. The proclamation was so comprehensive and detailed as to convince everyone that from now on Seraskier Ibrahim was, next the Sultan, the highest authority in the Empire.

In token of his favor the Sultan gave him, besides a great quantity of splendid presents, seven horsehair switches instead of the four with which he had previously been honored, and also seven banners—one white, one green, one yellow, two red, and two striped ones—to be borne before him always. The Sultan had further granted him a salary of ten thousand aspers a day: ten times that of the Aga of Janissaries, who held the highest rank of all the agas. In my lowly position I never caught so much as a glimpse of the Grand Vizier, but was delighted to find that my faith in him was justified. When I mentioned this to Giulia she answered, “Have it your own way, Michael. Pin your faith on the Grand Vizier, who has remembered you so often and to such purpose! But allow me to seek my fortune elsewhere.”

Three days later the Sultan released King Ferdinand’s envoys who had been imprisoned in the Fort of the Seven Towers, and bestowed upon each a well-filled purse in compensation for what they had endured. I was told that he addressed these words to them: “Salute your master, and tell him he does not yet know all that our mutual friendship can achieve. But he will soon find out, and I mean to give him with my own hand all that he desires of me. Bid him make timely preparation for my coming.”

To these playful words King Ferdinand’s envoy replied, in a manner quite devoid of finesse, that his sovereign would be most happy to welcome the Sultan if he came as a friend, but that he would also know how to receive him as an enemy. Thus war was declared. But both official and secret agents of Christian states in Istanbul had already sent dispatches flying to their princes as soon as they heard that the Divan had met on horseback.

Spring advanced to the sound of drums and trumpets, and ceaseless rain turned the ground to mud. It was the custom, when the seraskier had set forth in advance to mobilize his troops, for the Sultan to march somewhat later at the head of his janissaries. But now every day small detachments started for the frontier in a prearranged order, and with the creaking, lumbering gun carriages went my brother Andy. For the second time in his life he found himself on the road to Hungary, though this time to fight for the Mussulmans instead of against them. He seemed dubious of the enterprise and wondered how the guns were to be conveyed along pulpy roads and across rivers swollen with the spring freshets. But, he thought, the Mussulmans had perhaps found some method of overcoming these obstacles, since they marched regardless of bad weather.

There was also great activity in Piri-reis’s department, for the fleet was making ready for war. It was to patrol the coasts of the Black Sea and the Aegean, and some vessels were to make their way up the Danube in support of the advancing army. At this time I was sent on many errands to the arsenal and the forecourt of the Seraglio.

One exceptionally fine and sunny day after a long period of rain I was sitting and waiting in the Court of Peace, for my chief duty as messenger was to wait. I was by now familiar with the different dresses worn by the Seraglio servants—their materials, colors, badges, and headdresses—and no longer gaped about me like a stranger. Suddenly I saw a eunuch stumbling toward me. His fat face was swollen with weeping and he wrung his hands in despair as he asked me, “In Allah’s name, are you not that slave of Khaireddin’s, who brought the monkey? You may yet save me from the noose and the pit. Come with me quickly and I’ll beg the Kislar-Aga to allow you into the

Court of Bliss, to coax the monkey down from the tree where it has been all night. A young eunuch has already broken his leg in trying to reach it.”

“I cannot leave my important business to play with monkeys,” I told him.

“Are you out of your mind? Nothing can be more important than this, for little Prince Jehangir is weeping and we shall all lose our heads if he continues.”

“Perhaps Koko the monkey will remember me,” I reflected, “for I tended her when she was seasick on the long voyage from Algeria. She will certainly remember my dog.”

Rael lay curled up beside me, enjoying the warm sunshine, and when he heard Koko’s name he pricked his shaggy ears. We hurried with the eunuch through the second and third courtyards where more eunuchs surrounded us and beat on little drums as a signal to the women to hide themselves. We reached the shining copper gates of the gardens where the Kislar-Aga awaited us—the highest official in the harem and commander of the white eunuchs. It was in vain that he sought to conceal his anxiety behind a dignified demeanor. I threw myself on the ground before him, and he gave orders for me to be admitted instantly to the gardens of the harem. To enter it without permission spelled death to any but eunuchs, and only with an escort of these and by the Sultan’s command might merchants come in to display their wares. Not even a physician might pay a professional visit here without the Sultan’s consent. But I was now hustled with such frantic speed into the most closely guarded gardens in the world that the eunuchs had no time to bathe me or give me clean clothes, as was the custom, and to my annoyance I had to appear as I was.

We raced along winding gravel paths, while my escort beat their little drums unceasingly and forbade me to look about me. At last we reached a huge plane tree in which four or five eunuchs with the courage of despair were clambering about in pursuit of the monkey. The monkey clung with hands, feet, and tail to the topmost branch. With cries and lamentations and kind words the eunuchs sought to coax it down to them, and exhorted one another shrilly not to let it fall and hurt itself. Just as I came up, one of these clumsy creatures slipped and tumbled shrieking from a considerable height. The top of the tree swayed as he crashed downward, head first, and lay senseless on the ground among the spring flowers.

Lamentable though this incident was, it was not without its comic side, and three well-dressed boys of whom the eldest was perhaps eleven years old burst into uproarious laughter at the spectacle. But the fourth wept softly. He was not more than five. He sat on the arm of a man in a flowered silk kaftan in whom to my amazement I recognized Sultan Suleiman himself. There was no mistaking his smoke-colored complexion, though in his plain dress and low turban he looked strangely short in stature. I at once threw myself down and kissed the ground before him and his sons.

