Away, Sir, says she! You do not know the Force of Love, and God grant you never may. At this absurd Reply, the Governor could scarce forbear Laughter, but commanded her, presently, to be pack’d away and drown’d in the Deep; such was the unfortunate Issue of her wild Amours. For you must know, that the Turks make no noise when secret Offences are committed by them, that they may not open the Mouths of Scandal and Reproach; but open and manifest ones they punish most severely. I am afraid the Relation of that dismal Example hath grated your Ears. I shall, therefore, now endeavour to make you amends, by acquainting you with a pleasant Story, which, I believe, will go near to make you smile. ’Tis this.
Upon the Account of the Troubles in Hungary, there came lately a Messenger to me, with an Express from my Master, the Emperor. The Bashaws would not let him bring his Letters directly to me, as they were wont to be brought, but they carried him first into the Divan. The Reason of this their unusual Procedure, was, because they would fain know what Cæsar’s Letters did contain, before they were delivered, in regard they suspected I dealt not faithfully with them, in communicating my Master’s Sense, but that I suppressed some of his Concessions. The Messenger was cunning enough for them; for, having some inkling of the Matter before-hand, he hid Cæsar’s Letters, and only shew’d them those that were directed to me, from some particular Friends. Their interpreter, Ebrahim, a Polander by Birth, had acquainted them before, that the Letters, that brought any secret Commands to me, were not written in an ordinary Character, but in a new kind of Marks, called Cyphers. As they were searching all my Letters, at last they light upon One, that was wrote to me by a Friend of mine, a Secretary of Burgundy. Ebrahim saw, through the thinness of the Paper wherein ’twas writ, some shining Letters, which were not of an ordinary sort. O! says he, now I have found it out; don’t you meddle with any of the rest of the Packet, for here’s the Secrecy in this. Whereupon the Bashaws commanded him to open, read, and interpret it to them, and they all stood listning to hear the News; but Ebrahim told them plainly, that he could not read one Letter of it. That’s strange, says the Bashaws; what, did you never learn the Christian Alphabet; or have you forgot it? Says Ebrahim, this sort of Character is only known to those who are Secretaries to Princes: They did not well understand him; but however, say they, if it be so, why dost thou not make haste to the Secretary of the Bailo of Venice, or of Florence? Ebrahim presently makes haste to them, and shews them the Letters; (they were writ in might such a Character that a Child ten Years old have read them;) but both those Secretaries, when they saw the Letter was superscrib’d to me, threw it back again before they had well look’d upon it; alledging, in Excuse, that such kind of Letters could be read by none, unless by him who had another Cypher to unfold them. This was all the Answer Ebrahim could get of them. Upon his Return to the Bashaws therewith, they could not tell what in the World to do: At last, starts up one (I could not tell his Name) saying, there is a Patriarch in Town, and old Man, and a Christian, and, besides, a great Scholar; if any Man can read these Letters, it must be he. When they came to the Patriarch, he told them, he could not read a Tittle of them, for they were not writ in Greek, Latin, Hebrew or Chaldee. Thus they were disappointed there also. At last, Haly Bassa runs to Rustan (otherwise a Man not ready to jest) and says to him Cardassi (Brother in Turkish), I remember, I had once a Servant, an Italian, who was skilled in all Letters and Tongues, I do not question but he could have read the Letter; but, alas! he is lately dead. At last, they being at a stand what to do, thought it best to send the Letters, which they could make no use of, to me. I knew all the Matter by Ebrahim beforehand, (neither could it be kept secret); whereupon I began to stamp and fret that they had intercepted my Letters against the Law of Nations, and in Contempt of Cæsar who sent them; and, withal, I bid Ebrahim stay, and to Morrow he should see that Letter translated for the Bashaws. The next day, when Ebrahim appeared in the Divan, they asked of him, whether I could read those Letters? Read them, says he! as easily as his own Name; and thereupon he produced some of them translated before them, viz. what I had a mind to discover. Whereupon, says Rustan, this Ambassador is but a young Man, and yet we see he can understand what the old Patriarch could not so much as read; without doubt, if he live to be old, he will prove a very Nonsuch of a Man. For that reason it was, or perhaps some other, that a while after, having Conference with Rustan about our Affairs, he treated me more familiarly than he used to do, (which was a rare thing in him) and at last he ask’d me, why I would not turn to their Religion, and to the true Worship of God? If I would do so, he promised me great Honour and a large Reward from their Emperor Solyman. I told him, I was resolved to continue in that Religion, wherein I was born, and which my Master, Cæsar, did profess. Be it so, replied he; but what then will become of your Soul? I subjoined, I hope well for that too; whereupon he, after a little Pause, broke forth into these Words. ’Tis true, indeed, and I am almost of your Mind, that they who live holy and modest Lives in this present World, shall obtain eternal Life in the next, be they of what Religion they will. That’s an Heresy, that some of the Turks have taken up, neither is Rustan thought to be a true Mussulman in all Points. The Turks thinks it a Duty, and a work of Piety in them, to persuade a Christian they have any good Opinion of, to their Religion; for then they think, they shall save a Soul from Destruction, and that they count a great Honour to themselves, and the greatest Charity they can do another Man, to make him a Convert to their Religion.
I shall now acquaint you with the Effects of another Conference I had with Rustan, whereby you may see what daily Feuds are between the Turks and Persians, upon the account of Religion. He ask’d me, one time, whether the War did continue between Spain and France? I told him, it did. ’Tis strange, says he, that they should fall out that are of one and the same Religion: I replied, ’tis no otherwise between those two Princes, than ’tis betwixt you and the Persians. The Dispute is not about Religion, but about civil Right; Provinces, Cities and Kingdoms, which both lay claim to. You are quite mistaken, says Rustan, we are not of the same Religion with the Persians, but do count them a more Profane and Heathenish sort of People than you Christians are. But to return to the Affairs of Hungary.
