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diff --git a/3438-h/3438-h.htm b/3438-h/3438-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4734c8c --- /dev/null +++ b/3438-h/3438-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,15486 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4, by Richard F. Burton</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify } + +h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 {text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-weight: +normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: .5em; margin-bottom: .5em;} + +h1 {font-size: 300%; + margin-top: 0.6em; + margin-bottom: 0.6em; + letter-spacing: 0.12em; + word-spacing: 0.2em; + text-indent: 0em;} +h2 {font-size: 175%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} +h3 {font-size: 150%; margin-top: 2em;} +h4 {font-size: 120%;} +h5 {font-size: 110%;} + +hr {width: 80%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-bottom: 0.25em; } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: 90%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.center {text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.right {text-align: right; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +div.fig { display:block; + margin:0 auto; + text-align:center; } + +a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:hover {color:red} + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4, by Richard F. Burton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + +Title: The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4 + +Author: Richard F. Burton + +Release Date: June 12, 2001 [EBook #3438] +Last updated: December 11, 2022 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS *** + + + + +This etext was scanned by J.C. Byers and proofread by Doris Ringbloom + + + + + + + + +</pre> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*******************************************************************<br> +THIS EBOOK WAS ONE OF PROJECT GUTENBERG'S EARLY FILES PRODUCED AT A +TIME WHEN PROOFING METHODS AND TOOLS WERE NOT WELL DEVELOPED. THERE +IS AN IMPROVED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WHICH MAY BE VIEWED AS EBOOK +(#53254) at <a href='https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53254'>https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53254</a><br> +*******************************************************************</div> + +<h1>THE BOOK OF THE<br/> THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT</h1> + +<h4>A Plain and Literal Translation<br/> +of the Arabian Nights Entertainments<br/></h4> + +<h2>Translated and Annotated by<br/> Richard F. Burton </h2> + +<h3>VOLUME FOUR</h3> + +<p> +To Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot. +</p> + +<p> +My Dear Arbuthnot, +</p> + +<p> +I have no fear that a friend, whose friendship has lasted nearly a third of a +century, will misunderstand my reasons for inscribing his name upon these +pages. You have lived long enough in the East and, as your writings show, +observantly enough, to detect the pearl which lurks in the kitchen-midden, and +to note that its lustre is not dimmed nor its value diminished by its unclean +surroundings. +</p> + +<p> + Ever yours sincerely,<br/> + + Richard F. Burton.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Athenжum Club, October 1, 1885 +</p> + +<h3>Contents of the Fourth Volume</h3> + +<h3>Contents</h3> + +<table summary="" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap01">Tale of Kamar Al-Zaman (continued)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap02">a. Ni'amar Bin Al-Rabi'a and Naomi His Slave-girl</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap03">b. Conclusion of the Tale of Kamar Al-Zaman</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap04">22. Ala Al-Din Abu Al-Shamat</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap05">23. Hatim of the Trive of Tayy</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap06">24. Ma'an the Son of Zaidah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap07">25. Ma'an the Son of Zaidah and the Badawi</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap08">26. The City of Labtayt</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap09">27. The Caliph Hisham and the Arab Youth</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap10">28. Ibrahim Bin Al-Mahdi and the Barber-Surgeon</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap11">29. The City of Many-Columned Iram and Abdullah Son of Abi Kilabah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap12">30. Isaac of Mosul</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap13">31. The Sweep and the Noble Lady</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap14">32. The Mock Caliph</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap15">33. Ali the Persian</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap16">34. Haru Al-Rashid and the Slave-Girl and the Iman Abu Yusuf</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap17">35. The Lover Who Feigned Himself A Thief</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap18">36. Ja'afar the Barmecide and the Bean-Seller</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap19">37. Abu Mohammed Hight Lazybones</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap20">38. Generous Dealing of Yahya Bin Khбlid The Barmecide with Mansur</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap21">39. Generous Dealing of Yahya Son of Khбlid with a Man Who Forged a Letter in his Name</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap22">40. Caliph Al-Maamum and the Strange Scholar</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap23">41. Ali Shar and Zumurrud</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap24">42. The Loves of Jubayr Bin Umayr and the Lady Budur</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap25">43. The Man of Al-Yaman and His Six Slave-Girls</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap26">44. Harun Al-Rashid and the Damsel and Abu Nowas</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap27">45. The Man Who Stole the Dish of Gold Wherein The Dog Ate</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap28">46. The Sharper of Alexandria and the Chief of Police</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap29">47. Al-Malik Al-Nasir and the Three Chiefs of Police</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap30">a. Story of the Chief of Police of Cairo</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap31">b. Story of the Chief of the Bulak Police</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap32">c. Story of the Chief of the Old Cairo Police</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap33">48. The Thief and the Shroff</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap34">49. The Chief of the Kus Police and the Sharper</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap35">50. Ibrahim Bin Al-Mahdi and the Merchant's Sister</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap36">51. The Woman Whose Hands were Cut Off For Giving Alms to the Poor</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap37">52. The Devout Israelite</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap38">53. Abu Hassan Al-Ziyadi and the Khorasan</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap39">54. The Poor Man and His Friend in Need</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap40">55. The Ruined Man Who became Rich Again Through A Dream</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap41">56. Caliph Al-Mutawakkil and His Concubine Mahbubah</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap42">57. Wardan the Butcher; His Adventure With the Lady and the Bear</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap43">58. The King's Daughter and the Ape</a></td> +</tr> + +</table> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3> +The Book of the Thousand Nights and A Night +</h3> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<a name="chap01"></a> + +<h3><a name="chap02"></a>Ni'amah bin al-Rabi'a and Naomi his Slave-girl.</h3> + +<p> +There lived once in the city of Cufa[FN#1] a man called Al-Rabн'a bin Hбtim, +who was one of the chief men of the town, a wealthy and a healthy, and Heaven +had vouchsafed him a son, whom he named Ni'amah Allah.[FN#2] One day, being in +the slave-brokers' mart, he saw a woman exposed for sale with a little maid of +wonderful beauty and grace on her arm. So he beckoned to the broker and asked +him, "How much for this woman and her daughter?" He answered "Fifty dinars." +Quoth Al-Rabi'a "Write the contract of sale and take the money and give it to +her owner." Then he gave the broker the price and his brokerage and taking the +woman and her child, carried them to his house. Now when the daughter of his +uncle who was his wife saw the slave, she said to her husband, "O my cousin, +what is this damsel?" He replied, "Of a truth, I bought her for the sake of the +little one on her arm; for know that, when she groweth up, there will not be +her like for beauty, either in the land of the Arabs or the Ajams." His wife +remarked, "Right was thy rede", and said to the woman "What is thy name?" She +replied, "O my lady, my name is Tauflнk.[FN#3]" "And what is thy daughter's +name?" asked she? Answered the slave, "Sa'ad, the happy." Rejoined her +mistress; "Thou sayst sooth, thou art indeed happy, and happy is he who hath +bought thee." Then quoth she to her husband, "O my cousin, what wilt thou call +her?"; and quoth he, "Whatso thou chooses"; so she said, "Then let us call her +Naomi," and he rejoined "Good is thy device." The little Naomi was reared with +Al-Rabi'a's son Ni'amah in one cradle, so to speak, till the twain reached the +age of ten and each grew handsomer than the other; and the boy used to address +her, "O my sister!" and she, "O my brother!", till they came to that age when +Al-Rabi'a said to Ni'amah, "O my son, Naomi is not thy sister but thy slave. I +bought her in thy name whilst thou wast yet in the cradle; so call her no more +sister from this day forth." Quoth Ni'amah, "If that be so, I will take her to +wife." Then he went to his mother and told her of this, and she said to him, "O +my son, she is thy handmaid." So he wedded and went in unto Naomi and loved +her; and two[FN#4] years passed over them whilst in this condition, nor was +there in all Cufa a fairer girl than Naomi, or a sweeter or a more graceful. As +she grew up she learnt the Koran and read works of science and excelled in +music and playing upon all kinds of instruments; and in the beauty of her +singing she surpassed all the folk of her time. Now one day as she sat with her +husband in the wine chamber, she took the lute, tightened the strings, and sang +these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"While thou'rt my lord whose bounty's my estate, * A sword<br/> + + whereby my woes to annihilate,<br/> + +Recourse I never need to Amru or Zayd,[FN#5] * Nor aught save<br/> + + thee if way to me grow strait!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Ni'amah was charmed with these verses and said to her, "By my life, O Naomi, +sing to us with the tambourine and other instruments!" So she sang these +couplets to a lively measure, +</p> + +<p> +"By His life who holds my guiding rein, I swear * I'll meet on<br/> + + love ground parlous foe nor care:<br/> + +Good sooth I'll vex revilers, thee obey * And quit my slumbers<br/> + + and all joy forswear:<br/> + +And for thy love I'll dig in vitals mine * A grave, nor shall my<br/> + + vitals weet 'tis there!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And Ni'amah exclaimed, "Heaven favoured art thou, O Naomi!" But whilst they led +thus the most joyous life, behold! Al-Hajjбj,[FN#6] the Viceroy of Cufa said to +himself, "Needs must I contrive to take this girl named Naomi and send her to +the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwбn, for he hath not in his +palace her like for beauty and sweet singing." So he summoned an old woman of +the duennas of his wives and said to her, "Go to the house of Al-Rabi'a and +foregather with the girl Naomi and combine means to carry her off; for her like +is not to be found on the face of the earth." She promised to do his bidding; +the next morning she donned the woollen clothes of a devotee and hung around +her neck a rosary of beads by the thousand; and, henting in hand a staff and a +leather water bottle of Yamani manufacture.— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn +of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old woman promised to +do the bidding of Al-Hajjaj, and whenas it was morning she donned the woollen +clothes of a devotee[FN#7] and hung around her neck a rosary of beads by the +thousand and hent in hand a staff and a leather water bottle of Yamani +manufacture and fared forth crying, "Glory be to Allah! Praised be Allah! There +is no god but the God! Allah is Most Great! There is no Majesty and there is no +Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" Nor did she leave off her lauds +and her groaning in prayer whilst her heart was full of guile and wiles, till +she came to the house of Ni'amah bin al-Rabi'a at the hour of noon prayer, and +knocked at the door. The doorkeeper opened and said to her, "What dost thou +want?" Quoth she, "I am a poor pious woman, whom the time of noon prayer hath +overtaken, and fief would I pray in this blessed place." Answered the porter, +"O old woman, this is no mosque nor oratory, but the house of Ni'amah son of al +Rabi'a." She replied, "I know there is neither cathedral-mosque nor oratory +like the house of Ni'amah bin al-Rabi'a. I am a chamberwoman of the palace of +the Prince of True Believers and am come out for worship and the visitation of +Holy Places." But the porter rejoined, "Thou canst not enter;" and many words +passed between them, till at last she caught hold and hung to him saying, +"Shall the like of me be denied admission to the house of Ni'amah bin +al-Rabi'a, I who have free access to the houses of Emirs and Grandees?" Anon, +out came Ni'amah and, hearing their loud language, laughed and bade the old +woman enter after him. So she followed him into the presence of Naomi, whom she +saluted after the godliest and goodliest fashion, and, when she looked on her, +she was confounded at her exceeding seemliness and said to her, "O my lady, I +commend thee to the safeguard of Allah, who made thee and thy lord fellows in +beauty and loveliness!" Then she stood up in the prayer niche and betook +herself to inclination and prostration and prayer, till day departed and night +darkened and starkened, when Naomi said to her, "O my mother, rest thy legs and +feet awhile." Replied the old woman "O my lady, whoso seeketh the world to come +let him weary him in this world, and whoso wearieth not himself in this world +shall not attain the dwellings of the just in the world to come." Then Naomi +brought her food and said to her, "Eat of my bread and pray Heaven to accept my +penitence and to have mercy on me." But she cried, "O my lady, I am fasting. As +for thee, thou art but a girl and it befitteth thee to eat and drink and make +merry; Allah be indulgent to thee!; for the Almighty saith: All shall be +punished except him who shall repent and believe and shall work a righteous +work."[FN#8] So Naomi continued sitting with the old woman in talk and +presently said to Ni'amah, "O my lord, conjure this ancient dame to sojourn +with us awhile, for piety and devotion are imprinted on her countenance." Quoth +he, "Set apart for her a chamber where she may say her prayers; and suffer no +one to go in to her: peradventure, Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) shall +prosper us by the blessing of her presence and never separate us." So the old +woman passed her night in praying and reciting the Koran; and when Allah caused +the morn to dawn, she went in to Ni'amah and Naomi and, giving them good +morning, said to them, "I pray Allah have you in His holy keeping!" Quoth +Naomi, "Whither away, O my mother? My lord hath bidden me set apart for thee a +chamber, where thou mayst seclude thee for thy devotions." Replied the old +woman, "Allah give him long life, and continue His favour to you both! But I +would have you charge the doorkeeper not to stay my coming in to you; and, +Inshallah! I will go the round of the Holy Places and pray for you two at the +end of my devotions every day and night." Then she went out (whilst Naomi wept +for parting with her knowing not the cause of her coming), and returned to +Al-Hajjaj who said to her, "As thou do my bidding soon, thou shalt have of me +abundant good." Quoth she, "I ask of thee a full month;" and quoth he "Take the +month." Thereupon the old hag fell to daily visiting Ni'amah's house and +frequented his slave-wife, Naomi.— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old hag fell to +visiting daily Ni'amah's house and frequenting his slave wife, Naomi; and both +ceased not to honour her, and she used to go in to them morning and evening and +all in the house respected her till, one day, being alone with Naomi, she said +to her, "O my lady! by Allah, when I go to the Holy Places, I will pray for +thee; and I only wish thou wert with me, that thou mightest look on the Elders +of the Faith who resort thither, and they should pray for thee, according to +thy desire." Naomi cried, "I conjure thee by Allah take me with thee!"; and she +replied, "Ask leave of thy mother in law, and I will take thee." So Naomi said +to her husband's mother, "O my lady, ask my master to let us go forth, me and +thee, one day with this my old mother, to prayer and worship with the Fakirs in +the Holy Places." Now when Ni'amah came in and sat down, the old woman went up +to him and would have kissed his hand, but he forbade her; so she invoked +blessings[FN#9] on him and left the house. Next day she came again, in the +absence of Ni'amah, and she addressed Naomi, saying, "We prayed for thee +yesterday; but arise now and divert thyself and return ere thy lord come home." +So Naomi said to her mother-in-law, "I beseech thee, for Allah's sake, give me +leave to go with this pious woman, that I may sight the saints of Allah in the +Holy Places, and return speedily ere my lord come back." Quoth Ni'amah's +mother, "I fear lest thy lord know;" but said the old woman, "By Allah, I will +not let her take seat on the floor; no, she shall look, standing on her feet, +and not tarry." So she took the damsel by guile and, carrying her to +Al-Hajjaj's palace, told him of her coming, after placing her in a lonely +chamber; whereupon he went in to her and, looking upon her, saw her to be the +loveliest of the people of the day, never had he beheld her like. Now when +Naomi caught sight of him she veiled her face from him; but he left her not +till he had called his Chamberlain, whom he commanded to take fifty horsemen; +and he bade him mount the damsel on a swift dromedary, and bear her to Damascus +and there deliver her to the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin +Marwan. Moreover, he gave him a letter for the Caliph, saying, "Bear him this +letter and bring me his answer and hasten thy return to me." So the +Chamberlain, without losing time, took the damsel (and she tearful for +separation from her lord) and, setting out with her on a dromedary, gave not +over journeying till he reached Damascus. There he sought audience of the +Commander of the Faithful and, when it was granted, the Chamberlain delivered +the damsel and reported the circumstance. The Caliph appointed her a separate +apartment and going into his Harim, said to his wife, "Al Hajjaj hath bought me +a slave-girl of the daughters of the Kings of Cufa[FN#10] for ten thousand +dinars, and hath sent me this letter."— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day +and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fortieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph +acquainted his wife with the story of the slave-girl, she said to him, "Allah +increase to thee His favour!" Then the Caliph's sister went in to the supposed +slave-girl and, when she saw her, she said, "By Allah, not unlucky is the man +who hath thee in his house, were thy cost an hundred thousand dinars!" And +Naomi replied, "O fair of face, what King's palace is this, and what is the +city?" She answered, "This is the city of Damascus, and this is the palace of +my brother, the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan.[FN#11]" +Then she resumed, "Didst thou not know all this?" Naomi said, "By Allah, O my +lady, I had no knowledge of it!"; when the other asked, "And he who sold thee +and took thy price did he not tell thee that the Caliph had bought thee?" Now +when Naomi heard these words, she shed tears and said to herself, "Verily, I +have been tricked and the trick hath succeeded," adding to herself, "If I +speak, none will credit me; so I will hold my peace and take patience, for I +know that the relief of Allah is near." Then she bent her head for shame, and +indeed her cheeks were tanned by the journey and the sun. So the Caliph's +sister left her that day and returned to her on the morrow with clothes and +necklaces of jewels, and dressed her; after which the Caliph came in to her and +sat down by her side, and his sister said to him, "Look on this handmaid in +whom Allah hath conjoined every perfection of beauty and loveliness." So he +said to Naomi, "Draw back the veil from thy face;" but she would not unveil, +and he beheld not her face. However, he saw her wrists and love of her entered +his heart; and he said to his sister, "I will not go in unto her for three +days, till she be cheered by thy converse." Then he arose and left her, but +Naomi ceased not to brood over her case and sigh for her separation from her +master, Ni'amah, till she fell sick of a fever during the night and ate not nor +drank; and her favour faded and her charms were changed. They told the Caliph +of this and her condition grieved him; so he visited her with physicians and +men of skill, but none could come at a cure for her. This is how it fared with +her; but as regards Ni'amah, when he returned home he sat down on his bed and +cried, "Ho, Naomi!" But she answered not; so he rose in haste and called out, +yet none came to him, as all the women in the house had hidden themselves for +fear of him. Then he went out to his mother, whom he found sitting with her +cheek on her hand, and said to her, "O my mother, where is Naomi?" She +answered, "O my son, she is with one who is worthier than I to be trusted with +her, namely, the devout old woman; she went forth with her to visit +devotionally the Fakirs and return." Quoth Ni'amah, "Since when hath this been +her habit and at what hour went she forth?" Quoth his mother, "She went out +early in the morning." He asked, "And how camest thou to give her leave for +this?"; and she answered, "O my son, 'twas she persuaded me." "There is no +Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" +exclaimed Ni'amah and, going forth from his home in a state of distraction, he +repaired to the Captain of the Watch to whom said he, "Doss thou play tricks +upon me and steal-my slave-girl away from my house? I will assuredly complain +of thee to the Commander of the Faithful." Said the Chief of Police, "Who hath +taken her?" and Ni'amah replied, "An old woman of such and such a mien, clad in +woollen raiment and carrying a rosary of beads numbered by thousands." Rejoined +the other, "Find me the old woman and I will get thee back thy slave-girl." +"And who knows the old woman?" retorted Ni'amah. "And who knows the hidden +things save Allah (may He be extolled and exalted!)?" cried the Chief, who knew +her for Al-Hajjaj's procuress. Cried Ni'amah, "I look to thee for my +slave-girl, and Al-Hajjaj shall judge between thee and me;" and the Master of +Police answered, "Go to whom thou wilt." So Ni'amah went to the palace of +Al-Hajjaj, for his father was one of the chief men of Cufa; and, when he +arrived there, the Chamberlain went in to the Governor and told him the case; +whereupon Al-Hajjaj said, "Hither with him!" and when he stood before him +enquired, "What be thy business?" Said Ni'amah, "Such and such things have +befallen me;" and the Governor said, "Bring me the Chief of Police, and we will +commend him to seek for the old woman." Now he knew that the Chief of Police +was acquainted with her; so, when he came, he said to him, "I wish thee to make +search for the slave-girl of Ni'amah son of Al-Rabi'a." And he answered, "None +knoweth the hidden things save Almighty Allah." Rejoined Al-Hajjaj, "There is +no help for it but thou send out horsemen and look for the damsel in all the +roads, and seek for her in the towns."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day +and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-First Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Hajjaj said to the +Captain of the Watch, "There is no help for it but thou send out horsemen, and +look for the damsel on all the roads and seek for her in the towns." Then he +turned to Ni'amah and said to him, "And thy slave-girl return not, I will give +thee ten slave-girls from my house and ten from that of the Chief of Police." +And he again bade the Captain of the Watch, "Go and seek for the girl." So he +went out, and Ni'amah returned home full of trouble and despairing of life; for +he had now reached the age of fourteen and there was yet no hair on his side +cheeks. So he wept and lamented and shut himself up from his household; and +ceased not to weep and lament, he and his mother, till the morning, when his +father came in to him and said, "O my son, of a truth, Al-Hajjaj hath put a +cheat upon the damsel and hath taken her; but from hour to hour Allah giveth +relief." However grief redoubled on Ni'amah, so that he knew not what he said +nor knew he who came in to him, and he fell sick for three months his charms +were changed, his father despaired of him and the physicians visited him and +said, "There is no remedy for him save the damsel." Now as his father was +sitting one day, behold he heard tell of a skillful Persian physician, whom the +folk gave out for perfect in medicine and astrology and geomancy. So Al-Rabi'a +sent for him and, seating him by his side, entreated him with honour and said +to him, "Look into my son's case." Thereupon quoth he to Ni'amah, "Give me thy +hand." The young man gave him his hand and he felt his pulse and his joints and +looked in his face; then he laughed and, turning to his father, said, "Thy +son's sole ailment is one of the heart."[FN#12] He replied, Thou sayest sooth, +O sage, but apply thy skill to his state and case, and acquaint me with the +whole thereof and hide naught from me of his condition." Quoth the Persian, "Of +a truth he is enamoured of a slave-girl and this slave-girl is either in +Bassorah or Damascus; and there is no remedy for him but reunion with her." +Said Al-Rabi'a, "An thou bring them together, thou shalt live all thy life in +wealth and delight." Answered the Persian, "In good sooth this be an easy +matter and soon brought about," and he turned to Ni'amah and said to him, "No +hurt shall befall thee; so be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and +clear." Then quoth he to Al-Rabi'a, "Bring me out four thousand dinars of your +money;" so he gave them to him, and he added, "I wish to carry thy son with me +to Damascus; and Almighty Allah willing, I will not return thence but with the +damsel." Then he turned to the youth and asked, "What is thy name?"; and he +answered "Ni'amah." Quoth the Persian, "O Ni'amah, sit up and be of good heart, +for Allah will reunite thee with the damsel." And when he sat up the leach +continued, "Be of good cheer for we set out for Damascus this very day: put thy +trust in the Lord and eat and drink and be cheerful so as to fortify thyself +for travel." Upon this the Persian began making preparation of all things +needed, such as presents and rarities; and he took of Al-Rabi'a in all the sum +of ten thousand dinars, together with horses and camels and beasts of burden +and other requisites. Then Ni'amah farewelled his father and mother and +journeyed with the physician to Aleppo. They could find no news of Naomi there +so they fared on to Damascus, where they abode three days, after which the +Persian took a shop and he adorned even the shelves with vessels of costly +porcelain, with covers of silver, and with gildings and stuffs of price. +Moreover, he set before himself vases and flagons of glass full of all manner +of ointments and ups, and he surrounded them with cups of crystal—and, placing +astrolabe and geomantic tablet facing him, he donned a physician's habit and +took his seat in the shop. Then he set Ni'amah standing before him clad in a +shirt and gown of silk and, girding his middle with a silken kerchief +gold-embroidered, said to him, "O Ni'amah, henceforth thou art my son; so call +me naught but sire, and I will call thee naught but son." And he replied, "I +hear and I obey." Thereupon the people of Damascus flocked to the Persian's +shop that they might gaze on the youth's goodliness and the beauty of the shop +and its contents, whilst the physician spoke to Ni'amah in Persian and he +answered him in the same tongue, for he knew the language, after the wont of +the sons of the notables. So that Persian doctor soon became known among the +townsfolk and they began to acquaint him with their ailments, and he to +prescribe for them remedies. Moreover, they brought him the water of the sick +in phials,[FN#13] and he would test it and say, "He, whose water this is, is +suffering from such and such a disease," and the patient would declare, "Verily +this physician sayeth sooth." So he continued to do the occasions of the folk +and they to flock to him, till his fame spread throughout the city and into the +houses of the great. Now, one day as he sat in his-shop, behold, there came up +an old woman riding on an ass with a stuffed saddle of brocade embroidered with +jewels; and, stopping before the Persian's shop, drew rein and beckoned him, +saying, "Take my hand." He took her hand, and she alighted and asked him "Art +thou the Persian physician from Irak?" "Yes," answered he, and she said, "Know +that I have a sick daughter." Then she brought out to him a phial—and the +Persian looked at it and said to her, "O my mistress, tell me thy daughter's +name, that I may calculate her horoscope and learn the hour in which it will +befit her to drink medicine." She replied, "O my brother the Persian,[FN#14] +her name is Naomi."— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying +her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Persian heard +the name of Naomi, he fell to calculating and writing on his hand and presently +said, "O my lady, I cannot prescribe a medicine for her till I know what +country woman she is, because of the difference of climate: so tell me in what +land she was brought up and what is her age." The old woman replied "She is +fourteen years old and she was brought up in Cufa of Irak." He asked, "And how +long hath she sojourned in this country?" "But a few months," answered she. Now +when Ni'amah heard the old woman's words and recognised the name of his slave- +girl, his heart fluttered and he was like to faint. Then said the Persian, +"Such and such medicines will suit her case;" and the old woman rejoined, "Then +make them up and give me what thou hast mentioned, with the blessing of +Almighty Allah." So saying, she threw upon the shop board ten gold pieces, and +he looked at Ni'amah and bade him prepare the necessary drugs; whereupon she +also looked at the youth and exclaimed, "Allah have thee in his keeping, O my +son! Verily, she favoureth thee in age and mien." Then said she to the +physician, "O my brother the Persian, is this thy slave or thy son?" "He is my +son," answered he. So Ni'amah put up the medicine and, placing it in a little +box, took a piece of paper and wrote thereon these two couplets,[FN#15] +</p> + +<p> +"If Naomi bless me with a single glance, * Let Su'adб sue and<br/> + + Juml joy to<br/> + +They said, "Forget her: twenty such thou'lt find." * But none is<br/> + + like her—I will not forget!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +He pressed the paper into the box and, sealing it up, wrote upon the cover the +following words in Cufic characters, "I am Ni'amah of al-Rabi'a of Cufa." Then +he set it before the old woman who took it and bade them farewell and returned +to the Caliph's palace, and when she went up with the drugs to the damsel she +placed the little box of medicine at her feet, saying, "O my lady, know that +there is lately come to our town a Persian physician, than whom I never saw a +more skilful nor a better versed in matters of malady. I told him thy name, +after showing him the water-bottle, and forthwith he knew thine ailment and +prescribed a remedy. Then he bade his son make thee up this medicine; and there +is not in Damascus a comelier or a seemlier youth than this lad of his, nor +hath anyone a shop the like of his shop." So Naomi took the box and, seeing the +names of her lord and his father written on the cover, changed colour and said +to herself, "Doubtless, the owner of this shop is come in search of me." So she +said to the old woman, "Describe to me this youth." Answered the old woman, +"His name is Ni'amah, he hath a mole on his right eyebrow, is richly clad and +is perfectly handsome." Cried Naomi, "Give me the medicine, whereon be the +blessing and help of Almighty Allah!" So she drank off the potion (and she +laughing) and said, "Indeed, it is a blessed medicine!" Then she sought in the +box and, finding the paper, opened it, read it, understood it and knew that +this was indeed her lord, whereas her heart was solaced and she rejoiced. Now +when the old woman saw her laughing, she exclaimed, "This is indeed a blessed +day!"; and Naomi said, "O nurse, I have a mind for something to eat and drink." +The old woman said to the serving women, "Bring a tray of dainty viands for +your mistress;" whereupon they set food before her and she sat down to eat. And +behold in came the Caliph who, seeing her sitting at meat, rejoiced; and the +old woman said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, I give thee joy of thy +hand maid Naomi's recovery! And the cause is that there is lately come to this +our city a physician than whom I never saw a better versed in diseases and +their remedies. I fetched her medicine from him and she hath drunken of it but +once and is restored to health." Quoth he, "Take a thousand dinars and apply +thyself to her treatment, till she be completely recovered." And he went away, +rejoicing in the damsel's recovery, whilst the old woman betook herself to the +Persian's house and delivered the thousand dinars, giving him to know that she +was become the Caliph's slave and also handing him a letter which Naomi had +written. He took it and gave the letter to Ni'amah, who at first sight knew her +hand and fell down in a swoon. When he revived he opened the letter and found +these words written therein: "From the slave despoiled of her Ni'amah, her +delight; her whose reason hath been beguiled and who is parted from the core of +her heart. But afterwards of a truth thy letter hath reached me and hath +broadened my breast, and solaced my soul, even as saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +"Thy note came: long lost hungers wrote that note, * Till drop<br/> + + they sweetest scents for what they wrote:<br/> + +Twas Moses to his mother's arms restored; * 'Twas Jacob's eye-<br/> + + sight cured by Joseph's coat!"[FN#16]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When Ni'amah read these verses, his eyes ran over with tears and the old woman +said to him, "What maketh thee to weep, O my son? Allah never cause thine eye +to shed tears!" Cried the Persian, "O my lady, how should my son not weep, +seeing that this is his slave-girl and he her lord, Ni'amah son of al-Rabi'a of +Cufa; and her health dependeth on her seeing him, for naught aileth her but +loving him.