He
summoned up, however, his usual solemnity, and, in the peremptory tone
of authority, commanded the ladies instantly to leave the bath. Whilst
he was issuing these mandates the young Nouronihar, daughter of the
Emir, who was sprightly as an antelope, and full of wanton gaiety,
beckoned one of her slaves to let down the great swing, which was
suspended to the ceiling by cords of silk, and whilst this was doing,
winked to her companions in the bath, who, chagrined to be forced from
so soothing a state of indolence, began to twist it round Bababalouk,
and tease him with a thousand vagaries.
When
Nouronihar perceived that he was exhausted with fatigue, she accosted
him with an arch air of respectful concern, and said: “My lord, it is
not by any means decent that the chief eunuch of the Caliph, our
Sovereign, should thus continue standing; deign but to recline your
graceful person upon this sofa, which will burst with vexation if it
have not the honour to receive you.”
Caught
by these flattering accents, Bababalouk gallantly replied: “Delight of
the apple of my eye! I accept the invitation of thy honeyed lips; and,
to say truth, my senses are dazzled with the radiance that beams from
thy charms.”
“Repose,
then, at your ease,” replied the beauty, and placed him on the
pretended sofa, which, quicker than lightning, gave way all at once.
The rest of the women, having aptly conceived her design, sprang naked
from the bath, and plied the swing with such unmerciful jerks, that it
swept through the whole compass of a very lofty dome, and took from the
poor victim all power of respiration; sometimes his feet rased the
surface of the water, and at others the skylight almost flattened his
nose; in vain did he pierce the air with the cries of a voice that
resembled the ringing of a cracked basin, for their peals of laughter
were still more predominant.
Nouronihar,
in the inebriety of youthful spirits, being used only to eunuchs of
ordinary harems, and having never seen anything so royal and disgusting,
was far more diverted than all of the rest; she began to parody some
Persian verses, and sang with an accent most demurely piquant:
“O gentle white dove, as thou soar’st through the air,
Vouchsafe one kind glance on the mate of thy love;
Melodious Philomel, I am thy rose;
Warble some couplet to ravish my heart!”
The
sultanas and their slaves, stimulated by these pleasantries, persevered
at the swing with such unremitted assiduity, that at length the cord
which had secured it snapped suddenly asunder, and Bababalouk fell
floundering like a turtle to the bottom of the bath. This accident
occasioned a universal shout; twelve little doors, till now unobserved,
flew open at once, and the ladies in an instant made their escape, after
throwing all the towels on his head, and putting out the lights that
remained.
The
deplorable animal, in water to the chin, overwhelmed with darkness, and
unable to extricate himself from the wrap that embarrassed him, was
still doomed to hear for his further consolation the fresh bursts of
merriment his disaster occasioned. He bustled, but in vain, to get from
the bath, for the margin was become so slippery with the oil spilt in
breaking the lamps, that at every effort he slid back with a plunge,
which resounded aloud through the hollow of the dome. These cursed
peals of laughter at every relapse were redoubled; and he, who thought
the place infested rather by devils than women, resolved to cease
groping, and abide in the bath, where he amused himself with
soliloquies, interspersed with imprecations, of which his malicious
neighbours reclining on down suffered not an accent to escape. In this
delectable plight the morning surprised him. The Caliph, wondering at
his absence, had caused him to be everywhere sought for. At last he was
drawn forth, almost smothered from the wisp of linen, and wet even to
the marrow. Limping and chattering his teeth, he appeared before his
master, who inquired what was the matter, and how he came soused in so
strange a pickle.
“And
why did you enter this cursed lodge?” answered Bababalouk, gruffly.
“Ought a monarch like you to visit with his harem the abode of a
grey-bearded Emir, who knows nothing of life? And with what gracious
damsels doth the place, too, abound! Fancy to yourself how they have
soaked me like a burnt crust, and made me dance like a jack-pudding the
live-long night through, on their damnable swing! What an excellent
lesson for your sultanas to follow, into whom I have instilled such
reserve and decorum!”
Vathek,
comprehending not a syllable of all this invective, obliged him to
relate minutely the transaction; but instead of sympathising with the
miserable sufferer, he laughed immoderately at the device of the swing,
and the figure of Bababalouk mounting upon it. The stung eunuch could
scarcely preserve the semblance of respect.
“Ay,
laugh, my lord! laugh,” said he; “but I wish this Nouronihar would play
some trick on you; she is too wicked to spare even majesty itself.”
Those words made for the present but a slight impression on the Caliph; but they not long after recurred to his mind.
This
conversation was cut short by Fakreddin, who came to request that
Vathek would join in the prayers and ablutions to be solemnised on a
spacious meadow, watered by innumerable streams. The Caliph found the
waters refreshing, but the prayers abominably irksome; he diverted
himself, however, with the multitude of Calenders, Santons, and
Dervises, who were continually coming and going, but especially with the
Brahmins, Fakirs, and other enthusiasts, who had travelled from the
heart of India, and halted on their way with the Emir. These latter
had, each of them, some mummery peculiar to himself. One dragged a huge
chain wherever he went, another an ouranoutang, whilst a third was
furnished with scourges, and all performed to a charm; some clambered up
trees, holding one foot in the air; others poised themselves over a
fire, and without mercy filliped their noses. There were some amongst
them that cherished vermin, which were not ungrateful in requiting their
caresses. These rambling fanatics revolted the hearts of the Dervises,
the Calenders, and Santons; however, the vehemence of their aversion
soon subsided, under the hope that the presence of the Caliph would cure
their folly, and convert them to the Mussulman faith; but, alas! how
great was their disappointment! for Vathek, instead of preaching to
them, treated them as buffoons, bade them present his compliments to
Visnow and Ixhora, and discovered a predilection for a squat old man
from the isle of Serendib, who was more ridiculous than any of the rest.
“Come!” said he, “for the love of your gods bestow a few slaps on your chops to amuse me.”
The
old fellow, offended at such an address, began loudly to weep; but, as
he betrayed a villainous drivelling in his tears, the Caliph turned his
back and listened to Bababalouk, who whispered, whilst he held the
umbrella over him: “Your Majesty should be cautious of this odd assembly
which hath been collected I know not for what. Is it necessary to
exhibit such spectacles to a mighty potentate, with interludes of
Talapoins more mangy than dogs? Were I you, I would command a fire to
be kindled, and at once purge the earth of the Emir, his harem, and all
his menagerie.”
“Tush,
dolt!” answered Vathek; “and know that all this infinitely charms me;
nor shall I leave the meadow till I have visited every hive of these
pious mendicants.”
Wherever
the Caliph directed his course objects of pity were sure to swarm round
him: the blind, the purblind, smarts without noses, damsels without
ears, each to extol the munificence of Fakreddin, who, as well as his
attendant grey-beards, dealt about gratis plasters and cataplasms to all
that applied. At noon a superb corps of cripples made its appearance,
and soon after advanced by platoons on the plain, the completest
association of invalids that had ever been embodied till then. The
blind went groping with the blind, the lame limped on together, and the
maimed made gestures to each other with the only arm that remained; the
sides of a considerable waterfall were crowded by the deaf, amongst whom
were some from Pegû with ears uncommonly handsome and large, but were
still less able to hear than the rest; nor were there wanting others in
abundance with humpbacks, wenny necks, and even horns of an exquisite
polish.
The
Emir, to aggrandise the solemnity of the festival in honour of his
illustrious visitant, ordered the turf to be spread on all sides with
skins and table-cloths, upon which were served up for the good
Mussulmans pilaus of every line, with other orthodox dishes; and, by the
express order of Vathek, who was shamefully tolerant, small plates of
abominations for regaling the rest. This prince, on seeing so many
mouths put in motion, began to think it time for employing his own; in
spite, therefore, of every remonstrance from the chief of his eunuchs,
he resolved to have a dinner dressed on the spot. The complaisant Emir
immediately gave orders for a table to be placed in the shade of the
willows. The first service consisted of fish, which they drew from a
river flowing over sands of gold at the foot of a lofty hill; these were
broiled as fast as taken, and served up with a sauce of vinegar, and
small herbs that grow on Mount Sinai; for everything with the Emir was
excellent and pious.
The
dessert was not quite set on when the sound of lutes from the hill was
repeated by the echoes of the neighbouring mountains. The Caliph, with
an emotion of pleasure and surprise, had no sooner raised up his head
than a handful of jasmine dropped on his face; an abundance of tittering
succeeded the frolic, and instantly appeared through the bushes the
elegant forms of several young females, skipping and bounding like
roes. The fragrance diffused from their hair struck the sense of
Vathek, who, in an ecstasy, suspending his repast, said to Bababalouk:
“Are
the Peris come down from their spheres? Note her in particular whose
form is so perfect, venturously running on the brink of the precipice,
and turning back her head, as regardless of nothing but the graceful
flow of her robe; with what captivating impatience doth she contend with
the bushes for her veil! could it be she who threw the jasmine at me?”
“Ay!
she it was; and you too would she throw from the top of the rock,”
answered Bababalouk; “for that is my good friend Nouronihar, who so
kindly lent me her swing; my dear lord and master,” added he, twisting a
twig that hung by the rind from a willow, “let me correct her for want
of respect; the Emir will have no reason to complain, since (bating what
I owe to his piety) he is much to be censured for keeping a troop of
girls on the mountains, whose sharp air gives their blood too brisk a
circulation.”
“Peace,
blasphemer!” said the Caliph; “speak not thus of her who over her
mountains leads my heart a willing captive; contrive rather that my eyes
may be fixed upon hers, that I may respire her sweet breath, as she
bounds panting along these delightful wilds!” On saying these words,
Vathek extended his arms towards the hill, and directing his eyes with
an anxiety unknown to him before, endeavoured to keep within view the
object that enthralled his soul; but her course was as difficult to
follow as the flight of one of those beautiful blue butterflies of
Cashmere, which are at once so volatile and rare.
The
Caliph, not satisfied with seeing, wished also to hear Nouronihar, and
eagerly turned to catch the sound of her voice; at last he distinguished
her whispering to one of her companions behind the thicket from whence
she had thrown the jasmine: “A Caliph, it must be owned, is a fine thing
to see, but my little Gulchenrouz is much more amiable; one lock of his
hair is of more value to me than the richest embroidery of the Indies; I
had rather that his teeth should mischievously press my finger than the
richest ring of the imperial treasure. Where have you left him,
Sutlememe? and why is he now not here?”
The
agitated Caliph still wished to hear more, but she immediately retired,
with all her attendants; the fond monarch pursued her with his eyes
till she was gone out of sight, and then continued like a bewildered and
benighted traveller, from whom the clouds had obscured the
constellation that guided his way; the curtain of night seemed dropped
before him; everything appeared discoloured; the falling waters filled
his soul with dejection, and his tears trickled down the jasmines he had
caught from Nouronihar, and placed in his inflamed bosom; he snatched
up a shining pebble, to remind him of the scene where he felt the first
tumults of love. Two hours were elapsed, and evening drew on before he
could resolve to depart from the place; he often, but in vain, attempted
to go; a soft languor enervated the powers of his mind; extending
himself on the brink of the stream, he turned his eyes towards the blue
summits of the mountain, and exclaimed: “What concealest thou behind
thee? what is passing in thy solitudes? Whither is she gone? O Heaven!
perhaps she is now wandering in thy grottos, with her happy
Gulchenrouz!”
In
the meantime the damps began to descend, and the Emir, solicitous for
the health of the Caliph, ordered the imperial litter to be brought.
Vathek, absorbed in his reveries, was imperceptibly removed, and
conveyed back to the saloon that received him the evening before.
