The prevalence of this gay humour was not a little grateful to Vathek, as
perceiving how much it conduced to his project. He put on the appearance
of affability to every one, but especially to his vizirs and the grandees
of his court, whom he failed not to regale with a sumptuous banquet,
during which he insensibly inclined the conversation to the children of
his guests. Having asked with a good-natured air who of them were
blessed with the handsomest boys, every father at once asserted the
pretensions of his own, and the contest imperceptibly grew so warm that
nothing could have withholden them from coming to blows but their
profound reverence for the person of the Caliph. Under the pretence,
therefore, of reconciling the disputants, Vathek took upon him to decide;
and with this view commanded the boys to be brought.
It was not long before a troop of these poor children made their
appearance, all equipped by their fond mothers with such ornaments as
might give the greatest relief to their beauty or most advantageously
display the graces of their age. But whilst this brilliant assemblage
attracted the eyes and hearts of every one besides, the Caliph
scrutinized each in his turn with a malignant avidity that passed for
attention, and selected from their number the fifty whom he judged the
Giaour would prefer.
With an equal show of kindness as before, he proposed to celebrate a
festival on the plain for the entertainment of his young favourites, who
he said ought to rejoice still more than all at the restoration of his
health, on account of the favours he intended for them.
The Caliph’s proposal was received with the greatest delight, and soon
published through Samarah; litters, camels, and horses were prepared.
Women and children, old men and young, every one placed himself in the
station he chose. The cavalcade set forward, attended by all the
confectioners in the city and its precincts; the populace following on
foot composed an amazing crowd, and occasioned no little noise; all was
joy, nor did any one call to mind what most of them had suffered when
they first travelled the road they were now passing so gaily.
The evening was serene, the air refreshing, the sky clear, and the
flowers exhaled their fragrance; the beams of the declining sun, whose
mild splendour reposed on the summit of the mountain, shed a glow of
ruddy light over its green declivity and the white flocks sporting upon
it; no sounds were audible save the murmurs of the Four Fountains, and
the reeds and voices of shepherds calling to each other from different
eminences.
The lovely innocents proceeding to the destined sacrifice added not a
little to the hilarity of the scene; they approached the plain full of
sportiveness, some coursing butterflies, others culling flowers, or
picking up the shining little pebbles that attracted their notice. At
intervals they nimbly started from each other, for the sake of being
caught again, and mutually imparting a thousand caresses.
The dreadful chasm at whose bottom the portal of ebony was placed began
to appear at a distance; it looked like a black streak that divided the
plain. Morakanabad and his companions took it for some work which the
Caliph had ordered; unhappy men! little did they surmise for what it was
destined.
Vathek, not liking they should examine it too nearly, stopped the
procession, and ordered a spacious circle to be formed on this side, at
some distance from the accursed chasm. The body-guard of eunuchs was
detached to measure out the lists intended for the games, and prepare
ringles for the lines to keep off the crowd. The fifty competitors were
soon stripped, and presented to the admiration of the spectators the
suppleness and grace of their delicate limbs; their eyes sparkled with a
joy which those of their fond parents reflected. Every one offered
wishes for the little candidate nearest his heart, and doubted not of his
being victorious; a breathless suspense awaited the contest of these
amiable and innocent victims.
The Caliph, awaiting himself of the first moment to retire from the
crowd, advanced towards the chasm, and there heard, yet not without
shuddering, the voice of the Indian, who, gnashing his teeth, eagerly
demanded: “Where are they? where are they? perceivest thou not how my
mouth waters?”
“Relentless Giaour!” answered Vathek, with emotion, “can nothing content
thee but the massacre of these lovely victims! Ah! wert thou to behold
their beauty it must certainly move thy compassion.”
“Perdition on thy compassion, babbler!” cried the Indian. “Give them me,
instantly give them, or my portal shall be closed against thee for ever!”
“Not so loudly,” replied the Caliph, blushing.
“I understand thee,” returned the Giaour, with the grin of an ogre; “thou
wantest to summon up more presence of mind; I will for a moment forbear.”
During this exquisite dialogue the games went forward with all alacrity,
and at length concluded just as the twilight began to overcast the
mountains. Vathek, who was still standing on the edge of the chasm,
called out, with all his might: “Let my fifty little favourites approach
me separately, and let them come in the order of their success. To the
first I will give my diamond bracelet, to the second my collar of
emeralds, to the third my aigret of rubies, to the fourth my girdle of
topazes, and to the rest each a part of my dress, even down to my
slippers.”
This declaration was received with reiterated acclamations, and all
extolled the liberality of a prince who would thus strip himself for the
amusement of his subjects and the encouragement of the rising generation.
The Caliph in the meantime undressed himself by degrees, and, raising his
arm as high as he was able, made each of the prizes glitter in the air;
but whilst he delivered it with one hand to the child, who sprang forward
to receive it, he with the other pushed the poor innocent into the gulf,
where the Giaour, with a sullen muttering, incessantly repeated, “More!
more!”
This dreadful device was executed with so much dexterity that the boy who
was approaching him remained unconscious of the fate of his forerunner;
and as to the spectators, the shades of evening, together with their
distance, precluded them from perceiving any object distinctly. Vathek,
having in this manner thrown in the last of the fifty, and expecting that
the Giaour on receiving them would have presented the key, already
fancied himself as great as Soliman, and consequently above being
amenable for what he had done: when, to his utter amazement, the chasm
closed, and the around became as entire as the rest of the plain.