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian cried out to +the old woman, "How shall my son not weep, seeing that this is his slave-girl +and he her lord, Ni'amah son of al-Rabi'a of Cufa; and the health of this +damsel dependeth on her seeing him and naught aileth her but loving him. So, do +thou, O my lady, take these thousand dinars to thyself and thou shalt have of +me yet more than this; only look on us with eyes of rush; for we know not how +to bring this affair to a happy end save through thee." Then she said to +Ni'amah, "Say, art thou indeed her lord?" He replied, "Yes," and she rejoined, +"Thou sayest sooth; for she ceaseth not continually to name thee." Then he told +her all that had passed from first to last, and she said, "O youth, thou shalt +owe thy reunion with her to none but myself." So she mounted and, at once +returning to Naomi, looked in her face and laughed saying, "It is just, O my +daughter, that thou weep and fall sick for thy separation from thy master, +Ni'amah, son of Al-Rabi'a of Cufa." Quoth Naomi, "Verily, the veil hath been +withdrawn for thee and the truth revealed to thee." Rejoined the old woman, "Be +of good cheer and take heart, for I will assuredly bring you together, though +it cost me my life." Then she returned to Ni'amah and said to him, "I went to +thy slave- girl and conversed with her, and I find that she longeth for thee +yet more than thou for her; for although the Commander of the Faithful is +minded to become intimate with her, she refuseth herself to him. But if thou be +stout of purpose and firm of heart, I will bring you together and venture my +life for you, and play some trick and make shift to carry thee into the +Caliph's palace, where thou shalt meet her, for she cannot come forth." And +Ni'amah answered, "Allah requite thee with good!" Then she took leave of him +and went back to Naomi and said, "Thy lord is indeed dying of love for thee and +would fain see thee and foregather with thee. What sayest thou?" Naomi replied, +"And I too am longing for his sight and dying for his love." Whereupon the old +woman took a parcel of women's clothes and ornaments and, repairing to Ni'amah, +said to him, "Come with me into some place apart." So he brought her into the +room behind the shop where she stained his hands and decked his wrists and +plaited his hair, after which she clad him in a slave-girl's habit and adorned +him after the fairest fashion of woman's adornment, till he was as one of the +Houris of the Garden of Heaven, and when she saw him thus she exclaimed, +"Blessed be Allah, best of Creators! By Allah, thou art handsomer than the +damsel.[FN#17] Now, walk with thy left shoulder forwards and thy right well +behind, and sway thy hips from side to side."[FN#18] So he walked before her, +as she bade him; and, when she saw he had caught the trick of woman's gait, she +said to him, "Expect me tomorrow night, and Allah willing, I will take and +carry thee to the palace. But when thou seest the Chamberlains and the Eunuchs +be bold, and bow thy head and speak not with any, for I will prevent their +speech; and with Allah is success!" Accordingly, when the morning dawned, she +returned and, carrying him to the palace, entered before him and he after her +step by step. The Chamberlain would have stopped his entering, but the old +woman said to him, "O most ill omened of slaves, this is the handmaid of Naomi, +the Caliph's favourite. How durst thou stay her when she would enter?" Then +said she, "Come in, O damsel!"; and the old woman went in and they ceased not +faring on, till they drew near the door leading to the inner piazza of the +palace, when she said to him, "O Ni'amah, hearten thyself and take courage and +enter and turn to the left: then count five doors and pass through the sixth, +for it is that of the place prepared for thee. Fear nothing, and if any speak +to thee, answer not, neither stop." Then she went up with him to the door, and +the Chamberlain there on guard accosted her, saying "What damsel is this?"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Chamberlain +accosted the old woman, saying, "What damsel is this?"; quoth the ancient dame, +"Our lady hath a mind to buy her;" and he rejoined, "None may enter save by +leave of the Commander of the Faithful; so do thou go back with her. I can not +let her pass for thus am I commanded." Replied the old woman, "O Chief +Chamberlain, use thy reason. Thou knowest that Naomi, the Caliph's slave-girl, +of whom he is enamoured, is but now restored to health and the Commander of the +Faithful hardly yet crediteth her recovery. She is minded to buy this hand +maid; so oppose thou not her entrance, lest haply it come to Naomi's knowledge +and she be wroth with thee and suffer a relapse and this cause thy head to be +cut off." Then said she to Ni'amah, "Enter, O damsel; pay no heed to what he +saith and tell not the Queen-consort that her Chamberlain opposed thine +entrance." So Ni'amah bowed his head and entered the palace, and would have +turned to the left, but mistook the direction and walked to his right; and, +meaning to count five doors and enter the sixth, he counted six and entering +the seventh, found himself in a place whose floor was carpeted with brocade and +whose walls were hung with curtains of gold- embroidered silk. And therein +stood censers of aloes-wood and ambergris and strong-scented musk, and at the +upper end was a couch bespread with cloth of gold on which he seated himself, +marvelling at the magnificence he saw and knowing not what was written for him +in the Secret Purpose. As he sat musing on his case, the Caliph's sister, +followed by her handmaid, came in upon him; and, seeing the youth seated there +took him for a slave-girl and accosted him and said, "Who art thou O damsel? +and what is thy case and who brought thee hither?" He made no reply, and was +silent, when she continued, "O damsel! if thou be one of my brother's +concubines and he be wroth with thee, I will intercede with him for thee and +get thee grace." But he answered her not a word; so she said to her slave-girl, +"Stand at the door and let none enter." Then she went up to Ni'amah and looking +at him was amazed at his beauty and said to him, "O lady, tell me who thou art +and what is thy name and how thou camest here; for I have never seen thee in +our palace." Still he answered not, whereat she was angered and, putting her +hand to his bosom, found no breasts and would have unveiled him, that she might +know who he was; but he said to her, "O my lady, I am thy slave and I cast +myself on thy protection: do thou protect me." She said, "No harm shall come to +thee, but tell me who thou art and who brought thee into this my apartment." +Answered he, "O Princess, I am known as Ni'amah bin al-Rabi'a of Cufa and I +have ventured my life for the sake of my slave-girl, Naomi, whom Al-Hajjaj took +by sleight and sent hither." Said she, "Fear not: no harm shall befall thee;" +then, calling her maid, she said to her, "Go to Naomi's chamber and send her to +me." Meanwhile the old woman went to Naomi's bedroom and said to her, "Hath thy +lord come to thee?" "No, by Allah!" answered Naomi, and the other said, "Belike +he hath gone astray and entered some chamber other than thine and lost +himself." So Naomi cried, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in +Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Our last hour is come and we are all lost." And +while they were sitting and sadly enough pondering their case, in came the +Princess's handmaid and saluting Naomi said to her, "My lady biddeth thee to +her banquet." "I hear and I obey," answered the damsel and the old woman said, +"Belike thy lord is with the Caliph's sister and the veil of secrecy hath been +rent." So Naomi at once sprang up and betook herself to the Princess, who said +to her, "Here is thy lord sitting with me; it seemeth he hath mistaken the +place; but, please Allah, neither thou nor he has any cause for fear." When +Naomi heard these words, she took heart of grace and went up to Ni'amah; and +her lord when he saw her.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to +say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ni'amah saw his +handmaid Naomi, he rose to meet her and strained her to his bosom and both fell +to the ground fainting. As soon as they came to themselves, the Caliph's sister +said to them, "Sit ye down and take we counsel for your deliverance from this +your strait." And they answered, "O our lady, we hear and obey: it is thine to +command." Quoth she, "By Allah, no harm shall befall you from us!" Then she +bade her handmaids bring meat and drink which was done, and they sat down and +ate till they had enough, after which they sat drinking. Then the cup went +round amongst them and their cares ceased from them; but Ni'amah said, "Would I +knew how this will end." The Princess asked, "O Ni'amah, dost thou love thy +slave Naomi?"; and he answered, "Of a truth it is my passion for her which hath +brought me to this state of peril for my life." Then said she to the damsel, "O +Naomi, dost thou love thy lord Ni'amah?"; and she replied, "O my lady, it is +the love of him which hath wasted my body and brought me to evil case." +Rejoined the Princess, "By Allah, since ye love each other thus, may he not be +who would part you! Be of good cheer and keep your eyes cool and clear." At +this they both rejoiced and Naomi called for a lute and, when they brought it, +she took it and tuned it and played a lively measure which enchanted the +hearers, and after the prelude sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"When the slanderers cared but to part us twain, * We owed no<br/> + + blood-debt could raise their ire<br/> + +And they poured in our ears all the din of war, * And aid failed<br/> + + and friends, when my want was dire:<br/> + +I fought them hard with mine eyes and tears; * With breath and<br/> + + sword, with the stream and fire!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then Naomi gave the lute to her master, Ni'amah, saying, "Sing thou to us some +verse." So he took it and playing a lively measure, intoned these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Full Moon if unfreckled would favour thee, * And Sun uneclipsed<br/> + + would reflect thy blee:<br/> + +I wonder (but love is of wonders full * And ardour and passion<br/> + + and ecstasy)<br/> + +How short the way to my love I fare, * Which, from her faring, so<br/> + + long I see."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when he had made an end of his song, Naomi filled the cup and gave it to +him, and he took it and drank it off; then she filled again and gave the cup to +the Caliph's sister who also emptied it; after which the Princess in her turn +took the lute and tightened the strings and tuned it and sang these two +couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Grief, cark and care in my heart reside, * And the fires of love<br/> + + in my breast<br/> + +My wasted form to all eyes shows clear; * For Desire my body hath<br/> + + mortified."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then she filled the cup and gave it to Naomi, who drank it off and taking the +lute, sang these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"O to whom I gave soul which thou tortures", * And in vain I'd<br/> + + recover from fair Unfaith<br/> + +Do grant thy favours my care to cure * Ere I die, for this be my<br/> + + latest breath."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And they ceased not to sing verses and drink to the sweet sound of the strings, +full of mirth and merriment and joy and jollity till behold! in came the +Commander of the Faithful. Now when they saw him, they rose and kissed the +ground before him; and he, seeing Naomi with the lute in her hand, said to her, +"O Naomi, praised be Allah who hath done away from thee sickness and +suffering!" Then he looked at Ni'amah (who was still disguised as a woman), and +said to the Princess, "O my sister, what damsel is this by Naomi's side?" She +replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, thou hast here a handmaid, one of thy +concubines and the bosom friend of Naomi who will neither eat nor drink without +her." And she repeated the words of the poet, +</p> + +<p> +"Two contraries, and both concur in opposite charms, * And charms so contraried +by contrast lovelier show." +</p> + +<p> +Quoth the Caliph, "By Allah Omnipotent, verily she is as handsome as Naomi, and +to-morrow I will appoint her a separate chamber beside that of her friend and +send her furniture and stuffs and all that befitteth her, in honour of Naomi." +Then the Princess called for food and set it before her brother, who ate and +made himself at home in their place and company. Then filling a cup he signed +to Naomi to sing; so she took the lute, after draining two of them and sang +these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Since my toper-friend in my hand hath given * Three cups that<br/> + + brim and bubble, e'er since<br/> + +I've trailed my skirts throughout night for pride * As tho',<br/> + + Prince of the Faithful, I were thy Prince!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The Prince of True Believers was delighted and filling another cup, gave it to +Naomi and bade her sing again; so after draining the cup and sweeping the +strings, she sang as follows:— +</p> + +<p> +"O most noble of men in this time and stound, * Of whom none may<br/> + + boast he is equal-found!<br/> + +O matchless in greatness of soul and gifts, * O thou Chief, O<br/> + + thou King amongst all renowned:<br/> + +Lord, who dealest large boons to the Lords of Earth, * Whom thou<br/> + + vexest not nor dost hold them bound<br/> + +The Lord preserve thee, and spoil thy foes, * And ne'er cease thy<br/> + + lot with good Fortune crowned!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the Caliph heard these couplets, he exclaimed, "By Allah, good! By +Allah, excellent! Verily the Lord hath been copious[FN#19] to thee, O Naomi! +How clever is thy tongue and how dear is thy speech!" And they ceased not their +mirth and good cheer till midnight, when the Caliph's sister said to him, "Give +ear, O Commander of the Faithful to a tale I have read in books of a certain +man of rank." "And what is this tale?" quoth he. Quoth she "Know, O Prince of +the Faithful that there lived once in the city of Cufa a youth called Ni'amah, +son of Al-Rabi'a, and he had a slave-girl whom he loved and who loved him. They +had been reared in one bed; but when they grew up and mutual-love get hold of +them, Fortune smote them with her calamities and Time, the tyrant, brought upon +them his adversity and decreed separation unto them. Thereupon designing and +slanderous folk enticed her by sleight forth of his house and, stealing her +away from his home, sold her to one of the Kings for ten thousand dinars. Now +the girl loved her lord even as he loved her, so he left kith and kin and house +and home and the gifts of fortune, and set out to search for her and when she +was found he devised means to gain access to her".—And Shahrazad perceived the +dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph's sister said, +"And Ni'amah ceased not absenting himself from his kith and kin and +patrial-stead, that he might gain access to his handmaid, and he incurred every +peril and lavished his life till he gained access to her, and her name was +Naomi, like this slave-girl. But the interview was short; they had not been +long in company when in came the King, who had bought her of her kidnapper, and +hastily ordered them to be slain, without doing justice by his own soul and +delaying to enquire into the matter before the command was carried out. Now +what sayest thou, O Commander of the Faithful, of this King's wrongous +conduct?" Answered the Caliph; "This was indeed a strange thing: it behoved +that King to pardon when he had the power to punish; and he ought to have +regarded three things in their favour. The first was that they loved each +other; the second that they were in his house and in his grasp; and the third +that it befitteth a King to be deliberate in judging and ordering between folk, +and how much more so in cases where he himself is concerned! Wherefore this +King thus did an unkingly deed." Then said his sister, "O my brother, by the +King of the heavens and the earth, I conjure thee, bid Naomi sing and hearken +to that she shall sing!" So he said "O Naomi, sing to me;" whereupon she played +a lively measure and sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Beguiled us Fortune who her guile displays, * Smiting the heart,<br/> + + bequeathing thoughts that craze<br/> + +And parting lovers whom she made to meet, * Till tears in torrent<br/> + + either cheek displays:<br/> + +They were and I was and my life was glad, * While Fortune often<br/> + + joyed to join our ways;<br/> + +I will pour tear flood, will rain gouts of blood, * Thy loss<br/> + + bemoaning through the nights and days!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the Commander of the Faithful heard this verse, he was moved to great +delight and his sister said to him, "O my brother, whoso decideth in aught +against himself, him it behoveth to abide by it and do according to his word; +and thou hast judged against thyself by this judgement." Then said she, "O +Ni'amah, stand up and do thou likewise up stand, O Naomi!" So they stood up and +she continued, "O Prince of True Believers, she who standeth before thee is +Naomi the stolen, whom Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Sakafi kidnapped and sent to +thee, falsely pretending in his letter to thee that he had bought her for ten +thousand gold pieces. And this other who standeth before thee is her lord, +Ni'amah, son of Al-Rabi'a; and I beseech thee, by the honour of thy pious +forebears and by Hamzah and Ukayl and Abbas,[FN#20] to pardon them both and +overlook their offence and bestow them one on the other, that thou mayst win +rich reward in the next world of thy just dealing with them; for they are under +thy hand and verily they have eaten of thy meat and drunken of thy drink; and +behold, I make intercession for them and beg of thee the boon of their blood." +Thereupon quoth the Caliph, "Thou speakest sooth: I did indeed give judgement +as thou sayst, and I am not one to pass sentence and to revoke it." Then said +he, "O Naomi, say, be this thy lord?" And she answered "Even so, O Commander of +the Faithful." Then quoth he, "No harm shall befall you, I give you each to +other;" adding to the young man, <a name="chap03"></a>"O Ni'amah, who told thee +where she was and taught thee how to get at this place?" He replied, "O +Commander of the Faithful, hearken to my tale and give ear to my history; for, +by the virtue of thy pious forefathers, I will hide nothing from thee!" And he +told him all that had passed between himself and the Persian physician and the +old nurse, and how she had brought him into the palace and he had mistaken the +doors; whereat the Caliph wondered with exceeding wonder and said, "Fetch me +the Persian." So they brought him into the presence and he was made one of his +chief officers. Moreover the King bestowed on him robes of honour and ordered +him a handsome present, saying, "When a man hath shown like this man such +artful management, it behoveth us to make him one of our chief officers." The +Caliph also loaded Ni'amah and Naomi with gifts and honours and rewarded the +old nurse; and they abode with him seven days in joy and content and all +delight of life, when Ni'amah craved leave to return to Cufa with his +slave-girl. The Caliph gave them permission and they departed and arrived in +due course at Cufa, where Ni'amah was restored to his father and mother, and +they abode in all the joys and jollities of life, till there came to them the +Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. Now when Amjad and As'ad +heard from Bahram this story, they marvelled with extreme marvel and said, "By +Allah, this is indeed a rare tale!