Legends of the Christian East 9781463208028

Citation preview

LEGENDS OF

THE CHRISTIAN

EAST.

LEGENDS OF

T H E

C H K I S T I A N

E A S T .

BY BAYLE ST. JOHN, AUTHOR

OF

"VIILAGKE

LIFE

IN

EGYPT,"

"TWO

TEARS'

RESIDENCE IN A MTVANTINE F A M I L Y , " ETC., ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

GORGIAS PRESS 2002

First Gorgias Press Edition, 2002. The special contents of this edition are copyright 2002 by Gorgias Press LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States of America by Gorgias Press LLC, New Jersey. This edition is a facsimile reprint of the original edition published by Addey and Co, London, 1856.

ISBN 1-931956-67-7

& Ì G

GORGIAS PRESS

46 Orris Ave., Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA www.gorgiaspress.com

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

PREFACE. » THIS

volume contains a series of Legends, which

have already appeared in " Household Words." Their character will at once be apparent; and it is not necessary, therefore, for me to say more than that, with two unimportant exceptions, they are based on narratives and suggestions gathered by myself in the East.

The exceptions are the Le-

gends of Argis and Bucharest, which I have seen in a book of travels.

They are, however, here

given with different circumstances, unauthorised except by conversation with Wallachians, who did not seem to lay much stress on these old matters, and condescended to Western inquiries, indeed, with some contempt.

It is almost needless to

say that the Levantine Lady alluded to in " The Legend of the Weeping Chamber," is ray old friend Sitt Madoula, who used often to tell me

XLL

PREFACE.

such stories as I here record whilst lighting my shisheh for me—a detail I remember well by the token that, getting interested by her own garrulity, she sometimes smoked the pipe quite out before handing it to me.

Between every point,

therefore, I seem to hear the bubble-bubble of the water in its glass vase; and frequently the incidents acquire a beautiful vagueness, as if seen through wreaths of light smoke.

This is, per-

haps, why the volume appears to me eminently Eastern.

I trust that the reader will find it both

Eastern and amusing. BAYLE

ST.

JOHN.

CONTENTS, —

*

—

PAGB

xi

PREFACE THE LEGEND OF THE WEEPING CHAMBER

.

17

THE SISTER OF THE SPIRITS

.

31

THE MERCHANT'S HEART

.

.

51

THE BETROTHED CHILDREN

.

.

65

THE SECRET OF THE WELL

.

86

GUZLA

.

112

MIRIAM THE SHADOW

.

132

.

152

THE LITTLE FLOWER

.

166

THE LEGEND OF ARG1S

.

185

THE LEGEND OF BUCHAREST

.

192

.

199

A SYRIAN LEGEND

THE STORY OF A KING

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

ILLUSTRATIONS. —

•

•

PAGE

FADLALLAH AND HIS SON HALIL MATTHIAS KISSES HIS CHILD GUZLA LIGHTS THE EFFENDI'S PIPE BY

A DESPERATE LEAP LEDGE OF ROCK

MICHAL

.

.

22

.

66

.

.

116

GAINS

A

.

.

181

LEGENDS 0?

THE

LEGEND

C H R I S T I A N EAST.

OF THE WEEPING

CHAMBER.

A S T R A N G E story was once told me by a Levantine lady of my acquaintance, which I shall endeavour to relate—as far as I am able with the necessary *

abridgments—in her own words. The circumstances under which she told it were peculiar. The family had just been disturbed by the visit of a ghost—a real ghost, visible, if not palpable. She was not what may be called superstitious; and though following with more or less assiduity the practices of her religion, was afflicted now and then with a fit of perfect materialism. I was surprised, therefore, to hear her relate, with every appearance of profound faith, the following incidents : — There is an old house in Beyrout, which, for many successive years, was inhabited by a ChrisII,

B

IB

THIS L E G E N D OP T H E

WEEPING

CHAMBER.

tian family. It is of great extent, and was of yore iitted for the dwelling of a prince. The family had, indeed, in early times been very rich; and almost fabulous accounts are current of the wealth of its founder, Fadlallah Dalian. He was a merchant ; the owner of ships, the fitter-out of caravans. The regions of the east and of the west had been visited by him; and, after undergoing as many dangers and adventures as Sinbad, he had returned to spend the latter days of his life in his native city. He built, accordingly, a magnificent dwelling, the courts of which he adorned with marble fountains, and the chambers with silk divans; and he was envied on account of his prosperity. But, in the restlessness of his early years, he had omitted to marry, and now found himself near the close of his career without an heir to inherit his wealth and to perpetuate his name. This reflection often disturbed him; yet he was unwilling to take a wife because he was old. Every now and then, it is true, he saw men older than he, with fewer teeth and whiter beards, taking to their bosoms maidens that bloomed like peaches just beginning to ripen against a wall; and his friends, who knew he would give a magnificent marriagefeast, urged him to do likewise. Once he looked with pleasure on a young person of not too tender years, whose parents purposely presented her to

THE LEGEND OF THE WEEPING CHAMBER.