But
let us leave the Caliph, immersed in his new passion, and attend
Nouronihar beyond the rocks, where she had again joined her beloved
Gulchenrouz. This Gulchenrouz was the son of Ali Hassan, brother to the
Emir, and the most delicate and lovely creature in the world. Ali
Hassan, who had been absent ten years on a voyage to the unknown seas,
committed at his departure this child, the only survivor of many, to the
care and protection of his brother. Gulchenrouz could write in various
characters with precision, and paint upon vellum the most elegant
arabesques that fancy could devise; his sweet voice accompanied the lute
in the most enchanting manner, and when he sang the loves of Megnoun
and Leileh, or some unfortunate lovers of ancient days, tears insensibly
overflowed the cheeks of his auditors; the verses he composed (for,
like Megnoun, he too was a poet) inspired that unresisting languor so
frequently fatal to the female heart; the women all doted upon him; for
though he had passed his thirteenth year, they still detained him in the
harem; his dancing was light as the gossamer waved by the zephyrs of
spring, but his arms, which twined so gracefully with those of the young
girls in the dance, could neither dart the lance in the chase, nor curb
the steeds that pastured his uncle’s domains. The bow, however, he
drew with a certain aim, and would have excelled his competitors in the
race, could he have broken the ties that bound him to Nouronihar.
The
two brothers had mutually engaged their children to each other, and
Nouronihar loved her cousin more than her eyes; both had the same tastes
and amusements, the same long, languishing looks, the same tresses, the
same fair complexions, and when Gulchenrouz appeared in the dress of
his cousin he seemed to be more feminine than even herself. If at any
time he left the harem to visit Fakreddin, it was with all the
bashfulness of a fawn, that consciously ventures from the lair of its
dam; he was however, wanton enough to mock the solemn old grey-beards to
whom he was subject, though sure to be rated without mercy in return;
whenever this happened he would plunge into the recesses of the harem,
and sobbing, take refuge in the arms of Nouronihar, who loved even his
faults beyond the virtues of others.
It
fell out this evening that, after leaving the Caliph in the meadow, she
ran with Gulchenrouz over the green sward of the mountain that
sheltered the vale where Fakreddin had chosen to reside. The sun was
dilated on the edge of the horizon; and the young people, whose fancies
were lively and inventive, imagined they beheld in the gorgeous clouds
of the west the domes of Shadukiam and Amberabad, where the Peris have
fixed their abode. Nouronihar, sitting on the slope of the hill,
supported on her knees the perfumed head of Gulchenrouz; the air was
calm, and no sound stirred but the voices of other young girls, who were
drawing cool water from the streams below. The unexpected arrival of
the Caliph, and the splendour that marked his appearance, had already
filled with emotion the ardent soul of Nouronihar; her vanity
irresistibly prompted her to pique the prince’s attention, and this she
before took good care to effect whilst he picked up the jasmine she had
thrown upon him. But when Gulchenrouz asked after the flowers he had
culled for her bosom, Nouronihar was all in confusion; she hastily
kissed his forehead, arose in a flutter, and walked with unequal steps
on the border of the precipice. Night advanced, and the pure gold of
the setting sun had yielded to a sanguine red, the glow of which, like
the reflection of a burning furnace, flushed Nouronihar’s animated
countenance. Gulchenrouz, alarmed at the agitation of his cousin, said
to her with a supplicating accent:
“Let
us be gone; the sky looks portentous, the tamarisks tremble more than
common, and the raw wind chills my very heart; come! let us be gone;
’tis a melancholy night!”
Then,
taking hold of her hand, he drew it towards the path he besought her to
go. Nouronihar unconsciously followed the attraction, for a thousand
strange imaginations occupied her spirit; she passed the large round of
honeysuckles, her favourite resort, without ever vouchsafing it a
glance, yet Gulchenrouz could not help snatching off a few shoots in his
way, though he ran as if a wild beast were behind.
The
young females seeing him approach in such haste, and according to
custom expecting a dance, instantly assembled in a circle, and took each
other by the hand; but Gulchenrouz, coming up out of breath, fell down
at once on the grass. This accident struck with consternation the whole
of this frolicsome party; whilst Nouronihar, half distracted, and
overcome, both by the violence of her exercise and the tumult of her
thoughts, sunk feebly down at his side, cherished his cold hands in her
bosom, and chafed his temples with a fragrant unguent. At length he
came to himself, and, wrapping up his head in the robe of his cousin,
entreated that she would not return to the harem; he was afraid of being
snapped at by Shaban, his tutor, a wrinkled old eunuch of a surly
disposition; for having interrupted the stated walk of Nouronihar, he
dreaded lest the churl should take it amiss. The whole of this
sprightly group, sitting round upon a mossy knoll, began to entertain
themselves with various pastimes, whilst their superintendents the
eunuchs were gravely conversing at a distance. The nurse of the Emir’s
daughter, observing her pupil sit ruminating with her eyes on the
ground, endeavoured to amuse her with diverting tales, to which
Gulchenrouz, who had already forgotten his inquietudes, listened with a
breathless attention; he laughed, he clapped his hands, and passed a
hundred little tricks on the whole of the company, without omitting the
eunuchs, whom he provoked to run after him, in spite of their age and
decrepitude.
During
these occurrences the moon arose, the wind subsided, and the evening
became so serene and inviting, that a resolution was taken to sup on the
spot. Sutlememe, who excelled in dressing a salad, having filled large
bowls of porcelain with eggs of small birds, curds turned with citron
juice, slices of cucumber, and the inmost leaves of delicate herbs,
handed it round from one to another, and gave each their shares in a
large spoon of Cocknos. Gulchenrouz, nestling as usual in the bosom of
Nouronihar, pouted out his vermilion little lips against the offer of
Sutlememe, and would take it only from the hand of his cousin, on whose
mouth he hung like a bee inebriated with the quintessence of flowers.
One of the eunuchs ran to fetch melons, whilst others were employed in
showering down almonds from the branches that overhung this amiable
party.
In
the midst of this festive scene there appeared a light on the top of
the highest mountain, which attracted the notice of every eye; this
light was not less bright than the moon when at full, and might have
been taken for her, had it not been that the moon was already risen.
The phenomenon occasioned a general surprise, and no one could
conjecture the cause; it could not be a fire, for the light was clear
and bluish, nor had meteors ever been seen of that magnitude or
splendour. This strange light faded for a moment, and immediately
renewed its brightness; it first appeared motionless at the foot of the
rock, whence it darted in an instant to sparkle in a thicket of
palm-trees; from thence it glided along the torrent, and at last fixed
in a glen that was narrow and dark. The moment it had taken its
direction, Gulchenrouz, whose heart always trembled at anything sudden
or rare, drew Nouronihar by the robe, and anxiously requested her to
return to the harem; the women were importunate in seconding the
entreaty, but the curiosity of the Emir’s daughter prevailed; she not
only refused to go back, but resolved at all hazards to pursue the
appearance. Whilst they were debating what was best to be done, the
light shot forth so dazzling a blaze, that they all fled away shrieking;
Nouronihar followed them a few steps, but, coming to the turn of a
little bye-path, stopped, and went back alone; as she ran with an
alertness peculiar to herself, it was not long before she came to the
place where they had just been supping. The globe of fire now appeared
stationary in the glen, and burned in majestic stillness. Nouronihar,
compressing her hands upon her bosom, hesitated for some moments to
advance; the solitude of her situation was new, the silence of the night
awful, and every object inspired sensations which till then she never
had felt: the affright of Gulchenrouz recurred to her mind, and she a
thousand times turned to go back, but this luminous appearance was
always before her; urged on by an irresistible impulse, she continued to
approach it, in defiance of every obstacle that opposed her progress.
At
length she arrived at the opening of the glen; but, instead of coming
up to the light, she found herself surrounded by darkness, excepting
that at a considerable distance a faint spark glimmered by fits. She
stopped a second time; the sound of water-falls mingling their murmurs,
the hollow rustlings amongst the palm-branches, and the funereal screams
of the birds from their rifted trunks, all conspired to fill her with
terror; she imagined every moment that she trod on some venomous
reptile; all the stories of malignant Dives and dismal Gouls thronged
into her memory; but her curiosity was, notwithstanding, more
predominant than her fears; she therefore firmly entered a winding track
that led towards the spark, but, being a stranger to the path, she had
not gone far till she began to repent of her rashness.
“Alas!”
said she, “that I were but in those secure and illuminated apartments
where my evenings glided on with Gulchenrouz! Dear child! how would thy
heart flutter with terror wert thou wandering in these wild solitudes
like me!” At the close of this apostrophe she regained her road, and,
coming to steps hewn out in the rock, ascended them undismayed; the
light, which was now gradually enlarging, appeared above her on the
summit of the mountain; at length she distinguished a plaintive and
melodious union of voices, proceeding from a sort of cavern, that
resembled the dirges which are sung over tombs; a sound, likewise, like
that which arises from the filling of baths, at the same time struck her
ear; she continued ascending, and discovered large wax torches in full
blaze planted here and there in the fissures of the rock; this
preparation filled her with fear, whilst the subtle and potent odour
which the torches exhaled caused her to sink almost lifeless at the
entrance of the grot.
Casting
her eyes within in this kind of trance, she beheld a large cistern of
gold filled with a water, whose vapour distilled on her face a dew of
the essence of roses; a soft symphony resounded through the grot; on the
sides of the cistern she noticed appendages of royalty, diadems, and
feathers of the heron, all sparkling with carbuncles; whilst her
attention was fixed on this display of magnificence, the music ceased,
and a voice instantly demanded:
“For
what monarch were these torches kindled, this bath prepared, and these
habiliments, which belong, not only to the sovereigns of the earth, but
even to the Talismanic Powers?”
To which a second voice answered: “They are for the charming daughter of the Emir Fakreddin.”
“What,”
replied the first, “for that trifler, who consumes her time with a
giddy child, immersed in softness, and who at best can make but an
enervated husband?”
“And
can she,” rejoined the other voice, “be amused with such empty trifles,
whilst the Caliph, the sovereign of the world, he who is destined to
enjoy the treasures of the pre-adamite Sultans, a prince six feet high,
and whose eyes pervade the inmost soul of a female, is inflamed with the
love of her. No! she will be wise enough to answer that passion alone
that can aggrandise her glory; no doubt she will, and despise the puppet
of her fancy. Then all the riches this place contains, as well as the
carbuncle of Giamschid, shall be hers.”
“You
judge right,” returned the first voice, “and I haste to Istakar to
prepare the palace of subterranean fire for the reception of the bridal
pair.”
The
voices ceased, the torches were extinguished, the most entire darkness
succeeded, and Nouronihar, recovering with a start, found herself
reclined on a sofa in the harem of her father. She clapped her hands,
and immediately came together Gulchenrouz and her women, who, in despair
at having lost her, had despatched eunuchs to seek her in every
direction; Shaban appeared with the rest, and began to reprimand her
with an air of consequence:
“Little
impertinent,” said he, “whence got you false keys? or are you beloved
of some Genius that hath given you a pick-lock? I will try the extent
of your power; come, to your chamber! through the two skylights; and
expect not the company of Gulchenrouz; be expeditious! I will shut you
up in the double tower.”
At
these menaces Nouronihar indignantly raised her head, opened on Shaban
her black eyes, which, since the important dialogue of the enchanted
grot, were considerably enlarged, and said: “Go, speak thus to slaves,
but learn to reverence her who is born to give laws, and subject all to
her power.”
She
was proceeding in the same style, but was interrupted by a sudden
exclamation of “The Caliph! The Caliph!” The curtains at once were
thrown open, and the slaves prostrate in double rows, whilst poor little
Gulchenrouz hid himself beneath the elevation of a sofa. At first
appeared a file of black eunuchs, trailing after them long trains of
muslin embroidered with gold, and holding in their hands censers, which
dispensed as they passed the grateful perfume of the wood of aloes; next
marched Bababalouk with a solemn strut, and tossing his head as not
over-pleased at the visit; Vathek came close after, superbly robed; his
gait was unembarrassed and noble, and his presence would have engaged
admiration, though he had not been the sovereign of the world; he
approached Nouronihar with a throbbing heart, and seemed enraptured at
the full effulgence of her radiant eyes, of which he had before caught
but a few glimpses; but she instantly depressed them, and her confusion
augmented her beauty.