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad and As'ad +heard this story from Bahram the Magian who had become a Moslem, they marvelled +with extreme marvel and thus passed that night; and when the next morning +dawned, they mounted and riding to the palace, sought an audience of the King +who granted it and received them with high honour. Now as they were sitting +together talking, of a sudden they heard the towns folk crying aloud and +shouting to one another and calling for help; and the Chamberlain came in to +the King and said to him, "Some King hath encamped before the city, he and his +host, with arms and weapons displayed, and we know not their object and aim." +The King took counsel with his Wazir Amjad and his brother As'ad; and Amjad +said, "I will go out to him and learn the cause of his coming." So he took +horse and, riding forth from the city, repaired to the stranger's camp, where +he found the King and with him a mighty many and mounted Mamelukes. When the +guards saw him, they knew him for an envoy from the King of the city; so they +took him and brought him before their Sultan. Then Amjad kissed the ground +before him; but lo! the King was a Queen, who was veiled with a mouth-veil, and +she said to Amjad, "Know that I have no design on this your city and that I am +come hither only in quest of a beardless slave of mine, whom if I find with +you, I will do you no harm, but if I find him not, then shall there befall sore +onslaught between me and you." Asked Amjad, "O Queen, what like is thy slave +and what is his story and what may be his name?" Said she, "His name is As'ad +and my name is Marjanah, and this slave came to my town in company of Bahram, a +Magian, who refused to sell him to me; so I took him by force, but his master +fell upon him by night and bore him away by stealth and he is of such and such +a favour." When Amjad heard that, he knew it was indeed his brother As'ad whom +she sought and said to her, "O Queen of the age, Alhamdolillah, praised be +Allah, who hath brought us relief! Verily this slave whom thou seekest is my +brother." Then he told her their story and all that had befallen them in the +land of exile, and acquainted her with the cause of their departure from the +Islands of Ebony, whereat she marvelled and rejoiced to have found As'ad. So +she bestowed a dress of honour upon Amjad and he returned forthright to the +King and told him what had passed, at which they all rejoiced and the King went +forth with Amjad and As'ad to meet Queen Marjanah. When they were admitted to +her presence and sat down to converse with her and were thus pleasantly +engaged, behold, a dust cloud rose and flew and grew, till it walled the view. +And after a while it lifted and showed beneath it an army dight for victory, in +numbers like the swelling sea, armed and armoured cap-а-pie who, making for the +city, encompassed it around as the ring encompasseth the little finger;[FN#21] +and a bared brand was in every hand. When Amjad and As'ad saw this, they +exclaimed, "Verily to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return! What is this +mighty host? Doubtless, these are enemies, and except we agree with this Queen +Marjanah to fight them, they will take the town from us and slay us. There is +no resource for us but to go out to them and see who they are." So Amjad arose +and took horse and passed through the city gate to Queen Marjanah's camp; but +when he reached the approaching army he found it to be that of his grand sire, +King Ghayur, father of his mother Queen Budur.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn +of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad reached the +approaching host, he found it to be that of his grandsire, Lord of the Isles +and the Seas and the Seven Castles; and when he went into the presence, he +kissed the ground between his hands and delivered to him the message. Quoth the +King, "My name is King Ghayur and I come wayfaring in quest of my daughter +Budur whom fortune hath taken from me, for she left me and returned not to me, +nor have I heard any tidings of her or of her husband Kamar al-Zaman. Have ye +any news of them?" When Amjad heard this, he hung his head towards the ground +for a while in thought till he felt assured that this King was none other than +his grandfather, his mother's father; where upon he raised his head and, +kissing ground before him, told him that he was the son of his daughter Budur; +on hearing which Ghayur threw himself upon him and they both fell a +weeping.[FN#22] Then said Ghayur, "Praised be Allah, O my son, for safety, +since I have foregathered with thee," and Amjad told him that his daughter +Budur was safe and sound, and her husband Kamar al-Zaman likewise, and +acquainted him that both abode in a city called the City of Ebony. Moreover, he +related to him how his father, being wroth with him and his brother, had +commended that both be put to death, but that his treasurer had taken pity on +them and let them go with their lives. Quoth King Ghayur, "I will go back with +thee and thy brother to your father and make your peace with him." So Amjad +kissed the ground before him in huge delight and the King bestowed a dress of +honour upon him, after which he returned, smiling, to the King of the City of +the Magians and told him what he had learnt from King Ghayur, whereat he +wondered with exceeding wonder. Then he despatched guest-gifts of sheep and +horses and camels and forage and so forth to King Ghayur, and did the like by +Queen Marjanah; and both of them told her what chanced; whereupon quoth she, "I +too will accompany you with my troops and will do my endeavour to make this +peace." Meanwhile behold, there arose another dust cloud and flew and grew till +it walled the view and blackened the day's bright hue; and under it they heard +shouts and cries and neighing of steeds and beheld sword glance and the glint +of levelled lance. When this new host drew near the city and saw the two other +armies, they beat their drums and the King of the Magians exclaimed, "This is +indeed naught but a blessed day. Praised be Allah who hath made us of accord +with these two armies; and if it be His will, He shall give us peace with yon +other as well." Then said he to Amjad and As'ad, "Fare forth and fetch us news +of these troops, for they are a mighty host, never saw I a mightier." So they +opened the city gates, which the King had shut for fear of the beleaguering +armies, and Amjad and As'ad went forth and, coming to the new host, found that +it was indeed a mighty many. But as soon as they came to it behold, they knew +that it was the army of the King of the Ebony Islands, wherein was their +father, King Kamar al-Zaman in person. Now when they looked upon him, they +kissed ground and wept; but, when he beheld them, he threw himself upon them +weeping, with sore weeping, and strained them to his breast for a full hour. +Then he excused himself to them and told them what desolation he had suffered +for their loss and exile; and they acquainted him with King Ghayur's arrival, +whereupon he mounted with his chief officers and taking with him his two sons, +proceeded to that King's camp. As they drew near, one of the Princes rode +forward and informed King Ghayur of Kamar al-Zaman's coming, whereupon he came +out to meet him and they joined company, marvelling at these things and how +they had chanced to foregather in that place. Then the townsfolk made them +banquets of all manner of meats and sweetmeats and presented to them horses and +camels and fodder and other guest-gifts and all that the troops needed. And +while this was doing, behold, yet another cloud of dust arose and flew till it +walled the view, whilst earth trembled with the tramp of steed and tabors +sounded like stormy winds. After a while, the dust lifted and discovered an +army clad in coats of mail and armed cap-а-pie; but all were in black garb, and +in their midst rode a very old man whose beard flowed down over his breast and +he also was clad in black. When the King of the city and the city folk saw this +great host, he said to the other Kings, "Praised be Allah by whose omnipotent +command ye are met here, all in one day, and have proved all known one to the +other! But what vast and victorious army is this which hemmeth in the whole +land like a wall?" They answered, "Have no fear of them; we are three Kings, +each with a great army, and if they be enemies, we will join thee in doing +battle with them, were they three times as many as they now are." Meanwhile, up +came an envoy from the approaching host, making for the city. So they brought +him before Kamar al-Zaman, King Ghayur, Queen Marjanah and the King of the +city; and he kissed the ground and said, "My liege lord cometh from +Persia-land; for many years ago he lost his son and he is seeking him in all +countries. If he find him with you, well and good; but if he find him not, +there will be war between him and you and he will waste your city." Rejoined +Kamar al-Zaman, "It shall not come to that; but how is thy master called in +Ajam land?" Answered the envoy, "He is called King Shahriman, lord of the +Khбlidan Islands; and he hath levied these troops in the lands traversed by +him, whilst seeking his son." No-vv when Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, he +cried out with a great cry and fell down in a fainting fit which lasted a long +while; and anon coming to himself he wept bitter tears and said to Amjad and +As'ad, "Go ye, O my sons, with the herald, salute your grandfather and my +father, King Shahriman and give him glad tidings of me, for he mourneth my loss +and even to the present time he weareth black raiment for my sake." Then he +told the other Kings all that had befallen him in the days of his youth, at +which they wondered and, going down with him from the city, repaired to his +father, whom he saluted, and they embraced and fell to the ground senseless for +excess of joy. And when they revived after a while, Kamar al-Zaman acquainted +his father with all his adventures and the other Kings saluted Shahriman. Then, +after having married Marjanah to As'ad, they sent her back to her kingdom, +charging her not to cease correspondence with them; so she took leave and went +her way. Moreover they married Amjad to Bostan, Bahram's daughter, and they all +set out for the City of Ebony. And when they arrived there, Kamar al-Zaman went +in to his father-in-law, King Armanus, and told him all that had befallen him +and how he had found his sons; whereat Armanus rejoiced and gave him joy of his +safe return. Then King Ghayur went in to his daughter, Queen Budur,[FN#23] and +saluted her and quenched his longing for her company, and they all abode a full +month's space in the City of Ebony; after which the King and his daughter +returned to their own country.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased to say her permitted say, +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Ghayur set out with +his daughter and his host for his own land, and they took with them Amjad and +returned home by easy marches. And when Ghayur was settled again in his +kingdom, he made his grandson King in his stead; and as to Kamar al-Zaman he +also made As'ad king in his room over the capital of the Ebony Islands, with +the consent of his grandfather, King Armanus and set out himself, with his +father, King Shahriman, till the two made the Islands of Khбlidan. Then the +lieges decorated the city in their honour and they ceased not to beat the drums +for glad tidings a whole month; nor did Kamar al-Zaman leave to govern in his +father's place, till there overtook them the Destroyer of delights and the +Sunderer of societies; and Allah knoweth all things! Quoth King Shahryar, "O +Shahrazad, this is indeed a most wonderful tale!" And she answered, "O King, it +is not more wonderful than that of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap04"></a>ALA AL-DIN ABU AL-SHAMAT.[FN#24]</h3> + +<p> +"What is that?" asked he, and she said, It hath reached me that there lived, in +times of yore and years and ages long gone before, a merchant of Cairo[FN#25] +named Shams al-Din, who was of the best and truest spoken of the traders of the +city; and he had eunuchs and servants and negro-slaves and handmaids and Mame +lukes and great store of money. Moreover, he was Consul[FN#26] of the Merchants +of Cairo and owned a wife, whom he loved and who loved him; except that he had +lived with her forty years, yet had not been blessed with a son or even a +daughter. One day, as he sat in his shop, he noted that the merchants, each and +every, had a son or two sons or more sitting in their shops like their sires. +Now the day being Friday, he entered the Hammam-bath and made the +total-ablution: after which he came out and took the barber's glass and looked +in it, saying, "I testify that there is no god but the God and I testify that +Mohammed is the Messenger of God!" Then he considered his beard and, seeing +that the white hairs in it covered the black, bethought himself that hoariness +is the harbinger of death. Now his wife knew the time of his coming home and +had washed and made herself ready for him, so when he came in to her, she said, +"Good evening," but he replied "I see no good." Then she called to the +handmaid, "Spread the supper-tray;" and when this was done quoth she to her +husband "Sup, O my lord." Quoth he, "I will eat nothing," and pushing the tray +away with his foot, turned his back upon her. She asked, "Why dost thou thus? +and what hath vexed thee?"; and he answered, "Thou art the cause of my +vexation."—And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say, +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shams al-Din said to his +wife, "Thou art the cause of my vexation." She asked, "Wherefore?" and he +answered, "When I opened my shop this morning, I saw that each and every of the +merchants had with him a son or two sons or more, sitting in their shops like +their fathers; and I said to myself:—He who took thy sire will not spare thee. +Now the night I first visited thee,[FN#27] thou madest me swear that I would +never take a second wife over thee nor a concubine, Abyssinian or Greek or +handmaid of other race; nor would lie a single night away from thee: and +behold, thou art barren, and having thee is like boring into the rock." +Rejoined she, "Allah is my witness that the fault lies with thee, for that thy +seed is thin." He asked, "And what showeth the man whose semen is thin?" And +she answered, "He cannot get women with child, nor beget children." Quoth he, +"What thickeneth the seed? tell me and I will buy it: haply, it will thicken +mine." Quoth she, "Enquire for it of the druggists." So he slept with her that +night and arose on the morrow, repenting of having spoken angrily to her; and +she also regretted her cross words. Then he went to the market and, finding a +druggist, saluted him; and when his salutation was returned said to him, "Say, +hast thou with thee a seed-thickener?" He replied, "I had it, but am out of it: +enquire thou of my neighbour." Then Shams al-Din made the round till he had +asked every one, but they all laughed at him, and presently he returned to his +shop and sat down, sore troubled. Now there was in the bazar a man who was +Deputy Syndic of the brokers and was given to the use of opium and electuary +and green hashish.