No language could express his rage and despair. He execrated the perfidy
of the Indian, loaded him with the most infamous invectives, and stamped
with his foot as resolving to be heard; he persisted in this demeanour
till his strength failed him, and then fell on the earth like one void of
sense. His vizirs and grandees, who were nearer than the rest, supposed
him at first to be sitting on the grass at play with their amiable
children; but at length, prompted by doubt, they advanced towards the
spot, and found the Caliph alone, who wildly demanded what they wanted.
“Our children! our children!” cried they.
“It is assuredly pleasant,” said he, “to make me accountable for
accidents; your children while at play fell from the precipice that was
here, and I should have experienced their fate had I not been saved by a
sudden start back.”
At these words the fathers of the fifty boys cried out aloud, the mothers
repeated their exclamations an octave higher, whilst the rest, without
knowing the cause, soon drowned the voices of both with still louder
lamentations of their own.
“Our Caliph,” said they—and the report soon circulated—“Our Caliph has
played us this trick to gratify his accursed Giaour. Let us punish him
for his perfidy! let us avenge ourselves! let us avenge the blood of the
innocent! let us throw this cruel prince into the gulf that is near, and
let his name be mentioned no more!”
At this rumour and these menaces, Carathis, full of consternation,
hastened to Morakanabad, and said: “Vizir, you have lost two beautiful
boys, and must necessarily be the most afflicted of fathers, but you are
virtuous; save your master.”
“I will brave every hazard,” replied the vizir, “to rescue him from his
present danger, but afterwards will abandon him to his fate.
Bababalouk,” continued he, “put yourself at the head of your eunuchs;
disperse the mob, and, if possible, bring back this unhappy prince to his
palace.” Bababalouk and his fraternity, felicitating each other in a low
voice on their disability of ever being fathers, obeyed the mandate of
the vizir; who, seconding their exertions to the utmost of his power, at
length accomplished his generous enterprise, and retired as he resolved,
to lament at his leisure.
No sooner had the Caliph re-entered his palace than Carathis commanded
the doors to be fastened; but, perceiving the tumult to be still violent,
and hearing the imprecations which resounded from all quarters, she said
to her son: “Whether the populace be right or wrong, it behoves you to
provide for your safety; let us retire to your own apartment, and from
thence through the subterranean passage, known only to ourselves, into
your tower; there, with the assistance of the mutes who never leave it,
we may be able to make some resistance. Bababalouk, supposing us to be
still in the palace, will guard its avenues for his own sake; and we
shall soon find, without the counsels of that blubberer Morakanabad, what
expedient may be the best to adopt.”
Vathek, without making the least reply, acquiesced in his mother’s
proposal, and repeated as he went: “Nefarious Giaour! where art thou!
hast thou not yet devoured those poor children? where are thy sabres? thy
golden key? thy talismans?”
Carathis, who guessed from these interrogations a part of the truth, had
no difficulty to apprehend in getting at the whole, as soon as he should
be a little composed in his tower. This princess was so far from being
influenced by scruples that she was as wicked as woman could be, which is
not saying a little, for the sex pique themselves on their superiority in
every competition. The recital of the Caliph, therefore, occasioned
neither terror nor surprise to his mother; she felt no emotion but from
the promises of the Giaour, and said to her son: “This Giaour, it must be
confessed, is somewhat sanguinary in his taste, but the terrestrial
powers are always terrible; nevertheless, what the one hath promised and
the others can confer will prove a sufficient indemnification; no crimes
should be thought too dear for such a reward! forbear then to revile the
Indian; you have not fulfilled the conditions to which his services are
annexed; for instance, is not a sacrifice to the subterranean Genii
required? and should we not be prepared to offer it as soon as the tumult
is subsided? This charge I will take on myself, and have no doubt of
succeeding by means of your treasures, which, as there are now so many
others in store, may without fear be exhausted.”
Accordingly the princess, who possessed the most consummate skill in the
art of persuasion, went immediately back through the subterranean
passage; and presenting herself to the populace, from a window of the
palace, began to harangue them with all the address of which she was
mistress, whilst Bababalouk showered money from both hands amongst the
crowd, who by these united means were soon appeased; every person retired
to his home, and Carathis returned to the tower.
Prayer at break of day was announced, when Carathis and Vathek ascended
the steps which led to the summit of the tower, where they remained for
some time, though the weather was lowering and wet. This impending gloom
corresponded with their malignant dispositions; but when the sun began to
break through the clouds they ordered a pavilion to be raised, as a
screen from the intrusion of his beams. The Caliph, overcome with
fatigue, sought refreshment from repose, at the same time hoping that
significant dreams might attend on his slumbers; whilst the indefatigable
Carathis, followed by a party of her mutes, descended to prepare whatever
she judged proper for the oblation of the approaching night.
By secret stairs, known only to herself and to her son, she first
repaired to the mysterious recesses in which were deposited the mummies
that had been brought from the catacombs of the ancient Pharaohs; of
these she ordered several to be taken. From thence she resorted to a
gallery where, under the guard of fifty female negroes, mute and blind of
the right eye, were preserved the oil of the most venomous serpents,
rhinoceros’ horns, and woods of a subtle and penetrating odour procured
from the interior of the Indies, together with a thousand other horrible
rarities. This collection had been formed for a purpose like the present
by Carathis herself, from a presentment that she might one day enjoy some
intercourse with the infernal powers to whom she had ever been
passionately attached, and to whose taste she was no stranger.
