Tinkling a silver hand-bell, Talleyrand went on. 'You will, I trust, do me the pleasure of dining with me and sleeping here tonight. Then you can tell me all that has befallen you, and in what way I can be of service to you. No doubt you will recall my extreme dislike of work; but, alas, I still have some letters that I needs must glance through before they are despatched. My secretaries are reasonably competent at writing them for me, but there are times when they do not catch my exact shade of meaning. Meanwhile, I will have you conducted to an apartment, and wine sent up to refresh you after your journey.'
As Roger expressed his thanks, a servant appeared and took him up to a handsomely-furnished suite. There he luxuriated for a while in an enormous marble bath, drank a couple of glasses of champagne and cheerfully demolished a plate of Strasbourg pate sandwiches.
At dinner he sat down with some twenty-five other people, several of whom he knew. Having for so long had to make do on spartan fare, he did full justice to an epicurean meal and a succession of fine wines, topped off with some Imperial Tokay his host had recently received as a present from the Emperor of Austria. After they left the table, Talleyrand devoted no more than half an hour to his other guests, then politely excused himself, and, leaning on Roger's arm, led him away to a small library.
Talleyrand had not arrived in Berlin or Warsaw before Roger had left those cities, so it was a long time since they had met, and they had much to talk about. Roger gave a brief account of his misadventures after Eylau, then said:
‘I should be grateful to know whether you think this mission that I have so reluctantly been compelled to accompany is likely to prove successful.'
'How well are you informed on Turkish and Persian affairs?' Talleyrand enquired.
'About Persia I know nothing; about Turkey a limited amount. You may perhaps recall my telling you that, while in Egypt and Syria, I had an affair with a Turkish Princess named Zanthe. From her I learned that extraordinary changes had taken place at the Sultan's Court during her childhood. Her mother was Aimee Dubucq de Rivery, a young French lady born in Martinique, and a cousin of the Empress Josephine.'
Talleyrand nodded. 'I have often heard the story of the strange prophecy made to these two young women by a soothsayer, that they would both become Queens. After being educated in France, when returning to Martinique, Aimee was captured by Barbary pirates, was she not, then sent by the Bey of Algiers to his master, the Sultan Abdul Hamid I as a present?'
'Yes, and fate decreed her arrival at a very opportune moment. Abdul Hamid's heir was Selim, the son of Circassian Kadin who, at that time, was Sultan Valide—the mistress of all the women of the harem. One of Abdul Hamid's wives, an evil woman, was endeavouring to persuade the Sultan to have Selim murdered, so that her own son, Musta-pha, should succeed. The Circassian selected Aim6e and trained her to win Abdul Hamid's affections, which she did; and she succeeded in protecting Selim, so that he did succeed and is the present Sultan.'
Again Talleyrand nodded. 'Aimee not only became Abdul Hamid's principal wife, but has ever since enjoyed Selim's devotion. Mahmoud, Aimee's son, is the present Heir Apparent. It has long been the custom for Sultans to keep their heirs prisoner in special apartments from fear that they might conspire to supplant them. But Selim's trust1 in Aimee is such that he has allowed her boy full freedom and acts as a father to him. Moreover, she has persuaded Selim to introduce many reforms, carries on a regular correspondence with her cousin Josephine, and was responsible for bringing about the alliance between Turkey and France. That was sadly shattered when Napoleon invaded Egypt in '98, and deprived Turkey of one of her richest provinces; then at Aboukir totally destroyed the Turkish army sent against him. But in 1801 we restored Egypt to the Turks, so our alliance with them was renewed. Owing to this amazing woman, during the past twenty years the Sultan's Court has become strongly impregnated with French culture.'
Roger shrugged. 'I see, Prince, that you are as well informed regarding the Turkish royal family as myself. But I am completely ignorant about the situation and aspirations of the Turkish nation. For such enlightenment as you can give me, I should be truly grateful.'
Sitting back, Talleyrand replied, 'The key to Turkey's policy has for long been, and must continue to be, her relations with Russia. For many years the Russians have cast covetous eyes on the Sultan's dominions in the Balkans, with a view to gaining access to the Mediterranean. Since Catherine the Great's time their hope of acquiring the Sultan's European territories has increased, because the Turkish Empire is by no means the great power that it once was and, under Abdul Hamid, it suffered a still further decline.
'As you are aware, owing to the practice of polygamy, by which every Sultan begets many sons, it became the horrible but usual practice of each Sultana to endeavour to have the sons of her co-wives put to death, in order to ensure the succession of one of her own sons. In escaping death, Abdul Hamid was fortunate, but the fathers, too, feared that one of their sons might have them assassinated in order to succeed. So this unfortunate Prince was kept prisoner by his predecessor, Mustapha III, in a gilded cage for forty-three years.'
'Mon Dieu, how awful!' Roger exclaimed.
'A far from pleasant experience,' Talleyrand concurred. 'And, you will appreciate, not one calculated to produce a knowledgeable and strong ruler. In consequence, during the sixteens years of his reign, he lost control of a great part of his dominions. The Mamelukes defied his Viceroy in Egypt and virtually became the rulers of that country. Up on the Danube his tributary Princes, the Hospidars of Wallachia and Moldovia, refused to obey his firmens and the Serbians also proved extremely troublesome.
'That was the situation when Selim III ascended the throne. Owing to the protection and unbringing of your—er—charming friend's mother, he suffered none of his predecessor's disabilities. On the contrary, he had imbibed Western ideas of a Sovereign's duty to his people, and set out to introduce many reforms that would have benefited their lot.
'But one must remember the vastness of his Empire. It stretches from Morocco to the Red Sea, from southern Arabia to the Danube, and includes the whole of the Balkans. Only a Roman Emperor with the wisdom of a Marcus Aurelius or the iron will of a Hadrian could control pro-Consuls appointed by him to rule great territories so far distant from his capital.
'It is, therefore, not surprising that Selim's attempts at reform have been constantly thwarted by the Pashas who are virtually subject Kings in his more remote dominions. Naturally, they are averse to any reduction in their power. He was faced with a rebellion by the Wahhabis in the Nejd, which he had great difficulty in putting down. The Serbians are demanding independence, and one of their patriot leaders named Kara George has made himself master of Belgrade. Further north, the Hospidars of Wallachia and Moldavia have treacherously sought Russian aid to defy him.