I should meet with more respect in
the house of a Mussulman, than if I were otherwise, I never lost an
opportunity of putting my husband's name forward, and this succeeded,
for little or no notice was taken of me, and I was confounded with the
other slaves, and performed the different tasks of servitude which
were set me. But, unfortunately, I did not long keep my own counsel;
I confided my story to a Persian woman, who pretended to be my friend;
hoping by that means to soften her heart so much as to induce her to
help me in regaining my freedom; but she proved treacherous; she made a
merit of relating it to the serdar, who immediately forced me to confirm
her words with my own lips, and then the extent of my imprudence became
manifest. He announced his intention to avail himself of my situation,
and ordered me to prepare for receiving him. Conceive then what were the
horrors of my position. I turned over in my mind every means of escape,
but all avenues to it were shut. I had never before thought of looking
over the precipice upon which the windows of our prison opened; but now
I seriously thought of precipitating myself, rather than submit to the
tyrant. But a few hours after I had had the blessing to discover you on
the bridge, I had been ordered to hold myself in readiness to receive
him; and it was then that I had positively determined in my own mind to
throw myself headlong out, either once more to bejoined to you, or to
die in the attempt. When I shut the lattices in haste, several women
had just come into the room to conduct me to the hot bath previously to
being dressed; and when I had made some excuse for delaying it, and
had sent them out of the room, it was then that I opened the lattice a
second time, and put my resolution into practice.'

Yusuf having finished the recital of his and his wife's adventures, was
very anxious to know what part I would take, and earnestly entreated me
to befriend him by my advice and assistance. The morning was far spent.
My men were already mounted, and ready to proceed on our reconnoitring
expedition, and my horse was waiting for me, when a thought struck me,
which would settle every difficulty with regard to the young Armenian
and his wife.

I called him to me, and said, 'After what you have related, it will be
impossible to leave you at liberty. You have, by your own account, run
off with a woman from the serdar's seraglio, a crime which you perhaps
do not know, in a Mussu