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 ADA R E I S, / / 
 
 BY LADY CAROLINE LAMB. /&JL* 
 
 A TALE 
 
 Toteturee /uiv m^i Tovrut (Trettfyvy ctfAtt. otto u ici^ett. 
 
 Xenophon. Memorabilia, lib. i. cap. iii. s. 7. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I, 
 
 PARIS : 
 PUBLISHED BY A. AND W. GALIGNANI, 
 
 AT THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, ITALIAN, GERMAN AMD SPANISH LIBRARY, 
 N°. l8, ROE VIVIEUNE. 
 
 1824.
 
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 DEDICATION. 
 
 TO 
 
 LYDIA WHITE. 
 
 To you, who, without paying undue deference to 
 what is termed the world, have succeeded in retaining 
 around you, even when sickness has rendered you in- 
 capable of exertion, many who are distinguished by 
 superiority of intellect and literary talents, to you I 
 venture to dedicate these pages ; not that I think them 
 worth your acceptance, but that I wish to prove my 
 grateful recollection of your kindness to me in the 
 time of affliction, and also the admiration I feel for 
 the courage and patience you have ever manifested 
 under all the irritating circumstances which necessarily 
 attend a protracted illness. To cultivate your own 
 understanding, to consult the feelings, and to promote 
 the happiness of others, have ever been the principal 
 objects of your life. The consequence is, that, even 
 at this moment, when malady presses heavily upon you, 
 when amusement would naturally be looked for in other 
 
 a
 
 11 DEDICATION. 
 
 circles, your society is eagerly sought by those anxious 
 and affectionate friends, who find their pleasure in the 
 enjoyment of your conversation, and in the contempla- 
 tion of your fortitude and magnanimity. Though I 
 scarcely venture to add my name to the list, I cannot 
 refrain from expressing the interest I feel for you, and 
 my respect for the high qualities which you possess and 
 exert. If a tale, but lightly written, amuse you even 
 for a moment, I am satisfied ; and when you have read 
 it, you will know the meaning of what I add, — M may 
 Zevahir be ever with you!" 
 
 Your grateful and 
 
 affectionate friend, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Nil spernat auris, nee tamen credat statim 
 
 According to the doctrine of Manes, there 
 are two principles from which all things 
 proceed, and by which all things are govern- 
 ed: the one is a pure and subtle essence, 
 called Light ; and the other is a corrupt sub- 
 stance, called Darkness. Each of these is 
 subject to a superintending Being, whose 
 existence has been from all eternity. The 
 rider of light is supremely happy, benevolent, 
 and good •, the Prince of darkness is miser- 
 able himself, and desirous of rendering others 
 miserable. 
 
 These two Beings are said to have pro-
 
 IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 duced an innumerable multitude of creatures. 
 The offspring of Light are all beautiful and 
 intelligent; whilst the children of Darkness 
 are in every respect the reverse. 
 
 The following history was written probably 
 with the intention of exemplifying the dan- 
 gerous power of the evil agent, if his influence 
 be once admitted : all violence of feeling. 
 pride, vanity, love itself, if not kept within 
 due subordination, lead to his abode. These 
 two principles, and their emissaries, are per- 
 mitted in this fable, as they are in the 
 Legend of Faust, and in many other works 
 of fancy, to approach the children of the 
 earth in human shape, and to endeavour, by 
 every art, to draw them into their power. 
 The precepts, both of the good and of the 
 evil spirit, are originally planted in the hu- 
 man breast $ and if the evil agent appear the 
 more dexterous assailant, and to meet with
 
 INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 the greater success, it is that the good prin- 
 ciple is less suspicious than his opponent, 
 and leaves his followers to the guardianship 
 of Innocence in a probationary world of 
 difficulty, allurement, and temptation. It is 
 to be remarked, that in this fable the good 
 spirit, in the beautiful and youthful form of 
 a boy, hovers around his charge, and con- 
 tinues a favourite until passion awakens in 
 her breast; her violence then drives him 
 from her, whilst the tempter, by encouraging 
 her errors, endeavours to obtain her for his 
 own. 
 
 The moral of the tale appears to be, that 
 he, who remains amidst the busy scenes of 
 life, himself without employment, is in con- 
 stant danger of becoming the prey of wicked 
 feelings and corrupt passions •, for as use pre- 
 serves iron from rust, so labour and exertion 
 purify and invigorate the soul.
 
 vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 There is beauty in this fable — there is ex- 
 cellence in its moral : but he who attempts 
 to relate it is unskilled even in the common 
 rules of composition, and fears he shall not 
 do his subject justice. No friend ever re- 
 quested me to write •, no flatterer, no admirer 
 seeks my door : I have been struck too, in 
 the midst of my undertaking, by affliction ; 
 and neither my mind nor my frame are equal 
 to the task proposed. The beast of prey, 
 when weary and wounded, retires to his lair 
 and effaces even the track which leads to his 
 retreat; but he retires growling, and at 
 enmity with every thing around him. I, too, 
 have left the world, yet my heart is with 
 those I have left. My fellow-creatures are 
 the objects of my unceasing interest, sym- 
 pathy, and affection. I write, then, in the 
 hope of pleasing them. I write also for my- 
 self; it is society to me; it is a link which
 
 INTRODUCTION. VI » 
 
 yet binds me, for one moment at least, to 
 those who are journeying on the same road 
 with myself, and to the same end. To those 
 who, like myself, in this busy scene, live 
 and enjoy life as it passes by, taking its goods 
 and ills, its ups and downs, as they occur, not 
 indeed with indifference, but with resig- 
 nation, remembering how soon it must end, 
 catching at its brilliant appearances, or 
 gazing upon its beautiful varieties, with the 
 mournful, but endearing certainty, that it 
 is for the last time, even as they pass, that 
 they behold them. From my solitude I can 
 contemplate the actions of others, and join 
 in their passions, interests, and afflictions, 
 with a deeper, although a calmer, feeling 
 than when mingling with the crowd. 
 
 For it is when alone, that the heart can 
 appreciate the pleasures of friendship ; can 
 feel how, by neglect or error, it has chilled
 
 Vlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and sent far from it all that made life delight- 
 ful. It is when alone, that the beauties of 
 nature — the loveliness of virtue — the good- 
 ness and benefieence of God — burst upon the 
 mind; and our own faults, in all their sad 
 realities, appear before us. The only eom- 
 munication the wretch, who has exiled him- 
 self from the world, or is sent from it, holds 
 with his fellow-creatures, is by books : with 
 what delight he reads over the thoughts of 
 others! how he admires the excellencies of 
 their works ! how he forgives their blemishes, 
 even if he perceives them ! if he occasionally 
 receive a guest, with what a warmth of heart 
 he greets and hears him ! for solitude, while 
 it calms the mind, strengthens the feelings 
 and the affections. Yet after all, it must still 
 be continually felt, that it never was intended 
 to be the condition of man — he is not gene- 
 rally fitted for it-, it is only, therefore, when
 
 INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 a human being finds himself unable to sub- 
 mit his mind to the guidance of reason, when 
 the occurrences of life grieve and perplex, 
 or please and attract him more than is meet, 
 that it is wise to retire from society, and view 
 from a distance those scenes in which he 
 finds himself unfitted to engage. 
 
 Should those, who are of a temperament 
 thus painfully susceptible, remain amidst the 
 ordinary commerce of the world, all around 
 them will continually play upon and harass 
 their feelings, "without, perchance, intending 
 it. The rude and the thoughtless may work 
 upon the passions without comprehending 
 their force or their extent : they may break 
 the heart without malice or design. Let us 
 then spare both others and ourselves ; let us 
 cease to run the hazard of continued suffer- 
 ing, nor obtrude our imperfections upon our 
 fellow-creatures. It is time to wean our-
 
 x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 selves from society, when we feel that we 
 can no longer contribute any thing to its 
 amusement ; that, though we have not lost 
 the feelings of benevolence, we have lost 
 that congeniality of disposition which alone 
 can render us agreeable to the world. Let 
 us abstain from borrowing, when we know 
 our circumstances to be such as disable us 
 from repaying. "When the experience of 
 years has convinced us, that such is the 
 settled habit of our mind, we have surely 
 received, both from time and from reason, 
 an admonition sufficient to induce us to 
 withdraw — 
 
 Walk sober off, before a sprightlier age 
 Come tittering on and shove us from the stage : 
 Leave those to trifle with more grace and ease, 
 Whom folly pleases, and whose follies please. 
 
 Ada Reis, the once-famous Corsair, the 
 merchant, the traveller, the Don Juan of his
 
 INTRODUCTION. \i 
 
 day, wrote his life, and left it as a legacy to 
 his successors. His treasures he buried, his 
 slaves he strangled, his wives he suffocated, 
 but this MS. he left for the benefit of man- 
 kind ; 1 have not translated the part which 
 related to his amours, not the confession of 
 his crimes, not the catalogue of his wise 
 sayings, but the simple narrative of what 
 occurred to himself and to his daughter, that 
 those who read may place the awful record 
 in their hearts and learn to worship God, 
 and to be humble in themselves. — Yet need 
 this lesson be taught by Ada Reis ? — Is it not 
 impressed upon every object? Is it not the 
 sole certain discovery of all our travels, and 
 the termination of all our undertakings. Like 
 Humboldt, 1 should we traverse the vast Sa- 
 vannahs, or climb mid- way up the Andes, till 
 our breath cease and our brain grow giddy ; 
 like Park, 2 should we perish in following
 
 W INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the course of the Niger ; or sail through rough 
 seas, and mountains of ice, to pass the dark 
 and dreary winter with the white bears and 
 the Arctic wolves : still the greatness and 
 goodness of the Creator is manifest in every 
 thing. Man has no reason to be proud. Na- 
 poleon, having conquered the most powerful 
 nations of the civilized world, was left to 
 die a prisoner upon a barren rock 5 and Bel- 
 zoni, having with difficulty opened a temple, 
 the wonder and pride of man, perchance the 
 sepulchre of kings, found in it a loathsome 
 toad, its sole proprietor. — Alas! man has 
 little cause to be proud. If ambition impel 
 him to exertion, let him note its end: if 
 learning attract him, he may 
 
 " Drudge, like Selden, days and nights, 
 And in the endless labour die." 
 
 If beauty — if love allure him, let him re- 
 member the founder of La Trappe 5 raise.
 
 INTRODUCTION. Xlii 
 
 like him, (he funeral pall, see what youth 
 and beauty will be in one little hour, and, 
 like Armand de Rancey, divest himself of 
 such illusions, turn to a monastery, and dote 
 no more. But to return to my tale. 
 
 The sun had set, and the stars were seen 
 reflected in the vapour of the vast desert, as 
 if it had been in the bosom of a lake. Thou- 
 sands of years had caused that black dye 
 with which the rocks and the beds of the 
 waters of the Oronooko are deeply tinged: 3 
 in this solitude, where the great river, with 
 its frothy boiling waters, seemed to have 
 burst through the thick uninhabited woods 
 and huge masses of granite, Religion, in these 
 latter days, had consecrated one single spot, 
 where, with the trunks of palm-trees and 
 bananas, far above the plain upon a jutting 
 rock, a small chapel had been built, as it 
 is said, by the Jesuits. The natives affirm,
 
 XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that a female, who was a child of the Sun. 
 had come there in a pirogue 4 from the Rio 
 Negro, and had remained there until the day 
 of her death. Many years had not changed 
 the beauty and serenity of her countenance: 
 many years of solitude and labour had but 
 little impaired the vigour of her mind : severe 
 austerities, bad food, and little sleep, had 
 taken from the outward form some of its 
 lustre and freshness, but the countenance, 
 the smile, the vigorous mind still remained, 
 — she had repented of errors — perhaps of 
 crimes ; like the golden serpent with the 
 bell, 5 she had thrown off the outward skin 
 and the renewed one was fraught with beauty . 
 — she had severed herself, it seemed, from 
 every earthly tie; she had fixed her hopes 
 in heaven ; she might be said in that wide 
 desert to exist alone in order to pray, repent, 
 and succour the unfortunate. Like a pitying
 
 INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 saint, she descended from her solitude, when 
 called upon by the voice of lamentation ; and 
 she, who was now invulnerable to the incite- 
 ments of -worldly vanity, passion, and inter- 
 est, was more open than ever to those of hu- 
 manity. She attended the death-bed of the 
 friendless: from plants she extracted food 
 and opiates, to soothe the pain and sickness of 
 the poor Indians ; she wept with the afflicted, 
 and prayed by the couch of the dying sinner. 
 In this manner she passed her days, until 
 she grew so old and infirm, that her senses 
 and limbs began to fail her ; she was afraid 
 heaven had forgotten her, and that death 
 would never release her. There was a Greek 
 air she much wished to hear again, for she 
 had heard it in her youth ; but her memory 
 now was almost gone, her eyes were dim, 
 and her voice was feeble. One evening the 
 remembrance of that song returned j 6 it came
 
 XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to her, she said, in a dream, just as she had 
 heard it heretofore 5 — she sung it, and her 
 voice was sweet and full; that very evening 
 she died. — A Bible was in her cell, the calm 
 of faith was still upon her countenance. She 
 was buried by Jesuits at the foot of that 
 lonely chapel where this MS. was found j it 
 is part in the Arabic, part in the Spanish, 
 and part in the Inga tongue. This history is 
 undoubtedly that of the fair stranger, and of 
 her father ; for the name of Ada Reis and 
 Fiormonda are inscribed upon the stone of 
 rough granite, which has been rolled down 
 upon her grave, as an index of the spot in 
 which by Christian hands she was interred. 
 She died herself a Christian: — yet the manza- 
 nillo - grows upon her grave 5 no herb, no 
 creeping thing, not even the wild beast can 
 live within the circle of its poisonous in- 
 fluence : it rears its proud head higher than
 
 INTRODUCTION. wii 
 
 other trees, as if reaching to the skies, and 
 its tempting fruit hangs upon its branches, 
 alluring the passing traveller •, but nature in 
 the meanwhile seems to warn the most igno- 
 rant, by the loneliness of its vicinity, that to 
 approach it is dangerous, and to eat of it is 
 death.
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Ada Reis appears to have been one of those 
 daring characters which human nature pro- 
 duces now and then 5 one of those men who 
 awe and overpower all the feeble and many 
 of the stronger minded, by the success of 
 their enterprises ; and who at last satisfy and 
 silence reproach and indignation by the sud- 
 denness of their fall and the greatness of their 
 punishment. In the history which he gives 
 of himself, he dwells long upon the little 
 peculiarities of his boyish feelings, whilst he 
 mentions but briefly his birth and early ad- 
 ventures. The account is, that he was a 
 Georgian ; — that he was sold by his parents 
 for a trifling sum ; that when he parted from 
 her, a jewelled ring was tied into his cap by 
 vol. 1. 1
 
 2 ADA KEIS. 
 
 his mother, to save him from the power of 
 witchcraft 5 and that, after a variety of narrow 
 escapes, he fell into the hands of one Adamo 
 Remolo, a Genoese merchant, who gave him 
 the best education he could afford, placed 
 him in an academy at Pisa, and, when he 
 died, bequeathed him a small property and 
 his name. 
 
 From Pisa, the young Adamo, after a long 
 series of adventures, was taken to be page of 
 honour to the grand duke of Tuscany, at 
 whose court he soon distinguished himself by 
 feats of early prowess, and a most imtame- 
 able spirit. His violent temper, his extraordi- 
 nary talents, his surprising beauty, and fear- 
 less disposition, soon gained him a sufficient 
 number both of friends and enemies. He 
 was flattered by the women, commended by 
 princes, feared by dependents, and trampled 
 upon by superiors. In this school he became 
 cunning and corrupt enough for a court : but. 
 in order to succeed in palaces, caution, re- 
 serve, submission, dissimulation, are also ne- 
 cessary 5 and for these he was utterly unfitted 
 by the violence and impetuosity of his dispo-
 
 ADA REIS. * 
 
 sit ion. The consequence of repeated error 
 was his final dismissal. 
 
 Stung to the heart and enraged, instead of 
 entering the army, according to the orders he 
 had received, he escaped, and hired himself 
 lo a merchant bound to Spain. His imagina- 
 tion had been excited, by reading the his- 
 tories of Corsairs and of their exploits; he 
 ardently desired a Life of peril and adventure, 
 his turbulent spirit ill enduring any species of 
 confinement-, and, young as he then was, he 
 appeared already to have studied and to have 
 detested European manners. In this part of 
 his narration we meet with vehement cen- 
 sures of kings and men in power (censures 
 ever loudest from the mouths of those who 
 are themselves the most tyrannical); appeals 
 to established laws, and invocations of na- 
 tional justice; both very incongruous, when 
 proceeding from Ada Reis, — he who knew 
 neither how to submit himself to the one, nor 
 lo act according to ihe other. 
 
 Omitting these and other reflections, we 
 hasten on to the period of his embarkation, 
 at which he tells us that, for the first time in
 
 4 ADA REIS 
 
 his short life, he felt himself independent. 
 Gazing upon the ocean, he knelt down in 
 transport, and solemnly vowed to devote 
 himself entirely to that element. From that 
 hour he became indefatigable in the pursuit 
 of what he calls glory and gain. From the 
 merchant ship he entered an Algerine galley, 
 on board of which he served above a year ; 
 but the Algerine Reis, or captain, broke his 
 engagement with him, and treated him with 
 contumely : he resolved to be revenged. He 
 had gained, by his talents and courage, the 
 affections of the crew : he seized his oppor- 
 tunity, murdered his enemy, declared him- 
 self a convert to the religion of Mahomet, 
 and, with the assistance of the second in com- 
 mand, gave every order, and assumed the 
 title as well as the authority of Reis. 8 
 
 He fought many well-contested battles, and 
 visited many countries, where his spirit of 
 defiance, and thirst for novelty, continually 
 led him into some desperate and perilous ad- 
 venture. He was once made prisoner and 
 carried into Spain, where he fell deeply in 
 love with a lady of rank, by whose favour he
 
 ADA REIS. 5 
 
 was liberated*; and after again meeting with 
 much of strange and marvellous fortune, he 
 finally settled at Tripoly, in the twentieth 
 year of his age. He there paid court success- 
 fully to tlte Reis of the Pasha's fleet, and by 
 his means obtained much power and many 
 privileges. The light of true religion once, 
 he confesses, had dawned upon his mind, but 
 he now gave himself up entirely to infidelity, 
 and its usual concomitant, — idle superstition 
 and a blind belief in wizards and sorcerers. 
 The sacred rites of Christianity became the 
 subject of his derision-, and though, in fact, 
 he believed as little in Mahomet, he had the 
 policy to disguise his incredulity, and never 
 publicly to offend the opinions of the people 
 of the country amongst whom at any period 
 he resided. 
 
 At length the Pasha $ of Tripoly, having 
 heard much of his courage, himself sent for 
 him, and intrusted him with a secret commis- 
 sion, which he executed so speedily and suc- 
 cessfully as to gain considerable credit and in- 
 fluence with that prince. It was even ru- 
 moured that one of the Pasha's daughters
 
 D ADA KEIS. 
 
 would be given to him in marriage. However 
 this might be, he was placed in a very high 
 situation near the Bey, ,0 as his own particular 
 Reis. That title too was confirmed to him. 
 and he was treated with every mark of favour 
 and respect. 
 
 Ada Reis, as he was now commonly called, 
 was of a commanding stature : he had a vi- 
 gorous mind, at times even rising to the sub- 
 lime 5 but he was fond of low company and 
 buffoonery, and in particular of making bad 
 jests and telling long stories. His passions, 
 ungovernable beyond all control, betrayed 
 him to the very verge of madness : he was 
 stubborn as well as violent ; he could bear the 
 most acute pain, and intense fatigue, with the 
 passive endurance of an Indian. He spoke 
 the Turkish and Greek languages like a native, 
 and, from having occasionally accompanied 
 the Bedouins across their deserts, he acquired 
 their dialect. 
 
 He visited Mecca in company with two of the 
 caravans from Morocco. He was once over- 
 taken by a dreadful storm, on his passage from 
 Constantinople, with some Greek slaves for his
 
 ada r»i-is. 7 
 
 master the Bey, on which occasion, had it uui 
 been for his extraordinary skill and courage, 
 the vessel and erew nuisl have perished. Bui 
 that whieh gained him the highest estimation 
 amongst the Tripolitans was the bravery and 
 cunning with whieh he opposed tin; Arabs, who 
 were making formidable incursions on their 
 territories. Yet in despite of these successes, 
 nor ladies' love nor a monarch's favour could 
 detain him long on shore. His delight was in 
 active pursuits and rash adventures; and these 
 he was sure to meet with whilst cruizing about 
 with his fearless crew : then would he exult, 
 whilst sailing on the beautiful Mediterranean, 
 and, throwing aside his pipe and perfumes, 
 sing with his merry followers, and laugh tri- 
 umphantly, as his swift vessel glided amongst 
 I lie Islands of the Archipelago. He would 
 drink, too, and that with such intemperance, 
 that many, afraid of its injuring his health, or 
 inflaming his already furious passions, be- 
 sought him to refrain j but, deriding their 
 counsels, and mocking at their fears, "Not 
 drink!" he cried, "by Allah, or by Mahomet,
 
 8 ADA REIS. 
 
 or by all the holy saints of Christendom, wine 
 and spirits are the sotil of life l" And early he 
 had learned to quaff the intoxicating draught, 
 which opened every cell where fancy slept, 
 puttting to flight each sluggish and dormant 
 thought, and adding light and fire to those 
 that remained. 
 
 Gaily and prosperously passed the first years 
 of his youth, till ambition, overcoming the 
 love of pleasure, possessed itself entirely of his 
 mind, and he became acquainted with a man 
 as wicked and as desperate as himself. In the 
 morning early, and in the evening late, he had 
 continually observed a Jew passing before the 
 Reis of the Marine's house looking long and 
 fixedly upon the sea, as if expecting the return 
 of some vessel. He inquired of many the name 
 and business of this man, and their answer was 
 always, " It is Kabkarra, the Jew. 
 
 " And who is Kabkarra ?" 
 
 " He who has sold himself to Zubanyann. 
 the son of the famous Shalfou Paca, who came 
 from Egypt to take care of the Pashas ha- 
 rem, l ' and who now lives with Lilla Amani." l ■
 
 ADA REIS. 9 
 
 * w And who is Zubanyann ?" 
 
 " He is the evil spirit who is seen in the 
 desert, and often destroys the weary traveller." 
 
 This account Ada Reis received from the 
 gaping multitude, and, wild and absurd as it 
 appeared, it still gave him a desire to become 
 acquainted with this mysterious individual.
 
 10 ADA i.Uv 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Great rivalship and contention existed at 
 (his time among the merchants at Tripoly, in 
 the sale of certain pearls of a particular size and 
 colour, which were in the greatest request, 
 and highly valued at some of the African and 
 Asiatic courts. Two of the Moorish mer- 
 chants being aware that Kabkarra alone pos- 
 sessed any quantity of these pearls, proposed 
 to Ada Reis to assist them in obtaining them 
 from him. Kabkarra had refused many, but 
 it was thought he would not refuse the insi- 
 nuating and all-powerful Ada Reis, who upon 
 being asked by Muley Hadgi and Yusuph Seid, 
 the two merchants in question, if he would 
 risk a part of his property in this entreprise, 
 " Not a part," he replied, — " the whole ; for 
 in whatever Ada Reis takes an interest, he con- 
 siders his Jife and fortune as of no account, 
 and this ensures his success." Kabkarra had 
 besides these pearls, in his possession a famous 
 sabre, a Damascus blade, ,3 said to have be-
 
 ADA REIS. ii 
 
 longed to Melchior, one of the three Magi 
 Kings : this also was to Ada Reis an object of 
 (he most intense desire ; but upon inquiry, it 
 w as discovered that Kabkarra had just depart- 
 ed with the caravan for Egypt. It was not, 
 however, in Ada Reis's character either to 
 abandon or to postpone the execution of his 
 intentions ; and therefore, in the hope of 
 either overtaking him or meeting him on his 
 return, he made hasty preparations for his 
 journey, and set forth with the two merchants 
 upon this expedition. Their provisions were 
 scanty, and soon exhausted $ the weather was 
 intensely hot, and for many days they tra- 
 versed the burning sands with no other re- 
 freshment than a bag of meal and some water 
 in their girbas, whilst at night they were pier- 
 ced by insufferable cold. l4 Muley Iladgi and 
 Ynsuph Seid, who were neither gifted with 
 courage nor fortitude, immediately insisted 
 upon returning, observing that the pearls and 
 sabre would be of no avail, if their lives were 
 lost, which must be the consequence of this 
 unexpected detention of the caravan, and te- 
 dious sojourning in the desert 5 but Ada Reis
 
 12 ADA REIS. 
 
 laughed at their fears, and showed them, by 
 his own example, how to bear privation and 
 danger without a murmur, observing that now 
 it were as well, in fact, for them to proceed as 
 to return.. 
 
 They shortly after met w itli a pilgrim who 
 had been wounded, and who informed them 
 that a horde of Arabs having fallen in with 
 them, had, after a severe contest, pillaged and 
 put to flight Jews, Christians, Mussulmen, and 
 Pagans ; many were left dead or mortally 
 wounded, others had returned, and some 
 had been utterly lost in the deserts. The 
 sands were strewed with the booty which had 
 fallen from the grasp of the plunderers, and 
 the merchants found bags of gold-dust l5 and 
 other treasures, as they pursued their way. 
 As it grew dark, Muley Hadgi and Yusuph 
 Scid reiterated their urgent entreaties to Ada 
 Reis that he would return. An evil spirit, 
 however, had taken possession of his heart, 
 and he resolved to murder his two aged com- 
 panions, and pursue his course alone. He 
 seized the opportunity whilst they slept, and, 
 having slain them, possessed himself of their
 
 ADA REIS. i3 
 
 camels, and the treasures which they had with 
 them. The horrid deed was no sooner done 
 than he looked fearfully round, and beheld, 
 to his amazement, on the boundless desert 
 before him, one human being who had wit- 
 nessed his cruelty, and who now appeared 
 watching him with immovable calmness, enve- 
 loped in a dark heiram : he was armed with a 
 long match-musket, the weapon of the wan- 
 dering tribe to which he appeared to belong;' 6 
 he wore a belt inscribed with Arabic charac- 
 ters : his air was noble and haughty, his figure 
 above the middle size, his features were per- 
 fectly regular and strongly marked , his com- 
 plexion nearly black. "AVho are you? 1 ' at 
 length said Ada Reis. 
 
 "1 am," replied the stranger, "a sovereign 
 of the desert, and I know you, and the deed 
 you have done." 
 
 "Whence come you?" rejoined Ada Reis, 
 undauntedly. 
 
 "Like the bird of passage," said the Arab, 
 mournfully, " I have no settled habitation : 
 sometimes, like the gazelle, I roam the plain
 
 *4 ADA REIS. 
 
 of the desert; sometimes, like the eagle, 1 make 
 my nest upon the summit of the mountain. " 
 
 " You are not an Arab sheik, 1 "" said Ada 
 Reis, looking steadfastly at him. "The arms 
 you bear, your belted girdle, 18 and that dark 
 heiram, cannot disguise you from me; you 
 are a Jew, the Jewl am in search of. By the 
 prophet, you are Kabkarra!" 
 
 " Sayest thou so?" retorted the stranger, 
 and laughed. 
 
 Ada Reis prepared to strike his yattagan into 
 the heart of the Jew, for he feared him. The 
 stranger moved not; but the blunted weapon 
 struck as upon a breast-plate of iron, and Ada 
 Reis, confounded, threw himself upon his face 
 at his feet, saying, "I am lost!' 1 
 
 " Arise!" said the stranger, "fear me not. 
 I am the Jew, who, by distant travelling, and 
 a courage like your own, have possessed my- 
 self of hard-earned wealth. I know a place, 
 not sixteen fathoms deep in the sea, where 
 pearls grow bigger than the eider's egg. 1 
 have in my pay many slaves, who bring me 
 gold-dust in abundance. We have been at-
 
 ADA K£IS. i5 
 
 ticked and plundered, but seeing the danger, 
 1 joined the enemy, and having seized upon 
 this habit, was in quest of assistance. I wear 
 triple-steel upon my breast, on my back, and 
 round my throat a collar, which once resisted 
 the Hamper's shawl.' 9 I am rich and pow- 
 erful; but, alas! Ada Reis, what are all the 
 riches of the earth without a friend? You are 
 w ell known to me ; we are both in the prime of 
 youth; the world lies before us; swear upon 
 this sword the Arab's oath, — swear that trea- 
 chery shall never enter your mind or heart; let 
 us henceforward be united." Saying which, 
 the stranger opened a sack, and displayed the 
 pearls of which Ada Reis had heard so much. 
 But Ada Reis only begged to have the sabre, 
 at which the Jew smiled, and, drawing it 
 from a plain scabbard, the air was scented by 
 the perfume of the blade; and the mystic de- 
 vice of the Magi King, beautifully and curi- 
 ously engraved, excited his utmost admira- 
 tion. Ada Reis eagerly accepted it; the Jew 
 gracefully presented it, bidding him not only 
 retain the sword, but in future adopt the sigil 
 of the King of the East as his own; after
 
 lb ADA REIS. 
 
 which he conversed upon a variety of sub- 
 jects with the grace and ease of one bred in 
 the most polished courts, so as entirely to win 
 the heart of his companion. They then re- 
 turned to the camels, and proceeded upon 
 their lonely journey. In replacing the bag- 
 gage upon the animals, Ada Reis shrunk back 
 on touching the stiff cold hand of Muley 
 Hadgi-, at this Kabkarra laughed. 
 
 The following day, as they w r ere slowly pro- 
 ceeding on their way to Tripoly, they were 
 joined by several of the dispersed travellers 
 of the caravan. The sky, clear till now, be- 
 came dark and heavy, the sun appeared to 
 lose its splendour, and assume a violet colour 5 
 the atmosphere became thick, and filled with 
 dust ; the beasts could scarcely breathe from 
 the excessive heat-, Ada Reis felt unable to 
 support himself; the Jew alone seemed not to 
 heed the coming storm. As gasping and faint 
 the travellers and the camels proceeded, not 
 a leaf, not a tree, was to be seen; no shelter 
 near for thirty miles 5 one burning waste of 
 endless sand met the eye 5 not a drop of water, 
 but what they had with them, could be pro-
 
 ADA REJS. 1} 
 
 cured. When the wind rose, the sands flew 
 like the waves and spray of the foaming ocean, 
 and enveloped them : it was then that, with 
 a laugh and a yell, Kahkarra destroyed, one 
 by one, the wretched beings who were drag- 
 ging along a part of their property, and desir- 
 ing Ada Reis to assist him, placed what booty 
 appeared most valuable on their own camel. 
 They then slew the rest of these animals, in 
 order to procure the water they contained, 
 and, mounted upon the only survivor, reach- 
 ed a Moorish hut, drank of the lakaby 20 pre- 
 sented to them, and ate of the plain fare of- 
 fered to them, with rapturous delight. 
 
 After all these horrors Ada Reis fell asleep 
 upon the mat prepared for him, nor awakened 
 till the ensuing morning, when opening his 
 eyes he found his companion was gone. The 
 sabre he had left, w r ith some of the most 
 valuable of the pearls, and a paper w r ritten in 
 the Arabic tongue, which said, " Farewell! 
 beloved : we shall meet again. Remember 
 the Jew Kabkarra. Continue thy course : a 
 monarch's crown awaits thee, in a land where 
 diamonds and emeralds shall be strewn un-
 
 iB ADA REIS. 
 
 der tliy feet, and where the blood of the 
 innoeent may flow, without fear of revenue 
 
 Ada Reis was alarmed, and yet delighted 
 by this epistle •, the vainest hopes of am- 
 bition filled his mind. He returned, howe\ < 1 . 
 to Tripoly, and thought more of the promise 
 made to him than of the wicked deeds he 
 had done. In the space of a month after 
 these events, he was offered the place of the 
 Great Chiah, 21 the late Chiah being dead. 
 This is one of the highest and most powerful 
 offices of the state, and for that very reason 
 the most envied and suspected, so that it was 
 more than probable the successor to it woidd 
 be strangled or poisoned, as the last had 
 been. Ada Reis most earnestly besought 
 that he might be permitted to decline the 
 honour intended him: and after presenting 
 some of the pearls he had obtained to the 
 Pasha, with considerable difficulty he gained 
 his reluctant consent, that he should depart, 
 with other merchants, who were going to 
 Constantinople. 
 
 He asked for no favours, no letters — free- 
 dom was all he desired ; and he boasted that
 
 ADA RfilS. K) 
 
 he was prouder of ihc title of Reis than of 
 any other whatever, because he had laboured 
 for it, and won it by his own energy. To 
 impose upon the ignorant, he claimed kin- 
 dred with princes and kings, nay, with the 
 sun itself; but in fact he was proud of his 
 low origin, and of having risen to the highest 
 dignities by his own exertions. When he 
 spoke his real sentiments, he boasted that he 
 Owed nothing to man, not even to his parents, 
 who, after bringing him into the world, had 
 abandoned and sold him. But the orphan, 
 he said, was the child of Providence, the citi- 
 zen of the world, free and independent-, the 
 subject of no law, the follower of no religion, 
 the slave of no custom •, and in this vain be- 
 lief he again set forth in quest of adventures. 
 In the course of a five years' absence, he was 
 again taken prisoner by the Spaniards, and 
 again liberated ; after which he visited France, 
 Italy, Constantinople, and finally returned 
 once more, crowned with wealth and suc- 
 cess, to Tripoly : yet he returned not this 
 lime alone; he brought with him the child 
 Kiormonda.
 
 5o ADA REIS. 
 
 Previous to his return, when at Constan- 
 tinople, while standing alone to admire the 
 beautiful and delicious gardens which sur- 
 round the shores of the Kara Dengis, a wiz- 
 ard appeared to him, and repeated to him the 
 prediction of the Jew : " You shall be king 
 in another land," he said, " and the oil- 
 spring of your body, the child of blood, 
 shall wear an imperial crown.' 1 
 
 Ada Reis, enchanted, and deeply struck 
 with this prediction, with more boldness than 
 ever pursued his course. "Wherever he ap- 
 peared, wealth awaited him 5 at every court 
 at which he was presented, he was received 
 with admiration : but the attention which 
 was paid to him by others could not be 
 greater than that which he paid to himself; 
 upon that subject he expatiates at the greatest 
 length. He cannot for a moment cease to 
 commend himself; whole pages are filled 
 with descriptions of his person. His clear 
 auburn hair hanging in curls over his fair 
 brow and white neck, his eyes beaming with 
 love, his smile irresistible, his voice most 
 melodious ; he had only to speak to persuade,
 
 ADA REIS. si 
 
 yet did lie ever use but few words. He ac- 
 knowledges, however, that he delighted in 
 low company, in throwing off all restraint, 
 and in giving unbounded licence to his con- 
 versation 5 confesses more than once that he 
 was a strange compound of every excellence 
 and every vice. But where is the excellence 
 he found in his own character ? The bad ever 
 thus deceive themselves ; and their despe- 
 rate crimes assume, in their own eyes alone, 
 an appearance of greatness. Ada Reis, when 
 offended, broke into violence, as if he were 
 mad : his fury then exceeded every thing 
 terrific, his eyes brightened, whilst his dark 
 soul rushed through his lips, and poured itself 
 forth in execrations. 
 
