The Bridge on the Drina - PDFDrive.com Read online

  embezzle was also reckoned). He had covered up his dishonesty, as is so often

  thecaseinlife,byexcessivezealandexaggeratedseverity,sothatthepeopleof thewholedistrict,notonlythe rayah butalsotheTurks,insteadofgivingthanks

  forthisgreatbequest,cursedboththehourwhenithadbeenbegunandtheman

  forwhomitwasbeingbuilt.MehmedPasha,whohadbeenstrugglingallhislife

  with the peculations and dishonesty of his officials, had ordered his unworthy

  servanttoreimbursethewholesumandtakewhatremainedofhisfortuneand

  hisharemandgoatoncetoasmalltowninAnatolia,andnevertolethimselfbe

  heardofagainunlesshewantedaworsefatetobefallhim.

  Two days after Arif Beg, Mastro Antonio also arrived from Dalmatia with the

  first workers. Tosun Effendi presented him to the new chief, and on a warm

  sunnyAprildaytheyinspectedtheconstructionworksandsettledtheorderfor

  thefirstwork.AfterArifBeghadwithdrawn,leavingtheothertwoaloneonthe

  bank,MastroAntoniolookedattentivelyatthefaceofTosunEffendiwho,even

  onsosunnyaday,washuddledupinawideblackmantle.

  'Thisisquiteanothersortofman.ThanksbetoGod!Ionlyaskmyselfwhowas

  sosmartandsobraveastoinformtheVezirandhavethatanimalremoved?'

  TosunEffendionlylookedstraightinfrontofhimandsaidquietly:

  'Thereisnodoubt,thisoneisbetter.'

  'It must have been someone who knew Abidaga's affairs well and who had

  accesstotheVezirandenjoyedhistrust.'

  'Certainly,certainly,thisoneisbetter,'repliedTosunEffendiwithoutlookingup

  andwrappinghismantleevenmorecloselyaroundhim.

  Sotheworkbeganunderthenewchief,ArifBeg.

  Hewas,indeed,quiteadifferentsortofman.Exceptionallytall,stooping,bald,

  with salient cheekbones and slit-like black laughing eyes, the people at once

  nicknamed him Misir-Baba —Old Baldie. Without shouting, without a staff,

  without big words or visible effort, he gave orders and set everything in order

  good-humouredly and casually with confident authority; he never overlooked

  anything or lost track of anything. But he also brought with him a feeling of

  strict attention to everything that was the Vezir's will or order, but like a calm, normalandhonestmanwhohadnothingtobeafraidofandnothingtoconceal,

  sothathehadnoneedtofrightenorpersecuteanyone.Theworkwentonatthe

  samespeed(sincespeedwaswhattheVezirwanted),faultswerepunishedwith

  similar severity, but unpaid forced labour was stopped from that day. All the

  workers were paid and received rations in flour and salt, and all went quicker andbetterthaninAbidaga'stime.Also,madIlinkavanished;duringthewinter

  shehaddisappearedsomewhereintothevillages.

  Theconstructionworkgrewandextended.

  ItcouldnowbeseenthattheVezir'sbequestwasnotforabridgeonly,butalso

  fora han orcaravanserai,inwhichtravellersfromafarwhointendedtocrossthe

  bridgecouldfindshelterforthemselves,theirhorsesandtheirgoodsshouldthey

  arriveatnightfall.OnArifBeg'sordertheconstructionofthiscaravanseraiwas

  commenced. At the entry to the marketplace, 200 paces from the bridge, just

  wheretheroadtoMejdanbegantorisesteeply,therewasalevelspaceonwhich

  until then the Wednesday stock-market had been held. On this level space the

  buildingofthenew han began.Workwentonslowly,butfromtheverystartit

  could be seen that it would be a solid and grandiose building conceived on a

  grand scale. The people scarcely even noticed how, slowly but surely, a great

  stone han was rising, for their attention was wholly centred on the building of thebridge.