[FN#28] He was called Shaykh Mohammed Samsam and being poor +he used to wish Shams al-Din good morrow every day. So he came to him according +to his custom and saluted him. The merchant returned his salute, but in +ill-temper, and the other, seeing him vexed, said, "O my lord, what hath +crossed thee?" Thereupon Shams al-Din told him all that occurred between +himself and his wife, adding, "These forty years have I been married to her yet +hath she borne me neither son nor daughter; and they say:—The cause of thy +failure to get her with child is the thinness of thy seed; so I have been +seeking a some thing wherewith to thicken my semen but found it not." Quoth +Shaykh Mohammed, "O my lord, I have a seed-thickener, but what wilt thou say to +him who causeth thy wife to conceive by thee after these forty years have +passed?" Answered the merchant, "If thou do this, I will work thy weal—and +reward thee." "Then give me a dinar," rejoined the broker, and Shams al-Din +said, "Take these two dinars." He took them and said, "Give me also yonder big +bowl of porcelain." So he gave it to him and the broker betook himself to a +hashish-seller, of whom he bought two ounces of concentrated Roumi opium and +equal-parts of Chinese cubebs, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, ginger, white +pepper and mountain skink[FN#29]; and, pounding them all together, boiled them +in sweet olive-oil; after which he added three ounces of male frankincense in +fragments and a cupful of coriander-seed; and, macerating the whole, made it +into an electuary with Roumi bee honey. Then he put the confection in the bowl +and carried it to the merchant, to whom he delivered it, saying, "Here is the +seed-thickener, and the manner of using it is this. Take of my electuary with a +spoon after supping, and wash it down with a sherbet made of rose conserve; but +first sup off mutton and house pigeon plentifully seasoned and hotly spiced." +So the merchant bought all this and sent the meat and pigeons to his wife, +saying, "Dress them deftly and lay up the seed-thickener until I want it and +call for it." She did his bidding and, when she served up the meats, he ate the +evening meal, after which he called for the bowl and ate of the electuary. It +pleased him well, so he ate the rest and knew his wife. That very night she +conceived by him and, after three months, her courses ceased, no blood came +from her and she knew that she was with child. When the days of her pregnancy +were accomplished, the pangs of labour took her and they raised loud +lullilooings and cries of joy. The midwife delivered her with difficulty, by +pronouncing over the boy at his birth the names of Mohammed and Ali, and said, +"Allah is Most Great!"; and she called in his ear the call to prayer. Then she +wrapped him up and passed him to his mother, who took him and gave him the +breast; and he sucked and was full and slept. The midwife abode with them three +days, till they had made the mothering-cakes of sugared bread and sweetmeats; +and they distributed them on the seventh day. Then they sprinkled salt against +the evil eye and the merchant, going in to his wife, gave her joy of her safe +delivery, and said, "Where is Allah's deposit?" So they brought him a babe of +surpassing beauty, the handiwork of the Orderer who is ever present and, though +he was but seven days old, those who saw him would have deemed him a yearling +child. So the merchant looked on his face and, seeing it like a shining full +moon, with moles on either cheek, said he to his wife, "What hast thou named +him?" Answered she, "If it were a girl I had named her; but this is a boy, so +none shall name him but thou." Now the people of that time used to name their +children by omens; and, whilst the merchant and his wife were taking counsel of +the name, behold, one said to his friend, "Ho my lord, Ala al-Din!" So the +merchant said, "We will call him Ala al-Din Abъ al-Shбmбt."[FN#30] Then he +committed the child to the nurse, and he drank milk two years, after which they +weaned him and he grew up and throve and walked upon the floor. When he came to +seven years old, they put him in a chamber under a trap-door, for fear of the +evil eye, and his father said, "He shall not come out, till his beard grow." So +he gave him in charge to a handmaid and a blackamoor; the girl dressed him his +meals and the slave carried them to him. Then his father circumcised him and +made him a great feast; after which he brought him a doctor of the law, who +taught him to write and read and repeat the Koran, and other arts and sciences, +till he became a good scholar and an accomplished. One day it so came to pass +that the slave, after bringing him the tray of food went away and left the trap +door open: so Ala al-Din came forth from the vault and went in to his mother, +with whom was a company of women of rank. As they sat talking, behold, in came +upon them the youth as he were a white slave drunken[FN#31] for the excess of +his beauty; and when they saw him, they veiled their faces and said to his +mother, "Allah requite thee, O such an one! How canst thou let this strange +Mameluke in upon us? Knowest thou not that modesty is a point of the Faith?" +She replied, "Pronounce Allah's name[FN#32] and cry Bismillah! this is my son, +the fruit of my vitals and the heir of Consul Shams al-Din, the child of the +nurse and the collar and the crust and the crumb."[FN#33] Quoth they, "Never in +our days knew we that thou hadst a son"; and quoth she, "Verily his father +feared for him the evil eye and reared him in an under-ground chamber;"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-first Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din's mother said +to her lady-friends, "Verily his father feared for him the evil eye and reared +him in an underground chamber; and haply the slave forgot to shut the door and +he fared forth; but we did not mean that he should come out, before his beard +was grown." The women gave her joy of him, and the youth went out from them +into the court yard where he seated himself in the open sitting room; and +behold, in came the slaves with his father's she mule, and he said to them, +"Whence cometh this mule?" Quoth they, "We escorted thy father when riding her +to the shop, and we have brought her back." He asked, "What may be my father's +trade?"; and they answered, "Thy father is Consul of the merchants in the land +of Egypt and Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs." Then he went in to his mother +and said to her, "O my mother, what is my father's trade?" Said she, "O my son, +thy sire is a merchant and Consul of the merchants in the land of Egypt and +Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs. His slaves consult him not in selling aught +whose price is less than one thousand gold pieces, but merchandise worth him an +hundred and less they sell at their own discretion; nor cloth any merchandise +whatever, little or much, leave the country without passing through his hands +and he disposeth of it as he pleaseth; nor is a bale packed and sent abroad +amongst folk but what is under his disposal. And "Almighty Allah, O my son, +hath given thy father monies past compt." He rejoined, "O my mother, praised be +Allah, that I am son of the Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs and that my father +is Consul of the merchants! But why, O my mother, do ye put me in the +underground chamber and leave me prisoner there?" Quoth she, "O my son, we +imprisoned thee not save for fear of folks' eyes: 'the evil eye is a +truth,'[FN#34] and most of those in their long homes are its victims." Quoth +he, "O my mother, and where is a refuge-place against Fate? Verily care never +made Destiny forbear; nor is there flight from what is written for every wight. +He who took my grandfather will not spare myself nor my father; for, though he +live to day he shall not live tomorrow. And when my father dieth and I come +forth and say, 'I am Ala al-Din, son of Shams al-Din the merchant', none of the +people will believe me, but men of years and standing will say, 'In our lives +never saw we a son or a daughter of Shams al-Din.' Then the public Treasury +will come down and take my father's estate, and Allah have mercy on him who +said, 'The noble dieth and his wealth passeth away, and the meanest of men take +his women.' Therefore, O my mother, speak thou to my father, that he carry me +with him to the bazar and open for me a shop; so may I sit there with my +merchandise, and teach me to buy and sell and take and give." Answered his +mother, "O my son, as soon as thy sire returneth I will tell him this." So when +the merchant came home, he found his son Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat sitting with +his mother and said to her, "Why hast thou brought him forth of the underground +chamber?" She replied, "O son of my uncle, it was not I that brought him out; +but the servants forgot to shut the door and left it open; so, as I sat with a +company of women of rank, behold, he came forth and walked in to me." Then she +went on to repeat to him his son's words; so he said, "O my son, to-morrow, +Inshallah! I will take thee with me to the bazar; but, my boy, sitting in +markets and shops demandeth good manners and courteous carriage in all +conditions." Ala al-Din passed the night rejoicing in his father's promise and, +when the morrow came, the merchant carried him to the Hammam and clad him in a +suit worth a mint of money. As soon as they had broken their fast and drunk +their sherbets, Shams al-Din mounted his she mule and putting his son upon +another, rode to the market, followed by his boy. But when the market folk saw +their Consul making towards them, foregoing a youth as he were a slice of the +full moon on the fourteenth night, they said, one to other, "See thou yonder +boy behind the Consul of the merchants; verily, we thought well of him, but he +is, like the leek, gray of head and green at heart."[FN#35] And Shaykh Mohammed +Samsam, Deputy Syndic of the market, the man before mentioned, said to the +dealers, "O merchants, we will not keep the like of him for our Shaykh; no, +never!" Now it was the custom anent the Consul when he came from his house of a +morning and sat down in his shop, for the Deputy Syndic of the market to go and +recite to him and to all the merchants assembled around him the Fбtihah or +opening chapter of the Koran,[FN#36] after which they accosted him one by one +and wished him good morrow and went away, each to his business place. But when +Shams al-Din seated himself in his shop that day as usual, the traders came not +to him as accustomed; so he called the Deputy and said to him, "Why come not +the merchants together as usual?" Answered Mohammed Samsam, "I know not how to +tell thee these troubles, for they have agreed to depose thee from the Shaykh +ship of the market and to recite the Fatihah to thee no more." Asked Shams +al-Din, "What may be their reason?"; and asked the Deputy, "What boy is this +that sitteth by thy side and thou a man of years and chief of the merchants? Is +this lad a Mameluke or akin to thy wife? Verily, I think thou lovest him and +inclines lewdly to the boy." Thereupon the Consul cried out at him, saying, +"Silence, Allah curse thee, genus and species! This is my son." Rejoined the +Deputy, "Never in our born days have we seen thee with a son," and Shams al-Din +answered, "When thou gavest me the seed-thickener, my wife conceived and bare +this youth; but I reared him in a souterrain for fear of the evil eye, nor was +it my purpose that he should come forth, till he could take his beard in his +hand.[FN#37] However, his mother would not agree to this, and he on his part +begged I would stock him a shop and teach him to sell and buy." So the Deputy +Syndic returned to the other traders and acquainted them with the truth of the +case, whereupon they all arose to accompany him; and, going in a body to Shams +al-Din's shop, stood before him and recited the "Opener" of the Koran; after +which they gave him joy of his son and said to him, "The Lord prosper root and +branch! But even the poorest of us, when son or daughter is born to him, needs +must cook a pan-full of custard[FN#38] and bid his friends and kith and kin; +yet hast thou not done this." Quoth he, "This I owe you; be our meeting in the +garden."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +Her sister Dunyazad said to her, "Pray continue thy story for us, as thou be +awake and not inclined to sleep." Quoth she:—With pleasure and goodwill: it +hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Consul of the merchants promised +them a banquet and said "Be our meeting in the garden." So when morning dawned +he despatched the carpet layer to the saloon of the garden-pavilion and bade +him furnish the two. Moreover, he sent thither all that was needful for +cooking, such as sheep and clarified butter and so forth, according to the +requirements of the case; and spread two tables, one in the pavilion and +another in the saloon. Then Shams al-Din and his boy girded themselves, and he +said to Ala al-Din "O my son, whenas a greybeard entereth, I will meet him and +seat him at the table in the pavilion; and do thou, in like manner, receive the +beardless youths and seat them at the table in the saloon." He asked, "O my +father, why dost thou spread two tables, one for men and another for youths?"; +and he answered, "O my son, the beardless is ashamed to eat with the bearded." +And his son thought this his answer full and sufficient. So when the merchants +arrived, Shams al-Din received the men and seated them in the pavilion, whilst +Ala al-Din received the youths and seated them in the saloon. Then the food was +set on and the guests ate and drank and made merry and sat over their wine, +whilst the attendants perfumed them with the smoke of scented woods, and the +elders fell to conversing of matters of science and traditions of the Prophet. +Now there was amongst them a merchant called Mahmъd of Balkh, a professing +Moslem but at heart a Magian, a man of lewd and mischievous life who loved +boys. And when he saw Ala al-Din from whose father he used to buy stuffs and +merchandise, one sight of his face sent him a thousand sighs and Satan dangled +the jewel before his eyes, so that he was taken with love-longing and desire +and affection and his heart was filled with mad passion for him. Presently he +arose and made for the youths, who stood up to receive him; and at this moment +Ala Al-Din being taken with an urgent call of Nature, withdrew to make water; +whereupon Mahmud turned to the other youths and said to them, "If ye will +incline Ala al-Din's mind to journeying with me, I will give each of you a +dress worth a power of money." Then he returned from them to the men's party; +and, as the youths were sitting, Ala al-Din suddenly came back, when all rose +to receive him and seated him in the place of highest honour. Presently, one of +them said to his neighbour, "O my lord Hasan, tell me whence came to thee the +capital—whereon thou trades"." He replied, "When I grew up and came to man's +estate, I said to my sire, 'O my father, give me merchandise.' Quoth he, 'O my +son, I have none by me; but go thou to some merchant and take of him money and +traffic with it; and so learn to buy and sell, give and take.' So I went to one +of the traders and borrowed of him a thousand dinars, wherewith I bought stuffs +and carrying them to Damascus, sold them there at a profit of two for one. Then +I bought Syrian stuffs and carrying them to Aleppo, made a similar gain of +them; after which I bought stuffs of Aleppo and repaired with them to Baghdad, +where I sold them with like result, two for one; nor did I cease trading upon +my capital till I was worth nigh ten thousand ducats." Then each of the others +told his friend some such tale, till it came to Ala al-Din's turn to speak, +when they said to him, "And thou, O my lord Ala al-Din?" Quoth he, "I was +brought up in a chamber underground and came forth from it only this week; and +I do but go to the shop and return home from the shop." They remarked, "Thou +art used to wone at home and wottest not the joys of travel, for travel is for +men only." He replied, "I reck not of voyaging and wayfaring cloth not tempt +me." Whereupon quoth one to the other, "This one is like the fish: when he +leaveth the water he dieth." Then they said to him, "O Ala al Din, the glory of +the sons of the merchants is not but in travel for the sake of gain." Their +talk angered him; so he left them weeping-eyed and heavy-hearted and mounting +his mule returned home. Now his mother saw him in tears and in bad temper and +asked him, "What hath made thee weep, O my son?"; and he answered, "Of a truth, +all the sons of the merchants put me to shame and said, 'Naught is more +glorious for a merchant's son than travel for gain and to get him gold.'"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din said to his +mother, "Of a truth all the sons of the merchants put me to shame and said, +'Naught is more honourable for a merchant's son than travel for gain.'" "O my +son, hast thou a mind to travel?" "Even so!" "And whither wilt thou go?" "To +the city of Baghdad; for there folk make double the cost price on their goods." +"O my son, thy father is a very rich man and, if he provide thee not with +merchandise, I will supply it out of my own monies." "The best favour is that +which is soonest bestowed; if this kindness is to be, now is the time." So she +called the slaves and sent them for cloth packers, then, opening a store house, +brought out ten loads of stuffs, which they made up into bales for him. Such +was his case; but as regards his father, Shams al-Din, he looked about and +failed to find Ala al-Din in the garden and enquiring after him, was told that +he had mounted mule and gone home; so he too mounted and followed him. Now when +he entered the house, he saw the bales ready bound and asked what they were; +whereupon his wife told him what had chanced between Ala al-Din and the sons of +the merchants; and he cried, "O my son, Allah's malison on travel and +stranger-hood! Verily Allah's Apostle (whom the Lord bless and preserve!) hath +said, 'It is of a man's happy fortune that he eat his daily bread in his own +land', and it was said of the ancients, 'Leave travel, though but for a mile.'" +Then quoth he to his son, "Say, art thou indeed resolved to travel and wilt +thou not turn back from it?" Quoth the other, "There is no help for it but that +I journey to Baghdad with merchandise, else will I doff clothes and don dervish +gear and fare a-wandering over the world." Shams al-Din rejoined, "I am no +penniless pauper but have great plenty of wealth;" then he showed him all he +owned of monies and stuffs and stock-in-trade and observed, "With me are stuffs +and merchandise befitting every country in the world." Then he showed him among +the rest, forty bales ready bound, with the price, a thousand dinars, written +on each, and said, "O my son take these forty loads, together with the ten +which thy mother gave thee, and set out under the safeguard of Almighty Allah. +But, O my child, I fear for thee a certain wood in thy way, called the Lion's +Copse,[FN#39] and a valley highs the Vale of Dogs, for there lives are lost +without mercy." He said, "How so, O my father?"; and he replied, "Because of a +Badawi bandit named Ajlan." Quoth Ala al-Din, "Such is Allah's luck; if any +share of it be mine, no harm shall hap to me." Then they rode to the cattle +bazar, where behold, a cameleer[FN#40] alighted from his she mule and kissing +the Consul's hand, said to him, "O my lord, it is long, by Allah, since thou +hast employed us in the way of business." He replied, "Every time hath its +fortune and its men,[FN#41] and Allah have truth on him who said, +</p> + +<p> +'And the old man crept o'er the worldly ways * So bowed, his<br/> + + beard o'er his knees down flow'th:<br/> + +Quoth I, 'What gars thee so doubled go?' * Quoth he (as to me his<br/> + + hands he show'th)<br/> + +'My youth is lost, in the dust it lieth; * And see, I bend me to<br/> + + find my youth.'"