Washington sentinel., 1854-01-01

his devoted follower and the tears which he
had scorned to shed in his despair, now fell
silently from his eyes, as he lifted up his heart
in thankfulness to Allah and his prophet.
After timehe became more calm; and, looking
round the dim and narrow cell which had SO
long been his abiding place, and then upon his
own wasted limbs, he asked bitterly, how one
who had been for years the tenant of so gloomy
dungeon, and whose youth had been withered
by inaction, could again take his place among
the brave followers of his father.
The ever-ready Nassau soothed and COM
forted him in that moment of bitterness by an.
ticipations Of freedom and revenge; and the
young soldier listened greedily, until the light
returned to his heart which throbbed wildly.
Suddenly, however, desire rose within him to
learn the cause Of this unhoped-for relenting
on the part of Keretsenyi; and then it was
that Nassau reluctantly informed him of the
capture of his fathers wife.
Ali trembled with rage. The wife of his IA
ther in the polluting grasp of the Christian
beneath the same roof which covered her hus-
bands son, and he powerless to help her The
stroke was terrible; and the miserable captive
cast himself down once more upon his straw,
forgetful Of his own approaching escape from
the same thraldom, heartsick and wretched.
In vain did Nassau urge him to think only Of
himself, and remind him that once free, and
united with his father, they might devise some
means Of rescue for the ill-fated Zelma, the
soul of Ali was darkened, and he refused to be
comforted.
s"Not so" he said bitterly; "if the woman
whom my father loved abide here until my ran
som shall arrive, and am once more free be-
meath the blue vault of heaven, here, in Allahs
I.l IL. IL r. oh dtxuo
seem to bring shame to our own hearth? Had
she not been fair she had never been the wife
Fetch Pasha; and, being fair, she will soon be
the sport and the toy of the vile giaour. Alasl
for my fathers house? Under what evil con-
stellation was it built up, that dirt should thus
be flung upon the graves of our ancestors!"
In order to divert the mind of the unhappy
young man from this narrowing contempla-
ton, Hassau fastened to arrange with him the
preliminaries of his liberation; and it was de-
cided that, with the assent Of Keretsenyi, the
anxious follower should, by the morrow's
dawn, be on his way to the pasha, in search of
the ransom money for his son. The magnate
made no difficulty in acceding to the proposal;
and Nassau accordingly departed, pledging
himself to be again at Nikolsburg on the even
ing of the fifth day from his departure, pre-
pared to pay down the gold, upon the receipt
Of which the magnate bound himself on his
side, to deliver up his captive. The honest
Turk lost no time in leave-taking, but with the
first streak of dawn commenced his journey,
greatly to the regret of the STRIPPING count, who
did not spare his anathemas on the poor prlso-
ner who was the cause of his absence. A bit
ter disappointment, however, awaited the de-
voted Hassau on his arrival at the residence OF
the pasha, where he found the bereaved old
man assiduously amassing the means of ibe-
ating his young and beautiful wife. In vain
did he entreat that he might be entrusted with
the sum requisite to secure the emancipation
of his master; bewildered by the extremity of
his bereavement, the pasha answered only by
declaring that in few days he should have col
lected gold enough to effect the restoration of
both wife and child, and that, until this was
done he should know no peace, and could
make no eforts.for either.
Thus was Nassau compelled to remain a
passive spectator of his strenuous but futile
struggles against fate, until the five days grant
ed by Keretsenyi had been doubled, and still
nothing had been done to iberate his young
lord. Rendered desperate by his forebodings,
and well knowing the tyrannical nature of the
noble with whom they had to DEAL he once
more ventured, relying on the fidelity which he
had shown to his captive master, to brave the
probable displeasure Of the Pasha, and to re-
new his entreaties that he might, without fur
ther delay, set forth on his return to Nikols-
burg with the appointed ransom.
The old man listened for while unmoved !;
but at length, when Hassau limited at the pro-
liability of Keretsenyi venting upon both his
prisoners the disappointment which he could
not fail to feel at his prolonged absence, and
reminded him, moreover, of the gallant spirit
of his son, whose prowess might enable him to
recover the lady Ielma, should the profered
gold fail in producing its effect the Pasha as
if awakened from a bitter dream, hesitated no
longer, but, putting the stipulated five hundred
purses into the hands of the trusty servitor,
bade Allah speed him, and sent him forth.
The wretched father, however, had delayed
too long. Keretsenyi, enraged that the infidel
should dare to dupe him, as he affected to be-
lieve that he had done, and maddened by the
scorn of his beautiful captive, of whom he had
become enamoured, no sooner saw the sun set
on the seventh day after the departure of Has
sau, than he vowed both the destruction of the
one and the disgrace of the other. Hitherto he
had suffered the lady Zelma to retain her veil,
and no eye had looked upon her beauty save
his own while he had, moreover, permitted her
to occupy chamber apart where she could in
dulge her grief freely and without restraint.
His first vengeance was, therefore, as he well
knew, bitter one to an oriental woman, and
doubly degrading to female of high rank,
when approaching her hastily, and without
warning, he tore away her veil, and then, seiz.
ing her hand, dragged her across the threshold
of her chamber into the hall usually occupied
by himself and chief officers.
This was vast apartment Of ancient Moorish
architecture; partially surrounded by an open
gallery raised midway from the floor, and in
laid with precious marbles Columns Of the
same material, from whose capitals sprang small
stalactited arches, supported the lofty roof of
fnelycarved oak; and upon the walls hung
sundry tawdrily-painted efigies of saints inter.
mingled with the weapons and mantles of its
occupants. At the upper end, a high archway
gave ingress to the chamber which had been
the first retreat of the unfortunate Zelma; and
the drapery which veiled it having been rudey
flung aside by the magnate on his entrance
with his victim, the couch upon which she had
been seated and from which he had so roughly
snatched her. was visible in the distance.
As he relaxed his grasp the fainting woman
sunk upon a seat. Her eyes were fearless
nor did she, in the extremity Of her despair,
make one effort to conceal her face; but pros
Al IA 4. L. 4 L