All was confusion round the tree. Ropes lay about, ladders were propped against the trunk, and efforts had clearly been made to bring the monkey down by squirting water at it. Even at this distance I could see that it was sick, and it moaned as it clung helplessly to the bough. The Kislar-Aga bent low before the Sultan and suggested that I should be sent up the tree since I knew the monkey, and indeed had brought the bewitched animal to the Seraglio. If I failed he would have me beheaded, and so no harm would come of my admission to the forbidden gardens.

His harsh words so wounded me that I rose at once and said, “I never asked to come here; I was induced with tears and prayers to offer my help. Call down those blockheads. They scare the poor beast. And stop that drumming. Then give me a little fruit and I’ll try to coax it down.”

The Kislar-Aga said, “Is it thus you speak to me, miserable slave? And know that since early morning we have tried to fetch it down with fruit.”

But Sultan Suleiman said curtly, “Call them down and send everyone away. You, too, have my leave to go.”

When the chattering eunuchs had disappeared with their ropes, ladders, and syringes, complete stillness reigned. The little boy in the Sultan’s arms had ceased sobbing, and only the moans of the monkey could be heard. Not venturing to address the Sultan I turned to his eldest son and said, “Noble Prince Mustafa, the monkey is sick. That’s why it fled up the tree. I shall try to coax it down.”

The dark, handsome boy nodded haughtily. I sat down upon the ground with Rael in my arms and called softly and coaxingly, “Koko! Koko!” The monkey peeped suspiciously through the branches and gave a few faint cries, but would not move. Then I said to Rael, hoping that the Sultan would hear, “Dear, faithful dog! Koko doesn’t know me in my new clothes, and thinks I’m one of the eunuchs. You call her. Perhaps she’ll remember playing with you on board ship. Try to call her down from the tree.”

Rael looked up into the treetop, pricked his ears, and whined softly, then barked twice. The monkey climbed down a little way to get a clearer view, and Prince Jehangir still on his father’s arm held up his little hands and called, “Koko! Koko!” The monkey hesitated, but as Rael went on whining she made up her mind and climbed swiftly down. She sped up to me, sprang into my arms, and hugged me with her white-whiskered cheek against mine, her whole spindly body shaking with fever.

Koko stretched out one arm and stroked Rael, then pulled his ears and tail, whereupon Rael gently caught her hand in his teeth and growled warningly. At the beginning of our voyage the monkey had tormented the life out of Rael, pinching him at every opportunity and then taking flight to the top of the mast, leaving the dog barking furiously below. But later they both enjoyed the game and became friends; sometimes they basked together on deck and Koko lay with her arms about Rael’s neck, or with nimble fingers plucked fleas from his coat.

But now she broke off her play in a terrible fit of coughing, one tiny hand pressed to her chest. Tears flowed from the haggard eyes, and between paroxysms she uttered heartrending cries as if to tell me how wretched and lonely she felt. Rael too began to whine piteously, and licked Koko’s limp hand as if he understood. The princes came to stroke the sick monkey and to my surprise the Sultan drew near too, and spreading out the skirts of his kaftan sat down beside me on the ground so that Prince Jehangir could touch the little creature. The Sultan said to me, “You must be a good man, since animals trust you. Is the monkey sick?”

I replied, “I have studied medicine both in Christian countries and among Moslems, and I know that this poor beast has fever. It will die, if Allah so wills. It could not survive this climate, and the night spent in the tree has worsened the chill. I think it fled up the tree to die there alone, for most of the creatures we try to tame prefer to die in solitude, away from humans.”

Prince Mustafa said hotly, “The monkey has lived in warm rooms and worn warm clothes every day, for it’s my brother Jehangir’s pet. The slave who’s to blame for its illness shall pay for it with his head.”

I answered, “No one is to blame for this illness, for monkeys are most sensitive to changes of climate, and even in the palaces of sunny Italy they sicken and die. If this little monkey should perish too, it will be by the will of Allah and we cannot prevent it. Nevertheless I’ll prepare a cough mixture to soothe the pain.”

The Sultan said, “Will you indeed give this poor beast medicine? Most physicians consider it beneath their dignity to treat animals. Yet the Prophet loved them, especially camels and cats. Indeed animals, unlike men, are without guile and I hate to see them suffer. But I have many animal doctors in my service and shall need you no longer. Selim, give him the monkey’s clothes. Mustafa, give him the chain. And you, Michael, dress the monkey and fasten the chain about its neck; then leave us.”

The boys handed me a little wool-lined velvet kaftan and a thin silver chain, but Koko struggled when I tried to put them on her. At last I succeeded, and laying the end of the chain in Prince Jehangir’s little hand I told the boys to give the monkey some warm milk. Then I rose, called my dog, and prepared to leave the gardens. But at this Koko flew into a passion, kicked and struggled and tried to bite the princes, then tore loose and ran after me. With the chain rattling behind her she scrambled up into my arms and clung there.

The Sultan was at a loss. He put down the little boy, who ran up to me crying, flung one arm around my leg and raised the other to stroke the monkey. It was then I noticed that the poor little fellow was club- footed, and that a hump was beginning to show beneath his silken coat. His sallow face was as ugly as the monkey’s, and he was almost stifled with his sobs. Then Selim, the third prince, clutched his head and cried in a shrill voice that he was going to faint. The Sultan shouted, “Mustafa and Muhammed! Take Jehangir in at once and this man too, to look after the monkey. Send the Kislar-Aga to me and call the
tselebs.”