  What was now being done on the Drina was so complicated, all the work so

  interlocked and complex, that the loungers in the town, who watched the

  buildingworkfromthetwobanksasifitweresomenaturalphenomenon,could

  no longer follow it with understanding. There were always fresh embankments

  andtrenchesrunninginvariousdirections,andtheriverwasdividedandsplitup

  into side-currents and backwaters and its main course moved from one to

  another. Mastro Antonio brought from Dalmatia especially skilled cordwainers

  and collected all the hemp even from the districts around. In special buildings

  themaster-workmentwistedropesofexceptionalstrengthandthickness.Greek

  carpenters, according to designs of their own or those drawn up by Tosun

  Effendi, built huge wooden cranes with pawls, erected them on rafts and thus,

  withtheseropes,raisedeventheheaviestblocksofstoneandtransportedthem

  to the piers which, one by one, began to rise out of the bed of the river. The transportofeachoneofthesehugeblocksfromthebarikstoitspositioninthe

  foundationsofthebridge-pierslastedfourdays.

  Watching all this, day after day, year after year, the townspeople began to lose

  countoftimeandoftherealintentionsofthebuilders.Itseemedtothemthatthe

  constructionhadnotmovedaninchforwardbutwasbecomingmoreandmore

  complicatedandinvolvedinauxiliaryandsubsidiaryworkings,andthelongerit

  lastedthelessitlookedlikewhatitwasintendedtobe.Menwhodonotwork

  themselvesandwhoundertakenothingintheirliveseasilylosepatienceandfall intoerrorwhenjudgingtheworkofothers.TheVišegradTurksagainbeganto

  shrugtheirshouldersandwavetheirhandswhentheytalkedofthebridge.The

  Christiansremainedsilent,butwatchedthebuildingworkwithsecretandhostile

  thoughts,wishingforitsfailureasforthatofeveryTurkishundertaking.Itwas

  aboutthistimethatthe iguman ofthemonasteryatBanjanearPribojwroteon

  thelastblankpageofoneofhissacredbooks:'Beitknownthataboutthistime

  Mehmed Pasha undertook the building of a bridge over the Drina at Višegrad.

  AndgreatoppressionfellupontheChristianpeoplewithhardlabour.Fromthe

  seacamemaster-masons.Forthreeyearstheybuiltandmany aspers werespent

  invain.Theydividedthewatersintotwoandintothreebuttheywereunableto

  completethebridge.'

  Yearspassed;summerandautumn,winterandspring,followedoneanother;the

  workers and the master-masons came and went. Now the whole Drina was

  conquered,notbythebridgebutbythewoodenscaffoldingswhichlookedlikea

  complicatedandsenselessconglomerationofpinebeamsandplanks.Fromboth

  banksrosehighwoodencranesfastenedontofirmlyfixedrafts.Onbothsides

  oftheriverfiressmoked,onwhichleadwasbeingmeltedinordertobepoured

  intotheholesinthestoneblocksbindingtheminvisiblytooneanother.

  Attheendofthethirdyearoccurredoneofthoseaccidentswithoutwhichgreat

  buildings are rarely completed. The central pier, which was a little higher and

  wideratthetopthantheothers,sinceonitthe kapia wastorest,wasjustbeing

&nbs
p; completed.Duringthetransportationofagreatstoneblock,worksuddenlycame

  toastop.Theworkmenswarmedaboutthegreatrectangularstonewhich,held

  by thick ropes, hung above their heads. The crane had not been able to lift it

  accurately over its place. Mastro Antonio's assistant, the Arab, rushed

  impatiently to the spot and began with loud angry cries (in that strange

  composite language which had been evolved in the course of years between

  thesemenfromallpartsoftheworld)togiveorderstothosehandlingthecrane

  onthewatersbelow.Atthatmoment,fornoknownreason,theropesgaveway

  and the block fell, first by one corner and then with its full weight on to the excitedArabwhohadnoteventroubledtolookabovehisheadbutonlydownat

  thewater.Byastrangechancetheblockfellexactlyintoposition,butinitsfallit

  caughttheArabandcrushedthewholelowerpartofhisbody,Everyonebegan

  to rush around, to give the alarm, to shout for help. Mastro Antonio arrived

  quickly.TheyoungNegro,afterhisfirstunconsciousness,hadcometohimself;

  hegroanedthrough clenchedteethand looked,sadand frightened,intoMastro

  Antonio'seyes.Frowningandpale,MastroAntoniogaveorderstosummonthe

  workmen, bring tools and try to lift the block. But all was in vain. A flow of

  blood suddenly poured out, the young man's breath came short and his eyes

  glazedover.Withinhalfanhourhedied,feverishlyclutchingMastroAntonio's

  handsinhis.

