Zaim Ali Bey of Glasinac in Gaol

Dictated by Murat Žunić

(About this narrative)

(Commentary: Failure Prerequisite to Success)
(Commentary: Men's Duties and Women's Victories)

Once in captivity a fettered prisoner cried out	1
in Zadar by the wide sea,	2
in the donjon of the Ban of Zadar.	3
Dear God, who might that close-bound thrall     have been?	4
Readily may one guess which prisoner he was:	5
a captive from noble Bosnia,	6
Zaim Ali Bey of Glasinac.	7
He had good cause for sobbing	8
and for weeping he had need,	9
for the Ban’s fetters had grown wearisome     to his flesh,	10
and prison is an uncommon kind of dwelling.	11
The Bey had awakened early	12
and sat him down in an embrasure.	13
There the blazing sun found him when it rose	14
to bathe all Zadar in its light.	15
Ali Bey struck up conversation with the sun:	16
“Hot sun, have you also warmed	17
my mansion in Glasinac,	18
and radiating your heat in at the window,     have you warmed	19
my old mother where she sits in her corner     of the house,	20
and my Hercegovinian wife,	21
Bey Ljubović’s sister, Zlata?	22
Perhaps though, my household     has by now dispersed,	23
my mother passed on to the other world,	24
and my wife returned to her kinfolk.”	25
The Bey supposed that no one heard his words,	26
but the Ban of Zadar heard it all.	27
When he had hearkened to the fettered     prisoner’s remarks,	28
instantly he stood up,	29
cast a cloak about his shoulders,	30
fitted his shoes comfortably on his feet	31
and, seizing the prison keys,	32
he went to the donjon door,	33
found which key would fit the lock,	34
and opened it.	35
Entering the accursèd prison,	36
he called ‘good morning’ to Ali Bey.	37
Neither did the Bey bestir himself nor yet     so much as flex a muscle,	38
but only said ‘good morning’ in return.	39
Thereupon the Ban spoke thus to him:	40
“Zaim Ali Bey, you venomous snake,	41
has not your agony here in my prison     been enough for you,	42
nor these iron manacles yet sufficiently     humbled your spirit?	43
How dare you not to answer my ‘good morning’     courteously,	44
not to do me obeisance,	45
not to rise in my presence?”	46
The Bey turned his head to him in answer:	47
“Lord Ban of Zadar,	48
I did indeed return your greeting	49
as in common courtesy I am bound to do;	50
but I may do you no obeisance	51
nor yet honor you by rising,	52
for my Turkish faith does not suffer me	53
to rise before one such as you	54
who has not acknowledged the true God.	55
And yet, my lord Ban, even you, by God,     must acknowledge	56
that even seven weeks of prison are no jest,	57
not to mention lo these seven years	58
since you, lord Ban, did capture me,	59
and shackle me with these iron manacles,	60
and pen me in this damned captivity.	61
Neither have you set my ransom, nor yet     do you behead me.	62
Had it been I who captured you,	63
I would have conveyed you, Ban,     to my own town of Glasinac,	64
set a soft and handsome place for you,	65
put plentiful drink before you	66
and succulent lamb’s meat.	67
Thus would I have entertained you     full seven weeks;	68
and in the eighth I would have set my ransom     on you, my lord Ban,	69
or else forthwith beheaded you.	70
But you! You will not either set my ransom     nor yet behead me.”	71
When the Ban had understood these words, he said:	72
“Zaim Ali Bey, you venomous snake,	73
can you still perhaps recall the time	74
when Rose, my daughter, came of age	75
—my dear Rose, whom I raised in my own house?	76
And you, you snake, got wind of her,	77
and so sent me a letter:	78
‘Lo, my lord Ban, I lay this letter before you!	79
For I have heard, and people tell me,	80
that you keep a lovely Rose in your dwelling.	81
Now look you well what it is I say to you     in this letter:	82
make ready your swift-running coach, oh Ban,	83
and put the girl Rose in it.	84
Send her thus to me in my town of Glasinac.	85
But should it so hap that you will not do this,	86
then come and duel with me for her     upon the field of combat;	87
or if you have no stomach for the field of combat,	88
find a worthy champion who will fight me     in your stead.	89
But if you dare not take the field against me,	90
and cannot find a champion who will fight for you,	91
and do not give me the Rose out of your house,	92
then beware! For I shall come to challenge you     again in stone-built Zadar itself!’	93
And so, oh Bey, it happened, thou rock adder,	94
that thou thyself wouldst not keep peace,	95
because of thine exuberance and thy love of fight.	96
Bestriding your white horse, oh Bey,	97
you gat you down to cold Zadar,	98
and there attacked the guardsmen     in my first picket line.	99
You burst through my first line of defenders	100
and hurt right many of my soldiers.	101
My second line of pickets you attacked also	102
and penetrated it as well.	103
The third line captured you alive.	104
I then caused these fetters to be forged on you	105
and closed you up in this accursèd gaol.	106
It had not occurred to me to set a ransom     on your head.	107
But since you talk of ransom, I shall set one on you.	108
Will you, oh Bey, indeed pay me my price?”	109
“Indeed, oh Ban, I shall, and it be for redemption     of my life!	110
What then will my ransom be, lord Ban?”	111
“Zaim Ali Bey, you venomous snake,	112
will you pay me a hundred ducats?”	113
“Indeed, oh Ban, I shall, and it be for redemption     of my life!	114
Is that to be the whole sum of your price?”	115
“No, Bey, it is not!	116
Will you pay me also the Stamboline Benediction	117
which your sovereign Sultan gave to you?	118
And will you give me your Constantinopolitan     finery,	119
which gift the Emperor likewise gave to you?”	120
“Indeed, oh Ban, I shall, and it be for redemption     of my life!	121
Is that to be the whole sum of your price?”	122
“No, Bey, it is not!	123
Will you pay me too the golden shroud,	124
the Shroud of Đurđević’s Scion,	125
that you donated to the Emperor in Istanbul?	126
Will you further pay me Loudon’s sagre,	127
that you snared	128
and carried off to Istanbul,	129
—for which your Emperor rewarded you?”	130
When the Bey had understood these words,	131
he turned his head and to the Ban he said:	132
“Oh Ban of Zadar, you venomous snake,	133
what price you lay on Zaim Ali Bey	134
were an exaction able to be paid;	135
but your ransom is upon the very Emperor     in Istanbul,	136
who, my lord Ban, I swear to you	137
will not be held to ransom for the life of any man.	138
I cannot pay you such a price.”	139
When the Ban had understood these words, he said:	140
“Ali Bey, you viper from amidst the rocks,	141
you shall have no other ransom;	142
here in gaol you shall remain until the flesh     rots from your bones.”	143
Thus he spoke, and turned to go again     from whence he came.	144
But Ali Bey called through the bars to him:	145
“My lord the Ban of Zadar town,	146
see you keep your Rose secure for me at home!	147
In the turning of the years a time may yet     come round	148
when I shall have some use to make of her,	149
milord, for purposes of lovemaking!”	150
When the Ban had understood these words,	151
he turned and to the Bey he said:	152
“Zaim Ali Bey, you venomous snake,	153
never speak to me again of ransom price,     for I shall never grant you one!	154
In another nine and thirty years	155
your skeleton will come unhinged within     the flaccid bag of your agèd skin.	156
Then I shall gather up your unstrung bones	157
and fling them into the vasty sea.	158
There let the fishes worry them about     among seashells.	159
So shall no spawn of yours e’er be engendered     in the land.”	160
Saying thus, the Ban shut tight and locked the door	161
and went away into his palace built of stone,	162
whilst the Bey remained in his accursèd gaol.	163
There he fell to thinking what he might do next,     and how.	164
“How am I to send a letter to my mother,	165
how am I to tell her what’s befallen me,	166
when I’ve no unmarked paper here to write it on?”	167
Thus the Bey began to feel about himself     in all his pockets	168
till he found a scrap of unmarked paper	169
—unmarked, although much maculate,	170
for he had kept it hidden in that place     against some need like this.	171
Thus paper was not far to seek,	172
but now he had no pen or ink.	173
The Bey sat pond’ring for a time, until at last     he thought of what to do.	174
Sinking tooth in his own arm,	175
he drew his own red blood,	176
and then began with little finger writing miniscules:	177
“Greetings, mother mine in Glasinac!	178
I myself, behold, write you this letter.	179
At what time my letter, mother, comes to you,	180
do not think because of it that you shall see     your Ali Bey again.	181
For the Ban has laid a price on me,	182
but what he sets as ransom for your Ali Bey	183
in truth encumbers more the very Emperor     in Istanbul than me!	184
Mother, by my faith I swear to you,	186a
no ransoms does our Sovereign pay,	185
not even to the greatest king,	186b
not to mention this mere Ban of Zadar town.	187