Bababalouk,
who was a thorough adept in coincidences of this nature, and knew that
the worst game should be played with the best face, immediately made a
signal for all to retire; and no sooner did he perceive beneath the sofa
the little one’s feet, than he drew him forth without ceremony, set him
upon his shoulders, and lavished on him as he went off a thousand
odious caresses; Gulchenrouz cried out, and resisted till his cheeks
became the colour of the blossom of the pomegranate, and the tears that
started into his eyes shot forth a gleam of indignation; he cast a
significant glance at Nouronihar, which the Caliph noticing, asked: “Is
that then your Gulchenrouz?”
“Sovereign of the world?” answered she, “spare my cousin, whose innocence and gentleness deserve not your anger.”
“Take
comfort,” said Vathek, with a smile; “he is in good hands. Bababalouk
is fond of children, and never goes without sweetmeats and comfits.”
The
daughter of Fakreddin was abashed, and suffered Gulchenrouz to be borne
away without adding a word. The tumult of her bosom betrayed her
confusion; and Vathek, becoming still more impassioned, gave a loose to
his frenzy, which had only not subdued the last faint strugglings of
reluctance, when the Emir, suddenly bursting in, threw his face upon the
ground at the feet of the Caliph, and said:
“Commander of the Faithful! abase not yourself to the meanness of your slave.”
“No,
Emir,” replied Vathek; “I raise her to an equality with myself; I
declare her my wife, and the glory of your race shall extend from one
generation to another.”
“Alas!
my lord,” said Fakreddin, as he plucked off the honours of his beard,
“cut short the days of your faithful servant, rather than force him to
depart from his word. Nouronihar, as her hands evince, is solemnly
promised to Gulchenrouz, the son of my brother Ali Hassan; they are
united also in heart, their faith is mutually plighted, and affiances so
sacred cannot be broken.”
“What
then!” replied the Caliph, bluntly, “would you surrender this divine
beauty to a husband more womanish than herself? and can you imagine that
I will suffer her charms to decay in hands so inefficient and
nerveless? No! she is destined to live out her life within my embraces:
such is my will; retire, and disturb not the time I devote to the
homage of her charms.”
The
irritated Emir drew forth his sabre, presented it to Vathek, and
stretching out his neck, said in a firm tone of voice: “Strike your
unhappy host, my lord! he has lived long enough, since he hath seen the
Prophet’s Vicegerent violate the rites of hospitality.”
At
his uttering these words Nouronihar, unable to support any longer the
conflict of her passions, sank down in a swoon. Vathek, both terrified
for her life and furious at an opposition to his will, bade Fakreddin
assist his daughter, and withdrew, darting his terrible look at the
unfortunate Emir, who suddenly fell backward, bathed in a sweat cold as
the damp of death.
Gulchenrouz,
who had escaped from the hands of Bababalouk, and was that instant
returned, called out for help as loudly as he could, not having strength
to afford it himself. Pale and panting, the poor child attempted to
revive Nouronihar by caresses; and it happened that the thrilling warmth
of his lips restored her to life. Fakreddin beginning also to recover
from the look of the Caliph, with difficulty tottered to a seat, and
after warily casting round his eye to see if this dangerous prince was
gone, sent for Shaban and Sutlememe, and said to them apart:
“My
friends! violent evils require as violent remedies; the Caliph has
brought desolation and horror into my family, and how shall we resist
his power? another of his looks will send me to my grave. Fetch then
that narcotic powder which the Dervish brought me from Aracan; a dose of
it, the effect of which will continue three days, must be administered
to each of these children; the Caliph will believe them to be dead, for
they will have all the appearance of death; we shall go as if to inter
them in the cave of Meimoune, at the entrance of the great desert of
sand, and near the cabin of my dwarfs. When all the spectators shall be
withdrawn, you, Shaban, and four select eunuchs, shall convey them to
the lake, where provisions shall be ready to support them a month; for
one day allotted to the surprise this event will occasion, five to the
tears, a fortnight to reflection, and the rest to prepare for renewing
his progress, will, according to my calculation, fill up the whole time
that Vathek will tarry, and I shall then be freed from his intrusion.”
“Your
plan,” said Sutlememe, “is a good one, if it can but be effected. I
have remarked that Nouronihar is well able to support the glances of the
Caliph, and that he is far from being sparing of them to her; be
assured, therefore, notwithstanding her fondness for Gulchenrouz, she
will never remain quiet while she knows him to be here, unless we can
persuade her that both herself and Gulchenrouz are really dead, and that
they were conveyed to those rocks for a limited season to expiate the
little faults of which their love was the cause; we will add that we
killed ourselves in despair, and that your dwarfs, whom they never yet
saw, will preach to them delectable sermons. I will engage that
everything shall succeed to the bent of your wishes.”
“Be it so!” said Fakreddin. “I approve your proposal; let us lose not a moment to give it effect.”
They
forthwith hastened to seek for the powder, which, being mixed in a
sherbet, was immediately drank by Gulchenrouz and Nouronihar. Within
the space of an hour both were seized with violent palpitations, and a
general numbness gradually ensued; they arose from the floor, where they
had remained ever since the Caliph’s departure, and, ascending to the
sofa, reclined themselves at full length upon it, clasped in each
other’s embraces.
“Cherish
me, my dear Nouronihar!” said Gulchenrouz; “put thy hand upon my heart,
for it feels as if it were frozen. Alas! thou art as cold as myself!
Hath the Caliph murdered us both with his terrible look?”
“I am dying!” cried she in a faltering voice; “press me closer; I am ready to expire!”
“Let
us die then together,” answered the little Gulchenrouz, whilst his
breast laboured with a convulsive sigh; “let me at least breathe forth
my soul on thy lips!” They spoke no more, and became as dead.
Immediately
the most piercing cries were heard through the harem, whilst Shaban and
Sutlememe personated with great adroitness the parts of persons in
despair. The Emir, who was sufficiently mortified to be forced into
such untoward expedients, and had now for the first time made a trial of
his powder, was under no necessity of counterfeiting grief. The
slaves, who had flocked together from all quarters, stood motionless at
the spectacle before them; all lights were extinguished save two lamps,
which shed a wan glimmering over the faces of these lovely flowers, that
seemed to be faded in the spring-time of life; funeral vestments were
prepared, their bodies were washed with rose-water, their beautiful
tresses were braided and incensed, and they were wrapped in simars
whiter than alabaster. At the moment that their attendants were placing
two wreaths of their favourite jasmines on their brows, the Caliph, who
had just heard of the tragical catastrophe, arrived; he looked not less
pale and haggard than the Gouls, that wander at night among graves;
forgetful of himself and every one else, he broke through the midst of
the slaves, fell prostrate at the foot of the sofa, beat his bosom,
called himself “atrocious murderer!” and invoked upon his head a
thousand imprecations; with a trembling hand he raised the veil that
covered the countenance of Nouronihar, and, uttering a loud shriek, fell
lifeless on the floor. The chief of the eunuchs dragged him off with
horrible grimaces, and repeated as he went: “Ay, I foresaw she would
play you some ungracious turn!”
No
sooner was the Caliph gone than the Emir commanded biers to be brought,
and forbad that any one should enter the harem. Every window was
fastened, all instruments of music were broken, and the Imams began to
recite their prayers; towards the close of this melancholy day Vathek
sobbed in silence, for they had been forced to compose with anodynes his
convulsions of rage and desperation.
At
the dawn of the succeeding morning the wide folding doors of the palace
were set open, and the funeral procession moved forward for the
mountain. The wailful cries of “La Ilah illa Allah!” reached to the
Caliph, who was eager to cicatrise himself and attend the ceremonial;
nor could he have been dissuaded, had not his excessive weakness
disabled him from walking; at the few first steps he fell on the ground,
and his people were obliged to lay him on a bed, where he remained many
days in such a state of insensibility, as excited compassion in the
Emir himself.
When
the procession was arrived at the grot of Meimoune, Shaban and
Sutlememe dismissed the whole of the train, excepting the four
confidential eunuchs who were appointed to remain. After resting some
moments near the biers, which had been left in the open air, they caused
them to be carried to the brink of a small lake, whose banks were
overgrown with a hoary moss; this was the great resort of herons and
storks, which preyed continually on little blue fishes. The dwarfs,
instructed by the Emir, soon repaired thither, and, with the help of the
eunuchs, began to construct cabins of rushes and reeds, a work in which
they had admirable skill; a magazine also was contrived for provisions,
with a small oratory for themselves, and a pyramid of wood neatly
piled, to furnish the necessary fuel, for the air was bleak in the
hollows of the mountains.
At
evening two fires were kindled on the brink of the lake, and the two
lovely bodies, taken from their biers, were carefully deposited upon a
bed of dried leaves within the same cabin. The dwarfs began to recite
the Koran with their clear shrill voices, and Shaban and Sutlememe stood
at some distance, anxiously waiting the effects of the powder. At
length Nouronihar and Gulchenrouz faintly stretched out their arms, and
gradually opening their eyes, began to survey with looks of increasing
amazement every object around them; they even attempted to rise, but for
want of strength fell back again; Sutlememe on this administered a
cordial, which the Emir had taken care to provide.
Gulchenrouz,
thoroughly aroused, sneezed out aloud, and raising himself with an
effort that expressed his surprise, left the cabin, and inhaled the
fresh air with the greatest avidity.
“Yes,” said he, “I breathe again! again do I exist! I hear sounds! I behold a firmament spangled over with stars!”
Nouronihar,
catching these beloved accents, extricated herself from the leaves, and
ran to clasp Gulchenrouz to her bosom. The first objects she remarked
were their long simars, their garlands of flowers, and their naked feet;
she hid her face in her hands to reflect; the vision of the enchanted
bath, the despair of her father, and, more vividly than both, the
majestic figure of Vathek recurred to her memory; she recollected also
that herself and Gulchenrouz had been sick and dying; but all these
images bewildered her mind. Not knowing where she was, she turned her
eyes on all sides, as if to recognise the surrounding scene; this
singular lake, those flames reflected from its glassy surface, the pale
hues of its banks, the romantic cabins, the bulrushes that sadly waved
their drooping heads, the storks whose melancholy cries blended with the
shrill voices of the dwarfs, everything conspired to persuade them that
the Angel of Death had opened the portal of some other world.
Gulchenrouz
on his part, lost in wonder, clung to the neck of his cousin: he
believed himself in the region of phantoms, and was terrified at the
silence she preserved; at length addressing her:
“Speak,”
said he, “where are we? do you not see those spectres that are stirring
the burning coals? are they Monker and Nakir, come to throw us into
them? does the fatal bridge cross this lake, whose solemn stillness
perhaps conceals from us an abyss, in which for whole ages we shall be
doomed incessantly to sink?”
“No,
my children!” said Sutlememe, going towards them, “take comfort! the
exterminating Angel, who conducted our souls hither after yours, hath
assured us that the chastisement of your indolent and voluptuous life
shall be restricted to a certain series of years, which you must pass in
this dreary abode, where the sun is scarcely visible, and where the
soil yields neither fruits nor flowers. These,” continued she, pointing
to the dwarfs, “will provide for our wants, for souls so mundane as
ours retain too strong a tincture of their earthly extraction; instead
of meats your food will be nothing but rice, and your bread shall be
moistened in the fogs that brood over the surface of the lake.”
At
this desolating prospect the poor children burst into tears, and
prostrated themselves before the dwarfs, who perfectly supported their
characters, and delivered an excellent discourse of a customary length
upon the sacred camel, which after a thousand years was to convey them
to the paradise of the faithful.