 Vanity and vehemence being thus amongst 
 his principal characteristics, it may be expect- 
 ed that his narrative will dwell much upon 
 his successes in love. In fact, for pages to- 
 gether he does nothing but boast of the ad- 
 vances made to him by the fair sex : he speaks 
 at great length of a young English lady, with 
 whom he became acquainted during his short 
 and unwilling stay at Madrid. Alarmed at the
 
 '2i ada iu:is. 
 
 war then breaking out between her country 
 and Spain, she placed herself under his pro- 
 tection, and he undertook to convey her 
 safely to her own country : to use his own 
 words, " Under the snow of the cold climate 4 
 from which she came, lay concealed the 
 glowing embers of passion-, 11 for if credit is to 
 be given to his relation, the lady died of her 
 love, and was not the only lady who perished 
 by a similar fate. Numerous are the attach- 
 ments, of which he proceeds to detail the cir- 
 cumstances •, endless the list of names he 
 enumerates — Zoe, Orrellana, Issaline, Aura. 
 Zemyra, Orgylia, Mania, Kala, Drossora, Rho- 
 da, Heliodora, Morosa, Levidolche, Muska- 
 tina; but the one alone to whom he soon 
 surrendered his mind and soul was Bianca di 
 Castamela,, the mother of the heroine of this 
 tale.
 
 ADA REIS. a3 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 It was ill ihe spring of the year j-'juj, that 
 Ada Reis having landed in Calabria, in order 
 to dispose of some merchandise, became ac- 
 quainted with a beautiful young Italian 
 maiden, whose father was, like himself, a 
 merchant, and whose hand had been already 
 promised in marriage to a kinsman of her own. 
 She was then seventeen years of age , the ad- 
 miration of all who saw her ; and she, alas ! 
 too soon perceived and returned the interest 
 she had excited in Ada Reis's breast. 
 
 The history of unfortunate love, or short or 
 long, or well or ill told, is in substance every 
 where the same. The maiden, after becom- 
 ing difliculties, yielded to the irresistible Ada 
 Reis : his manly haughty air, his high stature, 
 and superb dress, added to his charms and his 
 costly gifts and polished manners, soon capti- 
 \ated her affections; he, besides, assured her, 
 swearing an oath, which she believed to be a 
 sacred one, that he would return and marry
 
 i(\ ADA REIS. 
 
 her 5 in token of which he gave her his amber 
 beads to keep, and a griffin's claw made of ru- 
 bies and diamonds, which the Bey had given 
 him from his own turban. 
 
 Bianca expressed no regret for her error 5 
 she had yielded to her lover's suit, and she 
 was now the mistress of a man, whom all her 
 countrywomen beheld with enthusiastic ad- 
 miration : they paid her greater court for Ada 
 Reis's sake, and envy itself w 7 as silenced in 
 order to flatter him. But the time for his de- 
 parture drew near, and, finding herself in a 
 situation to excite the suspicions of her parents 
 and relatives, she implored her lover to take 
 her with him to his own country. 
 
 " And 1 will, loveliest girl," he said, bear- 
 ing her along with him upon the night of his 
 departure to the coast, where his vessel was 
 moored, and the crew were all impatiently 
 waiting for him. " Come with me, if thou 
 darest • for by Allah, 1 never will abandon my 
 chosen bride !" 
 
 It was a fearful sight for these fond lovers, 
 as they yet stood upon the shore, to see the 
 liltle bark tossed to and fro upon that tremen-
 
 ADA REIS. 25 
 
 dous sea, the waves foaming and breaking 
 against the rocks, whilst the hoarse sailors 
 and slaves, with their shouts and halloos, 
 seemed to overmatch the storm. It was a 
 quick transition, to turn from the delights and 
 repose of successful love to all the horrors and 
 dangers of such a night ; and Bianca, with a 
 woman's charms and frailty, had, it seems, 
 all a woman's fears : she sighed when her 
 lover thus addressed her : " I will bear thee 
 with me, my beloved, if thou hast spirit and 
 courage to be the mate of Ada Reis ; and, if 
 not — Ha ! dost thou shrink already ?" 
 
 Bianca trembled, her bosom heaved, as in 
 her dark hair she hid her face and wept, 
 shrinking back. " Not to-night," she cried, 
 timidly. " Ah, go not to-night ! My father 
 will pardon us — another time — oh, heavens ! 
 — another time, Ada Reis, 1 will leave all and 
 go with thee." 
 
 " And another time, sweet one," said Ada 
 Reis, with a scornful smile, " 1 will return 
 and make thee my bride." 
 
 Bianca cast her eyes dow r n with shame at. 
 this reproach. Ada Reis embraced her. 
 
 VOL. I. 2
 
 ah ADA REIS. 
 
 u Thou hast not'courage," he said, 4 ' to come 
 with me, have it then to live for me, and 1 will 
 return." Saying this, he sprang into the boat . 
 whilst cheers from his merry crew echoed 
 along the shore. 
 
 Bianca knelt down, praying for his safety ; 
 straining her eyes to see him once more. She 
 remained upon the spot until the vessel be- 
 came as a single speck in the distance : she 
 then returned home to all the discomforts of 
 family surmises, her own heart's reproaches, 
 and a long widowhood of absence from her 
 lover. 
 
 One month passed thus, and the beautiful 
 Bianca began to repent of her conduct i al 
 such a moment, dreading her father's anger, 
 and persecuted by the continued addresses of 
 her kinsman, Giulliano, sK had the weakness 
 lo give him her hand in marriage ; and Giulli- 
 ano'-s love for her was such, that, upon her 
 sacred promise never again to see her seducer, 
 he received her into his house, and, from the 
 day she became a mother, cherished her infant 
 as if it had been his own. 
 
 Two years passed for Bianca and Giulliano
 
 ADA UEIS. 27 
 
 in peace ; a third was opening upon their view, 
 when Ada Reis returned, and having sought 
 for her, traced her to her dwelling, where he 
 found her with her child amusing herself inno- 
 cently during her husband's absence : he first 
 snatched up the child, and gazed upon it 
 wildly, then reproached the mother with her 
 infidelity. 
 
 "1 have been deceived," she cried, " and 
 thought you had abandoned me to shame. By 
 the gray hairs of my father, by our first vows 
 of attachment, by your cherub infant's smile 
 — see, Ada Reis, is not Fiormonda your child? 
 — oh, in pity 1 implore you, show me mercy ! 
 I never loved but you." 
 
 " And you never shall !" he said. 
 
 At half an hour after ten at night, five hours 
 and three-quarters before the lull of the moon, 
 Ada Reis first strangled, and then plunged his 
 scimitar into the bosom of Bianca de Casta- 
 mela } then enveloping the child in his mantle, 
 he fled from the spot. 
 
 As he hurried to regain the shore, it ap- 
 peared to him that a form, horrid as the deed 
 he had done, walked before him. He seemed
 
 S$ ADA hEJs 
 
 to see an eye of fire, as through a misty cJoud ; 
 arid when he thriee exclaimed, " Who goes 
 there?" the word " Kabkarra' 1 was distinctly 
 pronounced. Remorse rendered AdaReis, at 
 this moment, almost insensible even to this 
 prodigy. His heart was torn by the recol- 
 lection of the deed he had done, for he loved 
 the woman whom he had murdered. He wept 
 — he had often been seen to weep ; hard 
 hearts and wicked beings weep the soonest. 
 The uncontrolled passions, the hasty impulses, 
 the ungovernable desires, which hurry a man 
 to every atrocity, are also prone to melt into 
 floods of tears, and to wear every outward 
 mark of sympathy and feeling ; real, perhaps, 
 whilst they last, but transient, fallacious, and 
 without beneficial effect upon the heart or the 
 conduct. When on board his vessel, with 
 the first dawn of day the infant awoke, and 
 stretched out its little arms, as if seeking for 
 its mother; then again he shed tears of bit- 
 terness, but he soothed the child's cries, 
 kissed it to rest, and smiled at its beauty. 
 " And never more, 1 ' he cried, " thou little 
 flower, shall thou see the stem upon which
 
 ADA KElS. m, 
 
 those beauties grew. Farewell to Calabria, 
 farewell to women and to love, and farewell, 
 dearest of all, to the remains of Bianca di 
 Castamcla! For her sake, 1 will bring thee up 
 with more than a mother's eare ; and as nature 
 lias given thee thy mother's eharms, it shall 
 be my fault if thou art deficient in wisdom or 
 acquirement.'' 
 
 After this adventure, he returned to Tn- 
 poly, for there his treasures were concealed, 
 there he had purchased land, had made friends, 
 and was not abhorred, although his crimes 
 were in part suspected.
 
 3o ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Ada Reis presented many jewels of great 
 value and rich merchandises to the Pasha. 
 He then, with his permission, purchased a 
 country-house, provided with baths, gardens, 
 and every possible earthly delight. In this 
 retreat he placed his treasures, his harem, 
 and his infant, under the charge of Aura and 
 Zoe, once his favourite wives. For himself, 
 he sought, in the indulgence of his passions, 
 for one moment's forgctfulness and tranquil- 
 lity; he possessed every thing he most de- 
 sired ; and he said to himself continually, 
 " Who in the wide world is greater, or ought 
 to be happier, than I am? Who can boast of 
 firmer nerves, higher spirits, fairer expecta- 
 tions, or more admiring followers? Does not 
 my child smile upon me, like a little cherub 
 of light? Who has greater power and wealth 
 than I have ? What eastern queen can boast 
 of richer jewels than 1 shall bestow upon Fior- 
 monda ; and for steeds and slaves, has the
 
 ADA fV 1. 1 S. 01 
 
 Pasha finer or more numerous than myself ; 
 vi I in the midst of my success and my splen- 
 dor I am miserable, and wherefore?" 
 
 Under the influence of these feelings, he 
 was unable ever to rest long in the same place. 
 From the city he hurried to his residence in 
 the country, and from thence to the city again 
 with feverish disquietude and impatience. 
 The only hours that he appeared to enjoy 
 were those during which he remained upon 
 his terrace to inhale the inbat, * a after a parch- 
 ing day 5 or when in the calm of the night 
 a visitor chanced to enter and partake of his 
 pipe and sherbet, 23 or his favourite lackaby. 
 But deep cares overpowered his mind when 
 alone, and the least noise startled him with 
 strange apprehensions. Often the remem- 
 brance of past deeds awakened in his soul, 
 and he thought of the days he had passed in 
 the desert, and the dreadful night when Muley 
 Hadgi and Usuph Seid had perished by his 
 hand ; then memory pictured to him the pro- 
 mises of love, his jealous rage, and ihe form 
 of his murdered mistress. Ada Reis was su- 
 perstitious, because he had long ceased to be
 
 32 ADA RE1S. 
 
 religions. When the marabut" 4 sounded to 
 announce the prayer at sunset, he never pros- 
 trated himself upon the ground; he never 
 turned his face to the east, nor breathed to 
 his prophet, or his Creator, one single thanks- 
 giving. Into mosque or place of worship he 
 seldom went, and he commanded that Fior- 
 monda should be kept in ignorance of every 
 religious rite. Nor did he watch with eager 
 impatience and parched lips for the moon of 
 Ramadan, 55 but himself, his child, and his 
 servants, in secret, ate and drank during the 
 sacred fast, regardless of the commands of 
 shrief or prophet; and, when the castle guns 
 and those of all the batteries announced the 
 feast of Beiram, 2<5 he would walk out by night 
 amidst the noise and roar and riot which took 
 place during that festival. Then would he 
 gaze upon the bright glare of the illuminated 
 mosques — enter the cotfee-bazaars, and join 
 in the revelry with dancers and singers, and 
 the lowest slaves, giving vent to his licentious 
 humour, and passing his time amidst the tur- 
 moil and carousals of the vilest of mankind. 
 AVas this happiness? No ! He felt that it was
 
 ADA IVKIS. 
 
 not 5 he found, what all who run the same 
 course, sooner or later must find, that he who 
 yields up his understanding to the allurements 
 of vice, submits himself to the dominion of an 
 hypocritical and deceitful mistress, of one who 
 clothes herself in an assumed character, and 
 who, when she drops the mask of brilliant 
 beauty, which for a time she wears, discovers 
 herself to be pain and sorrow under the sem- 
 blance of pleasure and gratification. 
 
 o>.
 
 34 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 At length, as is the ordinary course, these 
 pursuits began to lose even their temporary 
 power ; they could no longer withdraw Ada 
 Reis's mind from the reflection which he 
 dreaded; and, satiated with debauchery and 
 buffoonery, he had recourse to study. Pos- 
 sessing that comprehensive genius which can, 
 in a moment, seize upon and master the diffi- 
 culties of science, he became acquainted with 
 many of the wonders and mysteries of nature; 
 but he traced back the clue to no origin 
 higher than this life; and in all that excited 
 his admiration, he marked not the hand of a 
 Creator. He assembled around him the learned 
 and the travelled, and he listened to their 
 discourse; but he found their wisdom de- 
 graded by envy, vanity, a desire of petty dis- 
 tinctions, a pedantry, and a love of display 
 and he soon became weary of their society. 
 
 In the meanwhile Fiormonda was left at his 
 country-house, where she grew in years and
 
 ADA &E1& 
 
 beauty, — she added to the gaiety and grace 
 of childhood a depth of thought and feeling 
 uncommon to that age. Most children think 
 deeply, if left to themselves, if leisure be al- 
 lowed to the mind to expand, and a succes- 
 sion of lessons and trifles follow not each 
 other too rapidly ; but Fiormonda had even a 
 greater share of reflection than other chil- 
 dren. Thoughts concerning religion already 
 agitated her mind 5 and love, although the 
 object was, like herself, a child, had already 
 warmed her heart. Ada Reis soon perceived 
 that his daughter's disposition required a firm 
 and skilful discipline : he had long been 
 searching for a person qualified to undertake 
 the office of her preceptress. 
 
 At this period a marabut, using the privi- 
 lege of his calling, terrified her with continual 
 intrusion, came repeatedly even into her 
 chamber, and warned her of approaching 
 danger. 
 
 One evening, on returning to his country 
 residence, Ada Reis found him in Fiormonda's 
 apartment : a serpent hung around his neck, 
 and he was dancing his wild and frantic dance.
 
 36 ADA r i; X s . 
 
 Ada Reis was beginning to express surprise 
 and anger-, but the marabut spinning round, 
 soon betrayed himself by bis horrid laugh and 
 malignant eye. 
 
 "Ik! Kabkarra!" 
 
 "AVellmet, Ada Reis. 
 
 "I know/' said the former, "what it is 
 you seek, and 1 have prepared every thing for 
 you. Shaftbu Paca, my mother, you well 
 know, still lives with Lilla Amani; at my re- 
 quest she will leave the Pashas harem, and 
 take charge of my Fiormonda.' 7 
 
 "By the prophet, I think thy impertinence 
 has no bounds — thy Fiormonda! Thou art but 
 a mendicant Jew.' 1 
 
 " Ay," said Kabkarra, " but a Jew who can 
 purchase all that the vanity of man can desire. 
 Have you killed more men or women since 
 we parted?" 
 
 Ada Reis started, and looked upon him. 
 but his eye could not long endure the stern 
 regard of the being who stood before him. 
 Daunted and confused, he turned the discourse 
 to other matters, and Kabkarra now presented 
 Fiormonda with a set of chessmen, wade, as
 
 ADA REIS. >; 
 
 be said, of metal he had found in his travels, 
 and constructed with such exquisite art thai 
 they appeared alive. This hanble, he con- 
 tinued, would amuse his little bride when she 
 grew older 5 and in the mean time he en- 
 treated Ada Reis to consider him as a friend, 
 and to call upon him whenever any difficulty 
 arose. 
 
 To the infinite surprise of Ada Reis, Shaifou 
 Paca arrived some days after this interview, 
 bringing a flattering message from the Pasha 
 and his eldest son the Bey, by which the for- 
 mer bestowed upon Fiormonda the title of 
 Lilla, and the latter asked her hand in mar- 
 riage. 
 
 Ada Reis accepted the oiler in the name of 
 his child, and sent in return both to the 
 Pasha and Bey splendid presents. It now 
 appeared probable that his ambition would be 
 gratified \ and that his daughter would wed a 
 sovereign : for, like most pretended philoso- 
 phers, he valued above all things the honours 
 which he ever affected to despise. But such 
 is the inconsistency of man^ and Ada R<i^
 
 38 ADA REIS. 
 
 though he talked, at times, like a wise man, 
 ever acted like the veriest of fools. 
 
 It has been said, that he was an admirer of 
 beauty. It required, therefore, all his self- 
 command to conquer his excessive repugnance.' 
 to the new governess's deformed and undig- 
 nified appearance ; so that whilst he was ob- 
 liged to attend to her discourse, he averted 
 his eyes, that he might not see her hideous 
 countenance. Shalfou Paca was, indeed, ugly 
 beyond all parallel : she was of Egyptian ori- 
 gin 5 yet her countenance was not of simple 
 Egyptian ugliness, but seemed to exhibit a 
 characteristic mark of every original nation. 
 Her legs appeared to have been put together 
 by mistake ; the right one being considerably 
 shorter and thicker than the other. She was 
 corpulent ; and her eyes, w r hich saw even 
 more than other eyes can see, never looked in 
 the same direction. 2 " She had, besides, the 
 peculiar power, like the cameleon, of fixing 
 the one upon an object while the other turned 
 leisurely round, as if seeking for somewhat 
 else. In her voluble conversation no idea
 
 ADA UEIS. fg 
 
 was distinct. Il seemed as if au endless me- 
 mory, stored with the beginnings and endings 
 of all that ever had been, was running over 
 the heads and hints of what she wished to 
 express. Learning appeared to have over- 
 powered her; she had dabbled in metaphysics 
 until it was hardly possible to understand 
 what she meant, and she was continually 
 misquoting passages in the dead languages. 
 Under these circumstances it is not much to 
 be wondered at that Ada Reis could not bear 
 to converse with her : indeed from the first 
 he had spoken to her with such extreme 
 harshness, that the fright into which he had 
 thrown her increased, to the greatest degree, 
 the confusion of her ideas, and consequently 
 the natural tediousness of her discourse. In 
 his first interview he asked her a few ques- 
 tions concerning education ; and as he knew 
 that there is a great deal to be said upon that 
 subject, he was not surprised that she took 
 much time and many words to answer, but 
 though not surprised, he was fatigued ; and 
 in order to gel rid of her, he sent for the 
 child, and delivered her into her hands : for
 
 4o ADA RE1S. 
 
 it is a common practice to condemn children 
 to the society of those with whom parents 
 cannot endure even for a moment to associate. 
 
 Fiormonda fell into hysterics at the first 
 sight of Shafi'ou Paca •, but the governess, no 
 ways disturbed, restored her in a few mo- 
 ments, by certain words and gestures, and 
 soon became a tolerable favourite. She talked 
 to her pupil of the princesses of the Pashas 
 harem, of the Bey, of Lilla Amani. She gave 
 her sweetmeats and trinkets, and instructed 
 her in the science of chess, displaying to her 
 admiring eyes the beautiful box and the 
 wonderful men her son, the Jew Kabkarra, 
 had given her. 
 
 Fiormonda laughed, as she viewed the 
 pieces marshalled before her ; but Ada Reis 
 bit his lips, and seemed uneasy, murmuring 
 betwixt his teeth — '* 1 hke not this gift, this is 
 no mortal gift, this is enchantment. I have 
 heard or read of such things only in the old 
 legends of fayerie and romance ; these imps 
 possibly are alive, and the servants of Kab- 
 karra!" 
 
 Shaffou Paca now thought it prudent to pnl
 
 ADA UK is. 4 1 
 
 in a few avoids, and with a stream of elo- 
 quence proved, that it was the mere power of 
 mechanism, which, when the pieces were 
 wound up, put them thus in motion. Still 
 Ada Reis doubted. 
 
 When the board was placed upon the floor, 
 it covered a breadth and length of nearly six 
 square feet. The white squares were of po- 
 lished ivory, the black of jet ; the rim around 
 was of gold studded with gems. The casket 
 contained the greatest wonder of all. The 
 chessmen were habited in ruby and emerald 
 suits : the dark knights were upon black 
 steeds, richly caparisoned ; their antagonists 
 upon greys •, all formed with precision, deli- 
 cacy, and exquisite art. They could smile, 
 they coidd move their fingers and feet • the 
 horses pranced, the horsemen showed off their 
 skill. The ecclesiastics moved with dignity. 
 The castles were borne slowly forwards; two 
 were made of rose-coloured diamonds, and 
 two of black : upon the battlements men of 
 small size were discovered, busily preparing 
 for the attack. The kings had brows which 
 bespoke command ; the queens were grace-"
 
 I* ADA RE IS. 
 
 ful ; ihc pawns, with plebeian rudeness, ap- 
 peared eager for the combat 5 and every piece 
 placed itself, as it started from the box, ac- 
 cording to order. 
 
 Ada Reis, as well as Shaflbu Paca, instructed 
 Fiormonda in playing at this scientific game, 
 in which she took surprising delight 5 indeed, 
 for many months she did little else. The chess- 
 men were removed to a favourite golpha 28 
 which Ada Reis had constructed, a retreat, 
 which, however intense ihe heat of the sun, 
 was always cool 5 it being so contrived, that 
 he could at pleasure press from the reeds fresh 
 air, and raise soft music like that of an OEolian 
 harp. This apartment was placed in a wil- 
 derness, it is true, but it was one of sweets. 
 beneath thick orange and lemon groves, 
 where white marble channels, with rapid 
 clear streams of water, crossed the gardens in 
 many directions. Fiormonda veiled was con- 
 ducted there at times, and from a distance 
 gazed upon the gardens,, in which she was 
 now r no longer permitted to wander. She was 
 kept with strict care, and closely watched 
 ever since the day when the page Zevahir had
 
 ADA KLIS. 43 
 
 been found conversing with her. The youth, 
 iu consequence of this liberty, had been dis- 
 missed from the service of Ada Reis 5 and, in- 
 deed, except when her father was with her, 
 this lovely child was confined like a state pri- 
 soner, Shaflou Paca scarcely permitting her to 
 breathe the air from without.
 
 \\ ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 It happened that shortly after the arrival of 
 Shafl'ou Paca, Ada Reis left his child, and re- 
 mained away many months, when he heard 
 suddenly that she was ill. He immediately 
 returned to his country residence to see her, 
 and was struck with the air of debility and 
 melancholy visible in her once cheerful coun- 
 tenance 5 he reasoned with ShafFou Paca as to 
 the cause, and made some observations to that 
 lady upon her system of education, which dis- 
 pleased her. 
 
 Whilst they were engaged in dispute, a 
 message was brought, informing Ada Reis that 
 on the ensuing morning the Bey would visit 
 his destined bride. This was not customary ; 
 but the honour was so great that no objection 
 was made ; and when the young prince ar- 
 rived, Ada Reis led him into his daughter's 
 apartment. 
 
 The chamber was in the form of a tent, 
 entirely lined with blue satin, ornamented
 
 ADA REJS. $5 
 
 ■with gold fringe, and costly embroidery. The 
 couch, beautifully adorned according Lo the 
 Moorish taste, was placed upon a Turkish car- 
 pet in an alcove. Shailbu Paea was employed 
 in attiring her little charge in the splendid ha- 
 bits worn only by the ladies of the Pasha's 
 harem, and all Fiormonda's care was how to 
 look beautiful. Hers was a happy mixture of 
 Circassian and Italian beauty, with a counte- 
 nance original and peculiar to herself. She 
 was dressed in a light Persian jelique 2 9 and 
 white under vest, her arms bare, white mus- 
 lin trowsers, and her little feet, like alabaster, 
 ornamented by solid gold bands, such as the 
 ladies of the blood royal are alone entitled to 
 wear. 3o These, and a girdle of charms to 
 save her from evil eyes, 31 were her only orna- 
 ments. Her hair, as yet unbraided, hung care- 
 lessly around her beautiful neck and face. An 
 old gray Iman was standing near her, pre- 
 scribing for her ill state of health. 
 
 The Bey knelt in admiration at her feet, 
 presenting her, at the same time, with a string 
 of pearls. She raised him immediately • and 
 afterwards waited upon him and upon her fa-
 
 46 ADA REIS. 
 
 ther, offering them sweetmeats and refresh- 
 ment : she was not, however, well ; her pulse 
 was quick, and her manner hurried, like that 
 of a wild bird caged, or a tender gazelle 
 eaught in the net and kept from its herd. 
 The Bey expressed great anxiety upon her ac- 
 eount, and the Iman advised Ada Reis that she 
 should be left more at liberty, that the tedi- 
 ousness of her toilette should be shortened, 
 the number of her ablutions diminished, and 
 that she should not be wholly fed upon coffee 
 and sweetmeats ; but, above all, he insisted 
 mueh upon her not being opposed in her de- 
 sire to walk : for her present languid state, he 
 said ; was occasioned by heat, pampered lux- 
 ury, and confinement. Her happiest years 
 seemed condemned to be passed in show and 
 dress. Three times in the twenty-four hours 
 Shaffou Paca attended her to the bath, where 
 Zoe and Aura employed themselves, the one 
 in washing her beautiful ringlets with orange 
 and rose-water, and the other in drying them 
 with scented perfumes : the plaiting them in 
 fifty tresses, and adorning her lovely person 
 with every ornament, would now take several
 
 ADA RE1S. i; 
 
 hours more ; besides which, Kabkarra had 
 terrified her with his live serpent and strange 
 contortions, and had given her nearly half the 
 sentences out of the Koran, in a eup mixed 
 with sherbet of pomegranate juice. By Shal- 
 fou Paca's superstitious decree, the right eye of 
 a crocodile of the Nile, and the middle feather 
 from an ostrich's wing, were placed under her 
 pillow at night : amulets, charms, Egyptian 
 hieroglyphics, and other incantations, were 
 wound either in scrolls or linen all over her 
 body. She might not walk, she might not 
 play, nor might she stand by the lake calling 
 together from the mountains the troops of wild 
 gazelles, who once came to Zevahus voice, 
 nor must she hear his soft songs, for, alas ! he 
 had been sent from the harem for singing too 
 sweetly the air she most admired. All these 
 complaints the gentle Fiormonda murmured 
 forth to the young prince, whilst the old gray 
 Iman, fixing his dark-shining eyes upon her 
 from a corner of the room, seemed to smile 
 with triumph whilst she spoke. Negresses in 
 the meantime wetted her forehead with their 
 third finger dipped in a charmed liquor, and
 
 48 a\)\ mis. 
 
 uttered spells and prayers Lo save her from the 
 contagion of those eyes \ but it was in vain, 
 thev had fixed hers 5 she felt their power, 
 hung down her head, and durst not raise it up 
 again. Her women were standing near her, 
 some stringing beads for her, and others ar- 
 ranging the feathers of birds in the most beau- 
 tiful and fanciful order. Looking-glasses, 
 crystal vases, superb chests of mother-of-pearl 
 and ebony, tablets, and golden ornaments, 
 adorned her apartments 5 loose mattresses and 
 cushions in the form of sofas not five inches 
 removed from the ground served for seats. 
 The Bey had little to say : " If you will leave 
 this house, and come with me," he said, ''von 
 shall have no reason to complain." 
 
 " Shall I see Zevahir again ?" 
 
 " AVho is Zevahir?" said the Bey. 
 
 Shatfou Paca was about to explain, when 
 the lman frowned, and she was silent. 
 
 Cotfee was now brought in filigree cups 
 adorned with pearls and rubies j it was strong- 
 ly scented with mace, cinnamon, and cloves. 
 The Bey took it from his little mistress's 
 hands, and seated her by him whilst he drank
 
 ADA RRIS. 4p 
 
 it ; he was fifteen years old, and kepi in as 
 elose a state of confinement as herself. The 
 rank of Bey had been conferred upon him, 
 but he was only now permitted to go out with 
 his troop on account of his extreme youth. 
 
 It was natural that after some time the con- 
 versation should rather flag, and both the 
 young prince and Fiormonda had nearly ar- 
 rived at the end of all their remarks, when 
 the old Iman laughed with a hollow laugh, 
 which greatly alarmed them ; then turning to 
 Shatfou Paca, " I know the mother of an 
 Arab sheik can cure Fiormonda," he said, 
 41 and I will fetch her-, her name is Zezel 
 Peer Banyan, an Arab fairy ; she Jives far 
 hence, but shall be here ere long. Take 
 care of your charge, tease her no more, let 
 her be free as her own thoughts and feelings. 
 Hers are the years when the mind should be 
 left to expand, and the limbs to grow. All 
 this confinement and state make the silly 
 fools we see around us. Let Fiormonda be 
 the child of simple nature. I will return, 
 and teach her to braid her beautiful hair, and 
 to cast her dark-blue eyes, with their long 
 vol. i. 3
 
 bo ADA REIS. 
 
 and jetty fringes, with more art than you 
 can.'' 
 
 The Bey stared, and took his leave : hav- 
 ing but few ideas himself, he was surprised 
 at the novelty of this diseourse. 
 
 " Leila, here is a bird will amuse you; 
 take it, and follow 7 it around your garden 
 and groves," said the Iman 5 " become, like 
 it, gay and lively. Beauty such as yours, in 
 such a land, is only a fatal dow ry ; for of 
 what avail are teeth like rows of pearl, limbs 
 straight, long, and light, and all your other 
 fascinations, if that air of melancholy saddens 
 your countenance? Alas! 1 am not to you 
 what he has been — Kabkarra is not as dear 
 as . 
 
 Fiormonda coloured, and concealed her 
 beautiful face, and played with the bird, 
 which was as small as the Indian piccaflore, 32 
 and whose plumes were of an emerald green, 
 with a ruby-coloured ring around the neck : 
 it had until this moment been concealed in 
 the Iman's bosom. Ada Reis had been so 
 intent upon honouring the Bey, and upon 
 seeing all due respect and ceremony observed
 
 AHA REIS. 5l 
 
 towards him, that he had not heeded before, 
 nor did he observe now, the strange conduct 
 of the Iman. He tenderly embraced his child, 
 and then attended upon the Bey 5 but as they 
 quitted the chamber, he thought he saw the 
 figure of Kabkarra walking out before him. 

 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII, 
 
 As soon as Ada Reis returned, he asked 
 Shaflbu Paca if her son had been there. She 
 answered, No. The lman was gone. Ada 
 Reis then desired that Fiormonda might be 
 left entirely to herself, and freed from all 
 unnecessary restraint and fatigue, whilst he 
 remained with her. 
 
 To no prisoner was ever liberty more de- 
 lightful than to Fiormonda, when escaped 
 from the thraldom of Shaffou Paca. AVith re- 
 newed strength and spirits, she bounded be- 
 fore the black women and nurses, the very 
 moment Ada Reis gave her permission to roam 
 about the garden : " Now, now I am happy,'' 
 said she, first looking at the jessamine in 
 flower, then gathering a sprig of myrtle, then 
 hastening to a reservoir in which were her 
 gold and silver fish. " I will now go," she 
 said, " and let all the birds in my aviary 
 free." In vain the blacks remonstrated; in 
 a moment the paroquets and cucines, the
 
 ADA REIS. 53 
 
 pelican, ostrich, and damoiscllc, and the one 
 sickly gazelle, whose leg had been broken 
 in attempting to take it alive, were liberated, 
 all rushing forth from their respective places 
 of confinement. " Go," she said, opening 
 their wiry gates, " I have felt too much tin* 
 misery of slavery not to feel for you ; go, 
 with your beautiful plumes, happy birds, and 
 say to those you meet, it was Fiormonda set 
 you free. But as for thee, poor gazelle, with 
 thy brown eyes, stay with me : what though 
 thy spirit remains, thy power is gone, and 
 liberty now to thee can be no object." After 
 this and other feats, for which she was gently 
 reproved by her father, she joined him at the 
 Golpha, where coffee was prepared, and, in 
 order to amuse her, jugglers and tambour 
 players were assembled. These agile per- 
 formers rather confused and wearied her •, 
 and having, until this evening, never for one 
 hour in her short life, since she could re- 
 member, seen the beautiful stars reflected in 
 the waters of the dark lake, she gazed upon 
 them with awe and admiration, sometimes 
 expressing her feelings to Ada Rcis, and
 
 54 ADA RE1S. 
 
 sometimes listening to the notes of the night- 
 ingale, who was warbling sweetly in the 
 orange grove. The noise of the players had 
 ceased ; the glare and heat of day had passed. 
 Fiormonda's whole attention seemed to be 
 suddenly arrested by the beauty and interest 
 of the scene, — thought crowded upon thought 
 — her heaving breast and half open lips 
 showed that the magnitude and mystery of 
 the subject engrossed all her faculties, and 
 prevented her from giving immediate utter- 
 ance to her sentiments. At length, timidly 
 approaching Ada Reis; " What are these 
 lights?" she said, " and by whom placed 
 there? Are they balls of fire, or precious 
 gems ?" 
 
 " They are worlds, perhaps, like our own," 
 he replied. 
 
 Then hurrying on with eager curiosity, 
 " Who made them; and for what end? 
 What are we, father? Why here? and what 
 will become of us, when, like those who 
 have left us, we shall be no more ? Shall we 
 go to those bright worlds if we are good? 
 What is being good ? What bad ? and is that
 
 ADA REIS. bt) 
 
 which is good happy, and that which is evil 
 the reverse? Why am 1 punished when my 
 will teaches me to oppose yours? By whai 
 law have you power and authority over mei' 
 How is it that I suffered but just now, and 
 why am 1 now well? Why are you greater 
 than other men ? May any man, if he can, 
 get the better of others, and command them?" 
 
 M What law can be stronger than the law 
 of power and possession?" said Ada Reis. 
 
 " Is there any one upon this earth, or in 
 those other worlds, greater than you, my 
 lather?" 
 
 Fiormonda did not wait for answers to 
 most of these inquiries ; but when at length 
 she paused, Ada Reis thus replied. " All that 
 you see, fair daughter, is the result of chance j 
 Ada Reis, great as he appears, these beautiful 
 groves, these mountains, yourself, the flow- 
 ing rivers, the calm lake, the myriads of in- 
 sects, the crowd of men, the crocodile, and 
 the sprightly monkey, the lordly palm, the 
 perfumed magnolia, the purple rhododen- 
 dron, and the azalia, that blooms for miles 
 and miles over the hills, all these are the
 
 56 ADA REIS, 
 
 mere combinations of casual attraction. In 
 the beginning of all things, if ever there was 
 a beginning, there was one principle, the 
 power of life or animation ; and there were 
 two elements to work upon, light and dark- 
 ness j and although none can tell what gave 
 the first shock, which set these elements 
 in motion, yet since the beginning of time, 
 in all probability, attraction and combination 
 have given forms and variety to nature : there 
 is no vacuum in the universe 5 all is filled, 
 all is alive, and every diversity of animated 
 dust sports along, till dissolution unknits the 
 particles, and sends them back to fill some 
 other appointed condition. We are the sport 
 of chance ; the tree that grows in our garden 
 may be composed of atoms that were once 
 what we call man. We are, compared to 
 this earth, as a drop of water to the ocean; 
 think what we must be to the boundless uni- 
 verse! We are inventive, and, with the ma- 
 terials before us, can make ourselves palaces, 
 ornaments, and delights, but we cannot in- 
 crease the dust of the earth by one particle, 
 any more than we can add one ray of light
 
 ADA RE IS. f>; 
 
 to the sun ; for all was complete from the 
 beginning; and when all is dissolved from 
 its present combination, light will return to 
 light, and darkness to darkness. This great 
 principle, which warms and illuminates — this 
 creative being, this God, whose sigh (perhaps 
 at being alone, and immortal in existence) 
 animated worlds by a single breath — this light 
 of life, who renders the earth fruitful, will 
 then draw forth gradually, from each living 
 thing, the latent particle of celestial fire, 
 which it lent but for a time, and attracting it 
 to itself again, waft it up on high to its primi- 
 tive station, where all will be perfect light, 
 perfect harmony, and consequently perfect 
 happiness." 
 