  The Arab's funeral was a solemn event which was long remembered. All the

  Moslemmalesturnedouttoescorthimandeachforafewpacescarriedthebier

  onwhichlayonlytheupperhalfoftheyoungbody,forhalfhadremainedunder

  thestoneblock.MastroAntonioraisedoverhisgraveafinememorial,madeof

  thesame stone from which the bridge was built. The death of this young man,

  whom he had befriended as a child living in poverty in Ulcinj, where a few

  negrofamiliesstilllived,hadshakenhim.Buttheworkdidnotceaseevenfora

  moment.

  That year and the next the winter was mild and work went on until mid-

  December. The fifth year of the work began. Now that wide irregular circle of

  wood,stone,auxiliaryequipmentandallsortsofmaterialbegantocontract.

  On the level space beside the Mejdan road the new han, freed from its

  scaffolding,alreadystood.Itwasalargebuilding,constructedofthesamesort

  ofstoneofwhichthebridgewasmade.Workwasstillgoingonbothinsideand

  out, but already from a distance it could be seen how much it excelled in size,

  the harmony of its lines and the solidity of its construction, anything that had

  everbeenbuiltoreventhoughtofinthetown.Thatbuildingofclear,yellowish

  stone,withitsroofofdarkredtilesandarowoffinelycarvedwindows,seemed

  to the townsmen a thing unheard of, which from now on must become an

  integral part of their everyday life. Built by a Vezir, it looked as though only

  Vezirscouldinhabitit.Thewholebuildingshonewithasenseofgrandeur,taste

  andluxurywhichbewilderedthem.

  About the same time all that formless mass of criss-cross beams and supports

  overtheriverbegantobereducedinsizeandtothinoutandthroughitemerged,

  more and more clearly, the bridge itself, of lovely Banja stone. Individual

  workers and small groups were still employed on jobs which seemed to the

  peoplesenselessandunconnectedwiththemainconstruction,butbynowitwas

  clear even to the most doubting of the townsmen that out of all this work the

  bridgeitselfrose,toasingledesignandafaultlessreckoning,overandaboveall

  these individual jobs. First the lesser arches, both in height and in span, which

  were nearest to the banks appeared and then, one by one, the others were

  revealed until even the last of them was freed of its scaffolding, showing the wholebridgewithallitselevenarches,perfectandwondrousinitsbeauty,likea

  newandstrangefeatureinthetownsmen'seyes.

  Quicktorespondtogoodorevil,thepeopleofVišegradwerenowashamedof

  theirdoubtsandlackofbelief.Theynolongertriedtoconcealtheirwonderorto

  restrain their enthusiasm. Passage across the bridge was not yet permitted, but

  theycollectedonbothbanks,especiallyontherightonewherethemarketplace

  andthegreaterpartofthetownwere,andwatchedtheworkerspassingacrossit

  andhowtheyworkedatsmoothingthestonesoftheparapetandtheraisedseats

  of the kapia. The Višegrad Turks watched this work by another's hand at

  another's expense to which for a full five years they had given every sort of

  nameandprophesiedtheworstoffutures.

  'Ama, but I always told you,' a little Moslem hodja from Dušče said excitedly andgleefully,'thatnothingescapestheSultan'shandandthatthesemenofsense

  wouldfinallyputupwhattheyhadinmind,butyoukeptsaying:theywon'tdo

  this,ortheycan'tdothat.Nowyouseetheyhavebuiltit,andwhatabridgethey

  havebuilt,whatconvenienceandwhatbeauty!'

