“Our law,” said the Vizir solemnly, “commands us to grant peace to our enemies when they implore our mercy.” “Ah,” replied the King, in a rage, “does it order you to make a bad treaty, when you can impose the terms you please? Was it not your duty to take the Czar prisoner to Constantinople?” The Turk, thus nonplussed, answered slyly, “And who would govern his empire in his absence? It is not fitting that all kings should be away from home.” Charles replied with an indignant smile, and then threw himself down on a cushion, and, looking at the Vizir with resentment mingled with contempt, he stretched out his leg towards him, and, entangling his spur with his robe, tore it; then jumped up, mounted, and rode to Bender full of despair. Poniatowski stayed some time longer with the Grand Vizir, to see if he could prevail on him by gentler means to make some better terms with the Czar, but it was prayer-time, and the Turk, without one word in answer, went to wash and attend to his devotions. BOOK VI BOOK VI Intrigues at the Porte--The Kan of Tartary and the Pasha of Bender try to force Charles to depart--He defends himself with forty servants against their whole army. THE fortune of the King of Sweden, greatly changed as it was, now failed him in the smallest details. On his return he found his little camp at Bender, and his whole quarters, under water, flooded by the waters of the Neister. He withdrew to a distance of some miles, near a village called Varnitza; and, as if he had a secret suspicion of what was going to happen to him, he had a large stone house built there, capable, in an emergency, of sustaining some hours’ siege; he furnished it magnificently, contrary to his usual custom, and in order to impress the Turks. Besides this he built two more, one for his Chancery, and the other for his favourite, Grothusen, whom he supported. While the King was thus building at Bender, as if it was his intention to stay always in Turkey, Baltagi, being more than ever fearful of his intrigues and complaints at the Porte, had sent the resident consul of the German Emperor to Vienna to gain for the King of Sweden a passage through the hereditary dominions of the house of Austria. This envoy returned in three weeks with a promise from the Imperial Regency that they would give Charles all due honour, and conduct him safely to Pomerania.