CHAPTER VII.
TULIP-BULBS AND HUMAN HEADS.
It is not every day that one can see budding tulips in the middle ofSeptember, yet the Kapudan Pasha had succeeded in hitting upon a dodgewhich the most famous gardeners in the world had for ages been rackingtheir brains to discover, and all in vain.
The problem was--how to introduce an artificial spring into the verywaist and middle of autumn, and then to get the tulip-bulbs to takeSeptember for May, and set about flowering there and then.
First of all he set about preparing a special forcing-bed of his owninvention, in which he carefully mingled together the most nourishingsoil formed among the Mountains of Lebanon from millennial deposits ofcedar-tree spines, antelope manure, so heating and stimulating tovegetation, that wherever it falls on the desert, tiny oases, full offlowers and verdure, immediately spring up amidst the burning, driftingsand-hills, and burnt and pulverized black marble which is only to befound in the Dead Mountains. A judicious intermingling of this mixtureproduces a soft, porous, and exceedingly damp soil, and in this soil theKapudan Pasha very carefully planted out his tulips with his own hands.He selected the bulbs resulting from last spring's blooms, making a holefor each of them, one by one, with his index-finger, and banking them upgingerly with earth as soft as fresh bread crumbs.
Then he had snow fetched from the summits of the Caucasus, where itremains even all through the summer--whole ship loads of snow by way ofthe Black Sea--and kept the tulip-bulbs well covered with it, addingcontinually layers of fresh snow as the first layers melted, so that thehoodwinked tulips really believed it was now winter; and when towardsthe end of August the snow was allowed to melt altogether, they fanciedspring had come, and poked their gold-green shoots out of theirwell-warmed, well-moistened bed.
On the eve of the Prophet's birthday about fifty plants had begun tobloom, all of which had been named after battles in which the Mussulmanshad triumphed, or after fortresses which their arms had captured. Then,however, the Kapudan Pasha was obliged to go to sea and command thefleet, in other words, he was constrained to leave his beloved tulips atthe most interesting period of their existence.
On the very evening when the Sultan arrived at Scutari, one of theKapudan Pasha's gardeners came to him with the joyful intelligence thatBelgrade, Naples, Morea, and Kermanjasahan would blossom on the morrow.
The Kapudan Pasha was wild with impatience. There they all were, just onthe point of blooming, and he would be unable to see it. How he wouldhave liked a contrary wind to have kept back the fleet for a day or two.
But what the wind would not do for him, the Sultan's birthday gave himthe opportunity of doing for himself. The day of rest appointed for themorrow permitted the Kapudan Pasha to get himself rowed across to hissummer palace at Chengelkoei, where his marvellous tulips were about tobloom at the beginning of autumn.
What a spectacle awaited him! All four of them, yes, all four, were infull bloom!
Belgrade was pale yellow with bright green stripes, those of the stripeswhich were pale green on the lower were rose-coloured on the uppersurface, and those of them which were bright green above died graduallyaway into a dark lilac colour below.
Naples was a very full tulip, whose confusingly numerous angry-redleaves, with yellow edges, symbolized, perhaps, the fifteen hundredVenetians who had fallen at its name-place beneath the arms of theOttomans.
Morea was the richest in colour. The base of its cup was of a darkchocolate hue, with green and rose-coloured stripes all round it;moreover, the green stripes passed into red, and the rose ones intoliver-colour, and a bright yellow streak of colour ran parallel withevery single stripe. On the outside the green hues, inside the redrather predominated.
But the rarest, the most magnificent of the four was Kermanjasahan. Thiswas a treasure filched from the garden of the Dalai Lama. It wassnow-white, without the slightest nuance of any other colour, and ofsuch full bloom that the original six petals were obliged to benddownwards.
The Kapudan Pasha was enraptured by all this splendour.
