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 ADA RE IS, 
 
 A TALE. 
 
 Tojaura fi.lv nsp) tou'twi/ enougev, ol/xx fl-7rou8a£a>v. 
 
 Xenophon. Memorabilia, lib. i. cap. iii. s. 7. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET. 
 1823.
 
 L< >NDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY THOMAS DAVISON, WHJTEFKJAKS.
 
 i 
 
 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 incapable of exertion, many who 
 are distinguished by superiority of in- 
 tellect and literary talents, to you I 
 venture to dedicate these pages ; not 
 that I think them worth your accept- 
 
 a, ance, 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
 
 IV DEDICATION. 
 
 under all the irritating circumstances 
 which necessarily attend a protracted 
 illness. To cultivate your own under- 
 standing, 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 amuse- 
 ment would naturally be looked for in 
 other circles, your society is eagerly 
 sought by those anxious and affection- 
 ate friends, who find their pleasure in 
 the enjoyment of your conversation, 
 and in the contemplation of your for- 
 titude and magnanimity. Though I 
 scarcely venture to add my name to 
 the list, I cannot refrain from ex-
 
 DEDICATION. V 
 
 pressing 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, — " may Zeva- 
 hir be ever with you I" 
 
 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 governed : the one is a pure and 
 subtle essence, called Light j and the 
 other is a corrupt substance, called 
 Darkness. Each of these is subject to 
 a superintending Being, whose exist- 
 ence has been from all eternity. The 
 ruler of light is supremely happy, be- 
 nevolent, and good; the Prince of
 
 Vlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 darkness is miserable himself, and de- 
 sirous of rendering others miserable. 
 
 These two Beings are said to have 
 produced an innumerable multitude of 
 creatures. The offspring of Light are 
 all beautiful and intelligent ; whilst the 
 children of Darkness are in every re- 
 spect the reverse. 
 
 The following history was written 
 probably with the intention of exem- 
 plifying the dangerous power of the 
 evil agent, if his influence be once ad- 
 mitted : all violence of feeling, pride, 
 vanity, love itself, if not kept within 
 due subordination, lead to his abode. 
 These two principles, and their emis- 
 saries, are permitted in this fable, as 
 they are in the Legend of Faust, and in
 
 INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 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 
 human breast ; and if the evil agent 
 appear the more dexterous assailant, 
 and to meet with the greater success, 
 it is that the good principle is less sus- 
 picious 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 continues a favourite 
 vol. i. b
 
 X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 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 employ- 
 ment, is in constant danger of be- 
 coming the prey of wicked feelings and 
 corrupt passions ; for as use preserves 
 iron from rust, so labour and exertion 
 purify and invigorate the soul. 
 
 There is beauty in this fable — there 
 is excellence 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
 
 INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 justice. No friend ever requested 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 in- 
 terest, sympathy, and affection. I write, 
 then, in the hope of pleasing them. I 
 write also for myself; it is society to 
 
 b<2
 
 Xll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 me ; it is a link which 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 indiffer- 
 ence, but with resignation, remember- 
 ing 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 soli- 
 tude I can contemplate the actions of 
 others, and join in their passions, in-
 
 INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 terests, 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 friend- 
 ship ; can feel how, by neglect or 
 error, it has chilled and sent far from 
 it all that made life delightful. It is 
 when alone, that the beauties of nature 
 — the loveliness of virtue — the good- 
 ness and beneficence of God burst upon 
 the mind j and our own faults, in all 
 their sad realities, appear before us. 
 The only communication the wretch, 
 who has exiled himself from the world, 
 or is sent from it, holds with his fellow- 
 creatures, is by books : with what de- 
 light he reads over the thoughts of 
 others ! how he admires the excellencies
 
 XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 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 generally fitted for it ; 
 it is only, therefore, when a human 
 being finds himself unable to submit 
 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.
 
 INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 Should those, who are of a tempera- 
 ment 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 compre- 
 hending their force or their extent: 
 they may break the heart without ma- 
 lice or design. Let us then spare both 
 others and ourselves ; let us cease to 
 run the hazard of continued suffering, 
 nor obtrude our imperfections upon our 
 fellow-creatures. It is time to wean 
 ourselves 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 bene-
 
 XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 volence, we have lost that congeniality 
 of disposition, which alone can render 
 us agreeable to the world. Let us ab- 
 stain from borrowing, when we know 
 our circumstances to be such as disable 
 us from repaying. When the expe- 
 rience 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 suf- 
 ficient 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 day, wrote his life, and left 
 it as a legacy to his successors. His
 
 INTRODUCTION. XV11 
 
 treasures he buried, his slaves he 
 strangled, his wives he suffocated, but 
 this MS. he left for the benefit of 
 mankind ; I 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 dis- 
 covery of all our travels, and the termi- 
 nation of all our undertakings. Like 
 Humboldt 1 , should we traverse the vast
 
 XVU1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Savannahs, or climb mid-way up the 
 Andes, till our breath cease and our 
 brain grow giddy; like Park 2 , should 
 we perish in following 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 great- 
 ness and goodness of the Creator is 
 manifest in every thing. Man has no 
 reason to be proud. Napoleon, having 
 conquered the most powerful nations 
 of the civilized world, was left to die 
 a prisoner upon a barren rock ; and 
 Belzoni, 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
 
 INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 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 
 remember the founder of La Trappe ; 
 raise, like him, the funeral pall, see 
 what youth and beauty will be in one 
 little hour, and, like Arm and de Ran- 
 cey, 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. Thousands of years had
 
 XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 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 uninha- 
 bited woods and huge masses of gra- 
 nite, Religion, in these latter days, had 
 consecrated one single spot, where, 
 with the trunks of palm-trees and ba- 
 nanas, far above the plain upon a jut- 
 ting rock, a small chapel had been 
 built, as it is said, by the Jesuits. The 
 natives affirm, 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
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXI 
 
 the beauty and serenity of her counte- 
 nance ; many years of solitude and la- 
 bour 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 re- 
 mained, — 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.
 
 XX11 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Like a pitying 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 
 interest, was more open than ever to 
 those of humanity. 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 af- 
 flicted, 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
 
 INTRODUCTION. XX111 
 
 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 even- 
 ing the remembrance of that song re- 
 turnedc; it came to her, she said, in a 
 dream, just as she had heard it here- 
 tofore; — 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 ; 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
 
 XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 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 manzanillo7 grows 
 upon her grave ; 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 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 ignorant, 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 hu- 
 man nature produces now and then : 
 one of those men who awe and over- 
 power all the feeble and many of the 
 stronger minded, by the success of 
 their enterprises; and who at last sa- 
 tisfy and silence reproach and indigna- 
 tion by the suddenness of their fall and 
 the greatness of their punishment. In 
 the history which he gives of himself, 
 he dwells long upon the little pecu- 
 liarities of his boyish feelings, whilst 
 he mentions but briefly his birth and 
 early adventures. The account is, 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 °Z ADA REIS. 
 
 that he was a Georgian ; — that he was 
 sold by his parents for a trifling sum ; 
 that when he parted from her, a jew- 
 elled ring was tied into his cap by his 
 mother, to save him from the power of 
 witchcraft ; 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 edu- 
 cation 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 untameable spirit. 
 His violent temper, his extraordinary 
 talents, his surprising beauty, and fear- 
 less disposition, soon gained him a suf-
 
 ADA REIS. 3 
 
 ficient number both of friends and 
 enemies. He was flattered by the wo- 
 men, 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 pa- 
 laces, caution, reserve, submission, dis- 
 simulation, are also necessary ; and for 
 these he was utterly unfitted by the 
 violence and impetuosity of his dispo- 
 sition. The consequence of repeated 
 error was his final dismissal. 
 
 Stung to the heart and enraged, in- 
 stead of entering the army, according 
 to the orders he had received, he 
 escaped, and hired himself to a mer- 
 chant bound to Spain. His imagina- 
 tion had been excited, by reading the 
 histories of Corsairs and of their ex- 
 ploits ; he ardently desired a life of peril 
 and adventure, his turbulent spirit ill 
 
 b 2
 
 4< ADA REIS. 
 
 enduring any species of confinement ; 
 and, young as he then was, he ap- 
 peared already to have studied and to 
 have detested European manners. In 
 this part of his narration we meet with 
 vehement censures of kings and men 
 in power (censures ever loudest from 
 the mouths of those who are them- 
 selves the most tyrannical) ; appeals to 
 established laws, and invocations of 
 national justice ; both very incongru- 
 ous, when proceeding from Ada Reis, 
 — he who knew neither how to submit 
 himself to the one, nor to act accord- 
 ing to the other. 
 
 Omitting these and other reflections, 
 we hasten on to the period of his em- 
 barkation, at which he tells us that, 
 for the first time in his short life, he 
 felt himself independent. Gazing 
 upon the ocean, he knelt down in 
 transport, and solemnly vowed to de-
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 vote himself entirely to that element. 
 From that hour he became indefatiga- 
 ble 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 re- 
 solved to be revenged. He had gained, 
 by his talents and courage, the affec- 
 tions of the crew : he seized his oppor- 
 tunity, murdered his enemy, declared 
 himself a convert to the religion of 
 Mahomet, and, with the assistance of 
 the second in command, 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 
 ibr novelty, continually led him into
 
 f> 
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 some desperate and perilous adven- 
 ture. He was once made prisoner 
 and carried into Spain, where he fell 
 deeply in love with a lady of rank, by 
 whose favour he 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 
 successfully to the Reis of the Pasha's 
 fleet, and by his means obtained much 
 power and many privileges. The 
 light of true religion once, he con- 
 fesses, 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 sub- 
 ject of his derision ; and though, in 
 fact, he believed as little in Mahomet, 
 he had the policy to disguise his in-
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 credulity, and never publicly to offend 
 the opinions of the people of the coun- 
 try amongst whom at any period he 
 resided. 
 
 At length the Pasha 9 of Tripoly, 
 having heard much of his courage, 
 himself sent for him, and intrusted 
 him with a secret commission, which 
 he executed so speedily and success- 
 fully as to gain considerable credit and 
 influence with that prince. It was 
 even rumoured that one of the Pasha's 
 daughters would be given to him in 
 marriage. However this might be, he 
 was placed in a very high situation 
 near the Bey 10 , 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 vigorous mind, at times even
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 rising to the sublime ; but he was fond 
 of low company and buffoonery, and 
 in particular of making bad jests and 
 telling long stories. His passions, un- 
 governable beyond all control, betray- 
 ed 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 en- 
 durance 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 overtaken by a dreadful 
 storm, on his passage from Constanti- 
 nople, with some Greek slaves for his 
 master the Bey, on which occasion, 
 had it not been for his extraordinary 
 skill and courage, the vessel and crew
 
 ADA REIS. 9 
 
 must have perished. But that which 
 gained him the highest estimation 
 amongst the Tripolitans was the 
 bravery and cunning with which he 
 opposed the Arabs, who were making 
 formidable incursions on their territo- 
 ries. 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 ex- 
 ult, whilst sailing on the beautiful 
 Mediterranean, and, throwing aside 
 his pipe and perfumes, sing with his 
 merry followers, and laugh triumph- 
 antly, as his swift vessel glided amongst 
 the Islands of the Archipelago. He 
 would drink, too, and that with such 
 intemperance, that many, afraid of its 
 injuring his health, or inflaming his
 
 10 ADA RE IS. 
 
 already furious passions, besought him 
 to refrain; but, deriding their coun- 
 sels, and mocking at their fears, " Not 
 drink!" he cried, "by Allah, or by 
 Mahomet, or by all the holy saints of 
 Christendom, wine and spirits are the 
 soul of life !" And early he had learn- 
 ed to quaff the intoxicating draught, 
 which opened every cell where fancy 
 slept, putting 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, pos- 
 sessed 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 even- 
 ing late, he had continually observed 
 a Jew passing before the Reis of the 
 Marine's house looking long and fix-
 
 ADA REIS. 11 
 
 edly 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 Zu- 
 banyann, the son of the famous ShafFou 
 Paca, who came from Egypt to take 
 care of the Pasha's harem 11 , and who 
 now lives with Lilla Amani 12." 
 
 " 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.
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A great rivalship and contention 
 existed at this time among the mer- 
 chants 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 Moor- 
 ish merchants being aware that Kab- 
 karra alone possessed 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 
 insinuating 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
 
 ADA REIS. 13 
 
 his property in this enterprise, " Not 
 a part," he replied, — " the whole; for 
 in whatever Ada Reis takes an in- 
 terest, he considers his life 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 13 , said to have be- 
 longed to Melchior, one of the three 
 Magi Kings : this also was to Ada Reis 
 an object of the most intense desire ; 
 but upon inquiry, it was discovered that 
 Kabkarra had just departed with the 
 caravan for Egypt. It was not, how- 
 ever, in Ada Reis's character either 
 to abandon or to postpone the exe- 
 cution 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
 
 14 ADA REIS. 
 
 scanty, and soon exhausted ; the wea- 
 ther was intensely hot, and for many 
 days they traversed the burning sands 
 with no other refreshment than a bag 
 of meal and some water in their girbas, 
 whilst at night they were pierced by 
 insufferable cold 14 . Muley Hadgiand 
 Yusuph 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 un- 
 expected detention of the caravan, and 
 tedious sojourning in the desert ; but 
 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 with a pil-
 
 ADA REIS. 15 
 
 grim 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 mer- 
 chants found bags of gold-dust 15 and 
 other treasures, as they pursued their 
 way. As it grew dark, Muley Hadgi 
 and Yusuph Seid reiterated their ur- 
 gent 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 
 companions, and pursue his course 
 alone. He seized the opportunity 
 whilst they slept, and, having slain them,
 
 16 ADA REIS. 
 
 possessed himself of their camels, and 
 the treasures which they had with them. 
 The horrid deed was no sooner done 
 than he looked fearfully round, and be- 
 held, to his amazement, on the bound- 
 less desert before him, one human be- 
 ing who had witnessed his cruelty, and 
 who now appeared watching him witli 
 immoveable calmness, enveloped in a 
 dark heiram : he was armed with a 
 long match-musket, the weapon of the 
 wandering tribe to which he appeared 
 to belong 16 ; he wore a belt inscribed 
 with Arabic characters : his air was 
 noble and haughty, his figure above 
 the middle size, his features were per- 
 fectly regular and strongly marked, his 
 complexion nearly black. "Who are 
 you?" at length said Ada Reis. 
 
 " I am," replied the stranger, " a 
 sovereign of the desert, and I know 
 you, and the deed you have done."
 
 ADA REIS. 17 
 
 " 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 of the desert; some- 
 times, like the eagle, I make my nest 
 upon the summit of the mountain." 
 
 " You are not an Arab sheik 17 ," 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 Jew I am in search of. By the 
 prophet, you are Kabkarral" 
 
 " 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 
 
 vol. i. c
 
 18 ADA REIS. 
 
 Reis, confounded, threw himself upon 
 his face at his feet, saying, "I am 
 lost !" 
 
 "Arise!" said the stranger, "fear 
 me not. I am the Jew, who, by di- 
 stant travelling, and a courage like 
 your own, have possessed myself of 
 hard-earned wealth. I know a place, 
 not sixteen fathoms deep in the sea, 
 where pearls grow bigger than the 
 eider's egg. I have in my pay many 
 slaves, who bring me gold-dust in 
 abundance. We have been attacked and 
 plundered, but seeing the danger, I 
 joined the enemy, and having seized 
 upon this habit, was in quest of assist- 
 ance. I wear triple-steel upon my 
 breast, on my back, and round my 
 throat a collar, which once resisted the 
 Hamper's shawl 19 . I am rich and pow- 
 erful; but, alas! Ada Reis, what are 
 all the riches of the earth without a
 
 ADA REIS. 19 
 
 friend? You are well 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 treachery 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 device of the 
 Magi King, beautifully and curiously 
 engraved, excited his utmost admi- 
 ration. Ada Reis eagerly accepted it; 
 the Jew gracefully presented it, bid- 
 ding him not only retain the sword, but 
 in future adopt the sigil of the King 
 of the East as his own ; after which he 
 conversed upon a variety of subjects 
 
 c2
 
 20 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 returned to the camels, and 
 proceeded upon their lonely journey. 
 In replacing the baggage 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 were slowly 
 proceeding on their way to Tripoly, they 
 were joined by several of the dispersed 
 travellers of the caravan. The sky, 
 clear till now, became dark and heavy ; 
 the sun appeared to lose its splendour, 
 and assume a violet colour ; the atmo- 
 sphere became thick, and filled witli 
 dust; the beasts could scarcely breathe 
 from the excessive heat; Ada Ileis 
 felt unable to support himself; the Jew 
 alone seemed not to heed the coming 
 storm. As gasping and faint the travel-
 
 ADA ItEIS. 21 
 
 lers and the camels proceeded, not a 
 leaf, not a tree, was to be seen; no 
 shelter near for thirty miles ; one burn- 
 ing waste of endless sand met the eye ; 
 not a drop of water, but what they had 
 with them, could be procured. 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, Kabkarra de- 
 stroyed, one by one, the wretched be- 
 ings who were dragging along a part 
 of their property, and desiring 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, reached a 
 Moorish hut, drank of the lakaby 20 
 presented to them, and ate of the plain 
 fare offered to them, with rapturous 
 delight.
 