So there remains for you, mother, nothing else     but that you sell our property	188
and use its proceeds for your living all your days.	189
You should not roam from hearth to hearth     among strangers.	190
Find therefore some new acquaintance who will     keep you to your dying day.”	191
Along another margin of the leaf he wrote:	192
“Greetings too to thee, my Hercegovinian lady!	193
When this page has come to you,	194
take my bay horse standing in the stable,     and put it up for sale.	195
Let the price it fetches be your dowry, and remarry.	196
Go where you please	197
and wait no more for your own Ali Bey,	198
since, for all your waiting, I shall not return,	199
so extremely has the Ban set ransom     on your Ali Bey.	200
Go freely where you please.”	201
When thus the Bey had finished all his writing     on the page,	202
he found the writing had been easy,	203
but what could he do now about a carrier?	204
The Bey gazed through the cursèd prison bars	205
into the market place of icy Zadar town.	206
There were people moving to and fro     about the market on all sides,	207
strolling by the cursèd gaol.	208
The Bey distinguished ’mongst the crowd     a certain Christian lad	209
bearing a burden on his shoulder.	210
Ali Bey summoned him through the prison bars:	211
“Good health to thee, young Vlah!	212
Come near to me, here by the bars.	213
We have something to discuss, young Vlah.”	214
The lad drew near the bars:	215
“Bey Alibey, forlorn prisoner,	216
tell me what you wish to say.”	217
Ali Bey began to speak:	218
“Tell me truly—may you prosper by it!—	219
Whence do you come? What is your name?	220
Whom do you serve in cold Zadar?”	221
“Oh Turkish sir, Zaim Ali Bey,	222
I am of this neighbourhood, the level Littoral,	223
and I am Nicholas Vojvodić by name.	224
I serve the Ban of Zadar town	225
as waterbearer to the gentlefolk.”	226
When the Bey had understood these words,     he said:	227
“Vojvodić of the level Littoral,	228
would you take me for a brother	229
in my great misery and imprisonment,	230
and bear a piece of paper to Glasinac,	231
there to hand it to my agèd mother?	232
I’ll reward your journey well.”	233
When Nicholas had understood these words,     he said:	234
“Thanks be to Thee, oh God,     and to this fateful day,	235
when I have found a new brother	236
such as Zaim Ali Bey.	237
Write your piece of paper, brother,     there in your prison,	238
while I finish carrying this water to the gentlefolk.”	239
Thus he spake, and passed on from the gaol.	240
A short while passed—it was not long—	241
till Nicholas Vojvodić reappeared	242
and softly called to Zaim Ali Bey:	243
“Zaim Ali Bey, new brother of mine,	244
pass your paper through the bars to me.”	245
Ali Bey slipped it through to him.	246
The sheet came curling to him from within,     and Nicholas took it stealthily.	247
When he had the Bey’s letter safely in his hand,	248
Ali Bey said to him:	249
“Brother Nicholas Vojvodić,	250
today I beg you not to think me niggard	251
for not having noble coin nor even pence	253
wherewith to pay you in my misery     and imprisonment;	252
yet I have set it in my writ	254
that when you come to my house in Glasinac town,	255
my mother shall pay you the price of your journey.”	256
“Zaim Ali Bey, new brother mine,	257
I bear your letter not for coin,	258
but in homage to my new-found brother.”	259
Thus he spoke, and left the gaol.	260
Nicholas departed Zadar town	261
and thence he went to his own house,	262
to his own dwelling on the level Littoral.	263
There he donned his walking clothes	264
and locked his house.	265
In his hand he took his ashen staff	266
and went away along the coast.	267
First he traversed the Littoral, and came     to Sepultures.	268
Then he traversed the place called Sepultures,     and so came to Mellaria.	269
Next he traversed the place Mellaria, and so     approached the heights.	270
Thence Nicholas labored up the mountainside.	271
When he emerged upon the mountaintop,	272
he crossed the Imperial frontier.	273
Here he left the land of infidels behind,	274
and thenceforth trod good Turkish ground.	275
He descended first of all to stony Hlivno,	276
then from Hlivno into noble Bosnia.	277
There he asked the way to Glasinac.	278
He came in time to Glasinac,	279
to Zaim Ali Bey’s bright house.	280
Thus one morning he approached the mansion     and its yard	281
and strode up to the courtyard gate.	282
He knocked softly, calling with his voice:	283
“Is this the house of Zaim Ali Bey	284
and of his agèd mother?”	285
Little good did Nicholas’ calling do	286
in an empty house.	287
None dwelt there but Ali’s agèd mother	288
and her daughter, wife of Ali Bey.	289
When she saw the Christian lad     before the courtyard gate,	290
the elder woman glimpsed the paper in his hands,     and said:	291
“Hercegovinian wife of my son     and daughter-in-law of mine,	292
who shall go down to the courtyard gate?	293
No more does Ibro the coffee-steward serve us,	294
nor any of the former men-at-arms;	295
there is none left to go down to the gate for us.	296
I see a piece of paper in the cleft     of the Christian’s stick.	297
Might it be a paper from our Ali Bey?	298
Go down, daughter, to the yard.”	299
The lady her daughter gat her up,	300
then wrapped her cloak about herself	301
and closely veiled her face.	302
She took down next a naked sabre     from its fixture on the wall	303
and hid it in the drapery of her cloak.	304
She put her slippers on her feet	305
and went out through the door.	306
Thus the young wife came into the yard.	307
“Tell me, Christian, what it is you have to say.”	308
Softly, Nicholas spoke to her:	309
“Is this the house of Zaim Ali Bey	310
and of his mother, in Glasinac town?”	311
“Vlah, it is, if that is what you’ve come     to ask of me.”	312
“Here is a letter from your Ali Bey.”	313
“Then throw it into the yard, my dear.”	314
Nicholas cast the letter where she’d said he should,	315
and then begged leave to go his way whence     he had come.	316
“Wait there, Christian, by the courtyard gate,	317
while I bring down for you from out the house     the price of your journey.”	318
“Many thanks to you, lady, for what you would     give me;	319
but I am not a courier who carries post for hire.	320
In homage to my new brother I’ve done this,	321
my new-found brother, Zaim Ali Bey.”	322
“Yet you must wait, my little Vlah, until     I give you leave!”	323
So the lady re-entered her house.	324
A little while, and she came forth again	325
to give Nicholas his wage,	326
whereafter he turned round     to retrace his steps home again.	327
Now let him go where he is pleased to go.	328
The lady meanwhile went again into her mansion     built of masonry.	329
When she came into the chamber where her     husband’s mother waited for her still,	330
she sat down in the warmth beside the windowpane	331
and her husband’s mother came     and sat beside her there.	332
The lady, opening the letter,	333
perused it, and gazing on it, wept.	334
Then her mother spoke to her:	335
“Daughter of mine, and wife of Ali Bey,	336
what manner of letter is it     that has made its way to us?	337
Then the lady spoke to her:	338
“Oh mother, who art mine by my own Ali Bey,	339
It is a letter from our Ali Bey	340
from out of gaol, where he is held by Zadar’s Ban.	341
It comes to us directly from the Bey himself	342
and tells what ransom price the Ban has set     upon our Bey.	343
But what price is it that he lays on Zaim Ali Bey?	344
His ransom is upon the very Emperor in Istanbul,	345
who, I swear to you, mother,	346
will not be held to ransom for the life of any man.	347
Thus writes the Bey in his letter:	348
‘Oh my dear mother in Glasinac town,	349
at what time my letter reaches you,	350
know that there remains now nothing else to do     but that you sell our property	351
and use its price, mother, for your own living     all of your remaining days.	352
Do not think that you shall see your son     Ali Bey again,	353
for never shall your bey return for all your waiting.’	354
At the other margin of the page he wrote:	355
‘Greetings too to thee, my Hercegovinian lady,	356
sister of Bey Ljubović!	357
When this leaf of mine has reached you,	358
take my bay horse from the stable,	359a-360a
my true love, the one from Istanbul,	360b-359b
to be your dowry when again you marry.	361
Give yourself freely where you will,	362
and wait no more for your own Ali Bey.	363
Never shall your bey return for all your waiting.’”	364
When his agèd mother heard these things,	365
she began to grieve as does the mourning dove,	366
puling her lament in swallow’s tones:	367
“It is a hard and bitter thing to be a mother     destitute of sons	368
or a sister brotherless.”	369
Ali’s wife from Hercegovina lamented     in refrain with her,	370
and so they wept together for a while.	371
Ali’s lady said at last:	372
“Mother mine and mother of my lord,	373
will you give me leave	374
to do what I desire?”	375
“Daughter, do what pleases you.”	376
