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024 - Book First Chapters 23 to 25 Concerning the Old Man of the Mountain How the Old Man used to train hi · The Travels of Marco Polo, Volume 1

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  Speaker 1: Section twenty four of the Book of Sir Marco Polo,
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  Speaker 1: the Venetian concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East,
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  Speaker 1: Volume IE. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
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  Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
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  Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Recorded by Stephen Gibbons. The
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  Speaker 1: Book of Sir Marco Polo, the Venetian concerning the Kingdoms
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  Speaker 1: and Marvels of the East, Volume one by Roustacello de Pisa,
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  Speaker 1: translated by Henry Yule, Section twenty four, book first chapters
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  Speaker 1: twenty three to twenty five, concerning the Old Man of
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  Speaker 1: the Mountain, How the Old Man used to train his assassins,
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  Speaker 1: How the old Man came by his end Chapter twenty
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  Speaker 1: three concerning the Old Man of the Mountain. Mulhet is
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  Speaker 1: a country in which the Old Man of the Mountain
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  Speaker 1: dwelt in former days, and the name means place of
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  Speaker 1: the Aurum. I will tell you his whole history, as
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  Speaker 1: related by Messer Marco Polo, who heard it from several
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  Speaker 1: natives of that region. The old man was cold, in
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  Speaker 1: their language, a la adin. He had caused a certain
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  Speaker 1: valley between two mountains to be enclosed, and had turned
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  Speaker 1: it into a garden, the largest and most beautiful that
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  Speaker 1: ever was seen, filled with every variety of fruit. In
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  Speaker 1: it were erected pavilions and palaces, the most elegant they
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  Speaker 1: could be imagined, all covered with gilding and exquisite painting.
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  Speaker 1: And there were runnels, too, flowing freely with wine and
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  Speaker 1: milk and honey and water, and numbers of ladies and
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  Speaker 1: of the most beautiful damsels in the world, who could
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  Speaker 1: play on all manner of instruments, and sung most sweetly
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  Speaker 1: and danced in a manner that it was charming to behold.
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  Speaker 1: For the old man desired to make his people believe
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  Speaker 1: that this was actually paradise, so he had fashioned it
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  Speaker 1: after the description that Mohammed gave of his paradise, to
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  Speaker 1: wit that it should be a beautiful garden, running with
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  Speaker 1: conduits of wine and milk and honey and water, and
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  Speaker 1: full of lovely women for the delectation of all its inmates.
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  Speaker 1: And sure enough the saracens of those parts believed that
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  Speaker 1: it was paradise. Now no man was allowed to enter
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  Speaker 1: the garden, save those whom he intended to be his Ushashen.
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  Speaker 1: There was a fortress at the entrance to the garden,
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  Speaker 1: strong enough to resist all the world, and there was
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  Speaker 1: no other way to get in. He kept at his
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  Speaker 1: court a number of the youths of the country from
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  Speaker 1: twelve to twenty years of age, such as had a
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  Speaker 1: taste for soldiering, and to these he used to tell
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  Speaker 1: tales about paradise, just as Mohammed had been wont to do,
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  Speaker 1: and they believed in him, just as the Saracens believed
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  Speaker 1: in Mohammed. Then he would introduce them into his garden,
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  Speaker 1: some four or six or ten at a time, having
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  Speaker 1: first made them drink a certain potion which cast them
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  Speaker 1: into a deep sleep, and then causing them to be
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  Speaker 1: lifted and carried in, so when they awoke they found
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  Speaker 1: themselves in the garden Chapter twenty four, How the old
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  Speaker 1: man used to train his assassins. When therefore they awoke
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  Speaker 1: and found themselves in a place so charming, they deemed
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  Speaker 1: that it was paradise in very truth. And the ladies
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  Speaker 1: and damsels dallied with them to their heart's content, so
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  Speaker 1: that they had what young men would have, and with
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  Speaker 1: their own good will, they never would have quitted the place.
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  Speaker 1: Now This prince, whom we call the old One, kept
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  Speaker 1: his court in grand and noble style, and made those
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  Speaker 1: simple hill folks about him believe firmly that he was
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  Speaker 1: a great prophet. And when he wanted one of his
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  Speaker 1: ashachin to send on any mission, he would cause that
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  Speaker 1: potion whereof I spoke, to be given to one of
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  Speaker 1: the youths in the garden, and then had him carried
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  Speaker 1: into his palace. So when the young man awoke, he
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  Speaker 1: found himself in the castle, and no longer in that paradise.
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  Speaker 1: Whereat he was not over well pleased. He was then
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  Speaker 1: conducted to the old man's presence and bowed before him
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  Speaker 1: with great veneration, as believing himself to be in the
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  Speaker 1: presence of a true prophet. The prince would then ask
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  Speaker 1: whence he came, and he would reply that he came
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  Speaker 1: from paradise, and that it was exactly such as Mohammed
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  Speaker 1: had described it in the law. This, of course, gave
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  Speaker 1: the others who stood by and who had not been admitted,
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  Speaker 1: the greatest desire to enter therein. So when the old
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  Speaker 1: Man would have any prince slain, he would say to
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  Speaker 1: such a youth, go thou and slay so and so,
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  Speaker 1: and when thou returnest, my angels shall bear THEE into paradise.
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  Speaker 1: And shouldst thou die, nor the less, even so will
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  Speaker 1: I send my angels to carry THEE back into paradise.
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  Speaker 1: So he caused them to believe. And thus there was
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  Speaker 1: no order of his that they would not affront any
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  Speaker 1: peril to execute for the great desire they had to
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  Speaker 1: get back into that paradise of his. And in this
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  Speaker 1: manner the Old One got his people to murder any
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  Speaker 1: one whom he desired to get rid of. Thus, too,
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  Speaker 1: the great dread that he inspired all princes withal made
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  Speaker 1: them become his tributaries, in order that he might abide
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  Speaker 1: at peace and amity with them. I should also tell
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  Speaker 1: you that the Old Man had certain others under him
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  Speaker 1: who copied his proceedings and acted exactly in the same manner.
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  Speaker 1: One of these was sent into the territory of Damascus,
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  Speaker 1: and the other into Kurdistan. Chapter twenty five. How the
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  Speaker 1: Old Man came by his end. Now it came to
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  Speaker 1: pass in the year of Christ's incarnation twelve fifty two,
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  Speaker 1: that Alaou, lord of the Tartars of the Levant, heard
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  Speaker 1: tell of these great crimes of the old man, and
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  Speaker 1: resolved to make an end of him. So he took
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  Speaker 1: and sent one of his barons with a great army
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  Speaker 1: to that castle, and they besieged it for three years,
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  Speaker 1: but they could not take it, so strong was it,
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  Speaker 1: and indeed, if they had had food within, it never
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  Speaker 1: would have been taken. But after being besieged those three years,
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  Speaker 1: they ran short of victual and were taken. The old
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  Speaker 1: man was put to death with all his men, and
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  Speaker 1: the castle, with its garden of paradise, was leveled with
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  Speaker 1: the ground. And since that time he has had no successor,
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  Speaker 1: and there was an end to all of his villainies.
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  Speaker 1: Now let us get back to our journey. End of
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  Speaker 1: Section twenty four