“He was a very sensible, active man, and one that could easily be wakened; he was not like some Turks, an hour in recovering their lethargic senses.  He was quick in decision and action; and his slaves resembled their master.  He despatched a messenger immediately to the grand vizier, that the sultan’s safety might be secured, and sent others to the magistrates in each quarter of Constantinople.  The large drums in the janissary aga’s tower beat to rouse the inhabitants; and scarcely had they been heard to beat half an hour before the fire broke out in the lower apartments of Damat Zade’s house, owing to a coundak which had been left behind one of the doors.

“The wretches who had prepared the mischief came to enjoy it, and to pillage; but they were disappointed.  Astonished to find themselves taken into custody, they could not comprehend how their designs had been frustrated.  By timely exertions, the fire in my friend’s house was extinguished; and though fires broke out during the night in many parts of the city, but little damage was sustained, because there was time for precautions, and, by the stopping of the spouts, sufficient water was preserved.  People were awakened and warned of the danger, and they consequently escaped unhurt.

“The next day, as soon as I made my appearance at the bezestein, the merchants crowded round, called me their benefactor, and the preserver of their lives and fortunes.  Damat Zade, the merchant whom I had awakened the preceding night, presented to me a heavy purse of gold, and put upon my finger a diamond ring of considerable value; each of the merchants followed his example in making me rich presents; the magistrates also sent me tokens of their approbation; and the grand vizier sent me a diamond of the first water, with a line written by his own hand, ’To the man who has saved Constantinople.’  Excuse me, gentlemen, for the vanity I seem to show in mentioning these circumstances.  You desired to hear my history, and I cannot, therefore, omit the principal circumstance of my life.  In the course of four-and-twenty hours I found myself raised, by the munificent gratitude of the inhabitants of this city, to a state of affluence far beyond what I had ever dreamed of attaining.

“I now took a house suited to my circumstances, and bought a few slaves.  As I was carrying my slaves home, I was met by a Jew, who stopped me, saying, in his language, ’My lord, I see, has been purchasing slaves; I could clothe them cheaply.’  There was something mysterious in the manner of this Jew, and I did not like his countenance; but I considered that I ought not to be governed by caprice in my dealings, and that, if this man could really clothe my slaves more cheaply than another, I ought not to neglect his offer merely because I took a dislike to the cut of his beard, the turn of his eye, or the tone of his voice.  I, therefore, bade the Jew follow me home, saying that I would consider of his proposal.