This unhappy Reflection created in me such a dread that I resolved to continue in my Disguise The Bashaw treated me after such a manner as confirmed me in my apprehension but I had not place left to doubt of my Misfortune when that calling for me one day he told me how he had a great Esteem for me nay and that he found himself disposed to love me That it was my part to compleat by my Complaisance and Affection for his Person what my good Fortune had begun The Trouble which appeared in my Looks after this Declaration having quickly let him know that this rendred me uneasie he continued speaking to me and told me That I needed not to stand in fear of any Violence from him not being of the Humour of other Patrons who attain to by main Force what is refus'd 'em out of Kindness That very far from having the thought of making use of the Authority he had over me as his Slave he was so nice in Love he would be convinced I had an Inclination for him before he could resolve upon loving me This last Discourse having encouraged me again he went away without staying for my Answer and spent several days without saying to me a word more His Silence made me judge he had always spoke to me with sincerity until that having presented me with a very rich Robe and very different from that of the other Slaves he told me That he made me that Present to engage me to please him out of Acknowledgement since I could not do it out of Inclination I made him answer That I relied much upon his Generosity and that I was persuaded he would not force me to do any thing that was contrary to my Religion and my Duty Never fear it replied he to me my Word is inviolable I have given it you and that is sufficient I was so persuaded of the great Generosity of my Bashaw that I began to breathe and find my Condition less unhappy However a modest Air which I affected for the better maintaining my Personage and the application I had to acquit my self of such thing as were committed to my Care perfectly inflamed him The little disposition he saw me have to love him rendred him very pettish and I perceived that his Wives who had all imaginable Complaisance for him endeavoured to divert him all in vain One of those whom he loved most called Salama having perceived by his Sighs that he had some Passion in his Head knew so well how to make use of the good Opinion the Bashaw had of her that he owned to her at length that I had inspired him with Love As the Turkish Women are accustomed to such like Infidelities and that they are not so much as allowed to shew the least Jealousie for fear of irritating their Husbands by opposing what they desire Salama had not the least thought of blaming him On the contrary she commended him in having made so good a choice and promised him to speak to me in his favour for the letting me know of what consequence it was to me to lay hold on my good Fortune The Bashaw very much satisfied with an Offer which so highly flattered his Desires desired her to go about it with all possible application assuring her she could not give him a more sensible Token of her Love Salama called me into the Garden where after having cajolled and caressed me very highly she spoke to me of the Bashaw 's Passions of his Merit and of all the great Advantages I might hope for by making Returns thereto I own that having been brought up in Europe where the Women are so nice upon this Matter I was amazed to see with what Eloquence Salama endeavoured to persuade me to love her Husband which made me suspect that her Jealousie had inspired her to make use of this Artifice for the discovering my Sentiments I made her answer That I thought the Bashaw a Man of too good a Taste and too much Sense having so lovely a Wife as she to entertain any thoughts of an unfortunate Slave I perceive replied Salama that you are afraid of displeasing me and that you perhaps apprehend that I should trepan you but that you may no longer have that thought know that the Bashaw himself made known to me the Passion he has for you and as I onely seek to satisfie him I have taken upon me to spare him the trouble your Resistance would have creattd in him You are a Person of too much Reason to bring so Great a Man into Despair out of a Delicacy which commonly proceeds onely from a false Principle of Modesty wedded to our Sex which ought never to be put in practice but when it serves to make Men set the greater Value upon us I knew by so free a Discourse the Sentiments which the Turks infuse into Women upon the Point of Vertue for the rendring 'em the more submissive to their Wills Salama did not press me any further but two days after having had me called into the same Garden she made me new Instances and represented to me more strongly than the first time how much it did import me to receive a Fortune which