The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Volumes 1 and 2Busbecq, Ogier Ghislain de
History
The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Volumes 1 and 2
Busbecq, Ogier Ghislain de
Busbecq, Ogier Ghislain de, 1522-1592
So de Sandé was ordered to be taken to the fortress they call
Caradenis, which means ‘of the Black Sea,’ but he had not gone far when
he was recalled. The only reason for his being sent for again was, that
the chief of the bedchamber eunuchs, whom I mentioned before, and who
has great influence with the Sultan, had not yet seen him, and wished
to do so. It was noticed that as he came back his nerves, usually so
strong, appeared to be shaken, and he seemed to be afraid that the
Pashas had altered their decision, and were bringing him back for
execution.
The other prisoners of importance were confined in the Tower of Pera,
or Galata, as it is sometimes called. Among them were Don Sancho de
Leyva, with his two bastard sons, and also Don Berenguer.
After I had been informed of their condition and the great privations
they were undergoing, I felt it my duty to come to their relief. I
therefore sent visitors to express my sympathy, and assure them of my
readiness to give them such assistance as lay in my power. From that
time my house was the general rendezvous of all the prisoners, nor was
I ever backward in giving them help as far as my means allowed.
The Turks consider they have made ample provision for their prisoners,
if they have bread and water enough. As to what the age of each
prisoner, his habits and state of health, or the season of the year may
demand, they take no account, and treat all in the same way, whether
they are sick or well or just recovering from illness, strong or
delicate, old or young. I had, therefore, a wide field for the exercise
of my charity, inasmuch as each case required special treatment. A
great multitude of the sick were lying in a mosque in Pera, the town
situated opposite Byzantium, immediately across the bay. About them
the Turks did not think it worth while to take any more trouble,
indeed they considered them as good as dead. Many of them died from
want of proper nourishment, either during the illness itself or during
convalescence; for they had no bowl of soup or dainty dish to tempt
their feeble appetite, and thus enable them gradually to regain their
strength. Being informed of this, I commissioned a citizen of Pera, who
was a friend of mine, to buy some sheep every day, boil them at home,
and divide them among the prisoners, giving meat to some and broth to
others, as each man’s case happened to require, and this was of service
to not a few. This I did for the sick; those who were well required
help of another kind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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