Part 14 (1/2)
The princes then sat down, and when they had eat their fill they rose, and the dishes were served up in another room, where the noble of nobles, the court poet, the master of the horse, and all the officers of state and courtiers who had attended his majesty, were seated, and who continued the feast which the king and his sons had begun After this, the dinner was taken in succession to the different servants, until the dishes were cleared by the tent-pitchers and scullions
In the meanwhile the Shah had been introduced into the harem by the doctor in person; and as iht have been caught peeping, I waited in the greatest suspense until I could learn what ht have taken place there; but as(as soon as the king had returned to the great saloon) that the doctor had made a present of his Curdish slave to his rew sick with apprehension; and, although there was every reason to rejoice at her leaving her present situation, yet there were consequences which I anticipated--consequences which ht of which my blood ran cold We had been too much enamoured to listen to the dictates of prudence, and now the future opened a prospect to es the ination can conceive
?I will endeavour,? thought I, to gain soence of what has happened; perhaps in the confusion, I ht of Zeenab herself? I lost no ti on the terrace Much noise and clatter were heard below a come as visitors, in addition to those which cost theht had closed in, and I despaired ofto the syht it certain that she would hit upon precisely the same plan which I had devised to see her Part of the terrace where our first interview had taken place was situated near the street, and upon this the women of the hare remarkable was to be seen abroad Here I hoped Zeenab would not fail to come at the moment of the Shah?s departure, which was now close at hand The clatter of the horses, the shouts ofto and fro of lanterns, all announced the close of the scene; and toof wo for the steps of the terrace I had placed myself behind the wall, so as to be seen by those only who had a knowledge of the premises, and I flattered myself that Zeenab, by a natural impulse, would turn her eyes towardsthe wonized enuity to devise a one!rises to depart, was now heard, and every one arranged himself in the procession With the exception of the nunity of the different personages whose steps they lighted, the cere?s return to his palace was the sa it, and with his iven life and ani more was to be seen, also left the terrace Their conversation, during the time of their stay, had consisted almost entirely of disputes of who had been most seen and adreat expressions of envy and jealousy at the good fortune which, in their eyes, had fallen to the share of Zeenab
?I can?t conceive,? said one, ?what the Shah could have seen so attractive in her After all, she has no beauty Did you ever see so large a mouth? She has no salt in her complexion?[58]
?She is crooked,? said another
?As for her waist,? said a third, ??tis like that of an elephant; and then her feet--a camel has smaller?
?And then,? said a fourth, ?she is a Yezeedi She ot a charm from the shaitan himself, to make herself remarked?
?That is the truth,? they all exclaimed ?Yes, that?s it--she and the devil are in partnershi+p toeat dirt? Upon this they all seemed satisfied, and I heard no more of them
But one worossed as passing on in the street; she immediately rose when the others had left it, and came towards me It was Zeenab
CHAPTER xxx
Hajji Baba meets with a rival in the Shah himself, and loses the fair object of his affections
The wall behind which I had taken post was not long a barrier between us, and I had scarcely made known to her the unhappy state of er that we incurred in such an interview She soon gave ; for, as she now belonged to the royal hareether I was anxious to hear in what ained possession of her, and as to be her future destiny; but sobs stifled everything I had to say She, on the other hand, did not appear to take our separation quite so much to heart; for, whether dazzled by the prospect of her future destinies, or subdued by the miseries she had already endured on my account, certainly I did not meet that return to my affection which I had so warmly anticipated
She informed me, that when the Shah entered the anderun, he was received by a band of fe his praises, to the accompaniment of tambourines; and, as soon as he had seated himself in the open saloon, the khanu his knee A _pah-endaz_, composed of embroidered silks, had been spread for him, which, as soon as the royal footsteps had passed over, was snapped up by the eunuchs, who shared it as their perquisite The king?s female master of the cere of the khanum?s present, which was laid out on a silver tray, and consisted of six _arac girs_, or skull caps, eirs_, or breast covers, made of padded shaorn in cold weather over the shi+rt; two pairs of trousers of Cashs, knitted by the wo accepted this, with many encomiums on the khanum?s industry and skill, the women were marshalled in two lines on each side of him; ?and I,? said Zeenab, ?in order that every ht be heaped upon me, was placed the last in the row, even below Nur Jehan, the black slave You ought to have seen the pains which all of us, even old Leilah, took to attract the Shah?s attention: solanced sideways; others, again, were bold, and kept their eyes fixed on the king?s face Having inspected each in turn, he paused, and keeping his eyes riveted uponis this? she is no indifferent co?s _jika_,[59] the aniood taste--theis here?
?Upon which the doctor,the lowest obeisance, said, ?May I be your sacrifice, notwithstanding the slave is totally unworthy of notice; yet, since I and everything that belongs to s,at the foot of your majesty?s throne??
??_Caboul!_ I accept her,? said the Shah; and then calling the chief eunuch to hier_ (dancer or singer), that all my clothes, &c, should be made suited to my future profession, and that I should be ready accomplished to appear before hin
?Oh! I shall never forget,? exclaimed Zeenab, ?the looks of the doctor?s hen this conversation was passing; she turned towards the Shah in great hulances upon ry passions by which her breast was agitated As for the Georgian, she looked daggers and arsenic, whilst Nur Jehan?s good-huhtened up with every expression of happiness at ood fortune I, in the , who still kept surveying one, you ought to have seen the ie which took place in the khanuer ?a child of the devil?, ?a ht of my eyes, my child? I, who had never smoked before her, was now invited to partake of her own pipe; and whether I would or not, she thrust bits of sweetian, she could not stand the sight, but withdrew to another place, to digest her envy as she ratulations of the other wohts that were preparing for , and standing before the king, were to be my future occupations
Some talked to me of the best spells to secure love, and to destroy the influence of rivals; others gave ain began to teach me the forms of speech and compliment which I must use in case the Shah spoke to lected of hus, all of a sudden found herself the object of universal attention and ad, and the joy which she seee which was about to take place in her situation was so natural, that I could not find in s of the danger which awaited her She little knew the horrible penalty she would incur, in case, when called upon to attend the Shah, she should be found unworthy of his attentions; for it was upon record, under such circumstances, that death, a horrid, cruel death, had been inflicted, and that without appeal to any tribunal upon earth I therefore seeh we felt we must be separated yet ere consoled with the hope that opportunities of
She toldlio, and, when bathed and newly dressed, she was to be delivered over to the departers, when her education was i her naer with me, and after ten thousands and thousands protestations of mutual love, we parted, perhaps to meet no more
CHAPTER xxxI
His reflections on the loss of Zeenab--He is suddenly called upon to exert his skill as a doctor