Since my last Return to Constantinople, Matters in Hungary have received a very great Alteration, it would be too tedious to describe them particularly; and, besides, it were not conducive to my Design. Isabella, Wife to King John, is returned into Transilvania, together with her Son, having refused the Transactions and broken the League made with the Emperor Ferdinand; and the Transilvanians, terrified by the Turkish Arms, have again submitted their Necks to the old Ottoman Yoke. Matters succeeding thus prosperously with the Turks, they are not therewith contented, but grasp at all Hungary too; and, besides other Places, they resolved to besiege Sigeth, which signifies in the Hungarian Language, an Island, or Place naturally very strongly situated. And for this purpose they chose a General, who, upon the account of the Prosperity of his Arms in former times, created great Confidence in his own Men, and struck as much Terror into his Enemy: His Name was Haly Bassa, an Epirot, who had had good Success in Hungary before, and especially in the Battel, wherein he overthrew Sforza Palavicino, and the Bishop of Five Churches. He was sent for from the utmost Bounds of the Turkish Empire towards Persia, and came with great Expectation to Constantinople: My Collegues were yet here with me, pressing for a Dismission. ’Twas the pleasure of the Bashaws that we should see him, in regard we counted him, as they thought, the very Thunder-bolt of War.
When we came to him, he received us courteously, and made a great Harangue to this purpose: That, “we should study Peace, and rather than suffer Hungary to be wasted with Fire and Sword, we should accept those Conditions, which the Grand Seignior had offered us.” We answered him, that “we desired nothing more than Peace; provided it might be had upon tolerable Conditions; but those which they offered, were against the Honour and Dignity of our Master.” Thus we took our leaves, after he had treated us with a Cup of Water diluted with Sugar. This Haly was an Eunuch, but the Constitution of his Body did seem to add to the vigour of his Mind: He was low of Stature, bloted in his Body, of a Bay-coloured Countenance, a sour Look, frowning Eyes, broad Shoulders and sticking up, between which stood his Head, as in a Valley. Two Teeth were prominent in his Mouth, like Boar’s Tusks, his Voice hoarse; in a Word, he was the Fourth Fury.
The Day after he makes great Preparation for his Expedition into Hungary; where having spent some Time to provide Materials, he at last marches against Sigeth, and beats off those which were repairing Babock, a Castle of Cæsar’s; but Cæsar, being acquainted long before with his Design, lends Ferdinand, one of his three Sons, a young Man, yet comparable, for greatness of Mind, to any of the old Generals, to oppose the Torrent of Haly Bassa’s Force, and by his Valour to retrieve Affairs in Hungary: He had no great Forces with him, but with a select Body of Horse he faces Haly’s Army; the Turks that were present, related to me, that ’twas a goodly Sight to behold the Splendor, Order and Boldness of those Forces. Haly, being naturally of a fierce Disposition, and having a far greater Army, was even mad to think that a handful of Christians should dare to look him in the Face.
There was a moorish Piece of Ground between both Armies, which could not be passed without great Danger; Ferdinand had no need to pass it, for his Design was only to relieve Sigeth, and to raise the Siege: But Haly Bassa, was not in the same Circumstances; for, unless he would make a base and unhandsome Retreat (as the Event afterwards shewed) ’twas altogether necessary for him to do it; So that he, seeing to what Straits he was brought, resolved to put all upon hazard, and accordingly he bent his Bridle, to turn his Horse towards that inconvenient Place; when, behold! one of the Sanziacks, that was near him, whose Name I remember not, taking Notice of the extream Danger he was running into, leap’d from his Horse, and taking the Bashaw’s Horse by the Bridle, Sultan, says he (for so the Turks call the great Dignitaries among them) Here you see into what a Jeopardy you were like to cast both yourself and your whole Army; you don’t consider what an incommodious Place this Marish is: The Christians are ready on the other side with Arms in Hand and Courage in their Hearts, to receive us, when we are half drowned and half covered with Mud; and thus they in good Order will assault us, being disordered and out of our Ranks, and will make use of all our Imprudence, to obtain a most assured Victory over us: Nay, rather moderate your Anger, and return to yourself and reserve so many brave Men, with yourself for the Service of your Prince, and for better Times. Upon this Speech, Haly, as if he had recollected himself, drew back; and there was not any Turk amongst them, but was forced to confess, that the whole Army was sav’d by the Advice of that Sanziack.
When this matter was carried to Constantinople, though the Vizier and the Chief Bashaws could not deny the Thing, yet they thought it dangerous to suffer the Example of so audacious a Fact in the Sanziack to pass unpunished: ’Tis true, they did mutteringly commend both his Fidelity and his Prudence; yet to suffer Disobedience to a superior Officer to pass without due Punishment, they thought it a dangerous Case in Military Discipline, so that he was called back to Constantinople, and there was cashiered for a Time; and when this Offence was sufficiently punished, as they thought, they bestowed upon him as good a Command; so that every Body saw his Punishment was inflicted rather for the preservation of the Discipline of War, than for any dire Merit of his Offence.
Haly, a while after, having lost a great Part of his Army, by the Charges and Ambuscades of the Hungarians, made an ignoble and shameful Retreat to Buda, where for very Grief he breathed out his hateful Soul.