He had made up his mind to present all these tulips to the Sultan, forwhich he would no doubt receive a rich viceroyalty, perhaps even Egypt,who could tell. He therefore ordered that costly china vases should bebrought to him in which he might transplant the flowers, and he dug withhis hands deep down in the soil lest he should injure the bulbs.
Just as he was kneeling down in the midst of the tulips, with his handsall covered with mould, a breathless bostanji came rushing towards himat full speed, quite out of breath, and without waiting to get up tohim, exclaimed while still a good distance off:
"Sir, sir, rise up quickly, for all Stambul is in a commotion."
"Take care!--don't tread upon my tulips, you blockhead; don't you seethat you nearly trampled upon one of them!"
"Oh, my master! tulips bloom every year, but if you trample a man todeath, Mashallah! he will rise no more. Hasten, for the rioters arealready turning the city upside down!"
The Kapudan Pasha very gently, very cautiously, placed the flower, whichhe had raised with both hands, in the porcelain vase, and pressed theearth down on every side of it so that it might keep steady whencarried.
"What dost thou say, my son?" he then condescended to ask.
"The people of Stambul have risen in revolt."
"The people of Stambul, eh? What sort of people? Do you mean thecobblers, the hucksters, the fishermen, and the bakers?"
"Yes, sir, they have all risen in revolt."
"Very well, I'll be there directly and tell them to be quiet."
"Oh, sir, you speak as if you could extinguish the burning city withthis watering-can. The will of Allah be done!"
But the Kapudan Pasha, with a merry heart, kept on watering thetransplanted tulips till he had done it thoroughly, and entrusted themto four bostanjis, bidding them carry the flowers through the canal tothe Sultan's palace at Scutari, while he had his horse saddled andwithout the slightest escort trotted quite alone into Stambul, where atthat very moment they were crying loudly for his head.
On the way thither, he came face to face with the Kiaja coming in awretched, two-wheeled kibitka, with a Russian coachman sitting in frontof him to hide him as much as possible from the public view. He bellowedto the Kapudan Pasha not to go to Stambul as death awaited him there. Atthis the Kapudan Pasha simply shrugged his shoulders. What an idea! Tobe frightened of an army of bakers and cobblers indeed! It was sheernonsense, so he tried to persuade the Kiaja to turn back again with himand restore order by showing themselves to the rioters, whereupon thelatter vehemently declared that not for all the joys of Paradise wouldhe do so, and begged his Russian coachman to hasten on towards Scutarias rapidly as possible.
The Kapudan Pasha promised that he would not be very long behind him;nay, inasmuch as the Kiaja was making a very considerable detour, whilehe himself was taking the direct road straight through Stambul, heinsinuated that it was highly probable he might reach Scutari beforehim.
"We shall meet again shortly," he cried by way of a parting salute.
"Yes, in Abraham's bosom, I expect," murmured the Kiaja to himself as heraced away again, while the Kapudan Pasha ambled jauntily into the city.
Already from afar he beheld the palace of the Reis-Effendi, on whosewalls were inscribed in gigantic letters the following announcements:
"Death to the Chief Mufti!
"Death to the Grand Vizier!
"Death to the Kapudan Pasha!
"Death to the Kiaja Beg!"
"H'm!" said the Kapudan Pasha to himself. "No doubt that was written bysome softa or other, for cobblers and tailors cannot write of course.Not a bad hand by any means. I should like to make the fellow myteskeredji."
As he trotted nearer to the palace, he perceived a great multitudesurging around it, and amongst them a mounted trumpeter with one ofthose large Turkish field-horns which are audible a mile off, and aregenerally used at Stambul during every popular rising, their very notehas a provocative tone
.
The trumpeting herald was thus addressing the mob assembled around him:
"Inhabitants of Stambul, true-believing Mussulmans, our commander isHalil Patrona, the chief of the Janissaries, and in the name of theStambul Cadi, Hassan Sulali, I proclaim: Let every true believingMussulman shut up his shop, lay aside his handiwork, and assemble in thepiazza; those of you, however, who are bakers of bread or sellers offlesh, keep your shops open, for whosoever resists this decree his shopwill be treated as common booty. As for the unbelieving giaours atpresent residing at Stambul, let them remain in peace at home, for thosewho do not stir abroad will have no harm done to them. And this Iannounce to you in the names of Halil Patrona and Hassan Sulali."