 "I hope," said Fiormonda, "that 1 have 
 nothing but light in me." 
 
 " Oh!" said Ada Reis, with a look of des- 
 pair, " best beloved, unhappy Fiormonda, 
 through me, alas! the evil principle has at- 
 tached itself to thee •, by me, the pure and 
 subtile matter, that had combined in thee, 1 
 forming the appearance of perfection (for in 
 that which is beautiful beauty rests), has beert 
 
 3r
 
 58 ADA RE IS. 
 
 defiled; and if you do not, by day and by night, 
 keep guard, the curse of the father will destroy 
 the innocent child. For the deeds of dark- 
 ness that I have done, nature demands repara- 
 tion : blood will have blood! the very earth 
 speaks this to me wherever 1 turn. To the 
 evil association, evil repairs ; and to the pure 
 and the good, all that is bright and fair belongs. 
 Tremble, then, Fiormonda, at the dangers 
 which surround thee. Virtue is truth, truth is 
 light, light is harmony, and harmony is happi- 
 ness; but evil is darkness, and darkness is mi- 
 sery. And, therefore, Ada Reis, the great, the 
 powerful, the wise, even Ada Reis is miser- 
 able 5 for myself 1 care not, but 1 would save 
 thee, my child.' 1 
 
 ' ' It was thus that Ada Reis endeavoured to 
 instruct Fiormonda, or rather to amuse him- 
 self ; but, bewildered in the mazes of error, 
 how could he teach that which he had never 
 learned ? how even could he attempt to warn 
 his child of her danger, or request her to mo- 
 derate her passions, when he felt that, from 
 infancy, he had given her so bad an example ? 
 But the gay buoyancy of her spirit saved h< i
 
 ADA KF.JS. r nj 
 
 from the sadness of these reflections, and 
 
 she was happy in the levity and inattention of 
 childhood : a bird, with beautiful plumage, 
 or an insect with bright colours, in a moment 
 called her thoughts from these difficult specu- 
 lations to life and enjoyment ; it was far diffe- 
 rent for Ada Reis, and he was sad even when 
 he beheld her smile. He pressed the reeds in 
 his Golpha, and the soft air fanned him, and 
 I he water spouted from pipes around, falling 
 into the fountains; then with a silver wand 
 he touched harmonic glasses,' — music soft and 
 soothing proceeded from that touch. At such 
 gentle call, — at such hour of evening, — the 
 nightingale answered the notes, and a voice 
 sweeter than the night-bird's sung from under 
 the double-scented jessamine. Ada Reis re- 
 posed, Shaifou Paca and the attendants were 
 at a distance ; Fiormonda throwing pebbles 
 into the lake, smiled at the circles she made 
 on its smooth surface. The call of the Imans 
 to evening prayers at that moment caught her 
 ear 5 she involuntarily turned to the east : so 
 much of belief, notwithstanding Ada Reiss 
 prohibition, had been inculcated into her mind:
 
 <io ADA RE IS. 
 
 the hope of immortality had naturally risen 
 in her soul, and it had been found impossible 
 entirely to exclude from her knowledge the 
 religion of her country. She felt her heart 
 fall, — a secret consciousness told her there 
 was a Being, to whom she owed the tribute of 
 obedience and gratitude, and the cold sugges- 
 tion of philosophy sufficed not to satisfy her 
 warm and vivid feelings. She knelt and 
 prayed, — it was a short but fervent prayer. 
 She prayed like others 5 to be deceived rather 
 than to stand as she now did in existence, 
 saying to herself, " I am nothing — nothing 
 around me really is, — all is confusion, doubt, 
 and uncertainty ; there is no after-existence, 
 and what we enjoy and feel here is all delu- 
 sion." These opinions had led her father 
 into the commission of crime, — but what was 
 crime? Her mind had in it a proud disdain, 
 as she thought, of evil : but what was evil ? 
 Alas ! who could tell her? "Oh, that, in place 
 of the herd of mercenary beings who attend 
 me," she cried — "who know me not, and 
 feel not as 1 do, — who give me torture when 
 they mean to please, and curb me in all my
 
 ADA REiS. til 
 
 free spirit teaches me to delight in! Oh, that 
 a being like the one who watched over my 
 infancy could again descend to instruct and 
 enlighten me. Could I but see thee, gentle 
 Zevahir, and hear thee, now 1 am again at 
 liberty, I would enjoy with thee the beauties 
 and delights of this fair world. Thou wouldst 
 explain to me, at once, all its delusions and 
 errors, and teach me to avoid them. What 
 will become of me, if in truth my father des- 
 tines me to the Bey? How shall I endure to 
 live with one whose sluggish soul sees no de- 
 light in any thing but in the indulgence of 
 his heavy spirit, sleeping through the weary 
 hours, and happy only in indifference and in- 
 sensibility?'' 
 
 As she spoke, she heard the air she had 
 often heard in her infancy played, as she ima- 
 gined, by the page Zevahir ; her bird flew 
 from her, and nestled in a shrub, as if alarmed. 
 She then beheld a ball, bright as a diamond, 
 and musical as the chime of bells, rolling 
 towards her, upon the smooth margin of the 
 lake, and lightly along the bank came a youth, 
 drest after another fashion than that of her
 
 ta ADA KE1S. 
 
 country, but of a countenance fair and beau- 
 tiful as her own. He appeared rather older 
 than herself • his hair was light, his smile ra- 
 diant, and his cheeks glowing with the first 
 bloom of health 5 he had an angelic expres- 
 sion; perfect truth, perfect faith, and perfect 
 honour and purity sate upon his lips and 
 beamed from his eyes : a wreath adorned his 
 golden locks 3 sandals ornamented his feet, 
 and his step was fleet and light, as if he had been 
 a winged messenger from heaven. He made 
 obeisance to her, she returned the salute with 
 a smile : he approached her timidly, and said, 
 in a voice soft, low, and harmonious, "Alicum 
 Salem." To which she replied, "Salem Ali- 
 cum." 33 
 
 "You look mournful," he continued : "does 
 the time pass slowly for you, or has any event 
 grieved you since I fled from you ?" 
 
 He held a flower in his hand, it was a catalpa. 
 he knelt and offered it to her; she accepted 
 it — the perfume was sweet : he wore a chain 
 of beads around his neck, the colour of each 
 bead varied like the opal and the Labrador 
 stone in the light •, he unclasped the chain.
 
 ADA KE1S. 03 
 
 and seeing her eyes fixed upon it, presented 
 il to her. " On every bead, lovely Lilla," he 
 said, " you may daily read my thoughts; wear 
 it for me!" The silver sound of his voice was 
 like the sweetest music. 
 
 Fiormonda, in raptures of delight, pressed 
 the beads eagerly to her lips — "Alas," he said, 
 • ' it is by gifts alone I may yet retain you — 
 keep these baubles for me.' 1 
 
 "Is it Zevahir," she said, my long banished 
 page, or are you an angel from some bright 
 world above? 11 
 
 He answered not, but the diamond ball 
 again played that air she remembered. As 
 when the magnetizer, by his power over I lie 
 enfeebled mind, appears to draw the evil 
 humours from out the human frame, so whilst 
 thede soft sounds murmured upon her ear, 
 every agitating thought, and every eager wish, 
 left her. " Take this musical ball," he said, 
 • • and when worldly cares oppress you, let it 
 play to you ; it will soothe the troubled mind 
 and calm the soul." 
 
 kC Are you," said Fiormonda, " a guardian 
 spirit, come from one of the bright stars my
 
 64 ADA REIS. 
 
 father says are worlds? WiM you teach me 
 
 what is right ?" 
 
 "1 have watched you from infancy } as 
 your page, I have followed you •, I have 
 brought the freshest flowers to you, and sung 
 the sweetest songs to you ; unknown and 
 unseen, I have still been present with you ; it 
 is only when your violence and vanity have 
 grieved me, that I have reluctantly left you. 
 Call me Zevahir $ call me by that name you 
 have often called me. 1 am not of your country, 
 but come from one happier, though not fairer 
 than yours. If you would retain me for a 
 playmate, you must learn to moderate your 
 temper. Yours is as the burning siroc, and 
 I am gentle as the balmy breeze j my fine 
 ear cannot endure the jarring sound of 
 discord. I was called Phaos in the Golden 
 Island ; but my real name is Zamohr. This 
 is the ball for which King Mulichor sold his 
 crown and kingdom ; these are the beads fof 
 which the Queen of Mora Ben Eden forsook 
 her palace and abandoned her children : look 
 at the blue bead in the centre, see through 
 this glass what is there written. 1 '
 
 ADA REIS. 65 
 
 In small but distinct characters there now 
 appeared, plain to Fiormondas eyes — " Love 
 is gentle ; and beautiful when you are gentle, 
 Lilla, I love you." She coloured, and asked 
 him whence he had gathered the Catalpa, the 
 perfume of which was more fragrant than any 
 she ever yet had found. 
 
 " I gathered it from the wreath which Bor- 
 dislas-Chan, the Schah of Persia, sent to the 
 wife of For no, Emperor of Mogul ; the blos- 
 soms of that wreath were plucked from the 
 garden of Eden by a cherub, before our first 
 parents brought sin and shame upon us ; their 
 perfume is sweet, and they will bloom for 
 ever 5 wear it upon your virgin heart, as a 
 symbol of its purity and immortal worth $ like 
 you, it is spotless : never stain its white by 
 one ill sentiment ; it will bloom in that shrine 
 whilst you arc pure." 
 
 " 1 am pleased with these gifts," said the 
 child ; " but what have you in your hand?" 
 
 "It is a pen," said he," which will write 
 of itself whatever you command, in any 
 character, in any language ; you have only to 
 dictate, and it shall immediately express your
 
 66 ADA REJS. 
 
 sentiments : even if there be no better scroll 
 than the sand of the desert, your wishes shall 
 be conveyed to me. Write, then, freely to 
 your guardian friend whatever enters into 
 your mind; whisper but to this pen, and 
 though divided from you by immeasurable 
 space, your feelings, your desires, will be thus 
 in a moment communicated." 
 
 When Zevahir, or Phaos, or Zamohr, had 
 concluded, he approached Fiormonda in a 
 gentle caressing manner, impressed upon her 
 cheek one kiss, nor asked forgiveness for the 
 freedom ; yet he prepared to retire. " Stay,'" 
 said the child •, " in the name of pity do not 
 leave me, or tell me, at least, before you go, 
 by what wonderful power you have gained in 
 a moment such ascendancy over me?" 
 
 " The power, of which you are sensible, 
 is that of early love •, love, such as young 
 hearts and noble natures sometimes feel ; 
 what poets have imagined, what philosophers 
 have doubted, and the worldly-minded have 
 scoiFed at and denied : nevertheless, when 
 kindred spirits meet as we do, they feel, they 
 must feel, what you now enjoy/ 1
 
 ADA KEIS. 0; 
 
 " But," said Fiormonda, " although it be 
 joy whilst with you, do you think it will be 
 joy to-morrow when you are away? 17 
 
 " Yes," said Phaos, " since you must deem 
 me ever near you, when your kind heart 
 thinks on me ; and if I do not appear, still 
 believe me watching over you, to bless and 
 guard you, as I have done heretofore." 
 
 "Oh, but if you are a spirit and yet near 
 me, I shall be afraid of you. I love you as 
 you are, alive, and such as I now see you 5 
 but if 1 believed you to be more or less than 
 myself, I should dread you!" 
 
 "Whilst you are gentle, and good," said 
 Phaos, " and innocent, before the base world 
 shall have written one ill thought within your 
 heart, 1 may thus appear to you : but whatso- 
 ever I am, you need not be alarmed •, I never 
 can frighten or harm you : my nature is 
 beneficent and kind. "When the soft sea- 
 breeze gently blows upon you, and when the 
 bird that is most beautiful, with its purple 
 feathers, flies before you, in all that you love 
 Ixst, think that it is I ; hear my voice in the 
 sweet warblings of the nightingale, and think
 
 68 ADA KEIS. 
 
 of me when the rising lark sings as it ascends 
 to Heaven : in all that is innocent and good, 
 I am. When yon sleep and dream of Heaven, 
 when yon pray, I will bear those prayers to 
 the throne of mercy : when yon give to the 
 unfortunate, I will be at your side. I am 
 youth, 1 am innocence, I am early love. Be 
 virtuous, be true, and the light and grace of 
 Heaven shall be with you. As the dew 
 ascends and falls upon the flower, so will I, 
 night and morning, return to my beloved." 
 
 He spoke, and in speaking left her ; but he 
 went as he had come, like the soft breath of 
 spring, the fragrance of the rose, the first sigli 
 of love, the sound of distant music 5 his benign 
 presence was felt, was enjoyed, his absence 
 regretted ; but how and when he came and 
 went, Fiormonda could not tell. She felt 
 alone that he was gone, and was inconsolable. 
 
 From that hour she became however more 
 timid and gentle than before. New hopes, 
 new thoughts, arose by degrees in her open- 
 ing mind. She prayed to the great Creator 
 for his protection. She blest his beneficent 
 hand, and she was happy. This happiness,
 
 ADA HE IS. 6c> 
 
 however, was soon interrupted by a most un- 
 toward accident ; for one day she suddenly 
 perceived that she had lost all the cherished 
 gifts which her guardian spirit had given to 
 her. The envious Shatfbu Paca had seized 
 them, no doubt ; or the fierce Kabkarra, in 
 disguise, had entered her apartment. With 
 something of her father's spirit she expressed 
 her indignation, and meeting only with oppo- 
 sition to her will, she gave way to entire dis- 
 traction.
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 With bitterness the passionate girl now ar- 
 raigned her father, governesses, sub-gover- 
 nesses, and attendants j she demanded and 
 sought in every direction the vision, which had 
 captivated and delighted her. ShaiFou Paca, 
 Aura, Zoe, the slaves and guards, in vain pur- 
 sued her, in vain inquired what had happened 5 
 she only replied by entreaties that he, whom 
 she sought for, might return. At night upon 
 her couch she became delirious, and raved, 
 as her father imagined, calling ever after what 
 none but herself had seen. " Give it me! 
 Send for him !" 
 
 tc What, beloved child ?" said Ada Reis. 
 
 "'- That which 1 beheld in the heavens, as- 
 cending to the stars ; that which smiled upon 
 me in the evening, whose voice was music." 
 
 " The Lilla has no doubt been looked upon 
 by an evil eye," said Shaffou Paca. 
 
 In this belief they sent in all directions for 
 shriefs and marabuts : wise men were station-
 
 ADA REIS. ;i 
 
 cd around her, and dream-expounders altcnd- 
 ed the couch of the child. 
 
 ' w It is no dream, no folly," said Fiormonda, 
 indignant at the least obstacle which interven- 
 ed between the first inlimation and the attain- 
 ment of her most trivial desires. "I will lie 
 here and die, if I do not see it again.* 1 
 
 " Let peace be restored to the heart of my 
 child," said the proud merchant, as he saw the 
 governess and the nurses and slaves flying 
 from her, afraid lest some evil spirit had been 
 near her 5 "indulge her most trifling wishes," 
 continued he, assuming that air of imposing 
 grandeur, which only the high and mighty 
 are allowed to put on. " Be soothed, be 
 comforted." 
 
 " Never, never, till I have it," cried the 
 child •, " let me go out upon the mountains 
 and the Jake, to see his angel form, to hear his 
 voice once more." 
 
 "I wish it had a name," said Shaffou Paca, 
 " and I would run myself over the world and 
 fetch it." 
 
 "I will give the Aashari dromedary, and 
 ten of my finest steeds, with my best diamonds
 
 7^ ADA REIS. 
 
 and pearls, and a million of Spanish ducats," 
 said Ada Reis, " to whoever discovers what 
 malady has fallen upon my child." 
 
 "Is it the milk-white steed the Bey rode 
 upon yesterday?" said Aura ; " or can it be 
 the young mameluke, who brought the tiger 
 to her ?" 
 
 " No, no," said the child. 
 
 M Or is it the house drawn by sixteen goats, 
 belonging to a strange man — a poet ?" 
 
 Weeping with disappointment upon the 
 bosom of her father ; " it is none of these. 
 Alas ! I love you, sir, as you know well 
 enough, better than my jewels, my dresses, 
 my favourite horse, and my singing-birds ; but 
 1 shall never recover, if I have not that which 
 1 beheld flying in the skies, ascending to the 
 stars." 
 
 And now the treasures of the country were 
 ransacked, and brought before Ada Reis ; the 
 story of Fiormonda's illness reached the ears of 
 the Pasha and the Bey ; from far and near 
 every novelty, every wonder — giants, dwarfs, 
 elephants, were brought to Ada Reis, and dis- 
 played to the child. But vain were all the
 
 ADA REIS. 73 
 
 efforts, all the cost. The rarities were re- 
 ceived with indifference, and viewed by the 
 heiress of Ada Reis with strong emotions of 
 disappointment and disgust : her faded form 
 and altered manners alarmed her doting 
 friends. They then sent for a christian phy- 
 sician, who was at Cairo, offering him any sum 
 which might induce him to undertake the 
 case. The learned man from Cairo came, and 
 all the shriefs and sages who could be sum- 
 moned elsewhere answered a similar call- the 
 concourse was great, the consultation long. 
 " Some fiend has cast his eye upon the child \ 
 it is insanity has struck upon the brain; terror 
 has diseased the nervous system." 
 
 This opinion had just been given, when an 
 immense concourse of Arabs from the moun- 
 tains filled the courts. A shiek forced his 
 way into the apartment, and loudly calling for 
 Ada Reis, desired permission himself to speak 
 to the child. And when it was given — "Is 
 he, of whom yon infant is in search," he said, 
 " a boy with flaxen hair, whose bright blue 
 eyes, and angel smile, awaken the heart to 
 love? Is this the bauble," he continued, hold- 
 vol. 1. 4
 
 74 ADA RE IS. 
 
 ing in his hand a diamond ball, "which plays, 
 when touched, soft music ? Is this the pen. 
 Which writes from the heart that loves it, fer- 
 vent wishes, even were no scroll but the de- 
 sert waste at hand upon which to write ? are 
 these the beads ?" 
 
 " They are ! they are !" cried the delighted 
 child ; her bright eyes beaming through her 
 tears, as she held her arms eagerly out to the 
 Arab ; and once again obtained possession of 
 those gifts she had possibly lost in her eager- 
 ness to seek him who had given them. 
 
 The Arab shiek glanced his wily black eye 
 around, he smiled, whilst the evil spirit 
 showed itself plainly in the dazzling bright- 
 ness of that eye. Shrinking from his rough 
 grasp, Fiormonda now retreated back to her 
 couch in alarm, while Kabkarra, for it was 
 himself, clapping his hands, with aloud laugh. 
 exclaimed, " 'Tis well, Fiormonda; and thy 
 impatience and thy violence shall soon place 
 thee in my power. Sleep, however, now. 
 for thou art weary. What a fire I will kindle 
 in that young heart when time has matured 
 thee for my purpose!" He then hastened
 
 ADA KEIS. 75 
 
 from the room, leaving the child, Ada Reis, 
 Shaiibu Paca, and the whole company in 
 much consternation. 
 
 A deep sleep now fell upon Fiormonda ; 
 and the rest of the hy-standers, fatigued by 
 many days of constant attendance, were happy, 
 as they could not explain to each other what 
 had taken place, to retire and compose them- 
 selves. The fever abated 5 Fiormonda smiled 
 on her father, and her eyes closed ; soon every 
 one slept. 
 
 The moon shone brightly in at the open 
 casement, the sweet perfume of the rose and 
 the jasmine scented the air : " Wake, lovely 
 child !" said a voice : " Awake, and see thy 
 guardian spirit, or in thy dreams be blest by 
 his presence." Fiormonda opened her beauti- 
 ful eyes, and Phaos was at her side. She 
 talked with him. He endeavoured to soothe 
 her : he told her he had only left her to avoid 
 the presence of those who could not endure 
 him, but that while she continued good, and 
 pious, and pure, he never would forsake her. 
 His was not love, although he came by stealth 
 at that lone hour • it was a feeling which can
 
 76 ADA RE IS. 
 
 be imagined but by few : poets and painters 
 have that feeling, when in ecstasy they gaze 
 upon the calm beauties of nature 5 childhood 
 has that feeling, when at the twilight hour, 
 upon a summer's evening, the gay and weary 
 children, tired with sport and play, sit on the 
 grass and listen to the rippling of a stream, 
 soft music, or watch the passing clouds 5 age 
 has that feeling when near the friend or child 
 it loves, it listens to the chime of bells, and 
 the memory of past times returns. Fiormonda 
 conversed with Phaos, and became calm and 
 gentle. 
 
 In the morning she was found by ShalFou 
 Paca perfectly restored to health. Ada Reis 
 shortly after, satisfied with her convalescence, 
 and fatigued with the prate of the maids and 
 physicians, took his leave, promising, how- 
 ever, soon to return.
 
 ADA RKIS. 77 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Dangerous were the feelings which now 
 agitated Fiormonda's mind. Kabkarra had 
 spoken truly when he had said that as she 
 grew in years a violent spirit would show it- 
 self. Innocent she was ; hut wild fancies and 
 strange hopes and fears arose to delude her 
 reason : she saw not things as they are — wild 
 enthusiasm and romantic passion gave a false 
 colouring to every object. In the very tone 
 of her voice, in the songs she sung, in her 
 impassioned manner, she already proved the 
 truth of his predictions. In the mean time, 
 every night and every bright morning, with 
 the rising and setting star, Phaos appeared to 
 her, instilling into her heart sentiments of 
 virtue and beneficence. By stream or lake, 
 amidst flowers, or in recesses in the wood, 
 these happy and innocent children met and 
 conversed : she was attached to him 5 she was 
 engrossed by him. He talked to her of piety, 
 and innocence, and happiness, and repri-
 
 78 ADA REIS. 
 
 manded gently all her errors : but too much 
 of woman's love mingled already with the 
 feeling of attachment she felt for her guardian 
 attendant ; he repressed — he seemed to fear 
 such emotion — he chilled her — and admo- 
 nished her to keep a stricter watch over her 
 thoughts. At length she began to feel some- 
 what of fatigue in his presence, she did not 
 always hear him with the same patience, and 
 sometimes her volatile spirits led her from his 
 wise discourses. Her mind dwelt more upon 
 the pleasures of life than he wished. She 
 was ambitious, too ; she spoke of war — of 
 triumph; splendid jewels pleased her fancy ; 
 above all, she detested the calm state her 
 present companion described. She broke 
 forth into a strain of ridicule : in one inter- 
 view he found her decking herself with jewels 
 which the Bey had presented to her 5 in an- 
 other, she burst into frenzy, speaking to her 
 attendants in the imperious tone her father 
 ever assumed : it was then that the guardian 
 of her childhood became seriously o (Vended ; 
 he had often reprimanded her, and sometimes 
 he had seen, with grief, that his admonitions
 
 ADA RE1S. 7!) 
 
 tired, and that she began somewhat to smile 
 at his romantie hopes and -wishes. He dc- 
 seribed a course of life, which had nol the 
 same attractions for herself as for him; he 
 talked of a happy state, when two pure and 
 innocent beings might live for each other, and 
 do good to those who were less blest; he 
 spoke of a country where all worshipped and 
 adored the true Deity, and faith and benevo- 
 lence were cherished above riches and beauty, 
 where, in order to obey a great Creator, pas- 
 sions were to be subdued, and trials were to 
 be endured without a mnrmnr ; all glare, all 
 pomp, all vanity he detested, and Fiormonda 
 acknowledged that she liked every thing of 
 the sort : in his own country, he said, men 
 had perfect honour, and women were gentle, 
 pure, and obedient. He maintained that 
 beauty and truth were religion, and all else 
 was deceit and vice. He shed tears over Fior- 
 monda when she boasted of her expectations 
 upon earth. He bade her look above for sup- 
 port ; her duty was to be humble and gentle. 
 She smiled when he thus addressed her. His
 
 Ho ADA REIS. 
 
 ideas, she said, were, she feared, too romantic 
 for this world — after all, whilst upon earth, 
 we must respect even the prejudices of our 
 fellow creatures ; satire and ridicule had their 
 effect. Fear of the hitter irony of Ada Reis 
 had already, in some degree, influenced her 
 mind ; she thought, also, that she saw in her 
 new friend an inexperience and a want of 
 knowledge of the world, which she was sure 
 would not be tolerated in a city like Tripoly, 
 and in an age as enlightened as the present ; 
 yet was he very dear to her, and she grieved 
 to see him more and more seldom. 
 
 Her recovery had now been some time com- 
 plete, and Shaffou Paca maintained that the 
 sooner she espoused the Bey the better. In 
 her country eight years of age was thought a 
 very reasonable period at which to marry ; at 
 thirteen some of her companions had already 
 a family of children. 34 But Ada Reis could 
 not quite make up his mind to consent to the 
 marriage : he had ideas of future aggrandize- 
 ment, which w r ere not sufficiently definite to 
 justify him in an absolute refusal 5 yet he dc-
 
 ADA RKIS. frl 
 
 layed to give his entire consent to an imme- 
 diate union, and resolved even to consul I 
 Kabkarra upon the subject. 
 
 A change had imperceptibly taken place, 
 within the last year, in Fiormonda's air and 
 manner. The passion of love had been 
 awakened in her ardent breast $ but though 
 she fancied the object of it to be her guar- 
 dian attendant, he was, in fact, far from en- 
 tirely engrossing her affections. 
 
 4-
 
 83 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 There are some who say women seldom 
 justly appreciate real merit ; their imagina- 
 tions and passions beguile them ; and the rare 
 qualities of the mind, which refuse to obtrude 
 themselves, seldom attach. Ada Reis, in his 
 narrative, makes no such reflection ; he 
 merely says, that Fiormonda was alone capti- 
 vated by the mystery which gave interest to 
 her secret meetings with her youthful admi- 
 rer ; whereas every day, as she advanced in 
 years, her ambitious hopes gained strength, 
 and enthusiasm and passion turned her mind 
 from the duties and affections of friendship. 
 Ada Reis confesses that until this time he had 
 little or no suspicion of his daughter's attach- 
 ment to the beautiful boy ; he considered her 
 as safe under the guidance of Shaffou Paca, 
 and at length the vigilance of that lady de- 
 tected Fiormonda's secret interviews with 
 Zevahir. She lost no time in warning Ada 
 Reis of his daughter's danger ; she further
 
 ADA REIS. 83 
 
 communicated her strong suspicion that the 
 intruder was not a mere mortal being, but 
 probably an evil spirit •, of this, indeed, she 
 had little doubt, as she was a firm believer in 
 every thing that exceeded the bounds of cre- 
 dibility. 
 
 Ada Reis, upon this intelligence, deter- 
 mined upon putting his daughter out of harm's 
 way, by instantly celebrating her marriage 
 with the Bey. He made a speedy communi- 
 cation of his intention to the Pasha ; who, 
 well aware of his immense wealth, had long 
 been very urgent upon this subject •, and the 
 most splendid preparations were in conse- 
 quence made to solemnize the nuptials. 
 
 Matters stood thus, when Phaos, one even- 
 ing upon entering Fiormondas apartment, and 
 finding her in no humour to converse ratio- 
 nally with him, but, on the contrary, vain, 
 obdurate, and flighty, warned her that he was 
 about to leave her for ever. " Farewell, love- 
 liest !" he said : " since my attachment can 
 neither touch you nor bind you, it is decreed 
 that we must part ; the time is come, and 
 without one word of reproach, I quit you :
 
 84 ADA REIS. 
 
 look upon me once, since we shall meet per- 
 haps no more. The world and its false vani- 
 ties have already allured your young heart 
 from nature and innocence ; you are about to 
 enter upon a career of vanity and deceit ; 
 sometimes, perhaps, you will remember your 
 happiest days •, the days when you were in- 
 nocent and loved by me : then was your heart 
 pure and affectionate ; then were virtue, truth, 
 and honour, the only feelings which you ve- 
 nerated. My love for you has been holy as 
 piety, as beautiful, and as true : your early 
 faith and infant prayer drew me down to 
 guard you ; your womanish vanity and errors 
 have rendered my stay impossible. Go, there- 
 fore ; for your very name has doomed you to 
 be the ephemeral plant of a perishable world. 
 But you have a soul, whatever false philoso- 
 phy may say for the purpose of persuading 
 you to doubt it, and one day you will be 
 called to account for all your actions. I, the 
 lover of your infancy, must leave you $ to 
 part is death to you, and agony to me. Virtue 
 delights in concealing her beauties, that the 
 mean, the corrupt, the profligate may not run
 
 ADA KKIS. 85 
 
 after her and admire her as they would do 
 could they see her. Vice, hideous and de- 
 formed, stalks abroad dressed in jewels and 
 ornaments to attract the inexperienced. Oh, 
 Fiormonda, cherish yet in thy young heart 
 the good seed which has been implanted 
 there. You have snapped asunder the cords 
 that bound us together, and I am forced to 
 quit you. Farewell, beloved child ; for world- 
 ly honour and accursed vanity you have aban- 
 doned me." Thus saying, he broke from her 
 and left her, with more solemnity than could 
 have been expected from his youth. 
 
 Fiormonda thought him but gone for a mo- 
 ment 5 he had ever returned when her pen 
 expressed her wishes to that effect, and as 
 every bead she read spoke to her but of love, 
 tenderness, and faith, she gave herself but 
 little concern at his bidding her farewell ; 
 and even felt the silly vanity of a coquette, in 
 the hope of making so tender a heart suffer, 
 and perhaps love her the more for the disdain 
 which she feigned. She saw him not, how- 
 ever, the ensuing day. In the evening, she 
 talked of the Bey, who was so soon, she
 
 86 ADA REIS. 
 
 heard, to claim her hand, and take her to his 
 palace : she tried on every variety of dress for 
 this occasion, and was pleased with the adu- 
 lation and praises of her attendants. Never 
 was beauty seen surpassing hers, and she ad- 
 mired herself to the full as much as did her 
 admiring slaves $ but her heart was still at- 
 tached to her guardian spirit, and, although 
 she liked to show her power, she no sooner 
 missed his visits than she began ardently and 
 eagerly to pine, and wish for his return.
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 As soon, however, as Fiormoncla found 
 that her lover had really left her, she in- 
 formed Shaflfou Paea of all that had passed; 
 repeated the words Phaos had addressed to 
 her, sang over his songs, showed his presents, 
 and wept and pined, and complained in the 
 same violent way which she had done after 
 their first interview. " He is," she said, 
 " the page Zevahir; he has watched over 
 me from my birth •, he is all that is good and 
 beneficent*, he was my mother's friend in 
 early life; he is a guardian spirit, he bore 
 my prayers up to the throne of Heaven, he 
 watched me whilst I slept, and 1 have lost 
 him by my own faults and folly!" 
 
 There was a certain juice Ada Reis applied 
 to his daughter's lips whenever he perceived 
 passion was likely to overpower her reason ; 
 and there was a pipe pitched to a low tone, 
 by which, when enraged himself, he endea- 
 voured to modulate his own voice : but on
 
 88 ADA RE IS. 
 
 the present occasion, when Shaffou Paca, 
 Aura, Zoe, negroes and negresses, governors 
 and governesses, sub-governors, tutors, nurses, 
 and attendants, vociferating together in his 
 antechamber, and from thence all at once 
 breaking into his presence, informed him of 
 what had taken place — the juice and the pipe 
 were applied in vain ; he fell into one of his 
 paroxysms-, he even tore a white lock out 
 of his beard, which had ever grown there 
 the admiration of the ladies of his harem, all 
 the rest being of a beautiful auburn, and 
 curling like to golden wire. He struck his 
 ow r n head gently, and was very near repeating 
 the blow with greater violence upon that of 
 others. At length he became calm — " And 
 who is this stripling," he cried, " and where 
 are his villanous gifts? Bring them and the 
 Lilla Fiormonda before me. Kabkarra ! I in- 
 voke your aid. Mho knows where to find 
 Kabkarra?" 
 
 " I do," said Shaffou Paca; " and had 1 
 followed his wise counsels, my young charge 
 had not been now exposed to the arts and 
 seductions of I know not whom."
 
 ADA RE IS. Ho, 
 
 Here Shallbu Paca was again interrupted 
 by the rage of Ada Reis, which knew no 
 bounds: execrating her want of severity, and 
 his own blind ness, he vowed vengeance on 
 a youth, who, by all the marvels he had heard 
 of him, could scarcely be esteemed a mortal 
 being, or liable to such proofs of his resent- 
 ment as il was his present intention to bestow 
 upon him. 
 
 The scattered remnants of broken furniture 
 were no sooner removed, and the chamber 
 restored to order, than the obedient troop of 
 wives and slaves went to communicate to 
 Fiormonda the wishes of Ada Reis, which 
 occasioned nearly as tremendous a fit of fury 
 in the child, as that which had been displayed 
 by her father. Her paroxysm being likewise 
 over, and the attire of the Lilla set to rights, 
 the procession took place-, two black women 
 bearing the gifts first, and Fiormonda follow- 
 ing, her lovely cheeks bedewed with tears, the 
 white catalpa still blooming fresh upon her 
 bosom. Ah ! who that had seen that soft 
 blue eye downcast, and covered by its jetty 
 fringe, as with slow and calm step she gently
 
 90 ADA REIS. 
 
 followed her guardians like a lamb to the 
 altar, could possibly have believed that a 
 moment before, she had knocked down the 
 vases in the state apartment, and had torn in 
 pieces the celebrated veil wrought in Egypt 
 for Bianca di Castamela, her mother, and 
 presented to her by Ada Reis as the most 
 wonderful specimen of the art-, could Fior- 
 monda, that lovely, that gentle child, have 
 given the yellow slave that terrible bump 
 upon his right eye, or have impressed a wound 
 upon the arm of ShafFou Paca, who now fol- 
 lowed her, venting her ill-humour by cease- 
 less complaint? 
 
 Ada Reis, when he beheld her, exclaimed. 
 " Child of an unhappy connexion, you little 
 know the danger in which you now stand : 
 a royal suitor awaits you, a diadem is yours 
 if you obey my commands ; but the wretch, 
 who has gazed upon you, whom you meet in 
 secret, is a sorcerer — an evil spirit. I will 
 return his gifts, or," he continued, as he 
 now fixed his eyes upon these wonderful 
 toys, " 1 will keep them } not indeed know- 
 ing unto whom 1 am to return them at pre-
 
 ADA AEIS. 91 
 
 sent ; and, until the arrival of Kabkarra, tlic 
 friend of our family, you shall remain under 
 my own superintendence." After having said 
 thus much, Ada Reis, much appeased by this 
 show of authority, and the established cer- 
 tainty, that no one dared contradict or op- 
 pose him, examined one after the other the 
 gifts which Phaos had presented to his child. 
 