The lady went to her own room,	377
but not with thoughts of resting there.	378
She opened wide a coffer in the room	379
and drew forth raiment from it.	380
First she put on broadcloth trousers	381
cut from finest stuff of Venice.	382
Along each leg were branches of embroidery     in gold,	383
and gilded fasteners twinkled in the light.	384
The fasteners were gilt, the bossets solid silver,	385
and a gilded chainwork was embroidered     round about them;	386
the branches of embroidery extended to the knees.	387
Next she took from out the chest a pair of bodices.	388
Little metal buttons ornamented one, and loops     adorned the other,	389
so that buttons made of gold hung everywhere     in loops	390
with little knobs of gold adangling down.	391
Panels of embroidery in thread of gold extended     over all the garment’s yoke,	392
overspreading wearer’s shoulders right and left	393
with threefold pleats let into it,	394
each stitched with thread of gold.	395
Next she drew forth belting for a corselet;	396
it was a single band of silk and twelve yards long.	397
Three hundred tassles fringed it all along its length,     each terminating in a little metal orb.	398
At each end there was a clasp of gold	399
with settings holding precious gems	400
flashing glints of vermilion.	401
The lady wrapped herself in this	402
from groin to her left breast.	403
She arranged the tassels of the corselet about herself	404
in sets of seven,	405
then she joined the pair of golden clasps.	406
Next she took a brace of little pistols from the chest	407
with caps of gold and hammers all of silver	408
and lacquering of ormolu.	409
These the lady thrust into her corselet,	410
one on either side of her sword-knife.	411
Its sheath was cast in silver	412
and its handle all of purest gold,	413
its temper fit to slay a German in his armour,	414
not to be deflected by a chain mail shir-,	415
fit to cleave a man’s chain mail.	416
Round about her waist she slung a four-piece     leathern holster-belt.	417
All of its compartments were of smelted gold	418
—compartments all of gold and lids of silver,	419
with twinkling golden needles of reflected light     a-dancing on their surfaces.	420
Next she took from out the chest a jacket made     of otterskin,	421
a short one hanging to her waist, with sable trim.	422
Its high collar, worked with gold, rose halfway     to her occiput.	423
The jacket’s shoulders were bestrewn     with little bangles of gold,	424
and golden braid embellished all the chest.	425
Then he took the sabre by its lanyard	426
—its hilt of purest gold,	427
its sheath of ivory,	428
and lacquering of ormolu.	429
She attached it by its golden lanyard,	430
then drew forth the cap with its panaches.	431
Precious stones adorned the cap,	432
with twelve panaches fitted next to them.	433
The thirteenth, on a golden pivot,	434
turned in phase to track the blazing sun,	435
while the dozen others moved	436
to show which way the wind did blow.	437
Out of the chest she next took forth     a Stambolian scarf	438
—a scarf alone of three hundred piasters’ worth—	439
and bound it round her head     to hide her woman’s hair,	440
leaving only the Imperial panaches to be seen.	441
The lady drew out next a silken coat	442
like some high Imperial pasha’s,	443
and poured herself an adequate provision too     of soft gold coins.	444
Finally the lady put on boots	445
and turned her steps to go out through the door.	446
Thence the lady gat her down into the stable     built of masonry,	447
to Zaim Ali Bey’s bay horse.	448
First she set about the grooming of it,	449
using tepid water and white soap.	450
Next she used a towel to rub it down,	451
and when the towel had gathered all the moisture     from the horse’s coat,	452
carefully she curried it until it fairly gleamed.	453
Taking down the harness next,	454
she put the saddle on the bay	455
—a thing made less of wood than of bright gold.	456
Atop of this she spread a drugget cloth     with broidery of gold,	457
and again on that a sea lion’s skin,	458
a sea lion pelt with golden trim.	459
As covering atop the sea lion skin she spread     a pelt of otary;	460
the manicured claws of the otary	461
lay handsomely upon the bay’s haunches,	462
with the gilt edge of the sea lion pelt     just showing under them;	463
for the pelt of otary lay drapped     upon the sea lion fur	464
with golden crescents broidered everywhere on it,	465
and stars a-tumbling down the flanks.	466
The lady fastened all four straps,	467
and over the withers pitched the little holsters     for the horse pistols,	468
which held a pair of matched pistols     with coral-inlaid stocks.	469
On the left she thrust a broadsword underneath     the straps,	470
and to the right she put a finny mace	471
secured with tassellated thong:	472
the golden tossels dangled down the horse’s     shoulder.	473
The boss upon its chest glistened brilliantly	474
like the elegant girdle of a splendidly dressed girl,	475
and above its eyes the gleaming headguard	476
radiantly reflected through the horse’s mane	477
like sun a-shining through the foliage     on a fir tree’s limbs.	478
The stirrups, wrought of bronze,     were all a-glitter too,	479
and the golden targes were refulgent.	480
She took the bay mount by its reins	481
and led it forth from out the mansion     made of masonry.	482
No sooner had the lady come into the yard	483
leading forth the Stambolian bay	484
than a knock of heels resounded     on the paving stones.	485
The mother of Bey Alibey approached,     appealing to her:	486
“Alack, my daughter, wife of Ali Bey,	487
art thou thus a-pillaging the house	488
before thou goest back to Hercegovina,	489
returning to thy brother at Ljubovo?	490
Is this thy way of darkening the honour     of thy bey,	491
abandoning his house	492
whilst yet thy lord and master lives?”	493
Ali Bey’s lady said to her:	494
“Mother whom I won by my wedding,	495
whom I honor as I do the very one who bore me,	496
I am not a-plundering your house,	497
nor yet do I bring any disrepute     upon my lord the Bey,	498
for I am not returning into Hercegovina	499
nor to the Bey, my brother, Ljubović.	500
Rather I have set my face towàrds the government     that rules in Istanbul.	501
I mean to speak with no one less     than our own Emperor himself	502
and make provision for my Bey that way.	503
Mayhap my head will be cut off     for what I am resolved to do,	504
or I be put to death by drowning in the sea.	505
But as Almighty God is your defender     here in this world and the next,	506
inform no one by any hint of yours, mother,	507
that I have left this house.”	508
“Go, daughter; may good fortune go with you!	509
No inkling shall I give to anyone	510
nor in anything shall I betray you,     own true daughter mine.”	511
So the lady fitted her feet in the stirrups,	512
settled herself in the saddle, and uttering     the holy name of God,	513
rode forth along the byways of the land.	514
Thus the lady traversed all of Bosnia	515
and crossed the heights of Mount Romanija,	516
tending ever towards the seat of empire in Stambol.	517
She asked directions everywhere until at last     she came to Istanbul.	518
For one provided with abundant soft gold ducats	520
it is easy asking for directions into Istanbul.	519
When she came to Istanbul’s high roads,	521
she wrapped her silken cloak about herself,	522
and thus she made herself appear     to be some high Imperial pasha.	523
The lady rode along the high roads into Istanbul	524
asking everywhere for guidance     to the lovely medrese,	525
the Medrese of Sultan Suleiman.	526
You ask me where the lady lodged that night:	527
she sought lodging in the New Han     kept by Innsman Omer.	528
As the lady neared his han	529
and drew her bay horse to a halt,	530
Innsman Omer stepped outside     to welcome in his guest.	531
She greeted him in proper Turkish form	532
and Omer answered her in kind:	533
“What service may I do you, neighbour?	534
Will you lodge with me, good sir?”	535
“Thank you, Omer Innsman, brother mine;	536
but let me first see how you will accommodate     my bay,	537
and then perchance I’ll lodge with you myself.”	538
No sooner had the innsman Omer heard this said	539
than he began to jangle keys about the locks	540
as he threw wide his stable built of stone:	541
“Lord of the Border, mounted on your bay horse,	542
see now my lodging for your bay!”	543
When the lady glanced about the place,	544
she saw the stable’s manger	545
was divided in three parts:	546
in one part tender new grass lay,	547
while in another cracked barley,	548
and cool well-water in the third.	549
The horse was free to choose among the three     whichever pleased it best.	550
So the lady gat her down from off the bay	551
and Omer hitched it in the stable	552
while the lady went into the inn.	553
When she had entered in, she took a seat     beside the windowpane.	554
The innsman Omer waited on the lady there:	555
“What service may I do you,	557
border lord, here in my place of lodging?	556