The Kapudan Pasha listened to the very last word of this proclamation,then he spurred his horse upon the crier, and snatching the horn fromhis hand hit him a blow with it on the back, which resounded far andwide, and then with a voice of thunder addressed the suddenly pacifiedcrowd:
"Ye worthless vagabonds, ye filthy sneak-thieves, mud-larkingcrab-catchers, pitchy-fingered slipper-botchers, huddling opium-eaters,swindling knacker-sellers, petty hucksters, ye ragged, filthy,whey-faced tipplers!--I, Abdi, the Kapudan Pasha, say it to you, and Ionly regret that I have not the tongue of a Giaour of the Hungarian racethat I might be able to heap upon you all the curses and reproachesthat your conduct deserves, ye dogs! What do you want then? Have you notenough to eat? Do you want war because you are tired of peace? War,indeed, though you would take good care to keep out of it. To remain athome here and wage war against women and girls is much more to yourliking; booths not fortresses are what you like to storm. Be off to yourhomes from whence you have come, I say, for whomsoever I find in thestreets an hour hence his head shall dangle in front of the Pavilion ofJustice. Mark my words!"
With these words Abdi gave his horse the spur and galloped through thethickest part of the mob, which dispersed in terror before him, and withproud self-satisfaction the Kapudan Pasha saw how the people hid awayfrom him in their houses and vanished, as if by magic, from the streetsand house-tops.
He galloped into the town without opposition. At every street corner heblew a long blast in the captured horn, and addressed some well-chosenremarks to the people assembled there, which scattered them in everydirection.
At last he reached the Bezesztan, where every shop was closed.
"Open your shops, ye dogs!" thundered Abdi to the assembled merchantsand tradesmen. "I suppose your heels are itching?--or perhaps you aretired of having ears and noses? Open all your shop-doors this instant, Isay! for whoever keeps them closed after this command shall be hanged upin front of his own shop-door!"
The shopkeepers, full of terror, began to take down their shuttersforthwith.
From thence he galloped off towards the Etmeidan.
The great fishmarket, which he passed on his way, was filled with peoplefrom end to end. Not a word could be heard for the fearful din, whichcompletely drowned the voices of a few stump-orators who here and therehad climbed up the pillars near the drinking-fountains to address themob.
Nevertheless the resonant, penetrating voice of the horn blown by theKapudan Pasha dominated the tumult, and turned every face in hisdirection.
Rising in his stirrups, Abdi addressed them with a terrible voice:
"Ye fools, whose mad hands rise against your own heads! Do ye want tomake the earth quake beneath you that so many of you stand in a heap inone place? What fool among you is it would drag the whole lot of youdown to perdition? Would that the heavens might fall upon you!--wouldthat these houses might bury you!--would that ye might turn intofour-footed beasts who can do nothing but bark! Lower your heads, yewretched creatures, and go and hide yourselves behind your mud-walls!And let not a single cry be heard in your streets, for if you dare tocome out of your holes, I swear by the shadow of Allah that I'll make arubbish-heap of Stambul with my guns, and none shall live in ithenceforth but serpents and bats and your accursed souls, ye dogs!"
And nobody durst say him nay. They listened to his revilings in silence,gave way before him, and made a way for his prancing steed. Halil wasnot there, had he but been there the Kapudan Pasha would not have waitedtwice for an answer.
So here also Abdi succeeded in trotting through the ranks of therioters, and so at last directed his way towards the Etmeidan.
By this time not only the caldron of the first but the caldron of thefifth Janissary regiment had been erected in the midst of the camp. Theyhad been taken by force from the army blacksmiths, and a group ofJanissaries stood round each of them.