To familiarise herself the better with the horrors in view, the princess
remained in the company of her negresses, who squinted in the most
amiable manner from the only eye they had, and leered with exquisite
delight at the skulls and skeletons which Carathis had drawn forth from
her cabinets, whose key she entrusted to no one; all of them making
contortions, and uttering a frightful jargon, but very amusing to the
princess; till at last, being stunned by their gibbering, and suffocated
by the potency of their exhalations, she was forced to quit the gallery,
after stripping it of a part of its treasures.
Whilst she was thus occupied, the Caliph, who, instead of the visions he
expected, had acquired in these insubstantial regions a voracious
appetite, was greatly provoked at the negresses; for, having totally
forgotten their deafness, he had impatiently asked them for food, and
seeing them regardless of his demand, he began to cuff, pinch, and push
them, till Carathis arrived to terminate a scene so indecent, to the
great content of these miserable creatures, who, having been brought up
by her, understood all her signs, and communicated in the same way their
thoughts in return.
“Son! what means all this?” said she, panting for breath. “I thought I
heard as I came up the shrieks of a thousand bats tearing from their
crannies in the recesses of a cavern; and it was the outcry only of these
poor mutes, whom you were so unmercifully abusing. In truth you but ill
deserve the admirable provision I have brought you.”
“Give it me instantly,” exclaimed the Caliph; “I am perishing for
hunger!”
“As to that,” answered she, “you must have an excellent stomach if it can
digest what I have been preparing.”
“Be quick,” replied the Caliph; “but, oh, heavens! what horrors! what do
you intend?”
“Come, come,” returned Carathis, “be not so squeamish, but help me to
arrange everything properly, and you shall see that what you reject with
such symptoms of disgust will soon complete your felicity. Let us get
ready the pile for the sacrifice of to-night, and think not of eating
till that is performed; know you not that all solemn rites are preceded
by a rigorous abstinence?”
The Caliph, not daring to object, abandoned himself to grief and the wind
that ravaged his entrails, whilst his mother went forward with the
requisite operations. Phials of serpents’ oil, mummies, and bones were
soon set in order on the balustrade of the tower; the pile began to rise,
and in three hours was as many cubits high. At length darkness
approached, and Carathis, having stripped herself to her inmost garment,
clapped her hands in an impulse of ecstasy and struck light with all her
force. The mutes followed her example; but Vathek, extenuated with
hunger and impatience, was unable to support himself, and fell down in a
swoon. The sparks had already kindled the dry wood, the venomous oil
burst into a thousand blue flames, the mummies dissolving emitted a thick
dun vapour, and the rhinoceros’ horns beginning to consume, all together
diffused such a stench, that the Caliph, recovering, started from his
trance, and gazed wildly on the scene in full blaze around him. The oil
gushed forth in a plenitude of streams; and the negresses, who supplied
it without intermission, united their cries to those of the princess. At
last the fire became so violent, and the flames reflected from the
polished marble so dazzling, that the Caliph, unable to withstand the
heat and the blaze, effected his escape, and clambered up the imperial
standard.
In the meantime the inhabitants of Samarah, scared at the light which
shone over the city, arose in haste, ascended their roofs, beheld the
tower on fire, and hurried half naked to the square. Their love to their
sovereign immediately awoke; and, apprehending him in danger of perishing
in his tower, their whole thoughts were occupied with the means of his
safety. Morakanabad flew from his retirement, wiped away his tears, and
cried out for water like the rest. Bababalouk, whose olfactory nerves
were more familiarised to magical odours, readily conjecturing that
Carathis was engaged in her favourite amusements, strenuously exhorted
them not to be alarmed. Him, however, they treated as an old poltroon,
and forbore not to style him a rascally traitor. The camels and
dromedaries were advancing with water, but no one knew by which way to
enter the tower. Whilst the populace was obstinate in forcing the doors
a violent east wind drove such a volume of flame against them, as at
first forced them off, but afterwards re-kindled their zeal; at the same
time the stench of the horns and mummies increasing, most of the crowd
fell backward in a state of suffocation; those that kept their feet
mutually wondered at the cause of the smell, and admonished each other to
retire. Morakanabad, more sick than the rest, remained in a piteous
condition; holding his nose with one hand, he persisted in his efforts
with the other to burst open the doors and obtain admission. A hundred
and forty of the strongest and most resolute at length accomplished their
purpose; having gained the staircase by their violent exertions, they
attained a great height in a quarter of an hour.
Carathis, alarmed at the signs of her mutes, advanced to the staircase,
went down a few steps, and heard several voices calling out from below:
“You shall in a moment have water!” Being rather alert, considering her
age, she presently regained the top of the tower, and bade her son
suspend the sacrifice for some minutes, adding: “We shall soon be enabled
to render it more grateful; certain dolts of your subjects, imagining no
doubt that we were on fire, have been rash enough to break through those
doors which had hitherto remained inviolate, for the sake of bringing up
water; they are very kind, you must allow, so soon to forget the wrongs
you have done them, but that is of little moment. Let us offer them to
the Giaour; let them come up; our mutes, who neither want strength nor
experience, will soon despatch them, exhausted as they are with fatigue.”
“Be it so,” answered the Caliph, “provided we finish and I dine.”