[FN#42]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when he had ended his verses, he said, "O chief of the caravan, it is not I +who am minded to travel, but this my son." Quoth the cameleer, "Allah save him +for thee." Then the Consul made a contract between Ala al-Din and the man, +appointing that the youth should be to him as a son, and gave him into his +charge, saying, "Take these hundred gold pieces for thy people." More-over he +bought his son threescore mules and a lamp and a tomb-covering for the Sayyid +Abd al-Kadir of Gнlбn[FN#43] and said to him, "O my son, while I am absent, +this is thy sire in my stead: whatsoever he biddeth thee, do thou obey him." So +saying, he returned home with the mules and servants and that night they made a +Khitmah or perfection of the Koran and held a festival—in honour of the Shaykh +Abd al-Kadir al-Jilбni. And when the morrow dawned, the Consul gave his son ten +thousand dinars, saying, "O my son, when thou comest to Baghdad, if thou find +stuffs easy of sale, sell them; but if they be dull, spend of these dinars." +Then they loaded the mules and, taking leave of one another, all the wayfarers +setting out on their journey, marched forth from the city. Now Mahmud of Balkh +had made ready his own venture for Baghdad and had moved his bales and set up +his tents without the walls, saying to himself, "Thou shalt not enjoy this +youth but in the desert, where there is neither spy nor marplot to trouble +thee." It chanced that he had in hand a thousand dinars which he owed to the +youth's father, the balance of a business-transaction between them; so he went +and bade farewell to the Consul, who charged him, "Give the thousand dinars to +my son Ala al-Din;" and commended the lad to his care, saying, "He is as it +were thy son." Accordingly, Ala al-Din joined company with Mahmud of Balkh.—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din joined company +with Mahmud of Balkh who, before beginning the march, charged the youth's cook +to dress nothing for him, but himself provided him and his company with meat +and drink. Now he had four houses, one in Cairo, another in Damascus, a third +in Aleppo and a fourth in Baghdad. So they set out and ceased not journeying +over waste and wold till they drew near Damascus when Mahmud sent his slave to +Ala al-Din, whom he found sitting and reading. He went up to him and kissed his +hands, and Ala al-Din having asked him what he wanted, he answered, "My master +saluteth thee and craveth thy company to a banquet at his place." Quoth the +youth, "Not till I consult my father Kamal al-Din, the captain of the caravan." +So he asked advice of the Makaddam,[FN#44] who said, "Do not go." Then they +left Damascus and journeyed on till they came to Aleppo, where Mahmud made a +second entertainment and sent to invite Ala al-Din; but he consulted the Chief +Cameleer who again forbade him. Then they marched from Aleppo and fared on, +till there remained between them and Baghdad only a single stage. Here Mahmud +prepared a third feast and sent to bid Ala al-Din to it: Kamal-al-Din once more +forbade his accepting it, but he said, "I must needs go." So he rose and, +slinging a sword over his shoulder, under his clothes, repaired to the tent of +Mahmud of Balkh, who came to meet him and saluted him. Then he set before him a +sumptuous repast and they ate and drank and washed hands. At last Mahmud bent +towards Ala al-Din to snatch a kiss from him, but the youth received the kiss +on the palm of his hand and said to him, "What wouldest thou be at?" Quoth +Mahmud, "In very sooth I brought thee hither that I might take my pleasure with +thee in this jousting ground, and we will comment upon the words of him who +saith, +</p> + +<p> +'Say, canst not come to us one momentling, * Like milk of ewekin<br/> + + or aught glistening<br/> + +And eat what liketh thee of dainty cake, * And take thy due of<br/> + + fee in silverling,<br/> + +And bear whatso thou wilt, without mislike, * Of spanling,<br/> + + fistling or a span long thing?'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then Mahmud of Balkh would have laid hands on Ala al-Din to ravish him; but he +rose and baring his brand, said to him, "Shame on thy gray hairs! Hast thou no +fear of Allah, and He of exceeding awe?[FN#45] May He have mercy on him who +saith, +</p> + +<p> +'Preserve thy hoary hairs from soil and stain, * For whitest colours are the +easiest stained!'" +</p> + +<p> +And when he ended his verses he said to Mahmud of Balkh, "Verily this +merchandise[FN#46] is a trust from Allah and may not be sold. If I sold this +property to other than thee for gold, I would sell it to thee for silver; but +by Allah, O filthy villain, I will never again company with thee; no, never!" +Then he returned to Kamal-Al-Din the guide and said to him, "Yonder man is a +lewd fellow, and I will no longer consort with him nor suffer his company by +the way." He replied, "O my son, did I not say to thee, 'Go not near him'? But +if we part company with him, I fear destruction for ourselves; so let us still +make one caravan." But Ala al-Din cried, "It may not be that I ever again +travel with him." So he loaded his beasts and journeyed onwards, he and his +company, till they came to a valley, where Ala al-Din would have halted, but +the Cameleer said to him, "Do not halt here; rather let us fare forwards and +press our pace, so haply we make Baghdad before the gates are closed, for they +open and shut them with the sun, in fear lest the Rejectors[FN#47] should take +the city and throw the books of religious learning into the Tigris." But Ala al +Din replied to him, "O my father, I came not forth from home with this +merchandise, or travelled hither for the sake of traffic, but to divert myself +with the sight of foreign lands and folks;" and he rejoined, "O my son, we fear +for thee and for thy goods from the wild Arabs." Whereupon the youth answered +"Harkye, fellow, art thou master or man? I will not enter Baghdad till the +morning, that the sons of the city may see my merchandise and know me." "Do as +thou wilt," said the other "I have given thee the wisest advice, but thou art +the best judge of thine own case." Then Ala al-Din bade them unload the mule; +and pitch the tent; so they did his bidding and abode there till the middle of +the night, when he went out to obey a call of nature and suddenly saw something +gleaming afar off. So he said to Kamal-al-Din, "O captain, what is yonder +glittering?" The Cameleer sat up and, considering it straitly, knew it for the +glint of spear heads and the steel of Badawi weapons and swords. And lo and +behold! this was a troop of wild Arabs under a chief called Ajlбn Abъ Nбib, +Shaykh of the Arabs, and when they neared the camp and saw the bales and +baggage, they said one to another, "O night of loot!" Now when Kamal-al-Din +heard these their words he cried, "Avaunt, O vilest of Arabs!" But Abu Naib so +smote him with his throw spear in the breast, that the point came out gleaming +from his back, and he fell down dead at the tent door. Then cried the water +carrier,[FN#48] "Avaunt, O foulest of Arabs!" and one of them smote him with a +sword upon the shoulder, that it issued shining from the tendons of the throat, +and he also fell down dead. (And all this while Ala Al-Din stood looking on.) +Then the Badawin surrounded and charged the caravan from every side and slew +all Ala al-Din's company without sparing a man: after which they loaded the +mules with the spoil and made off. Quoth Ala al-Din to himself, "Nothing will +slay thee save thy mule and thy dress!"; so he arose and put off his gown and +threw it over the back of a mule, remaining in his shirt and bag trousers only; +after which he looked towards the tent door and, seeing there a pool of gore +flowing from the slaughtered, wallowed in it with his remaining clothes till he +was as a slain man drowned in his own blood. Thus it fared with him; but as +regards the Shaykh of the wild Arabs, Ajlan, he said to his banditti, "O Arabs, +was this caravan bound from Egypt for Baghdad or from Baghdad for Egypt?"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Badawi asked his +banditti, "O Arabs, was this caravan bound from Egypt for Baghdad or from +Baghdad for Egypt?"; they answered, "'Twas bound from Egypt for Baghdad;" and +he said, "Return ye to the slain, for methinks the owner of this caravan is not +dead." So they turned back to the slain and fell to prodding and slashing them +with lance and sword till they came to Ala al-Din, who had thrown himself down +among the corpses. And when they came to him, quoth they, "Thou dost but feign +thyself dead, but we will make an end of thee," and one of the Badawin levelled +his javelin and would have plunged it into his breast when he cried out, "Save +me, O my lord Abd al-Kadir, O Saint of Gilan!" and behold, he saw a hand turn +the lance away from his breast to that of Kamal-al-Din the cameleer, so that it +pierced him and spared himself.[FN#49] Then the Arabs made off; and, when Ala +al-Din saw that the birds were flown with their god send, he sat up and finding +no one, rose and set off running; but, behold! Abu Nбib the Badawi looked back +and said to his troop, "I see somewhat moving afar off, O Arabs!" So one of the +bandits turned back and, spying Ala al-Din running, called out to him, saying, +"Flight shall not forward thee and we after thee;" and he smote his mare with +his heel and she hastened after him. Then Ala al-Din seeing before him a +watering tank and a cistern beside it, climbed up into a niche in the cistern +and, stretching himself at full length, feigned to be asleep and said, "O +gracious Protector, cover me with the veil of Thy protection which may not be +torn away!" And lo! the Badawi came up to the cistern and, standing in his +stirrup irons put out his hand to lay hold of Ala al-Din; but he said, "O my +lady Nafнsah[FN#50]! Now is thy time!" And behold, a scorpion stung the Badawi +in the palm and he cried out, saying, "Help, O Arabs! I am stung;" and he +alighted from his mare's back. So his comrades came up to him and mounted him +again, asking, "What hath befallen thee?" whereto he answered, "A young +scorpion[FN#51] stung me." So they departed, with the caravan. Such was their +case; but as regards Ala al-Din, he tarried in the niche, and Mahmud of Balkh +bade load his beasts and fared forwards till he came to the Lion's Copse where +he found Ala al-Din's attendants all lying slain. At this he rejoiced and went +on till he reached the cistern and the reservoir. Now his mule was athirst and +turned aside to drink, but she saw Ala al-Din's shadow in the water and shied +and started; whereupon Mahmud raised his eyes and, seeing Ala al-Din lying in +the niche, stripped to his shirt and bag trousers, said to him, "What man this +deed to thee hath dight and left thee in this evil plight?" Answered Ala alDin, +"The Arabs," and Mahmud said, "O my son, the mules and the baggage were thy +ransom; so do thou comfort thyself with his saying who said, +</p> + +<p> +'If thereby man can save his head from death, * His good is worth him but a +slice of nail!' +</p> + +<p> +But now, O my son, come down and fear no hurt." Thereupon he descended from the +cistern-niche and Mahmud mounted him on a mule, and they fared on till they +reached Baghdad, where he brought him to his own house and carried him to the +bath, saying to him, "The goods and money were the ransom of thy life, O my +son; but, if thou wilt hearken to me, I will give thee the worth of that thou +hast lost, twice told." When he came out of the bath, Mahmud carried him into a +saloon decorated with gold with four raised floors, and bade them bring a tray +with all manner of meats. So they ate and drank and Mahmud bent towards Ala +al-Din to snatch a kiss from him; but he received it upon the palm of his hand +and said, "What, dost thou persist in thy evil designs upon me? Did I not tell +thee that, were I wont to sell this merchandise to other than thee for gold, I +would sell it thee for silver?" Quoth Mahmud, "I will give thee neither +merchandise nor mule nor clothes save at this price; for I am gone mad for love +of thee, and bless him who said, +</p> + +<p> +'Told us, ascribing to his Shaykhs, our Shaykh * Abъ Bilбl, these<br/> + + words they wont to utter:[FN#52]<br/> + +Unhealed the lover wones of love desire, * By kiss and clip, his<br/> + + only cure's to futter!'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Ala al-Din replied, "Of a truth this may never be, take back thy dress and thy +mule and open the door that I may go out." So he opened the door, and Ala +al-Din fared forth and walked on, with the dogs barking at his heels, and he +went forwards through the dark when behold, he saw the door of a mosque +standing open and, entering the vestibule, there took shelter and concealment; +and suddenly a light approached him and on examining it he saw that it came +from a pair of lanthorns borne by two slaves before two merchants. Now one was +an old man of comely face and the other a youth; and he heard the younger say +to the elder, "O my uncle,, I conjure thee by Allah, give me back my cousin!" +The old man replied, "Did I not forbid thee, many a time, when the oath of +divorce was always in thy mouth, as it were Holy Writ?" Then he turned to his +right and, seeing Ala al-Din as he were a slice of the full moon, said to him, +"Peace be with thee! who art thou, O my son?" Quoth he, returning the +salutation of peace, "I am Ala al-Din, son of Shams al-Din, Consul of the +merchants for Egypt. I besought my father for merchandise; so he packed me +fifty loads of stuffs and goods."—And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and +ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din continued, "So +he packed me fifty loads of goods and gave me ten thousand dinars, wherewith I +set out for Baghdad; but when I reached the Lion's Copse, the wild Arabs came +out against me and took all my goods and monies. So I entered the city knowing +not where to pass the night and, seeing this place, I took shelter here." Quoth +the old man, "O my son, what sayest thou to my giving thee a thousand dinars +and a suit of clothes and a mule worth other two thousand?" Ala al-Din asked, +"To what end wilt thou give me these things, O my uncle?" and the other +answered, 'This young man who accompanieth me is the son of my brother and an +only son; and I have a daughter called Zubaydah[FN#53] the lutist, an only +child who is a model of beauty and loveliness, so I married her to him. Now he +loveth her, but she loatheth him; and when he chanced to take an oath of triple +divorcement and broke it, forthright she left him. Whereupon he egged on all +the folk to intercede with me to restore her to him; but I told him that this +could not lawfully be save by an intermediate marriage, and we have agreed to +make some stranger the intermediary[FN#54] in order that none may taunt and +shame him with this affair. So, as thou art a stranger, come with us and we +will marry thee to her; thou shalt lie with her to-night and on the morrow +divorce her and we will give thee what I said." Quoth Ala al-Din to himself, +"By Allah, to bide the night with a bride on a bed in a house is far better +than sleeping in the streets and vestibules!" So he went with them to the Kazi +whose heart, as soon as he saw Ala al-Din, was moved to love him, and who said +to the old man, "What is your will?" He replied, "We wish to make this young +man an intermediary husband for my daughter; but we will write a bond against +him binding him to pay down by way of marriage-settlement ten thousand gold +pieces. Now if after passing the night with her he divorce her in the morning, +we will give him a mule and dress each worth a thousand dinars, and a third +thousand of ready money; but if he divorce her not, he shall pay down the ten +thousand dinars according to contract." So they agreed to the agreement and the +father of the bride-to-be received his bond for the marriage-settlement. Then +he took Ala al-Din and, clothing him anew, carried him to his daughter's house +and there he left him standing at the door, whilst he himself went in to the +young lady and said, "Take the bond of thy marriage-settlement, for I have +wedded thee to a handsome youth by name Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat: so do thou +use him with the best of usage." Then he put the bond into her hands and left +her and went to his own lodging. Now the lady's cousin had an old duenna who +used to visit Zubaydah, and he had done many a kindness to this woman, so he +said to her, "O my mother, if my cousin Zubaydah see this handsome young man, +she will never after accept my offer; so I would fain have thee contrive some +trick to keep her and him apart." She answered, "By the life of thy +youth,[FN#55] I will not suffer him to approach her!" Then she went to Ala +al-Din and said to him, "O my son, I have a word of advice to give thee, for +the love of Almighty Allah and do thou accept my counsel, as I fear for thee +from this young woman: better thou let her lie alone and feel not her person +nor draw thee near to her." He asked, "Why so?"; and she answered, "Because her +body is full of leprosy and I dread lest she infect thy fair and seemly youth." +Quoth he, "I have no need of her." Thereupon she went to the lady and said the +like to her of Ala al-Din, and she replied, "I have no need of him, but will +let him lie alone, and on the morrow he shall gang his gait." Then she called a +slave-girl and said to her, "Take the tray of food and set it before him that +he may sup." So the handmaid carried him the tray of food and set it before him +and he ate his fill: after which he sat down and raised his charming voice and +fell to reciting the chapter called Y. S.[FN#56] The lady listened to him and +found his voice as melodious as the psalms of David sung by David +himself,[FN#57] which when she heard, she exclaimed, "Allah disappoint the old +hag who told me that he was affected with leprosy! Surely this is not the voice +of one who hath such a disease; and all was a lie against him."[FN#58] Then she +took a lute of India-land workmanship and, tuning the strings, sang to it in a +voice so sweet its music would stay the birds in the heart of heaven; and began +these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"I love a fawn with gentle white black eyes, * Whose walk the<br/> + + willow-wand with envy kills:<br/> + +Forbidding me he bids for rival-mine, * 'Tis Allah's grace who<br/> + + grants to whom He wills!