Authors: George W. M. Reynolds,James Malcolm Rymer
In
order that the reader should
fully understand the stirring incidents which yet remain to be told, it is
necessary for us to explain certain particulars connected with Alessandro
Francatelli, the brother of the beautiful Flora. It will be recollected that
this young man accompanied the Florentine envoy to Constantinople, in the
honorable capacity of secretary, some few years previous to the commencement of
our tale.
Alessandro was strikingly
handsome, tall, well-formed, and
of
great physical strength. His manners were pleasing, his conversation agreeable
to a degree. Indeed, he had profited so well by the lessons of the
excellent-hearted Father Marco, that his mind was well stored with intellectual
wealth. He was, moreover, a finished musician, and played the violin, at that
period a rare accomplishment, to perfection. In addition to all these
qualifications, he was a skillful versifier, and composed the most beautiful
extemporaneous poetry, apparently without an effort. But his disposition was by
no means light or devoted to pursuits which worldly-minded persons would
consider frivolous. For he himself was worldly-minded, keen, shrewd, far-seeing,
and ambitious. He deplored the ruin which had overtaken his family, and longed
ardently to rebuild its fortunes, adding thereto the laurels of glory and the
honors of rank.
The situation which he enjoyed in
the establishment of the Florentine envoy appeared to him the stepping-stone to
the attainment of these objects, but the embassy had not been long settled at
Constantinople, when Alessandro found that his master was one who, being
ignorant himself, was jealous of the talents displayed by others. Great interest
had alone procured the envoy the post which he held as negotiator
plenipotentiary with the Ottoman Porte, on behalf of the Republic of Florence;
and the Turkish reis-effendi, or minister of foreign affairs, soon perceived
that the Christian embassador was quite incompetent to enter into the
intricacies of treaties and the complex machinery of diplomacy. But suddenly
the official notes which the envoy addressed to the reis-effendi began to
exhibit a sagacity and an evidence of far-sighted policy which contrasted
strongly with the imbecility which had previously characterized those
communications. It was at that period a part of the policy of the Ottoman Port
to maintain spies in the household of all the foreign embassadors residing in
Constantinople; and through this agency the reis-effendi discovered that the
Florentine envoy had condescended to avail himself of the brilliant talents of
his secretary, Alessandro Francatelli, to infuse spirit into his official
notes.
The reis-effendi was himself a
shrewd and sagacious man; and he recognized in the abilities evinced by the
youthful secretary, those elements which, if properly developed, would form a
great politician. The Turkish Minister accordingly resolved to leave no stone
unturned, in order to entice so promising an individual into the service of the
sultan. To accomplish this object indirect means were at first attempted; and
the secret agents of the minister sounded Alessandro upon the subject. He
listened to them at first in silence, but not unwillingly. They grew bolder,
and their speech became more open. He encouraged them to lay bare their aims;
and they hinted to him how glorious a career might be opened to him were he to
enter the service of the high and mighty sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, who
then sat upon the proud throne of the Ottoman Empire.
The more attentively Alessandro
listened, the less reserved became those who were instructed to undermine his
fidelity toward his master, the Florentine Envoy. They represented to him how
Christians, who had abjured
their creed and embraced the Moslem faith, had risen to the highest offices,
even to the post of grand vizier, or prime minister of the empire. Alessandro
was completely master of his emotions; he had not studied for some years in the
school of diplomacy without learning how to render the expression of his
countenance such as at any moment to belie the real state of his feelings. He
did not, therefore, suffer the spies and agents of the reis-effendi to perceive
how deep an impression their words had made upon him; but he said and looked
enough to convince them that the topics of their discourse would receive the
most serious consideration at his hands. His mind was already made up to accept
the overtures thus made to him; but he affected to hesitate, for he saw that
his services were ardently longed for, and he resolved to drive as advantageous
a bargain as possible.
He was one afternoon lounging
through the principal bezestein or bazaar, when he was struck by the elegant
form, imposing air, and rich apparel of a lady who rode slowly along upon a
mule, attended by four female slaves on foot. The outlines of her figure shaped
the most admirable symmetry he had ever beheld; and though her countenance was
concealed by a thick veil, in accordance with the custom of the East, yet he
seemed to have been impressed with an instinctive conviction that the face
beneath that invidious covering was eminently beautiful. Moreover, the eyes
whose glances flashed through the two holes which were formed in the veil so as
to permit the enjoyment of the faculty of sight, were gloriously brilliant, yet
black as jet. Once, too, when the lady raised her delicate white hand,
sparkling with jewels, to arrange the folds of that hated veil, Alessandro
caught a rapid, evanescent glimpse of a neck as white as snow.
The little procession stopped at
the door of a merchant’s shop in the bazaar; the slaves assisted the lady to
dismount, and she entered the warehouse, followed by her dependents, the mule
being left in charge of one of the numerous porters who thronged in the
bezestein.
Alessandro lingered near the
door, and he beheld the merchant displaying various pieces of rich brocade
before the eyes of the lady, who, however, scrupulously retained the dense veil
over her countenance. Having made her purchases, which were taken charge of by
one of the slaves, the lady came forth again; and Alessandro, forgetting that
his lingering near now amounted to almost an act of rudeness, was chained to
the spot, lost in admiration of her elegant gesture, her graceful yet dignified
carriage, and the exquisite contour of her perfect shape. Her feet and ankles,
appearing beneath the full trousers, that were gathered in just at the
commencement of the swell of the leg, were small and beautifully shaped; and so
light was her tread, that she scarcely seemed to touch the ground on which she
walked.
