The unhappy man was scarcely able to stammer that he was a Christian.
"Well, show me the sign by which Christians recognise one another."
The young man made the sign of the Cross, bearing his hand to his forehead, then to his breast: "In the name of the Father, of the Son ..."
"Ah! ah!" exclaimed Djezzar in a bantering tone. "It seems to me that thy religion teaches thee that the Father ought to be above and the Son below. Carry out the rules of thy faith, if thou dost wish that thy head remains on thy shoulders."
And the father, brought back from his vault immediately, with the stains of mouldiness which covered his body duly brushed away, found himself in the dry without knowing the reason.
Lady Hester went to visit the Jew Malem Hazm, Soliman's minister and banker. He was the fashion at St. Jean d'Acre; he had only one eye and one ear and no nose. It was recognised that he had lived on terms of intimacy with the pacha. For his misfortune, he was, in fact, Djezzar's secretary. The latter had always under his cushions a long list of people condemned to death, like another little game of society. In a moment of idleness, he inscribed there Malem Hazm's name; but, thinking better of it immediately, he commuted the capital penalty to a few facial mutilations of little importance.
When the Jew reappeared with a countenance reduced to its most simple expression, Djezzar burst out laughing.
"In truth," he exclaimed, "I should never have believed that thou wouldst have become so ugly. If I could have doubted it, I would have left thee thy nose."
Then approaching him and laying his hand on his shoulder, he continued:
"Lucky Malem, you are my friend (he wrote, in fact, to the Porte skilful letters which, under the velvet of Oriental politeness, made them feel the threatening steel blade). Give thanks to God! for were it not for the affection that I bear thee, I should have thy head cut off."