Murderer that I am, that have shed innocent
blood!" And with that he began to sink in the waves.
Now it happened that a ship from Turkey came sailing by, and when the
sailors saw a man sinking in the sea they picked him up and took him
half-dead on board their ship. Then they sailed on until they arrived
at the city of Alexandria, where they sold Peter to the Turkish Pasha.
But the Pasha sent Prince Peter as a present to the Sultan of Turkey,
who, when he saw his discreet behaviour, and handsome mien, made Peter
a great senator, and his uprightness and gracious behaviour won for
him the love of everyone.
When the Princess Magilene awoke from her sleep in the wood, she
looked around on all sides, but nowhere beheld Prince Peter: she wept
with grief and despair, and fell upon the ground. At length she
arose, went into the wood, and cried aloud with all her strength:
"Noble Prince Peter, whither are you gone?" And thus she wandered
about for a long time, and met a nun, and begged for her dark dress,
giving her in exchange her light-coloured one. At length she came to a
harbour, where she hired a ship from the country in which Peter's
father lived. There she dwelt with a noble lady named Susanna; she
chose a spot among the mountains for a harbour, and built a convent,
to which she gave the name of Saint Peter and Paul, and established an
hospital for the reception of strangers. Thus Magilene became
celebrated by her piety and goodness. Then came Peter's father and
mother to visit her, and brought her three rings, saying their cook
had bought a fish, inside which these rings were found; but, as they
had given them to their son Peter, they feared that he had been
drowned at sea, and they wept bitterly.
After Prince Peter had lived for a long time at the Court of the
Turkish Sultan, he expressed a wish to travel to his native country.
So the Sultan dismissed him with great presents, giving him much gold
and silver and costly jewels. Then Peter hired a French ship, bought
fourteen casks, put at the bottom of them some salt, then laid over
this gold and silver, and on this more salt, and told the sailors that
the casks contained only salt. He sailed with a favourable wind to his
native country, and anchored at an island, not far from the country of
France, for Prince Peter suffered from sea sickness. Then he wandered
about on the shore, and lost his way in the island; he lay down and
fell fast asleep. The sailors sought for him everywhere for a long
time, calling him by name; but not finding him, they went on their
way. At length they came to the convent, and there deposited the casks
of salt; and once when there was a want of salt in the convent,
Magilene ordered the casks to be opened and found in them innumerable
treasures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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