The
sermon being ended, and ablutions performed, they praised Allah and the
Prophet, supped very indifferently, and retired to their withered
leaves. Nouronihar and her little cousin consoled themselves on finding
that, though dead, they yet lay in one cabin. Having slept well
before, the remainder of the night was spent in conversation on what had
befallen them, and both, from a dread of apparitions, betook themselves
for protection to one another’s arms.
In
the morning, which was lowering and rainy, the dwarfs mounted high
poles like minarets, and called them to prayers; the whole congregation,
which consisted of Sutlememe, Shaban, the four eunuchs, and some
storks, were already assembled. The two children came forth from their
cabin with a slow and dejected pace; as their minds were in a tender and
melancholy mood, their devotions were performed with fervour. No
sooner were they finished, than Gulchenrouz demanded of Sutlememe and
the rest, “how they happened to die so opportunely for his cousin and
himself.”
“We killed ourselves,” returned Sutlememe, “in despair at your death.”
On
this, said Nouronihar, who, notwithstanding what was past, had not yet
forgotten her vision: “And the Caliph! is he also dead of his grief? and
will he likewise come hither?”
The dwarfs, who were prepared with an answer, most demurely replied: “Vathek is damned beyond all redemption!”
“I
readily believe so,” said Gulchenrouz, “and I am glad from my heart to
hear it; for I am convinced it was his horrible look that sent us hither
to listen to sermons and mess upon rice.”
One
week passed away on the side of the lake unmarked by any variety;
Nouronihar ruminating on the grandeur of which death had deprived her,
and Gulchenrouz applying to prayers and to panniers, along with the
dwarfs, who infinitely pleased him.
Whilst
this scene of innocence was exhibiting in the mountains, the Caliph
presented himself to the Emir in a new light; the instant he recovered
the use of his senses, with a voice that made Bababalouk quake, he
thundered out: “Perfidious Giaour! I renounce thee for ever! it is thou
who hast slain my beloved Nouronihar! and I supplicate the pardon of
Mahomet, who would have preserved her to me had I been more wise; let
water be brought to perform my ablutions, and let the pious Fakreddin be
called to offer up his prayers with mine, and reconcile me to him;
afterwards we will go together and visit the sepulchre of the
unfortunate Nouronihar; I am resolved to become a hermit, and consume
the residue of my days on this mountain, in hope of expiating my
crimes.”
Nouronihar
was not altogether so content, for though she felt a fondness for
Gulchenrouz, who, to augment the attachment, had been left at full
liberty with her, yet she still regarded him as but a bauble, that bore
no competition with the carbuncle of Giamschid. At times she indulged
doubts on the mode of her being, and scarcely could believe that the
dead had all the wants and the whims of the living. To gain
satisfaction, however, on so perplexing a topic, she arose one morning
whilst all were asleep, with a breathless caution, from the side of
Gulchenrouz, and, after having given him a soft kiss, began to follow
the windings of the lake till it terminated with a rock, whose top was
accessible, though lofty; this she clambered up with considerable toil,
and having reached the summit, set forward in a run, like a doe that
unwittingly follows her hunter; though she skipped along with the
alertness of an antelope, yet at intervals she was forced to desist, and
rest beneath the tamarisks to recover her breath. Whilst she, thus
reclined, was occupied with her little reflections on the apprehension
that she had some knowledge of the place, Vathek, who, finding himself
that morning but ill at ease, had gone forth before the dawn, presented
himself on a sudden to her view; motionless with surprise, he durst not
approach the figure before him, which lay shrouded up in a simar,
extended on the ground, trembling and pale, but yet lovely to behold.
At length Nouronihar, with a mixture of pleasure and affliction, raising
her fine eyes to him, said: “My lord, are you come hither to eat rice
and hear sermons with me?”
“Beloved
phantom!” cried Vathek; “dost thou speak? hast thou the same graceful
form? the same radiant features? art thou palpable likewise?” and,
eagerly embracing her, added: “here are limbs and a bosom animated with a
gentle warmth! what can such a prodigy mean?”
Nouronihar
with diffidence answered: “You know, my lord, that I died on the night
you honoured me with your visit; my cousin maintains it was from one of
your glances, but I cannot believe him; for to me they seem not so
dreadful. Gulchenrouz died with me, and we were both brought into a
region of desolation, where we are fed with a wretched diet. If you be
dead also, and are come hither to join us, I pity your lot; for you will
be stunned with the noise of the dwarfs and the storks; besides, it is
mortifying in the extreme that you, as well as myself, should have lost
the treasures of the subterranean palace.”
At
the mention of the subterranean palace the Caliph suspended his
caresses, to seek from Nouronihar an explanation of her meaning. She
then recapitulated her vision, what immediately followed, and the
history of her pretended death, adding also a description of the place
of expiation from whence she had fled, and all in a manner that would
have extorted his laughter, had not the thoughts of Vathek been too
deeply engaged. No sooner, however, had she ended, than he again
clasped her to his bosom, and said:
“Light
of my eyes! the mystery is unravelled; we both are alive! your father
is a cheat, who, for the sake of dividing, hath deluded us both; and the
Giaour, whose design, as far as I can discover, is that we shall
proceed together, seems scarce a whit better; it shall be some time at
least before he find us in his palace of fire. Your lovely little
person in my estimation is far more precious than all the treasures of
the pre-adamite Sultans, and I wish to possess it at pleasure, and in
open day, for many a moon, before I go to burrow underground like a
mole. Forget this little trifler, Gulchenrouz, and—”
“Ah! my lord!” interposed Nouronihar, “let me entreat that you do him no evil.”
“No,
no!” replied Vathek, “I have already bid you forbear to alarm yourself
for him; he has been brought up too much on milk and sugar to stimulate
my jealousy; we will leave him with the dwarfs, who, by the bye, are my
old acquaintances; their company will suit him far better than yours.
As to other matters, I will return no more to your father’s; I want not
to have my ears dinned by him and his dotards with the violation of the
rites of hospitality; as if it were less an honour for you to espouse
the sovereign of the world than a girl dressed up like a boy!”
Nouronihar
could find nothing to oppose in a discourse so eloquent; she only
wished the amorous monarch had discovered more ardour for the carbuncle
of Giamschid; but flattered herself it would gradually increase, and
therefore yielded to his will with the most bewitching submission.
When
the Caliph judged it proper, he called for Bababalouk, who was asleep
in the cave of Meimoune, and dreaming that the phantom of Nouronihar,
having mounted him once more on her swing, had just given him such a
jerk, that he one moment soared above the mountains, and the next sunk
into the abyss; starting from his sleep at the voice of his master, he
ran gasping for breath, and had nearly fallen backward at the sight, as
he believed, of the spectre by whom he had so lately been haunted in his
dream.
“Ah,
my lord!” cried he, recoiling ten steps, and covering his eyes with
both hands: “do you then perform the office of a Goul? ’tis true you
have dug up the dead, yet hope not to make her your prey; for after all
she hath caused me to suffer, she is even wicked enough to prey upon
you.”
“Cease
thy folly,” said Vathek, “and thou shalt soon be convinced that it is
Nouronihar herself, alive and well, whom I clasp to my breast; go only
and pitch my tents in the neighbouring valley; there will I fix my abode
with this beautiful tulip, whose colours I soon shall restore; there
exert thy best endeavours to procure whatever can augment the enjoyments
of life, till I shall disclose to thee more of my will.”
The
news of so unlucky an event soon reached the ears of the Emir, who
abandoned himself to grief and despair, and began, as did all his old
grey-beards, to begrime his visage with ashes. A total supineness
ensued, travellers were no longer entertained, no more plaisters were
spread, and, instead of the charitable activity that had distinguished
this asylum, the whole of its inhabitants exhibited only faces of a half
cubit long, and uttered groans that accorded with their forlorn
situation.
Though
Fakreddin bewailed his daughter as lost to him for ever, yet
Gulchenrouz was not forgotten. He despatched immediate instruction to
Sutlememe, Shaban, and the dwarfs, enjoining them not to undeceive the
child in respect to his state, but, under some pretence, to convey him
far from the lofty rock at the extremity of the lake, to a place which
he should appoint, as safer from danger; for he suspected that Vathek
intended him evil.
Gulchenrouz
in the meanwhile was filled with amazement at not finding his cousin;
nor were the dwarfs at all less surprised; but Sutlememe, who had more
penetration, immediately guessed what had happened. Gulchenrouz was
amused with the delusive hope of once more embracing Nouronihar in the
interior recesses of the mountains, where the ground, strewed over with
orange blossoms and jasmines, offered beds much more inviting than the
withered leaves in their cabin, where they might accompany with their
voices the sounds of their lutes, and chase butterflies in concert.
Sutlememe was far gone in this sort of description, when one of the four
eunuchs beckoned her aside to apprise her of the arrival of a messenger
from their fraternity, who had explained the secret of the flight of
Nouronihar, and brought the commands of the Emir. A council with Shaban
and the dwarfs was immediately held; their baggage being stowed in
consequence of it, they embarked in a shallop, and quietly sailed with
the little one, who acquiesced in all their proposals; their voyage
proceeded in the same manner till they came to the place where the lake
sinks beneath the hollow of the rock; but as soon as the bark had
entered it, and Gulchenrouz found himself surrounded with darkness, he
was seized with a dreadful consternation, and incessantly uttered the
most piercing outcries; for he now was persuaded he should actually be
damned for having taken too much freedom in his life-time with his
cousin.
But
let us return to the Caliph and her who ruled over his heart.
Bababalouk had pitched the tents, and closed up the extremities of the
valley with magnificent screens of India cloth, which were guarded by
Ethiopian slaves with their drawn sabres; to preserve the verdure of
this beautiful enclosure in its natural freshness, the white eunuchs
went continually round it with their red water-vessels. The waving of
fans was heard near the imperial pavilion, where, by the voluptuous
light that glowed through the muslins, the Caliph enjoyed at full view
all the attractions of Nouronihar. Inebriated with delight, he was all
ear to her charming voice, which accompanied the lute; while she was not
less captivated with his descriptions of Samarah and the tower full of
wonders, but especially with his relation of the adventure of the ball,
and the chasm of the Giaour, with its ebony portal.
In
this manner they conversed for a day and a night; they bathed together
in a basin of black marble, which admirably relieved the fairness of
Nouronihar. Bababalouk, whose good graces this beauty had regained,
spared no attention that their repasts might be served up with the
minutest exactness; some exquisite rarity was ever placed before them;
and he sent even to Schiraz for that fragrant and delicious wine which
had been hoarded up in bottles prior to the birth of Mahomet; he had
excavated little ovens in the rock to bake the nice manchets which were
prepared by the hands of Nouronihar, from whence they had derived a
flavour so grateful to Vathek, that he regarded the ragouts of his other
wives as entirely mawkish; whilst they would have died at the Emir’s of
chagrin at finding themselves so neglected, if Fakreddin,
notwithstanding his resentment, had not taken pity upon them.
The
Sultana Dilara, who till then had been the favourite, took this
dereliction of the Caliph to heart with a vehemence natural to her
character, for during her continuance in favour she had imbibed from
Vathek many of his extravagant fancies, and was fired with impatience to
behold the superb tombs of Istakar, and the palace of forty columns;
besides, having been brought up amongst the Magi, she had fondly
cherished the idea of the Caliph’s devoting himself to the worship of
fire; thus his voluptuous and desultory life with her rival was to her a
double source of affliction. The transient piety of Vathek had
occasioned her some serious alarms, but the present was an evil of far
greater magnitude; she resolved, therefore, without hesitation, to write
to Carathis, and acquaint her that all things went ill; that they had
eaten, slept, and revelled at an old Emir’s, whose sanctity was very
formidable, and that after all, the prospect of possessing the treasures
of the pre-adamite Sultans was no less remote than before. This letter
was entrusted to the care of two wood-men, who were at work on one of
the great forests of the mountains, and, being acquainted with the
shortest cuts, arrived in ten days at Samarah.