Is it wine and brandy you might want,	558
or something else that I might serve to you?”	559
“Brother Omer, master here in this bright inn,	560
I drink no spirits nor brandy.	561
Bring me coffee; see that it is sweet.”	562
Omer made the coffee to her taste,	563
and when he'd served it, said to her:	564
“Border lord here in my place of lodging,     tell me now,	565
are you someone of this district, sir, or     do you hail from the metropolis?	566
Gazing at thee now, dear sir,	567
methinks thee not much like a man of Istanbul.”	568
The lady softly answered him:	569
“Good brother Omer, dear to me as mine own kin,	570
I am not a man of this district nor of the city either.	571
I am from the noble land of Bosnia;	572
Osman Pasha of Travnik town by name.”	573
When the innsman Omer heard all this, he said:	574
“Osman Pasha of noble Bosnia,	575
I hope no trouble on the Border	576
brings you to the capital in Istanbul?”	577
“Good brother Omer, dear to me as mine own kin,	578
ask me not what are my cares	579
—what are my cares and what my circumstances;	580
only tell me truly this:	581
where is the Medrese of Sultan Suleiman?	582
There I have a certain god-brother,	583
also a man of Bosnia, from Krupa,     city built of stone,	584
who is known by clan as Bey Badujević,	585
and to his friends as Mehmed Bey.	586
The Bey’s connected with the medrese,	587
the Medrese of Sultan Suleiman.	588
Can you somehow bring me to him?	589
I have compelling need to talk with him.”	590
When the innsman Omer heard these things,     he said:	591
“Rest at ease here in these lodgings, Lord Pasha,”	592
and having said this, he went out the door.	593
Away went Omer to the lovely medrese,	594
and coming there,	595
he found its gates were open	596
and the Medrese was full of scholars	597
gathered round the Reverend Talib.	598
Greeting all of them politely,	599
Omer kissed the Reverend’s hand.	600
He bowed, then stood with courteously folded arms.	601
The Reverend Talib gazed at him and said:	602
“My son Omer, keeper of the New Han,	603
what need brings you here to me?”	604
“Oh reverend sir, whose gracious hand I kiss,	605
a certain traveller’s lodged with me	606
from Bosnia, who’s named Osman Pasha.	607
He seeks the Reverend Mehmed,	608
him who’s known by clan as Bey Badujević.	609
He has some need to talk with him.”	610
When the Reverend Talib heard all this,	611
it happened that the Bey Badujević was there     amid the scholars’ gathering.	612
So he spoke to Bey Badujević:	613
“Go now, Bey, to Omer’s inn!”	614
Thereupon the Bey stood up,	615
and the innsman Omer led the way.	616
When they came into the lobby of the inn,	617
he gave a greeting, then he waited on the lady,	618
saying this to Osman Pasha:	619
“Osman Pasha of noble Bosnia,	620
I pray there is no trouble with our enemies	621
that brings you to the seat of power in the capital?”	622
The lady softly answered him:	623
“Reverend Mehmed, my dear brother,	624
ask me not what are my cares	625
—what are my cares and what my circumstances;	626
only tell me truly this:	627
Where is our Ruler’s judgment seat	628
and how may I gain audience?	629
I have matters to be laid before     the Emperor himself.”	630
When Bey Badujević had heard these things,     he said:	631
“Rest at ease here in these lodgings, Lord Pasha,”	632
and having said this, he went back     whence he had come.	633
A short time passed—it was not long—	634
until the inn’s door opened wide again	635
and in the Reverend Talib came	636
together with the Bey Badujević.	637
They drew forth unmarked paper	638
and so upon their laps composed a writ	639
of supplication, begging dispensation     for the man named Osman Pasha	640
to be heard in audience before the Government.	641
“Rest at ease here in these lodgings, Lord Pasha.”	642
Then they went away again     to whence they two had come	643
to petition for a hearing by the Emperor.	644
For a time from that day forth	646
the lady rested idly in the inn.	645
But then one morning when the sun arose	647
the lady too got up betimes,	648
and sat her down beside the windowpane.	649
She then began to cry	650
and to remember Zaim Ali Bey:	651
“Oh, my dear lord Ali Bey,	652
if only you could see me now,	653
how I have come to grief a-resting idly in this inn.	654
But when, my Bey, oh when, may we two     meet again	655
at home in Glasinac in our own bed?”	656
The door flew open soon thereafter	657
and the Reverend Mehmed entered in.	658
“Get up now, Lord Pasha; the time has come to go     to audience before our Ruler’s judgment seat,	659
for we’ve obtained consent for you to be received     at court.	660
His Majesty has summoned you     to his Imperial Divan.”	661
So the lady stood upon her feet	662
and went to court,	663
and Bey Badujević preceded her to guide her     on her way.	664
As they approached the Emperor’s Divan	665
and came before the chamber doors,	666
the Reverend Talib met them there	667
and offered counsel to Osman, the Imperial Pasha:	668
“Osman Pasha from Bosnia the Beautiful,	669
I shall introduce you to the Court,	670
since I have sponsored you in your petition     for a hearing by the Emperor;	671
you will therefore follow me as we go in.	672
Be careful, Osman Pasha; do not jest!	673
His Majesty’s Divan is kind and merciful,	674
and pashas and viziers attend him in his Court.	675
Two gloomy executioners stand in his presence too,	676
dark-eyed and bushily mustached.	677
Each holds in hand a naked sword	678
and gazes watchfully about the Court to see	679
whom he may next dispatch.	680
Be prudent, Osman Pasha; do not jest!	681
Here it is an easy thing to win reward     for service to the Emperor,	682
but even easier to lose your life.”	683
Having said these things, he went into the Court	684
and Osman Pasha followed him.	685
But the lady, born of heroes’ stock,	686
knew well what way to bear herself in audience.	687
She bowed her from her silken waist	688
and kissed the cloth whereon the Sovereign sat,	689
then rising, stood with courteously folded arms.	690
The Emperor began to speak to her:	691
“Noble liegeman, Osman Pasha,	692
what brings you here to me?	693
Say what it is that you would have me hear.”	694
When the lady understood these words,	695
again she bowed her from the waist	696
to kiss the cloth whereon he sat,	697
and standing straight again, began to speak:	698
“Oh gracious Emperor, Effulgent Sun,	699
it is a thing of wonder and of terror     to behold you face to face,	700
and even more to speak with you!	701
And yet I must, for what has come to pass     must not endure.	702
I am not what I appear to be, the pasha     named Osman,	703
but rather Zlata, sister of Bey Ljubović	704
and faithful wife of Zaim Ali Bey,	705
who was my husband formerly.	706
But now my Bey’s a prisoner	707
a-lying in the donjon of the Ban of Zadar town	708
for lo these seven years.	709
The Ban at last has put a ransom on his head.	710
But what price is it he has laid upon my Ali Bey?	711
It is in truth on you in Istanbul     that he has set his price!”	712
Having said this, she produced the letter	713
which the Bey had made in Zadar town	714
and gave it to the Sultan     where he sat upon his throne.	715
When the Sultan Emperor     had read the letter through,	716
he raised his head and said:	717
“Hello and hail to thee, milord the Ban,     thou adder-in-the-rock!	718
To no man, Ban, do I pay ransom price!	719
But as I live and rule,	720
I shall cause this bey’s return!”	721
He shot a glance across the court,	722
and straightway one of his pashas stood up	723
and came to stand alertly by the throne.	724
The Sultan softly said to him:	725
“Liegeman mine, Osman Pasha,	726
go now, call up a corps of Guard,	727
twelve thousand men.	728
Equip them with a dozen lombards too,	729
and march with them by way of ardent Bosnia,	730
through all of Bosnia until you come     to Lika’s wide expanse.	731
Salute there my lord Mustay Bey,	732
by whose hand I require release of Zaim Ali Bey.	733
Either your head I require to be struck off,	734
or else that you bring me the severed head     of Zadar’s Ban,	735
or he himself brought here to me in Istanbul     a prisoner.	736
I hold your life in bond for his.”	737
Then to the lady he began to speak:	738
“Daughter Zlata, dear to me as though thou wert     a child of mine own loins,	739
go home, sweet child, to thine own Glasinac.	740
I shall attend to rescue of thy bey.”	741
And he gave her a thousand ducats as a gift.	742
So the lady turned and left the Court,	743
while the Pasha went to muster up his regiment.	744
The lady went to Omer’s han,	745
and when she came to Omer’s inn,	746
she paid the keeper all his due,	747
then mounted on her bay	748
and rode away along the roads of Istanbul.	749
Thence the lady turned towards noble Bosnia.	750
Day by day she travelled till she came to Bosnia,	751
until one day Glasinac lay before her.	752
The lady fell to thinking as she rode the bay:	753
“Thanks be to Thee, dear God, for all these things;	754