In fact, these good people, out of breath from ascending eleven thousand
stairs in such haste, and chagrined at having spilt by the way the water
they had taken, were no sooner arrived at the top than the blaze of the
flames and the fumes of the mummies at once overpowered their senses. It
was a pity; for they beheld not the agreeable smile with which the mutes
and the negresses adjusted the cord to their necks; these amiable
personages rejoiced, however, no less at the scene; never before had the
ceremony of strangling been performed with so much facility; they all
fell without the least resistance or struggle, so that Vathek in the
space of a few moments found himself surrounded by the dead bodies of his
faithfullest subjects, all which were thrown on the top of the pile.
Carathis, whose presence of mind never forsook her, perceiving that she
had carcases sufficient to complete her oblation, commanded the chains to
be stretched across the staircase, and the iron doors barricaded, that no
more might come up.
No sooner were these orders obeyed than the tower shook, the dead bodies
vanished in the flames, which at once changed from a swarthy crimson to a
bright rose colour; an ambient vapour emitted the most exquisite
fragrance, the marble columns rang with harmonious sounds, and the
liquefied horns diffused a delicious perfume. Carathis, in transports,
anticipated the success of her enterprise, whilst her mutes and
negresses, to whom these sweets had given the colic, retired to their
cells grumbling.
Scarcely were they gone when, instead of the pile, horns, mummies, and
ashes, the Caliph both saw and felt, with a degree of pleasure which he
could not express, a table covered with the most magnificent repast;
flagons of wine and vases of exquisite sherbet floating on snow. He
availed himself without scruple of such an entertainment and had already
laid hands on a lamb stuffed with pistachios, whilst Carathis was
privately drawing from a filigree urn a parchment that seemed to be
endless, and which had escaped the notice of her son; totally occupied in
gratifying an importunate appetite he left her to peruse it without
interruption, which, having finished, she said to him in an authoritative
tone, “Put an end to your gluttony, and hear the splendid promises with
which you are favoured!” She then read as follows: “Vathek, my
well-beloved, thou hast surpassed my hopes; my nostrils have been regaled
by the savour of thy mummies, thy horns, and still more by the lives
devoted on the pile. At the full of the moon cause the bands of thy
musicians and thy tymbals to be heard; depart from thy palace surrounded
by all the pageants of majesty; thy most faithful slaves, thy best
beloved wives, thy most magnificent litters, thy richest leaden camels,
and set forward on thy way to Istakhar; there await I thy coming; that is
the region of wonders; there shalt thou receive the diadem of Gian Ben
Gian, the talismans of Soliman, and the treasures of the Pre-Adamite
Sultans; there shalt thou be solaced with all kinds of delight. But
beware how thou enterest any dwelling on thy route, or thou shalt feel
the effects of my anger.”
The Caliph, who, notwithstanding his habitual luxury, had never before
dined with so much satisfaction, gave full scope to the joy of these
golden tidings, and betook himself to drinking anew. Carathis, whose
antipathy to wine was by no means insuperable, failed not to supply a
reason for every bumper, which they ironically quaffed to the health of
Mahomet. This infernal liquor completed their impious temerity, and
prompted them to utter a profusion of blasphemies; they gave a loose to
their wit at the expense of the ass of Balaam, the dog of the seven
sleepers, and the other animals admitted into the paradise of Mahomet.
In this sprightly humour they descended the eleven thousand stairs,
diverting themselves as they went at the anxious faces they saw on the
square through the oilets of the tower, and at length arrived at the
royal apartments by the subterranean passage. Bababalouk was parading to
and fro, and issuing his mandates with great pomp to the eunuchs, who
were snuffing the lights and painting the eyes of the Circassians. No
sooner did he catch sight of the Caliph and his mother than he exclaimed,
“Hah! you have then, I perceive, escaped from the flames; I was not,
however, altogether out of doubt.”
“Of what moment is it to us what you thought, or think?” cried Carathis;
“go, speed, tell Morakanabad that we immediately want him; and take care
how you stop by the way to make your insipid reflections.”
Morakanabad delayed not to obey the summons, and was received by Vathek
and his mother with great solemnity; they told him, with an air of
composure and commiseration, that the fire at the top of the tower was
extinguished; but that it had cost the lives of the brave people who
sought to assist them.
“Still more misfortunes,” cried Morakanabad, with a sigh. “Ah, Commander
of the Faithful, our holy Prophet is certainly irritated against us! it
behoves you to appease him.”
“We will appease him hereafter!” replied the Caliph, with a smile that
augured nothing of good. “You will have leisure sufficient for your
supplications during my absence; for this country is the bane of my
health; I am disgusted with the mountain of the Four Fountains, and am
resolved to go and drink of the stream of Rocnabad; I long to refresh
myself in the delightful valleys which it waters. Do you, with the
advice of my mother, govern my dominions, and take care to supply
whatever her experiments may demand; for you well know that our tower
abounds in materials for the advancement of science.”
The tower but ill suited Morakanabad’s taste. Immense treasures had been
lavished upon it; and nothing had he ever seen carried thither but female
negroes, mutes, and abominable drugs. Nor did he know well what to think
of Carathis, who, like a chameleon, could assume all possible colours;
her cursed eloquence had often driven the poor Mussulman to his last
shifts. He considered, however, that if she possessed but few good
qualities, her son had still fewer; and that the alternative on the whole
would be in her favour. Consoled, therefore, with this reflection, he
went in good spirits to soothe the populace, and make the proper
arrangements for his master’s journey.