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when he heard her chant these lines he ended his recitation of the chapter, +and began also to sing and repeated the following couplet, +</p> + +<p> +"My Salбm to the Fawn in the garments concealed, * And to roses in gardens of +cheek revealed." +</p> + +<p> +The lady rose up when she heard this, her inclination for him redoubled and she +lifted the curtain; and Ala al-Din, seeing her, recited these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"She shineth forth, a moon, and bends, a willow wand, * And<br/> + + breathes out ambergris, and gazes, a gazelle.<br/> + +Meseems as if grief loved my heart and when from her *<br/> + + Estrangement I abide possession to it fell."[FN#59]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon she came forward, swinging her haunches and gracefully swaying a +shape the handiwork of Him whose boons are hidden; and each of them stole one +glance of the eyes that cost them a thousand sighs. And when the shafts of the +two regards which met rankled in his heart, he repeated these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"She 'spied the moon of Heaven, reminding me * Of nights when met<br/> + + we in the meadows li'en:<br/> + +True, both saw moons, but sooth to say, it was * Her very eyes I<br/> + + saw, and she my eyne."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when she drew near him, and there remained but two paces between them, he +recited these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"She spread three tresses of unplaited hair * One night, and<br/> + + showed me nights not one but four;<br/> + +And faced the moon of Heaven with her brow, * And showed me two-<br/> + + fold moons in single hour."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And as she was hard by him he said to her, "Keep away from me, lest thou infect +me." Whereupon she uncovered her wrist[FN#60] to him, and he saw that it was +cleft, as it were in two halves, by its veins and sinews and its whiteness was +as the whiteness of virgin silver. Then said she, "Keep away from me, thou! for +thou art stricken with leprosy, and maybe thou wilt infect me." He asked, "Who +told thee I was a leper?" and she answered, "The old woman so told me." Quoth +he, "'Twas she told me also that thou wast afflicted with white scurvy;" and so +saying, he bared his forearms and showed her that his skin was also like virgin +silver. Thereupon she pressed him to her bosom and he pressed her to his bosom +and the twain embraced with closest embrace, then she took him and, lying down +on her back, let down her petticoat trousers, and in an instant that which his +father had left him rose up in rebellion against him and he said, "Go it, O +Shayth Zachary[FN#61] of shaggery, O father of veins!"; and putting both hands +to her flanks, he set the sugar-stick[FN#62] to the mouth of the cleft and +thrust on till he came to the wicket called "Pecten." His passage was by the +Gate of Victories[FN#63] and therefrom he entered the Monday market, and those +of Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday,[FN#64] and, finding the carpet after the +measure of the dais floor,[FN#65] he plied the box within its cover till he +came to the end of it. And when morning dawned he cried to her, "Alas for +delight which is not fulfilled! The raven[FN#66] taketh it and flieth away!" +She asked, "What meaneth this saying?"; and he answered, "O my lady, I have but +this hour to abide with thee." Quoth she "Who saith so?" and quoth he, "Thy +father made me give him a written bond to pay ten thousand dinars to thy +wedding-settlement; and, except I pay it this very day, they will imprison me +for debt in the Kazi's house; and now my hand lacketh one-half dirham of the +sum." She asked, "O my lord, is the marriage-bond in thy hand or in theirs?"; +and he answered, "O my lady, in mine, but I have nothing." She rejoined, "The +matter is easy; fear thou nothing. Take these hundred dinars: an I had more, I +would give thee what thou lackest; but of a truth my father, of his love for my +cousin, hath transported all his goods, even to my jewellery from my lodging to +his. But when they send thee a serjeant of the Ecclesiastical Court,"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young lady rejoined +to Ala al-Din, "And when they send thee at an early hour a serjeant of the +Ecclesiastical-Court, and the Kazi and my father bid thee divorce me, do thou +reply, By what law is it lawful and right that I should marry at nightfall and +divorce in the morning? Then kiss the Kazi's hand and give him a present, and +in like manner kiss the Assessors' hands and give each of them ten gold pieces. +So they will all speak with thee, and if they ask thee, 'Why dost thou not +divorce her and take the thousand dinars and the mule and suit of clothes, +according to contract duly contracted?' do thou answer, 'Every hair of her head +is worth a thousand ducats to me and I will never put her away, neither will I +take a suit of clothes nor aught else.' And if the Kazi say to thee, 'Then pay +down the marriage-settlement,' do thou reply, 'I am short of cash at this +present;' whereupon he and the Assessors will deal in friendly fashion with +thee and allow thee time to pay." Now whilst they were talking, behold, the +Kazi's officer knocked at the door; so Ala al-Din went down and the man said to +him, "Come, speak the Efendi,[FN#67] for thy fatherinlaw summoneth thee." So +Ala al-Din gave him five dinars and said to him, "O Summoner, by what law am I +bound to marry at nightfall and divorce next morning?" The serjeant answered, +"By no law of ours at all, at all; and if thou be ignorant of the religious +law, I will act as thine advocate." Then they went to the divorce court and the +Kazi said to Ala al-Din, "Why dost thou not put away the woman and take what +falleth to thee by the contract?" Hearing this he went up to the Kazi; and, +kissing his hand, put fifty dinars in it and said, "O our lord the Kazi, by +what law is it lawful and right that I should marry at nightfall and divorce in +the morning in my own despite?" The Kazi, answered, "Divorce as a compulsion +and by force is sanctioned by no school of the Moslems." Then said the young +lady's father, "If thou wilt not divorce, pay me the ten thousand dinars, her +marriage-settlement." Quoth Ala al-Din, "Give me a delay of three days;" but +the Kazi, said, "Three days is not time enough; he shall give thee ten." So +they agreed to this and bound him after ten days either to pay the dowry or to +divorce her. And after consenting he left them and taking meat and rice and +clarified butter[FN#68] and what else of food he needed, returned to the house +and told the young woman all that had passed; whereupon she said, "'Twixt night +and day, wonders may display; and Allah bless him for his say:— +</p> + +<p> +'Be mild when rage shall come to afflict thy soul; * Be patient<br/> + + when calamity breeds ire;<br/> + +Lookye, the Nights are big with child by Time, * Whose pregnancy<br/> + + bears wondrous things and dire.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then she rose and made ready food and brought the tray, and they two ate and +drank and were merry and mirthful. Presently Ala al-Din besought her to let him +hear a little music; so she took the lute and played a melody that had made the +hardest stone dance for glee, and the strings cried out in present ecstacy, "O +Loving One!'';[FN#69] after which she passed from the adagio into the presto +and a livelier measure. As they thus spent their leisure in joy and jollity and +mirth and merriment, behold, there came a knocking at the door and she said to +him; "Go see who is at the door." So he went down and opened it and finding +four Dervishes standing without, said to them, "What want ye?" They replied, "O +my lord, we are foreign and wandering religious mendicants, the viands of whose +souls are music and dainty verse, and we would fain take our pleasure with thee +this night till morning cloth appear, when we will wend our way, and with +Almighty Allah be thy reward; for we adore music and there is not one of us but +knoweth by heart store of odes and songs and ritornellos."[FN#70] He answered, +"There is one I must consult;" and he returned and told Zubaydah who said, +"Open the door to them." So he brought them up and made them sit down and +welcomed them; then he fetched them food, but they would not eat and said, "O +our lord, our meat is to repeat Allah's name in our hearts and to hear music +with our ears: and bless him who saith, +</p> + +<p> +'Our aim is only converse to enjoy, * And eating joyeth only +cattle-kind.'[FN#71] +</p> + +<p> +And just now we heard pleasant music in thy house, but when we entered, it +ceased; and fain would we know whether the player was a slave-girl, white or +black, or a maiden of good family." He answered, "It was this my wife," and +told them all that had befallen him, adding, "Verily my father-in-law hath +bound me to pay a marriage-settlement of ten thousand dinars for her, and they +have given me ten days' time." Said one of the Dervishes, "Have no care and +think of naught but good; for I am Shaykh of the Convent and have forty +Dervishes under my orders. I will presently collect from them the ten thousand +dinars and thou shalt pay thy father-in-law the wedding settlement. But now bid +thy wife make us music that we may be gladdened and pleasured; for to some folk +music is meat, to others medicine and to others refreshing as a fan." Now these +four Dervishes were none other than the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, his Wazir +Ja'afar the Barmecide, Abu al-Nowбs al-Hasan son of Hбni[FN#72] and Masrur the +sworder; and the reason of their coming to the house was that the Caliph, being +heavy at heart, had summoned his Minister and said, "O Wazir! it is our will to +go down to the city and pace its streets, for my breast is sore straitened." So +they all four donned dervish dress and went down and walked about, till they +came to that house where, hearing music, they were minded to know the cause. +They spent the night in joyance and harmony and telling tale after tale until +morning dawned, when the Caliph laid an hundred gold pieces under the +prayer-carpet and all taking leave of Ala al-Din, went their way. Now when +Zubaydah lifted the carpet she found beneath it the hundred dinars and she said +to her husband, "Take these hundred dinars which I have found under the +prayer-carpet; assuredly the Dervishes when about to leave us laid them there, +without our knowledge." So Ala al-Din took the money and, repairing to the +market, bought therewith meat and rice and clarified butter and all they +required. And when it was night, he lit the wax-candles and said to his wife, +"The mendicants, it is true, have not brought the ten thousand dinars which +they promised me; but indeed they are poor men." As they were talking, behold, +the Dervishes knocked at the door and she said, "Go down and open to them." So +he did her bidding and bringing them up, said to them, "Have you brought me the +ten thousand dinars you promised me?" They answered, "We have not been able to +collect aught thereof as yet; but fear nothing: Inshallah, tomorrow we will +compound for thee some alchemical-cookery. But now bid thy wife play us her +very best pieces and gladden our hearts for we love music." So she took her +lute and made them such melody that had caused the hardest rocks to dance with +glee; and they passed the night in mirth and merriment, converse and good +cheer, till morn appeared with its sheen and shone, when the Caliph laid an +hundred gold pieces under the prayer-carpet and all, after taking leave of Ala +al-Din, went their way. And they ceased not to visit him thus every night for +nine nights; and each morning the Caliph put an hundred dinars under the prayer +carpet, till the tenth night, when they came not. Now the reason of their +failure to come was that the Caliph had sent to a great merchant, saying to +him, "Bring me fifty loads of stuffs, such as come from Cairo,"—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince of True +Believers said to that merchant, "Bring me fifty loads of stuffs such as come +from Cairo, and let each one be worth a thousand dinars, and write on each bale +its price; and bring me also a male Abyssinian slave." The merchant did the +bidding of the Caliph who committed to the slave a basin and ewer of gold and +other presents, together with the fifty loads; and wrote a letter to Ala al-Din +as from his father Shams al-Din and said to him, "Take these bales and what +else is with them, and go to such and such a quarter wherein dwelleth the +Provost of the merchants and say, 'Where be Ala al-Din Abu al Shamat?' till +folk direct thee to his quarter and his house." So the slave took the letter +and the goods and what else and fared forth on his errand. Such was his case; +but as regards Zubaydah's cousin and first husband, he went to her father and +said to him, "Come let us go to Ala al-Din and make him divorce the daughter of +my uncle." So they set out both together and, when they came to the street in +which the house stood, they found fifty he mules laden with bales of stuffs, +and a blackamoor riding on a she mule. So they said to him, "Whose loads are +these?" He replied, "They belong to my lord Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat; for his +father equipped him with merchandise and sent him on a journey to Baghdad-city; +but the wild Arabs came forth against him and took his money and goods and all +he had. So when the ill news reached his father, he despatched me to him with +these loads, in lieu of those he had lost; besides a mule laden with fifty +thousand dinars, a parcel of clothes worth a power of money, a robe of +sables[FN#73] and a basin and ewer of gold." Whereupon the lady's father said, +"He whom thou seekest is my son-in-law and I will show thee his house." +Meanwhile Ala al-Din was sitting at home in huge concern, when lo! one knocked +at the door and he said, "O Zubaydah, Allah is all-knowing! but I fear thy +father hath sent me an officer from the Kazi or the Chief of Police." Quoth +she, "Go down and see what it is." So he went down; and, opening the door, +found his father-in-law, the Provost of the merchants with an Abyssinian slave, +dusky complexioned and pleasant of favour, riding on a mule. When the slave saw +him he dismounted and kissed his hands, and Ala al-Din said, "What dost thou +want?" He replied, "I am the slave of my lord Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, son of +Shams al-Din, Consul of the merchants for the land of Egypt, who hath sent me +to him with this charge." Then he gave him the letter and Ala al-Din opening it +found written what followeth:[FN#74] +</p> + +<p> +"Ho thou my letter! when my friend shall see thee, * Kiss thou<br/> + + the ground and buss his sandal-shoon:<br/> + +Look thou hie softly and thou hasten not, * My life and rest are<br/> + + in those hands so boon.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +"After hearty salutations and congratulations and high estimation from Shams +al-Din to his son, Abu al-Shamat. Know, O my son, that news hath reached me of +the slaughter of thy men and the plunder of thy monies and goods; so I send +thee herewith fifty loads of Egyptian stuffs, together with a suit of clothes +and a robe of sables and a basin and ewer of gold. Fear thou no evil, and the +goods thou hast lost were the ransom of thy life; so regret them not and may no +further grief befall thee. Thy mother and the people of the house are doing +well in health and happiness and all greet thee with abundant greetings. +Moreover, O my son, it hath reached me that they have married thee, by way of +intermediary, to the lady Zubaydah the lutist and they have imposed on thee a +marriage-settlement of ten thousand dinars; wherefore I send thee also fifty +thousand dinars by the slave Salнm."[FN#75] Now when Ala al-Din had made an end +of reading the letter, he took possession of the loads and, turning to the +Provost, said to him, "O my father-in-law, take the ten thousand dinars, the +marriage-settlement of thy daughter Zubaydah, and take also the loads of goods +and dispose of them, and thine be the profit; only return me the cost price." +He answered, "Nay, by Allah, I will take nothing; and, as for thy wife's +settlement, do thou settle the matter with her." Then, after the goods had been +brought in, they went to Zuhaydah and she said to her sire, "O my father, whose +loads be these?" He said, "These belong to thy husband, Ala al-Din: his father +hath sent them to him instead of those whereof the wild Arabs spoiled him. +Moreover, he hath sent him fifty thousand dinars with a parcel of clothes, a +robe of sables, a she mule for riding and a basin and ewer of gold. As for the +marriage-settlement that is for thy recking." Thereupon Ala al-Din rose and, +opening the money box, gave her her settlement and the lady's cousin said, "O +my uncle, let him divorce to me my wife;" but the old man replied, "This may +never be now; for the marriage tie is in his hand." Thereupon the young man +went out, sore afflicted and sadly vexed and, returning home, fell sick, for +his heart had received its death blow; so he presently died. But as for Ala +al-Din, after receiving his goods he went to the bazar and buying what meats +and drinks he needed, made a banquet as usual—against the night, saying to +Zubaydah, "See these lying Dervishes; they promised us and broke their +promises." Quoth she, "Thou art the son of a Consul of the merchants, yet was +thy hand short of half a dirham; how then should it be with poor Dervishes?" +Quoth he, "Almighty Allah hath enabled us to do without them; but if they come +to us never again will I open the door to them." She asked, "Why so, whenas +their coming footsteps brought us good luck; and, moreover, they put an hundred +dinars under the prayer carpet for us every night? Perforce must thou open the +door to them an they come." So when day departed with its light and in gloom +came night, they lighted the wax candles and he said to her, "Rise, Zubaydah, +make us music;" and behold, at this moment some one knocked at the door, and +she said, "Go and look who is at the door." So he went down and opened it and +seeing the Dervishes, said, "Oh, fair welcome to the liars! Come up." +Accordingly they went up with him and he seated them and brought them the tray +of food; and they ate and drank and became merry and mirthful, and presently +said to him, "O my lord, our hearts have been troubled for thee: what hath +passed between thee and thy father-in-law?" He answered, "Allah compensated us +beyond and above our desire." Rejoined they, "By Allah, we were in fear for +thee".