ago as last summer.”
The Grand Vizier only smiled and drew a few pleasing notes from his violin.
“Last summer Allah sent heavy rains and floods in our path,” he said, “but next summer Vienna shall be captured and the faithful Zapolya shall receive his well-earned reward. For as you may know, the Sultan has sworn by the Prophet and by his sword to be Zapolya’s true friend and shield him from all his enemies.”
Aloisio Gritti made a wry face and said, “And King Zapolya swore, too, through his ambassador. He swore by the living God and Jesus our Saviour, who is God also, that he would ever remain a friend to the friends of Sultan Suleiman and an enemy to his enemies. But while you were playing your fiddle the greedy landowners and the Germans oppressed the people and left them destitute.”
“Allah’s will be done,” returned the Grand Vizier. To me he said, “You may apply with full confidence to Master Gritti for any information regarding the Christian states. Through him we learn not only the secrets of the illustrious Republic, but also news from King Zapolya of matters great and small in Germany and the Viennese court.”
His face darkened, and springing up he cried, “Crowns and coronations are but a mirage to delude the foolish. Not the crown but the sword confers sovereignty. Lands trodden by the Sultan’s chargers are forever united with his realms. Therefore I, too, burn with impatience to open the greatest campaign in the history of the Ottoman Empire. If afterward Zapolya reigns as king of Hungary, it will be by the Sultan’s favor, to ensure free passage through his domains at all times.”
Although I well understood that these preparations for a campaign which indirectly threatened the whole of Christendom greatly exceeded in importance the affairs I had on hand, yet I strove like Master Gritti to keep my feet firmly on the ground; I asked what reception was to be given to Khaireddin’s envoy. The Grand Vizier replied, “The Sultan still regards Khaireddin as a common pirate who, with his brother, betrayed the trust placed in him by the Sultan’s father, Selim. Khaireddin also has the second and third viziers against him, and I advise you to provide handsome presents for these men. But foremost among his opponents are the Sultan’s sea pashas who fear and envy him. He has a trustworthy supporter in the Chief Pilot, the learned navigator Piri-reis. Piri-reis has drawn a chart by whose help anyone may sail the Mediterranean with safety; when you meet him, praise this work. Since a few copies of it fell into the hands of Christians it has ceased to be a secret. Piri-reis is an elderly man who lives among papers and feels no resentment for Khaireddin. The only gifts that please him are Christian charts which he likes to compare with his own. Tomorrow I intend to take up the question of Khaireddin with the Divan; I shall mention the magnificent gifts he has sent, and stress his firm intention of turning Algiers into an impregnable naval base. If Allah wills it, the Sultan himself shall receive the deputation in person, and the other viziers must accept the position with what grace they may.”
After giving me further instructions and addressing a kind word or two to Andy, he dismissed us. Master Gritti escorted us past the Negro guards to a side door, and before we left him he said, “If you’re indeed a man of education, Master Michael, and find time hanging heavily on your hands, come and visit me without fear of intruding; I enjoy listening to Seraglio gossip. The Seraglio is if possible a worse hotbed of gossip and intrigue than even the Vatican or the Emperor’s Court. I can offer you some unusual enjoyments, too, and acquaint you with vices with which because of your youth you’re perhaps still unfamiliar. I regret that this evening I was unable to offer you some young slave girl, for I have a number of these in my service, of different races and color and all expert in the erotic arts of their own countries. Indeed, I believe you’ll be astonished.”
I thanked him politely for his great kindness and promised to call upon him as soon as I had news from the West, when we could exchange useful information. But in my heart I resolved to keep as far as possible from this false man whose masterly intrigues made him dangerous company for me, while for Giulia’s sake I dared not even consider his hospitable offers. The silent clerk escorted us back to the shore, spoke to the guards and led us onto the quay where our boatman was dozing, half-naked though the autumn night was chilly.
The crescent moon shone like a drawn scimitar above the great dome of the mosque as we glided over the Golden Horn to our ship. We were unmolested, though a couple of janissaries on the shore stared at us as we climbed aboard.