 Fiormonda, as she first delivered the beads 
 to her father, taking the glass, read upon 
 one, c< I am as miserable as yourself;" the 
 next said, " fear not ;" the third said, " love 
 me ;" the fourth shed tears ; the fifth breath- 
 ed sighs ; and all the other beads said some 
 one of those flattering sayings, which love 
 only knows how to say. Fiormonda then 
 put one to her lips as Ada Reis, in an angry 
 tone, asked why she delayed so long to give 
 him the bauble •, the bead, breathing softly, 
 returned the kiss she gave. " "Wonderful!" 
 she cried : "I cannot part with this." 
 
 " Cannot!" said Ada Reis furiously, " why 
 1 will give thee a kingdom for this foolish 
 chain ; and your royal suitor shall hang upon 
 your neck a string of pearls, each pearl
 
 9^ ADA RE1S. 
 
 possessing worth enough therewith to pur- 
 chase a monarch's diadem. 1 ' 
 
 " Never !" said Fiormonda faintly; hut she 
 gave up the beads ; and whilst Ada Reis, 
 examining them with contempt, said they 
 were in his eyes like mere common orna- 
 ments, Fiormonda addressed her pen, which 
 from her hand wrote as in the air, "Come 
 to my assistance, angel of peace ! Yes, I am 
 true to you •, I will be gentle, virtuous, obe- 
 dient ; I never will belong to the Ley or the 
 rich Jew •, 1 will learn to command my pas- 
 sions •, I will learn to obey." 
 
 Scarce had the pen expressed her thoughts, 
 when Ada Reis snatched it from her, " And 
 for this trifling quill my Lilla Castamela shall 
 have an elephant, a dromedary, and a dia- 
 mond crown." 
 
 The musical ball was next displayed, but 
 that ball which had sung so sweetly to Fior- 
 monda, and sounded like the voice of her 
 lover, now was silent, and when at length 
 moved to play, only imitated the martial 
 gong, or the loud kettle-drum, and war- 
 whoop.
 
 ADA REIS. g3 
 
 " See," said Ada Reis, when he had gained 
 his point, turning with authority to Shaffou 
 Paea, " see that better care be taken to keep 
 intruders from my house, or your miserable 
 life may end somewhat sooner than you per- 
 haps wish. Command the guards to keep 
 strict watch in future."
 
 g4 ADA RE1S 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Shaffou Paca and the guards did their 
 duty •, but how vain are the commands of a 
 despot, and of what avail is force against the 
 free spirit? A thousand thoughts, born and 
 bred under this durance, ripened in Fior- 
 monda's mind, and taught her to value that 
 which she had lost by her own fickleness 
 and presumption : how endless the day ap- 
 peared, and how cheerless the evening with- 
 out her second self, her other half! AVhat 
 struggling passions waged w T ar with each 
 other in her mind ! She pined for she knew 
 not what: she talked of virtue, heaven, and 
 immortal hopes — worldly honours and costly 
 attire ; made transitions from the stars of the 
 blessed to the good things of this world, 
 with a rapidity and facility astonishing to the 
 bystanders. Love, fear, hope, heaven, Phaos, 
 the Bey, and Kabkarra, were alternately sub- 
 jects of her incoherent conversation : until 
 at length ShalFou Paca maintained that a
 
 ADA REIS. g5 
 
 struggle between the e\il and die good 
 principle was taking place within her mind, 
 which would probably end in the total ali- 
 enation of her reason. Sickness fell upon 
 her. Life in all its glorious promise faded 
 before her. Doubts, fears, passions, arose 
 within her breast; and Ada Reis, alarmed, 
 and awake to her danger, resolved, without 
 loss of time, to invoke once more the aid of 
 Kabkarra. Her illness increasing, the blacks 
 began to howl and scream the dying yell. 
 Shall'ou Paca exclaimed, fcC If it be your 
 wish," addressing Ada Reis, " my son shall 
 be here this night: the way is long, it is 
 true, but at a word 1 can make him come." 
 
 " Ha!" said Ada Reis, ", well, then, bring 
 him before me $7 and Shailou Paca, pleased 
 with a display of her power, did not observe 
 the dark suspicious frown of surprise and 
 anger which now overspread her masters 
 countenance j she, with all the despatch in 
 her power, obeyed his commands. 
 
 But Kabkarra, offended, refused to attend 
 the summons of Ada Reis. " The Lilla Fior- 
 monda," he said, " has much wronged and
 
 96 ADA REIS. 
 
 displeased me ; she has contracted a friend- 
 ship with another : let her rue her folly. 
 To prove, however, that my regard is not 
 entirely extinguished, I send in my place a 
 skilful female, Zezel Peer Banyan, who will 
 tend the Lilla with all the care and all the 
 art which her malady requires." 
 
 Shaffou Paca informed Ada Reis of this 
 mandate, and he received the intelligence as 
 the head of a family receives the news of the 
 arrival of the apothecary when he has sent 
 for, and expects, a renowned physician. 
 
 At half an hour after ten at night, five hours 
 and three-quarters before the full of the 
 moon, Zezel Peer Banyan arrived, and seat- 
 ing herself upon a mat in the child's apart- 
 ment, began drawing lines with her finger 
 upon the palm of her other hand, and ap- 
 peared very well satisfied with herself and si- 
 tuation. A chant from without was at that 
 moment heard, and a troop of Arabs bearing 
 torches entered the house and surrounded 
 her, whilst a procession of Arab children fol- 
 lowed, with charms, and spells, and serpents, 
 and messes in their hands. The children
 
 ADA REIS. 97 
 
 Were all nearly of the age of the invalid : they 
 ranged themselves in rows before the conch, 
 and sung in short impressive accents, not 
 wholly inharmonious, a song or hymn to the 
 dying child. Their gestures and uncouth garb 
 gave an animated air of wild emotion to their 
 countenances, whilst they danced and played 
 in mysterious attitudes. 
 
 Zezel Peer Banyan, in the mean time, enve- 
 loped in a loose dark woollen blanket, or ba- 
 racan, one eye of terrible fierceness alone 
 appearing, spun around, as if performing some 
 of the ceremonies of a marabut, at the same 
 time shrieking as loud as her hoarse voice 
 would permit. She then stamped upon the 
 Koran, and squatted herself down upon the 
 carpet in the middle of the room 5 the chil- 
 dren, like imps, dancing wildly around her. 
 Fiormonda moved not. The sorceress then 
 stirred a mess up with a variety of gestures ; 
 the Arabs and children prostrated themselves 
 before her, all shrieking like herself; after 
 which, in discordant accents, they sang deep 
 and tremulous invocations. A flame arose 
 from the caldron. 
 
 vol. 1. 5
 
 9 R ADA REIS. 
 
 Upon this sign Zczel Peer Banyan bade 
 them return to their homes. Then taking 
 with her hand somewhat from the flame, she 
 seated herself upon the mat, entirely enve- 
 loped in her black baracan, with her one 
 bright eye alone in view, and that fixed like a 
 basilisk's upon the child. Silence and terror 
 unparalleled reigned through the apartment ; 
 even ShafFou Paca was awed, and the blacks 
 obeying the gestures, which bade them depart 
 one by one, slowly left the room. No sooner 
 had every one retreated, than the Arab fairy 
 began again to w T hirl around with terrific atti- 
 tudes and horrid gestures. She danced too, 
 and for so long, that at length h t dance be- 
 came one continued convulsion ; L-.be laughed, 
 she howled, she stamped, she sung, till Fior- 
 monda, from a state of insensibility, arose 
 trembling, and called for Aura and Zoe, and 
 even for ShafFou Paca — but in vain. Again 
 Zezel Peer Banyan re-seated herself in silence, 
 fixing her eye, in a fearful manner. The child, 
 kneeling, implored her to speak, and asked 
 in mercy who she was. The mysterious being 
 approaching her, with a laugh, suddenly
 
 ADA REIS. 99 
 
 snatched her from her couch. At this moment 
 the dark baraean fell, and Fiormonda found 
 herself in the arms of a fierce Arab chief, who 
 cried, " Ha ! lovely one, thou art mine ! 
 I have made thee well !" pressed her lips 
 rudely to his, and looked upon her with exult- 
 ing triumph. " Passions have bound thee to 
 me," he cried, " Fires, wild and lawless, wait 
 but opportunity and temptation to rage within 
 thy breast ; thou shah be mine ! — be mine !" 
 
 Ada Reis at this moment entered, and the 
 warrior re-assuming the appearance of the sor- 
 ceress, and folding the cloak again around 
 him, said, as he placed over the child a girdle 
 of the finest jewels, which he had drawn from 
 without the caldron, " Remember me when 
 we meet again, and by this token, give not thy 
 hand to any one here, for an imperial crown 
 awaits thee." 
 
 He then retired, but the apartment re- 
 mained full of jewels, perfumes, gifts ; and 
 the negresses, and Aura, and Zoe, had re- 
 ceived bona manos from Zezel Peer Banyan, 
 they said, as she went out. Some, however, 
 hinted, that this Zezel Peer Banyan was no
 
 100 ADA REIS. 
 
 other than Kabkarra, the Jew, the son of 
 Shafibu Paca. Suspicions had entered the 
 mind of Ada Reis, and sending several of his 
 black slaves to bring that lady instantly before 
 him, " Strange things," he said, " he had 
 been in the habit of seeing and hearing all the 
 days of his life j common wonders he consi- 
 dered as of small consequence ; even the 
 chessmen he had tolerated •, but now it oc- 
 curred to him, that Zubanyann, the evil one, 
 and Zezel Peer Banyan, the sorceress, were 
 imposing upon the facility of his disposition, 
 and before he w r as aware, Fiormonda, his love- 
 ly child, his' only living child, would be in 
 their power." Considerably disturbed by these 
 apprehensions, he fixed his eyes sternly upon 
 Shatfbu Paca, awaiting, in a majestic attitude, 
 her approach. Her natural infirmities were 
 greatly increased by the alarm which this sud- 
 den summons had caused her ; the negresses 
 too were tottering and trembling behind, and 
 the blacks, who w r ere afraid of their master, 
 hurried her along for fear of enraging him by 
 the least delay, regardless of the unfortunate 
 lameness, which prevented her advancing
 
 ADA REIS. ii)i 
 
 quickly, with her short leg foremost ; this 
 short leg being her chief stay, the other cir- 
 cling round it, as the long shank of a pair 
 of compasses turns about the shorter when 
 it is planted. She now approached Ada 
 Reis ; as she came up close within his view 
 his gravity left him, and for one moment he 
 fell back with laughter upon beholding her. 
 
 This reception, in some measure, re-assured 
 her •, but when he charged her with being 
 mother to a sorcerer, and questioned her upon 
 the subject of the Jew Kabkarra, she nearly 
 fainted j her two negresses put some cloves 
 and cinnamon to her nose, and offered her a 
 small cup of orange-flower water, but she 
 thought it a disrespect to touch any of these 
 things in presence of Ada Reis, and, shaking 
 from head to foot, answered his questions in 
 the following manner. 
 
 " Are you married?" 
 
 "I was." 
 
 " To whom?" 
 
 " To a vender of slippers, a Jew." 
 
 " What was his name?" 
 
 '" Kabkarra!"
 
 102 ADA REIS. 
 
 " Ha!" said Ada Reis, and sprung from his 
 cushion. " AVhat became of your husband?" 
 
 " He died of the plague ten years ago." 
 
 " Had you any children?" 
 
 "One." 
 
 -Where is he?" 
 
 " He wanders about the world, he is your 
 servant." 
 
 "Answer straight, thou old sorceress!" 
 stamping with his foot, and ordering two of 
 his blacks to tie a sash around her neck, and 
 strangle her if she prevaricated; "answer me. 
 or you shall die!" 
 
 "I shall die," said ShafFou Paca, kneeling, 
 as she felt the noose about her neck, " if you 
 do not command these miscreants to loose the 
 sash!" 
 
 Ada Reis smiled, and the sash was relaxed. 
 He then proceeded, " How came your son in 
 league with the evil one?" 
 
 " It was one fearful night," said Shalfou 
 Paca, shuddering, "we were nearly starved 
 to death : what will not man do to purchase 
 food?" 
 
 "Who?"
 
 ADA RE IS. io3 
 
 "My son and myself: taking a desperate 
 resolution, he left me." 
 
 "What then?" 
 
 "He went in search of gold and of pearls." 
 
 • h W hat llienT 
 
 "1 know nothing more; he was long ab- 
 sent 5 1 was on the point of death when he 
 returned. He came at length } but his counte- 
 nance never again expressed or hope or peace. 
 From that day we have both been rich but 
 miserable. He, shortly after his return, led 
 me from Egypt ; we wandered to different 
 countries : I know nothing further." 
 
 "Swear it!" 
 
 "I swear it." 
 
 "Was he here to-night? Did he not appear 
 before me in the form of Zezel Peer Banyan!" 
 
 Shallbu Paea trembled all over, but main- 
 tained that her son possessed no other power 
 than what belongs to mortal man. 
 
 " You then are leagued with Zubanyann?" 
 
 " I know him not." 
 
 " Is there an evil one? Teach me all thou 
 knowest. 1 will strangle thee if thou dost not 
 explain all to me ; and then, if there be any
 
 104 ADA RE IS. 
 
 power in thy knowledge, thou may est restore 
 thyself." 
 
 "Sir," said Shaffou Paca, sobbing and wring- 
 ing her hands, "nothing can restore me if 
 you take away my life $ and to prolong life, 
 and purchase riches, what have I not forfeit- 
 ed?" With this she begged Ada Reis's leave 
 to retire } but his curiosity was insatiable, and 
 he questioned her for several hours longer. 
 However, he could make nothing out from 
 her discourse, he therefore commanded her 
 to fetch her son. She hobbled off in haste, 
 most eager to get away. 
 
 The next day she was furnished with a mule 
 and two blacks, and was again commanded by 
 Ada Reis to procure him an interview with 
 her son. It was a journey of many miles to 
 the Guaiana mountains, where he dwelt ; she 
 must needs be absent two days, and, probably, 
 encounter many difficulties before she could 
 find him 5 beside which, he had forbidden 
 her ever in person intruding upon him : " he 
 lived with the Arabs and banditti in his hut, 
 dug within the bowels of the earth, not far 
 from the summit of the mountain." It was
 
 ADA REIS. io5 
 
 immaterial to Ada Reis where he lived, or 
 what commands he had given 5 see him he 
 was resolved he would, and he would either 
 seek him there himself, or Shaffou Paca must 
 bring him before him. 
 
 At length she was persuaded to depart, not 
 without much fear and some regret, for she 
 dreaded she knew not what, if, contrary to 
 Kabkarra's orders, she ventured upon his pri- 
 vacy. 
 
 5.
 
 o6 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The way was long and wearisome 5 the 
 mules went at a brisk trot, but the lady could 
 not bear the continued shaking, and was ob- 
 liged frequently to rest. 
 
 When she arrived at her sons habitation, 
 or rather at that part of the mountain within 
 which she knew he dwelt, she knocked, she 
 called, and a fierce Arab with his dog started 
 out upon her, demanding what she wanted 5 
 upon seeing her, as none ever yet were like 
 her, the Arab recognised her, bade her atten- 
 dants remain without, and desired her to 
 enter. She descended some steps roughly 
 hewn in the rock, and she found herself in a 
 room where a man was reclining, apparently 
 in agonising pain ; a musket and a yatagan by 
 him. " My beloved son," she had scarce time 
 to say, when he, in a hoarse tone, exclaimed. 
 " Toad, reptile, what art thou here for ?" 
 
 " To seek my son." 
 
 "Am I thy son ?" said he, starting up wildly.
 
 ADA RE IS. 107 
 
 "Alas!" said ShafFou Paca, after prostrat- 
 ing herself before him, " all that is left me is 
 to >\ onder and to doubt — but whatever thou 
 art, or spirit, or man, I implore thee to hasten 
 this instant to Ada Reis — my miserable life 
 must pay the forfeit, if thou refusest me." 
 
 44 Hast seen the javelin or the arrow cleave 
 the air, mother ?" said Kabkarra, laughing. 
 "Hast marked the lightning's flash? — With 
 such speed, will 1 obey his summons. But 
 how is thy beauteous charge ? Take care of 
 her, as she deserves ; study alone to increase 
 every charm ; excite her passions, and cor- 
 rupt her mind. 1 must win her : but first there 
 will be a fierce struggle between myself and 
 my rival." 
 
 " And shall 1 not?" said Shaffou Paca. 
 
 44 Go," said he, fiercely; 44 return, and say 
 to Ada Reis, that your son will be with him, 
 as he commands, before even his impatience 
 can expect him. Order the mare Oriah," he 
 continued, addressing his attendants; 44 1 obey 
 Ada Reis's summons." 
 
 As Kabkarra said this, blessing herself, and 
 conjuring up in her mind every charm and
 
 io8 ADA REIS. 
 
 prayer she could collect in her memory, from 
 the superstition of every country of which she 
 ever had heard, Shailou Paca remounted her 
 mule, and began to trot homewards, notwith- 
 standing her great inclination to sleep ; and 
 as her blacks and her slaves, nodding upon 
 their beasts from lassitude, slowly followed 
 after, they were aroused by a noise like the 
 whizzing of an arrow from a bow, and they 
 thought they saw a flash pass them, like that 
 of the lightning. It was Kabkarra upon his 
 milk-white mare Oriah, who had darted by 
 them. ' ' My message," thought ShatTou Paca, 
 trying to excite her tardy mule into a brisk 
 pace, " will not be delivered ; but it is as well; 
 I shall then, in all probability, be out of the 
 scrape." 
 
 Whilst these things were passing, Fiormonda 
 languidly reclined upon her couch, talked of 
 nothing but the frightful Zezel Peer Banyan, 
 until a deep sleep stole over her senses, and 
 her father, gazing upon her, fancied that she 
 was again ill, or perhaps dead. The blacks 
 seeing her so pale and inanimate, set up once 
 more a frightful yell $ and Shailou Paca being
 
 ADA REIS. 109 
 
 away, Ada Reis became impatient beyond all 
 bounds. He ordered the slaves to cease their 
 lamentations : evening came on ; a deep si- 
 lence ensued, all appeared calm without, the 
 soft moonbeam glided through the open case- 
 ment, the delicious air was perfumed with 
 spices, breathing, as it were, upon the love- 
 liest and most inanimate of beings. 
 
 Ada Reis sate dozing over sherbet in a dis- 
 tant part of the apartment — when the air, well 
 known to Fiormonda, sounded from without. 
 At this moment entered one who knelt before 
 her couch ; it was the beautiful boy whose 
 gentle presence had been the cause of so 
 much combustion and disorder : Ada Reis 
 gazed intently upon him. After a few words 
 of prayer, he arose from the ground, and seat- 
 ing himself upon the sofa near the child, ad- 
 dressed her in soft low tones, whilst the tears 
 were streaming from his eyes : u M herefore 
 hast thou, loveliest of thy sex, given way to 
 the intemperance of passion ? the evil spirit 
 saw and marked thee, and has seduced thy 
 young heart, whilst thou didst fly thy better 
 angel. How calm now is thy form, Fior-
 
 110 ADA REIS. 
 
 monda ! how cold and torpid flows the cur- 
 rent of thy blood within thy veins ! Where 
 now is that frown which will soon learn to 
 awe the world? Where that impetuosity which 
 already shows itself too great for thy tender 
 frame ? Alas ! this is alone the form of Fior- 
 monda ; the soul has fled far, far from hence ; 
 seized, subdued, and imprisoned by the foe of 
 man, and I have not the power, without other 
 aid, to redeem it." 
 
 " Oh!" said Ada Reis, who had attentively 
 listened to this address, " if there be mercy in 
 the heart of a spirit, for such 1 take you to be, 
 condescend to sympathise with the grief of a 
 distracted father. 1 will slay five thousand of 
 the fairest ladies in the capital, the Bey, and 
 all the nobles of the Pasha's court 5 1 will cut 
 off my beard, the longest ever seen, and do 
 penance for the crimes of my youth, in any 
 manner you think fit, if you will only restore 
 my Fior monda to me." 
 
 " Alas! Ada Reis," said the youth, " blood 
 has been shed already, and new crimes will 
 not, I fear, efface former misdeeds. It is from 
 thee I would save the unhappy child of Bianca
 
 ADA REIS. ill 
 
 di Castamela 5 it is for a happier fate than that 
 of being thy daughter, or the Ley's bride, that 
 1 would restore her to existence. But, alas! 
 she is under the thraldom of one more power- 
 ful than myself, and love, and faith, and virtue, 
 alone, could have power to wrest her from the 
 raging tyranny of her present master." 
 
 Ada Reis, who had indulged hope for one 
 moment, now gave vent to an agony of despair, 
 and ordered his guards to seize the intruder. 
 
 " There is no need of force," said the youth 
 with gentleness 5 though a stranger to thee, 1 
 am Fiormonda's friend ; all nature is divided 
 between the good and the evil principle 5 and 
 if I so seldom have been seen at the court of 
 the Pasha, or near the person of Ada Reis, it 
 is because they both prefer my more violent 
 half-brother to myself-, my name is Za- 
 mohr. I am the guardian of all that is 
 pure, that is lovely, that is beautiful, that is 
 innocent ; and of all mortal and immortal 
 beings 1 am esteemed the most benevolent and 
 the most gentle. My form, as you see, is that 
 of youth, for there is no ingredient in my 
 composition base enough to compose aught
 
 112 ADA REIS. 
 
 that is less amiable ; never can wrinkle wither 
 my bloom, nor age nor passion blight the 
 freshness of my feelings $ hope not to confine 
 me ; thon hast but the power of dismissing 
 me ; go thou to a sleepless couch and lament 5 
 I am happy ; on me neither sin nor shame have 
 ever cast a shade 5 the spring of the year is my 
 season, and in the soft moonbeam, not in the 
 sunny glare, I take my rounds." 
 
 " Wretch!" cried Ada Reis, " I know what 
 it is to war with magicians and spirits ; I know 
 my power is circumscribed, and yours is un- 
 bounded 5 but yet I can wound you, and I 
 will do it. Thus, then, on my bended knees, 
 I invoke the defender of our house, and the 
 dread power who has so often assisted me! 
 There are means, and you well know it, by 
 which even the good can be made to suffer, 
 and if you cannot feel for yourself, you shall, 
 at all events, for Fiormonda's fate. I yield her 
 to thy rival! 1 here give her up to Zubanyann 
 — to Kabkarra ! He can aid her, he can defend 
 her 5 he shall make her powerful and rich, 
 and save her from your seductions." 
 
 As he said this, he heard cheers and shouts
 
 ADA REIS. n3 
 
 of triumph. The gentle Zamohr vanished 
 into air 5 the nuba 35 sounded ; the joyous 
 song of people from without was heard : the 
 attendants, running in, informed Ada Reis, 
 somewhat suddenly, that the Pashas son, the 
 Bey, had come to know the state of Fiormon- 
 da's health. The song of " Loo! loo!" was 
 distinctly heard. The Bey was accompanied by 
 only one attendant, his favourite Mameluke, 
 and his horse seemed almost exhausted with 
 fatigue. Ada Reis, who had heard that the 
 Bey was gone out against the Arabs, was as- 
 tonished at his so swift return 5 but when the 
 beautiful stranger appeared before him, he 
 started, for in a moment he saw that it was not 
 the Bey, but that it was Kabkarra ! He wore a 
 crescent of diamonds, and his large turban 
 was of the finest white muslin, crossed with 
 a shawl of dark purple, and richly em- 
 broidered gold. He was decked from head 
 to foot with jewels. His countenance, though 
 fierce, was beautiful, and, regardless of Moor- 
 ish manners and laws, he boldly entered the 
 presence of Fiormonda, though the shrieking 
 females had hardly time to fly and conceal
 
 Il4 ADA REIS. 
 
 themselves. " I am come," he said, in a 
 commanding voice, " to answer your demand. 
 You know the Jew Kabkarra too well to in- 
 quire of me who I am, and if 1 have abused 
 the credulity of the people by assuming the 
 garb of the Pasha's son, it is (forgive my va- 
 nity) that I wish to show you that a turban 
 and an embroidered cloak can make of Kab- 
 karra the thing you admire. Fiormonda, my 
 lovely child, fear not 5 although the Prophet 
 himself were here to prevent me, thus, thus 
 would I approach thee 5 for who was it saved 
 thee, when thy affrighted nurses were howl- 
 ing around the shriek of death, and from 
 what rival have I snatched thee, save from 
 the gnawing worm in the cold sepulchre ? 
 As to the Bey, thou shall never be his bride." 
 
 " You have promised," said Ada Rcis. 
 " that she shall possess a royal husband, and 
 wear an imperial crown." 
 
 " And she shall wear it!" said Kabkarra, 
 with a laugh of triumph : " but not here, not 
 in these countries mav she reign." 
 
 " Ah ! these delays and equivocations," said 
 Ada Reis, " whilst the Bey, on the contrary.
 
 ADA REIS. n5 
 
 would instantly place her in his father's pa- 
 lace ; and the title of Lilla, in consequence 
 of his known intentions, has already been 
 granted to her. And what can the title of 
 Lilla do for a proud and freeborn soul like 
 hers? And what is the Pasha's palace, but a 
 splendid prison? 1 offer her far better than 
 this 5 the world is my habitation : by sea and 
 by land we will travel together, and enjoy the 
 moment of existence granted to us." 
 
 Fiormonda smiled to hear Kabkarra speak ; 
 and he, kneeling before her, bade her be 
 firm, and resist every attempt made to allure 
 her. " If jewels please you," he said, " I 
 can bring you the finest and the rarest. If 
 gifts like those my half-brother Zamohr pre- 
 sented gratify your fancy, are not the chess- 
 men Kabkarra gave more worth your care ? 
 Where, too, is the girdle 1 placed upon your 
 heart, when you were ill ? it is fitter than the 
 string of cloves and gold the Moorish ladies 
 wear." 
 
 " And are you, who are so beautiful, the 
 same who came to me the other evening ? 
 Are you that frightful Zezel Peer Banyan ?"
 
 n6 ADA REIS. 
 
 said Fiormonda, gazing with admiration and 
 astonishment upon him. 
 
 " Am 1 not like her?" said the youth, 
 with a sarcastic smile : " these eyes, these 
 features, this form, are they not the same ?" 
 
 ' ' What is your real name ?" said Fior- 
 monda. 
 
 " Can I need any other," said the stranger, 
 " than Kabkarra ? And now ask me no more 
 questions ; 1 am come to save you. Ada Reis, 
 mark me ! whether 1 be an enchanter or a 
 mere mortal is immaterial; but if you heed 
 not my warning, you will repent. In a short 
 time you will be obliged to fly this place ^ 
 observe my instructions : when danger me- 
 naces, call for me ; bid ShaftbuPaca send you 
 her son, and mount upon my steed, the one 
 1 shah 1 leave here ; as for my charming little 
 mistress, she must likewise be prepared. Do 
 this, and all shall be in readiness ; for 1 must 
 save and bear you hence. The deeds you 
 have done, Ada Reis, are known ; the Pasha 
 looks upon you with an eye of suspicion : in 
 a few days your head will be demanded, and 
 your life forfeited if you obey not my injune-
 
 ADA REIS. 117 
 
 tions. Give me your signet-ring, 86 that in 
 
 case of necessity, 1 may have the means, 
 whilst you are detained within, of being obey- 
 ed without by your slaves." 
 
 " Bel Nabi !" said Ada Reis, " you seem to 
 have means enough without any ring of mine ; 
 however, take it : great men, I find, are al- 
 ways pursued by wonderful adventures." Ada 
 Reis then gave the ring, although with some 
 reluctance, and Kabkarra departed with the 
 same precipitation with which he had arrived. 
 The song of "Loo! Loo!" was repeated. The 
 astonished Ada Reis remained in silence ^ 
 until at a late hour that night, long after Fior- 
 monda was asleep, the weary Shaifou Paca at 
 length returned, and heard the pleasing in- 
 telligence that her son, as she had expected, 
 had arrived before her, and had entirely sa- 
 tisfied her master.
 
 Il8 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The character of Ada Reis was not formed 
 to endure patiently the slightest appearance 
 even of disrespect from a superior. He was 
 astonished a few days after Kabkarra's visit, 
 at receiving an unceremonious mandate from 
 the Pasha of Tripoly, commanding his im- 
 mediate presence at his court. A slave, who 
 was attached to Ada Reis, made him a sign at 
 the very moment the message was delivered 
 to him, by which he understood the Pasha's 
 hampers were in readiness to strangle him. 
 Well aware of the celerity with which these 
 commands were at all times executed, and 
 suddenly struck with the mournful air his 
 slaves and followers had assumed, he bowed 
 respectfully to the messenger, and promised 
 to follow him, without a moments loss of time, 
 secretly resolved to send for Kabkarra and 
 consult him. 
 
 "You have three hours to prepare," said 
 the messenger, with a significant smile ; w ' the
 
 ADA REIS. 119 
 
 Pasha has made strange preparations to reeeive 
 you with unexpected honours." 
 
 My crimes, then, are known at length, 
 thought Ada Reis ; or sooner, my wealth, my 
 power, my spirit of independence, have given 
 umbrage to a tyrant. With feigned calmness 
 he now entered Fiormonda's apartment. 
 
 ShafTou Paca, upon this eventful evening, 
 had engaged her pupil, now much recovered 
 from the effects of her indisposition, to play 
 a game at chess. " You have not," she said, 
 ' ' for a long time opened the box Kabkarra 
 gave you ; the little men must be tired for 
 want of employment. " 
 
 " Who,' 1 said Fiormonda, " will venture to 
 attack me?" 
 
 "I will." said Ada Reis, smiling: "three 
 hours are yet granted me ; and how better 
 can I employ one of the three than in en- 
 deavouring to entertain my child? We will 
 place the board upon the carpet, and try our 
 powers with these little creatures." 
 
 Fiormonda was delighted with observing 
 their variety and beauty. She smiled, and 
 talked with unusual gaiety, and even spoke
 
 120 ADA REIS. 
 
 of Kabkarra with attachment for having given 
 her so wonderful a gift. 
 
 As she prepared to begin the game, the 
 musical ball, though confined within a chest, 
 sounded a mournful air : it was a dirge, in- 
 termingled with sounds like the sobs and sighs 
 of one in pain. Ada Reis paused — Fiormonda 
 remained motionless : — there then arose 
 plainly before their view two resplendent 
 forms, the one adorned with all the beauty of 
 early youth, the other in all the vigour of man- 
 hood! These occupied the opposite parts of 
 the board, the one preparing to attack the 
 other. They are the good and the evil genii, 
 thought Ada Reis, contending for Fiormonda. 
 But he could not utter a word, or move ; his 
 eyes continued to gaze upon the prodigy which 
 was taking place before them. The game began . 
 whilst all who beheld it, attracted as steel to 
 the loadstone, watched piece after piece as 
 they were ranged in defiance against each 
 other. Shaffou Paca, Zoe, Aura, the negroes, 
 negresses, nurses, attendants, and guards, in 
 due order placed themselves, some behind 
 Ada Reis, some behind Fiormonda ; their eyes
 
 ADA RE IS. 12 t 
 
 riveted, their thoughts engrossed, their hopes 
 fixed upon eaeh movement of the game. And 
 now the one triumphed, and now the other : 
 the struggle for mastery was great, the skill 
 exhibited wonderful, and the celerity of each 
 motion passing thought. None had until this 
 moment perceived how large the men and the 
 board had grown by insensible degrees — so 
 large, so formidable, that the countenances, 
 gestures, smiles, and frowns of the warriors, 
 pawns, and knights, were distinctly perceiv- 
 able, whilst the neighing of horses could be 
 plainly heard. 
 
 The white king heaved a sigh as loud as the 
 breathing of a dormouse, in its torpid state, 
 when he beheld his own personal pawn taken 
 by his adversary. The movement had been 
 inadvertent and rash on his part ; it had 
 thrown his sacred person open to the attacks 
 of his foe 5 he bit his lip, and turned to his 
 knights, ordering them forthwith to charge 5 
 the obedient troop obeyed their lord. The 
 two genii watched over their respective ar- 
 mies, directing their movements by signs, and 
 now and then by words, speaking lowly and 
 vol. 1. 6
 
 IS42 ADA REI& 
 
 mysteriously in an unknown tongue. The 
 countenance of the youth was like Zamohr, 
 only less serene •, and the playful smile and 
 the amorous glance were exchanged for deep 
 thought and marked anxiety. No anger, no 
 violence, no impatience were shown by him. 
 as, with a steady hand, he motioned his com- 
 mands. A band of gold, bright as a sunbeam, 
 confined his light tresses ; he wore a robe to 
 be compared alone in colour to the clouds of 
 evening when the sun's setting ray shines upon 
 them. His beauty, his youth, his angelic smile 
 and varying complexion interested every one 
 in his success j whilst his dark antagonist 
 marshalled his troops with an air of wild exul- 
 lation, his form equal in beauty, but his male- 
 volent smile spreading terror into every heart. 
 To the gentle and timid march of Zamohr he 
 opposed hasty decisions, and a rash but bril- 
 liant attack. His countenance beamed with 
 animation and fire ; his lips, like rubies, part- 
 ed only to smile with bitter l aunt or exulting 
 Irinmph. His men, like himself, were dark 
 and fearless. Child of the Sun, he lifted up 
 his eyes and gazed like the eagle upon its full
 
 ADA KE1S. 125 
 
 meridian beam, then turned to the game, as 
 if secure of triumph. 
 
 That sun, however, descended before the 
 awful contest ceased. The white queen now 
 made a successful diversion to the left ; she 
 ventured, unattended, even into the midst of 
 the enemy's quarters } her presence caused a 
 terrible confusion in the dark ranks ^ a knight 
 was lost hilst passaging his horse to admira- 
 tion, speaking to it in manage terms as it per- 
 formed its caracols without one false step. 
 But vain was his skill ; he paid the forfeit of 
 his rashness. The black bishops now ad- 
 vanced obliquely, pronouncing anathemas as 
 they passed. The white bishops parried this 
 attack by using similar arms amongst the 
 dark troops. The white queen, grown bolder, 
 now stood firm in front, and checked the 
 king. The dark king, highly olFended at 
 this audacity, frowned, armed his towers, 
 placed his videts and pioneers in front, and 
 dismissed the fearless lady with repeated 
 insults. She retired in tears back to her own 
 territories. A careless move had nearly lost 
 her on her return. The murmur of alarm on
 
 124 ADA RE1S. 
 
 the white side was now general ; whilst shouts 
 of triumph could distinctly, although faintly, 
 be heard from the opposite party. Indecision 
 and fear in a general is fatal. The Evil Prin- 
 ciple had no fear $ his eyes now shone like 
 blazing stars in a dark sky, and dazzled, by 
 their brightness and glare, his agitated and 
 half-conquered antagonist. The youthful ge- 
 nius made another irresolute move ; it was 
 past recal, and the white king was check- 
 mated amidst the groans of his own forces, 
 and a clash of arms and shout of victory from 
 the contending pigmies of the opposite side. 
 The vision immediately vanished. The board 
 shrunk back to its ordinary dimensions, and 
 the chessmen resumed their usual shape and 
 appearance. 
 