As I bent to rub Prince Selim’s temples the Sultan signed to me to go, no doubt meaning the boys to take me out of the harem gardens to their own quarters in the inner court. But the young princes misunderstood him and instead led me to Prince Jehangir’s rooms where the monkey’s cage was. I could feel the eyes of agitated eunuchs following me from behind the bushes, but did not then know enough to be afraid.

Carrying the monkey and leading Prince Jehangir by the hand I followed the boys to Sultana Khurrem’s pavilion of many-colored tiles, thus committing all unawares the gravest possible offense. Mustafa, Muhammed, and Selim, all being over seven years old, lived with their tselebs, or tutors, in the third courtyard; but the sickly Jehangir, who was only five, remained in his mother’s pavilion and was allowed to keep his monkey there. I was certainly somewhat startled to see the women attendants hastening toward us unveiled, in the belief that I was a eunuch, yet I still had no misgivings and entered Prince Jehan- gir’s spacious room in which stood the monkey’s gilded cage and its bed. I ordered the women to fetch some hot milk at once for the sick animal, while the boys sat down on cushions to watch all I did. Rael hurried round the room sniffing into every corner, and Prince Jehangir, like any other tear-stained and weary child, began crying for his mother.

All that had happened so far seemed purely the result of chance, and only later did I learn that Prince Selim was an epileptic. During his childhood the attacks could be controlled and suppressed by means of sedatives. They did not become serious until as a youth he began to drink too much wine. The Sultan naturally wished to keep this terrible disorder secret, and that was why he sent me so hastily out of the garden; he feared that the excitement might bring on an attack. Prince Mustafa was born of the Circassian slave whom Suleiman had dismissed in favor of Khurrem. He was thus only half-brother to Jehangir, and it had evidently been the Sultan’s intention that Mustafa should take me to his own rooms; but Mustafa was generous hearted and of course thought it best for the monkey to be taken straight to its warm cage.

I did become exceedingly agitated, however, to hear a rippling laugh and see coming toward us an unveiled and richly dressed woman with a jeweled net over her hair. She put her arms about Prince Jehangir, and I at once flung myself to the ground, hiding my face in my hands. Yet I was as usual unable to master my curiosity, and stole a glance at her between my fingers, feeling that since in any case my punishment for entering the Sultana’s pavilion must be death, it could make little difference if I had a glimpse of the woman of whom so many tales were told and whom Christian princes overwhelmed with presents.

My first impression was disappointing, for I had expected a ravishing beauty. This was the woman who, alone among countless lovely maidens from all corners of the world, had received the Sultan’s handkerchief and for years after their wedding night had kept his favor. She was a fairly tall, plump woman, still young, but her face was unusually round and her nose anything but aristocratic. It was in her lively play of feature and continual laughter that her charm lay, though it seemed to me that her blue eyes had no part in that mirth. As she regarded the deeply bowing Mustafa over Jehangir’s head I saw in them a singular coldness.

Prince Mustafa explained that he had been commanded to bring me with him to tend the sick monkey and prepare a draught for it. My dog now rose smartly on his hind legs and stretched forth his nose toward the Sultana, in whom he plainly saw the dispenser of titbits. Prince Jehangir giggled, and at once the Sultana sent her women after sweetmeats, which she then gave the dog herself, laughing her silvery laugh. Meanwhile a cup of warm milk had been brought and I was able to induce the monkey to drink a little of it; but it would not leave me and kept one arm tightly round my neck while with the other it tried to coax the dog to come to it.

Sultana Khurrem now turned to me and asked in Turkish, “Who are you, and how can a eunuch have a beard? Can you really treat sick monkeys?”

I pressed my forehead to the ground before her, while the monkey sat on the back of my neck and tried to snatch off my turban.

“Sovereign lady,” I said, “I have not ventured so much as a glance at your radiant beauty. For the sake of my little dog and the sick monkey, protect me, for I’m no eunuch. Through no fault of mine I was brought to the gardens to coax the monkey down from the top of the plane tree, and I’ve not the least idea how I come to be in your presence, most lovely of all women in the world.”

She answered, laughing, “Lift your head and look at me, you simple man, now that you’re here. You’ve made my son Jehangir smile and he loves your dog. But the Kislar-Aga will no doubt receive the silken cord for his negligence, so you’ll die in good company. Prince Mustafa deserves punishment for his stupidity.”

In deep dejection I replied, “I welcome death, if it be Allah’s will. But allow me first to give my dog to Prince Jehangir, if he is fond of him. After my death there will be no one else to care for the poor beast. I will also prepare a draught for the monkey and relieve its suffering. I’m not aware of having in any way offended against yourself or the Lord of all Nations, for it was not of my own will or with evil intent that I entered your presence. Nor can your beauty put me in a state of impurity, for how could one of my lowly estate raise his eyes to you?”

The poor monkey, still sitting on the back of my neck, was now overcome by another fit of coughing. I had to sit up again and take her into my arms. She coughed so violently that froth tinged with blood appeared at the corners of her mouth and she could offer no resistance when I laid her on the soft cushion in the cage, which was warmed by a charcoal brazier. Rael, replete with sweetmeats, jumped into the cage too, and curled up beside the monkey, which put an arm about his neck and tugged his ears. Prince Jehangir crept from his mother’s arms, drew a cushion forward to the cage, and sat down cross legged to gaze with his big, sad eyes at his pet. I could see that he was a gentle boy, who would not ill treat my dog. I then rapidly recited the first sura and said, “Prince Jehangir, my dog is the cleverest dog in the world and has seen many countries. I bequeath him to you, since I am to meet the One who severs the bonds of friendship and silences the voice of happiness. Take care of Rael and be a good master to him, and Allah will surely reward you.”