The
Princess Carathis was engaged at chess with Morakanabad, when the
arrival of these wood-fellers was announced. She, after some weeks of
Vathek’s absence, had forsaken the upper regions of her tower, because
everything appeared in confusion among the stars, whom she consulted
relative to the fate of her son. In vain did she renew her fumigations,
and extend herself on the roof to obtain mystic visions; nothing more
could she see in her dreams than pieces of brocade, nosegays of flowers,
and other unmeaning gewgaws. These disappointments had thrown her into
a state of dejection, which no drug in her power was sufficient to
remove; her only resource was in Morakanabad, who was a good man, and
endowed with a decent share of confidence, yet whilst in her company he
never thought himself on roses.
No
person knew aught of Vathek, and a thousand ridiculous stories were
propagated at his expense. The eagerness of Carathis may be easily
guessed at receiving the letter, as well as her rage at reading the
dissolute conduct of her son. “Is it so?” said she; “either I will
perish, or Vathek shall enter the palace of fire. Let me expire in
flames, provided he may reign on the throne of Soliman!” Having said
this, and whirled herself round in a magical manner, which struck
Morakanabad with such terror as caused him to recoil, she ordered her
great camel Alboufaki to be brought, and the hideous Nerkes with the
unrelenting Cafour to attend. “I require no other retinue,” said she to
Morakanabad; “I am going on affairs of emergency; a truce therefore to
parade! Take you care of the people; fleece them well in my absence;
for we shall expend large sums, and one knows not what may betide.”
The
night was uncommonly dark, and a pestilential blast ravaged the plain
of Catoul that would have deterred any other traveller, however urgent
the call; but Carathis enjoyed most whatever filled others with dread.
Nerkes concurred in opinion with her, and Cafour had a particular
predilection for a pestilence. In the morning this accomplished
caravan, with the wood-fellers who directed their route, halted on the
edge of an extensive marsh, from whence so noxious a vapour arose as
would have destroyed any animal but Alboufaki, who naturally inhaled
these malignant fogs. The peasants entreated their convoy not to sleep
in this place.
“To
sleep,” cried Carathis; “what an excellent thought! I never sleep but
for visions; and, as to my attendants, their occupations are too many to
close the only eye they each have.”
The poor peasants, who were not over-pleased with their party, remained open-mouthed with surprise.
Carathis
alighted, as well as her negresses, and severally stripping off their
outer garments, they all ran in their drawers, to cull from those spots
where the sun shone fiercest the venomous plants that grew on the marsh;
this provision was made for the family of the Emir, and whoever might
retard the expedition to Istakar. The wood-men were overcome with fear
when they beheld these three horrible phantoms run, and, not much
relishing the company of Alboufaki, stood aghast at the command of
Carathis to set forward, notwithstanding it was noon, and the heat
fierce enough to calcine even rocks. In spite, however, of every
remonstrance, they were forced implicitly to submit.
Alboufaki,
who delighted in solitude, constantly snorted whenever he perceived
himself near a habitation; and Carathis, who was apt to spoil him with
indulgence, as constantly turned him aside, so that the peasants were
precluded from procuring subsistence; for the milch goats and ewes,
which Providence had sent towards the district they traversed, to
refresh travellers with their milk, all fled at the sight of the hideous
animal and his strange riders. As to Carathis, she needed no common
aliment, for her invention had previously furnished her with an opiate
to stay her stomach, some of which she imparted to her mutes.
At
the fall of night Alboufaki, making a sudden stop, stamped with his
foot, which to Carathis, who understood his paces, was a certain
indication that she was near the confines of some cemetery. The moon
shed a bright light on the spot, which served to discover a long wall,
with a large door in it standing ajar, and so high that Alboufaki might
easily enter. The miserable guides, who perceived their end
approaching, humbly implored Carathis, as she had now so good an
opportunity, to inter them, and immediately gave up the ghost. Nerkes
and Cafour, whose wit was of a style peculiar to themselves, were by no
means parsimonious of it on the folly of these poor people, nor could
anything have been found more suited to their tastes than the site of
the burying-ground, and the sepulchres which its precincts contained;
there were at least two thousand of them on the declivity of a hill:
some in the form of pyramids, others like columns, and, in short, the
variety of their shapes was endless. Carathis was too much immersed in
her sublime contemplations to stop at the view, charming as it appeared
in her eyes; pondering the advantages that might accrue from her present
situation, she could not forbear to exclaim:
“So
beautiful a cemetery must be haunted by Gouls! and they want not for
intelligence; having heedlessly suffered my guides to expire, I will
apply for directions to them, and as an inducement will invite them to
regale on these fresh corpses.”
After
this short soliloquy she beckoned to Nerkes and Cafour, and made signs
with her fingers, as much as to say, “Go, knock against the sides of the
tombs, and strike up your delightful warblings, that are so like to
those of the guests whose company I wish to obtain.”
The
negresses, full of joy at the behests of their mistress, and promising
themselves much pleasure from the society of the Gouls, went with an air
of conquest, and began their knockings at the tombs; as their strokes
were repeated a hollow noise was heard in the earth, the surface hove up
into heaps, and the Gouls on all sides protruded their noses, to inhale
the effluvia which the carcases of the wood-men began to emit.
They
assembled before a sarcophagus of white marble, where Carathis was
seated between the bodies of her miserable guides; the princess received
her visitants with distinguished politeness, and, when supper was
ended, proceeded with them to business. Having soon learnt from them
everything she wished to discover, it was her intention to set forward
forthwith on her journey, but her negresses, who were forming tender
connections with the Gouls, importuned her with all their fingers to
wait at least till the dawn. Carathis, however, being chastity in the
abstract, and an implacable enemy to love and repose, at once rejected
their prayer, mounted Alboufaki, and commanded them to take their seats
in a moment; four days and four nights she continued her route, without
turning to the right hand or left; on the fifth she traversed the
mountains and half-burnt forests, and arrived on the sixth before the
beautiful screens which concealed from all eyes the voluptuous
wanderings of her son.
It
was daybreak, and the guards were snoring on their posts in careless
security, when the rough trot of Alboufaki awoke them in consternation.
Imagining that a group of spectres ascended from the abyss was
approaching, they all without ceremony took to their heels. Vathek was
at that instant with Nouronihar in the bath, hearing tales, and laughing
at Bababalouk, who related them; but no sooner did the outcry of his
guards reach him, than he flounced from the water like a carp, and as
soon threw himself back at the sight of Carathis, who, advancing with
her negresses upon Alboufaki, broke through the muslin awnings and veils
of the pavilion; at this sudden apparition Nouronihar (for she was not
at all times free from remorse) fancied that the moment of celestial
vengeance was come, and clung about the Caliph in amorous despondence.
Carathis,
still seated on her camel, foamed with indignation at the spectacle
which obtruded itself on her chaste view; she thundered forth without
check or mercy: “Thou double-headed and four-legged monster! what means
all this winding and writhing? art thou not ashamed to be seen grasping
this limber sapling, in preference to the sceptre of the pre-adamite
Sultans? is it then for this paltry doxy that thou hast violated the
conditions in the parchment of our Giaour? is it on her thou hast
lavished thy precious moments? is this the fruit of the knowledge I have
taught thee? is this the end of thy journey? tear thyself from the arms
of this little simpleton, drown her in the water before me, and
instantly follow my guidance.”
In
the first ebullition of his fury Vathek resolved to make a skeleton of
Alboufaki, and to stuff the skins of Carathis and her blacks; but the
ideas of the Giaour, the palace of Istakar, the sabres and the
talismans, flashing before his imagination with the simultaneousness of
lightning, he became more moderate, and said to his mother, in a civil
but decisive tone: “Dread lady! you shall be obeyed, but I will not
drown Nouronihar; she is sweeter to me than a Myrabolan comfit, and is
enamoured of carbuncles, especially that of Giamschid, which hath also
been promised to be conferred upon her; she therefore shall go along
with us, for I intend to repose with her beneath the canopies of
Soliman; I can sleep no more without her.”
“Be it so!” replied Carathis, alighting, and at the same time committing Alboufaki to the charge of her women.
Nouronihar,
who had not yet quitted her hold, began to take courage, and said, with
an accent of fondness to the Caliph: “Dear Sovereign of my soul! I
will follow thee, if it be thy will, beyond the Kaf in the land of the
Afrits; I will not hesitate to climb for thee the nest of the Simurgh,
who, this lady excepted, is the most awful of created existences.”
“We have here then,” subjoined Carathis, “a girl both of courage and science!”
Nouronihar
had certainly both; but, notwithstanding all her firmness, she could
not help casting back a look of regret upon the graces of her little
Gulchenrouz, and the days of tenderness she had participated with him;
she even dropped a few tears, which Carathis observed, and inadvertently
breathed out with a sigh: “Alas! my gentle cousin! what will become of
him!”
Vathek at this apostrophe knitted up his brows, and Carathis inquired what it could mean.
“She is preposterously sighing after a stripling with languishing eyes and soft hair, who loves her,” said the Caliph.
“Where
is he?” asked Carathis. “I must be acquainted with this pretty child;
for,” added she, lowering her voice, “I design before I depart to regain
the favour of the Giaour; there is nothing so delicious in his
estimation as the heart of a delicate boy, palpitating with the first
tumults of love.”
Vathek,
as he came from the bath, commanded Bababalouk to collect the women and
other movables of his harem, embody his troops, and hold himself in
readiness to march in three days; whilst Carathis retired alone to a
tent, where the Giaour solaced her with encouraging visions; but at
length waking, she found at her feet Nerkes and Cafour, who informed her
by their signs that, having led Alboufaki to the borders of a lake, to
browse on some moss that looked tolerably venomous, they had discovered
certain blue fishes of the same kind with those in the reservoir on the
top of the tower.
“Ah!
ha!” said she, “I will go thither to them; these fish are past doubt of
a species that, by a small operation, I can render oracular; they may
tell me where this little Gulchenrouz is, whom I am bent upon
sacrificing.” Having thus spoken, she immediately set out with her
swarthy retinue.
It
being but seldom that time is lost in the accomplishment of a wicked
enterprise, Carathis and her negresses soon arrived at the lake, where,
after burning the magical drugs with which they were always provided,
they, stripping themselves naked, waded to their chins, Nerkes and
Cafour waving torches around them, and Carathis pronouncing her
barbarous incantations. The fishes with one accord thrust forth their
heads from the water, which was violently rippled by the flutter of
their fins, and, at length finding themselves constrained by the potency
of the charm, they opened their piteous mouths, and said: “From gills
to tail we are yours; what seek ye to know?”
“Fishes,” answered she, “I conjure you, by your glittering scales, tell me where now is Gulchenrouz?”
“Beyond the rock,” replied the shoal in full chorus; “will this content you? for we do not delight in expanding our mouths.”
“It
will,” returned the princess; “I am not to learn that you like not long
conversations; I will leave you therefore to repose, though I had other
questions to propound.” The instant she had spoken the water became
smooth, and the fishes at once disappeared.
Carathis,
inflated with the venom of her projects, strode hastily over the rock,
and found the amiable Gulchenrouz asleep in an arbour, whilst the two
dwarfs were watching at his side, and ruminating their accustomed
prayers. These diminutive personages possessed the gift of divining
whenever an enemy to good Mussulmans approached; thus they anticipated
the arrival of Carathis, who, stopping short, said to herself: “How
placidly doth he recline his lovely little head! how pale and
languishing are his looks! it is just the very child of my wishes!”
