At that moment the Ba.s.sa chanced to pa.s.s the Cadi"s house, and hearing a great noise, entered to inquire the cause. When the matter was explained, he looked attentively at Neangir, and asked him gently how all these marvels could possibly have happened.
"My lord," replied Neangir, "I swear I have spoken the truth, and perhaps you will believe me when I tell you that I myself have been the victim of spells wrought by people of this kind, who should be rooted out from the earth. For three years I was changed into a three-legged pot, and only returned to man"s shape when one day a turban was laid upon my lid."
At these words the Ba.s.sa rent his robe for joy, and embracing Neangir, he cried, "Oh, my son, my son, have I found you at last? Do you not come from the house of Mohammed and Zinebi?"
"Yes, my lord," replied Neangir, "it was they who took care of me during my misfortune, and taught me by their example to be less worthy of belonging to you."
"Blessed be the Prophet," said the Ba.s.sa, "who has restored one of my sons to me, at the time I least expected it! You know," he continued, addressing the Cadi, "that during the first years of my marriage I had three sons by the beautiful Zambac. When he was three years old a holy dervish gave the eldest a string of the finest coral, saying "Keep this treasure carefully, and be faithful to the Prophet, and you will be happy." To the second, who now stands before you, he presented a copper plate on which the name of Mahomet was engraved in seven languages, telling him never to part from his turban, which was the sign of a true believer, and he would taste the greatest of all joys; while on the right arm of the third the dervish clasped a bracelet with the prayer that his right hand should be pure and the left spotless, so that he might never know sorrow.
"My eldest son neglected the counsel of the dervish and terrible troubles fell on him, as also on the youngest. To preserve the second from similar misfortunes I brought him up in a lonely place, under the care of a faithful servant named Gouloucou, while I was fighting the enemies of our Holy Faith. On my return from the wars I hastened to embrace my son, but both he and Gouloucou had vanished, and it is only a few months since that I learned that the boy was living with a man called Mohammed, whom I suspected of having stolen him. Tell me, my son, how it came about that you fell into his hands."
"My lord," replied Neangir, "I can remember little of the early years of my life, save that I dwelt in a castle by the seash.o.r.e with an old servant. I must have been about twelve years old when one day as we were out walking we met a man whose face was like that of this Jew, coming dancing towards us. Suddenly I felt myself growing faint. I tried to raise my hands to my head, but they had become stiff and hard. In a word, I had been changed into a copper pot, and my arms formed the handle. What happened to my companion I know not, but I was conscious that some one had picked me up, and was carrying me quickly away.
"After some days, or so it seemed to me, I was placed on the ground near a thick hedge, and when I heard my captor snoring beside me I resolved to make my escape. So I pushed my way among the thorns as well as I could, and walked on steadily for about an hour.
"You cannot imagine, my lord, how awkward it is to walk with three legs, especially when your knees are as stiff as mine were. At length after much difficulty I reached a market-garden, and hid myself deep down among the cabbages, where I pa.s.sed a quiet night.
"The next morning, at sunrise, I felt some one stooping over me and examining me closely. "What have you got there, Zinebi?" said the voice of a man a little way off.
""The most beautiful pot in the whole world," answered the woman beside me, "and who would have dreamed of finding it among my cabbages!"
"Mohammed lifted me from the ground and looked at me with admiration.
That pleased me, for every one likes to be admired, even if he is only a pot! And I was taken into the house and filled with water, and put on the fire to boil.
"For three years I led a quiet and useful life, being scrubbed bright every day by Zinebi, then a young and beautiful woman.
"One morning Zinebi set me on the fire, with a fine fillet of beef inside me to cook, for dinner. Being afraid that some of the steam would escape through the lid, and that the taste of her stew would be spoilt, she looked about for something to put over the cover, but could see nothing handy but her husband"s turban. She tied it firmly round the lid, and then left the room. For the first time during three years I began to feel the fire burning the soles of my feet, and moved away a little--doing this with a great deal more ease than I had felt when making my escape to Mohammed"s garden. I was somehow aware, too, that I was growing taller; in fact in a few minutes I was a man again.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ZINEBI PUTS THE TURBAN ON THE POT]
"After the third hour of prayer Mohammed and Zinebi both returned, and you can guess their surprise at finding a young man in the kitchen instead of a copper pot! I told them my story, which at first they refused to believe, but in the end I succeeded in persuading them that I was speaking the truth. For two years more I lived with them, and was treated like their own son, till the day when they sent me to this city to seek my fortune. And now, my lords, here are the two letters which I found in my turban. Perhaps they may be another proof in favour of my story."
Whilst Neangir was speaking, the blood from the Jew"s wound had gradually ceased to flow; and at this moment there appeared in the doorway a lovely Jewess, about twenty-two years old, her hair and her dress all disordered, as if she had been flying from some great danger.