I was convinced that by the merciless laws of the Seraglio I must die. But the princes cared nothing for my melancholy fate; they clapped their hands and began to make much of their grieving brother Jehangir, in the hope that they too might play with my dog. Sultana Khur- rem said, “Such an animal is no very becoming gift for the son of the Sultan; but he himself is not without blemish and perhaps the animal will be a comfort to him if the monkey dies—as I hope it will, for the smell of its cage pollutes the room. But I’m not hardhearted, and I will speak to the Sultan, if I should be so favored as to meet with him before the mutes have put the rope about your neck. But your entry into this pavilion without permission is so abominable a disgrace for the Kislar-Aga that he will hardly spare your life, and as the Sultan’s slave I am bound to obey the Kislar-Aga in all things.”

I knew enough of the laws of the Seraglio to realize that she was speaking the truth, and that without the Kislar-Aga’s mediation she had not the least chance of approaching the Sultan. Suleiman himself had to submit to that official’s complex ceremonial when wishing to visit the house where his slave women lived, and if one of these had dared to address him without leave it would have constituted an insult to the Sultan’s majesty. For the same reason Suleiman could not visit his favorite without previously making known his intention. He could send for his children, to walk with them in the gardens, but at such times all the women had, on pain of disfavor and dismissal, to stay within doors and out of sight. Only by this strict rule could the Sultan be at peace, for without it his women would have been constantly slinking after him in an attempt to win his favor.

Having reflected as coolly as I could upon my unenviable plight, I said, “I was commanded by the Sultan himself to tend the monkey, so I must now fetch the necessary remedies. Should anyone slay me while I’m on this errand he will be acting against the Sultan’s express command. I will go now; when—and if—I return, the Kislar-Aga may do with me as he pleases.”

The Sultana broke again into a cooing laugh, and this continual mirth began to make me strangely uneasy. She said, “Don’t think for a moment that you can escape. By looking into my face you have broken the strictest rule of the harem. For his own sake the Kislar-Aga will be forced to have you strangled as soon as he catches you, and even now, no doubt, is awaiting you eagerly at the Seraglio gates.”

Prince Mustafa cried excitedly, “This should be good sport! Let’s follow him and see what happens. My father the Sultan entrusted this man to my care, but if I can’t save his life I should at least like to watch him die. Although I’m the Sultan’s eldest son I have not seen many men die. Come, Muhammed!”

The smile faded from Sultana Khurrem’s lips and her eyes turned ice blue, as if the shadow of death had glided through the room. Perhaps danger had quickened my wits, for I understood at once that Mustafa, on ascending the throne after his father’s death, would have his brothers slain. It would be but in accordance with the law, for the gravest menace to the Ottoman Empire had ever been that of civil war between brothers. I had strayed into the gardens of death; what hope remained?

I believe only Prince Mustafa’s arrogant manner saved me, for, since it stung Khurrem to hear him boast of his age compared with that of his half-brother, she made it a point of honor to protect me. She said, therefore, “Mustafa and Muhammed, go at once and find the Kislar- Aga. Tell him to come here instantly on pain of my most severe displeasure.”

The princes were thus compelled to renounce the exciting game in which I was to be the bait. They tossed their heads and muttered, but at length obeyed. As soon as they had gone Khurrem turned to me and asked quickly, “Who are you and what is your profession? I hope I do not compromise myself by shielding an unworthy man.”

Rapidly I told her of my travels and of how I took the turban, of how Khaireddin of Algiers had sent me to be the Sultan’s slave because of my languages and my familiarity with conditions in Christendom. At this point the Kislar-Aga arrived in a state of unspeakable agitation, and pressing his forehead to the floor in repeated prostrations he said, “Sovereign lady! Most high Sultana! I cannot tell how the error occurred, but mutes await this impudent slave at the copper gates. The matter shall remain a secret and your fair fame unsullied. Not even the Lord of all Nations need hear what has occurred.”

The flabby, ashen-faced eunuch stood there in his resplendent official dress and his eyes as he glared at me were dark with fury. But Sultana Khurrem said, “This slave was commanded by the Sultan himself to tend Prince Jehangir’s monkey. See that he is given the drugs he requires and that he returns safely to my pavilion, unless you should receive contrary orders from the Sultan.”

The Kislar-Aga was compelled to obey. He escorted me from the pavilion, and two strong eunuchs seized me and hustled me out of the gardens even more speedily than I had entered them. The Kislar- Aga, pouring forth an unbroken stream of abuse, never let me out of his sight for an instant until we reached the apothecary’s shop in the forecourt. Here the Sultan’s Jewish physician Solomon quickly mixed the medicine I asked for, though he seemed jealous because I was accompanied by the Kislar-Aga and asked spitefully at which learned university I had taken my medical degree. The Sultan’s physicians were chosen from among the foremost specialists in the world and would suffer no outside competition. Humbly I explained that I was in attendance on a mere soulless beast which no man of distinction would deign to treat, and that I had studied medicine under eminent professors although I had never taken the diploma. The Kislar-Aga suddenly put both hands to his head and cried, “Blessed be Allah! Tell me again where you studied and graduated. If you’re a physician you may of course practice in the harem itself, in the presence of eunuchs, if the Sultan so commands.”