The
dwarfs interrupted this delectable soliloquy by leaping instantly upon
her, and scratching her face with their utmost zeal. But Nerkes and
Cafour, betaking themselves to the succour of their mistress, pinched
the dwarfs so severely in return, that they both gave up the ghost,
imploring Mahomet to inflict his sorest vengeance upon this wicked woman
and all her household.
At
the noise which this strange conflict occasioned in the valley,
Gulchenrouz awoke, and, bewildered with terror, sprung impetuously upon
an old figtree that rose against the acclivity of the rocks; from thence
gained their summits, and ran for two hours without once looking back.
At last, exhausted with fatigue, he fell as if dead into the arms of a
good old Genius, whose fondness for the company of children had made it
his sole occupation to protect them, and who, whilst performing his
wonted rounds through the air, happening on the cruel Giaour at the
instant of his growling in the horrible chasm, rescued the fifty little
victims which the impiety of Vathek had devoted to his maw; these the
Genius brought up in nests still higher than the clouds, and himself
fixed his abode in a nest more capacious than the rest, from which he
had expelled the possessors that had built it.
These
inviolable asylums were defended against the Dives and the Afrits by
waving streamers, on which were inscribed, in characters of gold that
flashed like lightning, the names of Allah and the Prophet. It was
there that Gulchenrouz, who as yet remained undeceived with respect to
his pretended death, thought himself in the mansions of eternal peace,
he admitted without fear the congratulations of his little friends, who
were all assembled in the nest of the venerable Genius, and vied with
each other in kissing his serene forehead and beautiful eyelids. This
he found to be the state congenial to his soul; remote from the
inquietudes of earth, the impertinence of harems, the brutality of
eunuchs, and the lubricity of women: in this peacable society, his days,
months, and years glided on; nor was he less happy than the rest of his
companions; for the Genius, instead of burthening his pupils with
perishable riches and the vain sciences of the world, conferred upon
them the boon of perpetual childhood.
Carathis,
unaccustomed to the loss of her prey, vented a thousand execrations on
her negresses for not seizing the child, instead of amusing themselves
with pinching to death the dwarfs, from which they could gain no
advantage. She returned into the valley murmuring, and finding that her
son was not risen from the arms of Nouronihar, discharged her
ill-humour upon both. The idea, however, of departing next day for
Istakar, and cultivating, through the good offices of the Giaour, an
intimacy with Eblis himself, at length consoled her chagrin. But Fate
had ordained it otherwise.
In
the evening, as Carathis was conversing with Dilara, who, through her
contrivance, had become of the party, and whose taste resembled her own,
Bababalouk came to acquaint her “that the sky towards Samarah looked of
a fiery red, and seemed to portend some alarming disaster.”
Immediately, recurring to her astrolabes and instruments of magic, she
took the altitude of the planets, and discovered by her calculations, to
her great mortification, that a formidable revolt had taken place at
Samarah; that Motavakel, availing himself of the disgust which was
inveterate against his brother, had incited commotions amongst the
populace, made himself master of the palace, and actually invested the
great tower, to which Morakanabad had retired, with a handful of the few
that still remained faithful to Vathek.
“What!”
exclaimed she; “must I lose then my tower! my mutes! my negresses! my
mummies! and, worse than all, the laboratory in which I have spent so
many a night, without knowing at least if my hair-brained son will
complete his adventure? No! I will not be the dupe! Immediately will I
speed to support Morakanabad; by my formidable art the clouds shall
sleet hailstones in the faces of the assailants, and shafts of red-hot
iron on their heads; I will spring mines of serpents and torpedos from
beneath them, and we shall soon see the stand they will make against
such an explosion!”
Having
thus spoken, Carathis hastened to her son, who was tranquilly
banqueting with Nouronihar in his superb carnation-coloured tent.
“Glutton
that thou art!” cried she, “were it not for me, thou wouldst soon find
thyself the commander only of pies. Thy faithful subjects have abjured
the faith they swore to thee; Motavakel, thy brother, now reigns on the
hill of pied horses, and had I not some slight resources in the tower,
would not be easily persuaded to abdicate; but, that time may not be
lost, I shall only add four words: Strike tent to-night, set forward,
and beware how thou loiterest again by the way; though thou hast
forfeited the conditions of the parchment, I am not yet without hope;
for it cannot be denied that thou hast violated to admiration the laws
of hospitality, by seducing the daughter of the Emir, after having
partaken of his bread and his salt. Such a conduct cannot but be
delightful to the Giaour; and if on thy march thou canst signalise
thyself by an additional crime, all will still go well, and thou shalt
enter the palace of Soliman in triumph. Adieu! Alboufaki and my
negresses are waiting.”
The
Caliph had nothing to offer in reply; he wished his mother a prosperous
journey, and ate on till he had finished his supper. At midnight the
camp broke up, amidst the flourishing of trumpets and other martial
instruments; but loud indeed must have been the sound of the tymbals to
overpower the blubbering of the Emir and his long-beards, who, by an
excessive profusion of tears, had so far exhausted the radical moisture,
that their eyes shrivelled up in their sockets, and their hairs dropped
off by the roots. Nouronihar, to whom such a symphony was painful, did
not grieve to get out of hearing; she accompanied the Caliph in the
imperial litter, where they amused themselves with imagining the
splendour which was soon to surround them. The other women, overcome
with dejection, were dolefully rocked in their cages, whilst Dilara
consoled herself with anticipating the joy of celebrating the rites of
fire on the stately terraces of Istakar.
In
four days they reached the spacious valley of Rocnabad. The season of
spring was in all its vigour, and the grotesque branches of the almond
trees in full blossom fantastically chequered the clear blue sky; the
earth, variegated with hyacinths and jonquils, breathed forth a
fragrance which diffused through the soul a divine repose; myriads of
bees, and scarce fewer of Santons, had there taken up their abode; on
the banks of the stream hives and oratories were alternately ranged, and
their neatness and whiteness were set off by the deep green of the
cypresses that spired up amongst them. These pious personages amused
themselves with cultivating little gardens that abounded with flowers
and fruits, especially musk-melons of the best flavour that Persia could
boast; sometimes dispersed over the meadow, they entertained themselves
with feeding peacocks whiter than snow, and turtles more blue than the
sapphire; in this manner were they occupied when the harbingers of the
imperial procession began to proclaim: “Inhabitants of Rocnabad!
prostrate yourselves on the brink of your pure waters, and tender your
thanksgivings to Heaven, that vouchsafeth to show you a ray of its
glory; for lo! the Commander of the Faithful draws near.”
The
poor Santons, filled with holy energy, having bustled to light up wax
torches in their oratories and expand the Koran on their ebony desks,
went forth to meet the Caliph with baskets of honeycomb, dates, and
melons. But, whilst they were advancing in solemn procession and with
measured steps, the horses, camels, and guards wantoned over their
tulips and other flowers, and made a terrible havoc amongst them. The
Santons could not help casting from one eye a look of pity on the
ravages committing around them, whilst the other was fixed upon the
Caliph and heaven. Nouronihar, enraptured with the scenery of a place
which brought back to her remembrance the pleasing solitudes where her
infancy had passed, entreated Vathek to stop; but he, suspecting that
each oratory might be deemed by the Giaour a distinct habitation,
commanded his pioneers to level them all; the Santons stood motionless
with horror at the barbarous mandate, and at last broke out into
lamentations; but these were uttered with so ill a grace, that Vathek
bade his eunuchs to kick them from his presence. He then descended from
the litter with Nouronihar; they sauntered together in the meadow, and
amused themselves with culling flowers, and passing a thousand
pleasantries on each other. But the bees, who were staunch Mussulmans,
thinking it their duty to revenge the insult on their dear masters the
Santons, assembled so zealously to do it with effect, that the Caliph
and Nouronihar were glad to find their tents prepared to receive them.
Bababalouk,
who in capacity of purveyor had acquitted himself with applause as to
peacocks and turtles, lost no time in consigning some dozens to the
spit, and as many more to be fricasseed. Whilst they were feasting,
laughing, carousing, and blaspheming at pleasure on the banquet so
liberally furnished, the Moullahs, the Sheiks, the Cadis and Imams of
Schiraz (who seemed not to have met the Santons) arrived, leading by
bridles of riband inscribed from the Koran, a train of asses, which were
loaded with the choicest fruits the country could boast; having
presented their offerings to the Caliph, they petitioned him to honour
their city and mosques with his presence.
“Fancy
not,” said Vathek, “that you can detain me; your presents I condescend
to accept, but beg you will let me be quiet, for I am not over-fond of
resisting temptation; retire, then; yet, as it is not decent for
personages so reverend to return on foot, and as you have not the
appearance of expert riders, my eunuchs shall tie you on your asses,
with the precaution that your backs be not turned towards me, for they
understand etiquette.”
In
this deputation were some high-stomached Sheiks, who, taking Vathek for
a fool, scrupled not to speak their opinion. These Bababalouk girded
with double cords, and, having well disciplined their asses with nettles
behind, they all started with a preternatural alertness, plunging,
kicking, and running foul of each other in the most ludicrous manner
imaginable.
Nouronihar
and the Caliph mutually contended who should most enjoy so degrading a
sight; they burst out in volleys of laughter to see the old men and
their asses fall into the stream; the leg of one was fractured, the
shoulder of another dislocated, the teeth of a third dashed out, and the
rest suffered still worse.
Two
days more, undisturbed by fresh embassies, having been devoted to the
pleasures of Rocnabad, the expedition proceeded, leaving Shiraz on the
right, and verging towards a large plain, from whence were discernible
on the edge of the horizon the dark summits of the mountains of Istakar.
At
this prospect the Caliph and Nouronihar were unable to repress their
transports; they bounded from their litter to the ground, and broke
forth into such wild exclamations, as amazed all within hearing.
Interrogating each other, they shouted, “Are we not approaching the
radiant palace of light? or gardens more delightful than those of
Sheddad?” Infatuated mortals! they thus indulged delusive conjecture,
unable to fathom the decrees of the Most High!
The
good Genii, who had not totally relinquished the superintendence of
Vathek, repairing to Mahomet in the seventh heaven, said: “Merciful
Prophet! stretch forth thy propitious arms towards thy Vicegerent, who
is ready to fall irretrievably into the snare which his enemies, the
Dives, have prepared to destroy him; the Giaour is awaiting his arrival
in the abominable palace of fire, where, if he once set his foot, his
perdition will be inevitable.”
Mahomet
answered with an air of indignation: “He hath too well deserved to be
resigned to himself, but I permit you to try if one effort more will be
effectual to divert him from pursuing his ruin.”
One
of these beneficent Genii, assuming without delay the exterior of a
shepherd, more renowned for his piety than all the Dervises and Santons
of the region, took his station near a flock of white sheep on the slope
of a hill, and began to pour forth from his flute such airs of pathetic
melody as subdued the very soul, and, awakening remorse, drove far from
it every frivolous fancy. At these energetic sounds the sun hid
himself beneath a gloomy cloud, and the waters of two little lakes, that
were naturally clearer than crystal, became of a colour like blood.
The whole of this superb assembly was involuntarily drawn towards the
declivity of the hill; with downcast eyes they all stood abashed, each
upbraiding himself with the evil he had done; the heart of Dilara
palpitated, and the chief of the eunuchs with a sigh of contrition
implored pardon of the women, whom for his own satisfaction he had so
often tormented.
Vathek
and Nouronihar turned pale in their litter, and, regarding each other
with haggard looks, reproached themselves—the one with a thousand of the
blackest crimes, a thousand projects of impious ambition—the other with
the desolation of her family, and the perdition of the amiable
Gulchenrouz. Nouronihar persuaded herself that she heard in the fatal
music the groans of her dying father, and Vathek the sobs of the fifty
children he had sacrificed to the Giaour. Amidst these complicated
pangs of anguish they perceived themselves impelled towards the
shepherd, whose countenance was so commanding, that Vathek for the first
time felt overawed, whilst Nouronihar concealed her face with her
hands.