 2~ ADA REIS. 
 
 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, with some of the 
 most valuable of the pearls, and a paper 
 written in the Arabic tongue, which 
 said, "Farewell! beloved; we shall 
 meet again. Remember the Jew Kab- 
 karra. Continue thy course: a mon- 
 arch's crown awaits thee, in a land 
 where diamonds and emeralds shall be 
 strewn under thy feet, and where the 
 blood of the innocent may flow, with- 
 out fear of revenge." 
 
 Ada Reis was alarmed, and yet 
 delighted by this epistle ; the vainest 
 hopes of ambition filled his mind. 
 He returned, however, to Tripoly, and 
 thought more of the promise made 
 to him, than of the wicked deeds 
 he had done. In the space of a
 
 ADA REIS. 23 
 
 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 would be 
 strangled or poisoned, as the last had 
 been. Ada Reis most earnestly be- 
 sought 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 con- 
 siderable difficulty he gained his re- 
 luctant consent, that he should depart, 
 with other merchants, who were going 
 to Constantinople. 
 
 He asked for no favours, no letters 
 — freedom was all he desired ; and he 
 boasted that he was prouder of the title 
 of Reis than of any other whatever,
 
 24 ADA REIS. 
 
 because he had laboured for it, and 
 won it by his own energy. To impose 
 upon the ignorant, he claimed kindred 
 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 exer- 
 tions. When he spoke his real senti- 
 ments, 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 Pro- 
 vidence, the citizen 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 
 belief 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 li- 
 berated ; after which he visited France,
 
 ADA REIS. 25 
 
 Italy, Constantinople, and finally re- 
 turned once more, crowned with 
 wealth and success, to Tripoly: yet 
 he returned not this time alone ; — he 
 brought with him the child Fiormonda. 
 
 Previous to his return, when at Con- 
 stantinople, while standing alone to 
 admire the beautiful and delicious gar- 
 dens which surround the shores of the 
 Kara Dengis, a wizard appeared to 
 him, and repeated to him the predic- 
 tion of the Jew : " You shall be king 
 in another land," he said, "and the 
 offspring of your body, the child of 
 blood, shall wear an imperial crown." 
 
 Ada Reis, enchanted, and deeply 
 struck with this prediction, with more 
 boldness than ever pursued his course. 
 Wherever he appeared, wealth awaited 
 him ; at every court at which he was 
 presented, he was received with admi- 
 ration : but the attention which was
 
 26 
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 paid to him by others could not be 
 greater than that which he paid to 
 himself; upon that subject he expa- 
 tiates at the greatest length. He cannot 
 for a moment cease to commend him- 
 self; whole pages are filled with de- 
 scriptions of his person. His clear 
 auburn hair hanging in curls over his 
 fair brow and white neck, his eyes 
 beaming with love, his smile irresisti- 
 ble, his voice most melodious ; he had 
 only to speak to persuade, yet did he 
 ever use but few words. He acknow- 
 ledges, however, that he delighted in 
 low company, in throwing off all re- 
 straint, and in giving unbounded li- 
 cence to his conversation ; confesses 
 more than once that he was a strange 
 compound of every excellence, and 
 every vice. But where is the excel- 
 lence he found in his own character ? 
 The bad ever thus deceive themselves ;
 
 ADA REIS. 27 
 
 and their desperate 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 expected that his narrative 
 will dwell much upon his successes in 
 love. In fact, for pages together he 
 does nothing but boast of the advances 
 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 war then 
 breaking out between her country and 
 Spain, she placed herself under his pro- 
 tection, and he undertook to convey
 
 28 ADA REIS. 
 
 her safely to her own country : to use 
 his own words, " Under the snow of 
 the cold climate from which she came, 
 lay concealed the glowing embers of 
 passion ;" 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 attachments, of which he pro- 
 ceeds to detail the circumstances ; end- 
 less the list of names he enumerates — 
 Zoe, Orrellana, Issaline, Aura, Zemyra, 
 Orgylia, Mania, Kala, Drossora, Rho- 
 da, Heliodora, Morosa, Levidolche, 
 Muskatina ; 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. 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 It was in the spring of the year 
 1729, that Ada Reis having landed in 
 Calabria, in order to dispose of some 
 merchandise, became acquainted with 
 a beautiful young Italian maiden, 
 whose father was, like himself, a mer- 
 chant, and whose hand had been al- 
 ready promised in marriage to a kins- 
 man of her own. She was then seven- 
 teen years of age, the admiration 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 becoming difficulties, 
 yielded to the irresistible Ada Reis :
 
 30 ADA REIS. 
 
 his manly haughty air, his high stature, 
 and superb dress, added to his charms 
 and his costly gifts and polished man- 
 ners, soon captivated her affections ; 
 he, besides, assured her, swearing an 
 oath, which she believed to be a sacred 
 one, that he would return and marry 
 her; in token of which he gave her 
 his amber beads to keep, and a griffin's 
 claw made of rubies and diamonds, 
 which the Bey had given him from his 
 own turban. 
 
 Bianca expressed no regret for her 
 error ; she had yielded to her lover's 
 suit, and she was now the mistress 
 of a man, whom all her country- 
 women beheld with enthusiastic ad- 
 miration : they paid her greater court 
 for Ada Reis's sake, and envy itself 
 was silenced in order to flatter him. 
 But the time for his departure drew 
 near, and, finding herself in a situation
 
 ADA REIS. 31 
 
 to excite the suspicions of her parents 
 and relatives, she implored her lover to 
 take her with him to his own country. 
 
 " And I will, loveliest girl," he said, 
 bearing 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, I 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 little bark tossed 
 to and fro upon that tremendous 
 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
 
 32 ADA REIS. 
 
 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. u Not to- 
 night," she cried, timidly. " Ah, go 
 not to-night! My father will pardon 
 us — another time — oh, heavens ! — an- 
 other time, Ada Reis, I will leave all 
 and go with thee," 
 
 "And another time, sweet one," said 
 Ada Reis, with a scornful smile, " I 
 will return and make thee my bride." 
 Bianca cast her eyes down with 
 shame at this reproach. Ada Reis 
 embraced her.
 
 ADA REIS. S3 
 
 " Thou hast not courage," he said, 
 " to come with me, have it then to live 
 for me, and I 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 became as a 
 single speck in the distance : she 
 then returned home to all the dis- 
 comforts of family surmises, her own 
 heart's reproaches, and a long widow- 
 hood of absence from her lover. 
 
 One month passed thus, and the 
 beautiful Bianca began to repent of 
 her conduct : at such a moment, dread- 
 ing her father's anger, and persecuted 
 by the continued addresses of her kins- 
 man, Giulliano, she had the weakness 
 to give him her hand in marriage ; and 
 
 VOL. I. d
 
 34 ADA REIS. 
 
 Giulliano'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 be- 
 came a mother, cherished her infant 
 as if it had been his own. 
 
 Two years passed for Bianca and 
 Giulliano in peace ; a third was open- 
 ing 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 her- 
 self innocently during her husband's 
 absence : he first snatched up the child, 
 and gazed upon it wildly, then re- 
 proached the mother with her infidelity. 
 
 " I 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
 
 ADA REIS-. 35 
 
 child? — oh, in pity I 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 full of the moon, Ada Reis first 
 strangled, and then plunged his 
 scimitar into the bosom of Bianca de 
 Castamela ; then enveloping the child 
 in his mantle, he fled from the spot. 
 
 As he hurried to regain the shore, 
 it appeared to him that a form, horrid 
 as the deed he had done, walked be- 
 fore him. He seemed to see an eye of 
 fire, as through a misty cloud ; and 
 when he thrice exclaimed, " who goes 
 there?" the word "Kabkarra" was 
 , distinctly pronounced. Remorse ren- 
 dered Ada Reis, at this moment, almost 
 insensible even to this prodigy. His 
 heart was torn by the recollection of 
 
 d 2
 
 36 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 un- 
 governable 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 mo- 
 ther, 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," he 
 cried, "thou little flower, shalt thou
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 see the stem upon which those beauties 
 grew. Farewell to Calabria, farewell to 
 women and to love, and farewell, dear- 
 est of all, to the remains of Bianca di 
 Castamela ! For her sake, I will bring 
 thee up with more than a mother's 
 care ; and as nature has given thee thy 
 mother's charms, it shall be my fault 
 if thou art deficient in wisdom or ac- 
 quirement." 
 
 After this adventure, he returned to 
 Tripoly, 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.
 
 38 ADA RE IS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Ada Reis presented many jewels of 
 great value and rich merchandises to 
 the Pasha. He then, with his permis- 
 sion, purchased a country-house, pro- 
 vided with baths, gardens, and every 
 possible earthly delight. In this re- 
 treat he placed his treasures, his ha- 
 rem, 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 mo- 
 ment's forgetfulness and tranquillity; 
 he possessed every thing he most de- 
 sired; and he said to himself con- 
 tinually, "who in the wide world is 
 greater, or ought to be happier, than I 
 am ? Who can boast of firmer nerves, 
 higher spirits, fairer expectations, or
 
 ADA REIS. 39 
 
 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 I shall bestow upon Fior- 
 monda ; and for steeds and slaves, has 
 the Pasha finer or more numerous than 
 myself; yet in the midst of my success 
 and my splendor 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 22 , after a parching day; or 
 when in the calm of the night a visitor
 
 40 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 appre- 
 hensions. Often the remembrance 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 me- 
 mory pictured to him the promises of 
 love, his jealous rage, and the form of 
 his murdered mistress. Ada Reis was 
 superstitious, because he had long 
 ceased to be religious. When the ma- 
 rabut 24 sounded to announce the 
 prayer at sunset, he never prostrated 
 himself upon the ground ; he never 
 turned his face to the east, nor breathed 
 to his prophet, or his Creator, one 
 single thanksgiving. Into mosque or
 
 ADA REIS. 41 
 
 place of worship he seldom went, and 
 he commanded that Fiormonda should 
 be kept in ignorance of every religious 
 rite. Nor did he watch with easier 
 impatience and parched lips for the 
 moon of Ramadan 25 , but himself, his 
 child, and his servants, in secret, ate 
 and drank during the sacred fast, re- 
 gardless of the commands of shrief or 
 prophet; and, when the castle guns 
 and those of all the batteries announced 
 the feast of Beiram 26 , 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 coffee-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 turmoil 
 and carousals of the vilest of mankind,
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 Was this happiness ? No ! He felt that 
 it was not; 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 mis- 
 tress, 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 semblance of pleasure and gratifi- 
 cation.
 
 ADA KEIS. 43 
 
 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, sa- 
 tiated with debauchery and buffoonery, 
 he had recourse to study. Possessing 
 that comprehensive genius which can, 
 in a moment, seize upon and master 
 the difficulties 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,
 
 44 ADA REIS. 
 
 and he listened to their discourse ; but 
 he found their wisdom degraded by 
 envy, vanity, a desire of petty di- 
 stinctions, 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 beauty ; — she added 
 to the gaiety and grace of childhood a 
 depth of thought and feeling uncom- 
 mon to that age. Most children think 
 deeply, if left to themselves, if leisure 
 be allowed to the mind to expand, and 
 a succession of lessons and trifles follow 
 not each other too rapidly; but Fior- 
 monda had even a greater share of re- 
 flection than other children. Thoughts 
 concerning religion already agitated 
 her mind; and love, although the 
 object was, like herself, a child, had 
 already warmed her heart. Ada Reis
 
 ADA BEIS. 45 
 
 soon perceived that his daughter's dis- 
 position 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 
 privilege of his calling, terrified her 
 with continual intrusion, came repeat- 
 edly 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. 
 Ada Reis was beginning to express 
 surprise and anger; but the marabut 
 spinning round, soon betrayed himself 
 by his horrid laugh and malignant 
 eye. 
 
 "Ha! Kabkarra!" 
 
 " Well met, Ada Reis."
 
 46 ADA REIS. 
 
 " I know," said the former, " what 
 it is you seek, and I have prepared 
 every thing for you. Shaffou Paca, 
 my mother, you well know, still lives 
 with Lilla Amani; at my request she 
 will leave the Pasha's harem, and take 
 charge of my Fiormonda." 
 
 " By the prophet, I think thy imperti- 
 nence has no bounds — thy Fiormonda! 
 Thou art but a mendicant Jew." 
 
 " 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 con- 
 fused, he turned the discourse to other 
 matters, and Kabkarra now presented 
 Fiormonda with a set of chess men, 
 made, as he said, of a metal he had
 
 ADA REIS. 47 
 
 found in his travels, and constructed 
 with such exquisite art, that they ap- 
 peared alive. This bauble, he con- 
 tinued, would amuse his little bride 
 when she grew older; and in the mean 
 time he entreated Ada Reis to con- 
 sider him as a friend, and to call upon 
 him whenever any difficulty arose. 
 
 To the infinite surprise of Ada Reis, 
 Shaffou Paca arrived some days after 
 this interview, bringing a flattering 
 message from the Pasha and his eldest 
 son the Bey, by which the former be- 
 stowed upon Fiormonda the title of 
 Lilla, and the latter asked her hand in 
 marriage. 
 
 Ada Reis accepted the offer 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
 
 48 ;*DA REIS. 
 
 sovereign : for, like most pretended 
 philosophers, he valued above all things 
 the honours which he ever affected to 
 despise. But such is the inconsistency 
 of man; and 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 ad- 
 mirer of beauty. It required, there- 
 fore, all his self-command to conquer 
 his excessive repugnance to the new 
 governess's deformed and undignified 
 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. Shaffou 
 Paca was, indeed, ugly beyond all 
 parallel : she was of Egyptian origin ; 
 yet her countenance was not of simple 
 Egyptian ugliness, but seemed to ex- 
 hibit a characteristic mark of every 
 original nation. Her legs appeared
 
 ADA RETS. 49 
 
 to have been put together by mistake ; 
 the right one being considerably shorter 
 and thicker than the other. She was 
 corpulent ; and her eyes, which saw 
 even more than other eyes can see, 
 never looked in the same direction 27 . 
 She had, besides, the peculiar power, 
 like the chameleon, of fixing the one 
 upon an object while the other turned 
 leisurely round, as if seeking for some- 
 what else. In her voluble conversa- 
 tion no idea was distinct. It seemed 
 as if an endless memory, 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 
 overpowered her ; she had dabbled in 
 metaphysics until it was hardly possi- 
 ble to understand what she meant, and 
 she was continually misquoting pas- 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 ADA REIS. 
 
 ages 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 conse- 
 quently the natural tediousness of her 
 discourse. In his first interview he 
 asked her a few questions 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 an- 
 swer. But though not surprised, he 
 was fatigued ; and in order to get rid 
 of her, he sent for the child, and de- 
 livered her into her hands ; for it is a 
 common practice to condemn children
 
 ADA REIS. 51 
 
 to the society of those with whom 
 parents cannot endure even for a mo- 
 ment to associate. 
 
 Fiormonda fell into hysterics at the 
 first sight of ShafFou Paca ; but the 
 governess, no ways disturbed, restored 
 her in a few moments, by certain 
 words and gestures, and soon became 
 a tolerable favourite. She talked to 
 her pupil of the princesses of the 
 Pasha's harem, of the Bey, of Lilla 
 Amani. She gave her sweetmeats and 
 trinkets, and instructed her in the 
 science of chess, displaying to her ad- 
 miring eyes the beautiful box and the 
 wonderful men her son, the Jew Kab- 
 karra, 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 
 — " I like not this gift, this is no mor- 
 
 e 2
 
 52 ADA REIS. 
 
 tal gift, this is enchantment. I have 
 heard or read of such things only in 
 the old legends of fayerie and ro- 
 mance ; these imps possibly are alive, 
 and the servants of Kabkarra !" 
 
 Shaffou Paca now thought it pru- 
 dent to put in a few words, and with 
 a stream of eloquence 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 polished 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 capari-
 
 ADA REIS. 53 
 
 soned ; their antagonists upon greys ; 
 all formed with precision, delicacy, and 
 exquisite art. They could smile, they 
 could 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 pre- 
 paring for the attack. The kings had 
 brows which bespoke command ; the 
 queens were graceful ; the pawns, with 
 plebeian rudeness, appeared eager for 
 the combat ; and every piece placed 
 itself, as it started from the box, ac- 
 cording to order. 
 