Abdi Pasha appeared among them so unexpectedly that they were only awareof his presence when he suddenly bawled at them:
"Put down your weapons!"
They all regarded the Kapudan Pasha with fear and wonder. How had he gothere? Not one of them dared to draw a sword against him, yet not one ofthem submitted, and everyone of them felt that Patrona was badly wantedhere.
The banner of the insurgents was waving in the midst of the piazza. AbdiPasha rode straight towards it. The Janissaries remained rooted to thespot, staring after him with astonishment.
Suddenly Musli leaped forth from amongst them, and anticipating theKapudan, seized the flag himself.
"Give me that banner, my son!" said Abdi with all the phlegm of a trueseaman.
Musli had not yet sufficiently recovered to be able to answerarticulately, but he shook his head by way of intimating that surrenderit he would not.
"Give me that banner, Janissary!" cried Abdi once more, sternlyregarding Musli straight between the eyes.
Instead of answering Musli simply proceeded to wind the banner round itspole.
"Give me that banner!" bellowed Abdi for the third time, with a voice ofthunder, at the same time drawing his sword.
But now Musli twisted the pole round so that the mud-stained end whichhad been sticking in the earth rose high in the air, and he said:
"I honour you, Abdi Pasha, and I will not hurt you if you go away. Iwould rather see you fall in battle fighting against the Giaours, foryou deserve to have a glorious name; but don't ask me for this bannerany more, for if you come a step nearer I will run you through the bodywith the dirty end."
And at these words all the other Janissaries leaped to their feet and,drawing their swords, formed a glittering circle round the valiantMusli.
"I am sorry for you, my brave Janissaries," observed the Kapudan Pashasadly.
"And we are sorry for you, famous Kapudan Pasha!"
Then Abdi quitted the Etmeidan. He perceived how the crowd parted beforehim everywhere as he advanced; but it also did not escape him thatbehind his back they immediately closed up again when he had passed.
"These people can only be brought to their senses by force of arms," hesaid to himself as away he rode through the city, and nobody laid somuch as a finger upon him.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, in the camp outside, a great council of war was being held.On the news of the insurrection which had been painted in the mostalarming colours by the fugitive Kiaja and the Janissary Aga, theSultan had called together the generals, the Ulemas, the Grand Vizier,the Chief Mufti, the Sheiks, and the Kodzhagians in the palace by thesea-shore.
An hour before in the same palace he had held a long deliberation withhis aunt, the wise Sultana Khadija.
Good counsel was now precious indeed.
The Grand Vizier opined that the army, leaving the Sultan behind atBrusa, should set off at once towards Tebrif to meet the foe. If it werefound possible to unite with Abdullah Pasha all was won. Stambul was tobe left to itself, and the rebels allowed to do as they liked there.Once let the external enemy be well beaten and then their turn wouldcome too.
The Chief Mufti did not believe it to be possible to lead the host tobattle just then; but he wished it to be withdrawn from Stambul, lest itshould be affected by the spirit of rebellion.
The Kiaja advised negociating with the rebels and pacifyi
ng them thatway.
At this last proposal the Sultan nodded his head approvingly. TheSultana Khadija was also of the same opinion.
As to the mode of carrying out these negociations there was some slightdifference of detail between the plan of the Kiaja and the plan of theSultana. In the opinion of the former, while the negociations werestill proceeding, the ringleaders of the rebellion were to be quietlydisposed of one after the other, whereas the Sultana insinuated that theSultan should appease the rebels by handing over to them the detestedKiaja and any of the other great officers of state whose heads the mobmight take a fancy to. And that, of course, was a very different thing.
The Sultan thought the counsel of the Kiaja the best.
At that very moment, the Kapudan Pasha, Abdi, entered thecouncil-chamber.
Everybody regarded him with astonishment. According to the account ofthe Kiaja he had already been cut into a thousand pieces.
