The Lion of Janina; Or, The Last Days of the Janissaries: A Turkish NovelJókai, Mór
History
The Lion of Janina; Or, The Last Days of the Janissaries: A Turkish Novel
Jókai, Mór
Ali Pasa, Tepedelenli, 1744?-1822 -- Fiction; Janizaries -- Fiction; Turkey -- History -- Mahmud II, 1808-1839 -- Fiction
Yet he himself could not sleep.
In the morning both the tempest and the song had ceased. The old
Circassian pretended to be asleep. Milieva softly raised her head and
looked at her father, and seeing that his eyes were closed, stealthily
put on her clothes and went out of the house on tiptoe. Her father did
not tell her not to go. He had already forgiven his son, and resolved
never to be angry with him any more. After all, it had only been an
ebullition of fatherly affection that had made him punish his son for
jeopardizing his life so blindly.
Shortly afterwards the jingling of the asses' bells told him that the
Greek, who slept on the floor outside, was getting ready to depart.
The merchant seemed to be in great haste. He piled his boxes on the
backs of his beasts higgledy-piggledy, even overlooking a parcel or
two here and there, and all the time he kept talking to himself,
stopping short suddenly when he caught sight of the Circassian.
"I was just going to take leave of you, Chorbadzhi. Why do you get up
so early? Go to sleep! What a nice day it is after the storm! Salám
aláküm! Peace be with you! Greet my kinsmen, your sweet children. No,
I will speak no more of your children. I will do as you desire, I
promise you, and what I have once promised-- So our business is at an
end? You are a worthy man, Kasi Mollah! . . . You are a good father--a
very good father. I only wish every man was like you. The only thing
that grieves me is that you cannot join our holy covenant. The Hellene
and the Circassian groan together beneath the yoke of a common tyrant.
And then you don't reflect who are on our side. Our northern neighbor
is always ready to liberate us. I say no more. To a wise man a hint is
a revelation. But do you not long for glory? You have no glorious
ancestors. With you there are no memories of a Marathon, a Platäa.
. . . God bless you, Kasi Mollah! Go on shooting lots of antelopes,
and I'll come back and buy the hides from you; mind you let me have
them cheap! Take this kiss for yourself, this for your son, and this
third one for your daughter. Then you won't give them to me, eh? Well,
God bless you, Kasi Mollah!"
The sheik felt as if a great stone had rolled off his breast when at
last he saw his guest depart, though even from afar the Greek turned
back and shouted all manner of things about Leonidas and the other
heroes. But the Circassian did not listen to him. He went back into
his house again, lest he should seem to be moping for his children.
Leonidas Argyrocantharides, on the other hand, whistling merrily,
proceeded with his asses on his way to the forest, and, when he found
himself quite alone there, began to sing in a loud voice the song of
freedom of the Hetairea, which put him into such a good humor that he
even began to flourish his weapon in the most warlike manner, though,
unfortunately, there was nobody at hand whom he could smite.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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