 Ada Reis, as well as Shaffou Paca, 
 instructed Fiormonda in playing at 
 this scientific game, in which she took 
 surprising delight; indeed, for many
 
 54f ADA REIS. 
 
 months she did little else. The chess- 
 men were removed to a favourite gol- 
 pha 28 which Ada Reis had constructed, 
 a retreat, which, however intense the 
 heat of the sun, was always cool ; it 
 being so contrived, that he could at 
 pleasure press from the reeds fresh 
 air, and raise soft music like that of 
 an JEolian harp. This apartment 
 was placed in a wilderness, 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 conducted there at times ,and from 
 a distance gazed upon the gardens, in 
 which she was now no longer per- 
 mitted to wander. She was kept with 
 strict care, and closely watched ever 
 since the day when the page Zevahir 
 had been found conversing with her.
 
 ADA RE IS. 55 
 
 The youth, in consequence of this 
 liberty, had been dismissed from the 
 service of Ada Reis ; and, indeed, ex- 
 cept when her father was with her, 
 this lovely child was confined like a 
 state prisoner, Shaffou Paca scarcely 
 permitting her to breathe the air from 
 without.
 
 56 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 It happened that shortly after the 
 arrival of Shaffou Paca, Ada Reis left 
 his child, and remained 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 countenance ; he reasoned 
 with Shaffou Paca as to the cause, and 
 made some observations to that lady 
 upon her system of education, which 
 displeased her. 
 
 Whilst they were engaged in dis- 
 pute, a message was brought, in- 
 forming Ada Reis that on the ensuing 
 morning the Bey would visit his de-
 
 ADA REIS. 57 
 
 stined bride. This was not customary ; 
 but the honour was so great that no 
 objection was made ; and when the 
 young prince arrived, Ada Reis led 
 him into his daughter's apartment. 
 
 The chamber was in the form of a 
 tent, entirely lined with light blue 
 satin, ornamented with gold fringe, 
 and costly embroidery. The couch, 
 beautifully adorned according to the 
 Moorish taste, was placed upon a Turk- 
 ish carpet in an alcove. Sharfou Paca 
 was employed in attiring her little 
 charge in the splendid habits 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 countenance original 
 and peculiar to herself. She was dressed 
 in a light Persian jelique 29 and white 
 under vest, her arms bare, white mus- 
 lin trowsers, and her little feet, like
 
 58 ADA REIS. 
 
 alabaster, ornamented by solid gold 
 bands, such as the ladies of the blood 
 royal are alone entitled to wear 30 . 
 These, and a girdle of charms to save 
 her from evil eyes 31 , were her only 
 ornaments. Her hair, as yet unb raided, 
 hung carelessly around her beautiful 
 neck and face. An old gray Iman was 
 standing near her, prescribing 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 wait- 
 ed upon him and upon her father, 
 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 caught in the net 
 and kept from its herd. The Bey 
 expressed great anxiety upon her ac- 
 count, and the Iman advised Ada Reis
 
 ADA REIS. 59 
 
 that she should be left more at liberty, 
 that the tediousness 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 much upon her not being op- 
 posed in her desire to walk : for her 
 present languid state, he said, was oc- 
 casioned by heat, pampered luxury, 
 and confinement. Her happiest years 
 seemed condemned to be passed in 
 show and dress. Three times in the 
 twenty-four hours Shaffou Paca at- 
 tended 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
 
 60 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 cup mixed with sher- 
 bet of pomegranate juice. By Shaf- 
 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 in- 
 cantations, 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 
 Zevahir's 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
 
 ADA RETS. 
 
 61 
 
 complaints the gentle Fiormonda mur- 
 mured 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 tri- 
 umph whilst she spoke. Negresses in 
 the meantime wetted her forehead with 
 their third finger dipped in a charmed 
 liquor, and uttered spells and prayers 
 to save her from the contagion of 
 those eyes; but it was in vain, they 
 had fixed hers ; 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 arranging 
 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 apart- 
 ments; loose mattresses and cushions 
 in the form of sofas not five inches
 
 62 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 " you shall have no 
 reason to complain." 
 
 " Shall I see Zevahir again ?" 
 
 " Who is Zevahir?" said the Bey. 
 
 Shaffou Paca was about to explain, 
 when the Iman frowned, and she was 
 silent. 
 
 Coffee was now brought in filigree 
 cups adorned with pearls and rubies ; 
 it was strongly scented with mace, cin- 
 namon, and cloves. The Bey took it 
 from his little mistress's hands, and 
 seated her by him whilst he drank it ; 
 he was fifteen years old, and kept in as 
 close a state of confinement as herself. 
 The rank of Bey had been conferred 
 upon him, but he was only now per- 
 mitted to go out with his troop on ac- 
 count of his extreme youth. 
 
 It Mas natural that after some time
 
 ADA REIS. 63 
 
 the conversation should rather flag, 
 and both the young prince and Fior- 
 monda had nearly arrived at the end 
 of all their remarks, when the old Iman 
 laughed with a hollow laugh, which 
 greatly alarmed them ; then turning to 
 Shaffou Paca, " I know the mother of 
 an Arab sheik can cure Fiormonda," 
 he said, " and I will fetch her ; her 
 name is Zezel Peer Banyan, an Arab 
 fairy ; she lives 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
 
 64 ADA REIS. 
 
 and jetty fringes, with more art than 
 you can." 
 
 The Bey stared, and took his leave : 
 having but few ideas himself, he was 
 surprised at the novelty of this dis- 
 course. 
 
 " Leila, here is a bird will amuse you ; 
 take it, and follow it around your gar- 
 den and groves," said the Iman ; " be- 
 come, like it, gay and lively. Beauty 
 such as yours, in such a land, is only a 
 fatal dowry; for of what avail are teeth 
 like rows of pearl, limbs straight, long, 
 and light, and all your other fascina- 
 tions, if that air of melancholy saddens 
 your countenance ? Alas ! I 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
 
 ADA REIS. 65 
 
 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 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 ; but as they 
 quitted the chamber, he thought he 
 saw the figure of Kabkarra walking 
 out before him. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 66 ADA RE IS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 As soon as Ada Reis returned, he 
 asked Shaffou Paca if her son had been 
 there. She answered, No. The Iman 
 was gone. Ada Reis then desired that 
 Fiormonda might be left entirely to 
 herself, and freed from all unnecessary 
 restraint and fatigue, whilst he re- 
 mained with her. 
 
 To no prisoner was ever liberty more 
 delightful than to Fiormonda, when 
 escaped from the thraldom of Shaffou 
 Paca. With renewed strength and 
 spirits, she bounded before 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
 
 ADA RE IS. 67 
 
 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 aviaryfree." 
 In vain the blacks remonstrated ; in a 
 moment the paroquets and cucines, the 
 pelican, ostrich, and damoiselle, 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 con- 
 finement. " Go," she said, opening 
 their wiry gates, " I have felt too much 
 the 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 
 
 f2
 
 68 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 play- 
 ers 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 remember, 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 Reis, 
 and sometimes listening to the notes 
 of the nightingale, who was warbling 
 sweetly in the orange grove. The 
 noise of the players had ceased ; the 
 glare and heat of day had passed. Fior- 
 monda's whole attention seemed to be 
 suddenly arrested by the beauty and in- 
 terest of the scene, — thought crowded 
 upon thought — her heaving breast and
 
 ADA REIS. 69 
 
 half open lips showed that the magni- 
 tude and mystery of the subject en- 
 grossed all her faculties, and prevented 
 her from giving immediate utterance 
 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 cu- 
 riosity, " 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 which 
 is good happy, and that which is evil 
 the reverse ? Why am I punished when 
 my will teaches me to oppose yours ?
 
 70 ADA REIS. 
 
 By what law have you power and au- 
 thority over me ? How is it that I suf- 
 fered but just now, and why am I now 
 well ? Why are you greater than other 
 men ? May any man, if he can, get 
 the better of others, and command 
 them ?" 
 
 " 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 father ?" 
 
 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 daugh- 
 ter, is the result of chance ; Ada Reis, 
 great as he appears, these beautiful 
 groves, these mountains, yourself, the 
 flowing rivers, the calm lake, the my- 
 riads of insects, the crowd of men, the
 
 ADA REIS. 71 
 
 crocodile, and the sprightly monkey, 
 the lordly palm, the perfumed magno- 
 lia, the purple rhododendron, and the 
 azalia, that blooms for miles and miles 
 over the hills, all these are the mere 
 combinations of casual attraction. In 
 the beginning of all things, if ever there 
 was a beginning, there was one princi- 
 ple, the power of life or animation; and 
 there were two elements to work upon, 
 light 33 and darkness; 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; all 
 is filled, all is alive, and every diversity 
 of animated dust sports along, till dis- 
 solution 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
 
 72 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 universe ! We are inventive, 
 and, with the materials before us, can 
 make ourselves palaces, ornaments, 
 and delights, but we cannot increase 
 the dust of the earth by one particle, 
 any more than we can add one ray of 
 light 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
 
 ADA REIS. 73 
 
 fire, which it lent but for a time, and 
 attracting it to itself again, waft it up 
 on high to its primitive station, where 
 all will be perfect light, perfect har- 
 mony, and consequently perfect hap- 
 piness." 
 
 " I hope," said Fiormonda, " that I 
 have nothing but light in me." 
 
 " Oh !" said Ada Reis, with a look 
 of despair, " best beloved, unhappy 
 Fiormonda, through me, alas ! the evil 
 principle has attached itself to thee ; 
 by me, the pure and subtle matter, that 
 had combined in thee, forming the 
 appearance of perfection, (for in that 
 which is beautiful beauty rests), has 
 been 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 darkness that 
 I have done, nature demands repara- 
 tion : blood will have blood ! the very
 
 74 ADA REIS. 
 
 earth speaks this to me wherever I 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 sur- 
 round thee. Virtue is truth, truth is 
 light, light is harmony, and harmony is 
 happiness ; but evil is darkness, and 
 darkness is misery. And, therefore, 
 Ada Reis, the great, the powerful, the 
 wise, even Ada Reis is miserable ; for 
 myself I care not, but I would save 
 thee, my child." 
 
 " It was thus that Ada Reis endea- 
 voured to instruct Fiormonda, or rather 
 to amuse himself; 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 mode- 
 rate her passions, when he felt that, 
 from infancy, he had given her so bad
 
 ADA REIS. 75 
 
 an example ? But the gay buoyancy of 
 her spirit saved her 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 
 speculations to life and enjoyment ; it 
 was far different 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 the 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 an- 
 swered the notes, and a voice sweeter 
 than the night-bird's sung from under 
 the double-scented jessamine. Ada 
 Reis reposed, Shaffou Paca and the
 
 76 ADA REIS. 
 
 attendants were at a distance ; Fior- 
 monda 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; she in voluntarily turned 
 to the east: so much of belief, notwith- 
 standing Ada Reis's prohibition, had 
 been inculcated into her mind; the 
 hope of immortality had naturally risen 
 in her soul, and it had been found im- 
 possible entirely to exclude from her 
 knowledge the religion of her country. 
 She felt her heart full, — a secret con- 
 sciousness told her there was a Being, 
 to whom she owed the tribute of obe- 
 dience and gratitude, and the cold 
 suggestion of philosophy sufficed not 
 to satisfy her warm and vivid feel- 
 ings. She knelt and prayed, — it was a 
 short but fervent prayer. She prayed 
 like others ; to be deceived rather than
 
 ADA REIS. 77 
 
 to stand as she now did in existence, 
 saying to herself, " I am nothing — no- 
 thing around me really is, — all is con- 
 fusion, doubt, and uncertainty ; there 
 is no after-existence, and whatwe enjoy 
 and feel here is all delusion." These 
 opinions had led her father into the com- 
 mission 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 I do, 
 — who give me torture when they mean 
 to please, and curb me in all my 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 I am again at liberty, I
 
 78 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 destines me to the 
 Bey ? How shall I endure to live with 
 one whose sluggish soul sees no delight 
 in any thing but in the indulgence of 
 his heavy spirit, sleeping through the 
 weary hours, and happy only in indif- 
 ference and insensibility ? M 
 
 As she spoke, she heard the air she 
 had often heard in her infancy played, 
 as she imagined, by the page Zevahir; 
 her bird flew from her, and nestled in 
 a shrub, as if alarmed. She then be- 
 held 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
 
 ADA REIS. 79 
 
 fashion than that of her country, but 
 of a countenance fair and beautiful as 
 her own. He appeared rather older 
 than herself; his hair was light, his 
 smile radiant, and his cheeks glowing 
 with the first bloom of health ; he had 
 an angelic expression ; perfect truth, 
 perfect faith, and perfect honour and 
 purity sate upon his lips and beamed 
 from his eyes : a wreath adorned his 
 golden locks ; sandals ornamented his 
 feet, and his step was fleet and light, 
 as 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 harmo- 
 nious, " Alicum Salem." To which 
 she replied, " Salem Alicum 34 ." 
 
 "You look mournful," he continued : 
 " does the time pass slowly for you, or 
 has any event grieved you since I fled 
 from you?"
 
 80 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 un- 
 clasped the chain, and seeing her eyes 
 fixed upon it, presented it 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." 
 
 " Is it Zevahir," she said, " my long 
 banished page, or are you an angel 
 from some bright world above ?"
 
 ADA REIS. 81 
 
 He answered not, but the diamond 
 ball again played that air she remem- 
 bered. As when the magnetizer, by his 
 power over the enfeebled mind, appears 
 to draw the evil humours from out the 
 human frame, so whilst these 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 80111." 
 
 " Are you," said Fiormonda, " a 
 guardian spirit, come from one of the 
 bright stars, my father says are worlds? 
 Will you teach me what is right ?" 
 
 " I 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 
 VOL. i. g
 
 82 ADA REIS. 
 
 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. I 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 ; 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 for which the Queen of Mora 
 Ben Eden forsook her palace and aban- 
 doned her children: look at the blue 
 bead in the centre, see through this 
 glass what is there written." 
 
 In small but distinct characters
 
 ADA REIS. S3 
 
 there now appeared, plain to Fior- 
 monda's eyes — " Love is gentle and 
 beautiful ; when you are gentle, Lilla, 
 I love you." She coloured, and asked 
 him whence he had gathered the Ca- 
 talpa, the perfume of which was more 
 fragrant than any she ever yet had 
 found. 
 
 " I gathered it from the wreath 
 which Bordislas-Chan, the Schah of 
 Persia, sent to the wife of Ferno, Em- 
 peror of Mogul ; the blossoms 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; 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 are pure." 
 
 g2
 
 84 ADA REIS. 
 
 " I 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 imme- 
 diately express your 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 en- 
 ters 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 Fior- 
 monda in a gentle caressing manner, 
 impressed upon her cheek one kiss, 
 nor asked forgiveness for the freedom ;
 
 ADA REIS. 85 
 
 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 sen- 
 sible, is that of early love ; love, such as 
 young hearts and noble natures some- 
 times feel ; what poets have imagined, 
 what philosophers have doubted, and 
 the worldly-minded have scoffed at and 
 denied : nevertheless, when kindred 
 spirits meet as we do, they feel, they 
 must feel, what you now enjoy." 
 
 " But," said Fiormonda, "although 
 it be joy whilst with you, do you think 
 it will be joy to-morrow when you are 
 away?" 
 
 " Yes," said Phaos, " since you 
 must deem me ever near you, when 
 your kind heart thinks on me ; and
 
 86 ADA REIS. 
 
 if I do not appear, still believe tone 
 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 ; but if I 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, I may thus 
 appear to you : but whatsoever 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 best, think 
 that it is I ; hear my voice in the sweet
 
 ADA REIS. 87 
 
 warblings of the nightingale, and think 
 of me when the rising lark sings as it 
 ascends to Heaven : in all that is in- 
 nocent and good, I am. When you 
 sleep and dream of Heaven, when you 
 pray, I will bear those prayers to the 
 throne of mercy; when you give to the 
 unfortunate, I will be at your side. I 
 am youth, I 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 sigh of love, the sound 
 of distant music ; his benign presence 
 was felt, was enjoyed, his absence re- 
 gretted ; but how and when he came 
 and went, Fiormonda could not tell.
 
 88 ADA REIS. 
 
 She felt alone that he was gone, and 
 was inconsolable. 
 
 From that hour she became how- 
 ever more timid and gentle than be- 
 fore. New hopes, new thoughts, arose 
 by degrees in her opening mind. She 
 prayed to the great Creator for his 
 protection. She blest his beneficent 
 hand, and she was happy. This hap- 
 piness, however, was soon interrupted 
 by a most untoward 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 Shaffou 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 opposition to her 
 will, she gave way to entire distraction.
 