 Ada Reis remained gazing upon a vacant 
 space, Fiormonda in the same attitude stood 
 for a moment in breathless terror : a loud noise 
 from without was heard, it was as of the tramp 
 of steeds and clash of arms. A flash from the 
 eagle-eye of Kabkarra was felt as he rushed 
 into the apartment, even before he had fixed 
 jts triumphant glance upon Fiormonda. His
 
 ADA REIS. ia5 
 
 long dark hair streamed wildly over his still 
 darker mantle, as, springing forward with a 
 leap, he shouted, fc< 1 have eonqnered, and 
 won ! Give me my bride ! Mount, mount, 
 Ada Reis 5 my horses wait for you. Fly ! for 
 there is not a moment to be lost,, the Pasha's 
 guards already surround these walls •, fly ! or 
 meet a fate you cannot avert." An explosion, 
 like the blowing up of a mine, took place 
 whilst he was yet speaking. "I have saved 
 you by setting fire to your house. Ha! ha ! 
 do you tremble ? Away, then !" 
 
 As he spoke, flames broke forth on every 
 side, and, amidst the deep smoke, ihc dark 
 form of Kabkarra appeared terrible. Screams 
 rent the air from distracted females ; muskets 
 were fired at random, dogs howled, slaves 
 ran, whilst the clash of swords resounded on 
 every side. The nuba sounded from without, 
 and the song of ' k Loo" announced the Bey ; 
 elephants were seen advancing in procession, 
 torches glared in the garden ; the inhabitants 
 were gathered together, around the door the 
 wild cry of the Arabs attacking the Bey s 
 guards and blacks now overpowered every
 
 126 ADA RE IS. 
 
 other noise. Ada Reis was seized and bound, 
 and placed behind an Arab on his horse. Fior- 
 monda was borne away in the arms of Kab- 
 karra, upon his white mare Oriah, whilst 
 Shaffou Paca, hoarsely calling for assistance, 
 was tied upon a mule, and conveyed likewise 
 through darkness and distance, until they 
 reached the coast, where they were all hurried 
 into a boat, which was waiting there. 
 
 The men rowed from the shore ; the sea 
 was tempestuous •, a dense fog obscured 
 every object} the groans of ShaffouPaea alone 
 disturbed the silence. Ada Reis saw that il 
 was vain to resist 5 Fiormonda became insen- 
 sible ; ShafFou Paca fell into a trance. ^ Wo- 
 men," Ada Reis remarks, always have recourse 
 to these practices in every difficulty, but thev 
 seldom die, being of all animals the most te- 
 nacious of life." He thought, however, that 
 Fiormonda had been dead, and he said so. 
 
 " Then let her die," replied Kabkarra. 
 insultingly, " a melancholy monument of your 
 tyranny, her own imprudence, and my ardent 
 love." 
 
 " Do as you Will," said Ada Reis, who found
 
 ADA REIS. 127 
 
 himself on the open sea, in the power of a 
 young Arab chief. C4 Do as you will, since we 
 are entirely at your mercy. 1 ' 
 
 " 1 cannot, v said Kabkarra, " powerful as 
 you may think me, take possession of Floor* 
 monda by the law of force | I shall wait and 
 watch for her ow r n consent." 
 
 " You seem in no way restrained in the 
 mean time," said Ada Reis, " and I therefore 
 conceive you w ill do whatever you like to do.' 
 
 " And so shall you," said Kabkarra; " 1 
 desire you will, therefore, give me your com- 
 mands. Some like to know their future fate ; 
 yours runs thus : Your polacca is at hand ; 
 your men, by my order, await you ; you will 
 hasten hence, and sail for Spain ; you will pro- 
 ceed from thence to the New World, for 
 thither lies your destined course •, and there 
 the promised diadem awaits you." 
 
 " You are then a real friend, after all," 
 said Ada Reis-, "but, like one, you must 
 aeknowledge, you generally do just the thing 
 which is most disagreeable; yet we shall 
 meet again, I hope." 
 
 " We shall meet again," said Kabkarra.
 
 '28 ADA REIS 
 
 " upon a dreadful night, just five years hence, 
 when this lovely flower, the admiration of 
 all men, has forgotten the lover of her child- 
 hood. Yes, we shall meet again ! Remember 
 the hour, and the night, and the time of year 
 in which the blood of Bianca di Castamela 
 flowed. Upon such a night, whilst gazing 
 on the sultry skies at the fort of Callao, we 
 shall meet. Farewell! And as to thee, mo- 
 ther," continued Kabkarra, laughing, and 
 fiercely shaking Shaflou Paca, " watch thy 
 charge better ; let no Phaos come betwixt 
 her and me." 
 
 So saying, the Arabs and their leader gave 
 a shout. It was returned from a distance. 
 They neared a vessel : Ada Reis, Shallbu 
 Paca, and Fiormonda, were placed upon the 
 deck of it. The word Kabkarra was now 
 pronounced at once by a number of voices on 
 board, and Ada Reis found himself in his 
 own polacca with all his crew 7 around him. 
 They had received orders for sailing, as they 
 said, from the Bey, who had shown them 
 their own Reis's signet-ring : every tiling was 
 on board; Ada Reis's jewels, goods, coins.
 
 ADA REIS. 129 
 
 iii short, all he most valued, even Fiormon- 
 da's marriage presents ; all but the chess- 
 men, and the sifts of Zamohr. Before he 
 
 b 
 
 could enough rejoice at this event, he turned 
 round to thank Kabkarra ; but lie was gone. 
 The boat at a distance appeared in relief from 
 the thick fog and white waves, and it seemed 
 as if daemons formed its crew. 
 
 Fiormonda slowly recovered; she asked a 
 thousand questions, and wept with regret 
 when she heard they had left for ever the 
 land in which they had so long sojourned. 
 The thought too of never more seeing her 
 young lover, the loss of his gifts, with the 
 confused remembrance of the strange events 
 which had taken place, which appeared now 
 like the delirium of fever, all tended to dis- 
 quiet her mind; but great emotions, like 
 little ones, pass away ; and grief, if it kill not 
 soon, gives place in young minds to new in- 
 terests; yet still Fiormonda from time to 
 time vented her regrets. " What a long, Jong 
 way it is, dear father," she would say, as the 
 light galley proceeded. 
 
 "It is a long way, fair child," Ada Reis 
 
 6.
 
 i3o ADA RE J S. 
 
 would reply *, w ' but happiness and greatness 
 await us where we are going/' 
 
 " And shall we never more see our own 
 beautiful country ?" 
 
 " We shall see other countries no doubt 
 more beautiful," replied Ada Reis. 
 
 " J hope so," she would add : " for 1 pine 
 for the sight of land/"
 
 ADA REIS. l3l 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 In the course of the voyage, a sailor chanced 
 to disobey a command which Ada Reis had 
 given him: in his fury, even before Fior- 
 monda's eyes, he caused him to be strangled : 
 " And thus die," he cried, " all such as 
 dare oppose me !" Immediately, and (as 
 Fiormonda thought) in consequence of this 
 rash and cruel conduct, a storm arose •, the 
 thunder roared, the lightning flashed, and 
 the tremendous waves rolled, as it were, 
 mountains high. 
 
 Amidst the terrors of the tempest, they 
 beheld a little galley dashed to and fro by 
 the violence of the sea. " Breakers a-head!" 
 cried the affrighted sailors, as Ada Reis, 
 roaring out his hoarse commands, steered 
 his vessel calmly forward amidst the general 
 uproar and alarm 5 but suddenly the stranger 
 vessel struck upon a rock, and the shrieks 
 of the drowning passengers rent the air. 
 Amidst the sinking crew of that little galley,
 
 '3a ADA KKIS. 
 
 one man was observed at times, with lifted 
 head, labouring amongst the waves, and 
 driven towards them by the strong current. 
 and imploring assistance. 41 Oh, save him ! 
 Ada Reis," said Fiormonda, kneeling before 
 her father, and clinging to him, " save him, 
 it shall expiate the blood already shed." Ada 
 Reis ordered a cord to be thrown out-, the 
 fearless youth, braving the winds and waves, 
 every moment approached the galley : at 
 length he grasped the rope, and, after a severe 
 struggle, was drawn safely towards the 
 polacca, and with the assistance offered to 
 him, soon reached the deck. His thanks to 
 Vda Reis were energetic ; some also he gave 
 to the beautiful child, whose agitation for 
 his safety he had marked. The storm soon 
 abated, and the voyage continued prosperous 
 from that day. The stranger was also, he 
 said, bound for Spain, and as eager to land 
 in that fair and rich country as Ada Reis 
 could be*, fortunate it was, also, he had 
 friends in Madrid, and could be of material 
 use to his preservers. 
 
 The name, by which the voung stranger
 
 ADA REIS. i33 
 
 railed himself, was Condulmar. He was of 
 Venetian origin, but bad passed many years 
 in South America; he had also resided in 
 Spain : he spoke all languages with facility, 
 and appeared to have been nearly as great a 
 traveller as Ada Reis. He answered Fior- 
 mondas most difficult questions, with an 
 intelligence and grace which delighted her, 
 though with some reserve; he seemed per- 
 fectly conversant with America, and was of 
 considerable use to Ada Reis, in pointing out 
 lo him in what manner most speedily to gain 
 his intended object in going into that country. 
 Power and personal safety were all which 
 Ada Reis now sought, for wealth he possessed 
 even beyond his wishes. Condulmar ap- 
 peared to know intimately the Spanish Vice- 
 roy, so that he could facilitate Ada Reis's 
 views in every respect, and thought, by doing 
 so, only to show his grateful sense of the 
 kindness done him in his former perilous 
 adventure. 
 
 After a short and prosperous voyage they 
 all arrived in safety at their destined harbour.
 
 l34 ADA REIS. 
 
 The young Count Condulmar more than ful- 
 filled his promises. Fiormonda was admired 
 by every one at the Spanish court. Ada 
 Reis made such purchases as he thought 
 necessary 5 exchanged his vessel for a sloop, 
 better fitted for so long a voyage ; and hear- 
 ing with pleasure that Condulmar was anxious 
 to accompany him, they set out for Cartha- 
 gena, with every favourable prospect before 
 them. 
 
 At this period two great wars engrossed the 
 attention of the new and of the old world. 
 England had declared hostilities against Spain ; 
 Vernon had already invested the town of Porto 
 Bello 5 Anson was employed in blockading 
 Panama 5 when the cry was heard at Xauxa, 
 beyond Tarma, and the Indians making one 
 desperate effort to regain their independence, 
 from hill to hill, from plain to plain lighted 
 their watch fires, and gave the secret signal 
 of union and rebellion to each other, in order 
 the more successfully to attack their common 
 enemy 5 even to the very walls of Lima tin v 
 pushed their efforts, albeit in vain. Tyranny
 
 ADA RE IS. 1 35 
 
 triumphed 5 they were repulsed — subjected 
 once more to the Spanish yoke • and many 
 of their wretched chiefs, when taken alive, 
 thrown into the prisons of the inquisition.
 
 1 36 ADA RfelS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Dangerous is it for the young and the* 
 beautiful to take long voyages or long jour- 
 neys together ; side by side they are placed 
 near to each other, and have greater opportu- 
 nities of confidential intercourse than may 
 fall to their lot during whole years at home. 
 On board of the vessel Fiormonda necessarily 
 saw much of Condulmar. 
 
 x\da Reis had leisure to hear some of the 
 history of his new acquaintance, who had 
 met, it seemed, with many very singular ad- 
 ventures, although he was still in the first 
 vigour of youth and manhood. He was not 
 at all times, however, in a mood to relate even 
 to Ada Reis all he had heard and seen 5 he 
 was, for the most part, mournful, and he did 
 but half open his thoughts to his companions : 
 there was an impenetrable depth Ada Reis 
 could not fathom : if looked upon suddenly, 
 there was a bitter smile upon his countenance ; 
 and when Ada Reis, speaking of the unfor-
 
 ADA RF.JS. I 37 
 
 Innate violence of his temper and passions, 
 acknowledged to what lengths they were in 
 the habit of leading him, Condnlmar looked 
 down, and sighed, seeming to acknowledge, 
 that his own violence was greater. To some 
 it is a pleasure to communicate their thoughts : 
 great travellers, in general, require no long 
 acquaintance before they open their minds 
 to the companions whom they meet with ; ex- 
 perience has taught them to know at once 
 l he degree to which they may trust such tempo- 
 rary confidants 5 and the great variety of cha- 
 racters they have partially studied in their 
 career, gives them a general and immediate 
 knowledge of the disposition of each chance 
 associate. Of some, however, neither time, 
 nor much acquaintance with men, nor long 
 habits of the world, are able entirely to con- 
 quer the settled and obdurate reserve. This 
 dissimilarity of disposition was strongly mark- 
 ed in the different deportments of Ada Reis 
 and Condnlmar. Ada Reis was gay, free, 
 fearless, and in a short time had informed his 
 companion of nearly every thing which had 
 befallen him. Condnlmar, on the contrary,
 
 l3|B ADA RE IS. 
 
 -was distant, cold, and haughty j seldom speak- 
 ing of himself or his own affairs, and im- 
 penetrable when questioned. Yet, after a 
 time, he sutfered his coldness to giye v%av. 
 and more particularly when conversing with 
 Fiormonda, he relaxed from his austerity ; 
 his conversation then grew animated ; a light 
 vein of satire ran throughout it, and a no I 
 unpleasing contempt for the things of this 
 life. His thoughts were all original and just, 
 though the tone given to them, by some dec]) 
 inward feeling, was of a bitter and melan- 
 cholic nature. 
 
 Fiormonda, confiding and ardent, listened 
 often with admiration and delight to his re- 
 marks. She remained alone with him upon 
 the deck enjoying the freshness of the morn- 
 nig, and the softer coolness of the evening. 
 He pleased her with descriptions of countries 
 he had seen, and cities which appeared to her 
 most singular; but above all, he sang to her-. 
 and his voice, deep, wild, and full, seemed 
 to have power to calm every tumultuous emo- 
 tion in her impetuous mind; yet he sang to 
 her of wars, of bloody deeds, of ambitious
 
 ADA REIS. l}$ 
 
 hopes, of rebellion, of lawless love ; and he 
 imitated the wild war-whoop of the native In- 
 dians, who had resisted the power of Spain 
 and the dominion of the Incas. 
 
 It is difficult to give any idea of clays passed 
 thus, and of nights, when every star shone 
 forth with particular lustre 5 — when the sea- 
 breeze, soft and cool, refreshed and invi- 
 gorated the frame, — these w r ere perilous mo- 
 ments for Fiormonda. She had hitherto been 
 assailed by mysterious beings, by enchanters, 
 necromancers ; she was now with an associate 
 far more dangerous •, and as Condulmar bent 
 over her, and spoke, her young heart repeated 
 every word he uttered. In return for his 
 songs she showed him the presents she had 
 received from the Bey, and the girdle of 
 jewels which Kabkarra had given her. At 
 I hat name he started •, "Is it possible !" he 
 said, " can it be that you also have known 
 that monster ! no w r ords of mine are sufficient 
 to paint his perfidy and his atrocity. " As he 
 said this the tears fdled his eyes, and with a 
 look of almost indescribable tenderness, he 
 said he could not think of the danger she had
 
 i .{o ADA KEIS. 
 
 been in, nor of the ruin Kabkarra had caused 
 to thousands, without horror. " The proper- 
 ties of his gifts are but too well known to me," 
 he added ; " they are full of danger : these 
 jewels, for example, when worn near the 
 inexperienced heart, excite the passions and 
 inflame the imagination-, and need you these? 
 Alas ! some sorcerer first invented these 
 charms to pervert innocent and credulous 
 maids." 
 
 " How can things like these affect the 
 mind," said Fiormonda. 
 
 " Know you then of what the mind is com- 
 posed, that you ask this? Until it be found of 
 what the mind and soul be formed, it is in vain 
 to pretend that material objects cannot affect 
 them. As the amber and the load-stone possess 
 the property of attracting certain matter, so 
 congenial minds exercise a mutual and reci- 
 procal influence. Were I, for example, at 
 whatsoever distance, to think of you, ah ! 
 believe, Fiormonda, although the many would 
 doubt it, that you also would think of me. 
 and, as it were, feel my presence ? 1 could 
 prove this to you, by the history of one who
 
 ada reis. i/|i 
 
 died ; but it is a mournful history, and you, 
 my innocent child, must not be made unhappy 
 yet. To return, therefore, to these pernicious 
 gifts ; Kabkarra's power is imparted to these 
 jewels 5 they are, as it were, impregnated 
 with his sentiments for you 5 and they, being 
 criminal, to place these around your heart 
 will be to excite in that heart a desperate 
 struggle, and to subject it to a severe and 
 doubtful trial." 
 
 *• 1 can never feel other than fear of him,'' 
 said Fiormonda. 
 
 " Fear is one of the sure forerunners of 
 love, if, indeed, it be not rather his follower 
 and companion," said Condulmar. " I had as 
 lieve you feared me, as that you loved me." 
 
 " Indeed !" As she said this, she met his 
 eyes, and felt confused. 
 
 " You think your feelings violent, though 
 short-lived," he said, with a smile ; but I ra- 
 ther doubt their intensity as well as their du- 
 rability." 
 
 " I would I did not feel at all," said Fior- 
 monda, piqued at these taunts ; "1 feel with 
 a violence which you would not credit ; that
 
 I tip. ADA RKIS. 
 
 which causes but little delight to another 
 makes me happy ; a fine day or a smile from 
 one 1 love ; and, on the contrary, even a 
 harsh word makes me miserable." 
 
 " Shall I take thee, fair child, " said Con- 
 dulmar with a bitter smile, " as we are jour- 
 neying to the new world, shall 1 take thee to 
 drink of the waters of Guancaveli, 3 > so boast- 
 ed of by the Peruvians ? the houses on its 
 banks are built from its petrifactions. If you 
 would cease to feel, come thither with me.' 1 
 
 " If you thus deride me, and laugh at me, 1 
 shall fear you as well as Kabkarra." 
 
 " All fear me," said Condulmar, mourn- 
 fully, " none love me. I stand alone, like the 
 manzanillo, or the lordly metapalo, whose 
 very growth slays and impoverishes all around 5 
 yet will you attach yourself to me, Fiormonda. 
 Heaven knows, I wish it not 5 but so it is de- 
 creed : it will give me pain, and it will cause 
 your destruction." 
 
 « ' Good heaven!" she answered, M what 
 can you mean ?" 
 
 " What can I mean?" said he, tenderly 
 pressing her hand to his lips.
 
 ADA T.EIS. I |3 
 
 " It is no matter,' 1 she replied, embarrassed. 
 " I wish not even to inquire." 
 
 **Alas I 11 he said, " eonld yon know who I 
 am." 
 
 "Tell me who yon are? What has been 
 your history ? Yon have told me many things, 
 speak to me now of yourself. 1 like to hear of 
 wonders and adventures *, and as you say 1 am 
 to love you, that will be the way to my heart, 
 I assure you, for it made me almost like Kab- 
 karra. 
 
 " Name him no more," said Condulmar, 
 frowning, " he did no more than 1 have 
 done." 
 
 ct You have been a great traveller, 1 know," 
 said Fiormonda : "tell me, as you did the 
 other day, what you have seen ?" 
 
 " I have seen the wonders of the country 
 you soon shall see ; 1 have been where the 
 high mountains of granite take place of the 
 bine hills in Pendelon, — and there 1 have 
 gathered adamantine spar as it fell from the 
 moon •, in Virginia 1 have eat of the fruit of 
 that tree, which makes fools of men-, and I, 
 like Kabkarra, have Ian "bed With those who
 
 l44 ADA REIS. 
 
 had eaten of it, although it affected me not : 
 
 bull watched the multitude until they became 
 stupified with their own buffooneries. 38 Ah, 
 cannot the fruit of the vine, make men mad 
 in other countries beside Virginia? 1 have 
 bathed, at night, in the Gulf of Cariaco, and 
 my body has become like a stream of light : 3 '' 
 will you see this wonder upon the waves by 
 night? Stay by me; and I will show you the 
 vessel, as it cleaves the waters, shining as it 
 were with fire. In Pennsylvania, fair child, 1 
 have played upon the soft clarionet, and an 
 hundred echoes have answered to the strain : 4 ° 
 will you go thither with me? There shall 1 
 hear the voice of many Fiormondas — now the 
 world contains for me but one. In Cumana I 
 have slept in the cavern of Guachero, 4, and 
 my voice has joined with the shrill screams of 
 the night-birds, lamenting for ill deeds past : 
 will you go there with me, and see the bright 
 and cold stalactites pendent from the vault. 
 and the gigantic trees which surround it? 
 Thousands of night-birds shriek there, and 
 the foot of man has never penetrated beyond ; 
 all is silent and dark on the outside of
 
 ADA REIS. i45 
 
 that grot, but the vault within is full of 
 
 light.- 
 
 u Oh! look not thus when you describe it," 
 said Fiormonda, "for 1 am weak and timid, 
 and to hear you makes me tremble. Tell me 
 of diamonds, and gold, and fair ladies; speak, 
 as you did the other evening, of the silver hill 
 of Parimee, 42 and the Eldorado-, 43 but say no 
 more of these things." 
 
 Condulmar smiled. " The gold and the 
 diamonds," he said, " were I to tell of them, 
 have produced scenes of greater misery and 
 deeper terror, child, than these. What is the 
 cry of the night-bird, or the drowsy hum 
 of the zumbadore in the desert, to the horrors 
 Potosi, Durangar, Guadalaxara, have caused ? 
 Remember that the mountains, where mines 
 of silver have been found, generate likewise 
 the arsenic and the deadly poison. 44 Thou, 
 Lake of Guativa, 45 art witness of this; thou, 
 into whose waters the poor Indians cast the 
 hateful ore, which drew upon them the mur- 
 derous spirit of the Spaniards ; and thou, Lake 
 of Ibara, art red with the blood of the mur- 
 dered/' 46 
 
 vol. 1. n
 
 i46 ADA REIS. 
 
 4 'Still," said Fiormonda, "you speak of 
 horrors. Sing, then, if you cannot speak more 
 kindly ; I love to hear you : sing to me the 
 song of the Indian chief, who sung amidst his 
 tortures, destroyed by him who conquered his 
 body, not his spirit.' 1 
 
 "1 would do so," said Condulmar, "but, 
 alas! 1 begin to fear 1 am more enslaved, more 
 subdued, than the young Indian." 
 
 " Leave, then, the Indian," said Fiormonda, 
 "' and sing to me, as you once did, the return 
 of the English De Yaux to his own country : 
 that song, which expresses how the heart, 
 which amidst crimes and perils had never been 
 touched by remorse, or shaken by fear, sunk 
 and broke under its own reflections in the 
 hour of quiet and security." 
 
 Condulmar obeyed. 
 
 Sir Henry de Vaux came across the sea, 
 
 To visit his native clime ; 
 A face like an angel of light had he, 
 
 But his heart it was sear'd by crime. 
 
 He stood on his castle tower to gaze 
 
 O'er the scenes which he long had left ;
 
 ADA REIS. i47 
 
 And a thought came o'er him of happier days, 
 Ere his heart was of hope bereft. 
 
 The stream flow'd through that peaceful vale, 
 The birds sung through a cloudless sky ; 
 
 And the calm around, and the soft fresh gale, 
 But increased his agony. 
 
 A tear then fell from that proud dark eye, 
 
 A tear of remorse or regret, 
 " My will is a law," he cried, " then why — 
 
 Why cannot I learn to forget ? 
 
 •' The lightning, which blasted yon aged tree, 
 
 Is deem'd but the fire of Heaven, 
 The storm which roars o'er the raging sea 
 
 Little heeds where the wreck is driven. 
 
 44 All Nature's works to evil are prone, 
 
 Yet lose not their beauty or power ; 
 Man only remembers the ill he has done, 
 
 And laments it in bitter hour. 
 
 " I have fought when the desperate fight ran high. 
 
 And the plain was dyed with blood, 
 I have sail'd when danger and death were nigh, 
 
 But unmoved, unappall'd I stood. 
 
 41 I have drank of pleasure the fatal draught, 
 I have given to passion the rein ;
 
 i4$ ADA REIS. 
 
 With the scoffer I've scofTd — with the infidel laugh'd, 
 And reason has warn'd me in vain. 
 
 ** 1 have felt the extremes of joy and grief, 
 
 And delighted in every excess ; 
 I have languish'd in sickness and sought relief; 
 
 Been wrong'd, and have found redress. 
 
 " I have loved to madness, and writhed with hate, 
 
 Yet no shade has obscured my brow ; 
 I have struggled, and even triumph'd o'er fate, 
 
 But I never have felt till now. 
 
 " Oh ! the pain that I feel with such deadly force, 
 That it strikes through my burning brain : 
 
 Tis the pain of the soul — despair — remorse — 
 There is none can endure such pain. 
 
 " 'Tis the voice of an angry God that cries, 
 
 Till it harrows the mind within : 
 Tis the worm of the heart that never dies — 
 
 'Tis the memory of sin. 
 
 " What to me that I've wander'd through many a (rack. 
 
 And return'd with a wondrous store? 
 I am stretch'd, as it were, on a fiery rack, 
 
 And the day of enjoyment is o'er. 
 
 " What to me that my victims were young and bright. 
 Or lovely, or ardent, or true ?
 
 ADA REIS. l49 
 
 I but sought them their beauty and freshness to blight, 
 And I left them their frailty to rue." 
 
 Sir Henry de Vaux sank low on his knee, 
 
 The light of his countenance fell : — 
 " In Heaven," he cried, " is there hope for me, 
 
 Since I Ve sold myself to Hell ? 
 
 "' Oh ! I am grown weak as the sickly child, 
 
 That moans on its nurse's breast, 
 And would, that like him, I could be beguiled, 
 
 And soothed for one moment to rest. 
 
 " The fiends are waiting — my brain is on fire — 
 
 My life and my courage are gone. 
 Of the thousands who flatter' d each rash desire, 
 
 To obey my last wish is there none ? " 
 
 There was one, when he spoke, who stood by his side, 
 
 And received his dying behest ; 
 In that self-same hour Sir Henry died. — 
 
 Now God give his soul good rest ! 
 
 When Condulmar had finished, lie turned 
 to look upon Fiormonda 5 she was sad, she 
 knew not wherefore. They can eifect much 
 who have the power to touch and move the 
 heart, to draw forth tears, and to lead us to 
 mingle our grief and sympathy with theirs $
 
 l5o ADA REIS. 
 
 but these sad and solemn companions are after 
 all not so very dangerous as they are supposed 
 to be. They are more to be dreaded who can, 
 at their pleasure, make us laugh ; who banish 
 melancholy from our minds, and quicken 
 ■with gaiety and spirit the lingering course 
 of life. Condulmar possessed this talent, as 
 well as the other : he could divert and amuse 
 as well as affect : he knew how to excite 
 every feeling and passion ; and as he had no 
 other object to interest him, he devoted his 
 time at present entirely to Fiormonda : he 
 won her by the flattery of attention to her 
 opinions : he struck her with amazement at 
 the adventures he related : he filled her with 
 curiosity : he entirely engrossed her with so- 
 licitude and interest. The air of incoherency, 
 of strangeness, of something approaching even 
 to derangement, which sate upon his counte- 
 nance, compelled her to watch the changes 
 of his expression ; and he, upon his part, some- 
 times attended her with the greatest solici- 
 tude 5 sometimes turned from her with care- 
 less neglect ; sometimes reproved her with 
 severe admonition ; sometimes appalled her
 
 ADA REIS. i5i 
 
 with the dark look of sullen anger 5 and then 
 again re-assured her with all the faseination 
 of a lover's smile. His power by this meat*,, 
 became unbounded over her mind. Had she 
 been less innocent, less pure, to what per- 
 version had not such a companion led her. 
 But she was of a noble and high nature, which 
 utterly refused to receive the taint of evil j and 
 the worst sentiment she cherished was grow- 
 ing love. She was, however, as many chil- 
 dren are, restless, and at times violent : one 
 day she resisted her father's orders, Condul- 
 mar approached her — ' ' I love you the better," 
 he said, "for this spirit of independence; 
 but if you resist me, I will draw from the 
 lake of the valley of Oicus 4 : the famous gold 
 chain which the Inca Huana Capac made, and 
 placed there upon the birth of his son Hues- 
 car, to confine you. When I saw you first, I 
 thought you fair and gentle ; but, like the 
 calm lake of Xicaragua, 48 from whose bosom 
 the mountain Omotepec shoots forth its vo- 
 lumes of flames, your angel semblance, I find, 
 is much disfigured by passion. 1 will, how- 
 ever, tame you. Know you not that I am
 
 1^2 ADA REIS. 
 
 destined to be your master ? You shall travel 
 with me, and see new worlds." An eager 
 glance of hope now lighted Fiormondas coun- 
 tenance. "1 have been," Condulmar said, 
 " where the workings of the mind and heart 
 are visible to the eye, and thought is seen even 
 as it emanates from the soul ; and I have been 
 where vice disfigures the body visibly, so that 
 the fairest creature in a day may become 
 monstrous, losing with her virtue each bright 
 natural grace and charm, which before capti- 
 vated admiring crowds. Will you come with 
 me to that country ?" 
 
 Fiormonda coloured, and said she shoidd 
 be sorry to go thither \ for, conscious that her 
 errors were nnmbeiless, &o would be, in that 
 case, her deformities. 
 
 "But then what delight," replied Condul- 
 mar, ' ' to correct the blemishes of your per- 
 son, by amending the defects of your heart. 
 Passion, for example," he said, u renders you 
 at times unlovely." 
 
 " And you terrible," said Fiormonda. 
 Alas ! she little guessed to what fearful 
 lengths these feelings would soon carry her.
 
 ADA REIS. i53 
 
 She was no longer the happy child she had 
 been ; thoughts impressed her mind above 
 her years, and her heart beat in tumult : pas- 
 sions, fierce and wild, had already awakened 
 her imagination $ and even sleep, the innocent 
 tranquil sleep of childhood, fled. 
 
 " You are the first upon deck," one day she 
 said, addressing Condulmar ; "and yet at 
 night we leave you there : do you, who know 
 every thing, know of nothing to make those 
 sleep who cannot sleep ? Tell me of it, if you 
 do, for of late my spirit is unquiet, and my 
 eyes close not : I used to sleep so well, that 
 night appeared to me but as a moment 5 for as 
 soon as I was asleep, they said it was time to 
 rise. 
 
 " You were happy," said Condulmar, with 
 a sigh, "when you rested thus : they who 
 sleep are blessed, were they never to wake 
 again •, but as for me — " and he put his hand 
 to his head, and looked thoughtfully away for 
 some moments, then continued — "I am the 
 last in the world of whom you should make 
 this inquiry. But, child, my fair child ! 1 
 know you can sleep •, for yesterday evening I 
 
 7-
 
 l54 ADA REIS. 
 
 awakened you by passing a feather over your 
 mouth, when sleeping on the deck, and you 
 smiled, and said you had not slept. Many 
 say so and yet cannot be thus easily awakened; 
 it is the common cant of fine ladies." 
 
 " But," said Fiormonda, whose cheeks were 
 pale with the restless fever which tormented 
 her, "1 am not a fine lady : I know of none 
 of these things 5 1 speak from the heart only, 
 and therefore I am not believed. Oh, I was 
 happy, and rested once securely, and trusted 
 myself, whilst 1 slept, to Him who made me." 
 r " The flowers and plants sleep, sweet one," 
 epli ed Condulmar : the vegetable world en- 
 joys this state of blessedness. At regular and 
 stated periods the plants send forth their odo- 
 riferous emanations, then fold themselves up 
 in their silken leaves •, infants enjoy repose ; 
 all nature is harmonized : but where the spirit 
 s pertur bed, it cannot rest. Fiormonda, you 
 who ask of me to teach you how to regain that 
 tranquil sleep of which I have robbed you ; 
 would that you, who say you cannot sleep, 
 could grant me one hour of that repose from 
 which I aroused you yesterday !"
 
 ADA REIS. l55 
 
 " And yet," said she, smilingly, " I am not 
 unhappy, only I am disturbed 5 for I dreamt 
 when 1 slept yesterday, and it is as fatiguing as 
 not sleeping at all. I dreamt an ugly dream, 
 which made me uncomfortable : yet 1 saw 
 you in my dream 5 but, Condulmar, when I 
 did see you, you frightened me, for your eyes 
 looked upon me as if you loved me not." 
 
 " Can such as you are dream?" said Con- 
 dulmar, with a look of surprise. " Come, 
 tell me, child of my heart, what is it you 
 dreamt of ; 1 am curious to know." 
 
 " Last night," said Fiormonda, " I thought 
 1 was in a plain, and there were wild beasts, 
 and animals, and birds, and fish, and every 
 sort of living thing, all staring upon me : it 
 was a horrid dream, and I thought you stood 
 in the midst, and your eyes glared upon me, 
 till they awakened me by their power." 
 
 " If my eyes were not fixed upon you, my 
 thoughts were," he said, mournfully ; " and 
 yet I warn you, and remember that I do so- 
 better were it for you to listen to the love 
 Kabkarra professed — nay, better, in truth, 
 were it for you to hide yourself in some cell,
 
 i56 ADA REIS. 
 
 and die there ; the greedy vulture alone per- 
 mitted to prey upon those opening beauties, 
 than to know me, for 1 am — " 
 
 " Oh ! say, what are you?" interrupted 
 Fiormonda. 
 
 " I am miserable," said Condulmar, strik- 
 ing his hand upon his heart. " But even this 
 hard heart acknowledges the beauty of inno- 
 cence, and bows before a child." 
 
 " What I am — may'st thou never know — 
 
 A friend, perchance — perchance a foe. 
 
 Yet thou art pure, and need'st not dread 
 
 Either the living or the dead. 
 
 The living dare not injure thee ; 
 
 The dead awake alone for me. 
 
 Thy earthly senses cannot hear 
 
 The strains which oft times glad my ear \ 
 
 Thy power of vision may not see 
 
 The passing shades which flit by me. — 
 
 Hark ! even now, I hear the choirs 
 
 Of cherub angels strike their lyres, 
 
 As borne aloft on silver wing 
 
 To Heaven, they songs of triumph sing. 
 
 For me, alas ! how sad the strain — 
 
 It bids me never hope again : 
 
 Unbless'd, alone, when all is still, 
 
 And the mind fears and fancies ill ;
 
 ADA REIS. i57 
 
 When thy young eyes are closed in sleep, 
 
 I gaze upon the boundless deep ; 
 
 For then a thousand phantoms drear 
 
 Upon the dark calm waves appear, 
 
 All pale and cold. The drown'd, the dead, 
 
 Arise from out their watery bed, 
 
 Filling the bosom of the sea, 
 
 As it were one vast cemetery. 
 
 " Ah ! start not, sweet one ! what I say 
 
 Is but to wile the time away ; 
 
 Let not my words distress thy heart, 
 
 Thou know'st too well how dear thou art. 
 
 I'll tell thee now of cities rare, 
 
 Of gallant knights, and ladies fair ; 
 
 I wish alone to make thee smile, 
 
 And the long dreary way beguile. 
 
 I ve made thee weep — I '11 soothe thy tears — 
 
 See tranquil now the moon appears, 
 
 Upon the softly swelling sea — 
 
 Her silver rays shine forth for thee. 
 
 Go to thy couch, thou gentle one; 
 
 Go, and I'll watch whilst thou art gone. 
 