The
music paused, and the Genius, addressing the Caliph, said: “Deluded
Prince! to whom Providence hath confided the care of innumerable
subjects, is it thus that thou fulfillest thy mission? Thy crimes are
already completed, and art thou now hastening towards thy punishment?
Thou knowest that beyond these mountains Eblis and his accursed Dives
hold their infernal empire; and, seduced by a malignant phantom, thou
art proceeding to surrender thyself to them! This moment is the last of
grace allowed thee; abandon thy atrocious purpose; return; give back
Nouronihar to her father, who still retains a few sparks of life;
destroy thy tower with all its abominations; drive Carathis from thy
councils; be just to thy subjects; respect the ministers of the Prophet;
compensate for thy impieties by an exemplary life; and, instead of
squandering thy days in voluptuous indulgence, lament thy crimes on the
sepulchres of thy ancestors. Thou beholdest the clouds that obscure the
sun; at the instant he recovers his splendour, if thy heart be not
changed, the time of mercy assigned thee will be past for ever.”
Vathek,
depressed with fear, was on the point of prostrating himself at the
feet of the shepherd, whom he perceived to be of a nature superior to
man; but, his pride prevailing, he audaciously lifted his head, and,
glancing at him one of his terrible looks, said: “Whoever thou art,
withhold thy useless admonitions; thou wouldst either delude me, or art
thyself deceived. If what I have done be so criminal as thou
pretendest, there remains not for me a moment of grace; I have traversed
a sea of blood to acquire a power which will make thy equals tremble;
deem not that I shall retire when in view of the port, or that I will
relinquish her who is dearer to me than either my life or thy mercy.
Let the sun appear! let him illumine my career! it matters not where it
may end.” On uttering these words, which made even the Genius shudder,
Vathek threw himself into the arms of Nouronihar, and commanded that his
horse should be forced back to the road.
There
was no difficulty in obeying these orders, for the attraction had
ceased; the sun shone forth in all his glory, and the shepherd vanished
with a lamentable scream.
The
fatal impression of the music of the Genius remained, notwithstanding,
in the heart of Vathek’s attendants; they viewed each other with looks
of consternation; at the approach of night almost all of them escaped,
and of this numerous assemblage there only remained the chief of the
eunuchs, some idolatrous slaves, Dilara and a few other women, who, like
herself, were votaries of the religion of the Magi.
The
Caliph, fired with the ambition of prescribing laws to the
Intelligences of Darkness, was but little embarrassed at this
dereliction; the impetuosity of his blood prevented him from sleeping,
nor did he encamp any more as before. Nouronihar, whose impatience, if
possible, exceeded his own, importuned him to hasten his march, and
lavished on him a thousand caresses to beguile all reflection; she
fancied herself already more potent than Balkis, and pictured to her
imagination the Genii falling prostrate at the foot of her throne. In
this manner they advanced by moonlight, till they came within view of
the two towering rocks that form a kind of portal to the valley, at
whose extremity rose the vast ruins of Istakar. Aloft on the mountain
glimmered the fronts of various royal mausoleums, the horror of which
was deepened by the shadows of night. They passed through two villages
almost deserted, the only inhabitants remaining being a few feeble old
men, who, at the sight of horses and litters, fell upon their knees and
cried out:
“O
Heaven! is it then by these phantoms that we have been for six months
tormented? Alas! it was from the terror of these spectres and the noise
beneath the mountains, that our people have fled, and left us at the
mercy of maleficent spirits!”
The
Caliph, to whom these complaints were but unpromising auguries, drove
over the bodies of these wretched old men, and at length arrived at the
foot of the terrace of black marble; there he descended from his litter,
handing down Nouronihar; both with beating hearts stared wildly around
them, and expected with an apprehensive shudder the approach of the
Giaour; but nothing as yet announced his appearance.
A
death-like stillness reigned over the mountain and through the air; the
moon dilated on a vast platform the shades of the lofty columns, which
reached from the terrace almost to the clouds; the gloomy watch-towers,
whose numbers could not be counted, were veiled by no roof, and their
capitals, of an architecture unknown in the records of the earth, served
as an asylum for the birds of darkness, which, alarmed at the approach
of such visitants, fled away croaking.
The chief of the eunuchs, trembling with fear, besought Vathek that a fire might be kindled.
“No!” replied he, “there is no time left to think of such trifles; abide where thou art, and expect my commands.”
Having
thus spoken, he presented his hand to Nouronihar, and, ascending the
steps of a vast staircase, reached the terrace, which was flagged with
squares of marble, and resembled a smooth expanse of water, upon whose
surface not a leaf ever dared to vegetate; on the right rose the
watch-towers, ranged before the ruins of an immense palace, whose walls
were embossed with various figures; in front stood forth the colossal
forms of four creatures, composed of the leopard and the griffin; and,
though but of stone, inspired emotions of terror; near these were
distinguished by the splendour of the moon, which streamed full on the
place, characters like those on the sabres of the Giaour, that possessed
the same virtue of changing every moment; these, after vacillating for
some time, at last fixed in Arabic letters, and prescribed to the Caliph
the following words:
“Vathek!
thou hast violated the conditions of my parchment, and deservest to be
sent back; but, in favour to thy companion, and as the meed for what
thou hast done to obtain it, EBLIS permitteth that the portal of his
palace shall be opened, and the subterranean fire will receive thee into
the number of its adorers.”
He
scarcely had read these words before the mountain against which the
terrace was reared trembled, and the watch-towers were ready to topple
headlong upon them; the rock yawned, and disclosed within it a staircase
of polished marble that seemed to approach the abyss; upon each stair
were planted two large torches, like those Nouronihar had seen in her
vision, the camphorated vapour ascending from which gathered into a
cloud under the hollow of the vault.
This
appearance, instead of terrifying, gave new courage to the daughter of
Fakreddin. Scarcely deigning to bid adieu to the moon and the
firmament, she abandoned without hesitation the pure atmosphere to
plunge into these infernal exhalations. The gait of those impious
personages was haughty and determined; as they descended by the
effulgence of the torches they gazed on each other with mutual
admiration, and both appeared so resplendent, that they already esteemed
themselves spiritual Intelligences; the only circumstance that
perplexed them was their not arriving at the bottom of the stairs; on
hastening their descent with an ardent impetuosity, they felt their
steps accelerated to such a degree, that they seemed not walking, but
falling from a precipice. Their progress, however, was at length
impeded by a vast portal of ebony, which the Caliph without difficulty
recognised; here the Giaour awaited them with the key in his hand.
“Ye
are welcome,” said he to them, with a ghastly smile, “in spite of
Mahomet and all his dependants. I will now admit you into that palace
where you have so highly merited a place.”
Whilst
he was uttering these words he touched the enamelled lock with his key,
and the doors at once expanded, with a noise still louder than the
thunder of mountains, and as suddenly recoiled the moment they had
entered.
The
Caliph and Nouronihar beheld each other with amazement, at finding
themselves in a place which, though roofed with a vaulted ceiling, was
so spacious and lofty that at first they took it for an immeasurable
plain. But their eyes at length growing familiar to the grandeur of the
objects at hand, they extended their view to those at a distance, and
discovered rows of columns and arcades, which gradually diminished till
they terminated in a point, radiant as the sun when he darts his last
beams athwart the ocean; the pavement, strewed over with gold dust and
saffron, exhaled so subtle an odour as almost overpowered them; they,
however, went on, and observed an infinity of censers, in which
ambergris and the wood of aloes were continually burning; between the
several columns were placed tables, each spread with a profusion of
viands, and wines of every species sparkling in vases of crystal. A
throng of Genii and other fantastic spirits of each sex danced in
troops, at the sound of music which issued from beneath.
In
the midst of this immense hall a vast multitude was incessantly
passing, who severally kept their right hands on their hearts, without
once regarding anything around them; they had all the livid paleness of
death; their eyes, deep sunk in their sockets, resembled those
phosphoric meteors that glimmer by night in places of interment. Some
stalked slowly on, absorbed in profound reverie; some, shrieking with
agony, ran furiously about, like tigers wounded with poisoned arrows;
whilst others, grinding their teeth in rage, foamed along, more frantic
than the wildest maniac. They all avoided each other, and, though
surrounded by a multitude that no one could number, each wandered at
random, unheedful of the rest, as if alone on a desert which no foot had
trodden.
Vathek
and Nouronihar, frozen with terror at a sight so baleful, demanded of
the Giaour what these appearances might mean, and why these ambulating
spectres never withdrew their hands from their hearts.
“Perplex
not yourselves,” replied he bluntly, “with so much; at once you will
soon be acquainted with all; let us haste and present you to Eblis.”
They
continued their way through the multitude but, notwithstanding their
confidence at first, they were not sufficiently composed to examine with
attention the various perspectives of halls and of galleries that
opened on the right hand and left, which were all illuminated by torches
and braziers, whose flames rose in pyramids to the centre of the
vault. At length they came to a place where long curtains, brocaded
with crimson and gold, fell from all parts in striking confusion; here
the choirs and dances were heard no longer; the light which glimmered
came from afar.
After
some time Vathek and Nouronihar perceived a gleam brightening through
the drapery, and entered a vast tabernacle carpeted with the skins of
leopards; an infinity of elders with streaming beards, and Afrits in
complete armour, had prostrated themselves before the ascent of a lofty
eminence, on the top of which, upon a globe of fire, sat the formidable
Eblis. His person was that of a young man, whose noble and regular
features seemed to have been tarnished by malignant vapours; in his
large eyes appeared both pride and despair; his flowing hair retained
some resemblance to that of an angel of light; in his hand, which
thunder had blasted, he swayed the iron sceptre that causes the monster
Ouranabad, the Afrits, and all the powers of the abyss to tremble; at
his presence the heart of the Caliph sank within him, and for the first
time he fell prostrate on his face. Nouronihar, however, though greatly
dismayed, could not help admiring the person of Eblis; for she expected
to have seen some stupendous giant. Eblis, with a voice more mild than
might be imagined, but such as transfused through the soul the deepest
melancholy, said:
“Creatures
of clay, I receive you into mine empire; ye are numbered amongst my
adorers; enjoy whatever this palace affords; the treasures of the
pre-adamite Sultans, their bickering sabres, and those talismans that
compel the Dives to open the subterranean expanses of the mountain of
Kaf, which communicate with these; there, insatiable as your curiosity
may be, shall you find sufficient to gratify it; you shall possess the
exclusive privilege of entering the fortress of Aherman, and the halls
of Argenk, where are portrayed all creatures endowed with intelligence,
and the various animals that inhabited the earth prior to the creation
of that contemptible being whom ye denominate the Father of Mankind.”
Vathek and Nouronihar, feeling themselves revived and encouraged by this harangue, eagerly said to the Giaour:
“Bring us instantly to the place which contains these precious talismans.”
“Come!” answered this wicked Dive, with his malignant grin, “come! and possess all that my sovereign hath promised, and more.”
He
then conducted them into a long aisle adjoining the tabernacle,
preceding them with hasty steps, and followed by his disciples with the
utmost alacrity. They reached, at length, a hall of great extent, and
covered with a lofty dome, around which appeared fifty portals of
bronze, secured with as many fastenings of iron; a funereal gloom
prevailed over the whole scene; here, upon two beds of incorruptible
cedar, lay recumbent the fleshless forms of the pre-adamite kings, who
had been monarchs of the whole earth; they still possessed enough of
life to be conscious of their deplorable condition; their eyes retained a
melancholy motion; they regarded each other with looks of the deepest
dejection; each holding his right hand motionless on his heart; at their
feet were inscribed the events of their several reigns, their power,
their pride, and their crimes; Soliman Raad, Soliman Daki, and Soliman
Di Gian Ben Gian, who, after having chained up the Dives in the dark
caverns of Kaf, became so presumptuous as to doubt of the Supreme Power;
all these maintained great state, though not to be compared with the
eminence of Soliman Ben Daoud.
