The Arab's Pledge: A Tale of Marocco in 1830

by Edward Ledwich Mitford

"O woman!" he said to Rachel, with a countenance which gave assurance to his words; "be of good cheer, God is merciful, your daughter is safe!"

The building above mentioned, and which was the same visited by Ali on his entrance into the town, related in a former chapter, was the arena chosen for the forthcoming ordeal. Around the centre court a massive colonnade, connected by Gothic arches, supported a roofed gallery, running above the building below; the aisles, formed by the pillars, had originally been divided into small arched rooms, intended for shops for merchants; most of these were now in ruins. The two ends were open, and at the end opposite the gateway, a double row of columns formed a deep recess under the gallery. The court-yard, long neglected, was overgrown here and there with brushwood and brambles. To this place, on the following day, Ain ed Djin removed his favourite Nasser; his heavy cage was placed upon a low truck, and dragged by a number of Jews pressed into the service. Unaccustomed to this mode of conveyance, and half famished, the lion made the crowd tremble with tremendous roars. He was at length safely lodged in a corner of the court-yard near the gate, and a cord fastened to the sliding door of the cage was carried to the gallery above.

It was late in the afternoon when the Sultan's cortege arrived: this was a signal for the crowd to disperse, their movements being accelerated by the sticks of the guards, and only a limited number of the more respectable people were admitted.

Azora in the meantime had been brought to the place in a covered litter in a state of mind impossible to describe, helpless, hopeless, wishing for death to relieve her from her misery. Passing through a crowded part of the bazaars, a ray of hope seemed to gleam upon her, as she heard a voice call out, "Is the black horse ready?" and the reply, "All is safe." It was an assurance that her friends were watchful; but nothing else occurred until she reached her destination.

A canopied seat had been prepared for the Sultan over the gateway within, and here he took his place surrounded by his officers and guards, while Azora was conducted to the end of the court-yard, and left standing in the recess under the colonnade. As the attendants left her, one of them loitered a minute and whispered, "Fear not, the lion shall not hurt you!" an assurance which could not affect her conviction that nothing short of a miracle could save her if the lion was let loose, and this attempt to raise in her heart a hope impossible of realization was only an aggravation of her sufferings.

One of the scribes in the Sultan's gallery now rose, and in a monotonous voice, as if repeating a lesson, said, "O woman, thou who hast apostatized from the faith of Islam, which thou didst acknowledge art thou ready to submit to the mercy of our lord the Khalifa, and make the profession, 'There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the Prophet of God?' Behold the lion is ready to be let loose to destroy the unbeliever." Here the deep, thundrous growling of the impatient animal came from the cage, to add emphasis to the exhortation of the Taleb.

The Sultan watched Azora eagerly to detect any sign of her wavering and appealing to his protection, but no indication of any change in her resolve met his eye. She stood absorbed, her hands clasped before her, and her eyes fixed on the ground. Suddenly rousing herself as she heard the blasphemy imputed to her, the spirit of the martyr became strong within her, she stood erect in her enthusiasm, and a halo of glory seemed visibly to surround her, as looking up with one hand aloft and the other pressed to her bosom, she exclaimed,—

"The Lord he is the God! The Lord he is the God!"

"Let loose the lion!" said the Sultan; and the door of the den was drawn up.

There was a dead silence. The lion first put his huge head cautiously forward, and looked about, but seeming ashamed of his fear he stepped boldly out and walked majestically to the middle of the space; here shaking out his mane to double its volume, he stood still,—a magnificent monster; then he looked slowly all round until his deadly eyes rested on the fragile girl. All held their breath, while the blood ran cold to every man's heart at this fearful sight.