THE CARPET SELLER
An imaginative view of a famous event in history; read on and see if you canguess the name of the lady, but don’t cheat by scrolling down!
‘Hand me the other wig … quickly now, you silly girl, you know I don’t like being kept
waiting.’ Shaking with nerves, the young girl stumbled slightly as she passed the
fourth wig over to the imperious woman.
‘No, this one’s no good, give me the first one, I’ll take that,’ the woman decided, deftly
fitting it over her tight black curls, twisting this way and that to see her reflection in the
pool. It wasn’t easy; as she bent over the water, the wings of hair swung forward,
obscuring her face, so that she could not accurately judge the effect created by the
heavy wig.
‘We’ll have to hurry back, the Carpet Seller is due to visit me within the hour,’ the
woman snapped, ‘Summons the chairmen, and tell them to hurry. Do you
understand?’ her impatience grew with the increasing nervousness of the girl. ‘You
silly woman! Do as I tell you, and stop hanging about. When I tell you to do
something, you do it immediately. When I give you an order, I want it obeyed right
away and no delay. Get on with it,’ she commanded, her tone becoming more and
more overbearing.
Arriving at the residence, she was escorted upstairs to the sumptuously furnished
reception area in the usual way, and ceremoniously arranged herself to receive the
next visitor. ‘Bring me the hand-mirror, I want to view the wig in a good light,’ she
commanded again.
A tall, upright black man carrying an ornate staff of office announced the next visitor.
The Carpet Seller unpacked, was told, ‘Display your wares.’ The selection took a
long time, her insistence on perfection always made her difficult to satisfy and this
time it was no different. Carpet after carpet was unrolled in front of her; most were
contemptuously dismissed with a wave of the fingers or a faint shrug of an elegant
shoulder. Handmaidens brought trays of refreshment, but nothing was offered to the
Carpet Seller; he would work hard for his sale and even harder to get paid.
Lolling on her cushioned divan she idly selected a candied fig, a pear, a bunch of
grapes. A flagon of wine was presented and a draft poured, then hot spiced bread
and nuts were brought in. She nibbled delicately; food was not uppermost in her
mind.
The display of beautiful handmade carpets continued, and she briefly considered a
few of the more splendid pieces, indicating that they should be set aside for more
detailed inspection later. At last she seemed satisfied and with another wave of her
hand, dismissed the man. As soon as he had withdrawn, she had the special pieces
laid out again, and having made her choice, dismissed all except her personal
bearers.
Giving them certain orders, she continued to beautify herself. She had a massage,
then a bath in asses’ milk; was anointed with scented oils and finally, having dressed,
her maid outlined her eyes with kohl and shadowed them with blue and gold to make
them seem bigger and more spectacular.
***
It was a bumpy journey, and the carpet dust nearly made her sneeze. But she had
given strict orders that the bearers were to travel as fast as they could. The outriders
sounded their horns loudly and cleared the way; the column proceeded at a gallop.
Soon they entered the other courtyard then, with a blaring of trumpets and shouted
commands, she was ushered into the presence of the man.
The startled silence and interruption of talk told her all she needed. The sense of
drama and the tension necessary for the next part of her plan were in place. It was
only a matter of a moment before her secret would be revealed.
Reverently, they laid the parcel down and gave it a push towards the man. Unrolling,
the vibrant Persian carpet spread open and the beautiful, curvaceous body of the
woman emerged.
……“Hail Caesar!” she called as she slowly and elegantly stood erect. “Here is your
Cleopatra!” …