Part 29 (1/2)
As I had no intention of re at Ispahan, I treated their endeavours to hurtthem a full return of all their scurrility, by expressions which neither they nor their fathers had ever heard; expressions I had picked up frost the illustrious characters hom I had passed the first years of my youth
When ere left to ourselves,bewailed in sufficiently pathetic language, she the death of a husband, I the loss of a father, the following conversation took place:--
?Now tell me, O my mother--for there can be no secrets between us--tell me the state of Kerbelai Hassan?s concerns He loved you, and confided in you, and you must therefore be better acquainted with them than any one else?
?What do I know of the confusion
I stopped her, to continueto the law, his heir is bound to pay his debts:--they must be ascertained
Then, the expenses of the funeral are to be defrayed; they will be considerable; and at present I aave me birth To meet all this, money is necessary; or else bothmen, and my enemies will not fail to overcome me He must have been reputed wealthy, or else his death-bed would never have been surrounded by that host of blood-suckers and time-servers which have been driven away by my presence You, my mother, must tell me where he was accustomed to deposit his ready cash; ere, or who are, likely to be his debtors; and what ht be his possessions, besides those which are apparent?
?Oh, Allah!? exclaiood man, who had neither money nor possessions Money, indeed! We had dry bread to eat, and that was all! Now and then, after the arrival of a great caravan, when heads to be shaved were plentiful, and his business brisk, we indulged in our dish of rice, and our skewer of kabob, but othere lived like beggars A bit of bread, a morsel of cheese, an onion, a basin of sour curds--that was our daily fare; and, under these circumstances, can you ask me for money, ready money too?
There is this house, which you see and know; then his shop, with its furniture; and when I have said that, I have nearly said all You are just arrived in time, my son, to step into your father?s shoes, and take up his business; and _Inshallah_, please God, , froe!? exclai toil! and nothing to show for it! This is incredible!
We must call in the diviners?
?The diviners?? said itation; ?of what use can they be? They are only called in when a thief is to be discovered You will not proclaim your mother a thief, Hajji, will you? Go, make inquiries of your friend, and your father?s friend, the _akhon_[83] He is acquainted with the whole of the concerns, and I am sure he will repeat what I have said?
?You do not speak amiss, mother,? said I ?The akhon probably does knoere my father?s last wishes, for he appeared to be the principal director in his dying moments; and he may tell me, if money there was left, where it is to be found?
Accordingly I went straightway to seek the old man, whom I found seated precisely in the very same corner of the little parish mosque, surrounded by his scholars, in which some twenty years before I myself had received his instructions As soon as he saw , my footsteps were fortunate, and that others, as well as himself, should partake of the pleasure I was sure to dispense wherever I went
?Ahi, akhon,? said I, ?do not laugh at ood fortune has entirely forsaken me; and even nohen I had hoped thatreater beggar than ever?
?_Allah keri up his eyes to heaven, whilst he placed his hands on his knees, with their palms uppermost, he exclai himself to me, he said, ?Yes,as man shuts not up his heart fro will seek you?
?How long have you been a Sufi? said I, ?that you talk after this manner? I can speak on that subject also, since rossed with other matters? I then informed him of the object of my visit, and requested him to tell me what he knew of hed, and,of oaths and professions, and finished by repeating what I had heard from my mother; namely, that he believed d) ready cash (for that, after all, was the immediate object of my search); and what his other property was, he reminded me that I kneell as himself
I remained mute for some time with disappoint terood a Mussulman to have lent out his money upon interest, for I recollected a circua,to borrow a sum from him, for which he offered an enormous interest, id mollah, who told him that the precepts of the Koran entirely forbade it Whether since that time he had relaxed his principles, I could not say; but I was assured that he always set his face against the unlawful practice of taking interest, and that he died, as he had lived, a perfect model of a true believer
I left the reeable mood, and took my way to the spot where I had madeover in my mind as I hat steps I should take to secure a future livelihood To remain at Ispahan was out of the question--the place and the inhabitants were odious tothat was now my own, and to return to the capital, which, after all, I knew to be the best market for an adventurer like ht that my father had died possessed of some ready money, and suspicions would haunton somewhere or other I was at a loss to whom to addressof ate of the caravanserai, I was accosted by the old capiji ?Peace be unto you, Aga!? said he; ?may you live htened by seeing you?
?Are your spirits so ound up, Ali Mohamed,? said I in return, ?that you choose to treat rief, for I have none other that I know of Och!?
said I, sighing, ?my liver has become water, and my soul has withered up?
?What news is this?? said the old man ?Your father (peace be unto hi, and, _Mashallah!_ you are handsome--your wit is not deficient:--what do you want more??
?I ae can accrue to et an old mud-built house, with some worn-out carpets, some pots and pans and decayed furniture, and yonder shop with a brass basin and a dozen of razors? Let me spit upon such an inheritance?
?But where is your money, your ready cash, Hajji? Your father (God be with hiard of his money as he was liberal of his soap Everybody knows that he a to his store?
?That e will that be to me, since I cannot find where it was deposited? My mother says that he had none--the akhon repeats the same--I ao to the cadi?