This
king, so renowned for his wisdom, was on the loftiest elevation, and
placed immediately under the dome; he appeared to possess more animation
than the rest; though from time to time he laboured with profound
sighs, and, like his companions, kept his right hand on his heart; yet
his countenance was more composed, and he seemed to be listening to the
sullen roar of a vast cataract, visible in part through the grated
portals: this was the only sound that intruded on the silence of these
doleful mansions. A range of brazen vases surrounded the elevation.
“Remove
the covers from these cabalistic depositories,” said the Giaour to
Vathek, “and avail thyself of the talismans, which will break asunder
all these gates of bronze; and not only render thee master of the
treasures contained within them, but also of the spirits by which they
are guarded.”
The
Caliph, whom this ominous preliminary had entirely disconcerted,
approached the vases with faltering footsteps, and was ready to sink
with terror when he heard the groans of Soliman. As he proceeded a
voice from the livid lips of the Prophet articulated these words:
“In
my life-time I filled a magnificent throne, having on my right hand
twelve thousand seats of gold, where the patriarchs and the prophets
heard my doctrines; on my left the sages and doctors, upon as many
thrones of silver, were present at all my decisions. Whilst I thus
administered justice to innumerable multitudes, the birds of the air
librating over me served as a canopy from the rays of the sun; my people
flourished, and my palace rose to the clouds; I erected a temple to the
Most High, which was the wonder of the universe; but I basely suffered
myself to be seduced by the love of women, and a curiosity that could
not be restrained by sublunary things; I listened to the counsels of
Aherman and the daughter of Pharaoh, and adored fire and the hosts of
heaven; I forsook the holy city, and commanded the Genii to rear the
stupendous palace of Istakar, and the terrace of the watch-towers, each
of which was consecrated to a star; there for a while I enjoyed myself
in the zenith of glory and pleasure; not only men, but supernatural
existences were subject also to my will. I began to think, as these
unhappy monarchs around had already thought, that the vengeance of
Heaven was asleep; when at once the thunder burst my structures asunder
and precipitated me hither; where, however, I do not remain, like the
other inhabitants, totally destitute of hope, for an angel of light hath
revealed that, in consideration of the piety of my early youth, my woes
shall come to an end when this cataract shall for ever cease to flow;
till then I am in torments, ineffable torments! an unrelenting fire
preys on my heart.”
Having
uttered this exclamation, Soliman raised his hands towards heaven, in
token of supplication, and the Caliph discerned through his bosom, which
was transparent as crystal, his heart enveloped in flames. At a sight
so full of horror Nouronihar fell back, like one petrified, into the
arms of Vathek, who cried out with a convulsive sob:
“O
Giaour! whither hast thou brought us? Allow us to depart, and I will
relinquish all thou hast promised. O Mahomet! remains there no more
mercy?”
“None!
none!” replied the malicious Dive. “Know, miserable prince! thou art
now in the abode of vengeance and despair; thy heart also will be
kindled, like those of the other votaries of Eblis. A few days are
allotted thee previous to this fatal period; employ them as thou wilt;
recline on these heaps of gold; command the Infernal Potentates; range
at thy pleasure through these immense subterranean domains; no barrier
shall be shut against thee; as for me, I have fulfilled my mission; I
now leave thee to thyself.” At these words he vanished.
The
Caliph and Nouronihar remained in the most abject affliction; their
tears unable to flow, scarcely could they support themselves. At
length, taking each other despondingly by the hand, they went faltering
from this fatal hall, indifferent which way they turned their steps;
every portal opened at their approach; the Dives fell prostrate before
them; every reservoir of riches was disclosed to their view; but they no
longer felt the incentives of curiosity, pride, or avarice. With like
apathy they heard the chorus of Genii, and saw the stately banquets
prepared to regale them; they went wandering on from chamber to chamber,
hall to hall, and gallery to gallery, all without bounds or limit, all
distinguishable by the same lowering gloom, all adorned with the same
awful grandeur, all traversed by persons in search of repose and
consolation, but who sought them in vain; for every one carried within
him a heart tormented in flames: shunned by these various sufferers, who
seemed by their looks to be upbraiding the partners of their guilt,
they withdrew from them to wait in direful suspense the moment which
should render them to each other the like objects of terror.
“What!” exclaimed Nouronihar; “will the time come when I shall snatch my hand from thine!”
“Ah!”
said Vathek; “and shall my eyes ever cease to drink from thine long
draughts of enjoyment! Shall the moments of our reciprocal ecstasies be
reflected on with horror? It was not thou that broughtest me hither;
the principles by which Carathis perverted my youth have been the sole
cause of my perdition!” Having given vent to these painful expressions,
he called to an Afrit, who was stirring up one of the braziers, and
bade him fetch the Princess Carathis from the palace of Samarah.
After
issuing these orders, the Caliph and Nouronihar continued walking
amidst the silent crowd, till they heard voices at the end of the
gallery; presuming them to proceed from some unhappy beings, who, like
themselves, were awaiting their final doom, they followed the sound, and
found it to come from a small square chamber, where they discovered
sitting on sofas five young men of goodly figure, and a lovely female,
who were all holding a melancholy conversation by the glimmering of a
lonely lamp; each had a gloomy and forlorn air, and two of them were
embracing each other with great tenderness. On seeing the Caliph and
the daughter of Fakreddin enter, they arose, saluted, and gave them
place; then he who appeared the most considerable of the group addressed
himself thus to Vathek:
“Strangers!
who doubtless are in the same state of suspense with ourselves, as you
do not yet bear your hands on your hearts, if you are come hither to
pass the interval allotted previous to the infliction of our common
punishment, condescend to relate the adventures that have brought you to
this fatal place, and we in return will acquaint you with ours, which
deserve but too well to be heard; we will trace back our crimes to their
source, though we are not permitted to repent; this is the only
employment suited to wretches like us!”
The
Caliph and Nouronihar assented to the proposal, and Vathek began, not
without tears and lamentations, a sincere recital of every circumstance
that had passed. When the afflicting narrative was closed, the young
man entered on his own. Each person proceeded in order, and when the
fourth prince had reached the midst of his adventures, a sudden noise
interrupted him, which caused the vault to tremble and to open.
Immediately
a cloud descended, which gradually dissipating, discovered Carathis on
the back of an Afrit, who grievously complained of his burden. She,
instantly springing to the ground, advanced towards her son, and said:
“What
dost thou here in this little square chamber? As the Dives are become
subject to thy beck, I expected to have found thee on the throne of the
pre-adamite kings.”
“Execrable
woman!” answered the Caliph; “cursed be the day thou gavest me birth!
go, follow this Afrit; let him conduct thee to the hall of the Prophet
Soliman, there thou wilt learn to what these palaces are destined, and
how much I ought to abhor the impious knowledge thou hast taught me.”
“The
height of power to which thou art arrived has certainly turned thy
brain,” answered Carathis; “but I ask no more than permission to show my
respect for the Prophet. It is, however, proper thou shouldest know,
that (as the Afrit has informed me neither of us shall return to
Samarah) I requested his permission to arrange my affairs, and he
politely consented; availing myself, therefore, of the few moments
allowed me, I set fire to the tower, and consumed in it the mutes,
negresses, and serpents which have rendered me so much good service; nor
should I have been less kind to Morakanabad, had he not prevented me by
deserting at last to thy brother. As for Bababalouk, who had the folly
to return to Samarah, and all the good brotherhood to provide husbands
for thy wives, I undoubtedly would have put them to the torture, could I
but have allowed them the time; being, however, in a hurry, I only hung
him after having caught him in a snare with thy wives, whilst them I
buried alive by the help of my negresses, who thus spent their last
moments greatly to their satisfaction. With respect to Dilara, who ever
stood high in my favour, she hath evinced the greatness of her mind by
fixing herself near in the service of one of the Magi, and I think will
soon be our own.”
Vathek,
too much cast down to express the indignation excited by such a
discourse, ordered the Afrit to remove Carathis from his presence, and
continued immersed in thought, which his companion durst not disturb.
Carathis,
however, eagerly entered the dome of Soliman, and, without regarding in
the least the groans of the Prophet, undauntedly removed the covers of
the vases, and violently seized on the talismans; then, with a voice
more loud than had hitherto been heard within these mansions, she
compelled the Dives to disclose to her the most secret treasures, the
most profound stores, which the Afrit himself had not seen; she passed
by rapid descents, known only to Eblis and his most favoured potentates,
and thus penetrated the very entrails of the earth, where breathes the
Sansar, or icy wind of death; nothing appalled her dauntless soul; she
perceived, however, in all the inmates who bore their hands on their
hearts a little singularity, not much to her taste. As she was emerging
from one of the abysses, Eblis stood forth to her view; but,
notwithstanding he displayed the full effulgence of his infernal
majesty, she preserved her countenance unaltered, and even paid her
compliments with considerable firmness.
This
superb monarch thus answered: “Princess, whose knowledge and whose
crimes have merited a conspicuous rank in my empire, thou dost well to
employ the leisure that remains; for the flames and torments, which are
ready to seize on thy heart, will not fail to provide thee with full
employment.” He said this, and was lost in the curtains of his
tabernacle.
Carathis
paused for a moment with surprise; but, resolved to follow the advice
of Eblis, she assembled all the choirs of Genii, and all the Dives, to
pay her homage; thus marched she in triumph through a vapour of
perfumes, amidst the acclamations of all the malignant spirits, with
most of whom she had formed a previous acquaintance; she even attempted
to dethrone one of the Solimans for the purpose of usurping his place,
when a voice, proceeding from the abyss of Death, proclaimed, “All is
accomplished!” Instantaneously the haughty forehead of the intrepid
princess was corrugated with agony; she uttered a tremendous yell, and
fixed, no more to be withdrawn, her right hand upon her heart, which was
become a receptacle of eternal fire.
In
this delirium, forgetting all ambitious projects and her thirst for
that knowledge which should ever be hidden from mortals, she overturned
the offerings of the Genii, and, having execrated the hour she was
begotten and the womb that had borne her, glanced off in a whirl that
rendered her invisible, and continued to revolve without intermission.
At
almost the same instant the same voice announced to the Caliph,
Nouronihar, the five princes, and the princess, the awful and
irrevocable decree. Their hearts immediately took fire, and they at
once lost the most precious of the gifts of Heaven—Hope. These unhappy
beings recoiled with looks of the most furious distraction; Vathek
beheld in the eyes of Nouronihar nothing but rage and vengeance, nor
could she discern aught in his but aversion and despair. The two
princes who were friends, and till that moment had preserved their
attachment, shrank back, gnashing their teeth with mutual and
unchangeable hatred. Kalilah and his sister made reciprocal gestures of
imprecation, whilst the two other princes testified their horror for
each other by the most ghastly convulsions, and screams that could not
be smothered. All severally plunged themselves into the accursed
multitude, there to wander in an eternity of unabating anguish.
Such
was, and such should be, the punishment of unrestrained passions and
atrocious actions! Such is, and such should be, the chastisement of
blind ambition, that would transgress those bounds which the Creator
hath prescribed to human knowledge; and, by aiming at discoveries
reserved for pure Intelligence, acquire that infatuated pride, which
perceives not that the condition appointed to man is to be ignorant and
humble.
Thus
the Caliph Vathek, who, for the sake of empty pomp and forbidden power,
had sullied himself with a thousand crimes, became a prey to grief
without end, and remorse without mitigation; whilst the humble and
despised Gulchenrouz passed whole ages in undisturbed tranquillity, and
the pure happiness of childhood.