 Child of my heart ! beware of sin ; 
 
 Let not the wily tempter in : 
 
 Fly him, by fate and passion driven, 
 
 And fix thy early faith in Heaven. 
 
 Yet would'st thou, my beloved ! know 
 
 What my grief is, and whence my woe ?—
 
 J 58 ADA REIS. 
 
 'Tis that these eyes can never weep, 
 'Tis that this spirit cannot sleep !" 
 
 ******** 
 
 " What mean you, Condulmar? — say," said 
 Fiormonda interrupting him — M What is it 
 which makes you look so fearfully around, 
 and seem so sad ?" 
 
 " Remorse feeds on my heart in the still night, 
 When gloomy dreams the weaken'd soul affright ; 
 When thoughts their mournful constant vigils keep, 
 Remorse feeds on my heart, and will not let me sleep ; 
 When the all-glorious sun arises bright, 
 Remorse appals me, and I fly its light. 
 Nature in vain looks beautiful for me ; 
 One fearful spectre every where I see : 
 Thy words are daggers, thy caresses death; 
 I catch but poison from thy balmy breath ; 
 Thy infant smile, what can it now impart? — 
 'Tis a last ray of hope to cheer a broken heart." 
 
 Fiormonda wept $ and Condulmar, seeing 
 that he had again given her pain, endeavoured 
 to soothe and to amuse her. 
 
 Thus as the swift vessel pursued its course 
 over the vast ocean, Fiormonda's passions, like 
 the rolling waves, backwards and forwards,
 
 ADA KEIS. 1% 
 
 ebbed and flowed. Love, in all its first de- 
 lights, opened within that warm and guileless 
 heart. Reason in vain opposed the growing 
 infatuation : — of religion (her only safeguard) 
 she knew little. Various were the impetuous 
 feelings which alternately possessed her mind : 
 like the frail beings who wander along the 
 earth, she was already their victim. Still time 
 passed on, and the vessel, emblem of time, 
 pursued its way. 
 
 At length the New World burst upon their 
 view. They gazed •, they neared the land. 
 They entered their destined harbour, and 
 were received with every mark of respect 
 and consideration. Ada Reis had letters from 
 the Spanish government, which strongly re- 
 commended him to the protection of the vice- 
 roy. The sums he had advanced to the con- 
 sulado gave him at once a free passport, and 
 made him of considerable consequence : his 
 talents, his haughtiness, his courage, enhanced 
 these credentials } and the splendour in which 
 he made his first appearance attracted around 
 him many a flatterer.
 
 160 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Such were the principal events of the life 
 of Ada Reis, according to the MS., up to the 
 period when he settled in America, where, 
 during three years, he became an active agent 
 to the Spanish government. He landed his 
 cargo at the Guayaquil ; his treasures were 
 considerable : he conveyed them safely across 
 the country to Lima. 
 
 Fiormonda was now no longer a beautiful 
 child, but a lovely and accomplished girl, 
 heiress of immense riches, and surrounded by 
 adoring suitors. 
 
 Ada Reis had established himself at Lima - : 
 he had purchased a magnificent house near 
 the viceroy's palace ; he lived in splendour ; he 
 dedicated much of his time to the cultivation 
 of Fiormonda's mind, who grew every day 
 more and more beautiful, but likewise more 
 fond of power and admiration 5 he had hitherto 
 kept her strictly according to the customs of 
 the country he had left, seldom permitting
 
 ADA RE1S. 161 
 
 her to be seen by any but female eyes. " An 
 imperial crown awaits her :" these words, and 
 the promise of himself being King, rendered 
 him proud, and regardless of all the offers of 
 marriage repeatedly made to her. Yet Con- 
 dulmar was permitted to attend her. All who 
 knew, all who saw, lamented the impression 
 the young adventurer had made upon the 
 heart of so beautiful a girl, and so great an 
 heiress.
 
 62 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 It is not the city of Lima, as it now is, 
 that Ada Reis describes 5 he speaks of the 
 wonder of South America, the city of the 
 kings, as Lima was called in the days of her 
 glory, and not of her in her fallen state. 
 He tells of times gone by, when magnifi- 
 cence and opulence were displayed in her 
 feasts; and knights and scholars, and fair 
 ladies, adorned the capital of so large a por- 
 tion of the western world. He tells of her 
 vast riches, of her splendid buildings, her 
 wealthy citizens, and the gay brilliancy of 
 their assemblies ; her processions and theatres ; 
 her bull-fights, hunting-matches, and revel- 
 ings ; her steeds, unmatched for strength 
 and dexterity : much, too, he dwells upon 
 the beauty of the surrounding country, abun- 
 dant in wine, grain, fruit, and flowers, wool, 
 cotton, and silks, and rich perfumes; he 
 speaks of her mines of precious ore and 
 jewelleries; her seas abounding in pearls;
 
 ADA REIS. i63 
 
 and her great rivers, which water the rich 
 country around. 
 
 The city of Lima was founded by Don 
 Francisco Pizarro, on the feast of Epiphany, 
 1 5 35. It is situated in the spacious and de- 
 lightful valley of Rimac — Rimac being the 
 name of an idol to which the native Indians 
 used to offer sacrifice under the Incas : and 
 as this idol was supposed to return answers 
 to the prayers addressed to it, it was called 
 Rimac, from an Indian word, meaning, pro- 
 perly, he who speaks. 
 
 Lima, once the capital of Peru, commands 
 the prospect of a country diversified by rivers 
 and mountains, adorned by forests and groves 
 of olives, orange and lemon trees. North- 
 ward, though at a considerable distance, runs 
 the Cordillera, or chain of the Andes, from 
 whence some of the hills project into the 
 valley, the nearest of which are those of St. 
 Christopher and the Amancaes. The river 
 in its course approaches the very walls of the 
 city : a superb stone bridge is built over it 5 
 at one end of which a gate, remarkable for 
 its architecture, forms the principal entrance
 
 l64 ADA REIS. 
 
 into the town, and leads to the great square. 
 In the centre of the square is a fountain, 
 from which the purest water is thrown up by 
 the trumpet of a bronze statue of Fame, and 
 is also poured from the mouths of eight lions 
 which surround it. Here, every morning, 
 Ada Reis informs us, flower-girls and market- 
 women, with their mules, and runa Llamas, 4 ^ 
 stationed themselves with baskets filled with 
 vegetables, fresh flowers, and fruit, whilst 
 singers and dancers enlivened the scene. 
 The young, the rich, and the fair, in their 
 carriages, or on horseback, assembled thither 
 before their morning and evening drives, to 
 purchase flowers. The east side of the 
 square is filled with noble buildings : there 
 stand the archiepiscopal palace ; the cathe- 
 dral, a massive structure without, and within 
 adorned with paintings, sculpture, and magni- 
 ficent altars : there also is the palace of the 
 viceroy, in which are the several courts of 
 justice, together with the offices of revenue ; 
 whilst on the west, the council-house and 
 city prison face the cathedral. The south 
 is reserved for private houses, erected upon
 
 ADA REIS. i65 
 
 an uniform plan beneath regular colon- 
 nades. 
 
 The government of the viceroy is triennial ; 
 but at the expiration of that term, the sove- 
 reign has power to prolong it. The office is 
 of the highest dignity and importance; he 
 who holds it enjoys all the privileges of 
 royalty, he is absolute in all things, civil, 
 military, or fiscal ; to him are subordinate all 
 the tribunals for executing the several func- 
 tions of government : so that the power of 
 this employment is equal to the dignity of 
 the title; and the pride, and pomp, and ex- 
 penditure of the viceroys of Peru were in 
 those days proverbial. 
 
 Ada Reis alone exceeded these temporary 
 sovereigns in profusion and magnificence, 
 and was wont to say carelessly, that were 
 the appointment offered to him he would 
 disdain it. He had, indeed, assumed the 
 symbols of royalty ; his slaves were dressed 
 in superb Eastern dresses, and he had ham- 
 pers to guard his palace, such as are employed 
 in the service of the Pasha of Tripoly : he 
 had, besides, other adherents from different
 
 i66 ADA REIS. 
 
 countries, so as to form a considerable re- 
 tinue. Notwithstanding which, it was some- 
 times his pleasure to ride about the city or 
 into the neighbouring country alone and un- 
 attended. His daughter was seldom seen, 
 and never went into public, except closely 
 veiled. 
 
 But, as it may be supposed, this conceal- 
 ment only increased the report of her extra- 
 ordinary beauty, so that little was talked of 
 in Lima but Fiormonda. She was called at 
 times the Kebbiera 50 of Tripoly (the greatest 
 of princesses), and at others, the beautifid 
 Calabrian. 
 
 Suitors were on all points vying for the 
 acknowledged and only heiress of all AdaReis's 
 immense wealth. Don Antonio de la Cerda, 
 and the Marquis de Santa Spina, were ever 
 on the watch to seize the first occasion of 
 urging their pretensions — all persons of the 
 highest rank, whose homage any other lady 
 in Lima would have received with gladness, 
 paid obeisance, for Fiormondas sake, to Ada 
 Reis; and, amongst the many who, morning 
 after morning, watched impatiently in the
 
 ADA REIS. 167 
 
 public square for the chance of a moment's 
 interview, the most distinguished of all her 
 suitors was Alphonso, Duke of Montevallos. 
 He never had spoken, but she was well aware 
 of his feelings — Love needs not the inter- 
 vention of language; a single glance can 
 communicate the sentiment of the heart as 
 fully and more forcibly than words. Fior- 
 monda knew his passion; and with that 
 passion it is not in the nature of woman, 
 however innocent, however modest, or how- 
 ever pre-occupied, to be offended or dis- 
 pleased. 
 
 The Duke of Montevallos, though not so 
 rich as many of those who were anxious to 
 offer themselves to the notice ofFiormonda, 
 was absorbed in family pride ; he was con- 
 nected with the royal family of Spain ; he had 
 fifty titles. His ancestors had risen from 
 their tombs in horror, could they have now 
 heard and credited that he entertained even 
 an idea of lowering his Castilian blood by 
 uniting it with that of the illegitimate daugh- 
 ter of an Algerine merchant ; yet was he seen 
 wandering, at early dawn, and of an evening
 
 168 ADA REIS. 
 
 late, in the public walk called the a la Mode, 
 between the rows of orange and lemon-trees, 
 or strolling along the banks of the river, 
 whither the calashes conveyed all the youth 
 and beauty of Lima, to enjoy at that hour 
 the balmy and refreshing air, and eagerly did 
 he watch there, in the hope of catching a 
 single glimpse of Fiormondas form as she 
 passed. 
 
 If by chance she appeared in the great 
 square, where the ladies assemble to pur- 
 chase, almost at any price, the most valued 
 and precious of plants, the chirimoya, 5 ' for 
 which there is much rivalship, the largest 
 sums being given for a single blossom, to her 
 the fairest and most fragrant were instantly 
 presented by the young Duke ; and envy it- 
 self durst hardly murmur at the preference 
 he showed her, so cautiously and coldly did 
 she receive his proffered gifts. Yet, although 
 she frequented so little the public places of 
 meeting, she drove often into the country, 
 beyond the extensive gardens which for miles 
 around adorn the environs of Lima, as far 
 even as the golden hills of the Amancaes, to
 
 ADA REIS. 109 
 
 gather the yellow flowers which first gave 
 thjem their name. 
 
 By some it was, however, suspected, that 
 neither the flowers nor the beauty of the 
 country were the objects which led her to 
 such a distance : it was rumoured, that not- 
 withstanding the general reserve and even 
 pride of her demeanour to the Duke and to 
 her other admirers, these excursions gave 
 her the opportunity of meeting and convers- 
 ing with Condulmar. 
 
 The young Duke was perfectly ignorant 
 that he even had a rival-, he hesitated to de- 
 clare his passion for Fiormonda to Ada Reis 
 simply upon the knowledge that such an 
 alliance would never be suffered by his 
 friends. He was to have returned with the 
 last envoy to his native country, where his 
 mother eagerly awaited his being of age, to 
 unite his hand in marriage with a kinswoman 
 of her own noble parentage and fortune. 
 He hesitated, he delayed: at length he re- 
 solved to wait one month longer at Lima, 
 upon the pretext of witnessing the entry of 
 the new viceroy into the city } at which time 
 vol. 1. 8
 
 170 ADA REIS. 
 
 he was informed Fiormonda would be pre- 
 sented to the public, and allowed to mingle 
 in the gaieties which take place at that period. 
 The Duke of Montevallos was well known 
 to the new viceroy; he had visited him twice 
 at Chili since his residence in America, and 
 his mother had in some measure placed him 
 under his care.
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Of all the solemnities observed in America, 
 the public entry of the viceroy into the city 
 of Lima was considered as the most splen- 
 did. Nothing was to be seen in the days to 
 which we have gone back, on this occasion, 
 but gilded carriages, the greatest pomp of 
 retinue, the most laboured magnificence of 
 apparel, in each of which the families of old 
 Spain and the native nobility vied with the 
 most profuse and eager emulation, and every 
 thing was now preparing for the celebration 
 of this day. For at this period, Don Joseph 
 Manso de Yelasco, Count of Superunda, 
 knight of the order of Santiago, and late 
 governor of Chili, had arrived to assume the 
 viceroyalty of Peru, to which he had been 
 appointed on the 12th of July, 1745. Ac- 
 cording to custom, he remained at the fort of 
 Callao 5a until the day fixed upon for his grand 
 entrance into the city of Lima. Here he was 
 waited upon by all the Spanish and native
 
 172 ADA KEIS. 
 
 grandee*, and here he inquired of one of the 
 officers of his predecessor's suite, who it was 
 whose superb state-liveries and richly-capari- 
 soned steeds had attracted his attention. 
 wt The arms in particular," said Don Joseph, 
 " are singular 5 for I, heing somewhat read 
 in heraldry, know them to be the sigil of 
 Melchior, one of the three Magi kings. " 
 
 "It is Ada Reis," replied the Marquis de 
 Santa Spina, k< a merchant of Tripoly, or, as 
 some say, an AJgerinc Reis — a singular per- 
 sonage, who has made millions. He has been 
 resident in America these three years past. 
 He is supposed to be the richest subject in 
 Lima. He is of great use in the consulado, to 
 which he has at times advanced considerable 
 sums of money. He has agents at Quito, Car- 
 thagena, Porto-Bello, and indeed in every 
 province and city belonging to his most Ca- 
 tholic Majesty 5 and these agents purchase the 
 first of every thing at the greatest price, which 
 gives a life and spirit to commerce, of late 
 much needed." 
 
 The result of this information was the 
 highly-respectful and gracious reception with
 
 ADA RE IS. 17 > 
 
 which the new viceroy greeted Adafteis itpoh 
 
 his first presentation. Nor was he less struck 
 with his conversation and manner, than he 
 had been before with his magnificence^, inso- 
 much that he insisted upon his accompanying 
 him that evening to the theatre, 53 where the 
 ladies, all veiled in their usual dress, were ad- 
 mitted, according to custom, in order that 
 they might have an opportunity of seeing the 
 new viceroy. He had, however, brought 
 with him a formidable rival, who withdrew 
 from him much of the public attention, for 
 all female eyes, in particular, were fixed upon 
 the wonderful, the beautiful, the magnificent 
 Ada Reis, who but seldom appeared in public, 
 and had only once before visited Callao. A 
 young man, who some said was his son, and 
 others a noble Venetian, stood near him : his 
 countenance was peculiar •, the expression 
 varied every moment, as if his thoughts were 
 painted in their passage across his dark intel- 
 lectual brow. Don Joseph Manso eagerly in- 
 quired who he was. He had accompanied 
 Ada Reis, it was believed, from his own coun- 
 try ; he inhabited his present residence 1 at
 
 i?4 ADA REIS. 
 
 Lima, was ever with him, and was supposed 
 to he the intended hushand of the beautiful 
 Fiormonda. " And his name ?" said the 
 viceroy. 
 
 "It is Condulmar." 
 
 " And Fiormonda?" 
 
 " She never appears in public. 1 ' 
 
 The ensuing day being appointed for the 
 viceroy's public entry into Lima, the streets of 
 the city were cleared, and hung with tapestry, 
 and triumphal arches were erected at proper 
 distances. At two in the afternoon, the 
 viceroy went to hear mass, and meet his pre- 
 decessor, at the church belonging to the mo- 
 nastery of Mont serrat, 54 which was separated, 
 by a triumphal gate, from the street where 
 the cavalcade was to begin. 
 
 As soon as all who were to assist in the pro- 
 cession had assembled, the viceroy and his 
 retinue set forth, and the gates being thrown 
 open, the procession began in the following 
 order : the militia, the colleges, the univer- 
 sity, with the professors in their proper 
 habits 5 the chamber of accompts 5 the chamber 
 of the audience, on horses with trappings ;
 
 ADA REIS. *?5 
 
 the magistracy, in crimson velvet robes, lined 
 with brocade of the same colour, and a parti- 
 cular form of cap upon their heads, used only 
 upon this occasion ; the courts of inquisition 
 in full dress, according to order, attended by 
 a number of noblemen ; whilst some mem- 
 bers of the corporation, who walked on foot, 
 supported the canopy over the viceroy, and 
 the two ordinary alcaldes, 55 who acted as 
 esquires, held the bridle of his horse, a magni- 
 ficent steed from Chili. 56 The procession was 
 of considerable length, but not so long as the 
 description of it given by Ada Reis. They 
 passed through all the principal streets till 
 they came to the great square, in which the 
 whole company drew up facing the cathedral ; 
 then the viceroy alighted, and made a ge- 
 neral obeisance, whilst the archbishop and 
 chapter advanced to receive him. The whole 
 of the immense assembled multitude were 
 silent as the grave. At this moment burst 
 upon the ear the solemn hymn of Te Deum 
 laudamus, chanted by the most melodious 
 voices, and accompanied by the greatest power 
 of instrumental music.
 
 ijG ADA REIS. 
 
 The recollections of the greatness of the 
 Spanish monarchy, the thought of the vast 
 territories of which the new viceroy was, as it 
 were, taking possession, the immense display 
 of wealth, and the gorgeous magnificence of 
 the Roman Catholic religion, continued at 
 once to subjugate and overpower the minds 
 of all who witnessed the inspiring spectacle. 
 
 At that moment, when even the very soul 
 of vanity and pride must have been touched 
 and gratified, when man, vain man, drest in a 
 little brief authority, must have felt something 
 like piety and enthusiasm, the viceroy's < 
 SFfere attracted by Ada Reis and his daughter. 
 Ada Reis, whose object at all times was dis- 
 tinction, and who sought it by deviating from 
 every general rule, appeared on this occasion 
 in plain but becoming attire : he seemed to 
 make one in a mere show ; to be a subordi- 
 nate character in the drama that was perform- 
 ing : he liked nor viceroy, nor pageant, which 
 could rival or even approach himself in mag- 
 nificence. He attended, therefore, the cere- 
 mony as a common observer, whom curiosity 
 alone drew to be present at it. But the oh-
 
 ADA REIS. »:: 
 
 servation, which this peculiarity ofdress and 
 manner would otherwise have attracted, was 
 now entirely lost in the deeper interest ex- 
 cited by the appearance of his daughter, who, 
 trembling and agitated, supported herself upon 
 her father ; so deeply was she affected by the 
 sublime choir of voices, and the solemnity of 
 those religious rites, of the effect of which 
 she had hitherto known so little. First she 
 knelt in enthusiasm, and now she wept upon 
 her father's bosom. 
 
 When sudden hope springs up in the mind, 
 or when we are moved with unexpected plea- 
 sure — when we meet with those whom we 
 love — we shed tears •, and these are the tears 
 which spring from the fullness of joy. We 
 shed tears, too, when we part from what we 
 love, whether it befriend or country, or, still 
 dearer, a parent : but they are tears of bitter- 
 ness and regret. There are tears, too, which 
 flow less freely, and these are for the dead ; 
 such tears save the heart from breaking. But 
 the tears which Fiormonda shed were of none 
 of these \ they partook of the anguish of all 
 of them, without affording any of their relief. 
 
 8.
 
 178 ADA REIS. 
 
 They were as if a lost soul had heard the 
 prayers of saints, the hymn of angels ; yet 
 could not, might not, join in the hallowed 
 strain and pious supplication. They were as 
 if the heart dropped hlood, for her agony was 
 great and real. When the pealing organ roll- 
 ed through the vaulted nave the fullness of 
 its note, when the whole choir swelled at once 
 through that vast edifice the song of devotion 
 and praise ; the strain came upon her with the 
 memory of past and better times, like the 
 voice of those who were no more, of those 
 who had left her for ever. Virtue, honour, 
 early piety, and sacred faith were in those 
 blessed sounds. She remembered her youth, 
 when she also had knelt and prayed, when 
 her guardian spirit had borne her hymn and 
 orisons upward to her Creator. But now she 
 never prayed. She was conscious that she was 
 present at this solemnity, as at a mere spec- 
 tacle and vain pageant, deprived of all its 
 essence and meaning, without belief, hope, or 
 comfort ; with the greater mortification of 
 witnessing in others those feelings and those 
 aspirations of better things, which she had
 
 ADA REIS. 179 
 
 herself abandoned and relinquished. Her 
 lather reproved her for betraying so mueh 
 emotion, and one dearer than her father chided 
 her for her weakness and superstition. Con- 
 dulmar smiled with seorn upon a scene which 
 appeared to him either vanity and folly, or 
 fanaticism and imposture. 
 
 "■It is the only daughter of Ada Reis," 
 whispered the Duke of Montevallos, in answer 
 to the viceroy's inquiring look. The maiden 
 was veiled, — no feature was exhibited, — he 
 could only contemplate the grace and sym- 
 metry of her form. She never cast her eyes 
 upon the assembled company, nor upon any 
 part of the pageant, but appeared entirely ab- 
 sorbed in the emotions of her own mind. 
 
 After the ceremony, the viceroy proceeded 
 to the palace gates, where he was received by 
 the audieneia, and conducted to the banquet 
 which awaited him. "Is Ada Reis served?" 
 said Don Joseph de Velasco to his attendants ; 
 " if not, send to desire that he and his daugh- 
 ter may sit at my table." 
 
 Ada Reis had returned to his own house ; 
 and when the message from the viceroy was
 
 l8o ADA REIS. 
 
 delivered to him there, he politely declined 
 the honour intended him for himself, and said 
 his daughter could not appear in public until 
 she had formally been presented to the Spanish 
 governor, which could only take place after 
 the whole of these solemnities had concluded. 
 Suppers and public assemblies, and moon- 
 light dances, and bull-feasts, followed in long 
 succession, as was the custom of the country ; 
 but during almost the whole continuance of 
 the festivities the viceroy saw not again either 
 Ada Reis or his daughter 5 for the former wa> 
 too proud to appear often in places where 
 there was a greater than himself. At length, 
 on the last day of the bull-fight, as the vice- 
 roy was passing on horseback to the crowded 
 scene, the royal arms again attracted his at- 
 tention, and he eagerly watched the calash, 
 ornamented with gold, and containing within 
 it two females, as it passed him. The beauti- 
 ful girl he instantly recognised to be Fior- 
 monda; and she appeared to be entreating 
 and imploring an inexorable old woman to 
 permit her to stop and see the spectacle. The 
 cross gouvcrnante, with a tone of voice at
 
 ADA REIS. itfi 
 
 once querulous and resolved, was command- 
 ing the driver to turn about. The viceroy 
 immediately approached the calash, and was 
 silent for some moments as he took a nearer 
 view of the young Fiormonda, who stood up 
 all unveiled, her countenance animated, and 
 her eyes, naturally gentle and timid, now bril- 
 liant with eagerness : a cavalcade of gentle- 
 men surrounded the calash, and the viceroy 
 himself now requested the duenna to permit 
 her lovely charge to indulge her inclination. 
 But Shalfou Paca, in a language strangely 
 formed of a combination of almost every 
 tongue, loudly remonstrated against any such 
 intention. A grandee present reminded her 
 that it was to the viceroy himself she had the 
 honour to speak. She cared not, she said, to 
 what or to whom she addressed herself ; she 
 had her master's commands, and, whatever 
 might be said, the Lilla Fiormonda should not 
 see any thing, or be seen of any one 
 
 During this altercation, Fiormonda, with 
 great sweetness and dignity, stood up in the 
 calash, silent, but casting a contemptuous 
 glance upon Shalfou Paca, whose tongue,
 
 182 ADA REIS. 
 
 being once set in motion , continued a sharp 
 and unceasing alarum. Don Joseph Manso 
 de Velasco in a moment understood the proud 
 contempt indicated by her silence, and the 
 indignant feelings she repressed : he also saw 
 a little smile and assumed tranquillity curling 
 upon her lips, as she listened to her gover- 
 ness's harangue. He seized the opportunity 
 of breaking forth into expressions of un- 
 bounded admiration ; he gently took her 
 hand, and raised it to his lips j she received 
 the honour as she might have done a courtesy 
 from a slave, with politeness, but with marked 
 indifference. 
 
 At this moment Condulmar rode up; his 
 pale sallow complexion, dark hair, and deep 
 intelligence of countenance, had already at- 
 tracted, it may be remembered, the attention 
 of Don Joseph the first time he had seen him 
 at the theatre ; he recognised him immedi- 
 ately, and slightly bowed — the young Vene- 
 tian, without parade, returned the salute, 
 and with an air of easy familiarity, said to Fior- 
 monda these words : " And does my lovely 
 mistress wish to see a festival, which ladies
 
 ADA RE 1 9. 1 83 
 
 more timid and gentle fear? and docs Schaffou 
 Paca dare to oppose her? Follow thy desires; 
 indulge freely thy pleasure or thy curiosity, 
 and I will remain the while and teach thy gou- 
 vernante somewhat of more compliance; for 
 thou wert born to command ; thy least wish 
 should be a law to all." 
 
 Fiormonda hesitated, — but Condulmar, dis- 
 mounting, handed her from the calash. The 
 viceroy now also dismounted, offering to lead 
 Fiormonda to a seat, where some of the ladies 
 of his own family were already stationed; he 
 said they would be delighted to have this op- 
 portunity of making acquaintance with one of 
 whom they had heard so much. He asked her, 
 however, more than once, as they proceeded, 
 if she thought her father would be really 
 displeased at the liberty he was taking 5 
 for the viceroy had no desire to offend Ada 
 Reis. 
 
 "Oh, he never can be long displeased with 
 me," said Fiormonda, smiling ; " and if Con- 
 dulmar plead for me, I am sure of being for- 
 given directly." 
 
 " And does Condulmar, whoever he may
 
 l84 ADA REIS. 
 
 be, hold as great a power over the heart of 
 the lovely Fiormonda as it would appear he 
 does over the mind of her father ?" 
 
 Casting her eyes down, whilst a deep blush 
 overspread her complexion, Fiormonda an- 
 swered, " 1 scarcely know, sir ; but this 1 will 
 say, that whenever I desire any thing, he is 
 kind enough either to obtain it for me, or to 
 show me the manner in which it should be ob- 
 tained ; and I consider him, upon the whole, 
 in the light of a friend." 
 
 ' ' Upon the whole ! " said Don Joseph , eager 
 to penetrate the young maiden's real thoughts; 
 " wherefore upon the whole only P" 
 
 " Oh, sir," said Fiormonda, " because a 
 real friend would, perhaps, repress those 
 wishes sooner than indulge them \ and I some- 
 times think — nay, I am intruding upon you 
 that which concerns only myself." 
 
 " Oh, no intrusion! Speak frankly to me-, 
 you know not, you cannot believe, the in- 
 terest you have already awakened in me." 
 
 " Why then, sir, to be sincere, I considered 
 one, whom 1 left in my own country, as 
 a brother and a friend, but Gondulmar as a
 
 ADA REIS. 1 85 
 
 very dangerous, though, alas! too fascinating, 
 companion." 
 
 " And who is he whom yon left in your own 
 country P" 
 
 " Why, I hardly know how to answer," said 
 Fiormonda, smiling : w his name, sir, I be- 
 lieve, is Zevahir 5 he was a playmate, a friend 
 of mine, a boy 5 and yet, under his fair locks, 
 it may be truly said, *■ Sol to biondi cnj)ci 
 cauuta mentej for he had indeed all the 
 wisdom of age. He was not a native 4 of our 
 country, neither do I think he came from this 
 land, unless he is from the Eldorado, or per- 
 chance the bright mountains of Calitamani. 
 There is no silly tale that is not told of him ; 
 but for himself, he never spoke to me of his 
 parents or his country 5 and," continued she, 
 with a sigh, " of what matter from whence 
 he came ? This 1 know, at least, that he was 
 all goodness, ay, all gentleness and goodness • 
 but he is lost to me, and 1 only named him 
 because I thought him a real friend. Condulmar 
 hales me to remember him 5 calls him a foolish 
 boy, and affects to be jealous of him, as if 
 one so young could have inspired me with — ."
 
 186 ADA RE1S. 
 
 " AVith what?' 1 said the viceroy, seeing the 
 deep blush which now again overspread her 
 cheeks. " "Vv ith love, were you going to say? 
 Has that young bosom then already felt those 
 dangerous fires? Is it possible? Alas! 1 see by 
 your hesitation at the very name, that I am 
 not wrong in my presumption." 
 
 A sigh was Fiormonda's answer. 
 
 At this moment the Duke of Montevallos 
 approached them. " Alphonso," said the 
 viceroy, "will you accompany us?" Pale, 
 trembling, deeply moved, he hesitated for a 
 moment, then placed himself on the other 
 side ofFiormonda, who, on her part, drew her 
 veil more completely over her countenance, 
 and turned away her head from the ardent gaze 
 which she was conscious he was fixing upon her . 
 
 Love, though strong in itself, receives a 
 great accession of strength from perceiving 
 the admiration paid by others to its object. 
 It becomes at once confident in the justice of 
 its choice, and alarmed for the success of its 
 suit ; it feels itself sanctioned by example, 
 and stimulated by rivalry. 
 
 Such were at this moment the feelings of
 
 ADA REIS. 187 
 
 AJphonso. The sight of Fiormonda, leaning 
 upon Don Joseph's arm, and the general de- 
 votion paid by all who beheld her, so in- 
 flamed his soul, so vehemently exeited a dis- 
 position naturally impetuous, that he could 
 no longer conceal or suppress his passion. 
 " Of what avail is it to me," he said, " that 1 
 am allied to kings and princes, if this malady 
 consume me ? 1 love, I worship this beautiful 
 girl. The earth contains no other like to her : 
 the young and the great surround and kneel 
 to her, whilst I keep aloof, and by this means 
 shall lose her. She knows not, as yet, the 
 world 5 her inexperience maybe misled : she 
 may believe others to be as great as myself, 
 because more rich. See at this moment what 
 crowds are gazing upon her." A circle, in 
 truth, was formed around Fiormonda ; it was 
 the first time she had been seen unveiled. 
 i; 1 will open my heart to her father on the 
 instant," continued the young Duke, as he 
 stood at some distance, intently watching her : 
 " in the title of Duchess de Montevallos the 
 merchant's daughter will be lost, and the un- 
 rivalled Fiormonda be my own."
 
 1 88 ADA REIS. 
 
 No sooner had he formed this determination, 
 than, impatient at the length of the show, and 
 still more at the increasing admiration be- 
 stowed nponFiormonda, he called theMarqtiis 
 de Santa Spina apart : the latter heard liis in- 
 tention with the utmost surprise : insisted 
 that he should consult the viceroy ; and upon 
 his demurring, himself communicated the 
 secret to Don Joseph. They could by no 
 means believe him to be so mad, — his vouth. 
 — his distance from his friends, — the relation 
 in which he stood to the court, were all rea- 
 sons why this precipitate step should be sus- 
 pended •, but in vain they reasoned. Monte- 
 vallos looked again upon Fiormonda, and 
 would hear of no prudential delay. He gazed 
 with fatal passion upon the too conscious lady, 
 and, remounting his horse, galloped rashly off, 
 to lay himself, his dukedom, and all lie pos- 
 sessed, at the feet of Ada Reis.
 
 ADA RE IS. 1 89 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Ada. Reis was scaled, according to the 
 custom of his country, upon a small Hat 
 cushion, laid upon a Turkish carpet ; a scarf 
 of the finest cachemire half concealed his 
 resplendent dress. His turban was of cloth 
 of gold, having an heron wrought upon it 5 
 the foot of the bird was worked in diamonds; 
 a collar of large pearls hung about his neck 5 
 sherbet, and a Persian apparatus for smok- 
 ing, were upon a marble slab near him, 
 whilst slaves, in magnificent attire, were 
 standing with their hands folded before them 
 at the entrance of the apartment. He ap- 
 peared lost in thought, and there was a gloom 
 upon his countenance, which repressed fa- 
 miliar intercourse. The Duke, young and 
 inexperienced, hesitated as he approached ; at 
 length he broke silence. He hoped, he said, 
 his intrusion would be forgiven; he had 
 much to communicate. Ada Reis rose, and, 
 laying his hand upon his- bosom, with eastern
 
 190 ADA REIS. 
 
 courtesy, saluted him, and bade him speak 
 without reserve. The Duke hastened to ex- 
 plain himself at once. He expressed his 
 love, and declared his intentions ; he then 
 adverted, although with some timidity, to 
 his rank 5 but said that the consciousness of 
 it was only precious to him, inasmuch as it 
 might render the offer of his hand more ac- 
 ceptable to the father of Fiormonda. He 
 paused, and in anxious silence awaited the 
 answer. 
 
 How great was his surprise, when for that 
 answer, the words, " My daughter is highly 
 honoured ; but I aspire to a greater match for 
 her,' 1 were tranquilly pronounced. His in- 
 dignation was so great, that it rose to abso- 
 lute fury, — death, destruction, revenge! — 
 insolent, low-born merchant! a torrent of 
 abuse rushed from the incoherent and offend- 
 ed suitor, but in vain. 
 
 Ada Reis listened to his rage with an un- 
 concern as calm as he had before listened to 
 his professions; then, with a smile, resumed 
 his pipe, nor vouchsafed him any further re- 
 ply. Stung to the quick by this neglect, the
 
 ADA REIS. 191 
 
 Duke was hurrying out of the apartment, 
 when Ada Reis, following him ceremoniously 
 to the entertrance, requested the honour of his 
 presence at an entertainment he was about to 
 propose to the viceroy upon the day of Fior- 
 monda's presentation 5 and assured him that 
 if he felt himself hurt at the honour of his 
 alliance having been declined, he might con- 
 sole himself with the information, that he 
 was about the hundredth of those who had 
 already been obliged to submit to a similar 
 mortification. 
 
 " But not a prince," replied the Duke. 
 
 " Ay, sir," said Ada Reis, gasconading a 
 little, and concealing somewhat of the truth, 
 ' ' the Bey of Tripoly, himself, the son of the 
 Pasha." 
 
 " The Bey!" rejoined Montevallos; " hea- 
 venly powers ! to name him even ! — a Moor, 
 a Mussulman ! Why, the alliance of the Pasha 
 is not to be compared with mine ! No won- 
 der that Fiormonda disdained to add herself 
 another slave to his harem. But to refuse 
 me!" 
 
 " Of this," said Ada Reis, " I presume the
 
 icp ADA REIS, 
 
 young lady is innocent; 1 alone, therefore, 
 am guilty." 
 