 ADx\ REIS. 89 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 With bitterness the passionate girl 
 now arraigned her father, governesses, 
 sub-governesses, negresses, and attend- 
 ants ; she demanded and sought in 
 every direction the vision, which had 
 captivated and delighted her. Shaffou 
 Paca, Aura, Zoe, the slaves and guards, 
 in vain pursued her, in vain inquired 
 what had happened; 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 !" 
 
 " What, beloved child ?" said Ada 
 Reis. 
 
 " That which I beheld in the hea-
 
 90 ADA REIS. 
 
 vens, ascendingtothe stars; that which 
 smiled upon me in the evening, whose 
 voice was music. " 
 
 " TheLilla has no doubt been looked 
 upon by an evil eye," said Shaffou 
 Paca. 
 
 In this belief they sent in all di- 
 rections for Shriefs and Marabuts ; 
 wise men were stationed around her, 
 and dream-expounders attended the 
 couch of the child. 
 
 " It is no dream, no folly," said 
 Fiormonda, indignant at the least ob- 
 stacle which intervened between the 
 first intimation and the attainment of 
 her most trivial desires. " I will lie 
 here and die, if I do not see it again. " 
 
 " 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;
 
 ADA REIS. 91 
 
 " indulge her most trifling wishes,'* 
 continued he, assuming that air of im- 
 posing 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 lake, 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 and pearls, and a mil- 
 lion 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 ?"
 
 92 ADA REIS. 
 
 " No, no," said the child. 
 
 " Or is it the house drawn by six- 
 teen 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 I 
 shall never recover, if I have not that 
 which I beheld flying in the skies, 
 ascending to the stars." 
 
 And now the treasures of the coun- 
 try 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 displayed to the child. But vain 
 were all the efforts, all the cost. The
 
 ADA REIS. 93 
 
 rarities were received with indifference, 
 and viewed by the heiress of Ada Reis 
 with strong emotions of disappoint- 
 ment and disgust: her faded form and 
 altered manners alarmed her doting 
 friends. They then sent for a christian 
 physician, 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 con- 
 sultation 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 mountains filled the courts. 
 A shiek forced his way into the apart- 
 ment, and loudly calling for Ada Reis,
 
 94 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, holding 
 in his hand a diamond ball, " which 
 plays, when touched, soft music ? Is 
 this the pen, which writes from the 
 heart that loves it, fervent wishes, even 
 were no scroll but the desert waste at 
 hand upon which to write ? are these 
 the beads ?" 
 
 " They are ! they are !" cried the de- 
 lighted child ; her bright eyes beam- 
 ing 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 eagerness to seek him who had 
 given them.
 
 ADA REIS. 95 
 
 The Arab shiek glanced his wily 
 black eye around, he smiled, whilst 
 the evil spirit showed itself plainly in 
 the dazzling brightness of that eye. 
 Shrinking from his rough grasp, Fior- 
 monda now retreated back to her couch 
 in alarm, while Kabkarra, for it was 
 himself, clapping his hands, with a loud 
 laugh, exclaimed, " 'Tis well, Fior- 
 monda ; 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 ma- 
 tured thee for my purpose !" He then 
 hastened from the room, leaving the 
 child, Ada Reis, Shaffou Paca, and the 
 whole company in much consternation. 
 
 A deep sleep now fell upon Fior- 
 monda; and the rest of the by-standers, 
 fatigued by many days of constant at- 
 tendance, were happy, as they could
 
 96 ADA REIS. 
 
 not explain to each other what had 
 taken place, to retire and compose 
 themselves. The fever abated ; Fior- 
 monda 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 
 beautiful eyes, and Phaos was at her 
 side. She talked with him. He endea- 
 voured to sooth 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 be imagined
 
 ADA RE IS. 97 
 
 but by few : poets and painters have 
 that feeling, when in ecstasy they gaze 
 upon the calm beauties of nature ; 
 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 pass- 
 ing clouds ; 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. Fior- 
 monda conversed with Phaos, and be- 
 came calm and gentle. 
 
 In the morning she was found by 
 Shaffou Paca perfectly restored to 
 health. Ada Reis shortly after, satis- 
 fied with her convalescence, and fa- 
 tigued with the prate of the maids and 
 physicians, took his leave, promising, 
 however, soon to return. 
 
 VOL. I. h
 
 98 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Dangerous were the feelings which 
 now agitated Fiormonda's mind. Kab- 
 karra had spoken truly when he had said 
 that as she grew in years a violent spirit 
 would show itself. Innocent she was ; 
 but wild fancies and strange hopes and 
 fears arose to delude her reason : she 
 saw not things as they are — wild en- 
 thusiasm 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 pre- 
 dictions. In the mean time, every 
 night and every bright morning, with 
 the rising and setting star, Phaos ap- 
 peared to her, instilling into her heart 
 sentiments of virtue and beneficence.
 
 ADA REIS. 99 
 
 By stream or lake, amidst flowers, or 
 in recesses in the wood, these happy 
 and innocent children met and con- 
 versed : she was attached to him ; she 
 was engrossed by him. He talked to 
 her of piety, and innocence, and hap- 
 piness, and reprimanded gently all her 
 errors: but too much of woman's love 
 mingled already with the feeling of at- 
 tachment she felt for her guardian at- 
 tendant ; he repressed — he seemed to 
 fear such emotion — he chilled her — 
 and admonished her to keep a stricter 
 watch over her thoughts. At length 
 she began to feel somewhat of fatigue 
 in his presence, she did not always hear 
 him with the same patience, and some- 
 times 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 
 
 h 2
 
 100 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 ; in another, she burst into frenzy, 
 speaking to her attendants in the im- 
 perious tone her father ever assumed : 
 it was then that the guardian of her 
 childhood became seriously offended; 
 he had often reprimanded her, and 
 sometimes he had seen, with grief, that 
 his admonitions tired, and that she 
 began somewhat to smile at his ro- 
 mantic hopes and wishes. He de- 
 scribed a course of life, which had not 
 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
 
 ADA REIS. 101 
 
 of a country where all worshipped 
 and adored the true Deity, and faith 
 and benevolence were cherished above 
 riches and beauty; where, in order to 
 obey a great Creator, passions were to 
 be subdued, and trials were to be en- 
 dured without a murmur; all glare, all 
 pomp, all vanity he detested, and Fior- 
 monda acknowledged that she liked 
 every thing of the sort : in his own 
 country, he said, men had perfect ho- 
 nour, 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 Fiormondawhen she boasted 
 of her expectations upon earth. He 
 bade her look above for support ; her 
 duty was to be humble and gentle. 
 She smiled when he thus addressed her. 
 His ideas, she said, were, she feared, 
 too romantic for this world — after all,
 
 102 ADA REIS. 
 
 whilst upon earth, we must respect 
 even the prejudices of our fellow crea- 
 tures ; satire and ridicule had their 
 effect. Fear of the bitter irony of Ada 
 Reis had already, in some degree, in- 
 fluenced her mind ; she thought, also, 
 that she saw in her new friend an in- 
 experience 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 pre- 
 sent ; yet was he very dear to her, and 
 she grieved to see him more and more 
 seldom. 
 
 Her recovery had now been some 
 time complete, and Shaffou Paca main- 
 tained 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 35 . But
 
 ADA REIS. 103 
 
 Ada Reis could not quite make up his 
 mind to consent to the marriage : he 
 had ideas of future aggrandizement, 
 which were not sufficiently definite to 
 justify him in an absolute refusal; yet 
 he delayed to give his entire consent 
 to an immediate union, and resolved 
 even to consult Kabkarra upon the 
 subject. 
 
 A change had imperceptibly taken 
 place, within the last year, in Fior- 
 monda'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 guardian at- 
 tendant, he was, in fact, far from en- 
 tirely engrossing her affections.
 
 104 ADA RE1S. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 There are some who say women 
 seldom justly appreciate real merit ; 
 their imaginations and passions beguile 
 them; and the rare qualities of the 
 mind, which refuse to obtrude them- 
 selves, seldom attach. Ada lleis in 
 his narrative makes no such reflection; 
 he merely says, that Fiormonda was 
 alone captivated by the mystery which 
 gave interest to her secret meetings 
 with her youthful admirer; 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 sus- 
 picion of his daughter's attachment to
 
 ADA REIS. 105 
 
 the beautiful boy; he considered her 
 as safe under the guidance of ShafFou 
 Paca, and at length the vigilance of that 
 lady detected Fiormonda's secret in- 
 terviews with Zevahir. She lost no time 
 in warning Ada Reis of his daughter's 
 danger ; she further 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 everything that exceeded the bounds 
 of credibility. 
 
 Ada Reis, upon this intelligence, de- 
 termined upon putting his daughter 
 out of harm's way, by instantly cele- 
 brating her marriage with the Bey. 
 He made a speedy communication 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
 
 106 ADA REIS. 
 
 were in consequence made to solemnize 
 the nuptials. 
 
 Matters stood thus, when Phaos, one 
 evening upon entering Fiormonda's 
 apartment, and rinding her in no hu- 
 mour to converse rationally 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 re- 
 proach, I quit you : look upon me once, 
 since we shall meet perhaps no more. 
 The world and its false vanities 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 innocent and loved by
 
 ADA REIS. 107 
 
 me : then was your heart pure and affec- 
 tionate ; then were virtue, truth, and 
 honour, the only feelings which you 
 venerated. 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, therefore ; for your 
 very name has doomed you to be the 
 ephemeral plant of a perishable world. 
 But you have a soul, whatever false phi- 
 losophy may say for the purpose of per- 
 suading you to doubt it, and one day 
 you will be called to account for all 
 your actions. I, the lover of your in- 
 fancy, must leave you ; to part is death 
 to you, and agony to me. Virtue de- 
 lights in concealing her beauties, that 
 the mean, the corrupt, the profligate 
 may not run after her and admire her 
 as they would do could they see her.
 
 108 ADA REIS. 
 
 Vice, hideous and deformed, stalks 
 abroad dressed in jewels and ornaments 
 to attract the inexperienced. Oh, Fior- 
 monda, 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, be- 
 loved child ; for worldly honour and 
 accursed vanity you have abandoned 
 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 moment ; 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 farew r ell ; 
 and even felt the silly vanity of a co-
 
 ADA REIS. 109 
 
 quette, 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, however, the ensuing 
 day. In the evening, she talked of 
 the Bey, who was so soon, she 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 adulation and praises of her 
 attendants. Never was beauty seen 
 surpassing hers, and she admired her- 
 self to the full as much as did her ad- 
 miring slaves; but her heart was still 
 attached 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.
 
 110 ADA RETS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 As soon, however, as Fiormonda 
 found that her lover had really left 
 her, she informed ShafTou Paca 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 I have lost him 
 by my own faults and folly ! " 
 
 There was a certain juice Ada Re is 
 applied to his daughter's lips whenever
 
 ADA REIS. Ill 
 
 he perceived passion was likely to over- 
 power her reason ; and there was a 
 pipe pitched to a low tone, by which, 
 when enraged himself, he endeavoured 
 to modulate his own voice : but on the 
 present occasion, when Shaffou Paca, 
 Aura, Zoe, negroes and negresses, go- 
 vernors and governesses, sub-gover- 
 nors, tutors, nurses, and attendants, 
 vociferating together in his antecham- 
 ber, and from thence all at once break- 
 ing 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 own head 
 gently, and was very near repeating 
 the blow with greater violence upon
 
 112 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 Fior- 
 monda before me. Kabkarra ! I invoke 
 your aid. Who knows where to find 
 Kabkarra ?" 
 
 " I do," said Shaffou Paca ; " and 
 had I followed his wise counsels, my 
 young charge had not been now ex- 
 posed to the arts and seductions of I 
 know not whom." 
 
 Here Shaffou Paca was again inter- 
 rupted by the rage of Ada Reis, which 
 knew no bounds : execrating her want 
 of severity, and his own blindness, 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 
 resentment as it was his present inten- 
 tion to bestow upon him.
 
 ADA REIS. 113 
 
 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 Fior- 
 monda 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 Liila set to rights, the 
 procession took place ; two black wo- 
 men bearing the gifts first, and Fior- 
 monda following, 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 followed her guardians like a 
 lamb to the altar, could possibly have 
 believed that a moment before, she 
 VOL. i. i
 
 114 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 Fiormonda, 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 ShafTou Paca, who now fol- 
 lowed her, venting her ill-humour by 
 ceaseless complaint ? 
 
 Ada Reis, when he beheld her, ex- 
 claimed, " Child of an unhappy con- 
 nexion, 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
 
 ADA HE IS. 115 
 
 continued, as he now fixed his eyes 
 upon these wonderful toys, " I will 
 keep them ; not indeed knowing unto 
 whom I am to return them at present; 
 and, until the arrival of Kabkarra, the 
 friend of our family, you shall remain 
 under my own superintendance." After 
 having said thus much, AdaReis, much 
 appeased by this show of authority, and 
 the established certainty, that no one 
 dared contradict or oppose him, exa- 
 mined 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, " I am as miserable as 
 yourself;" the next said, "fear not ;" 
 the third said, " love me;" the fourth 
 shed tears ; the fifth breathed 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 
 
 i 2
 
 116 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 I will give thee a kingdom for 
 this foolish chain ; and your royal 
 suitor shall hang upon your neck a 
 string of pearls, each pearl possessing 
 worth enough therewith .to purchase a 
 monarch's diadem." 
 
 "Never!" said Fiormonda faintly; 
 but she gave up the beads ; and whilst 
 Ada Reis, examining them with con- 
 tempt, said they were in his eyes like 
 mere common ornaments, 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, vir- 
 tuous, obedient; I never will belong 
 to the Bey or the rich Jew ; I will learn
 
 ADA KEIS. 117 
 
 to command my passions; 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 ele- 
 phant, a dromedary, and a diamond 
 crown.' ' 
 
 The musical ball was next displayed, 
 but that ball which had sung so sweetly 
 to Fiormonda, 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. 
 
 " See," said Ada Reis, when he had 
 gained his point, turning with authority 
 to ShafFou Paca, " see that better care 
 be taken to keep intruders from my 
 house, or your miserable life may end 
 somewhat sooner than you perhaps 
 wish. Command the guards to keep 
 strict watch in future."
 
 118 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 end- 
 less the day appeared, and how cheer- 
 less the evening without her second 
 self, her other half! What struggling 
 passions waged war 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
 
 ADA REIS. 119 
 
 things of this world, with a rapidity 
 and facility astonishing to the by- 
 standers. Love, fear, hope, heaven, 
 Phaos, the Bey, and Kabkarra, were 
 alternately subjects of her incoherent 
 conversation : until at length Shaffou 
 Paca maintained that a struggle be- 
 tween the evil and the good principle 
 was taking place within her mind, 
 which would probably end in the total 
 alienation of her reason. Sickness fell 
 upon her. Life in all its glorious pro- 
 mise 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 Kab- 
 karra. Her illness increasing, the blacks 
 began to howl and scream the dying 
 veil. Shaffou Paca exclaimed, " If it 
 be your wish," addressing Ada Reis, 
 " my son shall be here this night: the
 
 120 ADA REIS. 
 
 way is long, it is true, but at a word I 
 can make him come." 
 
 " Ha !" said Ada Reis, " well, then, 
 bring him before me ;" and Shaffou 
 Paca, pleased with a display of her 
 power, did not observe the dark suspi- 
 cious frown of surprise and anger which 
 now overspread her master's counte- 
 nance ; she, with all the despatch in 
 her power, obeyed his commands. 
 
 But Kabkarra, offended, refused to 
 attend the summons of Ada Reis. 
 " The Lilla Fiormonda," he said, 
 " has much wronged and displeased 
 me ; she has contracted a friendship 
 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."
 
 ADA REIS. 121 
 
 ShafFou Pa ca informed Ada Reis of 
 this mandate, and he received the in- 
 telligence as the head of a family re- 
 ceives 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 Ban- 
 yan arrived, and seating herself upon 
 a mat in the child's apartment, began 
 drawing lines with her finger upon the 
 palm of her other hand, and appeared 
 very well satisfied with herself and 
 situation. 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 followed, 
 with charms, and spells, and serpents, 
 and messes in their hands. The chil- 
 dren were all nearly of the age of the
 
 122 ADA REIS. 
 
 invalid : they ranged themselves in 
 rows before the couch, and sung in 
 short impressive accents, not wholly 
 inharmonious, a song or hymn to the 
 dying child. Their gestures and un- 
 couth garb gave an animated air of 
 wild emotion to their countenances, 
 whilst they danced and played in my- 
 sterious attitudes. 
 
 Zezel Peer Banyan, in the mean- 
 time, enveloped in a loose dark woollen 
 blanket, or baracan, one eye of terri- 
 ble 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 stampt 
 upon the Koran, and squatted herself 
 down upon the carpet in the middle 
 of the room ; the children, like imps, 
 dancing wildly around her. Fiormonda 
 moved not. The sorceress then stirred
 
 ADA REIS. 123 
 
 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. 
 