Vathek, to conciliate the Spirits of the subterranean palace, resolved
that his expedition should be uncommonly splendid. With this view he
confiscated on all sides the property of his subjects, whilst his worthy
mother stripped the seraglios she visited of the gems they contained.
She collected all the sempstresses and embroiderers of Samarah and other
cities to the distance of sixty leagues, to prepare pavilions,
palanquins, sofas, canopies, and litters for the train of the monarch.
There was not left in Masulipatam a single piece of chintz, and so much
muslin had been bought up to dress out Bababalouk and the other black
eunuchs, that there remained not an ell in the whole Irak of Babylon.
During these preparations Carathis, who never lost sight of her great
object, which was to obtain favour with the Powers of Darkness, made
select parties of the fairest and most delicate ladies of the city; but
in the midst of their gaiety she contrived to introduce serpents amongst
them, and to break pots of scorpions under the table; they all bit to a
wonder; and Carathis would have left them to bite, were it not that, to
fill up the time, she now and then amused herself in curing their wounds
with an excellent anodyne of her own invention, for this good princess
abhorred being indolent.
Vathek, who was not altogether so active as his mother, devoted his time
to the sole gratification of his senses, in the palaces which were
severally dedicated to them; he disgusted himself no more with the Divan
or the Mosque. One half of Samarah followed his example, whilst the
other lamented the progress of corruption.
In the midst of these transactions the embassy returned which had been
sent in pious times to Mecca. It consisted of the most reverend
Moullahs, who had fulfilled their commission and brought back one of
those precious besoms which are used to sweep the sacred Caaba: a present
truly worthy of the greatest potentate on earth!
The Caliph happened at this instant to be engaged in an apartment by no
means adapted to the reception of embassies, though adorned with a
certain magnificence, not only to render it agreeable, but also because
he resorted to it frequently, and stayed a considerable time together.
Whilst occupied in this retreat he heard the voice of Bababalouk calling
out from between the door and the tapestry that hung before it: “Here are
the excellent Mahomet Ebn Edris al Shafei, and the seraphic Al
Mouhadethin, who have brought the besom from Mecca, and with tears of joy
intreat they may present it to your majesty in person.”
“Let them bring the besom hither; it may be of use,” said Vathek, who was
still employed, not having quite racked off his wine.
“How!” said Bababalouk, half aloud and amazed.
“Obey,” replied the Caliph, “for it is my sovereign will; go instantly,
vanish; for here will I receive the good folk, who have thus filled thee
with joy.”
The eunuch departed muttering, and bade the venerable train attend him.
A sacred rapture was diffused amongst these reverend old men. Though
fatigued with the length of their expedition, they followed Bababalouk
with an alertness almost miraculous, and felt themselves highly
flattered, as they swept along the stately porticoes, that the Caliph
would not receive them like ambassadors in ordinary in his hall of
audience. Soon reaching the interior of the harem (where, through blinds
of Persian, they perceived large soft eyes, dark and blue, that went and
came like lightning), penetrated with respect and wonder, and full of
their celestial mission, they advanced in procession towards the small
corridors that appeared to terminate in nothing, but nevertheless led to
the cell where the Caliph expected their coming.
“What! is the Commander of the Faithful sick?” said Ebn Edris al Shafei
in a low voice to his companion.
“I rather think he is in his oratory,” answered Al Mouhadethin.
Vathek, who heard the dialogue, cried out: “What imports it you how I am
employed? approach without delay.”
They advanced, and Bababalouk almost sunk with confusion, whilst the
Caliph, without showing himself, put forth his hand from behind the
tapestry that hung before the door, and demanded of them the besom.
Having prostrated themselves as well as the corridor would permit, and
even in a tolerable semicircle, the venerable Al Shafei, drawing forth
the besom from the embroidered and perfumed scarves in which it had been
enveloped, and secured from the profane gaze of vulgar eyes, arose from
his associates, and advanced, with an air of the most awful solemnity,
towards the supposed oratory; but with what astonishment! with what
horror was he seized! Vathek, bursting out into a villainous laugh,
snatched the besom from his trembling hand, and, fixing upon some cobwebs
that hung suspended from the ceiling, gravely brushed away till not a
single one remained. The old men, overpowered with amazement, were
unable to lift their beards from the ground; for, as Vathek had
carelessly left the tapestry between them half drawn, they were witnesses
to the whole transaction; their tears gushed forth on the marble; Al
Mouhadethin swooned through mortification and fatigue; whilst the Caliph,
throwing himself backward on his seat, shouted and clapped his hands
without mercy. At last, addressing himself to Bababalouk: “My dear
black,” said he, “go, regale these pious poor souls with my good wine
from Shiraz; and, as they can boast of having seen more of my palace than
any one besides, let them also visit my office courts, and lead them out
by the back steps that go to my stables.” Having said this, he threw the
besom in their face, and went to enjoy the laugh with Carathis.
Bababalouk did all in his power to console the ambassadors, but the two
most infirm expired on the spot; the rest were carried to their beds,
from whence, being heart-broken with sorrow and shame, they never arose.
The succeeding night Vathek, attended by his mother, ascended the tower
to see if everything were ready for his journey; for he had great faith
in the influence of the stars. The planets appeared in their most
favourable aspects. The Caliph, to enjoy so flattering a sight, supped
gaily on the roof, and fancied that he heard during his repast loud
shouts of laughter resound through the sky, in a manner that inspired the
fullest assurance.