In one hand she held two crutches of white wood, and was followed by two men. The first man Neangir knew to be the brother of the Jew he had struck with his sword, while in the second the young man thought he recognised the person who was standing by when he was changed into a pot. Both of these men had a wide linen band round their thighs and held stout sticks.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THERE APPEARED IN THE DOORWAY A LOVELY JEWESS]
The Jewess approached the wounded man and laid the two crutches near him; then, fixing her eyes on him, she burst into tears.
"Unhappy Izouf," she murmured, "why do you suffer yourself to be led into such dangerous adventures? Look at the consequences, not only to yourself, but to your two brothers," turning as she spoke to the men who had come in with her, and who had sunk down on the mat at the feet of the Jew.
The Ba.s.sa and his companions were struck both with the beauty of the Jewess and also with her words, and begged her to give them an explanation.
"My lords," she said, "my name is Sumi, and I am the daughter of Mozes, one of our most famous rabbis. I am the victim of my love for Izaf,"
pointing to the man who had entered last, "and in spite of his ingrat.i.tude, I cannot tear him from my heart. Cruel enemy of my life,"
she continued, turning to Izaf, "tell these gentlemen your story and that of your brothers, and try to gain your pardon by repentance."
"We all three were born at the same time," said the Jew, obeying the command of Sumi at a sign from the Cadi, "and are the sons of the famous Nathan Ben-Sadi, who gave us the names of Izif, Izouf, and Izaf. From our earliest years we were taught the secrets of magic, and as we were all born under the same stars we shared the same happiness and the same troubles.
"Our mother died before I can remember, and when we were fifteen our father was seized with a dangerous illness which no spells could cure.
Feeling death draw near, he called us to his bedside and took leave of us in these words:
""My sons, I have no riches to bequeath to you; my only wealth was those secrets of magic which you know. Some stones you already have, engraved with mystic signs, and long ago I taught you how to make others. But you still lack the most precious of all talismans--the three rings belonging to the daughters of Siroco. Try to get possession of them, but take heed on beholding these young girls that you do not fall under the power of their beauty. Their religion is different from yours, and further, they are the betrothed brides of the sons of the Ba.s.sa of the Sea. And to preserve you from a love which can bring you nothing but sorrow, I counsel you in time of peril to seek out the daughter of Mozes the Rabbi, who cherishes a hidden pa.s.sion for Izaf, and possesses the Book of Spells, which her father himself wrote with the sacred ink that was used for the Talmud." So saying, our father fell back on his cushions and died, leaving us burning with desire for the three rings of the daughters of Siroco.
"No sooner were our sad duties finished than we began to make inquiries where these young ladies were to be found, and we learned after much trouble that Siroco, their father, had fought in many wars, and that his daughters, whose beauty was famous throughout all the land, were named Aurora, Argentine, and Zelida."
At the second of these names, both the Ba.s.sa and his son gave a start of surprise, but they said nothing, and Izaf went on with his story.
"The first thing to be done was to put on a disguise, and it was in the dress of foreign merchants that we at length approached the young ladies, taking care to carry with us a collection of fine stones which we had hired for the occasion. But alas! it was to no purpose that Nathan Ben-Sadi had warned us to close our hearts against their charms!
The peerless Aurora was clothed in a garment of golden hue, studded all over with flashing jewels; the fair-haired Argentine wore a dress of silver, and the young Zelida, loveliest of them all, the costume of a Persian lady.
"Among other curiosities that we had brought with us, was a flask containing an elixir which had the quality of exciting love in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of any man or woman who drank of it. This had been given me by the fair Sumi, who had used it herself and was full of wrath because I refused to drink it likewise, and so return her pa.s.sion. I showed this liquid to the three maidens who were engaged in examining the precious stones, and choosing those that pleased them best; and I was in the act of pouring some in a crystal cup, when Zelida"s eyes fell on a paper wrapped round the flask containing these words: "Beware lest you drink this water with any other man than him who will one day be your husband." "Ah, traitor!" she exclaimed, "what snare have you laid for me?" and glancing where her finger pointed I recognised the writing of Sumi.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ZELIDA DISCOVERS THE WRITING ON THE FLASK]
"By this time my two brothers had already got possession of the rings of Aurora and Argentine in exchange for some merchandise which they coveted, and no sooner had the magic circles left their hands than the two sisters vanished completely, and in their place nothing was to be seen but a watch of gold and one of silver. At this instant the old slave whom we had bribed to let us enter the house, rushed into the room announcing the return of Zelida"s father. My brothers, trembling with fright, hid the watches in their turbans, and while the slave was attending to Zelida, who had sunk fainting to the ground, we managed to make our escape.
"Fearing to be traced by the enraged Siroco, we did not dare to go back to the house where we lodged, but took refuge with Sumi.
""Unhappy wretches!" cried she, "is it thus that you have followed the counsels of your father? This very morning I consulted my magic books, and saw you in the act of abandoning your hearts to the fatal pa.s.sion which will one day be your ruin. No, do not think I will tamely bear this insult! It was I who wrote the letter which stopped Zelida in the act of drinking the elixir of love! As for you," she went on, turning to my brothers, "you do not yet know what those two watches will cost you!
