"At last the Feast of Bairam arrived, and throughout the day all the
cannons on the Bosphorus sent forth their thunders. In the evening the
Sultan came to the Seraglio weary and inclined to relaxation, and then
the Sultana Asseki took Irene by the hand and conducted her to the
Padishah, and presented her to him, together with gold-embroidered
garments, preserved fruits, and other gifts intended for his
delectation. The Grand Seignior regarded the girl tenderly, while she,
like a kid of the flocks offered to a lion in a cage, stood trembling
before him. But when the Sultan seized her hand to draw her towards him
she sighed: 'Blessed Virgin!'--and lo! at these words her face grew
pale, her eyes closed, and she fell to the ground as one dead. This was
not the first time that such a spectacle had been seen in the harem.
Everyone of the damsels brought thither generally commenced with a
fainting-fit. The slave-girls immediately came running up to her, rubbed
her body with fragrant unguents, applied penetrating essences to her
face, let icy-cold water trickle down upon her bosom--and all was
useless! The damsel did not awaken, and lay there like a corpse till the
following morning--in fact, she never stirred from the spot where they
laid her down. Next day the Padishah again summoned her to his presence.
He spoke to her in the most tender manner. He gave her all manner of
beautiful gifts, glittering raiment, necklaces, bracelets, and diamond
aigrettes. The slave-girls, too, censed her all around with stupefying
perfumes, bathed her in warm baths fragrant with ambergris and
spikenard, and gave her fiery potions to drink. But it was all in vain.
At the name of the Blessed Virgin, the blood ceased to flow to her
heart, she fell down, died away, and every resource of ingenuity failed
to arouse her. The same thing happened on the third day likewise. Then
the Sultana Asseki's wrath was kindled greatly against her. She declared
that this was no doing of Allah's as they might suppose. No, it was the