He offered me here the opportunity for a convenient lie, for I could have named any university and explained that I had lost my papers when taken into slavery by the Moslems. But had I sought such a refuge I should have revealed myself as an untrustworthy character and so justified his earlier suspicions. After careful reflection I replied, “No, no. Allah be my witness that I’m an honest man and won’t resort to falsehood even to save my life. When I have given the monkey its medicine you may take off my head, noble Kislar-Aga. I can claim no degree.”

The Kislar-Aga stared and seemed not to believe his ears. Turning to the Jewish physician he said, “Truly this man is mad and afflicted of Allah! He refuses to profit by the most innocent lie to get himself and me out of trouble, although he would best serve the Sultan by so doing.”

I repeated obstinately, “No, no. I cannot lie.”

The physician stroked his beard and said smiling, “This man may not be a doctor yet, but he may become one at any time. All that is required is a diploma sealed with the seal of the madrasseh and signed by three learned tselebs.”

The proposal flattered my vanity, for the physician evidently believed me fully trained in medicine. But I knew that I could never satisfy the learned examiners.

“My knowledge is inadequate,” I confessed, “and besides, I studied my texts in Latin, not in Arabic.”

The Jewish physician answered slyly, “You know the suras and prayers; you’re a pious Moslem, as your turban shows. Were so important a man as the Kislar-Aga to vouch for you at the madrasseh I don’t doubt they would make an exception in your case and allow you to answer the more difficult questions through an interpreter. And were I that interpreter I could certainly express what you have to say in the most telling manner, and testify to your exceptional learning.”

The suggestion greatly tempted me, for though it smacked of dishonesty, yet for this the Jew and not I would be responsible. I knew enough, I thought, not to harm my patients more than any other doctor, and was glad to think that the nickname “el-Hakim,” given me in jest by Abu, was now to be ratified by a document signed and sealed. Such a diploma was worth much fine gold, and I should have been mad not to accept so excellent an offer.

With becoming reluctance I said, “I would agree to your proposal to oblige the noble Kislar-Aga, but I’m a poor man and cannot pay for the seal.”

Solomon the physician rubbed his yellow hands together and said quickly, “Don’t trouble yourself about that. I will pay for the seal and so forth if you, like an honorable colleague, will give me half of any fee you may receive for tending the monkey. I shall lose by it, of course, but in the name of the Compassionate I shall also acquire merit.”

The Kislar-Aga exclaimed, “May Allah bless you! You walk in the true path, Jew though you be. If you will make a qualified physician of this man, discreetly and without undue chatter, you may be assured of my favor.”

He lent his signet ring to Solomon and gave him a young eunuch to attend him. The physician then mounted a mule and rode away to speak with the learned tselebs in the medical department of the madrasseh. The Kislar-Aga committed me to the care of three armed eunuchs, ordering them to accompany me back to Sultana Khurrem’s pavilion and not let me out of their sight for an instant. If I attempted to run away, or to address the Sultana, they were to strike off my head immediately.

Prince Jehangir was still sitting on his cushion with his head propped in his hand, watching the fevered monkey. My dog lay beside her, licking her dry nose from time to time. Koko had torn off her velvet kaftan and had not tasted the luscious fruits that had been set before her. In the dim corners of the room sat a few silent slave girls, deeply moved by the little Prince’s grief.

I forgot my own fears and knew not whom to pity more—the dying beast or the deformed Prince, who with tears rolling down his cheeks sat motionless on his cushion, himself looking like nothing so much as a richly dressed monkey. I administered the soothing draught and applied a compress to the monkey’s chest, and then sat with her in my arms. Prince Jehangir sat beside me and stroked the sick animal’s coat from time to time.

I was fighting a hard battle with myself. Although I had promised to give my dog to Prince Jehangir only in the event of my death, I could not take Rael back, were my life to be spared, without deeply grieving the boy. It was clear that I must part with Rael in any event, and indeed the dog could have no better master than this solemn child. Here he would lack for nothing, while in my heart I knew it was only a matter of time before Giulia lost all patience with him. She would begin to ill treat him, and perhaps even do away with him altogether. I too was now very sorrowful; tears rose to my eyes as I recalled the adventures of my past life and I knew that never should I find a better or more faithful friend than my dog Rael.

The soothing medicine allowed the monkey to fall into a deep sleep; I laid her in the gilt cage and covered her warmly over. I then ordered my dog to keep watch beside her, and promised the Prince that I would come again next morning. The eunuchs led me away. Red and gold clouds hung over the Sea of Marmara and the air was crystal clear, as it so often is after a long spell of rain. The heavy scent of hyacinths lay over the gardens. As my guards led me toward the copper gates, I was filled with inexpressible sadness; everything seemed strangely unreal, as if I were walking by my own side and watching my journey through an incomprehensible world. At that moment I had no fear of death. The will of Allah was guiding me from cradle to grave; my life was an insignificant thread in his infinite web, whose pattern I could not see.