But you can learn it now, and the knowledge of the truth will only serve to render your lives still more miserable."
"As she spoke she held out the sacred book written by Mozes, and pointed to the following lines:
""If at midnight the watches are wound with the key of gold and the key of silver, they will resume their proper shapes during the first hour of the day. They will always remain under the care of a woman, and will come back to her wherever they may be. And the woman appointed to guard them is the daughter of Mozes."
"My brothers were full of rage when they saw themselves outwitted, but there was no help for it. The watches were delivered up to Sumi and they went their way, while I remained behind curious to see what would happen.
"As night wore on Sumi wound up both watches, and when midnight struck Aurora and her sister made their appearance. They knew nothing of what had occurred and supposed they had just awakened from sleep, but when Sumi"s story made them understand their terrible fate, they both sobbed with despair and were only consoled when Sumi promised never to forsake them. Then one o"clock sounded, and they became watches again.
"All night long I was a prey to vague fears, and I felt as if something unseen was pushing me on--in what direction I did not know. At dawn I rose and went out, meeting Izif in the street suffering from the same dread as myself. We agreed that Constantinople was no place for us any longer, and calling to Izouf to accompany us, we left the city together, but soon determined to travel separately, so that we might not be so easily recognised by the spies of Siroco.
"A few days later I found myself at the door of an old castle near the sea, before which a tall slave was pacing to and fro. The gift of one or two worthless jewels loosened his tongue, and he informed me that he was in the service of the son of the Ba.s.sa of the Sea, at that time making war in distant countries. The youth, he told me, had been destined from his boyhood to marry the daughter of Siroco, whose sisters were to be the brides of his brothers, and went on to speak of the talisman that his charge possessed. But I could think of nothing but the beautiful Zelida, and my pa.s.sion, which I thought I had conquered, awoke in full force.
"In order to remove this dangerous rival from my path, I resolved to kidnap him, and to this end I began to act a madman, and to sing and dance loudly, crying to the slave to fetch the boy and let him see my tricks. He consented, and both were so diverted with my antics that they laughed till the tears ran down their cheeks, and even tried to imitate me. Then I declared I felt thirsty and begged the slave to fetch me some water, and while he was absent I advised the youth to take off his turban, so as to cool his head. He complied gladly, and in the twinkling of an eye was changed into a pot. A cry from the slave warned me that I had no time to lose if I would save my life, so I s.n.a.t.c.hed up the pot and fled with it like the wind.
"You have heard, my lords, what became of the pot, so I will only say now that when I awoke it had disappeared; but I was partly consoled for its loss by finding my two brothers fast asleep not far from me. "How did you get here?" I inquired, "and what has happened to you since we parted?"
""Alas!" replied Izouf, "we were pa.s.sing a wayside inn from which came sounds of songs and laughter, and fools that we were--we entered and sat down. Circa.s.sian girls of great beauty were dancing for the amus.e.m.e.nt of several men, who not only received us politely, but placed us near the two loveliest maidens. Our happiness was complete, and time flew unknown to us, when one of the Circa.s.sians leaned forward and said to her sister, "Their brother danced, and they must dance too." What they meant by these words I know not, but perhaps you can tell us?"
""I understand quite well," I replied. "They were thinking of the day that I stole the son of the Ba.s.sa, and had danced before him."
""Perhaps you are right," continued Izouf, "for the two ladies took our hands and danced with us till we were quite exhausted, and when at last we sat down a second time to table we drank more wine than was good for us. Indeed, our heads grew so confused, that when the men jumped up and threatened to kill us, we could make no resistance and suffered ourselves to be robbed of everything we had about us, including the most precious possession of all, the two talismans of the daughters of Siroco." "Not knowing what else to do, we all three returned to Constantinople to ask the advice of Sumi, and found that she was already aware of our misfortunes, having read about them in the book of Mozes.
The kind-hearted creature wept bitterly at our story, but, being poor herself, could give us little help. At last I proposed that every morning we should sell the silver watch into which Argentine was changed, as it would return to Sumi every evening unless it was wound up with the silver key--which was not at all likely. Sumi consented, but only on the condition that we would never sell the watch without ascertaining the house where it was to be found, so that she might also take Aurora thither, and thus Argentine would not be alone if by any chance she was wound up at the mystic hour. For some weeks now we have lived by this means, and the two daughters of Siroco have never failed to return to Sumi each night. Yesterday Izouf sold the silver watch to this young man, and in the evening placed the gold watch on the steps by order of Sumi, just before his customer entered the house; from which both watches came back early this morning."
"If I had only known!" cried Neangir. "If I had had more presence of mind, I should have seen the lovely Argentine, and if her portrait is so fair, what must the original be!"
"It was not your fault," replied the Cadi, "you are no magician; and who could guess that the watch must be wound at such an hour? But I shall give orders that the merchant is to hand it over to you, and this evening you will certainly not forget."