 Upon this sign Zezel Peer Banyan 
 bade them return to their homes. Then 
 taking with her hand somewhat from 
 the flame, she seated herself upon the 
 mat, entirely enveloped 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 un- 
 paralleled reigned through the apart- 
 ment; 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 whirl around with
 
 124 ADA REIS. 
 
 terrific attitudes and horrid gestures. 
 She danced too, and for so long, that 
 at length her dance became one con- 
 tinued convulsion ; she laughed, she 
 howled, she stampt, 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 my- 
 sterious being approaching her, with a 
 laugh, suddenly snatched her from her 
 couch. At this moment the dark bara- 
 can 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 exulting triumph. " Passions
 
 ADA REIS. l c >5 
 
 have bound thee to me," he cried, 
 " Fires, wild and lawless, wait but op- 
 portunity and temptation to rage with- 
 in thy breast ; thou shalt be mine ! — 
 be mine !" 
 
 Ada Reis at this moment entered, 
 and the warrior re-assuming the ap- 
 pearance of the sorceress, 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 
 remained full of jewels, perfumes, 
 gifts ; and the negresses, and Aura, 
 and Zoe, had received bona manos 
 from Zezel Peer Banyan, they said, as 
 she went out. Some, however, hinted, 
 that this Zezel Peer Banyan was no
 
 126 ADA REIS. 
 
 other than Kabkarra, the Jew, the son of 
 Shaffou 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 ; common wonders he con- 
 sidered as of small consequence ; even 
 the chess-men he had tolerated; but 
 now it occurred to him, that Zuban- 
 yann, the evil one, and Zezel Peer 
 Banyan, the sorceress, were imposing 
 upon the facility of his disposition, and 
 before he was aware, Fiormonda, his 
 lovely child, his only living child, would 
 be in their power. ,, Considerably dis- 
 turbed by these apprehensions, he fixed 
 his eyes sternly upon Shaffou Paca, 
 awaiting, in a majestic attitude,her ap- 
 proach. Her natural infirmities were 
 greatly increased by the alarm which
 
 ADA REIS. 127 
 
 this sudden summons had caused her ; 
 the negresses too were tottering and 
 trembling behind, and the blacks, who 
 were afraid of their master, hurried her 
 along for fear of enraging him by the 
 least delay, regardless of the unfor- 
 tunate lameness, which prevented her 
 advancing quickly, with her short leg 
 foremost ; this short leg being her chief 
 stay, the other circling 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 gra- 
 vity 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
 
 128 ADA REIS. 
 
 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 vendor of slippers, a Jew." 
 
 " What was his name ?" 
 
 " Kabkarra!" 
 
 " Ha!" said Ada Reis, and sprung 
 from his cushion. " What became of 
 your husband ?" 
 
 " He died of the plague ten years 
 ago." 
 
 " Had you any children ?" 
 
 « One." 
 
 " Where is he?"
 
 ADA REIS. 129 
 
 " He wanders about the world, he 
 is your servant." 
 
 " Answer straight, thou old sorce- 
 ress !" 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 
 SharTou Paca, shuddering, " we were 
 nearly starved to death : what will not 
 man do to purchase food ?" 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 ADA REIS. 
 
 " My son and myself: taking a de- 
 sperate resolution, he left me." 
 
 " What then ?" 
 
 " He went in search of gold and of 
 pearls." 
 
 " What then ?" 
 
 " I know nothing more ; he was long 
 absent ; I was on the point of death 
 when he returned. He came at length ; 
 but his countenance never again ex- 
 pressed or hope or peace. From that 
 day we have both been rich but mi- 
 serable. 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 !"
 
 ADA REIS. 131 
 
 Shaffou Paca trembled all over, but 
 maintained that her son possessed no 
 other power than what belongs to mor- 
 tal man. 
 
 " You then are leagued with Zuban- 
 yann ?" 
 
 " I know him not." 
 
 " Is there an evil one ? Teach me all 
 thou knowest. I will strangle thee if 
 thou dost not explain all to me ; and 
 then, if there be any power in thy 
 knowledge, thou mayest restore thy- 
 self." 
 
 " Sir," said Shaffou Paca, sobbing 
 and wringing her hands, "nothing can 
 restore me if you take away my life ; and 
 to prolong life, and purchase riches, 
 what have I not forfeited ?" 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 no- 
 
 K 2
 
 132 ADA REIS. 
 
 thing out from her discourse, he there- 
 fore 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, pro- 
 bably, encounter many difficulties be- 
 fore she could find him ; 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 sum ant of the mountain." It 
 was immaterial to Ada Reis where he 
 lived, or what commands he had given ; 
 see him he was resolved he would, and 
 he would either seek him there him-
 
 ADA REIS. 133 
 
 self, or Shaffou Paca must bring him 
 before him. 
 
 At length she was persuaded to de- 
 part, not without much fear and some 
 regret, for she dreaded she knew not 
 what, if, contrary to Kabkarra's orders, 
 she ventured upon his privacy.
 
 134 
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The way was long and wearisome ; 
 the mules went at a brisk trot, but 
 the lady could not bear the continued 
 shaking, and was obliged frequently 
 to rest. 
 
 When she arrived at her son's habi- 
 tation, 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; 
 upon seeing her, as none ever yet were 
 like her, the Arab recognised her, bade 
 her attendants remain without, and de- 
 sired 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 ago-
 
 ADA REIS. 135 
 
 nising 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. 
 
 " Alas !" said Shaffou Paca, after 
 prostrating herself before him, " all 
 that is left me is to wonder and to doubt 
 — but whatever thou art, or spirit, or 
 man, I implore thee to hasten this in- 
 stant to Ada Reis — my miserable life 
 must pay the forfeit, if thou refusest 
 me." 
 
 " Hast seen the javelin or the arrow 
 cleave the air, mother?" said Kabkarra, 
 laughing. " Hast marked the light- 
 ning's flash ? — With such speed, will I 
 obey his summons. But how is thy 
 beauteous charge ? Take care of her,
 
 136 
 
 ADA REIS. 
 
 as she deserves; study alone to in- 
 crease every charm ; excite her pas- 
 sions, and corrupt her mind. I must 
 win her : but first there will be a fierce 
 struggle between myself and myrival. ,, 
 
 " And shall I not ?" said Shaffou 
 Paca. 
 
 " Go," said he, fiercely, " 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 con- 
 tinued, addressing his attendants ; " I 
 obey Ada Reis' summons." 
 
 As Kabkarra said this, blessing her- 
 self, and conjuring up in her mind 
 every charm and prayer she could col- 
 lect in her memory, from the supersti- 
 tion of every country of which she ever 
 had heard, Shaffou Paca remounted her 
 mule, and began to trot homewards, 
 notwithstanding her great inclination
 
 ADA REIS. 137 
 
 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 whiz- 
 zing 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 ShafTou 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 in-
 
 138 ADA REIS. 
 
 animate, set up once more a frightful 
 yell ; and Shaffou Paca being away, 
 Ada Reis became impatient beyond 
 all bounds. He ordered the slaves to 
 cease their lamentations : evening came 
 on; a deep silence ensued, all appeared 
 calm without, the soft moonbeam 
 glided through the open casement, the 
 delicious air was perfumed with spices, 
 breathing, as it were, upon the loveliest 
 and most inanimate of beings. 
 
 Ada Reis sate dozing over sherbet 
 in a distant part of the apartment — 
 when the air, well known to Fiormon- 
 da, sounded from without. At this mo- 
 ment 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 seating himself upon the
 
 ADA REIS. 139 
 
 sofa near the child, addressed her in 
 soft low tones, whilst the tears were 
 streaming from his eyes : " Where- 
 fore hast thou, loveliest of thy sex, 
 given way to the intemperance of pas- 
 sion ? 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, Fiormonda! 
 how cold and torpid flows the current 
 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 Fiormonda; 
 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 at- 
 tentively listened to this address, " if
 
 140 ADA REIS. 
 
 there be mercy in the heart of a spirit, 
 for such I take you to be, condescend 
 to sympathise with the grief of a dis- 
 tracted father. I will slay five thousand 
 of the fairest ladies in the capital, the 
 Bey, and all the nobles of the Pasha's 
 court ; I 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 Fiormonda 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 di Cas- 
 tamela ; it is for a happier fate than 
 that of being thy daughter, or the 
 Bey's bride, that I would restore her 
 to existence. But, alas ! she is under 
 the thraldom of one more powerful 
 than myself, and love, and faith, and
 
 ADA REIS. 141 
 
 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 ; " though 
 a stranger to thee, I am Eiormonda's 
 friend ; all nature is divided between 
 the good and the evil principle ; and 
 if I so seldom have been seen at the 
 court of the Pasha, or near the per- 
 son of Ada Reis, it is because they 
 both prefer my more violent half-bro- 
 ther to myself; my name is Zamohr. 
 I am the guardian of all that is pure, 
 that is lovely, that is beautiful, that is 
 innocent ; and of all mortal and im- 
 mortal beings I am esteemed the most 
 benevolent and the most gentle. My
 
 142 ADA REIS. 
 
 form, as you see, is that of youth, for 
 there is no ingredient in my compo- 
 sition base enough to compose aught 
 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; thou hast but 
 the power of dismissing me ; go thou 
 to a sleepless couch and lament ; I am 
 happy; on me neither sin nor shame 
 have ever cast a shade ; 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 magi- 
 cians and spirits ; I know my power 
 is circumscribed, and yours is un- 
 bounded ; 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
 
 ADA REIS. 143 
 
 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, forFiormondas fate. 
 I yield her to thy rival ! I here give her 
 up to Zubanyann — to Kabkarra ! He 
 can aid her, he can defend her; he shall 
 make her powerful and rich, and save 
 her from your seductions." 
 
 As he said this, he heard cheers and 
 shouts of triumph. The gentle Zamohr 
 vanished into air; the nuba36 sounded; 
 the joyous song of people from with- 
 out was heard : the attendants, run- 
 ning in, informed Ada Reis, somewhat 
 suddenly, that the Pasha's son, the 
 Bey, had come to know the state of 
 Fiormonda's health. The song of 
 " Loo, loo," was distinctly heard. The 
 Bey was accompanied by only one at- 
 tendant, his favourite Mameluke, and
 
 144 ADA REIS. 
 
 his horse seemed almost exhausted 
 with fatigue. Ada Reis, who had 
 heard that the Bey was gone out 
 against the Arabs, was astonished at 
 his so swift return; but when the beau- 
 tiful 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 
 embroidered gold. He was decked 
 from head to foot with jewels. His 
 countenance, though fierce, was beau- 
 tiful, and, regardless of Moorish man- 
 ners and laws, he boldly entered the 
 presence of Fiormonda, though the 
 shrieking females had hardly time to 
 fly and conceal themselves. " I am 
 come," he said, in a commanding voice, 
 " to answer your demand. You know
 
 ADA REIS. 145 
 
 the Jew Kabkarra too well to inquire 
 of me who I am, and if I have abused 
 the credulity of the people by assuming 
 the garb of the Pasha's son, it is (for- 
 give my vanity) that I wish to show 
 you that a turban and an embroidered 
 cloak can make of Kabkarra the thing 
 you admire. Fiormonda, my lovely 
 child, fear not ; although the Prophet 
 himself were here to prevent me, thus, 
 thus would I approach thee ; for who 
 was it saved thee, when thy affrighted 
 nurses were howling 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 shalt never be his bride. " 
 
 " You have promised," said Ada 
 Reis, " that she shall possess a royal 
 husband, and wear an imperial crown." 
 
 " And she shall wear it !" said Kab- 
 karra, with a laugh of triumph : " but 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 ADA REIS. 
 
 not here, not in these countries may 
 she reign." 
 
 " Ah ! these delays and equivoca- 
 tions," said Ada Reis, " whilst the 
 Bey, on the contrary, would instantly 
 place her in his father's palace ; 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 free- 
 born soul like hers ? And what is the 
 Pasha's palace, but a splendid prison ? 
 I offer her far better than this \ 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 at- 
 tempt made to allure her. " If jewels 
 please you," he said, " I can bring you
 
 ADA REIS. 147 
 
 the finest and the rarest. If gifts like 
 those my half-brother Zamohr present- 
 ed gratify your fancy, are not the chess- 
 men Kabkarra gave more worth your 
 care ? Where, too, is the girdle I 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 beauti- 
 ful, the same who came to me the 
 other evening ? Are you that frightful 
 Zezel Peer Banyan ?" said Fiormonda, 
 gazing with admiration and astonish- 
 ment upon him. 
 
 " Am I 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 
 Fiormonda. 
 
 " Can I need any other," said the 
 stranger, "than Kabkarra? And now 
 
 l %
 
 148 ADA RE1S. 
 
 ask me no more questions ; I am come 
 to save you. Ada Reis, mark me ! 
 whether I 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 menaces, call for me ; 
 bid Shaffou Paca send you her son, and 
 mount upon my steed, the one I shall 
 leave here ; as for my charming little 
 mistress, she must likewise be pre- 
 pared. Do this, and all shall be in 
 readiness ; for I 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 demand- 
 ed, and your life forfeited if you obey 
 not my injunctions. Give me your 
 signet-ring 37, that in case of necessity, 
 I may have the means, whilst you are
 
 ADA REIS. 149 
 
 detained within, of being obeyed with- 
 out 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 always 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 ShafFou 
 Paca at length returned, and heard the 
 pleasing intelligence that her son, as 
 she had expected, had arrived before 
 her, and had entirely satisfied her 
 master.
 
 150 ADA REIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The character of Ada Reis was not 
 formed to endure patiently the slight- 
 est 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 that 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 mourn- 
 ful air his slaves and followers had as-
 
 ADA REIS. 151 
 
 sumed, he bowed respectfully to the 
 messenger, and promised to follow 
 him, without a moment's 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 ; " the Pasha has made strange 
 preparations to receive you with un- 
 expected honours." 
 
 My crimes, then, are known at 
 length, thought Ada Reis ; or sooner, 
 my wealth, my power, my spirit of in- 
 dependence, have given umbrage to a 
 tyrant. With feigned calmness he now 
 entered Fiormonda's apartment. 
 
 Shaffou 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
 
 \5% ADA REIS. 
 
 you ; the little men must be tired for 
 want of employment." 
 
 " Who," said Fiormonda, " will ven- 
 ture 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 endeavouring to enter- 
 tain my child? We will place the board 
 upon the carpet, and try our powers 
 with these little creatures." 
 
 Fiormonda was delighted with ob- 
 serving their variety and beauty. She 
 smiled, and talked with unusual gaiety, 
 and even spoke of Kabkarra with at- 
 tachment for having given her so won- 
 derful 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, intermingled with sounds like 
 the sobs and sighs of one in pain. Ada
 
 ADA KEIS. 1.53 
 
 Reis paused — Fiormonda remained mo- 
 tionless : — there then arose plainly be- 
 fore their view two resplendent forms, 
 the one adorned with all the beauty of 
 early youth, the other in all the vigour 
 of manhood ! These occupied the op- 
 posite parts of the board, the one pre- 
 paring 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 load- 
 stone, 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 them- 
 selves, some behind Ada Reis, some 
 behind Fiormonda; their eyes riveted,
 
 154 ADA REIS. 
 
 their thoughts engrossed, their hopes 
 fixed upon each 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 coun- 
 tenances, gestures, smiles, and frowns 
 of the warriors, pawns, and knights, 
 were distinctly perceivable, 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
 
 ADA REIS. 155 
 
 of his foe ; he bit his lip, and turned to 
 his knights, ordering them forthwith 
 to charge ; the obedient troop obeyed 
 their lord. The two genii watched over 
 their respective armies, directing their 
 movements by signs, and now and then 
 by words, speaking lowly and myste- 
 riously in an unknown tongue. The 
 countenance of the youth was like Za- 
 mohr, only less serene ; and the playful 
 smile and the amorous glance were ex- 
 changed for deep thought and marked 
 anxiety. No anger, no violence, no 
 impatience were shown by him, as, 
 with a steady hand, he motioned his 
 commands. 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 an- 
 gelic smile, and varying complexion
 
 156 ADA REIS. 
 
 interested every one in his success ; 
 whilst his dark antagonist marshalled 
 his troops with an air of wild exulta- 
 tion, his form equal in beauty, but his 
 malevolent smile spreading terror into 
 every heart. To the gentle and timid 
 march of Zamohr he opposed hasty de- 
 cisions, and a rash but brilliant attack. 
 His countenance beamed with anima- 
 tion and fire ; his lips, like rubies, 
 parted only to smile with bitter taunt 
 or exulting triumph. 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 me- 
 ridian beam, then turned to the game, 
 as if secure of triumph. 
 
