Mika Waltari - The Wanderer

We first saw the Seraskier when we reached Buda, and perhaps it was as well that we could not burden him with our own troubles until the army had halted here to rest before the remainder of the homeward march. The Sultan now proclaimed Hungary to be a friendly country and forbade his troops to plunder the villages or carry away their inhabitants into slavery. To what extent the maddened janissaries obeyed his decree I prefer not to say.

For all the hubbub of victory instigated by the Sultan I soon noticed that the mood of the army left much to be desired. On his arrival in Buda the Grand Vizier had caused the holy crown of St. Stephen to be brought forth and placed in his tent for public display. Andy and I, standing like beggars by the tent door, watched the high pashas come out shrugging their shoulders and exchanging scornful smiles. We realized that our welcome would be none the warmer for delay and sent in our names to Ibrahim, who as usual received us in the middle of the night. He was fingering the crown as we entered, and beside him sat that bird of ill omen, Master Gritti. We prostrated ourselves and kissed the ground before the Seraskier, but his reception of us was less cordial than it might have been.

“You dogs, you devil’s spawn!” he cried. His handsome face was violently flushed with wine. “I never sent you to Vienna to lie wallowing in a brothel! Where are your turbans? Where is my valuable ring? Did I ask you to get into debt with your whores? I had to argue for hours with the Defterdar before he would honor your draft.”

Andy answered mildly, “Don’t condemn us unheard. Your ring’s not lost; I gave it to my wife. I’ll pay for it when I can.”

The Seraskier turned to Master Gritti with a look of despair.

“What are we to do with these mad dogs? They even boast of their misdeeds.” To us he went on, “You should at least have set fire to Vienna, like brave men; but it seems you settled down in a house of ill fame and misconducted yourselves to the value of two thousand ducats, before crawling back to offend me with your dissipated faces.”

Andy reddened and said warmly, “Allah be good to you! How you distort the truth. I tell you I’ve entered into Christian matrimony, so there’s no question of misconduct; and as for Michael, he’s too badly scared of the French pox to think of it. As a great general you should know that it would take a platoon of men to spend two thousand ducats in a brothel. Thanks to our boldness and enterprise we escaped a hideous death and so saved you two irreplaceable servants. Think shame of your base accusations, and beg our pardons before I lose my temper.”

He looked so solemn that Seraskier Ibrahim burst out laughing and wiping tears of mirth from his eyes he said soothingly, “I was but testing you, for I know you have done your best. But not even the bravest man can turn bad fortune to good, and Aaron has put in a word for you through his colleagues. I do regret my ring, however, for the stone was of rare purity. May I see your bride and satisfy myself that she is worthy of it, or do you prefer as a good Moslem to conceal her face from me?”

Andy replied delightedly that being a Christian his wife observed no undue modesty where her face was concerned; she was therefore summoned, and with her Father Julianus slunk into the tent. At the sight of him the prejudiced Seraskier instinctively made horns with his fingers and said, “How can you allow a Christian priest to pollute my tent? I see by his cassock and his beardless chin that he belongs to the most pernicious order of idolater.”

I explained hurriedly, “I rescued Father Julianus from Vienna and at peril to my own life brought him here, thereby doing you a greater service than you know, for I have a plan which I would prefer to set before you in private.”

Meanwhile Mistress Eva drew aside her veil, revealing her shyly smiling face and dark eyes. The Grand Vizier gazed at her with pleasure and said politely, “She is indeed fair. Her brow is whiter than jasmine, her eyebrows are musk, and her mouth like the pomegranate. I regret my ring no longer and rejoice with you, Antar, in the capture of so lovely a prize. And I will admit that both you and your brother have proved your loyalty to me, though Allah preserve me from any more such costly demonstrations.”

I was delighted to find that like a true nobleman he freely submitted to the will of Allah and meant to retain us in his service. Andy profited by the auspicious moment and said promptly, “Naturally I ask no reward for my fruitless labors, yet I should be overjoyed if you would show your favor by speaking a word to King Zapolya on behalf of my wife, so that her estates on the Transilvanian border may be restored to her. Eva, my dear wife, tell the noble Seraskier your family name.”

Master Gritti was already tearing his hair and when Mistress Eva modestly pronounced her name he broke out in lamentation, “Do not listen to this Antar, dear Grand Vizier! Every renegade in the army has hastened to marry some nobleman’s daughter in order to claim her inheritance, and Hungary would be lost if all these unlawful claims were granted. King Zapolya has therefore followed my advice and is amalgamating these properties so as to place them in the hands of a few trusted persons. Instead of the tens of thousands of small estates that now exist, there will remain only a thousand or so large ones. You will realize how greatly this must simplify the work of the taxgatherers and strengthen the present government, since the new landowners will be fully aware that they stand or fall with King Zapolya.”

The Grand Vizier said wearily, “I don’t want to interfere in Hungary’s internal affairs, but I must protect the Sultan’s subjects and the interests of my own servants. Antar shall therefore take possession of his wife’s estates, but in order not to impede King Zapolya’s excellent land reform I will gladly allow him to add other properties to his own and so make it as large as the rest. See that my wishes are respected, Aloisio Gritti, if you would remain my friend.”

I nudged Andy to make him fall on his knees and kiss the Grand Vizier’s hand, and the delighted bride followed her husband’s example. The Seraskier then dismissed them. But I remained, meaning to strike while the iron was hot, and held Father Julianus by the arm. When Master Gritti had left a great weariness came over Ibrahim’s handsome face; I noticed that he had grown thinner during the campaign and that lines had appeared on his smooth white brow. He said with a yawn, “It’s late, Michael el-Hakim. Why do you burden me with your presence any longer?”

I answered, “The moon shines while the sun reposes. Night is the moon’s time. Let me speak and so serve you, mean slave though I am.”

He said, “Be seated, my slave, and let the Christian priest sit also, since he is so much older than we.”

He brought out a flagon and three goblets from under his cushions and allowed us to drink to his prosperity. Sipping a little himself, he said, “Speak your mind, Michael el-Hakim.”

I replied in carefully chosen words. “There is but one war-that between the Sultan and the Emperor, Islam and Europe, the Crescent and the Cross. The Emperor himself has often said that his main object is to unite all Christian lands in a common crusade to crush Ottoman power. Any Christian who opposes the Emperor is therefore-whether he knows it or not-the Sultan’s ally. The heretic Luther and his followers are the best of these and you would do well to give him secret support, further his aims, and above all champion the cause of religious freedom.”

The Grand Vizier gazed at me searchingly and asked, “During your wanderings in Germany did you ever hear of a certain Margrave Philip, the ruler of a principality called Hesse? He has taken Luther under his protection. Is he a powerful man? How large is his domain? Can he be trusted?”