When we reached the Sultan’s court the unarmed white eunuchs took charge of me and led me to their bathhouse where I was given a steam bath, massaged severely, and rubbed with sweet-smelling ointments. In the dressing room I was arrayed in fine new linen garments and a respectable kaftan. Hardly was I dressed when the hour of evening prayer had come, and I could perform my devotions after complete ablution and in the best possible frame of mind. I was then taken without delay to the Kislar-Aga’s reception room where I found Solomon the physician and three long-bearded and short-sighted tselebs. Solomon had seated himself at a respectful distance from these ancient scholars. In a corner of the room sat the tselebs’ scribe, with writing materials on his knee. A number of lamps suspended from the ceiling shed a clear light over the room. Having saluted the tselebs with veneration, I was invited to sit on a low leather cushion before them, and Solomon made a long speech in my honor. Despite my youth, he told them, I had studied medicine at the foremost universities of Christendom; then, having found the true path, I had taken the turban and so been enabled to acquire valuable knowledge from ancient Arabian writings. He declared that I admired above all that school founded by Moses ben-Maimon and his pupils; but because of my imperfect knowledge of the language I needed help in displaying my talents, though I was well able to read Arabic texts. On the recommendation of the noble Kislar-Aga, an exception had been made in my favor and I was to be allowed to answer the examiners through an interpreter.

It was of course most gratifying to hear the high opinion the learned doctor had formed of my attainments after so short a conversation. The tselebs listened attentively, nodded, and regarded me with benevolence. Each in turn put questions to me, to which I replied by a jumble of Latin. Solomon appeared to pay careful attention to what I was saying, after which he repeated appropriate passages by heart from the works of Avicenna and Moses ben-Maimon.

Several times in the course of the examination the tselebs disputed animatedly among themselves and plunged into far-reaching dissertations to display their own learning and profundity of thought. And having thus passed an agreeable hour they declared with one voice that I had given satisfactory proof of my competence in medicine. The scribe had already engrossed my diploma in a fair hand, and all three tselebs now signed this and pressed their inked thumbs upon the parchment. Solomon gratefully kissed their hands and gave each of them a leather purse in reward for their trouble, while the Kislar-Aga sent them a delicious meal from his own kitchen. I was not allowed to leave the Seraglio, however, and slept that night behind bolts and bars.

Immediately after the morning prayer the eunuchs led me back to Sultana Khurrem’s pavilion, and the gleaming copper gates seemed as familiar to me as if I had been a daily visitor to the forbidden gardens. Prince Jehangir lay in a deep sleep on his bed beside the monkey’s cage, and his plain little face bore traces of tears. The dog lay with his head across the boy’s legs and wagged his tail in greeting as I approached.

But Koko had had a hemorrhage during the night, and her little heart was so worn out with fever that she had barely strength to hold my finger. A faint moan came, then a convulsion, and she was dead. What should I have done now, I reflected, if little Jehangir had been my own son ? First I dressed the dead monkey in its fine clothes, drew the bedcover over it and carried it, bed and all, out into the garden. The eunuchs kept close beside me. I ordered an old gardener who was working there to dig a grave at the foot of the big plane tree. He obeyed, and having laid my burden in it I filled the hole, raised a little mound above it and told the gardener to plant a flowering shrub there before Prince Jehangir awoke. I then returned to the Prince’s room and sat cross legged on the floor beside his bed. Only once did the Sultana appear in the doorway, signing to the eunuchs to let Prince Jehangir have his sleep out. I sat immersed in thought until my legs grew numb and time began to drag interminably. But Prince Jehangir, having been awake until very late the night before, was exhausted with grief and slept long and soundly, to the delight of his servants.

He awoke about noon, and as he rubbed his eyes with his thin hands the dog with wagging tail crept up to lick his fingers. A faint smile overspread the boy’s face. Then he started and looked toward the cage, to find it empty. His face twisted, and fearing another outbreak of weeping I said hastily, “Noble Prince Jehangir, you’re the Sultan’s son. Face like a man that One who severs the bonds of friendship forever, for gentle death has freed your friend the monkey from pain and fever. Think of Koko as setting forth now upon a journey to a far country. Just as we have a Paradise, so I think have little monkeys and faithful dogs—a Paradise with rippling water brooks.”

Prince Jehangir in his sorrow listened to my words as to a beautiful story, and pressed Rael to his breast. I went on, “My dog was a good playfellow for your monkey, and though today you’ve lost one friend you have gained another. I think Rael will serve you well, though just at first, like the faithful beast he is, he may miss me.”

While I was speaking Prince Jehangir allowed himself to be washed and dressed, after which the servants brought in many delicate dishes and set them before him. He refused to eat, and the slave girls were beginning to weep for fear when I said to him, “You must feed your new friend and eat with him, that he may know you for his master.”

The pampered Prince looked at me suspiciously, but I began at once to hand him such morsels as I knew my dog would like. The boy obediently bit a piece from each and gave the rest to Rael, and Rael understood that from now on he would be fed by Prince Jehangir instead of me. He looked at me in wonder, but ate avidly of the good food; and if the truth must be told I tasted a few of the dishes myself, for they were indeed excellent and I was hungry. So Prince Jehangir, Rael, and I shared that meal, while the slave women laughed and clapped their hands, blessing me in the name of Allah because the Prince wept no longer and ate like a man.

When we had finished he put his hand trustfully into mine and I took him into the garden to show him the monkey’s grave at the foot of the plane tree. The gardener had planted an early-flowering cherry on the mound, and though Prince Jehangir understood little of graves and death he beheld the tree with delight. Then to divert his thoughts I showed him how to throw a stick for Rael to fetch and lay at his feet, how to make Rael walk on his hind legs, or guard anything that the Prince had dropped. In his wonder at Rael’s intelligence Prince Jehangir forgot his grief and even laughed now and again, though timidly.