for how I’ve gone to Istanbul	755
and spoken with the Emperor himself.	756
In this affair I’ve fended better     than the Ban of Zadar has.	757
Were I now to go abjectly to my home in Glasinac,	760b
I should be no better than a daughter of the mare     that bore this horse,	759
which presently of its own will would take me there,	760a
and no true daughter of the mother     who did in fact bear me.”	758
So she firmly put her hand upon the reins     and turned the bay	761
down through level Glasinac,	762
and made her way beyond that town     the length of ardent Bosnia.	763
The lady journeyed on to level Cetina,	764
to Cetina beneath Snigutina,	765
to Sir Mahmood Agha’s bright mansion.	766
And so in course of time the lady came in view	767
urging her thoroughbred across the Plain of Cetina.	768
Posting on the bay, the lady thought,	769
the lady thought that no one was aware of her,	770
but from the window of his drawing room	772
old Mahmood watched her all the while.	771
The young clerk Husein waited on him there,	773
standing in his father’s presence     with courteously folded arms.	774
But as the old man watched her     through the windowpane,	775
watched the lady and the horse,	776
and how she sat it as she posted     o’er the Plain of Cetina	777
—the splendid temper of the horse	778
and the lady’s splendid horsemanship—	779
seeing these, the old man heaved a sigh	780
and tears welled in his eyes.	781
Said Clerke Husein to his father:	782
“What is it troubles you, father—I kiss your hand;	783
Why do I see these tears upon your cheeks,	784
these tears a-dance along your beard	785
like pearls that fall upon a field of white satin?	786
What is it, father, that has saddened you?	787
Do you imagine that your time has come,	788
and have you fallen prey to thoughts of death?”	789
Sir Mahmood Agha said to him:	790
“Young Huso, my dear child, my son,	791
I have no intimation that my time has come,	792
but how I do regret my age!	793
I too have ridden noble horses in my time	794
and chaffed good cloth to tatters     twixt myself and saddle.	795
Look there, dear son, at yonder rider;	796
see how he posts along the level Plain of Cetina.	797
While I yet had the strength of youth     in my own arm,	798
such too was the vitality in me.	799
Go quickly, son, down to the courtyard gate;	800
it is certainly to our stone mansion that he comes,	801
and he may be some stranger in this land,	802
for surely I do not know him, nor do I know     his place of origin.	803
Go down quickly therefore to receive our guest.”	804
Huso gat him to the courtyard gate	805
and the lady came a-riding up to him.	806
Greeting him, she made the bay to stand,	807
and thus the lady said to him     from where she sat astride the bay:	808
“Is perchance the Agha here at home?”	809
Clerke Huso softly said to her:	810
“My father is above, sitting in the drawing room.”	811
So the lady lighted from the bay.	812
Clerke Huso tethered her good mount	813
while the lady made her way     into the drawing room.	814
Opening the door,	815
she found the master at his ease.	816
Courteously she saluted him and stood respectfully	817
while he politely bade her welcome.	818
He gave his greeting standing up,	819
and while still standing asked politely     how she fared.	820
Thus each assured the other of good health.	821
Then they sat them down together     in the warmth beside the windowpane,	822
and Clerke Husein prepared them coffee.	823
Evening came upon them	824
as they sat thus holding conversation.	825
At last Sir Mahmood raised his head and said:	826
“Man of the Border, you who have come here     to my drawing room,	827
I hope you will not think me inhospitable tonight	828
if I should ask you who you are,     from whence you come.	829
Whence do you come, indeed? What is your name?	830
Of what Imperial city are you citizen?”	831
When the lady understood his words, she said:	832
“I shall tell you what you ask, Sir Mahmood Agha.	833
I am Zlata, daughter of Bey Ljubović	834
and faithful wife of Zaim Ali Bey.”	835
When the elder gentleman     had understood these words, he said:	836
“Daughter Zlata, dear to me as though     you were a child of mine own loins,	837
I hope that you’ve not sacked your husband’s house	838
nor cast umbrage on the honour of your Bey,	839
flitting thus along the byways of the land.”	840
When the lady heard these words, she said:	841
“Indeed, sir, I have not, I swear to you     by my religion!”	842
Then she told the elder gentleman veraciously	843
how the Bey lay prisoner in icy Zadar town,	844
how the Ban had set a price upon the Bey,	845
and what he wanted for to ransom Zaim Ali Bey,	846
and how his ransom fell upon the Emperor     in Istanbul.	847
She told Sir Mahmood Agha further	848
how she’d gone down to the seat of government     in Istanbul	849
and talked there with the Emperor himself.	850
“I know even better how to treat the Ban	851
and to make provision for my own dear Bey,	852
or else to die in making the attempt.”	853
Of course Sir Mahmood Agha said to that:	854
“Daughter Zlata, dear to me as mine own child,	855
you must not go to cold Zadar,	856
for you know nothing of how one campaigns there.	857
God forbid that any Christians capture you	858
and our ruler hear of it in Istanbul!	859
In that event he might well say	860
that Bosnia is destitute of able Turkish men.”	861
When the lady understood his words,     she answered him:	862
“Sir, I swear to you by my religion, you will     accomplish nothing by such arguments;     I am resolute.	863
Do not suppose that you can frighten me,     for I am unafraid,	864
nor will I turn aside from what I plan     for all of your dissuasion.”	865
“Daughter mine, dear to me as mine own child,	866
my elder son Tatar, unluckily, is not at home.	867
He has gone down to the marches of the Coast	868
to visit aunts and uncles.	869
His uncle Gavran Galešić	871
dwells there, his mother’s brother.	870
Wait here till he comes home again;	872
wait at least until I can arrange     to have my son Tatar	873
escort you down to cold Zadar.”	874
“Sir, that will not answer, by my faith.	875
Tatar cannot go to fight with me at Zadar town,	876
for I have sworn a mighty oath upon my faith	877
to have no other comrade go with me	878
but God and my good horse.	879
Only give me, I implore you     as I would my own parent,	881a-880
some of the Infidel’s attire	881b
to wear for my disguise when I go there a-warring.	882
If you will not give it to me,	883
then I swear to you by my religion,	884
I shall go there anyway,     dressed in Turkish fashion just as I am now.”	885
When the Agha heard these words,	886
he gat him to his feet	887
and, opening a chest there in the room,	888
brought forth from it the garments of an infidel.	889
First he took out close-fit silken trousers	890
of a Latin cut.	891
The lady took them from him,     then she put them on.	892
Next she donned a metal-studded vest	893
and a belt about her waist.	894
She arranged her firearms on the belt,	895
and then attached a silver-studded bandolier.	896
She donned a tunic all of green,	897
of such smart tailoring as cannot anywhere be seen     until you come to Vienna, city built of stone.	898
The military decorations on it had been     pinned there by the Kaiser’s hand itself:	899
the collar bore a golden star,	900
and there were golden stripes upon the sleeves.	901
Next she donned the cap,     and cocked it smartly o’er her eyes,	902
and let the braidwork hang suspended     down her back,	903
and tucked in place the crosses cast of gold.	904
She strapped on the sword	905
and put the black boots on her feet;	906
there were German spurs     affixed upon the darkling boots.	907
Sir Mahmood laughed to see her in full dress:	908
“Daughter Zlata, dear to me as mine own child,	909
had I not myself equipped you with all this,	910
I could not recognize you, daughter.	911
Nor will any other man     see through this close disguise.”	912
Now the lady said she wished to go.	913
Clerke Huso prepared her mount	914
and Sir Mahmood walked outside with her     to see her safely on her way.	915
When the lady’d mounted on the horse,	916
Sir Mahmood Agha gave her this advice:	917
“Daughter Zlata, dear to me as mine own child,	918
As you leave this place, go straight ahead     to Mount Prolog.	919
Cross right over it, and descend the other side.	920
That will bring you to the foot     of yet another mountain, High Zrmanja.	921
As you descend its farther slope	922
towards the wellspring of Zrmanja,	923
give your bay his head and let him choose     which way to go,	924
for of his own volition he will carry you     to bright Zadar.	925
While Zaim Ali Bey was still among us,	926
he often used to go to cold Zadar,	927
and his good horse has learned what road to take.”	928
When they had said these things,     they took their leave of one another	929
and the lady rode away.	930
She sat her horse and made her way     down Prolog’s farther slope,	931
then passed beneath High Zrmanja.	932