He came in with just as much _sangfroid_ as he displayed when he hadridden through the rebellious city. He inquired of the doorkeepers as hepassed through whether his messengers had arrived yet with the tulips."No," was the reply. "Then where have they got to, I wonder," hemuttered; "since I quitted them I have been from one end of Stambul tothe other?"
Then he saluted the Sultan, and in obedience to a gesture from thePadishah, took his place among the viziers, and they regarded him withas much amazement as if it was his ghost that had come among them.
"You have been in Stambul, I understand?" inquired the Grand Vizier atlast.
"I have just come from thence within the last hour."
"What do the people want?" asked the Padishah.
"They want to eat and drink."
"It is blood they would drink then," murmured the Chief Mufti in hisbeard.
"And what do they complain about?"
"They complain that the sword does not wage war of its own accord, andthat the earth does not produce bread without being tilled, and thatwine and coffee do not trickle from the gutters of the houses."
"You speak very lightly of the matter, Abdi. How do you propose topacify this uproar?"
"The thing is quite simple. The cobblers and petty hucksters of Stambulare not worth a volley, and, besides, I would not hurt the poor thingsif possible. Many of them have wives and children. Those who havestirred them up are in the camp of the Janissaries--there you will findtheir leaders. It would be a pity, perhaps, to destroy all who haveexcited the people in Stambul to revolt, but they ought to be led forthregiment by regiment and every tenth man of them shot through the head.That will help to smooth matters."
All the viziers were horrified. "Who would dare to do such a thing?"they asked.
"That is what I would do," said Abdi bluntly. After that he held hispeace.
It was the Sultan who broke the silence.
"Before you arrived," said he, "we had resolved, by the advice of theKiaja Beg, to go back to the town with the banner of the Prophet and theprinces.
"That also is not bad counsel," said Abdi; "thy glorious presence willand must quell the uproar. Unfurl the banner of the Prophet in front ofthe Gate of the Seraglio, let the Chief Mufti and Ispirizade open theAja Sophia and the Mosque of Achmed, and let the imams call the peopleto prayer. Let Damad Ibrahim remain outside with the host, that in caseof need he may hasten to suppress the insurgents. Let the Kiaja Begcollect together the jebedjis, ciauses, and bostanjis, who guard theSeraglio, and let them clear the streets. And if all this be of no availmy guns from the sea will soon teach them obedience."
Sultan Achmed shook his head.
"We have resolved otherwise," said he; "none of you must quit my side.The Grand Vizier, the Chief Mufti, the Kapudan Pasha, and the Kiaja mustcome along with me."
And while he told their names, one after the other, the Padishah didnot so much as look at one of them.
The names of these four men were all written up on the corners of thestreet. The heads of these four men had been demanded by the people andby Halil Patrona.
What then was their offence in the eyes of the people? They were the menhighest in power when misfortune overtook the realm. But how then hadthey offended Halil Patrona? 'Twas they who had brought suffering uponGuel-Bejaze.
The viziers bowed their heads.
At that same instant Abdi's messengers arrived with the tulips. Theywere brought to the Padishah, who was enchanted by their beauty, andordered that they should be conveyed to Stambul, to the Sultana Asseki,with the message that he himself would not be long after them. Moreover,he patted Abdi on the shoulder, and protested with tears in his eyesthat there was none in the world whom he loved better.
The Kapudan Pasha kissed the hem of the Sultan's robe, and then remainedbehind with Ibrahim, Abdullah, and the Kiaja.
"Abdullah, and you, my brave Ibrahim, and you, Kiaja," said he,addressing them with a friendly smile, "in an hour's time our four headswill not be worth an earless pitcher," whereupon Damad Ibrahim sadlybent his head, and whispered with a voice resembling a sob:
"Poor, poor Sultan!"
Then they all four accompanied Achmed to his ship. They were all fullyconvinced that Achmed would first sacrifice them all and then fallhimself.