"'Midst the icebergs of Altai,
On the steps of the scaffold,
In the fierce flames of hatred,
Love never can die."
The Beg felt absolutely obliged to rush forthwith upon Haji Baba and pummel him right and left for daring to utter a word to put him off buying the damsel.
The slave-dealer patiently endured his kicks and cuffs, and when the jest was over, he said once more:
"And again I have to counsel you not to take the damsel for your master."
"What's amiss with her, then, thou big owl? Speak sense, or I'll hang thee up at thine own masthead."
"I'll tell you, sir, if only you will listen. That damsel has not belonged to one master only, for I know for certain that five have had her. All five, sir, have perished miserably by poison, the headman's sword, or the silken cord. She has brought misfortune to every house she has visited, and she has dwelt with Tartars, Turks, and Magyars. Against the Iblis that dwells within her, prophets, messiahs, and idols have alike been powerless; ruin and destruction breathe from her lips; he who embraces her has his grave already dug for him, and he who looks at her had best have been born without the light of his eyes. Therefore I once more implore you, sir, to let this damsel go to some poor mushir, whose head may roll off without anybody much caring, and do not convey danger to so high a house as the palace of Hassan Pasha."
"I thought thee a sharper, and I have found thee a blockhead," said he, and he signified to the damsel to wrap herself in her mantle and follow him.
"Allah is my witness that I warned you; I wash my hands of it," stammered Haji Baba.
"The girl will follow me; send thou for the money to my house."