so many others wish for to no purpose Tho' Salama was a perfect Beauty and that the Bashaw distinguish'd her from all his Wives as she alone could not fulfil his Desires she complied like a Woman of Sense with his Inconstancy and rendring her self complaisant to all his Passions she thereby preserved an Empire which her Beauty alone could not have given her These Reasons engaged her to solicit me with so much zeal and fervency as produced in me Motions very different from those she meant to inspire I began to have for Salama what she endeavoured to instil into me for her Husband She exaggerated to me the Bashaw 's Love in such touching melting Terms that I could not defend my self against all the Charms which she displayed in that moment for to persuade me Whereupon I determined to acquaint her with what I was without being able to unravel whether I did it to avoid falling into the Inconveniencies whereof I have already spoken or out of hopes of drawing some Advantage from the Discovery I made her Never was Person more surpris'd than Salama seemed to be at her hearing so extraordinary a piece of News She was for some time without making me any Answer and pretending not to believe what I had told her I made use of her affected Ignorance and took Liberties with her which are allowed of in Persons of the same Sex Having succeeded in this Trial and believing to find in her all the Correspondence I could desire whether she found in me something she liked or that she was tempted by the easiness of a Commerce which could never be suspected she made tender Returns to my Transports and I nicked the Occasion Now our whole thoughts were onely how to keep the Bashaw in his Errour and seek the
The CHASTE SERAGLIAN novell The Chaste Seraglian OR YOLANDA OF SICILY A NOVEL IN TWO PARTS Done out of French by T.H. Gent. LONDON Printed for R. Bentley and S. Magnes in Russel-street near Covent-garden MDCLXXXV To the Honourable Sir William Kenricke BARONET SIR THe fam'd Gallantry of Your Family has invited this Ladies Addresses for Your Favour and Protection Misery proves often at least gains the Consideration of Merit and is never baro'd Refuge by the Brave and Generous And since Misery and Merit concur so highly in this Lady as to make her the Object of the Compassion of those that are the least guilty of Tenderness no doubt but Your Hereditary Goodness will open her an Asyle Her Misfortunes and her Charms afford Title sufficient for a Sanctuary but she has still that of a Stranger to plead on her behalf She 's sensible so much Good-nature as You are own'd to stand possess'd of will not require so many Qualifications for a favourable Reception For all the noted Advantages of Your several Ancestors seem rendezvous'd in Your Person tho' in each there shin'd the Qualities that make a Gallant Man She fancies the Circumstances and Beauties of her Story to be such as to furnish your Diversion at the same time they move Your Pity But having Vsher'd her into Your Presence I 'll leave her to acquaint You with her Case and enlarge this Trouble no further than the Assurances of my being with the deepest Zeal and most profound Respect SIR Your most Humble and most Obedient Servant THO. HAYES YOLANDA OF SICILY SIcily is a famous Island in the Mediterranean at the farther end of Italy It s Extent the Fertility of its Soil and the â—ecurity of its Ports render it withâ—ut contradiction the most consideâ—able of that Sea All these Advanâ—…ges which ought to make it a hapâ—y Kingdom have onely serv'd to â—…nder it the Prey of all the Nations 〈◊〉 Africa and Europe between which â—wo Parts of the World it is situated â—he Greeks the Carthaginians the â—omans and Saracens made it for a long time the Stage of War The Kings of Naples of the House of Anjou and the Kings of Aragon did afterwards dispute the Possession of it with the highest obstinacy The Sicilian Vespers rendred the latter the Masters of this Realm the Partizans of the House of Anjou having been sor the most part exterminated in that fatal Day and the Spanish Policy having since taken care to extinguish all that remain'd of that Party The House of Cigala was one of the most considerable of those which bore an affection to the French Name but the Spaniards being peaceable Possessors of the Island that Illustrious Family saw it self upon the point of being destroy'd when it was seen to rise again by an Accident altogether extraordinary Some Turkish Corsaires having made a Descent into Sicily they carried away from thence several Slaves amongst whom was the Head of the House of Cigala with an onely Son of about seven or eight years of age The Father being dead in Chains the Son was by the Turks put into the Seraglio where he perfected himself in all the Exercises which are taught the Youth The vivacity of his