Told in the Coffee House: Turkish Tales. Allan Ramsay

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СКАЧАТЬ sign one day attracted the eyes and mind of a Hanoum (Turkish lady). Seeing that Abdul was a manly youth, she went to him and said:

      "Hodja, I have a difficult letter to write. I have heard that thou art very wise, so I have come to thee. To write the letter thou wilt need all thy wit. Moreover, the letter is a long one, and I cannot stand here while it is being written. Come to my Konak (house) at three this afternoon, and we will write the letter."

      The Hodja was overcome with admiration for his fair client, and surprised at the invitation. He was enchanted, his heart beat wildly, and so great was his agitation that his reply of acquiescence was scarcely audible.

      The invitation had more than the charm of novelty to make it attractive. He had never talked with a woman outside of his own family circle. To be admitted to a lady's house was in itself an adventure.

      Long before the appointed time, the young Hodja—impetuous youth—gathered together his reeds, ink, and sand. With feverish step he wended his way to the house. Lattices covered the windows, a high wall surrounded the garden, and a ponderous gate barred the entrance. Thrice he raised the massive knocker.

      "Who is there?" called a voice from within.

      "The scribe," was the reply.

      "It is well," said the porter; the gate was unbarred, and the Hodja permitted to enter. Directly he was ushered into the apartment of his fair client.

      The lady welcomed him cordially.

      "Ah! Hodja Effendi, I am glad to see you; pray sit down."

      The Hodja nervously pulled out his writing-implements.

      "Do not be in such a hurry," said the lady. "Refresh yourself; take a cup of coffee, smoke a cigarette, and we will write the letter afterwards."

      So he lit a cigarette, drank a cup of coffee, and they fell to talking. Time flew; the minutes seemed like seconds, and the hours were as minutes. While they were thus enjoying themselves there suddenly came a heavy knock at the gate.

      "It is my husband, the Pasha," cried the lady. "What shall I do? If he finds you here, he will kill you! I am so frightened."

      The Hodja was frightened too. Again there came a knock at the gate.

      "I have it," and taking Abdul by the arm, she said, "you must get into the box," indicating a large chest in the room. "Quick, quick, if you prize your life utter not a word, and Inshallah I will save you."

      Abdul now, too late, saw his folly. It was his want of experience; but driven by the sense of danger, he entered the chest; the lady locked it and took the key.

      A moment afterwards the Pasha came in.

      "I am very tired," he said; "bring me coffee and a chibook."

      "Good evening, Pasha Effendi," said the lady. "Sit down. I have something to tell you."

       "Bah!" said the Pasha; "I want none of your woman's talk; 'the hair of woman is long, and her wits are short,' says the proverb. Bring me my pipe."

      "But, Pasha Effendi," said the lady, "I have had an adventure to-day."

      "Bah!" said the Pasha; "what adventure can a woman have—forgot to paint your eyebrows or color your nails, I suppose."

      "No, Pasha Effendi. Be patient, and I will tell you. I went out to-day to write a letter."

      "A letter?" said the Pasha; "to whom would you write a letter?"

      "Be patient," she said, "and I will tell you my story. So I came to the box of a young scribe with beautiful eyes."

      "A young man with beautiful eyes," shouted the Pasha. "Where is he? I'll kill him!" and he drew his sword.

      The Hodja in the chest heard every word and trembled in every limb.

      "Be patient, Pasha Effendi; I said I had an adventure, and you did not believe me. I told the young man that the letter was long, and I could not stand in the street to write it. So I asked him to come and see me this afternoon."

      "Here? to this house?" thundered the Pasha.

      "Yes, Pasha Effendi," said the lady. "So the Hodja came here, and I gave him coffee and a cigarette, and we talked, and the minutes seemed like seconds, and the hours were as minutes. All at once came your knock at the gate, and I said to the Hodja, 'That is the Pasha; and if he finds you here, he will kill you.'"

      "And I will kill him," screamed the Pasha, "where is he?"

      "Be patient, Pasha Effendi," said the lady, "and I will tell you. When you knocked a second time, I suddenly thought of the chest, and I put the Hodja in."

      "Let me at him!" screamed the Pasha. "I'll cut off his head!"

      "O Pasha," she said, "what a hurry you are in to slay this comely youth. He is your prey; he cannot escape you. The youth is not only in the box, but it is locked, and the key is in my pocket. Here it is."

      The lady walked over to the Pasha, stretched out her hand and gave him the key.

      As he took it, she said:

      "Philopena!"

      "Bah!" said the Pasha, in disgust. He threw the key on the floor and left the harem, slamming the door behind him.

      After he had gone, the lady took up the key, unlocked the door, and let out the trembling Hodja.

      "Go now, Hodja, to your box," she said. "Take down your sign and write instead: 'The wit of woman is twofold the wit of man,' for I am a woman, and in one day I have fooled two men."

THE HANOUM AND THE UNJUST CADI

       Table of Contents

      t was, and still is, in some parts of Constantinople, the custom of the refuse-gatherer to go about the streets with a basket on his back, and a wooden shovel in his hand, calling out 'refuse removed.'

      A certain Chepdji, plying his trade, had, in the course of five years of assiduous labor, amassed, to him, the no unimportant sum of five hundred piasters. He was afraid to keep this money by him; so hearing the Cadi of Stamboul highly and reverently spoken of, he decided to entrust his hard-earned savings to the Cadi's keeping.

      Going to the Cadi, he said: "Oh learned and righteous man, for five long years have I labored, carrying the dregs and dross of rich and poor alike, and I have saved a sum of five hundred piasters. With the help of Allah, in another two years I shall have saved a further sum of at least one hundred piasters, when, Inshallah, I shall return to my country and clasp my wife and children again. In the meantime you will be granting a boon to your slave, if you will consent to keep this money for me until the time for departure has come."

      The Cadi replied: "Thou hast done well, my son; the money will be kept and given to thee when required."

      The СКАЧАТЬ