 " To what, then, do you aspire for her? 1 ' 
 " I deem her worthy of an imperial crown." 
 " So do 1, Heaven be my witness!" said 
 Montevallos} "and were I possessed of an 
 empire, 1 would share it with her on the in- 
 stant. But why await for impossibilities/ 
 
 "It is enough," said Ada Reis; " you 
 have my answer. Bear it like a Christian," 
 he added with a sneer, " and I will not be- 
 tray your secret." 
 
 The Duke had now recovered himself, and 
 perhaps still cherishing hope that neither 
 Fiormonda nor her father would ultimately 
 prove inexorable, acquiesced for the present 
 in the advice given to him-, and Ada Reis, 
 taking down from its place a beautifully 
 wrought Turkish scimitar, requested that the 
 Duke would accept it as a token of good- will 
 and reconciliation: " And if she whom you 
 must not possess," he continued, "should 
 ever be in danger, draw thou this weapon, 
 the gift of the father, in defence of the 
 daughter."
 
 ADA REIS. 193 
 
 " I will, "said Montevallos, with enthusiasm. 
 " Pardon the offence I have given you; 1 am 
 not yet twenty years of age — I have been 
 taught ever to consider myself, save my sove- 
 reign and my own kinsmen, as the greatest 
 personage in the world. The presumption of 
 pride and passion have led me to address to you 
 language such as none of high parentage and 
 courteous manners should ever use — forgive 
 me. You know not what it is to love as I do." 
 
 " Notknowit, young enthusiast — not know 
 it!" said Ada Reis, and he laughed aloud. 
 ' ' I too have permitted my eyes to wander 5 
 I too have given myself up to the dominion 
 of passion •, I too have made an idol of that 
 which is but dust — beauty has misled and 
 betrayed me, as it has done others; but with 
 this difference, my heart felt with more des- 
 perate force, my feelings were stronger, my 
 power greater. — Not love! Ye gods! may 
 you never feel what I have felt. I have been 
 the greatest slave that love has ever made. 
 Montevallos, believe me, no Castilian blood 
 ever flowed with more fervid violence around 
 a heart than mine; but where the feelings 
 vol. 1. 9
 
 it)4 ADA HE IS. 
 
 are deep and strong, they give not utterance 
 often to their magnitude by words and out- 
 ward gestures. Neither can the contumelies 
 you have not disdained to use affect one like 
 me : for the sneer of ridicule, and the grin 
 of folly, I can return a bitterer and more deadly 
 jest: to the clamour of the multitude, and the 
 erroneous judgment of the world, supreme 
 contempt and real indifference is my answer. 
 At passion, outrage, and the petty wrongs 
 which make common men mad, 1 smile: but 
 arouse me — injure those 1 love — awaken the 
 sleeping lion — and dread Ada Reis as a fiend, 
 at once above and below mankind. Dread 
 him who dreads nothing, who acknowledges 
 no superior, no law, no master; who hopes 
 for nothing in life, and fears nothing beyond 
 it; to whom pain is as a scratch, existence but 
 a dream, and death the termination of all 
 things! Bestow your professions and regrets. 
 your contumelies and abuse, on such as seek 
 the one, or fear the other : Ada Reis thinks 
 of his fellow-men as the leviathan thinks of 
 the tribes who inhabit with him the depths 
 of the ocean!"
 
 ADA REIS. iq5 
 
 As he said this, his muscular form became 
 convulsed 5 his eyes kindled and rolled with 
 anger; his teeth clenched within each other, 
 and he exhibited to the young Duke the dis- 
 gusting and appalling picture of uncontrolled 
 passion. 
 
 The Duke retired ^ but encountered, as he 
 quitted Ada Reis' palace, the object of his 
 entire devotion 5 for, whilst this interview 
 had been taking place between himself and 
 Ada Reis, the viceroy, proud of his charge, 
 and eager to show every possible attention to 
 her father, resolved to accompany Fiormonda 
 home' himself, and to ask forgiveness in per- 
 son for having, contrary to the orders of her 
 governess, ventured to conduct her into the 
 gay and fair assemblage which she had been 
 so anxious to behold. Fiormonda, animated, 
 but no way flattered, by the encomiums she 
 had heard on all sides, added to the grace 
 and dignity of eastern reception somewhat of 
 the ease and freedom of manner which charac- 
 terizes the European courts. Happy she was 
 and proud — too proud to be rendered vain. 
 With the Marquis de Santa Spina and the
 
 19^ ADA REIS. 
 
 viceroy she conversed easily, and her con- 
 versation was full of spirit, and even of good- 
 humoured raillery. When Condulmar ad- 
 dressed her, she was reserved, embarrassed, 
 and almost affected. Thus they proceeded, 
 Shaffou Paca following after, fatigued and 
 angry, and keeping up, in a low voice, a 
 never-ceasing murmur of complaint at her 
 pupil's disobedience and apparent disregard 
 of her father's displeasure. 
 
 As soon as they arrived in the presence of 
 Ada Reis, the gouvernante commenced an ha- 
 rangue which she had been preparing } when 
 a glance of his eye at once imposed silence 
 upon her. He received the viceroy with the 
 most marked respect, and was evidently flat- 
 tered by .his condescension in paying him this 
 unexpected visit ; he conversed with him on 
 many subjects, and before he withdrew re- 
 spectfully entreated that he would honour his 
 dwelling in a few evenings with his presence. 
 The viceroy accepted the invitation, and with 
 a look of admiration cast upon Fiormonda, took 
 leave of her and of her father ; and thus the 
 visit which had begun with some awkward-
 
 ADA REIS. 197 
 
 ness and apprehension, terminated with gene- 
 ral ease and satisfaction. 
 
 " Fiormonda," said Ada Reis, when the 
 viceroy had retired, "I have been thinking, 
 child, that it is time to present thee to the 
 world and marry thee, as thy years are many ; 
 and the accomplishment of a wizard's prophecy 
 seems too long deferred. Blanch, the fair 
 princess of Iklebar, of whom all the grandees 
 were last season enamoured, is thy senior 
 alone by two years — thou wilt number thy 
 eighteenth year in a few months : 1 must not 
 let the flower wither upon its stem, to be de- 
 voured by the caterpillars that seek to destroy 
 it. Appear, fair child, in all thy splendour 
 and beauty ; accept the hand of him who is 
 the highest ; and when 1 have seen thee ren- 
 dered great, I shall perchance depart, — for a 
 restless spirit torments me. What is gran- 
 deur ? what are honours ? what are riches, if 
 the mind remain idle and unemployed ?" 
 Then, addressing his discourse to his attend- 
 ants, he commanded, that upon the first day 
 of the ensuing week, a magnificent entertain- 
 ment might be given, for the double purpose
 
 lgS ADA REIS. 
 
 of showing honour to the new viceroy, and 
 presenting Fiormonda to an astonished and 
 admiring world. 
 
 These commands were promptly obeyed. 
 The arrangements for the entertainment were 
 of such extent as to employ many hundred 
 workmen. Condulmar undertook the whole 
 management and direction ; all that apper- 
 tained to arrangement, taste, ornament, beauty , 
 comfort, he fully understood ; andFiormonda, 
 assisting him with designs and hints, thus ob- 
 tained a pretext for passing hour after hour in 
 the society of her lover. 
 
 Display and ostentation are generally de- 
 lightful to the female mind. The poet Virgil 
 tells us, that Camilla, in the midst of the ac- 
 tion, was suddenly and deeply attracted by 
 the armour of an adversary. Fiormonda was 
 not indifferent to the magnificence which sur- 
 rounded her. To her was now arrived that 
 term of life which excites in the bosoms of the 
 young the liveliest feelings of interest and 
 pleasure. She was now to see that world she 
 had so long looked forward to and anticipated: 
 she was now to be free from the tyranny of
 
 ADA REIS. 199 
 
 Shatfou Paca, to go where others go, and enjoy 
 the society of those, of whose wit, talents, 
 beauty, and rank, she had heard so much. 
 
 Gondii] mar painted in glowing colours the 
 delights of liberty, the enjoyments of the 
 world, the various amusement of company. 
 Her hopes were raised, her mind perturbed 
 by his descriptions ; but his discourse sunk 
 still more deeply into her soul, when he as- 
 sured her, that by the side of others, that even 
 amidst all the beauty of Lima, that even 
 by the as yet unparalleled Princess of lldebar, 
 she would still be the most lovely in his eyes, 
 and the first in his affections. She heard him 
 with pleasure •, but she loved, and therefore 
 doubted. This her apprehensive doubt, her 
 strong solicitude, her desire of pleasing him 
 alone, and fear of losing him 5 these feelings, 
 which in the vain eyes of men communicate 
 an interest even to ordinary features, gave to 
 Fiormonda a loveliness and fascination the 
 most seductive and irresistible.
 
 200 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 At length the night of the entertainment 
 arrived, and exceeded all that even expecta- 
 tion had imagined. The carpets were of gold 
 tissue 5 emeralds, amethysts, and rubies adorn- 
 ed the candelabras ; the service for the ban- 
 quet was, without intermixture, of highly- 
 wrought gold. Yet, amidst objects so costly 
 and brilliant, no eye could look on any thing 
 but the daughter of Ada Reis. The beautiful 
 women of Lima, who valued themselves on 
 their rich brocades, short full petticoats, and 
 little feet adorned with diamonds, 5 " were out- 
 shone by the more simply-attired Fiormonda, 
 whose ringlets, according to their mode, fall- 
 ing gracefully behind the ear, were fastened 
 by a gold pin, called the polyzone, adorned 
 with a diamond aigrette at each end. Her 
 rosary was of pearls } her dress was somewhat 
 longer than that worn by the other ladies, and 
 of it the girdle alone was remarkable for its 
 splendour $ the stones w T hich composed it ap-
 
 ADA RE1S. 20i 
 
 pcared to be rubies, and cast an almost su- 
 pernatural light : they were, alas ! the gift of 
 Kabkarra ! Vanity could not resist the dis- 
 play on such an occasion, and Condulmar's 
 piercing and jealous eyes had not apparently 
 as yet detected them. 
 
 Fiormonda, perfect in loveliness, seemed 
 already to set some little value upon the admi- 
 ration of the men, and the envious observation 
 of the women, - to whom she was now for the 
 first time presented. Yet she demeaned her- 
 self with a modesty, reserve, and dignity, 
 which added to her attractions. Her personal 
 charms were heightened by those of her mind, 
 — inviting love, but commanding respect. 
 The delight of her conversation was beyond 
 common praise ; her ideas were all original, 
 natural, and just ; her expressions the purest, 
 and her manners the most artless and inno- 
 cently playful. Such was she the first time 
 she was publicly seen at Lima, and introduced 
 into a w r orld of gaiety, which had appeared 
 to her, in its distant prospect, replete with 
 amusement and happiness. 
 
 With Fiormonda the Duke of Montevallos 
 
 9-
 
 202 ADA REIS. 
 
 opened the ball 5 to her alone every honour 
 was paid. The viceroy seized every oppor- 
 tunity of addressing himself exclusively to 
 her, and Montevallos gazed till his eyes be- 
 held scarcely any thing beside : the gay scene 
 appeared to vanish from before him ; his brain 
 turned, and feverish illness disturbed his 
 whole frame. AVhilst in this state, Condulmar 
 approached him. — ' ' How 1 pity you !" he said : 
 " though a rival, you are not a hated one : 
 trust in me, and I will assist your wishes." 
 
 " Assist meT said the Duke, starting with 
 surprise ; " Assist me! when I have plainly 
 witnessed your own attachment : — this is 
 beyond even romance 5 and, believe me, if 
 I cannot win the lady by my own merit, I 
 will never be indebted to another for her 
 favour." 
 
 As he said this with an indignant warmth, 
 his eyes met Fiormonda's ; and the glance she 
 gave Condulmar struck like a poniard into tin- 
 heart of Montevallos — it was the expression 
 of entire and devoted attachment. The Duke 
 knew no longer how to endure his situation ; 
 he could not bear to leave the apartment,
 
 ADA RE1S. 
 
 ao3 
 
 and he could not command his agitation whilst 
 he remained. 
 
 In the mean time, exclamations of astonish- 
 ment were breathed around at the fineness of 
 this painting, the beauty of that china, the 
 magnificence of the decorations ; and Ada 
 Reis was almost fatigued with bowing to the 
 numerous assemblage. 
 
 The attachment of the Duke of Monte- 
 vallos to Fiormonda was a subject of much 
 raillery to the viceroy ; and the lady's indif- 
 ference, of surprise. The questions with 
 which he persecuted her upon this and other 
 subjects almost passed the bounds of good- 
 breeding, whilst her acute and dignified an- 
 swers evaded his curiosity. 
 
 At length he too observed her eyes turn 
 towards Condulmar, and the glance and the 
 smile she gave irritated him also 5 for he was 
 little less in love with her than Alphonso. 
 u And who,' 1 said he, endeavouring to pene- 
 trate her inmost thoughts, ' i is he to whom 
 you have granted the envied privilege of that 
 smile ? I observed his remarkable air, his easy 
 grace, his light intellectual glance, the first
 
 2o4 ADA RE1S. 
 
 time I had the honour of beholding him at the 
 theatre at Callao — 1 would I were like him, 
 in the hope that you would grant me also some 
 little share of your attention!" 
 
 Fiormonda's cheeks became of a deep red ; 
 the colour quickly extended to her throbbing 
 bosom. In early youth, nothing is so beauti- 
 ful as a blush, that quick transition of colour, 
 and the change of countenance which accom- 
 panies it. 
 
 At length, recovering herself, " He is," she 
 said, " a stranger here 5 some say he is an 
 Italian, one of my own country : but 1 believe 
 his history is known to my father ^ he came 
 to Lima with us ; his vessel was wrecked at sea, 
 and he was saved by ours ; of his birth and 
 parentage, I am in truth ignorant." 
 
 ," And yet, lovely lady," said the viceroy, 
 iC you seem to me to take no common interest 
 in this stranger's welfare : your eyes have 
 followed him the whole of this evening ; 
 when he spoke just now to the Princess, you 
 trembled and changed colour, and your pre- 
 sent confusion shows me plainly that he is not 
 indifferent to you."
 
 ADA REIS. ao5 
 
 A deep sigh from Fiormonda was her only 
 answer, while her eyes, bent downwards, 
 again testified extreme embarrassment. Her 
 silence and her manner naturally increased 
 Don Joseph's curiosity, and he instantly be- 
 gan to make inquiries of all respecting Con- 
 dulmar. 
 
 How strange it seemed to him, that no one 
 could gratify his curiosity ! Great personages 
 cannot bear to be thwarted ; and princes and 
 viceroys are at all times over-curious : they 
 ask fifty questions in a breath, without wait- 
 ing for an answer. In this case it was diffe- 
 rent ; the questions were asked, but the vice- 
 roy waited in vain. In the mean time, the 
 object of so many inquiries stood abstracted 
 from the throng, leaning against a pillar, and 
 gazing with a wild and anxious eye upon the 
 Princess of Ildebar. The viceroy observed 
 him narrowly 5 various emotions seemed to be 
 passing in his mind. At one time his eye 
 brightened ; at another he smiled 5 at another 
 frowned : his manner excited surprise, and 
 commanded an attention not entirely un- 
 mixed with awe and terror.
 
 206 ADA REIS. 
 
 Ada Reis performed the honours of the 
 feast with princely dignity. The entertain- 
 ment concluded with a super!) banquet, and 
 during the repast the strain of music, and the 
 voice of the singer, sounded full, and yet 
 softened in the distance. There was a young 
 Italian singer, in particular, whose voice was 
 the theme of general commendation, to the 
 annoyance of Fiormonda. Condulmar hung 
 over her whilst she sung, and seemed more 
 than others delighted. Nirza returned the 
 glance of admiration. Fiormonda felt the 
 first pang of jealousy at that moment. 
 
 " Are you happy?" said an old man with a 
 long beard, addressing Ada Reis as he passed 
 from one of the tables to another in order to 
 pay a fitting attention to all his guests. M Are 
 you happy?"- said the old man, in an abrupt 
 tone of voice, and in a foreign tongue. Ada 
 Reis inclined his head, with his hand upon his 
 heart. " Beware, then," said the old man, 
 " beware of yon cloud !" and as he spoke, he 
 raised his eye towards the heavens with an 
 expression of prophetic fear. 
 
 Ada Reis, who saw nothing but his painted
 
 ADA REIS. 207 
 
 ceiling, and the hundred lighted tapers, made 
 
 sign of inquiry as to his meaning. ' ' Beware," 
 repeated the old man, " of the approaching 
 ruin! Upon the 38th of October, at half an 
 hour after ten at night, five hours and three- 
 quarters before the full of the moon, thy 
 signal crimes shallmeetwith their recompense, 
 and the deed that thou didst in the far dis- 
 tant desert shall be revenged [" 
 
 Ada Reis started : he thought, now, he re- 
 cognised in the stranger the merchant Muley 
 Hadgi, long since, as he had good cause to 
 know, dead ; but the different habit could 
 not disguise those grim features he had too 
 just cause to fear. He shuddered, and press- 
 ed his hand to his head 5 the word Kabkarra 
 was distinctly heard, and a laugh rose, hollow 
 and triumphant, none knew from whence, no 
 one could say from whom ; but all eyes were 
 turned upon the master of the feast, who in 
 vain attempted to recover himself, and appear 
 as before. At length, making apologies for 
 his sudden indisposition, he retired, and the 
 amusements of the evening concluded with 
 something of disorder and precipitation.
 
 208 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The ensuing day Ada Reis sent, at an early 
 hour, for Condulmar. "When he came, he 
 told him that he was ill in body, and misera- 
 ble in mind ; that, without being superstitious, 
 he was subject to the weakness of human na- 
 ture ; that either sudden madness had fallen 
 upon him, or he was pursued by an avenging 
 spirit. If either were the case, what was to 
 become of Fiormonda? He spoke with an 
 inquiring look, as if to penetrate Condulmar's 
 intentions 5 but he noticed only the former 
 part of his discourse, and expressed surprise 
 at his terrors $ saying, they were the effect of 
 mere indisposition, and would pass away with 
 the momentary disorder. Ada Reis replied, 
 with impatience, that it was not momentary, 
 and regretted, in bitter terms, that he had so 
 abruptly rejected the offer of the Duke of 
 Montevallos. " Death," he said, " is striking 
 at my heart 5 I know it by the single beat of 
 that heart, and the sudden stop of the pulse 5
 
 ADA RE IS. 209 
 
 and what is to become of my child? Even 
 now," he said, grasping Condulmar by the 
 hand, " now that 1 gaze on yon, methinks 
 your eye glares like fire, and 1 see before me a 
 fiend, not a man. Recall Alphonso ; he shall 
 marry my daughter." 
 
 " A favouring look soon recalls a lover," 
 said Condulmar, scornfully ; " and the im- 
 passioned Duke is too deeply enamoured to 
 despond." 
 
 Ada Reis heaved a sigh, and was silent •, and 
 Condulmar seemed little inclined to continue 
 the conversation. 
 
 As the day advanced, the viceroy and many 
 of the nobles waited upon Ada Reis to inquire 
 after his health. Fiormonda wished not to 
 receive them ; yet so many compliments and pro- 
 fessions had been made to her on the preced- 
 ing evening, and so much interest expressed, 
 that she could hardly decline returning this 
 courtesy by a moment's interview with her fa- 
 ther's illustrious guests. Condulmar encou- 
 raged her to admit them ; and it appeared 
 somewhat strange to her, who liked not her 
 lover to look at or to speak to any other
 
 210 ADA RE IS. 
 
 woman than herself, that he was so little 
 jealous and apprehensive, and permitted every 
 one to approach her ; he seemed even to assist 
 and encourage the hopes of the proud Marquis 
 de Santa Spina, and the Dnke of Montc\ alios-, 
 and yet, with a malicious smile, he whispered 
 in her ear that he knew those hopes would be 
 disappointed. Was his real love ? Alas ! it 
 bore none of the beautiful features of that 
 holy passion. Love for the young and the in- 
 nocent is pure as youth and innocence them- 
 selves. It delights to strengthen and cherish 
 virtue, and is ever anxious, that even its most 
 ardent desires should be sanctioned and pu- 
 rified by the sacredness of religion : but Con- 
 dulmar was continually scoffing at constancy, 
 and deriding marriage : and Fiormonda, while 
 she had suffered him to establish an irresis- 
 tible dominion over her heart, had too much 
 sense not to feel, that him, whom it was now r 
 impossible that she should not love, it was im- 
 possible that she should esteem. To beauty 
 has been given, by nature, a fatal ascendant 
 over man and over woman. Condulmar was 
 more than beautiful : every feeling, every
 
 A D A R E I S. 211 
 
 passion of his soul animated and spoke in his 
 countenance ; a depth of thought, apparently 
 the most profound, gave at times an external 
 calm and repose to his features ; but the quick 
 intelligence of his eye re-lightened in a mo- 
 ment at the slightest look or word, that moved 
 the quick sensations within. His gifts were 
 the most various 5 his language the most im- 
 pressive. He could touch the hardest heart 
 and excite the coldest 5 yet when he had 
 made others feel the deepest, he could, by a 
 jest, make dignity descend, and gravity forget 
 itself, and turn at once the beautiful and so- 
 lemn into the ridiculous. With sueh qualifi- 
 cations he was naturally admired and sought 
 by all •, but whilst he encouraged their court, 
 and was evidently gratified by it, he had the 
 dexterity to persuade Fiormonda that, as be- 
 fore upon winning, so now he was solely 
 intent upon fixing and retaining her alfections,
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Note i, introduction. 
 Like Humboldt. 
 Mr. Humboldt, le 23 Juin 1802, apres avoir 
 nionte sur les Andes a 2773 toises de hauteur, fut 
 oblige de redescendre, parce que le mercure etoit 
 descendu a i/\ pouces 7 lignes, et que la densite 
 de l'air lui faisait sortir le sang des levies, des 
 gencives, et des yeux. Ce savant n'a vu ni en 
 Hongrie, ni en Saxe, ni aux Pyrenees, des mon- 
 tagnes aussi irregulieres que dans les Andes, et qui 
 offrent autant de substances diverses, enfin qui 
 devoilent les revolutions etonnantes de la nature. 
 — V Europe ct V Amerique compare'es, vol. i. p. 37. 
 
 Note 2, introduction. 
 Like Park. 
 Extract from Amadi Fatouma's Journal : — 
 " We departed from Sansanding in a canoe ; 
 there were Mr. Park, Mr. Martyn, three other 
 white men, myself, and three slaves, etc. etc. 

 
 2i4 NOTES. 
 
 " We entered the country of Haoussa and came 
 to anchor. Mr. Park gave me seven thousand 
 cowries to buy provisions ; he told me to go to 
 the chief and give him five silver rings, and tell 
 him these presents were given to the king by the 
 white men, who were taking leave. The chief 
 inquired if the white men intended to come back? 
 Mr. Park replied, he could not return any more: 
 this reply occasioned his death; for the certainty 
 of Mr. Park's not returning induced the chief to 
 withhold the presents from the king. Next day 
 Mr. Park departed ; I slept in the village Yaour. 
 Next morning I went to the king ; on entering 
 the house I found two men who came on horse- 
 back ; they said that they were sent by the chief 
 of Yaour to the king, ' We are sent by the chief 
 of Yaour to let you know that the white men 
 went away without giving you any thing; this 
 Amadou Fatouma is a bad man, and has likewise 
 made a fool of you,' they continued. The king, 
 upon this, ordered me to be put in irons. The 
 next morning the king sent an army to a village 
 called Boussa, near the river-side : there is before 
 this village a rock across the whole breadth of the 
 river ; one part of the rock is very high ; there is 
 a large opening in that rock in the form of a door, 
 which is the only passage for the water to pass
 
 NOTES. 2i5 
 
 through ; the tide current is here very strong; the 
 army took possession of the top of this opening. 
 Mr. Park arrived after the army had posted itself ; 
 he, notwithstanding, attempted to pass. The 
 people began to attack him, throwing lances, 
 pikes, arrows, and stones. Mr. Park defended 
 himself a long time ; two of his slaves were killed. 
 They threw every thing they had into the river 
 and kept firing ; but being overpowered by num- 
 bers, and unable to keep up the canoe against the 
 current, Mr. Park took hold of one of the white 
 men and jumped into the water; Mr. Martyn did 
 the same, and they were drowned in the stream 
 in attempting to escape : the only slave remain- 
 ing in the canoe was taken to the king, and con- 
 firmed this account/' — Amadi Fatouma's Journal. 
 
 Note 3, introduction. 
 Deeply tinged. 
 
 L'Orenoque a ici, comme le Nil pres de Philae 
 et de Syene, la propriete remarquable de colorer en 
 noir les masses de granit d'un blanc rougeatre 
 qu'il lave depuis des milliers d'annees. — Tableau 
 dela Nature, t. xi. p. 202. 
 
 A l'ombre des massifs de palmiers, leur couleur 
 passe au noir fonce ; mais dans des vaisseaux trans- 
 parens, les eaux sont d'un jaune dore. L'image
 
 I.l6 NOTES. 
 
 des constellations australes se reflete avec un eclat 
 singulier dans ces rivieres noires. — p. 191. 
 
 J'ai remarque que l'eau qui sortoit du Rio de 
 Guayaquil prenoit graduelleinent une teinte jaune 
 doree, puis couleur de cafe quand elle avoit se- 
 journe pendant quelque temps sur les prairies. — 
 p. 192. — Tableau de la Nature. 
 
 Note 4» introduction. 
 
 In a pirogue. 
 
 I/on confie les canots vides, appeles ici pirogues, 
 a des naturels qui connoissent bien le Raudal, et 
 en designent chaque degre, chaque roche par un 
 nom particulier. — Tableau de la Nature, p. 210. 
 
 Note 5, introduction. 
 
 Like the golden serpent with the bell, etc. 
 
 Le Serpent d'or, ou le Serpent a sonnettes, que 
 les Indiens nomment Curi-Mullinvo, est fort re- 
 marquable : ce nom lui a ete donne a cause d'une 
 peau de couleur d'or, et tavelee comme celle des 
 tigres ; car Curi, en Indien, signifie or. Cette peau 
 est toute couverte d'ecailles, et la figure du reptile 
 lneme est affreuse, la tete est d'une grosseur deme- 
 suree, et le corps a proportion, sa gueule est armee 
 de deux rangs de dents et de crochets aussi grands
 
 NOTES. 217 
 
 el plus aigus que ceux des chiens ordinaires. — 
 Voyage au Perou, par Don George Juan, t. ii. 
 p. 3o5. 
 
 There are also fish that cast their shells; for 
 instance, the lobster, the cray-fish, the crab, the 
 hodmandod and dodman, and the tortoise. — See 
 Bacon's Philosophy. 
 
 Note 6, introduction. 
 Of that song returned. 
 
 The late Lord Bathurst had much frequented 
 the Opera in the time of Queen Anne. Frederick 
 Prince of Wales wanted him to sing a favourite 
 air of Nicolini's, which he could not at that in- 
 stant recollect, as it had been performed not less 
 than forty years before, and the music of operas 
 was not then published from season to season as 
 it had been of late years. Some time afterwards 
 his lordship dreamed that Nicolini sung part of 
 the air to him, and when he awoke he remembered 
 the whole song, repeating it from hour to hour, 
 till he had waited on his royal highness before 
 it had escaped his memory. 
 
 I took the liberty to desire his lordship to give 
 
 me an idea of another air of Nicolini's, when he 
 
 immediately sang it throughout : — his lordship 
 
 was at this time eighty-seven, to the best of my 
 
 vol. 1. 10
 
 218 NOTES. 
 
 recollection, and affords a strong instance of musi- 
 cal memory being very perfect even in that late 
 stage of life. It need scarcely be observed that 
 be could not probably have heard this song for 
 more than threescore years. — Barrington's Mis- 
 cellanies, p. 323. 
 
 Note 7, introduction. 
 Manzanillo grows upon her grave. 
 Manzanillo, fromManzana,an apple. — A tree re- 
 markable for its beauty and variegated wood, the 
 golden fruit of which is very attractive, but con- 
 tains a thin white juice of a deadly poison ; many 
 have died of eating it, or from even sleeping near 
 it. The natives and the very beasts from instinct 
 shun it. — Ulloa's Voyage, vol. i. p. 53. 
 
 Note 8, page 4- 
 Reis. 
 Captain in the navy. — Tullv's Tripolj. 
 
 Note 9, page 4- 
 Pasha. 
 
 The Turkish word paschaw is formed of two 
 Persian words, pa-sehah, which literally signifies 
 viceroy. — Voluey's Egypt, vol. ii. p. 78.
 
 NOTES. 219 
 
 Note 10, page 6. 
 Bey. 
 A title often conferred upon the Pasha's eldest 
 son, and Prince of Tripoly. — Tully's Tripolj, 
 p. 32. 
 
 Note 1 1 , page 8. 
 Care of the Pasha s harem. 
 
 Ada Reis's harem was not kept with as much 
 regularity and strictness as the Grand Signior's 
 seraglio or harem. — The seraglio means the en- 
 closure of the whole Ottoman Palace, which is not 
 less than a moderate town. The wall surrounding 
 it is thirty feet high. The seraglio has nine gales, 
 two of which are magnificent. From one of 
 these the Ottoman Porte takes the name of " Sub- 
 lime Port." Where the ladies live who belong 
 to the Grand Signior, is called the harem : no 
 persons but those officially belonging to it, can 
 enter the first gate. 
 
 The harem looks upon the sea of Marmora. 
 The Grand Signior and his eunuchs are the only 
 persons that come within sight of these ladies. 
 The number of these ladies (always numerous) is 
 regulated by the order of the Sultan ; and among 
 all, owing to a singular regulation, there is but 
 one servant. They wait upon each other in ro-
 
 220 KOTES. 
 
 tation : the last who enters serves her who en- 
 tered before her, and serves herself; so that the 
 first entered is served without serving, and the 
 last that enters serves without being served. They 
 all sleep in separate apartments, and between every 
 fifth there is a preceptress, who minutely inspects 
 their conduct. Their chief governess is called 
 Caton-Ciaha, which means governess of the noble 
 young ladies. When there is a Sultaness Mother, 
 she forms her court from amongst the ladies of 
 the harem, having the liberty allowed of taking 
 as many young ladies as she chooses and of those 
 she likes the best. When the Grand Signior's 
 intention to allow the ladies to walk in the gar- 
 dens of the seraglio is made known to the Caton- 
 Ciaha (or governess of the harem), all persons are 
 ordered to retire. A guard of black eunuchs is 
 ordered to place itself along the walls of the gar- 
 dens with drawn sabres ; if, by inadvertency, any 
 one is found in the gardens, he is instantly killed, 
 and his head is brought to the Grand Signior. 
 The mother of thejeldest son of the Grand Signior 
 is called Asaki, that is, Sultaness Mother. For the 
 first son, she is crowned with flowers, she then 
 takes upon her the prerogatives of a wife. No 
 other ladies, though they have sons, are crowned 
 or maintained with such costly distinction as the
 
 NOTES. 22f 
 
 first, or Sultaness Mother ; but they are served 
 apart, have state apartments assigned the in, and 
 are exempt from serving after the death of the 
 Grand Signior. All the mothers of the male 
 children, who are considered as queens, are shut 
 up in the old seraglio, from whence they can 
 never come out, unless any of their sons ascend 
 the throne. — Vide History of a Ten Years' Resi- 
 dence at Tripoli, p. 36. 
 
 Note 12, page 8. 
 Lilla. 
 
 Lilla means in Moorish a lady ; as Lilla Keb- 
 bierra. — Tully's Tripolj'. 
 
 Note i 3, page io. 
 
 A Damascus blade. 
 
 These scimitars, besides being famous for their 
 beauty and lightness, have the steel so impregnated 
 with perfume in the manufacturing of them, that 
 their fragrance can never be destroyed, while a 
 piece of this extraordinary blade remains. Their 
 price is from fifty to one hundred guineas, the 
 blade only; imitations of them, which are super- 
 ficially perfumed, are bought for a much less 
 price. — Tully's Tripolj, p. i45.
 
 222 NOTES. 
 
 Note 1 4, page 1 1. 
 Pierced bj insufferable cold. 
 They traverse the sands for many days with no 
 other refreshment than a small bag of meal and 
 some water; while at night they are sometimes 
 drenched by heavy rains. — Tully's Tripoly, 
 p. i 7 3. 
 
 Note 1 5, page 12. 
 Bags of gold dust. 
 The people here may be said to walk upon gold. 
 This precious ore is sifted for on the sea-shore, 
 and taken up in very small quantities; but whole 
 veins of this rich metal are found inland as they 
 approach Fezzan. When it is found on the coast 
 (which it is on several parts near Tripoly), the people 
 gather up handfuls of it, put it into a wooden 
 bowl, and wash it with several waters, till all 
 the gold, which is so much heavier than the sand, 
 remains at the bottom. This rich sediment is 
 then tied in little bits of rags, and brought in 
 that state to Tripoly about the size of a small nut. 
 These small parcels are known by the name of 
 Metagalls. Each of them are worth exactly a 
 Venetian Sequin, or ten shillings and sixpence. 
 The merchants who purchase these Metagalls, 
 melt a certain number of them into bars, which
 
 NOTES. 223 
 
 they call ingots, and they are known by the 
 same name in India. These bars of gold are 
 of various sizes. — Tulia's Tripoty, p. 27. 
 
 Note 16, page i3. 
 
 TVandering tribe to which he appeared to 
 
 belong. 
 
 The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael, of 
 whom the angel foretold before he was born, 
 that he would be a wild man, and that " his 
 hand would be against every man, and every 
 man's against him" (Gen. chap. 6. v. 12.): this 
 is almost literally true of his posterity, even to 
 this day. The manners of these people are various, 
 and they may be divided into two tribes; the 
 one inhabit towns, while the other wanders from 
 place to place, without any fixed habitation. 
 These wandering Arabs are divided into families 
 and tribes, every tribe, however numerous it may 
 be, being governed by a chief. 
 
 The Arabs first passed over from Greece into 
 Africa, 653, under Othman the third CalifF, who 
 sent an army of more than eighty thousand fight- 
 ing men, under the command of Occuba Bennesie. 
 They built the city of Cawen, thirty leagues distant 
 from Tunis on the east. Three other tribes passed 
 over in the year 999, which was the four hundredth
 
 2^4 NOTES. 
 
 year of the Hegira by permission of the Califfof 
 Cawen. — Shaw's Travels through Arabia, p. 221. 
 — Le Sage, Atlas Historiqtie. 
 
 There is a horde called the unvanquished horde, 
 from their living in places where none can penetrate 
 but themselves ; many sovereigns have attempted 
 to subdue them, but none have ever been success- 
 ful ; they are of a deep copper-colour ; a dark 
 baracan which at times but ill conceals them, 
 with an immense long gun, is all they are usually 
 burthened with. 
 
 The dress of the Arabs in general consists of 
 a blue skirt, descending below the knee, the legs 
 and feet being exposed, or the latter sometimes 
 being covered with the ancient cothurnus or 
 buskin. A cloak is worn of very coarse camel's 
 hair cloth, almost universally decorated with 
 broad black and white stripes, passing vertically 
 down the back : this is of one square piece, with 
 holes for the arms ; it has a seam down the back : 
 made without this seam it is considered of greater 
 value. Here then we perhaps behold the form 
 and material of our Saviour's garment, for which 
 the soldiers cast lots. It was the most ancient 
 dress of the inhabitants of .this country. — Tully's 
 
 Tripoljr, p. 171.
 
 notes. aa5 
 
 Note 17, page i4- 
 You are not an Arab sheik. 
 A Sheik is the chief of a tribe of Arabs : they 
 are divided into a multiplicity of governments, 
 and pride themselves on their descent. 
 