All was in motion at the palace; lights were kept burning through the
whole of the night; the sound of implements and of artisans finishing
their work, the voices of women and their guardians who sung at their
embroidery, all conspired to interrupt the stillness of nature and
infinitely delight the heart of Vathek, who imagined himself going in
triumph to sit upon the throne of Soliman.
The people were not less satisfied than himself; all assisted to
accelerate the moment which should rescue them from the wayward caprices
of so extravagant a master.
The day preceding the departure of this infatuated prince was employed by
Carathis in repeating to him the decrees of the mysterious parchment,
which she had thoroughly gotten by heart, and in recommending him not to
enter the habitation of any one by the way; “for well thou knowest,”
added she, “how liquorish thy taste is after good dishes and young
damsels; let me, therefore, enjoin thee to be content with thy old cooks,
who are the best in the world, and not to forget that in thy ambulatory
seraglio there are three dozen pretty faces, which Bababalouk hath not
yet unveiled. I myself have a great desire to watch over thy conduct,
and visit the subterranean palace, which no doubt contains whatever can
interest persons like us; there is nothing so pleasing as retiring to
caverns; my taste for dead bodies and everything like mummy is decided;
and I am confident thou wilt see the most exquisite of their kind.
Forget me not, then, but the moment thou art in possession of the
talismans which are to open to thee the mineral kingdoms and the centre
of the earth itself, fail not to despatch some trusty genius to take me
and my cabinet, for the oil of the serpents I have pinched to death will
be a pretty present to the Giaour, who cannot but be charmed with such
dainties.”
Scarcely had Carathis ended this edifying discourse when the sun, setting
behind the mountain of the Four Fountains, gave place to the rising moon;
this planet, being that evening at full, appeared of unusual beauty and
magnitude in the eyes of the women, the eunuchs, and the pages, who were
all impatient to set forward. The city re-echoed with shouts of joy and
flourishing of trumpets; nothing was visible but plumes nodding on
pavilions, and aigrets shining in the mild lustre of the moon; the
spacious square resembled an immense parterre, variegated with the most
stately tulips of the East.
Arrayed in the robes which were only worn at the most distinguished
ceremonials, and supported by his Vizir and Bababalouk, the Caliph
descended the grand staircase of the tower in the sight of all his
people; he could not forbear pausing at intervals to admire the superb
appearance which everywhere courted his view, whilst the whole multitude,
even to the camels with their sumptuous burdens, knelt down before him.
For some time a general stillness prevailed, which nothing happened to
disturb but the shrill screams of some eunuchs in the rear; these
vigilant guards, having remarked certain cages of the ladies swagging
somewhat awry, and discovered that a few adventurous gallants had
contrived to get in, soon dislodged the enraptured culprits. The majesty
of so magnificent a spectacle was not, however, violated by incidents
like these. Vathek meanwhile saluted the moon with an idolatrous air,
that neither pleased Morakanabad nor the Doctors of the Law, any more
than the vizirs and the grandees of his court, who were all assembled to
enjoy the last view of their sovereign.
At length the clarions and trumpets from the top of the tower announced
the prelude of departure; though the instruments were in unison with each
other, yet a singular dissonance was blended with their sounds; this
proceeded from Carathis, who was singing her direful orisons to the
Giaour, whilst the negresses and mutes supplied thorough-base without
articulating a word. The good Mussulmans fancied that they heard the
sullen hum of those nocturnal insects which presage evil, and importuned
Vathek to beware how he ventured his sacred person.
On a given signal the great standard of the Califat was displayed, twenty
thousand lances shone around it, and the Caliph, treading loyally on the
cloth of gold which had been spread for his feet, ascended his litter
amidst the general awe that possessed his subjects.
The expedition commenced with the utmost order and so entire a silence,
that even the locusts were heard from the thickets on the plain of
Catoul. Gaiety and good-humour prevailing, six good leagues were past
before the dawn; and the morning star was still glittering in the
firmament when the whole of this numerous train had halted on the banks
of the Tigris, where they encamped to repose for the rest of the day.
The three days that followed were spent in the same manner; but on the
fourth the heavens looked angry, lightnings broke forth in frequent
flashes, re-echoing peals of thunder succeeded, and the trembling
Circassians clung with all their might to their ugly guardians. The
Caliph himself was greatly inclined to take shelter in the large town of
Gulchissar, the governor of which came forth to meet him, and tendered
every kind of refreshment the place could supply; but, having examined
his tablets, he suffered the rain to soak him almost to the bone,
notwithstanding the importunity of his first favourites. Though he began
to regret the palace of the senses, yet he lost not sight of his
enterprise, and his sanguine expectations confirmed his resolution; his
geographers were ordered to attend him, but the weather proved so
terrible that these poor people exhibited a lamentable appearance; and,
as no long journeys had been undertaken since the time of Haroun al
Raschid, their maps of the different countries were in a still worse
plight than themselves; every one was ignorant which way to turn; for
Vathek, though well versed in the course of the heavens, no longer knew
his situation on earth; he thundered even louder than the elements, and
muttered forth certain hints of the bow-string, which were not very
soothing to literary ears. Disgusted at the toilsome weariness of the
way, he determined to cross over the craggy heights and follow the
guidance of a peasant, who undertook to bring him in four days to
Rocnabad. Remonstrances were all to no purpose; his resolution was
fixed, and an invasion commenced on the province of the goats, who sped
away in large troops before them. It was curious to view on these half
calcined rocks camels richly caparisoned, and pavilions of gold and silk
waving on their summits, which till then had never been covered but with
sapless thistles and fern.