 That sun, however, descended be- 
 fore the awful contest ceased. The 
 white queen now made a successful 
 diversion to the left; she ventured, 
 unattended, even into the midst of the
 
 ADA RE IS. 157 
 
 enemy's quarters ; her presence caused 
 a terrible confusion in the dark ranks ; 
 a knight was lost whilst passaging his 
 horse to admiration, speaking to it in 
 manage terms as it performed its cara- 
 cols without one false step. But vain 
 was his skill ; he paid the forfeit of 
 his rashness. The black bishops now 
 advanced obliquely, pronouncing ana- 
 themas 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 offended 
 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
 
 158 ADA REIS. 
 
 the white side was now general ; whilst 
 shouts of triumph could distinctly, al- 
 though faintly, be heard from the op- 
 posite party. Indecision and fear in a 
 general is fatal. The Evil Principle 
 had no fear ; his eyes now shone like 
 blazing stars in a dark sky, and dazzled, 
 by their brightness and glare, his agi- 
 tated and half-conquered antagonist. 
 The youthful genius made another ir- 
 resolute move ; it was past recall, 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 chess- 
 men resumed their usual shape and 
 appearance. 
 
 Ada Reis remained gazing upon a 
 vacant space, Fiormonda in the same
 
 ADA REIS. 159 
 
 attitude stood for a moment in breath- 
 less 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 its triumphant 
 glance upon Fiormonda. His long 
 dark hair streamed wildly over his still 
 darker mantle, as, springing forward 
 with a leap, he shouted, " I have con- 
 quered, and won ! Give me my bride ! 
 Mount, mount, Ada Reis ; 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 set- 
 ting fire to your house. Ha ! ha ! do 
 vou tremble ? Away, then !"
 
 160 ADA REIS. 
 
 As he spoke, flames broke forth on 
 every side, and, amidst the deep smoke, 
 the 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 " 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 attack- 
 ing the Bey's guards and blacks now 
 overpowered every 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 Kabkarra, upon his white mare 
 Oriah, whilst Shaffou Paca, hoarsely 
 calling for assistance, was tied upon a
 
 ADA REIS. 161 
 
 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 ob- 
 scured every object ; the groans of 
 Shaffou Paca alone disturbed the si- 
 lence. Ada Reis saw that it was vain 
 to resist ; Fiormonda became insen- 
 sible ; Shaffou Paca fell into a trance. 
 " Women," Ada Reis remarks, " al- 
 ways have recourse to these practices 
 in every difficulty, but they seldom 
 die, being of all animals the most te- 
 nacious of life." He thought, how- 
 ever, that Fiormonda had been dead, 
 and he said so. 
 
 " Then let her die," replied Kab- 
 karra, insultingly, " a melancholy mo- 
 
 vol. 1. M
 
 162 ADA REIS. 
 
 nument of your tyranny, her own im- 
 prudence, and my ardent love." 
 
 " Do as you will," said Ada Reis, 
 who found himself on the open sea, in 
 the power of a young Arab chief. " Do 
 as you will, since we are entirely at 
 your mercy." 
 
 " I cannot," said Kabkarra, "power- 
 ful as you may think me, take pos- 
 session of Fiormonda by the law of 
 force ; I shall wait and watch for her 
 own consent." 
 
 " You seem in no way restrained in 
 the mean time," said Ada Reis, " and 
 I therefore conceive you will do what- 
 ever you like to do." 
 
 " And so shall you," said Kabkarra ; 
 " I desire you will, therefore, give me 
 your commands. Some like to know 
 their future fate ; yours runs thus : 
 Your polacca is at hand ; your men, by
 
 ADA IlEIS. 16 
 
 my order, await you ; you will hasten 
 hence, and sail for Spain j 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 acknowledge, you generally 
 do just the thing which is most dis- 
 agreeable ; yet we shall meet again, I 
 hope." 
 
 " We shall meet again," said Kab- 
 karra, " upon a dreadful night, just 
 five years hence, when this lovely, 
 flower, the admiration of all men, has 
 forgotten the lover of her childhood. 
 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
 
 164 ADA REIS. 
 
 at the fort of Callao, we shall meet. 
 Farewell ! And as to thee, mother,'' 
 continued Kabkarra, laughing, and 
 fiercely shaking Shaffou 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, Shaffou 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 
 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 thing was on board ; 
 Ada Reis's jewels, goods, coins, in 
 short, all he most valued, even Fior- 
 monda's marriage presents ; all but the
 
 ADA REIS. 165 
 
 chess-men, and the gifts of Zamohr. 
 Before he could enough rejoice at this 
 event, he turned round to thank Kab- 
 karra ; but he 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 nowlikethe delirium of fever, 
 all tended to disquiet 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
 
 166 ADA REIS. 
 
 to time vented her regrets. " What a 
 long, long way it is, dear father," she 
 would say, as the light galley pro- 
 ceeded. 
 
 " It is a long way, fair child," Ada 
 Ileis would reply ; " 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. 
 
 " I hope so," she would add; " for 1 
 pine for the sight of land."
 
 ADA REIS. 167 
 
 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 Fiormonda'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 light- 
 ning 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 affright- 
 ed sailors, as Ada Reis, roaring out his 
 hoarse commands, steered his vessel
 
 168 ADA REIS. 
 
 calmly forward amidst the general up- 
 roar and alarm ; but suddenly the 
 stranger vessel struck upon a rock, 
 and the shrieks of the drowning pas- 
 sengers rent the air. Amidst the 
 sinking crew of that little galley, one 
 man was observed at times, with lifted 
 head, labouring amongst the waves, 
 and driven towards them by the strong 
 current, and imploring assistance. 
 " Oh, save him! Ada Reis," said Fior- 
 monda, 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 Ada
 
 ADA REIS. 169 
 
 Reis were energetic j some also he 
 gave to the beautiful child, whose agi- 
 tation 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 young 
 stranger called himself, was Condul- 
 mar. He was of Venetian origin, but 
 had passed many years in South Ame- 
 rica ; 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 
 Fiormonda's most difficult questions, 
 with an intelligence and grace which 
 delighted her, though with some re-
 
 170 ADA REIS. 
 
 serve ; he seemed perfectly conversant 
 with America, and was of considerable 
 use to Ada Reis, in pointing out to 
 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 Spa- 
 nish Viceroy, so that he could faci- 
 litate Ada Reis's views in every re- 
 spect, and thought, by doing so, only 
 to show his grateful sense of the kind-* 
 ness done him in his former perilous 
 adventure. 
 
 After a short and prosperous voyage 
 they all arrived in safety at their de- 
 stined harbour. The young Count 
 Condulmar more than fulfilled his pro- 
 mises. Fiormonda was admired by 
 every one at the Spanish court. Ada
 
 ADA REIS. 171 
 
 Reis made such purchases as he thought 
 necessary; exchanged his vessel for a 
 sloop, better fitted for so long a voyage ; 
 and hearing with pleasure that Con- 
 dulmar was anxious to accompany him, 
 they set out for Carthagena, with every 
 favourable prospect before them. 
 
 At this period two great wars en- 
 grossed the attention of the new and 
 of the old world. England had de- 
 clared hostilities against Spain ; Ver- 
 non had already invested the town of 
 Porto Bello ; Anson was employed in 
 blockading Panama ; when the cry was 
 heard at Xauxa, beyond Tarma, and 
 the Indians making one desperate ef- 
 fort 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 ; even
 
 172 ADA REIS. 
 
 to the very walls of Lima they pushed 
 their efforts, albeit in vain. Tyranny 
 triumphed ; they were repulsed — sub- 
 jected once more to the Spanish yoke ; 
 and many of their wretched chiefs, 
 when taken alive, thrown into the 
 prisons of the inquisition.
 
 ADA REIS. I73 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Dangerous is it for the young and 
 the beautiful to take long voyages or 
 long journeys together ; side by side 
 they are placed near to each other, and 
 have greater opportunities of confiden- 
 tial intercourse than may fall to their 
 lot during whole years at home. On 
 board of the vessel Fiormonda neces- 
 sarily saw much of Condulmar. 
 
 Ada Reis had leisure to hear some 
 of the history of his new acquaintance, 
 who had met, it seemed, with many 
 very singular adventures, 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 ; 
 he was, for the most part, mournful,
 
 174 ADA REIS. 
 
 and he did but half open his thoughts 
 to his companions : there was an im- 
 penetrable depth Ada Reis could not 
 fathom : if looked upon suddenly, there 
 was a bitter smile upon his counte- 
 nance ; and when Ada Reis, speaking 
 of the unfortunate violence of his 
 temper and passions, acknowledged to 
 what lengths they were in the habit of 
 leading him ; Condulmar looked down, 
 and sighed, seeming to acknowledge, 
 that his own violence was greater. 
 To some it is a pleasure to communi- 
 cate their thoughts : great travellers, in 
 general, require no long acquaintance 
 before they open their minds to the 
 companions whom they meet with ; 
 experience has taught them to know 
 at once the degree to which they may 
 trust such temporary confidants ; and 
 the great variety of characters they have 
 partially studied in their career, gives
 
 ADA REIS. 175 
 
 them a general and immediate know- 
 ledge 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 conquer the settled and ob- 
 durate reserve. This dissimilarity of 
 disposition was strongly marked in the 
 different deportments of Ada Reis and 
 Condulmar. Ada Reis was gay, free, 
 fearless, and in a short time had in- 
 formed his companion of nearly every 
 thing which had befallen him. Con- 
 dulmar, on the contrary, was distant, 
 cold, and haughty ; seldom speaking 
 of himself or his own affairs, and im- 
 penetrable when questioned. Yet, after 
 a time, he suffered his coldness to give 
 way, and more particularly when con- 
 versing with Fiormonda, he relaxed 
 from his austerity ; his conversation 
 then grew animated ; a light vein of
 
 176 ADA REIS. 
 
 satire ran throughout it, and a not un- 
 pleasing contempt for the things of this 
 life. His thoughts were all original and 
 just, though the tone given to them, 
 by some deep inward feeling, was of a 
 bitter and melancholic nature. 
 
 Fiormonda, confiding and ardent, 
 listened often with admiration and de- 
 light to his remarks. She remained 
 alone with him upon the deck enjoy- 
 ing the freshness of the morning, and 
 the softer coolness of the evening. He 
 pleased her with descriptions of coun- 
 tries he had seen, and cities which ap- 
 peared 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 emotion in 
 her impetuous mind; yet he sang to 
 her of wars, of bloody deeds, of ambi- 
 tious hopes, of rebellion, of lawless 
 love ; and he imitated the wild war-
 
 ADA REIS. 177 
 
 whoop of the native Indians, who had 
 resisted the power of Spain and the 
 dominion of the Incas. 
 
 It is difficult to give any idea of days 
 passed thus, and of nights, when every 
 star shone forth with particular lustre ; 
 — when the sea-breeze, soft and cool, 
 refreshed and invigorated the frame, — 
 these were perilous moments for Fior- 
 monda. 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 that name he started ; " Is it 
 possible !" he said, " can it be that 
 you also have known that monster ! no 
 vol. 1, N
 
 178 ADA REIS. 
 
 words of mine are sufficient to paint 
 his perfidy and his atrocity." As he 
 said this the tears filled his eyes, and 
 with a look of almost indescribable ten- 
 derness, he said he could not think of 
 the danger she had been in, nor of the 
 ruin Kabkarra had caused to thousands 
 without horror. " The properties of 
 his gifts are but too well known to 
 me," he added ; " they are full of dan- 
 ger: these jewels, for example, when 
 worn near the inexperienced heart, 
 excite the passions and inflame the ima- 
 gination ; and need you these ? Alas ! 
 some sorcerer first invented these 
 charms to pervert innocent and cre- 
 dulous maids." 
 
 " How can things like these affect 
 the mind," said Fiormonda. 
 
 " Know you then of what the mind 
 is composed, that you ask this ? Until 
 it be found of what the mind and soul
 
 ADA REIS. 179 
 
 be formed, it is in vain to pretend that 
 material objects cannot affect them. 
 As the amber and the load-stone pos- 
 sess the property of attracting certain 
 matter, so congenial minds exercise a 
 mutual and reciprocal 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? I could prove 
 this to you, by the history of one who 
 died ; but it is a mournful history, and 
 you, my innocent child, must not be 
 made unhappy yet. To return, there- 
 fore, to these pernicious gifts ; Kab- 
 karra's power is imparted to these 
 jewels ; they are, as it were, impreg- 
 nated with his sentiments for you ; and 
 they being criminal, to place these 
 around your heart, will be to excite 
 
 N 2
 
 180 ADA REIS. 
 
 in that heart a desperate struggle, and 
 to subject it to a severe and doubtful 
 trial." 
 
 " I 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 Con- 
 dulmar. " 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 rather doubt their in- 
 tensity as well as their durability." 
 
 " I would I did not feel at all," said 
 Fiormonda, piqued at these taunts ; 
 " I feel with a violence which you 
 would not credit; that which causes 
 but little delight to another makes me
 
 ADA REIS. 181 
 
 happy; a fine day or a smile from one 
 I love; and, on the contrary, even a 
 harsh word makes me miserable." 
 
 " Shall I take thee, fair child," said 
 Condulmar with a bitter smile, " as we 
 are journeying to the new world, shall 
 I take thee to drink of the waters of 
 Guancaveli 38 , so boasted of by the Pe- 
 ruvians? the houses on its banks are 
 built from its petrifactions. If you 
 would cease to feel, come thither with 
 me." 
 
 " If you thus deride me, and laugh 
 at me, I shall fear you as well as Kab- 
 karra." 
 
 " All fear me," said Condulmar, 
 mournfully, " none love me. I stand 
 alone, like the manzanillo, or the lordly 
 metapalo, whose very growth slays and 
 impoverishes all around ; yet will you 
 attach yourself to me, Fiormonda. 
 Heaven knows, I wish it not ; but so
 
 182 ADA REIS. 
 
 it is decreed: it will give me pain, and 
 it will cause your destruction. " 
 
 " Good heaven!" she answered, 
 " what can you mean ?" 
 
 " What can I mean ?" said he, ten- 
 derly pressing her hand to his lips, 
 
 " It is no matter," she replied, em- 
 barrassed. " I wish not even to in- 
 quire." 
 
 " Alas !" he said, M could you know 
 who I am." 
 
 " Tell me who you are P What has 
 been your history ? You have told me 
 many things, speak to me now of your- 
 self. I like to hear of wonders and 
 adventures ; and as you say I am to 
 love you, that will be the way to my 
 heart, I assure you, for it made me 
 almost like Kabkarra." 
 
 <e Name him no more," said Con- 
 dulmar, frowning, " he did no more 
 than I have done."
 
 ADA REIS. 183 
 
 " You have been a great traveller, I 
 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 ; I have 
 been where the high mountains of gra- 
 nite take place of the blue hills in Pen- 
 delon 3 9, — and there I have gathered 
 adamantine spar as it fell from the 
 moon 40 ; in Virginia I have eat of the 
 fruit of that tree, which makes fools 
 of men 4i; and I, like Kabkarra, have 
 laughed with those who had eaten of 
 it, although it affected me not : but I 
 watched the multitude until they be- 
 came stupified with their own buf- 
 fooneries 42 . Ah, cannot the fruit of 
 the vine make men mad in other coun- 
 tries beside Virginia ? I have bathed, 
 at night, in the Gulf of Cariaco, and
 
 184 ADA REIS. 
 
 my body has become like a stream of 
 light 43 : 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, I have 
 played upon the soft clarionet, and an 
 hundred echoes have answered to the 
 strain 44 : will you go thither with me? 
 There shall I hear the voice of many 
 Fiormondas — now the world contains 
 for me but one. In Cumana I have 
 slept in the cavern of Guachero 45 , 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 pene-
 
 ADA REUS. 185 
 
 trated beyond ; all is silent and dark 
 on the outside of that grot, but the 
 vault within is full of light." 
 
 " Oh ! look not thus when you de- 
 scribe it," said Fiormonda, " for I 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 
 Parim£e 46 , and the Eldorado 4 7; 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 hor- 
 rors Potosi, Durangar, Guadalaxara, 
 have caused? Remember that the 
 mountains, where mines of silver have 
 been found, generate likewise the ar-
 
 186 ADA REIS. 
 
 senic and the deadly poison 4 ^ Thou, 
 Lake of Guativa 49 , art witness of this; 
 thou, into whose waters the poor In- 
 dians cast the hateful ore, which drew 
 upon them the murderous spirit of the 
 Spaniards ; and thou, Lake of Ibara, 
 art red with the blood of the mur- 
 dered so." 
 
 " 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." 
 
 " I would do so," said Condulmar, 
 " but, alas ! I begin to fear I am more 
 enslaved, more subdued, than the 
 young Indian." 
 