From its declivity, she came into the Plain     of Zrmanja,	933
and when she’d fairly entered onto it,	934
she said to her bay horse:	935
“Oh my dear bay, my resilient wing,	936
by the true God	937
and by the white barley you love so well,	938
I adjure you, do not lose our bearings now!	939
Where formerly you’ve bourne my dear Bey,	940
so too bear me along the selfsame way.”	941
The good brute lacked ability to speak,	942
and so in answer it could only champ the bit     and prick its ears	943
as it galloped on in perfect certainty     of where it meant to go.	944
And so in time she came to bright Zadar.	945
Four sentries were on duty	947
keeping Zadar’s gate	948
when she approached the city’s wall.	946
They bore muskets and wore pouches     made of suede.	949
The lady greeted them with invocation     of God’s help,	950
and the soldiers answered her in kind.	951
Resting muskets,	952
they took off their caps and said,	953
“Good health to you, good Sir!”	954
“And good health to you, good guardsmen;     thanks to God!”	955
The lady rode ahead till something caught her eye	956
as she surveyed the city’s mighty wall.	957
There she saw a certain Vlah,	958
bareheaded, flecked with blood,	959
and tears were running down his cheeks.	960
He was leaning on his left arm,	961
cursing his own lord the Ban,	962
and invoking Mustay Bey of the Lika’s name.	963
When he saw the lady and the bay,	964
and how its rider wore the Kaiser’s military medal,	965
the Christian came to meet her,	966
did obeisance,	967
then he kissed the lady’s boot:	968
“I hope that you are well, sir,     Commander of the Kaiser’s legions.”	969
“I am well, thanks be to God.	970
But tell me, Vlah, veraciously,	971
what is it makes you so unhappy here in Zadar,     city built of stone?	972
Why are you execrating your lord Ban	973
and invoking Mustay Bey of Lika’s name?”	974
The Christian softly answered her:	975
“Good sir, scion of a lordly father,	976
if you would know who and whence I am,	977
I am Nicholas Vojvodić by name,	978
from the Coastland in the district of bright Zadar.	979
I was in the service of the Ban of Zadar	980
and worked as water-bearer to the gentlefolk.	981
My lord the Ban has raised a daughter to maturity,	982
a girl by name of Rose a-dwelling in his house,     who is very dear to him.	983
He has given Rose to be the bride	984
of a certain Captain Peter	986
from a shoaly place where shellfish multiply     beyond the district of bright Zadar.	985
The bridegroom’s party soon will come     to carry her away.	987
The Ban has set out drink to entertain     his daughter’s wedding celebrants,	988
while Rose is leading other girls in ring-dancing.	989
Myself an unwived man, a bachelor,	990
I too want the company of girls,	991
and so I tried to join them in their dance.	992
My lord the Ban, he screamed at me	993
and sent his soldiers forth to do me hurt.	994
Some threw sticks and others stones,	995
and I in headlong haste to get away     have left my cap behind.	996
A moment more, and it might well have been     my life I’d lost.”	997
When the lady understood his words,	998
she softly said to Nicholas:	999
“What shall you do now, Nicholas Vojvodić,	1000
what plan have you in mind? Where will you go?”	1001
“Good sir, and scion of a lordly father,	1002
if I were able, I should go to Vienna,     city built of stone,	1003
there to lodge complaint against the Ban     of Zadar town	1004
before the Kaiser’s richly broidered throne.	1005
My misery and grief are all the more	1006
in that I have neither pence nor groats     to pay for going there,	1007
and so I do not know at all what I may do.	1008
I see no other recourse in my present circumstance	1009
than that I should seek refuge     on the Turkish Border	1010
under the protection of Bey Mustaybey     in the province of the Lika.	1011
So might I escape the persecution     of the Ban of Zadar.”	1012
When the lady understood these words,	1013
she spoke thus to Nicholas:	1014
“Lead me to the Ban of Zadar’s mansion.	1015
You have my oath upon my faith,	1016
I shall resolve this matter for you with the Ban,	1018
and turn the wrong done you to right.”	1017
Nicholas was keenly willing     —scarcely could he wait—	1019
and straightway led her into Zadar town.	1020
Still mounted on the bay, she followed after him.	1021
He went directly to the mansion of the Ban,	1022
and as he stepped into its yard	1023
she rode in behind him.	1024
Outside the house a wondrous ring dance     circled round	1025
with Rose the Magyar girl a-turning in it,	1026
while the Ban of Zadar sat observant	1027
on a knoll nearby, quaffing his cool drink.	1028
When he caught sight of Nick’las Vojvodić	1029
—bareheaded still and flecked with blood—	1030
and of the lady on the horse who followed him,	1031
the Ban at once was troubled in his mind.	1032
He stepped down from his place upon the knoll	1033
and went a-flying to the lady on the bay.	1034
Holding out his hand to her, he said,	1035
“Good health to you, my worthy sir!”	1036
From where she sat astride the horse,     the lady spoke to him:	1037
“May a serpent with a lethal bite	1040
strike you just there on your outstretched hand	1038
four days before Saint George’s Feast!	1039
You cannot cozen me     with such mere pacifying words.”	1041
The Ban went back to where he’d sat	1042
and poured out there a chalice full of drink.	1043
Then with a pretty toast to her good health,     he offered it to her.	1044
The lady softly spoke to him:	1045
“Away with all your brews and brandy,	1046
for I’ll drink none of them,	1047
nor shall you cozen me with suchlike     paltry pacifying cups and toasts.	1048
I have a mind to lodge a charge against you     with the Kaiser in Vienna.	1049
My business since I’ve left Vienna,     city built of stone,	1050
has been to see the just thing done in all disputes     wherever I have gone.	1051
Sir, your government I find unjust.	1052
You drive out such helpless poor     as this forlorn fellow	1053
and cause your citizens to flee for refuge     to the Turkish Border,	1054
there to seek protection with Bey Mustaybey     in the province of the Lika.	1055
Go, lord Ban, and find a corner in your house     for me	1056
where I may be at ease and so recruit myself a little     from the weariness of travel.”	1057
When the Ban had understood her words,	1058
he flew to Rose, the Magyar girl:	1059
“Only daughter, my dear Rose,	1060
go to yonder gentleman,	1061
and take him with you to your chamber	1062
—for all young men are greedy     for girls’ company—	1063
there let him take his ease.	1064
See you do him every service that he asks;	1065
so may I yet retain my rank and titles.”	1066
Rose was quick to do as she was bid	1067
and came to where the lady sat astride the horse.	1068
The lady thereupon dismounted from the bay,	1069
and Nick’las Vojvodić took it by the reins	1070
to walk the horse till it had cooled.	1071
Rose led the way into the mansion built of stone,	1072
took the lady to her own apartment,	1073
and made a place for her to sit     upon the window seat.	1074
The cushion there was stuffed with down,     and not with paltry wool.	1075
The lady comfortably arranged her weapons	1076
while Rose the Magyar girl stood waiting     at her service.	1077
She stood with courteously folded arms:	1078
“Sir, Commander of the Kaiser’s legions,	1079
what service may I do you?	1080
Would brew and brandy be what you desire,	1081
or is there any other service I may do for you?”	1082
“Lovely Rose of Zadar’s Ban,	1083
I drink neither brew nor brandy.	1084
Bring me coffee sweetened well	1085
—well sugared and well clarified—	1086
made in the manner usual for us     commanders of the Kaiser’s legions.”	1087
Sweet Rose went out to do her bidding	1088
and the Bey’s wife gazed upon her as she went.	1089
Appraising thus the daughter of the Ban,	1090
she saw that Rose the Magyar girl     was very beautiful.	1091
She was neither large nor yet too small,	1092
with a complexion colored perfectly,	1093
and light of skin beneath her comely dress.	1094
Her ermines whispered ’gainst her flesh     whene’er she moved,	1095
and she wore silken petticoats.	1096
About her throat there were four necklaces:	1097
the first was set with precious stones,	1098
and coral from the Indies formed another.	1099
The ruddy coral lay upon her lustrous skin	1100
beneath her raven tresses	1101
just like gobs of blood on snow     caressed by Eurus’ breeze.	1102
Her third necklace was entirely made     of soft gold ducats,	1103
and it hung suspended as a lover does     around about his darling’s neck.	1104
The electric glance of her bright eyes flashed     like lightning rippling,	1105
and the timbre of her voice was sweetly gentle     as the dripping of condensèd dew.	1106
When thus the lady had surveyed fair Rose,	1107
inwardly conversing with herself, she said:	1108
“My dear lord, Ali Bey,	1109
now that I have seen the girl, I do not blame you	1110
that you’ve risked and lost your liberty for her.”	1111