19

him; but having asked her in a whisper whether she would like to marry a withered old gentleman like himself; she frankly confessed a preference for liis handsome young clerk, Hanna, who earned a hundred piastres a month. Fadlallah laughed philosophically, and took care that the young couple should be married under happy auspices. One day he was proceeding along the street gravely and slowly—surrounded by a number of merchants proud to walk by his side, and followed by two or three young men, who pressed near in order to be thought of the company, and thus establish their credit—when an old woman espying him, began to cry out, " Y e h ! yeh! this is the man who has 110 wife and no child—this is the man who is going to die and leave his fortune to be robbed by his servants, or confiscated by the governor ! And yet, he has a sagacious nose (the Orientals have observed that there is wisdom in a nose)—"and a beard as long as my back ! Yeh ! yeh! what a wonderful sight to see ! " Fadlallah Dalian stopped, and retorted, smiling : " Y e h ! yeh ! this is the woman that blames an old man for not marrying a young wife. Yeh ! yeh ! what a wonderful sight to see Then the woman replied, " O my lord, every pig's tail curls not in the same direction, nor does every maiden admire the passing quality of youth. If thou wilt, I will bestow on thee a wife, who will B 2

20

TIIE

LEGEND

OF T H E W E E P I N G C H A M B E R .

love tliee as thou lovest thyself, and serve thee as the angels serve Allah. She is more beautiful than any of the daughters of Bey rout, and her name is Selima, a name of good augury." The friends of Fadlallah laughed, as did the young men who followed in their wake, and urged him to go and see this peerless beauty, if it were only for a joke. Accordingly, he told the woman to lead the way. But she said he must mount his mule, for they had to go some distance into the country. He mounted, and, with a single servant, went forth from the gates—the woman preceding—and rode until he reached a village in the mountains. Here, in a poor little house, he found Selima; clothed in the very commonest style, engaged in making divan cushions. She was a marvellously beautiful girl, and the heart of the merchant at once began to yearn towards her: yet he endeavoured to restrain himself, and said, " This beautiful thing is not for m e / ' But the woman cried out, " Selima, wilt thou consent to love this old man ? " The girl gazed in his face awhile, and then, folding her hands across her bosom, said, " Yes: for there is goodness in his countenance." Fadlallah wept with joy; and, returning to the city, announced his approaching marriage to his friends. According to custom, they expressed civil surprise to his face; but, when his back was turned, they whispered that he

THE

L E G E N D OF T H E W E E P I N G C H A M B E R .

21

was an old fool, and had been the dupe of a sheadventurer. The marriage took place with ceremonies of royal magnificence; and Selima, who passed unmoved from extreme poverty to abundant riches, seemed to merit the position of the greatest lady in Beyrout. Never was woman more prudent than she. No one ever knew her previous history, nor that of her mother. Some said that a life of misery, perhaps of shame, was before them, when this unexpected marriage took place. Selima's gratitude to Fadlallah was unbounded; and out of gratitude grew love. The merchant daily offered up thanks for the bright diamond which had come to shine in his house. In due time a child was born; a boy—lovely as his mother; and they named him Halil. With what joy he was received, what festivities announced the glad intelligence to the town, may easily be imagined. Selima and Fadlallali resolved to devote themselves to his education, and determined that he should be the most accomplished youth of Bar-es-Sham. But a long succession of children followed, each more beautiful than the former—some boys, some girls; and every new comer was received with additional delight, and still grander ceremonies; so that the people began to say, " Is this a race of sovereigns ? " Now, Halil grew up to the age of twelve—still

22

THE

LEGEND

OF T H E W E E P I N G

CHAMBER.

a charming lad ; but the parents, always fully occupied by the last arrival, had not carried out their project of education. He was as wild and untamed as a colt, and spent more of his time in the street than in the company of his mother; who, by degrees, began to look upon him with a kind of calm friendship due to strangers. Fadlallah, as he took his accustomed walk with his merchant friends, used from time to time to encounter a ragged boy fighting in the streets Avith the sons of the Jew butcher; but his eyes beginning to grow dim, he often passed without recognising him. One day, however, Halil, breathless and bleeding, ran up and took refuge beneath the skirts of his mantle from a crowd of savage urchins. Fadlallah was amazed, and said, " O, my son—for I think thou art my son—what evil hath befallen thee, and wherefore do I see thee in this s t a t e ? " The boy, whose voice was choked by sobs, looked up into his face, and said, " Father, I am the son of the richest merchant of Beyrout, and behold, there is no one so little cared for as I . " Fadlallah's conscience smote him, and he wiped the boy's bleeding face with the corner of his silk caftan, and blessed him; and, taking him by the hand, led him away. The merchants smiled benignly one to the other, and, pointing with their thumbs, said, " We have seen the model youth." "Whilst they laughed and sneered, Fadlallah,

Vincent Brooks Lidi

Fadlallali and his Son Halli. (Rtg&

ZZ)

THE

LEGEND

OF T H E W E E P I N G C H A M B E R .

23

humbled, yet resolved, returned to his house, leading the ragged Halil, and entered his wife's chamber. Selima was playing with her seventh child, and teaching it to lisp the word " B a b a " — about the amount of education which she had found time to bestow on each of her offspring. When she saw the plight of her eldest son she frowned, and was about to scold him; but Fadlallah interposed, and said, " Wife, speak no harsh words. We have not done our duty by this boy. May God forgive us; but we have looked on those children that have bloomed from thee more as playthings than as deposits for which we are responsible. Halil has become a wild out-of-doors lad, doubting with some reason of our love. I t is too late to bring him back to the destiny we had dreamt of; but he must not be left to grow up thus uncared for. I have a brother established in Bassora; to him will I send the lad to learn the arts of commerce, and to exercise himself in adventure, as his father did before him. Bestow thv blessing upon him, Selima (here the good old man's voice trembled), and may God in his mercy forgive both tliee and me for the neglect which has made this parting necessary. I shall know that I am forgiven if, before I go down into the tomb, my son return a wise and sober man ; not unmindful that we gave him life, and forgetting that, until now, we have given him little else."

M