His ill-shapen body soon wearied, and when I had taken him back to the pavilion I felt it best to go. I kissed his hand when I took my leave of him, and bade my dog farewell, charging him to protect his new master as faithfully as he had protected and guarded me in years gone by. With head and tail drooping Rael stood obediently beside Prince Jehangir, gazing after me with longing. When I had come out into the garden I could no longer restrain my tears, though I told myself that I could not have found a better master for my dog. His life under Giulia’s iron rule had become unendurable.

The eunuchs led me to the Kislar-Aga’s door, where I had to wait some hours before he was pleased to receive me. He sat fat and flabby on his cushion, having kicked off his slippers, and with his chin on his hand he scrutinized me closely for a long time without uttering a word. Then he addressed me quite cordially, saying, “You’re a riddle to me. You’re either sincere in your simplicity, or else a very dangerous and guileful man whose intrigues I cannot fathom, accustomed though I am to every sort of roguery. They tell me you’ve won Prince Jehangir’s friendship by giving him your dog, that you’ve asked nothing in return and stayed no longer in the Sultana’s pavilion than was necessary, though by delaying you might have claimed princely gifts. I also hear that the Sultana was much pleased at the way in which you took her hint and poisoned that dirty monkey. But in speaking a good word on your behalf to the Sultan I might harm myself by commending a man whose aims are mischievous. Then again, if I speak ill of you, as I should like to do, I might offend the Sultan, because he pities Prince Jehangir for his deformity and thinks only of his welfare. But some reward I can obtain for you, for it would be most unbecoming for a slave to serve the Sultan unrecompensed.”

He gazed abstractedly at the ceiling, rubbing his soft, hairless chin, and went on, “You will of course realize that the value of your reward depends entirely on my favor, since the Sultan has faith in my discretion. I’ve made inquiries about you, and know that since arriving in Istanbul you’ve lived a regular life, performed all your religious duties, and not sought to form secret connections with Christians. Yet all this may have been cunning on your part. You have been watched at your work at the Cartographer’s Office, and no one has caught you copying secret documents. But if I tell the Sultan that you earn twelve aspers a day your reward will be proportionate, and cannot exceed two hundred aspers. If I speak in your favor and praise your talents, and in every way emphasize that through some mistake you’ve been given far too low an appointment, you may receive a fistful of gold and the opportunity to display your capabilities in some other field. You’re therefore entirely dependent on my favor, and without me are worth no more than dung in the yard.”

“I well understand this, of course,” I replied, “but I’ve already promised Dr. Solomon half of whatever I receive. I hope that you’ll be good enough to accept a quarter, so that something may be left for me. It would be a little hard if my trouble proved my only reward.”

The Kislar-Aga stroked his chin and looked at me with his head on one side.

“The Seraglio is a strange garden,” he said, “where a seed sown in secret may put forth unexpected flowers. There’s no one so lowly but that chance, under Allah, may raise him to a lofty position. For the same reason death reaps a bounteous harvest in the Seraglio, and should a man be compelled to chastize another he would be wise to do it with noose or block, lest one day he find his victim placed in authority over him. If I allow you to live I must make a friend of you, so that your advancement may profit me. And to speak truly I am so amazed at your candor that with equal honesty I will do what I can for you.”

I perceived from this that I had indeed won the favor of Prince Jehangir and his mother, so that for the time being my life was safe. Nevertheless, the good will of the exalted Kislar-Aga would also be of the greatest value to me. I said, “Let me be your friend, then, and first of all point out certain things which may be useful to you. If you’ve made inquiries about me, you must know that my wife has eyes of different colors and can therefore gaze into the future. Only allow her to display her talents before you, and as a shrewd man you will at once perceive the advantage to be gained from them. She is a gifted woman, more astute than I, and would certainly never foretell anything hostile to your interest. But first you must initiate her into Seraglio affairs and make known to her the circumstances that seem to call for judicious prediction.”

The Kislar-Aga scratched the soles of his feet vigorously and replied, “Allah be my refuge! So your simplicity was but a mask. Yet I risk nothing by receiving your wife, and what you say of her has made me very curious.”

We took leave of one another cordially, in no way underrating one another’s intelligence. In token of his favor he allowed me to kiss his hand, but made me swear by the Prophet, the Koran, and my downy beard that I would not breathe a word of what I had seen and done in the Seraglio.

That evening a eunuch came to our house, attended by armed troopers, and handed me a silken purse containing two hundred gold pieces—a present from the Sultan. This was equal to twelve thousand aspers, or a thousand days’ pay, and was considerably more than I had dared expect. But as I contemplated this great sum I realized how hasty I had been in promising Dr. Solomon half of whatever I received, when he would certainly have been content with less.

When the eunuch had again mounted his mule, whose saddle was ornamented with silver plates and yellow stones, Giulia sighed, “Ah, Michael, did you see how contemptuously that splendid man looked at our cramped courtyard and ruinous house, though he was well bred enough to conceal his wonder? Such a place may suit Abu el-Kasim, who knows no better; but now that you’re in favor with the Sultan you should at once find a house in a better quarter. It need have no more than five or ten rooms, if only it be tasteful and furnished in a manner befitting your dignity, so that I needn’t blush for shame when receiving visits from distinguished guests. Our best plan would be to choose some beautiful site on the shores of the Bosphorus or the Marmara, and there build a modest house according to our needs and tastes. It should not be too far from the Seraglio, although of course we should have our own boat or gondola, and an oarsman or two. They could look after the garden as well, and we might build a dwelling for them adjoining the boathouse. If one were married, his wife could help my women in the house, and we could put the sons into fine clothes and send them on errands into the city, so that all who saw them would form a proper idea of your rank and dignity.”