In a little while—a short time passed—	1112
Rose returned into the room.	1113
She brought the lady sweetened coffee,	1114
well sugared and well clarified,	1115
and poured it out for her to drink.	1116
Then the lady said these words to her:	1117
“Fair Rose of Zadar’s Ban,	1118
go now and tell your father	1119
to compose his differences with Nick’las Vojvodić;	1120
let him not be driven to abandon Zadar town,	1121
nor yet desert us for the Turkish Border.	1122
Let him give the man a gift of thirty golden ducats,	1123
and a brace of pistols to wear at his waist,	1124
and a new cap for his head.”	1125
Rose left the drawing room obediently.	1126
When she found her father in his room,	1127
the sun already was a-going down.	1128
Then the Ban said this to Rose:	1129
“Sweet Rose, my only daughter,	1130
tell me your opinion.	1131
Can the man somehow be mollified?	1132
Will you be able to preserve my titles     and my rank?”	1133
When she’d comprehended what her father’d said,	1134
his daughter answered him:	1135
“The Commander of the Kaiser’s legions     bids me tell you this:	1136
compose your quarrel with Nick’las Vojvodić.	1137
Give him thirty Magyar ducats	1138
and a brace of pistols to put on about his waist,	1139
and a new cap for his head.	1140
Do this lest he flee into the Lika.”	1141
“I’ll soon compose my quarrel with Nicholas.	1142
Go to your chamber, Rose,	1143
and wait upon the Duke.	1144
Perhaps he’ll be appeased toward me.”	1145
Rose returned whence she had come.	1146
When she’d come again to her own room,	1147
she waited on the lady there,	1148
and this is what the lady said to her:	1149
“Lovely Rose of Zadar’s Ban,	1150
answer truly what I ask:	1151
what observance is this household celebrating?	1152
Is it some occasion of festivity, or one of grief?”	1153
“Sorrow it is not; rather cumbrous gladness,	1154
for in faith my daddy’s given me to wed	1155
a certain Captain Peter, whom I do not love,	1157
whose dwelling lies away down by the seaside     where the shellfish spawn.	1156
He has mated me with an old Magyar.”	1158
When the lady’d heard these words,	1159
she spoke again to Rose:	1160
“Lovely Rose of Zadar’s Ban,	1161
since you’ve made me so comfortable,	1162
let me gratify your wish.	1163
Whom does your heart desire to wed?”	1164
Now when Rose had understood her words,     she said:	1165
“Sir, Commander of the Kaiser’s legions,	1166
were you to swear to me by your firm oath	1167
that you would not betray me in this thing,	1168
I would tell you truly	1169
whom my heart desires to be my husband.”	1170
“Rose, I swear to you, this is no treachery.”	1171
“Good sir, and scion of a lordly father,	1172
my heart desires to wed	1173
a certain Turk named Zaim Ali Bey.	1174
I have pledged my troth to him with all my soul	1175
for lo these seven years	1176
since he was taken prisoner.	1177
Even now he lies below, a captive     in my father’s gaol.”	1178
When the lady’d understood these words, she said:	1179
“Go tell the Ban your daddy this:	1180
have him bring his captive forth     from out the donjon.	1181
Let him cause his fetters to be struck off,	1182
and accommodate him in the rooms downstairs.	1183
There let him entertain the prisoner in style,	1184
and offer to him all that he may wish to drink.	1185
Not even when the emperors themselves     rose up in arms	1186
and waged ferocious war ’gainst one another,	1187
not even then did they admit such viciousness	1188
as holding any prisoner of war	1189
in prison seven years,	1191
in a dungeon pit of naked stone	1190
where he might never see nor sun nor moon!”	1192
Rose left her room	1193
and went to find a pitcher	1194
and a crystal cup.	1195
These she carried to the Ban her father in his room,	1196
and there she filled the cup.	1197
She wished him health and, giving him the drink,     she said:	1198
“Think no ill of me, dear daddy,	1199
for my making free with heady spirits thus.”	1200
She wished him health and gave the cup to him,	1201
and in a single draught he drained it dry.	1202
“Daughter Rose, I blame you not.	1203
Now tell me what you think:	1204
can he be somehow mollified?”	1205
“Dear daddy, worthy sir,	1206
I think he may be mollified.	1207
The worthy sir’s instructed me	1208
that you bring forth Zaim Ali Bey     from out your gaol,	1209
for he is taking census of all prisoners,	1210
and I told him, daddy, ’bout the Bey.	1211
You are to accommodate him in the rooms     downstairs,	1212
cause his fetters to be struck off,	1213
and entertain the prisoner in style.	1214
Offer all to him that he may wish to drink.	1215
He means to take him to the Kaiser in Vienna.”	1216
The Ban was keenly willing     —hardly could he wait—	1217
and straightway fetched the Bey     from out the donjon.	1218
He made him comfortable in the rooms downstairs,	1219
and caused his fetters to be struck off.	1220
He entertained the prisoner in the grandest style	1221
and set before him plenteous drink	1222
with thick-cut joints of succulent lamb’s meat.	1223
The Bey’s wife meanwhile	1224
said to Rose again:	1225
“When the dark of night descends,	1226
go to the rooms downstairs	1227
and bring the Bey up here to me.	1228
I shall escort the two of you as far as the frontier,	1229
whence you may go where’er you please.	1230
As for the Ban, I know how to manage him     in this affair.”	1231
Rose was keenly willing—hardly could she wait—	1232
and shortly reached the rooms downstairs,	1233
whence she brought forth the captive Zaim Ali Bey	1234
and took him to the lady’s chamber.	1235
The lady gazed at Zaim Ali Bey, and saw	1236
how his red hair had overgrown his eyes.	1237
His clothes were mouldy	1238
and his manly body blackened by abuse and grime.	1239
Rose set a table for him,	1240
then she poured out cup on cup for him to drink.	1241
As he drank, the Bey gazed at the lady	1242
and to himself he said, conversing inwardly:	1243
“Thanks be to Thee, dear God, for all these things!	1244
This is no Commander of the Kaiser’s legions,	1245
but rather someone of the Turks;	1246
only who it is I cannot tell, nor do I know     his provenance.”	1247
Rose, the Magyar girl, then said:	1248
“Sir, the time has come for us to go,	1249
for we have far to travel and the days are short.	1250
If in truth there is no falsehood in your plan	1251
to see me safely out of Zadar, city built of stone,	1252
it is time that we depart.”	1253
“I must, i’ faith, do yet another thing.	1254
I must pay a visit to the Ban in his own room	1255
to fetch a sword from him	1256
and a brace of pistols,	1257
for the Bey will need these things for his protection     while he travels, and for yours.”	1258
Little did Rose know, poor child,	1259
that her father was about to lose his life.	1260
So she led the lady from her chamber	1261
to the portal of the Ban’s.	1262
As Rose turned ’round and walked away,	1263
the lady entered in.	1264
There was no one in the chamber	1265
but the Ban alone in bed and fast asleep.	1266
The lady gazed about the room	1267
until she spied some weapons and some clothing     for the Bey.	1268
She gathered all the things she wanted     from around the room,	1269
and then took down a saber from its fixture     on the wall.	1270
It proved to be the sword of Ali Bey himself.	1271
Laying hold upon the weapon firmly by its hilt,     she said:	1272
“Hello, thou sword of my own Ali Bey!	1273
Wilt thou remember how to cut tonight?	1274
Long time has lapsed since thou     last slaked thy thirst for blood.”	1275
The sword-blade flashed in air as, raising it on high     with her right arm,	1276
the lady cleanly cut the head from off the Ban.	1277
Then she hid it underneath her cloak	1278
lest Rose the Magyar girl should chance to see it.	1279
Returning to the room	1280
where she had left Bey Alibey	1281
and Rose the Magyar girl,	1282
she found the chamber empty,	1283
and so she too descended.	1284
Coming to the yard, the lady	1285
found to her surprise	1286
that Rose already had secured their mounts.	1287
She had taken for herself a horse	1288
with dappled hooves, a goodly horse,     from where it stood beside the manger,	1289
and a shaggy black horse for the Bey,	1290
and the bay horse for the Bey’s lady,	1291
for it too was in the stable.	1292
So they mounted their good steeds.	1293
Rose led the way	1294
with milord the Bey behind her on the black;	1295
the Bey’s wife rode behind the Bey	1296
as they moved through the streets of Zadar town.	1297
Simaš was the guardsman keeping watch	1299
when they approached the city gate.	1298
Rosie called ‘good evening’ to the man,	1300
and he returned her salutation.	1301
“Good Sir Simaš, portal keeper of the town,	1302
open Zadar’s gate for me.	1303
I am bent upon a visit to our clergy	1304a-1305b
in the monastery	1304b
to confess me of my sins,	1306
for tomorrow is my wedding day.”	1307
Simeš opened up the gate for her,	1308
and the three of them rode out.	1309
They made their way across the coastal plain	1310
as dawn came on them from the east.	1311
The Ban’s wife meanwhile rose betimes	1312