As the lady issued from the door
of the merchant’s shop, she cast a rapid but inquiring look toward Alessandro,
though whether in anger or curiosity he was unable to determine, for
the eyes only could he see, and
it was impossible for him to read the meaning of the glances they sent forth,
when unassisted by a view of the general expression worn by her countenance at
the same time.
Accident, however, favored him
far more than he could have possibly anticipated. At the very moment when the
lady’s head was turned toward him, she tripped over the cordage of a bale of
goods that had shortly before been opened beneath the painted awning over the
front of the shop, and she would have fallen had not Alessandro sprung forward
and caught her in his arms.
She uttered a faint scream, for
her veil had shifted aside from its proper position; and her countenance was
thus revealed to a man, and that man evidently by his dress a Christian!
Instantly recovering her
self-possession, she readjusted her veil, gave a gentle but graceful
inclination of the head toward Alessandro, mounted her mule by the assistance
of the slaves, and rode away at a somewhat hasty pace. Alessandro stood gazing
after her until she turned the angle of the nearest street, and it struck him
that her glance was for an instant cast rapidly back toward him, ere she
disappeared from his view.
And no wonder that he stood thus
rooted to the spot, following her with his eyes; for the countenance which
accident had revealed to him was already impressed upon his heart. It was one
of those lovely Georgian faces, oval in shape, and with a complexion formed of
milk and roses, which have at all times been prized in the East, as the very
perfection of female beauty; a face which, without intellectual expression,
possesses an ineffable witchery, and all the charms calculated to fascinate the
beholder. The eyes were black as jet, the hair of a dark auburn, and luxuriantly
rich in its massive beauty; the lips were of bright vermilion, and between them
were two rows of pearl, small and even. The forehead was high and broad, and
white as marble, with the delicate blue veins visible through the transparent
complexion.
Alessandro was ravished as he
reflected on the wondrous beauty thus for a moment revealed to him, but his
raptures speedily changed to positive grief when he thought how improbable it
was that this fair creature would ever cross his path again. He entered the
warehouse, made a small purchase, and inquired casually of the Turkish merchant
if he knew who the lady was. The reply was in the negative, but the merchant
informed Alessandro that he had no doubt the lady was of some rank, from the
profound respect with which her slaves treated her, and from the readiness with
which she paid the prices demanded of her for the goods she had purchased,
Turkish ladies generally being notorious for their disposition to drive a hard
bargain with traders.
Alessandro returned to the suburb
of Pera, in which the mansion of the Florentine Embassy was situated—his mind
full of the beautiful creature whose countenance he had seen for a moment, and
whose soft form he had also for a moment—a single moment—held in his arms. He
could not apply himself to the
duties
of his office, but feigned indisposition and retired to the privacy of his own
apartment. And never did that chamber seem so lonely, so cold, so cheerless.
His entire disposition appeared to have become suddenly changed; he felt that
the world now contained something the possession of which was positively
necessary to his happiness. One sole idea absorbed all his thoughts: the most
lovely countenance which, in his estimation, he had ever seen was so indelibly
reflected in the mirror of his mind, that his imagination could contemplate
naught besides. He knew not that whenever he went abroad, he was watched by one
of the spies of the reis-effendi; and he was therefore surprised when, on the
following day, that secret agent of the minister whispered in his ear,
“Christian, thou lovest—and it depends on thyself whether thou wilt be loved in
return!”
Alessandro was stupefied at these
words. His secret was known, or at least suspected. He questioned the
individual who had thus addressed him, and he found that the incident of the
preceding day was indeed more than suspected—it
was
known. He besought to know who the
lady was; but the spy would not, or could not satisfy him. He, however,
promised that he would endeavor to ascertain a point in which Alessandro
appeared to be so deeply interested. The intriguing spirit of Turkish
dependents is notorious: the reader will not therefore be surprised when we
state that in a few days the spy made his appearance in Alessandro’s presence
with a countenance denoting joyous tidings. The young Italian was impatient to
learn the results of the agent’s inquiries.
“I know not who the lady is,” was
the reply; “but this much I have to impart to you, signor—that she did not
behold you the other day with indifference; that she is grateful for the
attention you paid in offering your aid to save her from perhaps a serious
accident—and that she will grant you a few moments’ interview this evening,
provided you assent to certain conditions to be imposed upon you, respecting
the preliminary arrangements for your meeting.”
“Name them! name them!” exclaimed
Alessandro, wild with joy, and almost doubting whether he were not in the midst
of a delicious dream.
“That you consent to be
blindfolded while being conducted into her presence—that you maintain the most
profound silence while with those who will guide you to her abode—and that you
return from the interview under the same circumstances.”
“I should be unworthy the
interest which she deigns to manifest in my behalf, were I to refuse compliance
with those terms,” answered Alessandro.
“An hour after sunset,” said the
spy, “you will meet me at the gate of the Mosque of Selimya;” and with those
words he hurried away, leaving the young Florentine in a state of excited hope,
amounting to a delirium of joy.
Alessandro was well aware that
adventures, such as the one in which he found himself suddenly involved, were
by no means uncommon in the East; and that ladies of the most unimpeachable
virtue, as well as of the highest rank, frequently accorded
interviews of this private
nature to those men who were fortunate enough to merit their attention—such
visits being the first step toward matrimonial connections. But then he
remembered that he was a Christian, and the fair object of his devotion was
probably of the Moslem faith. What, then, would be the result? Was some wealthy
lady of high rank about to abandon her creed for his sake? or would the
sacrifice of his faith be required as the only condition on which his complete
happiness might be achieved? He knew not—cared but little; it was sufficient
for him that he was to meet the charming being whose image had never once
quitted his mind, from the first moment he had seen her in the bezestein!