The females and eunuchs uttered shrill wailings at the sight of the
precipices below them, and the dreary prospects that opened in the vast
gorges of the mountains. Before they could reach the ascent of the
steepest rock, night overtook them, and a boisterous tempest arose,
which, having rent the awnings of the palanquins and cages, exposed to
the raw gusts the poor ladies within, who had never before felt so
piercing a cold. The dark clouds that overcast the face of the sky
deepened the horrors of this disastrous night, insomuch that nothing
could be heard distinctly but the mewling of pages and lamentations of
sultanas.
To increase the general misfortune, the frightful uproar of wild beasts
resounded at a distance, and there were soon perceived, in the forest
they were skirting, the glaring of eyes which could belong only to devils
or tigers. The pioneers, who, as well as they could, had marked out a
track, and a part of the advanced guard were devoured before they had
been in the least apprized of their danger. The confusion that prevailed
was extreme; wolves, tigers, and other carnivorous animals, invited by
the howling of their companions, flocked together from every quarter; the
crashing of bones was heard on all sides, and a fearful rush of wings
overhead, for now vultures also began to be of the party.
The terror at length reached the main body of the troops which surrounded
the monarch and his harem, at the distance of two leagues from the scene.
Vathek (voluptuously reposed in his capacious litter upon cushions of
silk, with two little pages beside him of complexions more fair than the
enamel of Franguestan, who were occupied in keeping off flies) was
soundly asleep, and contemplating in his dreams the treasures of Soliman.
The shrieks, however, of his wives awoke him with a start, and, instead
of the Giaour with his key of gold, he beheld Bababalouk full of
consternation.
“Sire,” exclaimed this good servant of the most potent of monarchs,
“misfortune is arrived at its height; wild beasts, who entertain no more
reverence for your sacred person than for that of a dead ass, have beset
your camels and their drivers; thirty of the richest laden are already
become their prey, as well as your confectioners, your cooks, and
purveyors; and, unless our holy Prophet should protect us, we shall have
all eaten our last meal.”
At the mention of eating the Caliph lost all patience; he began to
bellow, and even beat himself (for there was no seeing in the dark). The
rumour every instant increased, and Bababalouk, finding no good could be
done with his master, stopped both his ears against the hurly-burly of
the harem, and called out aloud: “Come, ladies and brothers! all hands to
work! strike light in a moment! never shall it be said that the Commander
of the Faithful served to regale these infidel brutes.”
Though there wanted not in this bevy of beauties a sufficient number of
capricious and wayward, yet on the present occasion they were all
compliance; fires were visible in a twinkling in all their cages; ten
thousand torches were lighted at once; the Caliph himself seized a large
one of wax; every person followed his example, and, by kindling ropes’
ends dipped in oil and fastened on poles, an amazing blaze was spread.
The rocks were covered with the splendour of sunshine; the trails of
sparks wafted by the wind communicated to the dry fern, of which there
was plenty. Serpents were observed to crawl forth from their retreats
with amazement and hissings, whilst the horses snorted, stamped the
ground, tossed their noses in the air, and plunged about without mercy.
One of the forests of cedar that bordered their way took fire, and the
branches that overhung the path, extending their flames to the muslins
and chintzes which covered the cages of the ladies, obliged them to jump
out, at the peril of their necks. Vathek, who vented on the occasion a
thousand blasphemies, was himself compelled to touch with his sacred feet
the naked earth.
Never had such an incident happened before. Full of mortification,
shame, and despondence, and not knowing how to walk, the ladies fell into
the dirt. “Must I go on foot?” said one; “Must I wet my feet?” cried
another; “Must I soil my dress?” asked a third; “Execrable Bababalouk!”
exclaimed all; “Outcast of hell! what hadst thou to do with torches?
Better were it to be eaten by tigers than to fall into our present
condition! we are for ever undone! Not a porter is there in the army,
nor a currier of camels, but hath seen some part of our bodies, and, what
is worse, our very faces!” On saying this the most bashful amongst them
hid their foreheads on the ground, whist such as had more boldness flew
at Bababalouk; but he, well apprized of their humour, and not wanting in
shrewdness, betook himself to his heels along with his comrades, all
dropping their torches and striking their tymbals.
It was not less light than in the brightest of the dog-days, and the
weather was hot in proportion; but how degrading was the spectacle, to
behold the Caliph bespattered like an ordinary mortal! As the exercise
of his faculties seemed to be suspended, one of his Ethiopian wives (for
he delighted in variety) clasped him in her arms, threw him upon her
shoulder like a sack of dates, and finding that the fire was hemming them
in, set off with no small expedition, considering the weight of her
burden. The other ladies, who had just learnt the use of their feet,
followed her, their guards galloped after, and the camel-drivers brought
up the rear as fast as their charge would permit.
They soon reached the spot where the wild beasts had commenced the
carnage, and which they had too much spirit to leave, notwithstanding the
approaching tumult and the luxurious supper they had made; Bababalouk
nevertheless seized on a few of the plumpest, which were unable to budge
from the place, and began to flay them with admirable adroitness. The
cavalcade being got so far from the conflagration as that the heat felt
rather grateful than violent, it was immediately resolved on to halt.
