"G.o.d forgive, and deal with me mercifully! I am mad! ... And thou, O Princess--do thou forgive me also, and my words and weakness. Oh, if not for my sake, then for that which carried me away! Or if thou canst not forget, pity me, pity me, and think of the wretchedness now my portion.
I had thy respect, if not thy love; now both are lost--gone after my honor. Oh! I am most miserable--miserable!"
And wringing his hands, he turned his face from her.
"Count Corti," she replied gently, "thou hast saved thyself. Let the affair rest here. I forgive the proposal, and shall never remind thee of it. Love is madness. Return to duty; and for me"--she hesitated--"I hold myself ready for the sacrifice to which I was born. G.o.d is fashioning it; in His own time, and in the form He chooses, He will send it to me.... I am not afraid, and be thou not afraid for me. My father was a hero, and he left me his spirit. I too have my duty born within the hour--it is to share the danger of my kinsman"s people, to give them my presence, to comfort them all I can. I will show thee what thou seemest not to have credited--that a woman can be brave as any man. I will attend the sick, the wounded, and suffering. To the dying I will carry such consolation as I possess--all of them I can reach--and the dead shall have ministration. My goods and values have long been held for the poor and unfortunate; now to the same service I consecrate myself, my house, my chapel, and altar.... There is my hand in sign of forgiveness, and that I believe thee a true knight. I will go with thee to thy horse."
He bowed his head, and silently struggling for composure, carried the hand to his lips.
"Let us go now," she said.
They went out together.
Another dwelling had been struck; fortunately it was unoccupied.
In the saddle, he stayed to say: "Thy soul, O Princess Irene, is angelic as thy face. Thou hast devoted thyself to the suffering. Am I left out?
What word wilt thou give me?"
"Be the true knight thou art, Count Corti, and come to me as before."
He rode away with a revelation; that in womanly purity and goodness there is a power and inspiration beyond the claims of beauty.
The firing continued. Seven times that day the Turks a.s.sailed the Gate St. Romain with their guns; and while a few of the stones discharged flew amiss into the city, there were enough to still further terrorize the inhabitants. By night all who could had retreated to vaults, cellars, and such hiding-places as were safe, and took up their abodes in them. In the city but one woman went abroad without fear, and she bore bread and medicines, and dressed wounds, and a.s.suaged sorrows, and as a Madonna in fact divided worship with the Madonna in the chapel up by the High Residence. Whereat Count Corti"s love grew apace, though the recollection of the near fall he had kept him humble and circ.u.mspect.
The same day, but after the second discharge of the guns, Mahommed entered the part of his tent which, with some freedom, may be termed his office and reception-room, since it was furnished with seats and a large table, the latter set upon a heavily tufted rug, and littered over with maps and writing and drawing materials. Notable amongst the litter was the sword of Solomon. Near it lay a pair of steel gauntlets elegantly gilt. One stout centre-tree, the main support of the roof of camel"s hair, appeared gayly dressed with lances, shields, arms, and armor; and against it, strange to say, the companion of a bright red battle-flag, leant the banderole Count Corti had planted before the door the morning of the sally. A sliding flap overhead, managed by cords in the interior, was drawn up, admitting light and air.
The office, it may be added, communicated by gay portieres with four other apartments, each having its separate centre-tree; one occupied by Kalil, the Vizier; one, a bed-chamber, so to speak; one, a stable for the imperial stud; the fourth belonged to no less a person than our ancient and mysterious acquaintance, the Prince of India.
Mahommed was in half-armor; that is, his neck, arms, and body were in chain mail, the lightest and most flexible of the East, exquisitely gold-washed, and as respects fashion exactly like the suit habitually affected by Count Corti. His nether limbs were clad in wide trousers of yellow silk, drawn close at the ankles. Pointed shoes of red leather completed his equipment, unless we may include a whip with heavy handle and long lash. Could Constantine have seen him at the moment, he would have recognized the engineer whose performance in tracing the trench he had witnessed with so much interest in the morning.
The Grand Chamberlain received him with the usual prostration, and in that posture waited his pleasure.
"Bring me water. I am thirsty."
The water was brought.
"The Prince of India now."
Presently the Prince appeared in the costume peculiar to him--a cap and gown of black velvet, loose trousers, and slippers. His hair and beard were longer than when we knew him a denizen of Constantinople, making his figure seem more spare and old; otherwise he was unchanged. He too prostrated himself; yet as he sank upon his knees, he gave the Sultan a quick glance, intended doubtless to discover his temper more than his purpose.