Wit which had gained him the good Opinion and Favour of the Grand Seignior obtained him immediately considerable Employments at the Port and his Merit made him afterwards attain to the principal Charges of the Ottoman Empire He it was who rendred himself so Famous under the Name of Bashaw Cigala The remembrance of his Extraction and the Sentiments of a Religion which the Turks had not been able to extinguish in his Heart tho' he quitted it in a very tender Age created in him often a Desire of returning into his own Country But these Impressions would not have been strong enough to have made him take that Resolution if he had not been determined to it by an extraordinary Occasion The Custom of the Turks allowing 'em to have several Wives there hapned to be one amongst those of the Bashaw who had been taken upon the Coasts of Italy being a Person of Quality and very much wedded to her Religion She reinflamed in the Bosom of Cigala all that had been left therein of his first Education which made him at length resolve to return with her into his Native Country He landed at Messina with immense Riches after having escaped with a great deal of difficulty from the Vigilancy of the Turks Being thus re-entred into the Religion of his Forefathers he quickly re-united to his Family most of the Lands which had been alienated from it His Riches and the Splendour of this Life began to revive the Jealousie of the Spaniards when that the change of Climate put a period to the Days of this Great Man He left but one Son by his Marriage and this Son who was called Don Bernardin was brought up hy his Mother with all the Care imaginable No sooner was he out of his Infancy than that he resolved to court Glory in the Field of War The emulation he had for that which his Father had acquired therein made him follow that Noble Calling with a great deal fo Success and he would without doubt have made great progress in that Career if the Jealousie of the Spaniards whom the Fathers Merit had given but too much umbrage had not deprived him of the Means They would have made sure of Don Bernardin by engaging him to mary a young Lady of their Nation but all their Practices were in vain and Don Bernardin who had no less aversion for them than his Predecessors and who sought to gain a considerable Support against 'em married a Roman Princess of the Noble Family of the Vrsins The Grandeur of this Alliance and the Union of Don Bernardin to a House that had ever been wedded to the French Party already gave umbrage to the Spaniards But having discovered in several Rencounters their Ill-will and remarked their Inclination contrary to his Family he did not doubt but that the same Reasons would make 'em seek out the Means of ruining it a second time and knowing by experience how dangerous it is to incur the Indignation of his Masters he resolved to avoid the Occasions of giving them any Jealousie in vain and to withdraw into a Country-house far from all Commerce where he spent some Years waiting till Time should furnish him with the Occasions of shewing 'em his Resentment The Power of the House of Austria being weakned at that time by the happy Success of the Arms of the French Don Bernardin judg'd that this might give Occasion to some Motion in the Dominions which the King of Spain possesses in Intaly He was not mistaken in his Conjectures The Kingdom of Naples being revolted and the Malecontents having called in the Duke of Guise to assure themselves of a Head Don Bernadin thought that time proper for the Designs he had meditated He took Measures with that Duke and set Cabals on foot
for Zarabey as made her desirous to be acquainted with her Circumstances of which she one day took occasion to speak to her and desired her to acquaint her how she came into the Seraglio and if her Relations had given their Consent thereto or if she had been taken by violence from their House I should pardon any other Person so gross an Errour interrupted Zarabey laughing but you who have so much Wit may easily believe that there be such unjust Parents as to oppose the Happiness of their Children when that they are chosen to enter into the Seraglio I did not remember replied Yolanda that you had already called me Barbarian in the like Conversation nay I will own since you will needs have it so that I was in the wrong to ask you a Question so foreign to good sense but in revenge no longer defer acquainting me by what extraordinary good luck you have attained to a Felicity which you so highly prize The Eunuch Don Augustin has already made me the same Request said Zarabey I 'll pass my word to satisfie your Curiosity as soon as we are all together Happily Don Augustin came in in that very moment and Zarabey began her Story in this manner The Name of my Grandfather has made so much noise in the East