Next morning I told Torgut-reis and the eunuch all that had happened and urged them to await the summons to the Seraglio in all confidence, since by diplomacy I had succeeded in winning over the Grand Vizier to Khaireddin’s cause. At first the eunuch would not believe that I had met the Grand Vizier in person, but while we were yet talking a horseman arrived to bid us make ready to appear before the Sultan. Soon afterward cooks and scullions arrived in great numbers, bearing with them in Chinese bowls an abundant meal from the Divan kitchen. After the noon prayer a hundred mounted spahis clad in purple suddenly appeared. Their jeweled weapons flashed in the sun, and their saddle cloths were adorned with heavy turquoises. Their Aga presented Torgut with a gift from the Sultan-a magnificent horse whose bridle and saddle were ornamented with silver, pearls, and precious stones.
Overjoyed at this splendid present, Torgut-reis gave me thirty ducats and the eunuch added a somewhat smaller sum. We then set forth in ceremonial procession to the Seraglio. Huge crowds hailed us as we passed, and called down blessings upon our heads. Slaves, black and white, carried Khaireddin’s presents, of which the most gorgeous had been uncovered for all the people to behold. Ten beautiful girls and boys carried coins and gold dust in baskets of plaited palm leaves, so that we felt deeply thankful for the protection of our mounted escort. In my arms I held a white-cheeked monkey that had grown so much attached to me on the voyage that it allowed no one else to carry it. It put its arms about my neck, chattering and grimacing at the bystanders until I had a flock of laughing, shouting children at my heels.
We were led past the great mosque and through the Gate of Happiness to the forecourt of the Seraglio, which was surrounded by the barracks of the janissaries, the Sultan’s stables, the library, and the soldiers’ bathhouse. In the forked branches of ancient plane trees hung numberless iron cooking pots, and on the lawns groups of janissaries were taking their ease. The Aga of our escort handed us over to the guards at the Gateway of Peace, and here the merchandise, slaves, and seamen were left while Torgut-reis, the eunuch, and myself were shown into a waiting room within the archway. We sat down on hard and dirty cushions, whence we could see into another room on the opposite side of the arch. Broad-bladed headsman’s axes hung there on iron hooks fixed to the wall, and on the floor was a pyramid of some thirty human heads. The stench was unbearable, for many of the heads were no longer quite fresh, having been brought from different parts of the Ottoman Empire for the viziers to see, as conclusive proof that sentence had been carried out.
The sight did not tend to raise our spirits, but since I was always eager to learn, I engaged the guard in conversation. In return for a ducat he showed me his bloodstained apron and also the pit into which the bodies were thrown, to make their slow way along an underground drain into the Sea of Marmara. He told me that even the most eminent ambassadors had to wait on the same cushions as ourselves, as this gave them opportunity for wholesome meditation upon the Sultan’s limitless power, the vanity of existence, and the incalculable twists and turns of fortune. I learned that only about fifty heads a day were thrown into the vaults, which testified to the mild rule of the Sultan and the good order prevailing in his dominions. Suleiman would not even allow torture at interrogations. Besides the deaf-mutes there remained a few skilled executioners, both black and white, who had been in the service of Selim the implacable, also a Chinese and an Indian specialist in methods of torture peculiar to those distant lands.
“But,” added the friendly guard, “should our lord the Sultan wish to rid himself of some slave who has fallen out of favor, after being honored with his friendship and a high appointment, such a slave is not made to kneel at the block. Instead the Sultan sends him a black kaftan and a strong silken cord. No one has ever abused this mark of favor; all have gladly ended their days by their own hand and received honorable burial. The Sultan then takes back house, slaves, and all that the deceased used and enjoyed while the sun of fortune and favor stood at the zenith. Especially during the reign of the beloved Sultan Selim were sudden changes of fortune seen, and he was not sparing in the item of black kaftans. Great activity prevailed always in the tailors’ workshops, and in those days we would curse our enemies with the words, ‘May you become Selim’s Vizier!’“
Hardly had he ended when two gigantic men stepped up to me, grasped me firmly by the arms and led me between them into the
Courtyard of Peace. Torgut-reis and the eunuch were treated in the same manner. I struggled and protested loudly that I had done no wrong, but one of the chamberlains hastened forward to me with his staff of office in his hand, and exhorted me in a whisper to hold my tongue.
I became aware of the breathless stillness that hung over the Courtyard of Peace, so brilliant in its white and gold, and fell silent. They led me unresistingly into the great chamber of the Divan where a number of the most eminent dignitaries of the Seraglio were assembled, wearing ceremonial kaftans. I had no time to look at them