"You may retire."
This to the Chamberlain.
Upon the disappearance of the official, Mahommed addressed the Prince, his countenance flushed, his eyes actually sparkling.
"G.o.d is great. All things are possible to him. Who shall say no when he says yes? Who resist when he bids strike? Salute me, and rejoice with me, O Prince. He is on my side. It was he who spoke in the thunder of my guns. Salute me, and rejoice. Constantinople is mine! The towers which have outlasted the ages, the walls which have mocked so many conquerors-- behold them tottering to their fall! I will make dust of them. The city which has been a stumbling-block to the true faith shall be converted in a night. Of the churches I will make mosques. Salute me and rejoice! How may a soul contain itself knowing G.o.d has chosen it for such mighty things? Rise, O Prince and rejoice with me!"
He caught up the sword of Solomon, and in a kind of ecstasy strode about flourishing it.
The Prince, arisen, replied simply: "I rejoice with my Lord;" and folding his arms across his breast, he waited, knowing he had been summoned for something more serious than to witness an outburst so wild--that directly this froth would disappear, as bubbles vanish from wine just poured. The most absolute of men have their ways--this was one of Mahommed"s. And behind his composed countenance the Jew smiled, for, as he read it, the byplay was an acknowledgment of his influence over the chosen of G.o.d.
And he was right. Suddenly Mahommed replaced the sword, and standing before him, asked abruptly:
"Tell me, have the stars fixed the day when I may a.s.sault the Gabours?"
"They have, my Lord."
"Give it to me."
The Prince returned to his apartment, and came back with a horoscope.
"This is their decision, my Lord."
In his character of Messenger of the Stars, the Prince of India dispensed with every observance implying inferiority.
Without looking at the Signs, or at the planets in their Houses; without noticing the calculations accompanying the chart; glancing merely at the date in the central place, Mahommed frowned, and said:
"The twenty-ninth of May! Fifty-three days! By Allah and Mahomet arid Christ--all in one--if by the compound the oath will derive an extra virtue--what is there to consume so much time? In three days I will have the towers lording this gate they call St. Romain in the ditch, and the ditch filled. In three days, I say."
"Perhaps my Lord is too sanguine--perhaps he does not sufficiently credit the skill and resources of the enemy behind the gate--perhaps there is more to do than he has admitted into his antic.i.p.ations."
Mahommed darted a look at the speaker.
"Perhaps the stars have been confidential with their messenger, and told him some of the things wanting to be done."
"Yes, my Lord." The calmness of the Prince astonished Mahommed.
"And art thou permitted to be confidential with me?" he asked.
"My Lord must break up this collection of his guns, and plant some of them against the other gates; say two at the Golden Gate, one at the Caligaria, and before the Selimbria and the Adrianople two each. He will have seven left.... Nor must my Lord confine his attack to the landward side; the weakest front of the city is the harbor front, and it must be subjected. He should carry there at least two of his guns."
"Sword of Solomon!" cried Mahommed. "Will the stars show me a road to possession of the harbor? Will they break the chain which defends its entrance? Will they sink or burn the enemy"s fleet?"
"No; those are heroisms left for my Lord"s endeavor."
"Thou dost taunt me with the impossible."
The Prince smiled.
"Is my Lord less able than the Crusaders? I know he is not too proud to be taught by them. Once, marching upon the Holy City, they laid siege to Nicea, and after a time discovered they could not master it without first mastering Lake Ascanius. Thereupon they hauled their ships three leagues overland, and launched them in the lake." [Footnote: VON HAMMER, _Hist. de l"Emp. Ottoman._]
Mahommed became thoughtful.
"If my Lord does not distribute the guns; if he confines his attack to St. Romain, the enemy, in the day of a.s.sault, can meet him at the breach with his whole garrison. More serious, if the harbor is left to the Greeks, how can he prevent the Genoese in Galata from succoring them? My Lord derives information from those treacherous people in the day; does he know of the intercourse between the towns by boats in the night? If they betray one side, will they be true to the other? My Lord, they are Christians; so are these with whom we are at war."
The Sultan sank into a seat; and satisfied with the impression he had made, the Prince wisely allowed him his thoughts.
"It is enough!" said the former, rising. Then fixing his eye on his confederate, he asked: "What stars told thee these things, O Prince?"