The tattered chintzes were picked up, the scraps left by the wolves and
tigers interred, and vengeance was taken on some dozens of vultures that
were too much glutted to rise on the wing. The camels, which had been
left unmolested to make sal ammoniac, being numbered, and the ladies once
more enclosed in their cages, the imperial tent was pitched on the
levellest ground they could find.
Vathek, reposing upon a mattress of down, and tolerably recovered from
the jolting of the Ethiopian, who to his feelings seemed the roughest
trotting jade he had hitherto mounted, called out for something to eat.
But, alas! those delicate cakes which had been baked in silver ovens for
his royal mouth, those rich manchets, amber comfits, flagons of Schiraz
wine, porcelain vases of snow, and grapes from the banks of the Tigris,
were all irremediably lost! And nothing had Bababalouk to present in
their stead but a roasted wolf, vultures _a la daube_, aromatic herbs of
the most acrid poignancy, rotten truffles, boiled thistles, and such
other wild plants as most ulcerate the throat and parch up the tongue.
Nor was he better provided in the article of drink, for he could procure
nothing to accompany these irritating viands but a few vials of
abominable brandy, which had been secreted by the scullions in their
slippers.
Vathek made wry faces at so savage a repast, and Bababalouk answered them
with shrugs and contortions; the Caliph, however, ate with tolerable
appetite, and fell into a nap that lasted six hours. The splendour of
the sun reflected from the white cliffs of the mountains, in spite of the
curtains that enclosed him, at length disturbed his repose; he awoke
terrified, and stung to the quick by those wormwood-coloured flies, which
emit from their wings a suffocating stench. The miserable monarch was
perplexed how to act, though his wits were not idle in seeking
expedients, whilst Bababalouk lay snoring amidst a swarm of those
insects, that busily thronged to pay court to his nose. The little
pages, famished with hunger, had dropped their fans on the ground, and
exerted their dying voices in bitter reproaches on the Caliph, who now
for the first time heard the language of truth.
Thus stimulated, he renewed his imprecations against the Giaour, and
bestowed upon Mahomet some soothing expressions. “Where am I?” cried he;
“what are these dreadful rocks? these valleys of darkness? are we arrived
at the horrible Kaf? is the Simurgh coming to pluck out my eyes, as a
punishment for undertaking this impious enterprise!” Having said this,
he bellowed like a calf and turned himself towards an outlet in the side
of his pavilion; but, alas! what objects occurred to his view! on one
side a plain of black sand that appeared to be unbounded, and on the
other perpendicular crags, bristled over with those abominable thistles
which had so severely lacerated his tongue. He fancied, however, that he
perceived, amongst the brambles and briers, some gigantic flowers, but
was mistaken; for these were only the dangling palampores and variegated
tatters of his gay retinue. As there were several clefts in the rock
from whence water seemed to have flowed, Vathek applied his ear, with the
hope of catching the sound of some latent runnel, but could only
distinguish the low murmurs of his people, who were repining at their
journey, and complaining for the want of water.
“To what purpose,” asked they, “have we been brought hither? Hath our
Caliph another tower to build? or have the relentless Afrits, whom
Carathis so much loves, fixed in this place their abode?”
At the name of Carathis Vathek recollected the tablets he had received
from his mother, who assured him they were fraught with preternatural
qualities, and advised him to consult them as emergencies might require.
Whilst he was engaged in turning them over he heard a shout of joy and a
loud clapping of hands; the curtains of his pavilion were soon drawn
back, and he beheld Bababalouk, followed by a troop of his favourites,
conducting two dwarfs, each a cubit high, who brought between them a
large basket of melons, oranges, and pomegranates. They were singing in
the sweetest tones the words that follow:
“We dwell on the top of these rocks in a cabin of rushes and canes; the
eagles envy us our nest; a small spring supplies us with Abdest, and we
daily repeat prayers which the Prophet approves. We love you, O
Commander of the Faithful! our master, the good Emir Fakreddin, loves you
also; he reveres in your person the vicegerent of Mahomet. Little as we
are, in us he confides; he knows our hearts to be good as our bodies are
contemptible, and hath placed us here to aid those who are bewildered on
these dreary mountains. Last night, whilst we were occupied within our
cell in reading the holy Koran, a sudden hurricane blew out our lights
and rocked our habitation; for two whole hours a palpable darkness
prevailed, but we heard sounds at a distance which we conjectured to
proceed from the bells of a Cafila passing over the rocks; our ears were
soon filled with deplorable shrieks, frightful roarings, and the sound of
tymbals. Chilled with terror, we concluded that the Deggial, with his
exterminating angels, had sent forth their plagues on the earth. In the
midst of these melancholy reflections we perceived flames of the deepest
red glow in the horizon, and found ourselves in a few moments covered
with flakes of fire; amazed at so strange an appearance, we took up the
volume dictated by the blessed Intelligence, and, kneeling by the light
of the fire that surrounded us, we recited the verse which says: ‘Put no
trust in anything but the mercy of Heaven; there is no help save in the
holy Prophet; the mountain of Kaf itself may tremble, it is the power of
Allah only that cannot be moved.’ After having pronounced these words we
felt consolation, and our minds were hushed into a sacred repose; silence
ensued, and our ears clearly distinguished a voice in the air, saying: |
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