  Everyone approved his words, though no one really remembered when he said

  them,andtheyallknewverywellthathetoohadridiculedthebuildingandthe

  manwhohadbeenbuildingit.Allofthemweresincerelyenraptured.

  'Eh,fellows,fellows,seewhatisrisinghere,inthistownofours!'

  'See how great is the Vezir's power and foresight. Wherever he turns his eyes

  thereisprofitandblessing.'

  'Yetallthisisnothing,'addedthegayandlivelylittle hodja, 'there will be still finerthings.Youseehowtheyaregroominganddecoratingitlikeahorsefora

  fair.'

  So they competed in expressions of enthusiasm, searching for new, better and

  more high-flown words of praise. Only Ahmedaga Sheta, the rich grain

  merchant,asullenmanandamiser,stilllookedaskanceattheworkandthose

  whopraisedit.Tall,yellowandwizened,withblackpiercingeyesandthinlips

  thatlookedasiftheyweregluedtogether,blinkinginthefineSeptembersun,he

  alone did not renounce his earlier opinion (for certain men are filled with

  unreasonable hate and envy greater and stronger than anything that other men

  can imagine). To those who enthusiastically praised the greatness and

  permanence of the bridge, saying that it was stronger than any fortress, he

  retorteddisdainfully:

  'Justwaittillthefloods,oneofourrealVišegradfloods!Thenyouwillseewhat

  willbeleftofit!'

  Allofthemarguedbitterlywithhimandpraisedthosewhohadbeenworkingon

  thebridge,especiallyArifBeg,whowiththesmileofagreatlordalwaysonhis

  lips had created such a work as though it had been child's play. But Sheta was

  firmlydeterminednottoacknowledgeanythingofanyone:

  'Yes, indeed. But if it had not been for Abidaga with
his green staff and his

  tyrannyandoppression,IaskyouwhatcouldOldBaldiehavedonetofinishthe

  bridgedespitehissmileandhishandsclaspedbehindhisback?'

  Offended at the universal enthusiasm as if it had been a personal insult, Sheta

  departedangrilytohisshop,tositinhisusualplacewherehecouldseeneither

  sunnorbridge,norhearthemurmurandthemovementoftheexcitedthrong.

  But Sheta was an isolated example. The joy and enthusiasm of the citizens

  continued to grow and spread to the surrounding villages. In the early days of

  October, Arif Beg ordered a great feast for the completion of the bridge. This

  manoflordlymanners,ofunrelentingseverityandstricthonesty,whohadspent

  allthemoniesconfidedtohimforthepurposeforwhichtheywereintendedand

  hadkeptnothingforhimself,wasregardedbythepeopleasthechiefpersonage

  inthisachievement.TheyspokemoreofhimthanoftheVezirhimself.Sohis

  feastturnedoutrichandbrilliant.

  Theoverseersandworkersreceivedgiftsinmoneyandclothingandthefeast,in

  which anyone who wished could take part, lasted two days. The Vezir's health

  was celebrated in meat and drink, in music, dancing and song; horse and foot

  raceswerearranged,andmeatandsweetstuffsdividedamongstthepoor.Onthe

  square which linked the bridge with the marketplace, halva was cooked in

  cauldronsandservedpipinghottothepeople.That halva evengotasfarasthe

  villagesaroundthetownandwhoeverateitwishedgoodhealthtotheVezirand

  longlifetohisbuildings.Therewerechildrenwhowentbackfourteentimesto

  thecauldronsuntilthecooks,recognizingthem,drovethemawaywiththeirlong

  woodenspoons.Onegipsychilddiedaftereatingtoomuchhot halva.

  Suchthingswerelongrememberedandspokenaboutwhentalesweretoldofthe

  creation of the bridge, the more so since, it seems, generous Vezirs and honest

  officialsinlateryearsdiedoutandsuchfeastsbecamerarerandrarerandatlast

  completelyunknown,untilintheendtheypassedintolegendwiththe vilas, with

  StojaandOstojaandsimilarwonders.

  Whilethefeastlasted,andingeneralallthoseearlydays,thepeoplecrossedthe