that I may without shame own to you my Extraction if the last Action he did in renouncing our Great Prophet had not defaced all his Glory He was an European and of Christian Race Nevertheless he had been brought up at the Port and with so much happiness that he had merited the Esteem of the Grand Seignior who gave him Testimonies thereof in all Occasions The Worth and Valour he had shew'd in several Employments he was trusted with had caused his Birth to be forgotten He was treated as if he had been born a Mussulman and enjoyed the same Privileges with those who had that Advantage I will not give you here the Particulars of the Life of that Great Man all the Histories of his Time speak thereof sufficiently It is enough I tell you that after having spent forty years in the Emperour's Service he had the Weakness so usual to most Men and wish'd to see again his Native Country Yet as he was much above the common rate of Persons I can hardly believe he suffered himself to be led away by such ordinary Sentiments and it is much more probable that a Christian Slave whom he loved passionately in the declension of his Age had the Art to revive a Desire he had always had of returning into the Religion of his Forefathers and determined him by her Importunities to a shameful Flight For having dispos'd his Affairs with great secresie he fitted out two good Ships and after having given part of his Riches to one of his Wives whom he had ever loved he embarqued with that unhappy Slave upon I know not what pretext A Rumour ran a long while after that he was entred into a Port of the Christians This was confirmed from so many several Places that the Truth of it was no longer doubted of You may judge with what surprise his Wives heard these sad Tydings and principally she whom he had ever distinguished who expected his Return with Impatience which will be easie for you to imagine when you shall know that she proved with Child and from that Great Belly came my Father She represented to her self every moment the Joy her Husband would receive by learning that at a time when he was almost out of hopes of having Children she was upon the point perhaps of bringing him a Successor who might one day maintain the Reputation of his Name so noted in the Ottoman Empire But that which ought to have proved her Joy did onely serve to make her the more dolefully sensible of his departure or to say rather the loss of her Husband This grieved her to such a degree that she was brought to Bed before her time People talked variously of my Grandfathers Departure His Friends who were very numerous having an abhorrence of an Action so unworthy that Great Captain took care to give out he had been take by the Gallies of Malta And as the Truth is never well known of what passes at Sea this Artifice which gave People occasion to doubt whether his Absence was voluntary has rendred his Memory less odious And his Son or my Father if you please who in a tender Age was already strong and robust was brought up at the Grand Seignior 's Court People were incessantly speaking to him of the Glory which his Father had acquired and before he was at an Age of going to the War he was already full of that noble Boldness so natural to Great Warriors As soon as he was allowed to be in Occasions wherein he could shew his Courage he gained the Esteem of all those who saw him fight As I do not design to give you here his History I 'll content my self with telling you That after having had considerable Advantages over the Enemies of the Grand Seignior Love that Tyrant which particularly applies it self to the subduing of Great Men triumphed over him in his turn He saw my Mother at his passing through Adrianople she was a Georgian and one of the most beautiful Persons of the World He liked her so extremely well that he made his Addresses to her and resolved to marry her I will not give you an Account of the Circumstances of their Amours tho' attended with very singular Particularities At length after abundance of Difficulties which he vanquished by his Perseverance his Love was rewarded and you see in me the Fruit of the first Year of their Marriage The Persians having at that time brought on foot a numerous Army which seem'd to menace all the Ottoman Empire my Father was one of the first on the March for the opposing their unjust Designs having ever before his Eyes the Examples of his Father He had the misfortune to be kill'd in endeavouring to make appear that he was the Worthy Son of the Famous Bashaw Cigala Zarabey had no sooner named the Bashaw Cigala than that she observed a great change in the Faces of those who heard her but particularly in that of Yolanda who perceiving by the Relation she had newly heard that Zarabey was of her Family embraced her without giving her time to continue THE END