 Note 18, page i/}- 
 Belted girdle. 
 He wore a curious wrought belt (of a manufac- 
 ture peculiar to this country and the hand of an 
 Arab), ingeniously woven in a variety of figures 
 resembling Arabic characters ; it was wound 
 several times, tight and even, round the body ; 
 and one end, being doubled back and sewed up, 
 served him for his purse. In this belt he wore 
 his arms, and prided himself much on them, not 
 on account of their richness, but from the proof 
 he had had of their execution. — Tully's Tripoly, 
 p. 171. 
 
 Note 19, page i5. 
 TJHiich once resisted the Hamper s shawl. 
 While Ben Shabbon and his son thus stood de- 
 bating, they perceived within the Skiffer two 
 Hampers looking at them with their hands be- 
 hind them. These two guards were the only 
 people they saw. The Hampers let Ben Shabbon, 
 
 10.
 
 ll6 NOTES. 
 
 who was highly respected by all the country, 
 pass quietly by ; but the moment after, they 
 threw the fatal cord over his neck, and strangled 
 him instantly. — Tully's Tripoly,\>. i63. 
 
 Note 20, page 17. 
 
 And drank of the Icikaby presented to them. 
 
 Lakaby is a liquor drank by the common people 
 of Tripoly ; it is extracted from the date tree in 
 the following manner : 
 
 Three or four incisions are made at the top of 
 the tree ; a stone jar that will contain a quart 
 is put up to each notch: the jars put up at night 
 are filled by the morning, with the mildest and 
 most pleasant beverage; and on the contrary, 
 those jars put up in the morning and left till 
 late in the day become a spirituous strong drink, 
 which the Moors render more perniciously strong 
 by adding leaven to it. The tree will yield this 
 juice for six weeks or two months, and generally 
 runs for a month at the rate of two gallons a 
 day. It is customary in noble families to have 
 the heart of the date tree at great feasts ; such as 
 weddings, the first time a boy mounts a horse, 
 the birth of a son, or the return of an ambassador 
 to his family. The heart lays at the top of the 
 tree, between the branches of its fruit, and weighs,
 
 NOTES, 227 
 
 when cut out, from ten to twenty pounds ; it 
 is not of a substance to take »ut before the tree 
 has arrived at the height of its perfection. When 
 brought to table, its taste is delicious, and its 
 appearance singular and beautiful- In colour it 
 is composed of every shade, from the deepest 
 orange and bright green (which latter encompasses 
 it around) to the purest white ; these shades are 
 delicately inlaid in veins and knots, in the manner 
 of the most curious wood. Its flavour is that 
 of the banana and pine ; except the white part, 
 which resembles more a green almond in consist- 
 ence, but combines a variety of exquisite flavours 
 that cannot be described. — Tully's Tripoly, p. 5o. 
 
 Note 21, page 18. 
 Was offered the place of the great Chiah. 
 The office of great Chiah is an honorary situ- 
 ation, producing no emolument. He commands 
 the castle in the Pasha's absence, and guards it 
 while in it ; he never quits his post night or 
 day, sits always in the SkifFer, and has a deputy 
 under him ; all affairs of moment are laid be- 
 fore him, and the keys of the town-gate are at 
 night delivered to him. The Nuba is played at 
 the creation of a Chiah, it only being allowed to play 
 at the creation of a Chiah, a Bey, and Reis of ma- 
 rine; otherwise it only plays for the Pasha. — 
 Tully's Tripoly.
 
 228 NOTES. 
 
 Note 22, page 3i. 
 To -inhale the inbat. 
 The warm air abates nothing of its oppression 
 till a sudden cool breeze arises from the sea, which 
 happens regularly every afternoon during these in- 
 tense heats ; but this sea air rusts all sorts of steel 
 work even in the pocket, and will wet a person's 
 dress entirely through in a very few minutes. — 
 Tullv's Tripoly, p. 5^. 
 
 Note 23 , page 3i. 
 Partake of his pipe and sherbet. 
 The beverage was various sherbets : some com- 
 posed of the juice of boiled raisins, very sweet ; 
 some of the juice of pomegranates squeezed through 
 the rind, others of the pure juice of oranges. These 
 sherbets were copiously supplied in high glass 
 ewers, placed in great numbers on the ground. — 
 Tullv's Tripoly, p. 137. 
 
 Note 24, page 32. 
 TVhen the marabut sounded to announce the prayer 
 at sunset. 
 Let a Moor be where he may, when he hears the 
 jNIarabut announce the prayer for sunset, nothing 
 induces him to pass that moment without pros- 
 trating himself on the ground. — Page 25.
 
 NOTES. 229 
 
 We met one of the noted Moorish saints or holy 
 men — this man, contrary to the general appearance 
 of these Marabuts, was tolerably covered with a 
 long wide blue shirt reaching to the ground, and 
 white trowsers underneath. He wore nothing on 
 his head, which was shaved close, except a long lock 
 of hair descending from the back part of it. 
 
 The whole dress of many of these Marabuts con- 
 sists of a bit of crimson cloth, about four inches 
 square, dexterously placed on the crown of their 
 head. The Marabut we met in the castle was re- 
 turning from the Pasha, with whom he had had 
 a long private audience. His appearance, from the 
 furious and strange gestures he made, with an im- 
 mense large living snake round his shoulders, was 
 truly terrific, though we were all aware of the un- 
 fortunate reptile having been rendered harmless by 
 the wearer's extracting its sting before he attempted 
 to impose on the credulous in making them be- 
 lieve he alone was exempt from death by the rep- 
 tile's touch. 
 
 The devotion of another order of the Marabuts 
 consists in wounding themselves, affecting mad- 
 ness, and walking the streets almost naked, or 
 dancing religious dances for many hours, during 
 which they incessantly scream out one of their 
 names of the deity. They at last throw themselves
 
 23o NOTES. 
 
 on the ground, foaming at the mouth, appearing 
 in a state of madness and in the agonies of death — 
 this order of Marabuts is named the Kadru ; they 
 have a convent near Pera. — Tullv's Tripoly, p. 102. 
 The name of Marabut is given both to the 
 mosque, and to the saint or holy man who resides 
 at it. Iman is the crier to prayers, and Shrief a 
 churchman of an order belonging to Mecca. — See 
 Tulle's Tripoly. 
 
 Note 25, page 32. 
 And parched lips for the moon of Ramadan. 
 Ramadan is the great Moorish fast : the word in 
 Arabic is said to mean a consuming heat. It lasts 
 thirty days ; during this period no follower of the 
 prophet, upon pain of death, is allowed to take the 
 least refreshment between sun-set and sun-rise. 
 This fast is rigidly observed. — Blaquiere's Letters, 
 vol. ii. p. 59. 
 
 Note 26, page 32. 
 The batteries announced the feast of Beiram. 
 The morning after this fast (Ramadan) the castle 
 guns, and those of all the batteries round the town, 
 announce the feast of Beiram, which lasts three 
 days in town and seven in the country. All sorts 
 of noise and rioting seem to make up for what the 
 Moors have suffered during the fast. Men go about
 
 notes. a3i 
 
 dressed in all kinds of strange and awkward garbs, 
 resembling nothing in heaven above, or in the earth 
 beneath. Though they call themselves lions, ca- 
 mels, etc. the greatest complaisance cannot lead you 
 to make out the least similitude to any thing but a 
 bundle of sticks and rags, strangely packed up 
 together. 
 
 They go about dancing with reeds and other 
 music. Swings are erected between two extremely 
 high wheels in the streets, where the people swing 
 for a small piece of money each. No fish can be 
 procured during this feast, as the boats are all taken 
 up, rowing the common people about the harbour. 
 Though drinking wine is against the law of Maho- 
 met, immense numbers of Moors get intoxicated 
 with a liquor they call lakaby, which renders them 
 very troublesome, as it literally puts them into a 
 state of madness. In fact, during these three or 
 four days, it is dangerous for Christians to go into 
 the streets. In the consuls' houses a table is set 
 out in the court yard, and kept covered with fresh 
 supplies of wine, oil, bread, and olives, during the 
 three days of the feast, for as many hampers, 
 chouses, and black slaves belonging to the Pasha 
 as choose to partake of it ; and the Dragomen, or 
 guards, call them in parties, according to their 
 rank. During the feast, every night, all the mosques
 
 232 NOTES. 
 
 are illuminated. The town not being otherwise 
 lighted, but totally dark, shows to great advantage 
 the bright glare of several rows of lamps. The 
 coffee bazaar is where the Turks meet to tell the 
 news of the day, and to drink coffee ; it is filled 
 with coffee houses and coffee kitchens, which are 
 very black on the inside with smoke, and where 
 nothing is dressed but coffee. No Moorish gen- 
 tlemen enter these houses, but send their slaves 
 to bring their coffee out to them at the doors, where 
 are marble couches covered with green arbours. 
 These couches are furnished with the most beautiful 
 mats and carpets : here are found, at certain hours 
 of the day, all the principal Moors, seated cross- 
 legged, with cups of coffee in their hands, made 
 like essence itself. The coffee served to the ladies- 
 of the castle has sometimes in it a quantity of cin- 
 namon, cloves, and nutmeg. The Moors, when at 
 these coffee houses, are waited on by their own 
 black servants, who stand constantly by their 
 masters, one with his pipe, another with his cup, 
 a third holds his handkerchief while he is talking, 
 as his hands are perfectly necessary for his discourse, 
 marking with the fore-fingerof the right hand upon 
 the palm of the left, as accurately as we do with 
 a pen, the different parts of his speech, a comma, 
 a quotation, or a striking passage.
 
 NOTES. 233 
 
 This renders their manner of conversing very 
 singular, and an European, who is not used to this 
 part of their discourse, is at a perfect loss to un- 
 derstand what the orators mean. 
 
 The Bazaar is illuminated from one end to the 
 other, during every night of the feast, till after 
 one or two o'clock in the morning. We walked 
 in it one evening during the Beiram, till after 
 twelve o'clock ; it was crowded with the first 
 people in the place, on each side, most of them 
 richly dressed. The perfumes of amber, orange- 
 flowers, and jessamine, were much too strong to 
 be agreeable. From the immense quantity of 
 lamps, the whole place was as light as day. — 
 TullVs Tn'polj-j p. 1 6. 
 
 Note 27, page 38. 
 And her eyes, which saw even more than other 
 eyes can see, never looked in the same direc- 
 tion. 
 
 During my residence in the country, I had fre- 
 quent opportunities of examining that most sin- 
 gular of the animal productions, the cameleon. It 
 is hardly necessary to adduce any proof to the 
 philosophers of the present day against the vulgar 
 error, that it feeds only upon air. The fact is, its 
 principal support is flies, which it catches by dart*
 
 234 NOTES. 
 
 ing out an exceedingly long tongue, covered with 
 a matter so glutinous, that if it but touch an insect, 
 it is impossible for it to escape. The most sin- 
 gular part of its conformation is the eye, the 
 muscles of which are so constructed that it can 
 move the ball quite round ; and I believe it exists 
 the only known instance in all animated nature 
 of a creature which is able to direct its vision to 
 two different objects at the same time, however 
 those objects may be situated. — Tour from Gi- 
 braltar to Morocco, by William Lempriere, p. 91. 
 
 Note 28, page ^1. 
 A favourite golpha. 
 Thegolphas and best rooms in the country houses 
 are sometimes delightfully relieved by a consider- 
 able stream of clear flowing water conducted, in 
 a marble channel, through the middle of the 
 room. The floors and sides of the apartment are 
 finished with coloured tiles, and the ceilings carved 
 and pain ted in Mosaic. In the inner court belong- 
 ing to the house is a gebbia or reservoir, con- 
 tinually filled with fresh water from the wells 
 near it, and which flows through it into the gar- 
 dens ; it is surrounded with a parapet of marble, 
 and a flight of marble steps leads into it. There 
 is only a broad walk left round it, which is paved
 
 NOTES. 235 
 
 or terraced, and into which the best apartments 
 belonging to the house open. This circumstance 
 affords a refreshing coolness to the house, and is 
 most delightful during the extreme heat. — Tully's 
 Tripoly, p. 53. 
 
 Note '29, page 45. 
 A light Persian j clique. 
 Her chemise was covered with gold embroidery 
 at the neck ; over it she wore a gold and silver 
 tissue jileck, or jacket without sleeves, and over 
 that another of purple velvet richly laced with gold, 
 with coraland pearl buttons, set quite close together 
 down the front ; it had short sleeves finished with 
 a gold band not far below the shoulder, and dis- 
 covered a wide loose chemise @f transparent gauze 
 ornamented with gold. 
 
 Note 3o, page 45. 
 Gold bands, such as the ladies of the blood royal 
 are alone entitled to wear. 
 She wore round her ancles, as did all the ladies 
 of the Pasha's family, a sort of fetter, made of a 
 thick bar of gold, so fine that they bind it round 
 the leg with one hand ; it is an inch and a half 
 wide, and as much in thickness : each of these 
 weigh four pounds. None but the Pasha's daugh- 
 ters and grand-daughters are permitted to wear
 
 236 NOTES. 
 
 this ornament in gold ; ladies who are not of the 
 blood royal are obliged to confine themselves, in 
 this article of dress, to silver. — Tully's Tripoly, 
 p. 3i. 
 
 Note 3i, page 45. 
 And a girdle of charms to save her from evil eyes. 
 Disapprobation was strongly displayed in the 
 nurse's countenance, while she by order showed 
 the infant to the Christians. She covered it as 
 much as she could with the charms that it wore, 
 and at every look the Christians bestowed upon it, 
 she wetted her finger and passed it across the fore- 
 head of the baby; pronouncing, at the same in- 
 stant, the words, " AliBarick,"(aprayer to Maho- 
 met, to preserve it from " bad eyes," or malicious 
 observers). — Tully's Tripoly, p. i36. — Descrip- 
 tion of the visit to Lilla Uducia, the day after her 
 accouchement. 
 
 Note 32, page 5o. 
 Small as the Indian piccaflore. 
 The gardens of all kinds in the villages are much 
 frequented by a bird very remarkable both for its 
 smaliness and the vivid colours of its feathers. It 
 is generally called Picaflores, or flower-pecker, 
 from its hovering over them and sucking their 
 juices, without lacerating or so much as disordering
 
 NOTES. 23; 
 
 them. Its proper name is quinde, though it is 
 also known by those of rabilargo and lisongero, 
 and in England by that of humming-bird. Its 
 whole body, with its plumage, does not exceed the 
 bigness of a middle-sized nutmeg : the tail is 
 usually near three times the length of the whole 
 body, yet has but few feathers ; its neck is short ; 
 the head proportioned, with a very brisk eye ; the 
 bill long and slender, white at the beginning and 
 black at the end; the win(;s are also long and 
 narrow. Most of the body is green, spotted with 
 yellow and blue. Some are higher coloured than 
 others; and all are variegated, at it were, with 
 streaks of gold. Of this bird also there are various 
 species, distinguished by their size and colours. 
 This is thought to be the smallest of all known 
 birds; the female lays but two eggs at a time, and 
 those no bigger than peas. They build in trees, 
 and the coarsest materials of their nests are the 
 finest straws they can pick up. — Ulloa's Voyage 
 to South America, vol. i. p. 47;-' 
 
 Note 33, page 62. 
 Salem Alicum. 
 " Be there peace between us." u There is peace 
 between us."
 
 238 NOTES. 
 
 Note 34, page 80. 
 Already a family of children. 
 
 The Moors marry so very young, that the mother 
 and her first-born are often seen together as play- 
 mates, equally anxious and angry, in an infantine 
 game. The women here are often grandmothers 
 at twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age; it is 
 therefore no wonder they live frequently to see 
 the children of many of their generations. — Tullt's 
 Tripoly,\). 3o. 
 
 Note 35, page 1 13. 
 The nuba sounded. 
 
 The royal band of the Pasha. The nuba is 
 never played but for the Pasha and his eldest son 
 when they go out with the army, or on any public 
 occasion. 
 
 The sounds of the nuba are singular to an Euro- 
 pean ear : they are composed of a Turbuka, a sort 
 of kettle-drum, the reed and timbrel; the Tur- 
 buka belongs to the Moors, the reed and timbrel 
 to the blacks. — Tllly's Tripoly, p. 28. 
 
 Note 36, page 117. 
 Give me your signet-ring. 
 The town has been in some commotion to-day, 
 from a general search having been made by the
 
 NOTES. 239 
 
 guards for Sidy Hamet's great seal, which was 
 stolen from his person last night. It was of 
 gold, chased with Turkish characters; each of the 
 princes have one of these seals or royalsignets as soon 
 as they arrive at a certain age. It is worn near the 
 bosom on the left side of the jileck next the watch, 
 with a rich chain hanging from it. The mould 
 is destroyed when the seal is made ; and as they 
 never suffer it to be taken away from their per- 
 sons day or night, they do not fear its being coun- 
 terfeited. — Tully's Tripolj-, p. 162. 
 
 Note 37, page 142. 
 
 To drink of the waters of Guancaveli. 
 
 Dans la ville de Guancaveli, au Perou, on mon- 
 
 tre une fontaine dont Teau, dit-on, se change si 
 
 promptement en pierre, que la plupart des mai- 
 
 sons sont baties de cette petrification. — U Europe 
 
 et VAmerique comparers, par M. Drouin de Bercy, 
 
 p. 55i. 
 
 Note 38, page i44- 
 
 Stupified with their own buffooneries. 
 Aux environs de James Town, en Virginie, il 
 crolt un arbre dont la pomme,lorsqu'elle est cuite, 
 produit les effets les plus etranges. Quelques An- 
 glais, ignorant ses dangereuses proprietes, s'em- 
 presserent d'en manger : au meme instant, ils de-
 
 24o NOTES. 
 
 vinrent tous imbecilles pendant plusieurs jours. 
 I/un passoit le temps a souffler des plumes en l'air; 
 un autre a lancer des pailles ; un troisieme s'ac- 
 croupissoit dans un coin, faisant les grimaces d'un 
 singe ; un quatrieme ne cessoit d'embrasser ceux 
 qu'il rencontroit, et leur rioit au nez avec mille 
 postures bouffonnes. On fut oblige de les ren- 
 fermer l'espace de onze jours que dura cette fre- 
 nesie. L 'usage de la raison leur revint, sans aucun 
 souvenir de ce qui leur etoit arrive. —U Europe et 
 I'Ame'rique compare'es, parJM. Drouin de Bercy, 
 
 P . 54. 
 
 Note 89, page \f\f\. 
 A stream of light. 
 Quand on se baigne le soir dans le golfe de Ca- 
 riaco,presde Cumana, quelques parties du corps 
 restent lumineuses au sortir de l'eau. La mer, 
 entre les tropiques, est lumineuse a toutes les tem- 
 peratures. — M. Drouin de Bercy. 
 
 Note 4o, page i44- 
 
 A hundred echoes have answered to the strain. 
 
 Apres avoir navigue sur le fleuve du Potomack, 
 dans laPensylvanie, on arrive dans un certain en- 
 droit, a travers les Montagnes Bleues, ou Ton en- 
 tend les eclios les plus extraordinaires qu'il y ait au 
 monde. Ailleurs (dit Jean de Crevecoeur, ecri-
 
 NOTES. s4* 
 
 vain et cultivateur Americain) ils balbutient; ici 
 Us s'expriment distinctement. Nulle part ils ne 
 sont aussi nombreux ni aussi attentifs a repondre. 
 Les intonations de leur voix ressemblent aux con- 
 versations de personnes placees a des hauteurs et a 
 des distances differentes. Les uns vous parlent a 
 l'oreille; la voix des autres est plus forte, leurs 
 accens mieux prononces : les uns vous repondent 
 sur-le-champ; les autres apres un certain inter- 
 valle, coinme s'ils pensoient avantde parler; quel- 
 quefois ils s'ecrient tous ensemble. C'est surtout 
 quand on rit que' le melange de leurs eclats rend 
 Terreui— complete. Lorsque les vaisseaux appro- 
 client du rivage enlouvoyant, il est impossible de 
 ne pas croire entendre des personnes assises derriere 
 les rocbers ; ceux qui repondent du haut des mon- 
 tagnes le font toujours si distinctement que l'oeil, 
 guide par Toreille, croitapercevoir Tarbre derriere 
 lequel ils sont tapis. Ces Hamadryades entendent 
 toutes les langues, et repetent avec plaisir les chan- 
 sons des voyageurs. Joue-t-on de la flute ou de 
 la clarinette, elles imitent a l'instant les memes 
 instrumens; alors c'est un veritable concert execute 
 avec la derniere precision. On compte jusqu'a 
 dix-sept de ces admirables echos qui vous rejjon- 
 dent a la fois ou les uns apres les autres, ou qui se 
 
 VOL. I. II
 
 242 NOTES. 
 
 repetenta eux-memes apres qu'ils vous ont parle. 
 — U Europe et V Amerique compares , p. 64- 
 
 Note4i? page i44- 
 I have slept in the cavern ofGuachero. 
 La province de Gumana fournit une curiosite na- 
 mrelle digne de reiuarque dans la caverne du 
 Gu ache it), dont le pom lui vient d'un oiseau qui 
 habite dans l'interieur de la grotte, qui y multiplie 
 d'une maniere prodigieuse, inconnue aux natura- 
 listes d'Europe, et qui offre le premier exeinple d'un 
 oiseau nocturne parmi les passereaux dentirostres. 
 Tl a la grandeur des poules d'Europe, et le port des 
 vautours. Quoiqu'on en fasse tous les ans un 
 horrible massacre, pour en prendre la graisse qui 
 sert de beurre ou d'huile, le nombre n'en diminue 
 pas. lis attachent leurs nids a la longue voute de 
 la caverne, et quand on y penetre a la lueur des 
 flambeaux, ces oiseaux effrayes poussent des cris 
 tels que les Indiens, effrayes a leur tour, n'osent 
 jamais avancer jusqu'au fond de la grotte. lis at- 
 tachent des idees superstitieuses a cetantie habite 
 par des oiseaux de nuit, et d'ou sort le Rio Caripe. 
 G'estleur Tartare, leur Styx : cesont leurs oiseaux 
 stygiens. — L' Europe et V Amerique comparers, 
 par M. Drouiv de Bercy, p. 49-
 
 NOTES. ?43 
 
 Note 42, page i/\5. 
 Silver hill of Parimee, etc. 
 Selon la tradition de plusieurs naturels, les nudes 
 de Magellan du ciel austral, et me me les magni- 
 fiques nebuleuses du vaisseau Argo, ne sont que le 
 reflet de l'eclat metallique que jette la montagne 
 d'argent de Parimee, etc. — Tableau de la Nature. 
 p. 188. — Humboldt. 
 
 Note 43, page 14& 
 
 The Eldorado, etc. 
 
 Le lac Parimee est fameux par le rocher de talc 
 
 qui reflechit comme un miroir les rayons dores du 
 
 soleil ; ce qui a fait croire long-temps que lesrues 
 
 de la ville d'Eldorado etoient pavees d'or. 
 
 Note 44? P a 8 e r 4^- 
 Mines -which produce silver. 
 Les mines d'argent de Sainte-Marie dans Les 
 Vosges, de Bassory dans les Pyrenees, de Chalan- 
 ges pres d'Allemont en Dauphine, en fin ces mines 
 de Norwege, avec celles du Perou, du Bresil, de la 
 Terre-Ferme, du Mexique, du Chili, de la Castille 
 d'or, de la Californie, de la Nouvelle-Grenade,etc. 
 Ces fameuses mines d'argent du Potosi, apres avoir 
 enrichi le monde pendant plusieurs siecles, sont 
 encore aujourd'hui une source intarissable de
 
 ^44 NOTES. 
 
 richesses. — U Europe et VAmdrique compardes, 
 p. 65. 
 
 In most of these mines, arsenic is found in com- 
 bination with the silver : also antimony and cop- 
 per. 
 
 Note 45, page i45. 
 Thou, lake of Guativa, art witness to this. 
 
 Le lac de Guativa, au nord-ouest de Santa-Fe de 
 Bogota, est celebre par la quantite d'or que les 
 Indiens y jeterent lors de la conquete de leurpays 
 par les Espagnols. — V Europe et VAmdrique com- 
 pardes, p. 77. 
 
 Note 46, page iq5. 
 And thou, lake of I bar a, art red with the blood of 
 the murdered. 
 Le lac d'lbara, fameux dans l'histoire des Incas, 
 futsurnomine le lac du Sang, pour avoir ete le tom- 
 beau d-'une multitude d'Indiens qu'un empereui 
 y faisait jeter a mesure qu'on les egorgeoit sous 
 ses yeux : ses eaux en furent rougies pendant quel- 
 que temps, ce qui lui fit donner le nom de Lac de 
 Sang. — U Europe et VAmdrique compardes, p. 78. 
 
 Note 47? page i5i. 
 J? alley of Or cos . 
 Dans le Perou, le lac de la valle'e d'Orcos est cite
 
 NOTES. 245 
 
 pour contenir dans son sein, la fameuse chaine d'or 
 que 1'inca Huayna-Capacavoit fait fabriquer lors 
 de la naissance de son fils Huescar. — U Europe et 
 VAmerique compares, p. 78. 
 
 The first Inca, or Inga, the people of Peru men- 
 tion was Mangocapa, who they feign, after the 
 flood, came out of the Cave of Tammbo, five or six 
 leagues from Cusco : and from him descended the 
 chief families of Ingas, the first of them, called 
 Hanan-cusco, and the other Urin-cusco ; from the 
 former of them came the sovereigns who con- 
 quered the country. 
 
 It is to be observed, that Inga, among the Peru- 
 vians, signifies King or Emperor : and Capac Inga, 
 the only King, which was the title they gave their 
 sovereigns ; all the male issue being called Ingas, 
 and the queen Cojas. — See Historical Account of 
 Peru, taken from Herrera's History of America. 
 
 Note 48, page i5i. 
 Like the calm lake of Xicaragua,from whose bosom 
 
 the mountain Omotepec shoots forth its volumes 
 
 of flames. 
 
 Le lac de Xicaragua s'etend en longueur a plus 
 de 60 lieues, et en largeur 21 lieues; l'Omotepec 
 elance son sommet enflamme du sein de celac. — 
 U Europe et VAmdrique comparees, p. 76. 
 
 11.
 
 246 NOTES. 
 
 Note 49, page 164. 
 TViih their mules and runa llamas. 
 
 In the parts of this country, which are neither 
 taken up by mountains or forests, only tame ani- 
 mals are met with; whence it is probable, that 
 formerly the native species were but very few ; 
 most of these having been introduced by the 
 Spaniards, except the llamas, to which the Indians 
 added the name of runa, to denote an Indian sheep, 
 that beast being now understood by the runa llama ; 
 though, properly, llama is a general name, im- 
 porting beast, in opposition to the human species. 
 This animal, in several particulars, resembles the 
 camel, as in the shape of its neck, head, and some 
 other parts; but has no bunch, and is much 
 smaller ; cloven-footed, and different in colour ; 
 for though most of them are brown, some are 
 white, others black, and others of different co- 
 lours : its pace resembles that of a camel, and its 
 height equal to that of an ass betwixt a year and 
 two years old. The Indians use them as beasts of 
 carriage ; and they answer very well for any load 
 under a hundred weight. They chiefly abound 
 iu the jurisdiction of Riobamba, there being scarce 
 an Indian who has not one for carrying on his 
 little traffic from one village to another. 
 
 Anciently the Indians used to eat the flesh of
 
 NOTES. 24; 
 
 them, and still continue to make that use of those 
 who are past labour. They say there is no differ- 
 ence between it and mutton, except that the 
 former is something sweeter. It is a very docile 
 creature, and easily kept. Its whole defence is to 
 eject from its nostrils some viscosities, which are 
 said to give the itch to any on which they fall ; so 
 that the Indians, who firmly believe this, are very 
 cautious of provoking the llama. — Don Antonio de 
 Ulloa's Vojage to South America, vol. i. p. 478. 
 
 Note 5o, page 166. 
 She was called at times the Kebbiera. 
 " Kebbiera" means greatest, grandest; as, "Lilla 
 Kebbiera," the greatest lady, or princess. — Tully's 
 Tripolj. 
 
 Note 5 1, page 168. 
 
 The most valued and precious of plants, the chi- 
 rimoja. 
 The chirimoya is universally allowed to be the 
 most delicious of any known fruit, either of India 
 or Europe. Its dimensions are various, being 
 from one to five inches in diameter. Its figure is 
 imperfectly round, being flatted towards the stalk, 
 where it forms a kind of navel ; but all the other 
 part is nearly circular. It is covered with a thin 
 soft shell, but adhering so closely to the pulp, as
 
 24 8 NOTES. 
 
 not to be separated without a knife. The out- 
 ward coat, during its growth, is of a dark green, 
 but on attaining its full maturity, becomes some- 
 what lighter. This coat is variegated with pro- 
 minent veins, forming a kind of network all over 
 it. The pulp is white, intermixed with several 
 almost imperceptible fibres, concentrating in the 
 core, which extends from the hollow of the ex- 
 crescence to the opposite side. As they have their 
 origin near the former, so in that part they are 
 larger and more distinct. The flesh contains a 
 large quantity of juice resembling honey, and its 
 taste sweet, mixed with gentle acid, but of a most 
 exquisite flavour. The seeds are formed in several 
 parts of the flesh, and are about seven lines in 
 length, and three or four in breadth. They are 
 also somewhat flat, and situated longitudinally. 
 
 The tree is high and tufted, the stem large and 
 round, but with some inequalities; full of elliptic 
 leaves, terminating in a point. The length is 
 about three inches and a half, and the breadth 
 two, or two and a half. But what is very remark- 
 able in this tree is, that it every year sheds and 
 renews its leaves. The blossom, in which is the 
 embryo of the fruit, differs very little from the 
 leaves in colour, which is a darkish green. It re- 
 sembles a caper in figure, but somewhat larger,
 
 NOTES. 249 
 
 and composed of four petals. It is far from being 
 beautiful, but this deficiency is abundantly sup- 
 plied by its incomparable fragrancy. This tree is 
 observed to be very parsimonious in its blossoms, 
 producing only such as would ripen into fruits, did 
 not the extravagant passion of the ladies for the ex- 
 cellence of the odour induce them to purchase the 
 blossoms at any rate. — Ulloa's J^ojage, p. 298. 
 
 Note 52, page 171. 
 At the fort of'Callao. 
 Being at length arrived at Lima, the viceroy 
 proceeds, as it were incognito, to Callao, about 
 two leagues and a half distant. In this place he 
 is received and acknowledged by one of the ordi- 
 nary alcaldes of Lima, appointed for that purpose, 
 and also by the military officers. He is lodged in 
 the viceroy's palace at that place, which, on this 
 occasion, is stored with astonishing magnificence. 
 The next day all the courts, secular and ecclesias- 
 tical, wait on him from Lima, and he receives 
 them under a canopy, in the following order : — 
 The audiencia, the chamber of accounts, the ca- 
 thedral chapter, the magistracy, the consulado, 
 the incmisition, the tribunal cle Cruzada, the su- 
 periors of the religious orders, the colleges, and 
 other persons of eminence. On this day the
 
 i5o JSOTES. 
 
 judges attend the viceroy to an entertainment, 
 given by the alcalde ; and all persons of note take 
 a pride in doing the like to his attendants. — 
 Ulloa's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 48. 
 
 Note 53, page 173. 
 
 Accompanying him that evening to the theatre. 
 
 At Callao, at night, there is a play, to which 
 the ladies and others are admitted veiled, and in 
 their usual dress, to see the new viceroy. — Ulloa's 
 Voyage, vol. ii. p. 48. 
 
 Note 54, page 174. 
 
 Monastery of Mont-serrat . 
 
 See Ulloa's Voyage to South America, vol. ii. 
 
 P-49- 
 
 Note 55, page 175. 
 
 Two ordinary alcaldes. 
 The corporation of Lima consists of regidores 
 or aldermen, an alferez real or sheriff, and two 
 alcaldes or royal judges; all being noblemen of 
 the first distinction in the city. These have the 
 direction of the police, and the ordinary adminis- 
 tration of justice. The alcaldes preside alternately 
 every month ; for by a particular privilege of this 
 city, the jurisdiction of its corrigidor extends only 
 to the Indians. — Ulloa's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 44-
 
 NOTES. 25i 
 
 Note 56, page 175. 
 His horse, a magnificent steed from Chili. 
 C'est du royaume do Chili que sont venus ces fa- 
 meux chevaux et ces mules qui courent si bien. 
 Tous ces animaux doivent leur origine aux pre- 
 miers qu'on transporta d'Espagne en Amerique ; 
 mais il faut avouer qu'aujourd'hui ceux du Chili 
 sont superieurs, non-seulement a tous ceux des 
 Indes, mais memc a ceux d'Espagne. II se peut 
 bien que les premiers, qu'on apporta en Ameri- 
 que, fussent coureurs, puisqu'on en voit encore 
 beaucoup en Espagne qui le sont ; mais je suis per- 
 suade qu'on a eu plus de soin de conserver les 
 races en Amerique que chez nous, et qu'on n'a 
 point mele les coureurs avec les trotteurs, puis- 
 qu'ils sont infiniment plus parfaits, et que mar- 
 chant a cote d'un autre cheval, ils out l'ambition de 
 ne vouloir jamais etre devances, et galopent d'une 
 telle vitesse, que le cavalier ne sent pas la moindre 
 
 agitation Les plus beaux sont envoyes a Lima, 
 
 pour les personnes les plus distinguees de cette 
 ville. — Voyagz au Pe'rou, par Don George Juan, 
 liv. ii. chap. v. p. 4 1 - 
 
 Note 57, page 200. 
 And little feel adorned with diamonds. 
 One particular on which the women here ex-
 
 »5^ NOTES. 
 
 tremely value themselves, is the size of their feet, 
 — a small foot being esteemed one of the chief 
 beauties; and this is the principal fault they ge- 
 nerally find with the Spanish ladies, who have 
 much larger feet than those of Lima. From their 
 infancy they are accustomed to wear straight 
 shoes, that their feet may not be suffered to grow 
 beyond the size they esteem beautiful; some of 
 them do not exceed^ five inches and a half, or six 
 inches in length, and in women of a small stature 
 they are still less. Their shoes have little or no 
 sole, one piece of cordovan serving both for that 
 and the upper leather, and of an equal breadth 
 and roundness at the toe and heel, so as to form 
 a sort of long figure of eight; but the foot not 
 complying with this figure, brings it to a greater 
 regularity. These shoes are always fastened wilh 
 diamond buckles, or something very brilliant, in 
 proportion to the ability of the wearer, being worn 
 less perhaps for use than ornament ; for the shoes 
 are made in such a manner that they never loosen 
 of themselves, nor do the buckles hinder their 
 being taken off. It is unusual to set these buckles 
 with pearls ; a particular to be accounted for, only 
 from their being so lavish of them, in the other 
 ornaments of dress, as to consider them as of too 
 little value. — Ulloa's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 60. 
 
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