 " Leave, then, the Indian," said Fior- 
 monda, " and sing to me, as you once 
 did, the return of the English De
 
 ADA REIS. 187 
 
 Vaux 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 re- 
 flections in the hour of quiet and se- 
 curity." 
 
 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 seer'd by crime. 
 
 He stood on his castle tower to gaze 
 O'er the scenes which he long had left ; 
 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 to 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,
 
 188 ADA REIS. 
 
 " 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. 
 
 " 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. 
 
 " I have drank of pleasure the fatal draught, 
 
 I have given to passion the rein ; 
 
 With the scoffer I've scoff'd — with the infidel 
 
 laugh'd, 
 And reason has warn'd me in vain. 
 
 " I 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.
 
 ADA REIS. 189 
 
 f - 1 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 track, 
 And return'd with a wond'rous 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 ? 
 I but sought them their beauty and freshness to 
 
 blight, 
 And I left them their frailty to rue."
 
 190 ADA REIS. 
 
 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, he 
 turned to look upon Fiormonda; she 
 was sad, she knew not wherefore. They 
 can effect much who have the power 
 to touch and move the heart, to draw
 
 ADA REIS. 191 
 
 forth tears, and to lead us to mingle 
 our grief and sympathy with theirs ; 
 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 plea- 
 sure, make us laugh ; who banish me- 
 lancholy 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 af- 
 fect : 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 Fior- 
 monda: he won her by the flattery of at- 
 tention to her opinions : he struck her 
 with amazement at the adventures he 
 related: he filled her with curiosity: 
 he entirely engrossed her with solici- 
 tude and interest. The air of inco-
 
 1 ( J C 2 ADA REIS. 
 
 herency, of strangeness, of something 
 approaching even to derangement, 
 which sate upon his countenance, com- 
 pelled her to watch the changes of his 
 expression ; and he, upon his part, 
 sometimes attended her with the 
 greatest solicitude ; sometimes turned 
 from her with careless neglect ; some- 
 times reproved her with severe admo- 
 nition ; sometimes appalled her with 
 the dark look of sullen anger; and then 
 again re-assured her with all the fas- 
 cination of a lover's smile. His power 
 by this means became unbounded over 
 her mind. Had she been less innocent, 
 less pure, to what perversion 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 ; and the worst sentiment she 
 cherished was growing love. She was, 
 however, as many children are, restless,
 
 ADA REIS. 193 
 
 and at times violent : one day she re- 
 sisted her father's orders, Condulmar 
 approached her — " I love you the 
 better," he said, " for this spirit of in- 
 dependence ; but if you resist me, I 
 will draw from the lake of the valley of 
 Orcos 51 the famous gold chain which 
 the Inca Huana Capac made, and 
 placed there upon the birth of his son 
 Huescar, to confine you. When I saw 
 you first, I thought you fair and gentle ; 
 but, like the calm lake of Xicaragua 52 , 
 from whose bosom the mountain Omo- 
 tepec shoots forth its volumes of 
 flames, your angel semblance, I find, 
 is much disfigured by passion. I will, 
 however, tame you. Know you not 
 that I am destined to be your master ? 
 You shall travel with me, and see new 
 worlds." An eager glance of hope now 
 lighted Fiormonda's countenance. " I 
 have been," Condulmar said, " where 
 vol. 1. o
 
 194 Ada reis. 
 
 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 cap- 
 tivated admiring crowds. Will you 
 come with me to that country ?" 
 
 Fiormonda coloured, and said she 
 should be sorry to go thither ; for, con- 
 scious that her errors were number- 
 less, so would be, in that case, her de- 
 formities. 
 
 " But then what delight," replied 
 Condulmar, " to correct the blemishes 
 of your person, by amending the de- 
 fects of your heart. Passion, for ex- 
 ample,' ' he said, " renders you at times 
 unlovely." 
 
 " And you terrible," said Fiormonda.
 
 ADA REIS. 195 
 
 Alas ! she little guessed to what fear- 
 ful lengths these feelings would soon 
 carry her. She was no longer the happy 
 child she had been ; thoughts impressed 
 her mind above her years, and her heart 
 beat in tumult: passions, fierce and 
 wild, had already awakened her ima- 
 gination ; 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 ; 
 for as soon as I was asleep, they said it 
 was time to rise." 
 
 " You were happy," said Condul- 
 mar, with a sigh, " when you rested 
 
 o 2
 
 196 ADA UEIS. 
 
 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 ! I know you can sleep ; for yes- 
 terday evening I 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, " I am not 
 a fine lady : I know of none of these 
 things ; I speak from the heart only, 
 and therefore I am not believed. Oh, 
 I was happy, and rested once securely,
 
 ADA REIS. 197 
 
 and trusted myself, whilst I slept, to 
 Him who made me." 
 
 " The flowers and plants sleep, sweet 
 one," replied Condulmar : " the vege- 
 table world enjoys this state of blessed- 
 ness. At regular and stated periods 
 the plants send forth their odoriferous 
 emanations, then fold themselves up in 
 their silken leaves; infants enjoy re- 
 pose; all nature is harmonized; but 
 where the spirit is perturbed, it cannot 
 rest. Fiormonda, you who ask of me 
 to teach you how T to regain that tran- 
 quil 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 yes- 
 terday !" 
 
 " And yet," said she, smilingly, " I 
 am not unhappy, only I am disturbed ; 
 for I dreamt when I slept yesterday, 
 and it is as fatiguing as not sleeping
 
 198 ADA REIS. 
 
 at all. I dreamt an ugly dream, which 
 made me uncomfortable : yet I saw 
 you in my dream; 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 
 Condulmar, with a look of surprise. 
 "Come, tell me, child of my heart, what 
 is it you dreamt of; I am curious to 
 know." 
 
 " Last night," said Fiormonda, " I 
 thought I 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,
 
 ADA REIS. 199 
 
 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, and die there ; the greedy 
 vulture alone permitted to prey upon 
 those opening beauties, than to know 
 me, for I am — " 
 
 " Oh! say, what are you?" inter- 
 rupted Fiormonda. 
 
 " I am miserable," said Condulmar, 
 striking his hand upon his heart. " But 
 even this hard heart acknowledges the 
 beauty of innocence, and bows before 
 a child." 
 
 u - 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.
 
 200 ADA REIS. 
 
 Thy earthly senses cannot hear 
 
 The strains which ofttimes 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 ; 
 
 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 '11 tell thee now of cities rare, 
 
 Of gallant knights, and ladies fair;
 
 ADA REIS. # 199 
 
 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 driv'n, 
 
 And fix thy early faith in heav'n. 
 
 Yet would'st thou, my beloved, know 
 
 What my grief is, and whence my woe? — 
 
 'Tis that these eyes can never weep, 
 
 Tis that this spirit cannot sleep !" 
 
 " What mean you, Condulmar? — 
 say/' said Fiormonda, interrupting 
 him — " 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 weakened soul affright ;
 
 *200 ADA REIS. 
 
 When thoughts their mournful constant vigils 
 
 keep, 
 Remorse feeds on my heart, and will not let me 
 
 sleep 3 
 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 sooth and to 
 amuse her. 
 
 Thus as the swift vessel pursued its 
 course over the vast ocean, Fiormonda's 
 passions, like the rolling waves, back- 
 wards and forwards, ebbed and flowed. 
 Love, in all its first delights, opened 
 within that warm and guileless heart. 
 Reason in vain opposed the growing 
 infatuation : — of religion (her only safe-
 
 ADA REIS. 201 
 
 guard) she knew little. Various were 
 the impetuous feelings which alter- 
 nately 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 con- 
 sideration. Ada Reis had letters from 
 the Spanish government, which strongly 
 recommended him to the protection of 
 the viceroy. The sums he had ad- 
 vanced to the consulado 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.
 
 C 202 ADA KEIS. 
 
 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 Spa- 
 nish 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 ac- 
 complished girl, heiress of immense 
 riches, and surrounded by adoring 
 suitors. 
 
 Ada Reis had established himself at 
 Lima; he had purchased a magnificent 
 house near theviceroy's palace; he lived 
 in splendour; he dedicated much of his
 
 ADA REIS. 203 
 
 time to the cultivation of FiormondVs 
 mind, who grew every day more and 
 more beautiful, but likewise more fond 
 of power and admiration ; he had 
 hitherto kept her strictly according to 
 the customs of the country he had left, 
 seldom permitting 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 Condulmar was per- 
 mitted 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.
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Note 1, page xvi. 
 Like Humboldt. 
 M. Humboldt, le 23 Juin 1802, apres avoir 
 monte sur les Andes a 2773 toises de hauteur, 
 fut oblige de redescendre, parce que le mercure 
 etoit descendu a 14 pouces 7 lignes, et que la 
 densite de Pair lui faisait sortir le sang des 
 levres, des gencives, et des yeux. Ce savant 
 n'a vu ni en Hongrie, ni en Saxe, ni aux 
 Pyrenees, des montagnes aussi irregulieres 
 que dans les Andes, et qui off'rent autant de 
 substances diverses ; enfin qui devoilent les re- 
 volutions etonnantes de la nature. — U Europe 
 et TAmerique comparee, vol. i. p. 37. 
 
 Note 2, page xvi. 
 Like Park, 
 Extract from Amadi Fatouma's Journal : —
 
 206 NOTES. 
 
 " We departed from Sansanding in a canoe ; 
 there were Mr. Park, Mr. Martyn, three other 
 white men, myself, and three slaves, &c. &c. 
 
 " 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 occa- 
 sioned 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 horseback, 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
 
 NOTES. 207 
 
 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 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, not- 
 withstanding, attempted to pass. The people 
 began to attack him, throwing lances, pikes, 
 arrows, and stones. Mr. Park defended him- 
 self 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 numbers, 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 remaining in the canoe 
 was taken to the king, and confirmed this ac- 
 count." — Amadi Fatouma's Journal.
 
 208 NOTES. 
 
 Note 3, page xviii. 
 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 de la Nature, t. xi. p. 202. 
 
 A Tombre des massifs de palmiers, leur 
 couleur passe au noir fonce, mais dans des 
 vaisseaux transparens, les eaux sont d\m jaune 
 dore. L'image des constellations australes se 
 reflet avec un eclat singulier dans ces rivieres 
 noires. — p. 191. 
 
 JPai remarque que Teau qui sortoit du Rio 
 de Guayaquil prenoit graduellement une teinte 
 jaune doree, puis couleure de cafe quand elle 
 avoit sejourne pendant quelque temps sur les 
 prairies. — p. 192. — Tableau de la Nature, 
 
 Note 4, page xix. 
 
 In a pirogue. 
 
 L'on confie les canots vides, appelles ici 
 
 pirogues, a des naturels qui connoissent bien 
 
 leRaudal et en designent chaque degre, chaque
 
 NOTES. 209 
 
 roche, par un nom particulier. — Tableau de la 
 Nature, p. 210. 
 
 Note 5, page xix. 
 
 Like the golden serpent with the bell, Sfc. 
 
 Le Serpent (Tor, ou le Serpent a Sonnettes, 
 que les Indiens nomment Curi-Mullinvo, est 
 fort remarquable : ce nom lui a ete donne a 
 cause d'une peau de couleur d'or, et tavelee 
 comme celle des tigres ; car Curt, en Indien, 
 signifie or. Cette peau est toute couverte 
 d^ecailles, et la figure du reptile merae est af- 
 freuse, la tete est d'une grosseur demesuree, 
 et le corps a proportion, sa gueule est armee 
 de deux rangs de dents et de crochets aussi 
 grands et plus aigus que ceux des chiens or- 
 dinaires. — Voyage au Perm, par Dom George 
 Juan, t. ii. p. 305. 
 
 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. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 210 NOTES. 
 
 Note 6, page xxi. 
 Of that song returned. 
 
 The late Lord Bathurst had much fre- 
 quented 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 instant 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 hath 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
 
 NOTES. 211 
 
 the best of my recollection, and affords a strong 
 instance of musical memory being very perfect 
 even in that late stage of life. It need scarcely 
 be observed that he could not probably have 
 heard this song for more than threescore years. 
 — Harrington's Miscellanies, p. 323. 
 
 Note 7, page xxii. 
 Manzanillo grows upon her grave. 
 Manzanillo, from Manzana, an apple. — A 
 tree remarkable for its beauty and variegated 
 wood, the golden fruit of which is very at- 
 tractive, but contains 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 5. 
 
 Reis. 
 
 Captain in the navy. — Tully\s Tripoly. 
 
 Note 9, page 7. 
 Pasha. 
 The Turkish word paschaw is formed of 
 
 p2
 
 212 NOTES. 
 
 two Persian words, pa-sehab, which literally 
 signifies viceroy. — Volney's Egypt, vol. ii. 
 p. 78. 
 
 Note 10, page 7. 
 Bey. 
 A title often conferred upon the Pasha's 
 eldest son, and Prince of Tripoly. — Tully's 
 Tripohj, p. 32. 
 
 Note 11, page 11. 
 Care of the Pasha's harem. 
 Ada Iteis's harem was not kept with as 
 much regularity and strictness as the Grand 
 Signior's seraglio or harem. — The seraglio 
 means the enclosure 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 gates, two of which are 
 magnificent. From one of these the Ottoman 
 Porte takes the name of " Sublime Porte/ 1 
 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.
 
 NOTES. 213 
 
 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 rotation : the last who 
 enters serves her who entered 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 gardens of the seraglio is 
 made known to the Caton-Ciaha (or governess 
 of the harem), all persons are ordered to retire.
 
 214 NOTES. 
 
 A guard of black eunuchs is ordered to place 
 itself along the walls of the gardens 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 the eldest son of the Grand Signior 
 is called AsaM, 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 first, or Sultaness Mother ; 
 but they are served apart, have state apart- 
 ments assigned them, 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' Residence at 
 Tripoli, p. 36. 
 
 Note 12/page 11. 
 Lilla. 
 Lilla, means in Moorish a lady; as Lilla 
 Kebbierra. — Tully's Tripoli/.
 
 NOTES. C 215 
 
 Note 13, page 13. 
 A Damascus blade. 
 These scimitars, besides being famous for 
 their beauty and lightness, have the steel so 
 impregnated with perfume in the manufac- 
 turing of them, that their fragrance can never 
 be destroyed, while a piece of this extraor- 
 dinary blade remains. Their price is from 
 fifty to one hundred guineas, the blade only ; 
 imitations of them, which are superficially per- 
 fumed, are bought for a much less price. — 
 Tully's Tripoli/, p. 145. 
 
 Note 14, page 14. 
 Pierced by 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 some- 
 times drenched by heavy rains. — Tully's 
 Tripoly, p. 173. 
 
 Note 15, page 15. 
 Bags of gold dust. 
 The people here may be said to walk upon 
 gold. This precious ore is sifted for on the
 
 2l6 NOTES. 
 
 sea-shore, and taken up in very small quan- 
 tities ; 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, re- 
 mains 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 they call ingots, and they are 
 known by the same name in India. These 
 bars of gold are of various sizes. — Tully\s 
 Tripoly, p. 27. 
 
 Note 16, page 16. 
 Wandering tribe to which he appeared to 
 
 belong. 
 The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael,
 
 NOTES. 217 
 
 of whom the angel foretold before he was 
 born, that he would be a wild man, and that 
 kt his hand would be against every man, and 
 every man's hand against him," (Gen. chap. 6. 
 v. 12.) this is almost literally true of his pos- 
 terity, 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 go- 
 verned 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 fighting 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 
 year of the Hegira, by permission of the Califf 
 of Cawen. — Shaw's Travels through Arabia, 
 p. 221. — Le Sage, Atlas Historique. 
 
 There is a horde called the unvanquished
 
 218 NOTES. 
 
 horde, from their living in places were none 
 can penetrate but themselves; many sove- 
 reigns have attempted to subdue them, but 
 none have ever been successful ; 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 some- 
 times 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 in- 
 habitants of this country. — Tully's Tripoly, 
 p. 171.
 
 NOTES. 
 
 219 
 
 Note 17, page 17. 
 You are not an Arab sheik. 
 A Sheik is the chief of a tribe of Arabs : 
 they are divided into a multiplicity of govern- 
 ments, and pride themselves on their descent. 
 
 Note 18, page 17. 
 Belted girdle. 
 He wore a curious wrought belt (of a ma- 
 nufacture peculiar to this country and the 
 hand of an Arab), ingeniously woven in a 
 variety of figures resembling Arabic cha- 
 racters ; it was wound several times, tight and 
 even, round his 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^ Tripoli/, 
 p. 171. 
 
 Note 19, page 18. 
 Which once resisted the Hampers shawl. 
 While Ben Shabbon and his son thus stood 
 debating, they perceived within the Skiffer
 
 220 NOTES. 
 
 two Hampers looking at them with their hands 
 behind them. These two guards were the 
 only people they saw. The Hampers let Ben 
 Shabbon, 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 Tri- 
 poli/, p. 163. 
 