I clutched my head at Giulia’s wild talk, and could not utter a word for some time. At length I drew a deep breath and said, “Giulia, Giulia! You’re planning my downfall. If we’re wise we’ll save every asper we can scrape together, lest evil times follow. A new house would swallow up my present and future income; it would be like pouring money into a bottomless well, and I should never know another day’s peace.” Giulia’s face hardened, and her eyes were stony with anger as she snapped, “Why must you always destroy my loveliest dreams? Do you grudge me a home—a place we could call ours? Think what we should save by gathering fruit from our own trees and growing our own vegetables instead of being robbed by rogues in the market. And suppose we had children! Ah, Michael! You couldn’t be so hardhearted as to give them a dirty street for their playground, and let them grow up like the children of donkey drivers?”

Tears were now streaming down her cheeks and her words so moved me that I too began to picture to myself a little dwelling on the Bosphorus, with a garden from among whose fruit trees I could watch the stars come out and listen to the lapping of the water along the shore. But reason told me that I could not be certain of keeping the Sultan’s favor, and that houses were not built nor gardens laid out on twelve aspers a day.

Our conversation was cut short by a shrill squealing, and when wc ran out into the evening sunlight of the courtyard we beheld Giulia’s furry blue cat writhing on the grass plot. Giulia tried to take the cat in her arms, but it scratched her and at last hid beneath the house and refused to come out, coax as we would. The wailing grew ever more agonized and at last ceased altogether. Deathly pale and with hands clenched, Giulia walked to the corner of the court where the dog’s bowl was kept. After putting Rael’s food into it she had covered it with a lid which one of the cats in its greed had pushed off; the food was gone and I had only to glance at Giulia to see that during my absence she had mixed poison with it, to kill my dog and punish me for staying away all night.

Seeing that I understood she quailed and said faintly, “Forgive me, Michael! I meant no harm, but I was blinded by anger after wandering about sleepless all night thinking evil thoughts of you. Your wicked dog has tried my patience long enough, and tormented my cats when you weren’t looking. He left fleas on my cushions, muddied my floors, and overturned my jars. And now to crown everything he has poisoned my pet cat and I shall never, never forgive either of you.”

She worked herself up into a frenzy against me and my dog, but at least this melancholy interlude diverted her thoughts from her building schemes. We never had time to return to the subject, for hardly had we begun to tear up the floorboards to get out the cat’s body when we heard the rhythmic tramp of marching feet. Someone thundered at the outer gate with a sword hilt, and when I opened it there entered an onbash of janissaries fully equipped for battle, with a white felt cap on his head. He greeted me and handed me an order from his aga to the effect that I must set forth at once to join the army in the town of Philippopolis, on the river Maritsa, and there report as interpreter to the Seraskier’s intelligence corps.

As I read this appalling communication I became so greatly agitated that I could only stammer the suggestion that there had been a grave mistake, and that for his own sake the onbash would be wise to accompany me at once to the aga and have the matter cleared up. But the onbash was a stolid, unimaginative veteran who said he had his orders. These were to see that before the last hour of prayer I was beyond the city walls and on my way to the theater of war. I had better make haste, he said, if I wished to put up some provisions for the journey, and pack suitable clothes.

It all happened so quickly that I was really conscious of nothing until I found myself sitting uncomfortably in a basket on the back of a camel, swaying rapidly along toward the city gate on the Adrianople road. I lifted my hands to heaven weeping and bewailing my hard fate, but at this the ten janissaries who were goading forward my camel began to sing at the tops of their voices, praising Allah and proclaiming that they were bound for Vienna to overthrow the Kiag.

Their eagerness for battle, the unclouded evening sky—transparently clear after so many rainy days—and last but not least the passage in the Aga’s written order entitling me to thirty aspers a day from the Defterdar’s treasury, cheered me by degrees and inspired me with fresh courage. I tried also to console myself by thinking that nothing occurred contrary to the will of Allah. If for some reason I was to be removed from the Seraglio, it could only be because the Sultan wished to test my efficiency on a campaign, and so discover in which high appointment he could best employ me.

We swung through the low arch in the city wall just as the sun was setting. The rolling slopes beyond glowed red and yellow with tulips, and the white columns of Moslem tombs caught the last dying rays. Dusk fell, the sky darkened to purple, and in strange accompaniment to the tramp of the soldiers and the grunting of the camel I heard the hoarse, distant voices of the muezzins calling the faithful to prayer.

All at once I felt as if someone had lifted a heavy, stifling blanket from me; I breathed freely once more, and enjoyed deep draughts of the fresh spring air.

Although I was now to take part in a campaign that threatened all Christendom, I was escorted by a squad of experienced janissaries who must answer for my safety with their heads. I had thirty aspers a day and if fortune favored me I had much to gain and little to lose. My dog was in good hands. Giulia could maintain herself very well until my return on the money that the Sultan had given me, and perhaps I might soon meet my dear brother Andy again among the gunners; his loyalty and strength could be of great help to me in time of need.

And so there was no reason for dejection. True, the camel smelled very evil, my legs were numb, and the constant swaying afflicted me with nausea; yet without effort I swung forward through the fragrant spring night. Sultan Suleiman’s expedition against the Emperor’s brother in Vienna was now to begin, and out of respect for the Sultan I will bring this book to an end and start another.

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