It is bad to thwart him,
when he is roused. You can rely upon me to stand your friend and, when
the storm has blown over, to represent the matter to him in a
favourable light. The sultan desires to be just, and in his calm
moments assuredly is so; but when there is a cloud before his eyes,
there is no saying upon whom his displeasure may fall.
"At present, however, there is little chance of your falling into
disgrace, for he is greatly impressed with the service you have
rendered him, and especially by the promptness with which you carried
it out. After you had gone he spoke very strongly about it, and said
that he would he were possessed of a hundred officers, capable of such
a deed. He would, in that case, have little fear of any of the foes of
his kingdom.
"It is fortunate that you came here this afternoon. It is well-nigh
certain that he will ask for you presently, and though he could hardly
blame you, had you required until tomorrow to complete your
preparations, your promptitude will gratify him; and he will, I am
sure, be still more pleased at seeing that you have so well laid out
his gift. He gave you no orders on the subject, and had you appeared
in the dresses you wore this morning, he would, doubtless, have
instructed me to provide you with more suitable attire.
Pages:
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329