"'She will be a favorite,' said the queen's mother, and frowned.
"Zara wept, and would not be comforted during the first few days of her residence at the seraglio; but finally the kind words of his sublime highness conquered
her obstinacy, and throwing herself at his feet, she made a full confession of her fondness for Garstoff, and his vain attempt to carry her away by stratagem.
"The Sultan was much afflicted by this news, for he really loved Zara, and was aware, that, should her defection become known, his honor would compel him to plunge her lifeless body into the Bosphorus.
"'My dear Zara,' he said, encircling her waist with his arms, 'you have been frank with me, but beware that you speak of this affair to no one else, or your life will surely be sacrificed. This Garstoff is dead, and can now be nothing to you; do not waste your affections upon a skeleton; but let them revert to me, and Soliman will become the slave of your will.'
"In such a manner did the Refuge of Mankind talk to the daughter of Nemyl, until she gradually drew the veil of forgetfulness over past sorrows, and respected his sublime highness, if she did not love him. Taking the highest rank in the harem, no wish of hers remained unanswered; masters of every art were furnished as her instructors; subservient slaves were ever ready to do her bidding, and costly presents of every description rolled in upon the favorite, from those who had—axes to grind.
"Each day the Sultan became more deeply in love with her, and in the same proportion, she became each day more odious to those, whom, from old age, or satiety, the magnificent Soliman had quitted for Zara. Among the most violent enemies of the new favorite, was the queen mother, who suborned the Kislar Aga to her will, and through him, maintained a thorough system of espionage upon every word and action of the
object of her hatred; but Zara rendered all her efforts futile until one day while going abroad, she observed a person dressed in the janissary uniform, whose form appeared familiar; and what was her emotion, when he turned his face toward her, and discovered the features of Garstoff!"
Here the English member interrupted the reader, and says he: