I became presumptuous and
rash; and my nurse's prognostics might have effectually prevented their
accomplishment had I not, when I was about fifteen, been roused to
reflection during a long confinement, which was the consequence of my
youthful conceit and imprudence.
"At this time there was at the Porte a Frenchman, an ingenious engineer,
who was employed and favoured by the sultan, to the great astonishment of
many of my prejudiced countrymen. On the grand seignior's birthday he
exhibited some extraordinarily fine fireworks; and I, with numbers of the
inhabitants of Constantinople, crowded to see them. I happened to stand
near the place where the Frenchman was stationed; the crowd pressed upon
him, and I amongst the rest; he begged we would, for our own sakes, keep
at a greater distance, and warned us that we might be much hurt by the
combustibles which he was using. I, relying upon my mood fortune,
disregarded all these cautions; and the consequence was that, as I
touched some of the materials prepared for the fireworks, they exploded,
dashed me upon the ground with great violence, and I was terribly burnt.
"This accident, gentlemen, I consider as one of the most fortunate
circumstances of my life; for it checked and corrected the presumption of
my temper. During the time I was confined to my bed the French gentleman
came frequently to see me.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53