 Note 20, page 21. 
 And drank of the lakaby 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
 
 NOTES. 221 
 
 at the rate of two gallons a day. It is cus- 
 tomary 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, 
 when cut out, from ten to twenty pounds ; it 
 is not of a substance to take out 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 consistence, but combines 
 a variety of exquisite flavours that cannot be 
 described. — Tully's Tripoty, p. 50.
 
 222 NOTES. 
 
 Note 21, page 23. 
 
 Was offered the place of the great Chiah. 
 
 The office of great Chiah is an honorary 
 situation, producing no emolument. He com- 
 mands 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 before 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 marine ; otherwise 
 it only plays for the Pasha. — Tully's Tri- 
 poli/. 
 
 Note 22, page 39. 
 To inhale the inbat. 
 The warm air abates nothing of its oppres- 
 sion till a sudden cool breeze arises from the 
 sea, which happens regularly every afternoon 
 during these intense heats; but this sea air 
 rusts all sorts of steel work even in the pocket, 
 and will wet a person's dress entirely through
 
 NOTES. 223 
 
 in a very few minutes. — Tully's Tripoli/, 
 p. 59. 
 
 Note 23, page 40. 
 Partake of his pipe and sherbet. 
 The beverage was various sherbets : some 
 composed 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 co- 
 piously supplied in high glass ewers, placed 
 in great numbers on the ground. — Tully's 
 Tripoli/, p. 137. 
 
 Note 24, page 41. 
 
 When the marabut sounded to announce the 
 
 prayer at sun-set. 
 
 Let a Moor be where he may, when he hears 
 the Marabut announce the prayer for sun-set, 
 nothing induces him to pass that moment 
 without prostrating himself on the ground. — 
 Page 25. 
 
 We met one of the noted Moorish saints or 
 holy men — this man, contrary to the general 
 appearance of these Marabuts, was tolerably
 
 224 NOTES. 
 
 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 
 consists 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 returning from the Pasha, with 
 whom he had had a long private audience. 
 His appearance, from the furious and strange 
 gestures he made, with an immense large living 
 snake round his shoulders, was truly terrific, 
 though we were all aware of the unfortunate 
 reptile having been rendered harmless by the 
 wearer's extracting its sting before he attempted 
 to impose on the credulous in making them 
 believe he alone was exempt from death by the 
 reptile's touch. 
 
 The devotion of another order of the Ma- 
 rabuts consists in wounding themselves, affect- 
 ing madness, and walking the streets almost 
 naked, or dancing religious dances for many 
 hours, during which they incessantly scream
 
 NOTES. 2 L 2«5 
 
 out one of their names of the deity. They at 
 last throw themselves 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. — Tully's Tripoli/, p. 102. 
 The name of Marabut is given both to the 
 mosque, and to the saint or holy man who re- 
 sides at it. Iman is the crier to prayers, and 
 Shrief a churchman of an order belonging to 
 Mecca. — See Tolly's Tripoli/. 
 
 Note 25, page 41. 
 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 be- 
 tween sun-set and sun-rise. This fast is rigidly 
 observed. — Blaquiere's Letters, vol. ii. p. 59. 
 
 Note 26, page 41. 
 The batteries announced the feast of Beiram. 
 The morning after this fast (Ramadan) the 
 VOL. i. q.
 
 226 NOTES. 
 
 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 dressed in all 
 kinds of strange and awkward garbs, resem- 
 bling nothing in heaven above, or in the earth 
 beneath. Though they call themselves lions, 
 camels, &c. 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 ex- 
 tremely 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 Mahomet, 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
 
 NOTES. 227 
 
 or four days, it is dangerous for Christians to 
 go into the streets. In the consuls'' houses a 
 table is set out in the courtyard, 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 are 
 illuminated. The town not being otherwise 
 lighted, but totally dark, shows to great ad- 
 vantage 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 gentlemen 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 
 
 q2
 
 228 NOTES. 
 
 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 cinnamon, cloves, 
 and nutmeg. The Moors, when at these coffee 
 houses, are waited on by their own black ser- 
 vants, 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 dis- 
 course, marking with the fore-finger of the 
 right hand upon the palm of the left, as ac- 
 curately as we do with a pen, the different 
 parts of his speech, a comma, a quotation, or 
 a striking passage. 
 
 This renders their manner of conversing 
 very singular, and an European, who is not 
 used to this part of their discourse, is at a per- 
 fect loss to understand 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 oVlock ; it was crowded with 
 the first people in the place, on each side, most
 
 NOTES. 229 
 
 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. — Tully's Tripoli/, p. 16. 
 
 Note 27, page 50. 
 And her eyes, which saw even more than other 
 eyes can see, never looked in the same di- 
 rection. 
 
 During my residence in the country, I had 
 frequent opportunities of examining that most 
 singular of the animal productions, the came- 
 leon. 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 darting 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 singular 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
 
 230 NOTES. 
 
 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 
 Gibraltar to Morocco, by William Lem- 
 
 PRIERE, p. 91. 
 
 Note 28, page 54. 
 A favourite golpha. 
 The golphas and best rooms in the country 
 houses are sometimes delightfully relieved by 
 a considerable 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 painted in Mosaic. 
 In the inner court belonging to the house is a 
 gebbia or reservoir, continually filled with fresh 
 water from the wells near it, and which flows 
 through it into the gardens ; it is surrounded 
 with a parapet of marble, and a flight of mar- 
 ble steps leads into it. There is only a broad 
 walk left round it, which is paved 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
 
 NOTES. 231 
 
 delightful during the extreme heat. — Tully's 
 Trijwlg, p. 53. 
 
 Note 29, page 57. 
 A light Persian jelique. 
 Her chemise was covered with gold em- 
 broidery 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 coral and 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 of transparent 
 gauze ornamented with gold. 
 
 Note 30, page 58. 
 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 thick- 
 ness : each of these weigh four pounds. None
 
 ( 23 c 2 NOTES. 
 
 but the Pasha's daughters and grand-daugh- 
 ters, are permitted to wear this ornament in 
 gold; ladies who are not of the blood royal 
 are obliged to confine themselves, in this ar- 
 ticle of dress, to silver. — Tully's Tripoli/, 
 p. 81. 
 
 Note 81, page 58. 
 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 be- 
 stowed upon it, she wetted her finger and 
 passed it across the forehead of the baby ; pro- 
 nouncing, at the same instant, the words, 
 " AH Barick,"' (a prayer to Mahomet, to pre- 
 serve it from " bad eyes," or malicious ob- 
 servers.) — Tully's Tripoli/, p. 136. — De- 
 scription of the visit to Lilla Uducia, the day 
 after her accouchement.
 
 NOTES. 233 
 
 Note 32, page 64. 
 Small as the Indian piccqflore. 
 The gardens of all kinds in the villages are 
 much frequented by a bird very remarkable 
 both for its smallness 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 them. Its proper 
 name is quinde, though it is also known by 
 those of rabilargo and lisongero, and in Eng- 
 land 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 wings 
 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, as it were, with streaks of gold. 
 Of this bird also there are various species, di- 
 stinguished by their size and colours. This is
 
 234 NOTES. 
 
 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. 477. 
 
 Note 34, page 79. 
 Salem Alicum. 
 " Bo 'here peace between us." " There is 
 peace between us.'" 
 
 Note 35, page 102. 
 Already a family of children. 
 The Moors marry so very young, that the 
 mother and her first-born are often seen to- 
 gether as playmates, 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 generation. — Tully's Tri- 
 poly, p. 30.
 
 NOTES. 235 
 
 Note 36, page 143. 
 The nub a 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 
 European ear : they are composed of a Tur- 
 buka, a sort of kettle-drum, the reed and 
 timbrel ; the Turbuka belongs to the Moors, 
 the reed and timbrel to the blacks. — Tully's 
 Tripoli/, p. 28. 
 
 Note 37, page 148. 
 Give me your signet-ring. 
 The town has been in some commotion to- 
 day, from a general search having been made 
 by the guards for Sidy Hamefs 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 
 royal signets 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 de-
 
 236 NOTES. 
 
 stroyed when the seal is made ; and as they 
 never suffer it to be taken away from then- 
 persons day or night, they do not fear its being 
 counterfeited. — Tully^ Tripoli/, p. 162. 
 
 Note 38, page 181. 
 To drink of the waters of Guancaveli. 
 Dans la ville de Guancaveli, au Perou, on 
 montre une fontaine dont Teau, dit-on, se 
 change si promptement en pierres, que la plu- 
 part des maisons sont baties de cette petrifac- 
 tion. — V Europe et VAmerique comparees, par 
 M. Drouin de Bercy, p. 551. 
 
 Note 42, page 183. 
 Stupified with their own buffooneries. 
 Aux environs de James Town, en Virginie, 
 il croit un arbre dont la pomme, lorsqu'elle 
 est cuite, produit les effets les plus etranges. 
 Quelques Anglais, ignorant ses dangereuses 
 proprietes, s'empresserent d'en manger: au 
 meme instant, ils devinrent tous imbecilles 
 pendant pleusieurs jours. L'un passait le 
 temps a souffler des plumes en Fair : un autre 
 a lancer des pailles ; un troisieme s'accroupis-
 
 NOTES. 237 
 
 sait dans un coin, faisant les grimaces 6Vun 
 singe; un quatrieme ne cessait cTembrasser 
 ceux qu'il rencontrait, et leur riait au nez 
 avec mille postures bouffonnes. On fut oblige 
 de les renfermer Tespace de onze jours que 
 dura cette frenezie. L'usage de la raison leur 
 revint, sans aucun souvenir de ce qui leur 
 etait arrive. — JO Europe et VAmerique com- 
 parees par M. Drouin de Bercy, p. 54. 
 
 Note 43, page 184. 
 A stream of light. 
 Quand on se baigne le soir dans le golfe de 
 Cariaco pres de Cumana, quelques parties du 
 corps restent lumineuses au sortir de Teau. 
 La mer, entre les tropiques, est lumineuse a 
 toutes les temperatures. — M. Drouin de 
 Bercy. 
 
 Note 44, page 184. 
 A hundred echoes have answered to the strain. 
 Apres avoir navigue sur le fleuve du Poto- 
 mack, dans la Pensylvanie, on arrive dans un 
 certain endroit, a travers les Montagnes Bleues, 
 ou Ton entend les echos les plus extraordinaires
 
 238 NOTES. 
 
 quHl y ait au monde. Ailleurs (dit Jean de 
 Crevecceur, ecrivain et cultivateur Americain) 
 ils balbutient; ici ils s'expriment distinctement. 
 Nulle pars ils ne sont aussi nombreux ni aussi 
 attentifs a repondre. Les intonations de leurs 
 voix ressemblent aux conversations de pcr- 
 sonnes placees a des hauteurs et a des di- 
 stances difFerentes. Les uns vous parlent a 
 Poreille ; la voix des autres est plus forte, leurs 
 accens mieux prononces : les uns vous repon- 
 dent sur-le-champ ; les autres apres une cer- 
 taine intervalle, comme s'ils pensaient avant de 
 parler ; quelquefois ils s'ecrient tous ensemble. 
 Cest surtout quand on rit, que le melange de 
 leurs eclats rend Terreur complete. Lorsque 
 les vaisseaux approchent du rivage en lou- 
 voyant, il est impossible de ne pas croire 
 entendre des personnes assises derriere les 
 rochers; ceux qui repondent du haut des 
 montagnes le font toujours si distinctement que 
 Pceil, guide par Toreille, croit apercevoir Tarbre 
 derriere lequel ils sont tapis, ces Hamadry- 
 ades entendent toutes les langues, et repetent 
 avec plaisir les chansons des voyageurs. Joue- 
 t-on de la flute ou de la clarinette, elles imitent
 
 NOTES. 239 
 
 a Tinstant 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 repondent a-la- 
 fois on les uns apres les autres, ou qui se re- 
 petent a eux memes apres qu'ils vous out parle. 
 — U Europe et VAmerique comparees, p. 64. 
 
 Note 45, page 184. 
 / have slept in the cavern of Guachero. 
 La Province de Cumana fournit une curio- 
 site naturelle digne de remarque, dans la 
 caverne du Guachero, dont le nom lui vient 
 d'un oiseau qui habite dans rinterieur de la 
 grotte, qui y multiplie d'une maniere prodi- 
 gieuse, inconnue aux naturalistes d'Europe, 
 et qui offre le premier exemple d'un oiseau 
 nocturne parmi les passereaux dentirostres. 
 II 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 dliuile, le 
 nombre n'en diminue pas. lis attachent leurs 
 nids a la longue voiite de la caverne, et quand
 
 240 NOTES, 
 
 on y penetre a la lueur des flambeaux, ces 
 oiseaux effrayes poussent des cris tels que les 
 Indiens, effrayes a. leur tour, nosent jamais 
 avancer jusqu'au fond de la grotte. lis at- 
 tachent des idees superstitieuses a. cet antre 
 habite par des oiseaux de nuit, et d'ou sort 
 le rio Caripe. Cest leur Tartare, leur Styx : 
 ce sont leurs oiseaux stygiens. — V Europe et 
 VAmerique comparees, par M. Drouin de 
 Bercy, p. 49. 
 
 Note 46, page 185. 
 Silver hill of Parimee, SfC. 
 Selon la tradition de plusiers naturels, les 
 nuees de Magellan du ciel austral, et meme les 
 magnifiques nebuleuses du vaisseau Argo^ ne 
 sont que le reflet de l'eclat metallique que 
 jette la montagne d'argent de Parime, &c. — 
 Tableau de la Nature, p. 188. Humboldt. 
 
 Note 47, page 185. 
 The Eldorado, $c. 
 Le Lac Parimee est fameux par le rocher 
 de talc qui reflechit comme un miroir les
 
 NOTES. 241 
 
 rayons dores du soleil ce qui a fait croire long- 
 temps que les rues de la ville d'Eldorado 
 etaient pavees d'or. 
 
 Note 48, page 186. 
 Mines which produce silver. 
 
 Les mines d'argent de Sainte-Maries dans les 
 Vosges, de Bassory, dans les Pyrenees, de Cha- 
 langes pres d'Allemont en Dauphine, enfin 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, &c. Ces fameuses mines 
 d^rgent du Potosi, apres avoir enrichi le monde 
 pendant plusieurs siecles, sont encore aujour- 
 d'hui une source intarissable de richesses. — 
 L' Europe et FAmerique compart es^ p. 65. 
 
 In most of these mines, arsenic is found in 
 combination with the silver : also antimony and 
 copper. 
 
 Note 49, page 186. 
 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 
 vol. I. R
 
 242 NOTES. 
 
 (Tor que les Indiens y jeterent, lors de la con- 
 quete de leur pays par les Espagnols. — 
 U Europe et VAmerique comparees, p. 77. 
 
 Note 50, page 186. 
 And thou, lake oflbara, art red with the blood 
 of the murdered. 
 Le Lac d'Ibara, fameux dans Thistoire des 
 Incas, fut surnomme le Lac de Sang, pour 
 avoir ete le tombeau d'une multitude d'Indiens 
 qu'un Empereur y faisait jeter, a mesure qu'on 
 les egorgaient sous ses yeux : ses eaux en furent 
 rougies pendant quelque temps, ce qui lui fit 
 donner le nom de Lac de Sang. — V Europe 
 et VAmerique comparees, p. 78. 
 
 Note 51, page 193. 
 Valley of Or cos. 
 Dans le Perou, le Lac de la vallee d'Orcos 
 est cite pour contenir dans son sein, la fameuse 
 chaine d'or que Tinea, Huayna-Capac, avoit 
 fait fabriquer lors de la naissance de son fils 
 Huescar. — L? Europe et VAmerique comparees, 
 p. 78. 
 
 The first I?ica, or Inga, the people of Peru
 
 NOTES. 243 
 
 mention 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 conquered the country. 
 
 It is to be observed, that Inga, among the 
 Peruvians, signifies King or Emperor: and 
 Capac Inga y the only King, which was the title 
 they gave their sovereigns ; all the male issue 
 being called Ingas, and the queen Coy as. — 
 See Historical Account of Peru, taken from 
 Herrera's History of America. 
 
 Note 52, page 193. 
 Like the calm lake of Xicaragua 9 from whose 
 
 bosom the mountain Omotepec shoots forth 
 
 its volumes of fames. 
 
 Le Lac de Xicaragua s'etend, en longueur, 
 a plus de 60 lieues, et en largeur 91 lieues ; 
 TOmotepec elance son sommet enflamme du 
 sein de ce Lac. — U Europe et VAmerique com- 
 parees, p. 76. 
 
 END OF VOL. I.
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTER B7 THOMAS DAVISON, WMTEFRIARS.
 
 ■ %* : .