and went into her husband’s bedroom	1313
for to quench her thirst.	1314
Coming thus into his shining room, 1315	1315
the lady found his headless trunk.	1316
Quickly she went out again	1317
to summon up her son, Matthew.	1318
“Matthew, my son, a plague upon your drinking!	1319
Was your father’s head this night still firm     upon his shoulders?”	1320
“Mother, what lunacy is this you speak? 1321	1321
Had it not been, how could he     have drunk his wine?	1322
Into what else could he put away his supper?”	1323
“By the Holy Cross, he has a head no more!	1324
Some devils—of what kind I do not know—     have flayed it off!”	1325
Matt sprang up, and soon he found	1326
his sister Rose no longer in the mansion	1327
nor the prisoner in gaol.	1328
At once he realized:	1329
“Someone of the Turks has duped me!”	1330
He hurried quickly to the city wall	1331
and fired the cannon of Zadar,	1332
the two big guns called Black and Green.	1333
The crash of their discharge beside the vasty sea	1334
went thundering away across the Coast     and all the length of both the Marches.	1335
Matt had standing troops besides,	1336
and promptly sent them in pursuit.	1337
Rose the Magyar girl kept calling:	1338
“Faster, Bey! We must ride faster up the Coast,	1339
for a mighty throng has set out in pursuit of us     by now!”	1340
The black earth trembled with the quick tattoo     of a good mount’s running hooves	1341
till Nick’las Vojvodić appeared,	1342
and as he rode he called to them with mighty voice:	1343
“New brother, Zaim Ali Bey,	1344
I must follow where you go!”	1345
So they fled on together ’cross the coastal plain.	1346
Some of the Marchlands’ borderers     began to overtake them here and there,	1347
While Prince Matthew’s teeming throng     pressed towards them from behind.	1348
Nick’las Vojvodić would stop from time to time     to fight them off	1349
when they came near the Bey,	1350
and time and time again the lady too     would turn and fight.	1351
Watching what she did, Bey Alibey,	1352
conversing inwardly, would ponder to himself:	1353
“Dear God, what a strange and wondrous fighter!	1354
Only who he is I cannot tell, nor do I know     his provenance.”	1355
Young men of the coastal marches     chased them closely all the while,	1356
and some would come abreast of them     while others overtook and passed them by.	1357
The Bey drove forward steadily until he reached     the foot of High Zrmanja.	1358
But when at last the Bey’s eyes glimpsed	1359
the icy wellspring under Zrmanja,	1360
behold! the Field of Zrmanja was covered     all in white.	1361
Tents stood as thick upon the field as tufted     decorations on an outspread cloth.	1362
A mighty army had assembled there,	1363
for the Stambouline Pasha had brought his troops	1364
to fetch the severed head of Zadar’s Ban.	1365
He himself had led the Home Guard thither	1366
and along the way had also raised     the headman of the Lika,	1367
who thus had come with him to campaign     ’gainst the Coast.	1368
Hard by the wellspring under Zrmanja	1369
stood the Stambouline Pasha’s pavilion.	1370
Three golden orbs atop his tent	1371
attested to the Pasha’s presence under it.	1372
Lika’s Mustaybey was keeping company with him.	1373
When Prince Matthew saw all this,	1374
he checked his throng of hot pursuers,	1375
and they milled about the verdant field.	1376
Meanwhile, the Bey drove headlong     on across the verdant field	1377
till all four fugitives had reached the Pasha’s tent.	1378
Having thus escaped their enemies, they four     dismounted from their thoroughbred steeds.	1379
Ali loudly called a salutation to the Pasha,	1380
then he ran to kiss the Pasha’s hand,	1381
then the hand of Lika’s Mustaybey.	1382
The Pasha, lo, was first to speak:	1383
“Who is this who comes to me     and takes my hand?”	1384
“Pasha, by my faith, it is Zaim Ali Bey,	1385
Ban of Zadar’s erstwhile prisoner.”	1386
“And who, my son, has set you free?”	1387
“Ah, Pasha, that I do not know.”	1388
Indeed the Bey did know, but would not say.	1389
Then the lady kissed the Pasha’s hand,	1390
and revealed the severed head:	1391
“Here, Pasha, whose hand I kiss,	1392
is the head of Zadar’s Ban.”	1393
When the Pasha saw the thing with his own eyes,	1394
he was very glad, opened wide his arms,	1395
and gestured to embrace the lady.	1396
“Hold, Pasha! Embrace me not,	1397
for our custom on the Border	1398
is to give a gift, but not embrace.”	1399
So the Pasha delved into his pockets,	1400
whence he gave a hundred ducats to the lady.	1401
Then she went to stand beside her Ali Bey.	1402
There within his tent the Pasha called to her:	1403
“Young man, who are you? What is your origin?	1404
From what district do you come?	1405
What is your clan’s name	1406
—what is your nomen, what’s your praenomen?”	1407
“By name, Pasha, I am Bey Ljubović.”	1408
The Stamboline Pasha once more     addressed Bey Ljubović:	1409
“As surely as I live,	1410
I shall reward you yet again for your exploit.”	1411
The lady turned her head and said to him:	1412
“Whatever gift you think to give to me,	1413
give it instead to my own Ali Bey.”	1414
And having told him this, she removed her sword,	1415
and handed it to Ali Bey:	1416
“Take, oh Bey, this well-forged sword,	1417
and take this Rose, the Magyar girl.	1418
For I am not Bey Ljubović himself,	1419
but sister of the same,	1420
and faithful wife of Zaim Ali Bey.”	1421
To Mustaybey, the Bey of Lika, this revelation     was delicious,	1422
and he laughed broadly at the jest;	1423
but it amazed the Stamboline Pasha.	1424
So the Lika’s headman said to him:	1425
“You see, Pasha, what breed of heroes     we do cultivate.”	1426
Nick’las Vojvodić now cast himself     upon the ground	1427
and kissed the black earth in supplication     to the Bey:	1428
“My dear Bey, whose gracious hand I kiss,	1429
I crave your leave	1430
and your authority to lead the army.	1431
Let me turn back the men who’ve chased us     from the Coast	1432
and raid the level Littoral.”	1433
His plan was very welcome to the Bey,	1434
but even as he was about to answer in consent	1435
Little Radovan spoke out	1436
from where he waited next to Nicholas:	1437
“Only come away with me, my brother Nicholas!	1438
We need no blessing from the Bey!”	1439
So the two of them took horse     and raced away to battle	1440
with the youthful ensigns hard behind them,	1441
and all the army joined in the attack.	1442
Gunsmoke soon obscured the coastal plain	1444
where the two sides clashed,	1443
and the flashes and reports of gunfire     rent the pall of smoke on ev’ry side.	1445
Sabre flashed and blood flowed free.	1446
The wounded groaned, and those who had     no wounds went trampling heedlessly upon     the wounded as the fighting swirled,	1447
for sabre flashed and blood flowed everywhere.	1448
So the two sides chased and fought each other     for a time,	1449
until at last they beat the Coastland’s warriors back.	1450
Nick’las Vojvodić meantime	1451
went down to his own home	1452
and set his wooden house on fire,	1453
for he had no more need of it.	1454
The Turks now congregated on the battlefield	1455
to gather up their wounded.	1456
They performed the rites of burial for the dead	1457
and carried off the wounded to be leeched.	1458
The Imperial Pasha marched his troops away.	1459
Meanwhile Ali Bey escorted his new brother     homeward,	1460
his new brother Nick’las Vojvodić,	1461
and with him both the ladies.	1462
So they reached the Bey’s estate in Udvina.	1463
The Pasha stopped the Home Guard there,	1464
for he would fain be entertained in hall     by Lika’s Mustaybey,	1465
and with him would go Zaim Ali Bey,	1466
and with Ali Nick’las Vojvodić;	1467
for the Bey esteemed him like a brother     of his own blood.	1468
Both the ladies went into the mansion too.	1469
But when a certain time had passed,	1470
the Stamboline Pasha took his leave,	1471
and so did Ali Bey,	1472
who made his way to his own house in Glasinac.	1473
There he began a proper celebration,	1474
a celebration in two parts.	1475
The Pasha too attended this festivity.	1476
Ali held great revelry, with much     discharge of guns,	1477
day by day until a month had passed.	1478
But when the next month came,	1479
the Pasha gat him to his Ruler in Stambol	1480
and took with him the head of Zadar’s Ban.	1481
Entering the palace of the Sultan,	1482
he gave the trophy to his Emperor:	1483
“Oh Radiant Sun, Ruler of us all,	1484
receive from me the head of Zadar’s Ban!”	1485
He gave due credit to Bey Alibey,	1486
but praised the lady of the Bey more highly still.	1487
The Emperor rewarded Zaim Ali Bey,	1488
conferring on him letters patent.	1489
To the lady of the Bey he sent a golden shawl,	1490
that she might know she had a proper Emperor.	1491
Blessèd is the man who’s held in good repute     by Government,	1492
thrice-blessed the one whom it befriends.	1493
As I have given you this song, so may God     grant you good health.	1494

*

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