"Go and remind the Sultan," said Adsalis, "that he cannot go to the wars
without the surem of victory;" and for the second time the Kizlar-Aga
departed to execute the commands of the Sultana.
The surem, by the way, is a holy supplication which it is usual for the
chief Imam to recite in the mosques before the Padishah goes personally
to battle, praying that Allah will bless his arms with victory.
Now, because time was pressing, it was necessary to recite this prayer
in the chapel of the Seraglio instead of in the mosque of St. Sophia.
Ispirizade accordingly began to intone the surem, but he spun it out so
long and made such a business of it, that it seemed as if he were bent
on wasting time purposely. By the time the devotion was over every clock
in the Seraglio had struck twelve.
Ibrahim hastened to the Sultan to press him to embark as soon as
possible in the ship that was waiting ready to convey him and the White
Prince to Scutari; but at the foot of the staircase, in the outer court
of the Seraglio where stood the Sultan's chargers which were to take him
through the garden kiosk to the sea-shore, the way was barred by the
Kizlar-Aga, who flung himself to the ground before the Sultan, and
grasping his horse's bridle began to cry with all his might:
"Trample me, oh, my master, beneath the hoofs of thy horses, yet listen
to my words! The noontide hour has passed, and the hours of the
afternoon are unlucky hours for any undertaking.
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