—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted +say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and and Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Dervishes thus +addressed Ala al-Din, "By Allah, we were in fear for thee and naught kept us +from thee but our lack of cash and coin." Quoth he, "Speedy relief hath come to +me from my Lord; for my father hath sent me fifty thousand dinars and fifty +loads of stuffs, each load worth a thousand dinars; besides a riding-mule, a +robe of sables, an Abyssinian slave and a basin and ewer of gold. Moreover, I +have made my peace with my father-in-law and my wife hath become my lawful wife +by my paying her settlement; so laud to Allah for that!" Presently the Caliph +rose to do a necessity; whereupon Ja'afar bent him towards Ala al-Din and said, +"Look to thy manners, for thou art in the presence of the Commander of the +Faithful " Asked he, "How have I failed in good breeding before the Commander +of the Faithful, and which of you is he?" Quoth Ja'afar, "He who went out but +now to make water is the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, and I am +the Wazir Ja'afar; and this is Masrur the executioner and this other is Abu +Nowas Hasan bin Hani.. And now, O Ala al-Din, use thy reason and bethink thee +how many days' journey it is between Cairo and Baghdad." He replied, "Five and +forty days' journey;" and Ja'afar rejoined, "Thy baggage was stolen only ten +days ago; so how could the news have reached thy father, and how could he pack +thee up other goods and send them to thee five-and-forty days' journey in ten +days' time?" Quoth Ala al-Din, "O my lord and whence then came they?" "From the +Commander of the Faithful," replied Ja'afar, "of his great affection for thee." +As they were speaking, lo! the Caliph entered and Ala al-Din rising, kissed the +ground before him and said, "Allah keep thee, O Prince of the Faithful, and +give thee long life; and may the lieges never lack thy bounty and beneficence!" +Replied the Caliph, "O Ala al-Din, let Zubaydah play us an air, by way of +house-warming[FN#76] for thy deliverance." Thereupon she played him on the lute +so rare a melody that the very stones shook for glee, and the strings cried out +for present ecstasy, "O Loving One!" They spent the night after the merriest +fashion, and in the morning the Caliph said to Ala al-Din, "Come to the Divan +to-morrow." He answered, "Hearkening and obedience, O Commander of the +Faithful; so Allah will and thou be well and in good case!" On the morrow he +took ten trays and, putting on each a costly present, went up with them to the +palace; and the Caliph was sitting on the throne when, behold, Ala al-Din +appeared at the door of the Divan, repeating these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Honour and Glory wait on thee each morn! * Thine enviers' noses<br/> + + in the dust be set!<br/> + +Ne'er cease thy days to be as white as snow; * Thy foeman's days<br/> + + to be as black as jet!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +"Welcome, O Ala Al-Din!" said the Caliph, and he replied, "O Commander of the +Faithful, the Prophet (whom Allah bless and assain!)[FN#77] was wont to accept +presents; and these ten trays, with what is on them, are my offering to thee." +The Caliph accepted his gift and, ordering him a robe of honour, made him +Provost of the merchants and gave him a seat in the Divan. And as he was +sitting behold, his father-in-law came in and, seeing Ala al-Din seated in his +place and clad in a robe of honour, said to the Caliph, "O King of the age, why +is this man sitting in my place and wearing this robe of honour?" Quoth the +Caliph, "I have made him Provost of the merchants, for offices are by +investiture and not in perpetuity, and thou art deposed." Answered the +merchant, "Thou hast done well, O Commander of the Faithful, for he is ours and +one of us. Allah make the best of us the managers of our affairs! How many a +little one hath become great!" Then the Caliph wrote Ala al-Din a Firman[FN#78] +of investiture and gave it to the Governor who gave it to the crier,[FN#79] and +the crier made proclamation in the Divan saying, "None is Provost of the +merchants but Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, and his word is to be heard, and he +must be obeyed with due respect paid, and he meriteth homage and honour and +high degree!" Moreover, when the Divan broke up, the Governor went down with +the crier before Ala Al-Din!" and the crier repeated the proclamation and they +carried Ala al-Din through the thoroughfares of Baghdad, making proclamation of +his dignity. Next day, Ala al-Din opened a shop for his slave Salim and set him +therein, to buy and sell, whilst he himself rode to the palace and took his +place in the Caliph's Divan.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased +saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixtieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din rode to the +palace and took his place in the Caliph's Divan. Now it came to pass one day, +when he sat in his stead as was his wont, behold, one said to the Caliph, "O +Commander of the Faithful, may thy head survive such an one the cup-companion!; +for he is gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah, but be thy life +prolonged!"[FN#80] Quoth the Caliph, "Where is Ala al-Din Abu al-al-Shamat?" So +he went up to the Commander of the Faithful, who at once clad him in a splendid +dress of honour and made him his boon-companion; appointing him a monthly pay +and allowance of a thousand dinars. He continued to keep him company till, one +day, as he sat in the Divan, according to his custom attending upon the Caliph, +lo and behold! an Emir came up with sword and shield in hand and said, "O +Commander of the Faithful, may thy head long outlive the Head of the Sixty, for +he is dead this day;" whereupon the Caliph ordered Ala al-Din a dress of honour +and made him Chief of the Sixty, in place of the other who had neither wife nor +son nor daughter. So Ala al-Din laid hands on his estate and the Caliph said to +him, "Bury him in the earth and take all he hath left of wealth and slaves and +handmaids."[FN#81] Then he shook the handkerchief[FN#82] and dismissed the +Divan, whereupon Ala al-Din went forth, attended by Ahmad al-Danaf, captain of +the right, and Hasan Shъmбn, captain of the left, riding at his either stirrup, +each with his forty men.[FN#83] Presently, he turned to Hasan Shuman and his +men and said to them, "Plead ye for me with the Captain Ahmad al-Danaf that he +please to accept me as his son by covenant before Allah." And Ahmad assented, +saying, "I and my forty men will go before thee to the Divan every morning." +Now after this Ala al-Din continued in the Caliph's service many days; till one +day it chanced that he left the Divan and returning home, dismissed Ahmad +al-Danaf and his men and sat down with his wife Zubaydab, the lute-player, who +lighted the wax candles and went out of the room upon an occasion. Suddenly he +heard a loud shriek; so he rose up and running in haste to see what was the +matter, found that it was his wife who had cried out. She was lying at full +length on the ground and, when he put his hand to her breast, he found her +dead. Now her father's house faced that of Ala al-Din, and he, hearing the +shriek, came in and said, "What is the matter, O my lord Ala al-Din?" He +replied, "O my father, may thy head outlive thy daughter Zubaydah! But, O my +father, honour to the dead is burying them." So when the morning dawned, they +buried her in the earth and her husband and father condoled with and mutually +consoled each other. Thus far concerning her; but as regards Ala al-Din he +donned mourning dress and declined the Divan, abiding tearful-eyed and +heavy-hearted at home. After a while, the Caliph said to Ja'afar, "O Watir, +what is the cause of Ala al-Din's absence from the Divan?" The Minister +answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, he is in mourning for his wife +Zubaydah; and is occupied in receiving those who come to console him;" and the +Caliph said, "It behoveth us to pay him a visit of condolence." "I hear and I +obey," replied Ja'afar. So they took horse, the Caliph and the Minister and a +few attendants, and rode to Ala al-Din's house and, as he was sitting at home, +behold, the party came in upon him; whereupon he rose to receive them and +kissed the ground before the Caliph, who said to him, "Allah make good thy loss +to thee!" Answered Ala Al-Din, "May Allah preserve thee to us, O Commander of +the Faithful!" Then said the Caliph, "O Ala al-Din, why hast thou absented +thyself from the Divan?" And he replied, "Because of my mourning for my wife, +Zubaydah, O Commander of the Faithful." The Caliph rejoined, "Put away grief +from thee: verily she is dead and gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah and +mourning will avail thee nothing; no, nothing." But Ala al-Din said "O +Commander of the Faithful, I shall never leave mourning for her till I die and +they bury me by her side." Quoth the Caliph, "In Allah is compensation for +every decease, and neither device nor riches can deliver from death; and +divinely gifted was he who said, +</p> + +<p> +'All sons of woman, albe long preserved, * Are borne upon the<br/> + + bulging bier some day.[FN#84]<br/> + +How then shall 'joy man joy or taste delight, * Upon whose cheeks<br/> + + shall rest the dust and clay?'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When the Caliph had made an end of condoling with him, he charged him not to +absent himself from the Divan and returned to his palace. And Ala Al-Din, after +a last sorrowful night, mounted early in the morning and, riding to the court, +kissed the ground before the Commander of the Faithful who made a movement if +rising from the throne[FN#85] to greet and welcome him; and bade him take his +appointed place in the Divan, saying, "O Ala al-Din, thou art my guest +to-night." So presently he carried him into his serraglio and calling a +slave-girl named Kъt al-Kulъb, said to her, "Ala al-Din had a wife called +Zubaydah, who used to sing to him and solace him of cark and care; but she is +gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah, and now I would have thee play him an air +upon the lute,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-first Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph said to the +damsel Kut al-Kulub, "I would have thee play him upon the lute an air, of +fashion sweet and rare, that he may be solaced of his cark and care." So she +rose and made sweet music; and the Caliph said to Ala al-Din, "What sayst thou +of this damsel's voice?" He replied, "Verily, O Commander of the Faithful, +Zubaydah's voice was the finer; but she is skilled in touching the lute +cunningly and her playing would make a rock dance with glee." The Caliph asked, +"Doth she please thee?'' and he answered, "She doth, O Commander of the +Faithful;" whereupon the King said, "By the life of my head and the tombs of my +forefathers, she is a gift from me to thee, she and her waiting- women!" Ala +al-Din fancied that the Caliph was jesting with him; but, on the morrow, the +King went in to Kut al-Kulub and said to her, "I have given thee to Ala Al-Din, +whereat she rejoiced, for she had seen and loved him. Then the Caliph returned +from his serraglio palace to the Divan; and, calling porters, said to them, +"Set all the goods of Kut al-Kulub and her waiting-women in a litter, and carry +them to Ala al-Din's home." So they conducted her to the house and showed her +into the pavilion, whilst the Caliph sat in the hall of audience till the dose +of day, when the Divan broke up and he retired to his harem. Such was his case; +but as regards Kut al-Kulub, when she had taken up her lodging in Ala al-Din's +mansion, she and her women, forty in all, besides the eunuchry, she called two +of these caponised slaves and said to them, "Sit ye on stools, one on the right +and another on the left hand of the door; and, when Ala al-Din cometh home, +both of you kiss his hands and say to him, "Our mistress Kut al-Kulub +requesteth thy presence in the pavilion, for the Caliph hath given her to thee, +her and her women." They answered, "We hear and obey;" and did as she bade +them. So, when Ala al-Din returned, he found two of the Caliph's eunuchs +sitting at the door and was amazed at the matter and said to himself, "Surely, +this is not my own house; or else what can have happened?" Now when the eunuchs +saw him, they rose to him and, kissing his hands, said to him, "We are of the +Caliph's household and slaves to Kut al-Kulub, who saluteth thee, giving thee +to know that the Caliph hath bestowed her on thee, her and her women, and +requesteth thy presence." Quoth Ala al-Din, "Say ye to her, 'Thou art welcome; +but so long as thou shalt abide with me, I will not enter the pavilion wherein +thou art, for what was the master's should not become the man's;' and +furthermore ask her, 'What was the sum of thy day's expenditure in the Caliph's +palace?'" So they went in and did his errand to her, and she answered, "An +hundred dinars a day;" whereupon quoth he to himself, "There was no need for +the Caliph to give me Kut al-Kulub, that I should be put to such expense for +her; but there is no help for it." So she abode with him awhile and he assigned +her daily an hundred dinars for her maintenance; till, one day, he absented +himself from the Divan and the Caliph said to Ja'afar, "O Watir, I gave not Kut +al-Kulub unto Ala al-Din but that she might console him for his wife; why, +then, doth he still hold aloof from us?" Answered Ja'afar, "O Commander of the +Faithful, he spake sooth who said, 'Whoso findeth his fere, forgetteth his +friends.'" Rejoined the Caliph, "Haply he hath not absented himself without +excuse, but we will pay him a visit." Now some days before this, Ala al-Din had +said to Ja'afar, "I complained to the Caliph of my grief and mourning for the +loss of my wife Zubaydah and he gave me Kut al-Kulub;" and the Minister +replied, "Except he loved thee, he had not given her to thee. Say hast thou +gone in unto her, O Ala al-Din?" He rejoined, "No, by Allah! I know not her +length from her breadth." He asked "And why?" and he answered, "O Wazir, what +befitteth the lord befitteth not the liege." Then the Caliph and Ja'afar +disguised themselves and went privily to visit Ala al-Din; but he knew them and +rising to them kissed the hands of the Caliph, who looked at him and saw signs +of sorrow in his face. So he said to him, "O Al-Din, whence cometh this sorrow +wherein I see thee? Hast thou not gone in unto Kut al-Kulub?" He replied, "O +Commander of the Faithful, what befitteth the lord befitteth not the thrall. +No, as yet I have not gone in to visit her nor do I know her length from her +breadth; so pray quit me of her." Quoth the Caliph, "I would fain see her and +question her of her case;" and quoth Ala al-Din, "I hear and I obey, O +Commander of the Faithful." So the Caliph went in,—And Shahrazad perceived the +dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph went in to Kut +al-Kulub, who rose to him on sighting him and kissed the ground between his +hands; when he said to her, "Hath Ala al-Din gone in unto thee?" and she +answered, "No, O Commander of the Faithful, I sent to bid him come, but he +would not." So the Caliph bade carry her back to the Harim and saying to Ala +Al-Din, "Do not absent thyself from us," returned to his palace. Accordingly, +next morning, Ala Al-Din, mounted and rode to the Divan, where he took his seat +as Chief of the Sixty. Presently the Caliph ordered his treasurer to give the +Wazir Ja'afar ten thousand dinars and said when his order was obeyed, "I charge +thee to go down to the bazar where handmaidens are sold and buy Ala Al-Din, a +slave-girl with this sum." So in obedience to the King, Ja'afar took Ala al-Din +and went down with him to the bazar. Now as chance would have it, that very +day, the Emir Khбlid, whom the Caliph had made Governor of Baghdad, went down +to the market to buy a slave-girl for his son and the cause of his going was +that his wife, Khбtъn by name, had borne him a son called Habzalam +Bazбzah,[FN#86] and the same was foul of favour and had reached the age of +twenty, without learning to mount horse; albeit his father was brave and bold, +a doughty rider ready to plunge into the Sea of Darkness.[FN#87] And it +happened that on a certain night he had a dream which caused +nocturnal-pollution whereof he told his mother, who rejoiced and said to his +father, "I want to find him a wife, as he is now ripe for wedlock." Quoth +Khбlid, "The fellow is so foul of favour and withal-so rank of odour, so sordid +and beastly that no woman would take him as a gift." And she answered, "We will +buy him a slave-girl." So it befell, for the accomplishing of what Allah +Almighty had decreed, that on the same day, Ja'afar and Ala al-Din, the +Governor Khбlid and his son went down to the market and behold, they saw in the +hands of a broker a beautiful girl, lovely faced and of perfect shape, and the +Wazir said to him, "O broker, ask her owner if he will take a thousand dinars +for her." And as the broker passed by the Governor with the slave, Hahzalam +Bazazah cast at her one glance of the eyes which entailed for himself one +thousand sighs; and he fell in love with her and passion got hold of him and he +said, "O my father, buy me yonder slave-girl." So the Emir called the broker, +who brought the girl to him, and asked her her name. She replied, "My name is +Jessamine;" and he said to Hahzalam Bazazah, "O my son, as she please thee, do +thou bid higher for her." Then he asked the broker, "What hath been bidden for +her?" and he replied, "A thousand dinars." Said the Governor's son, "She is +mine for a thousand pieces of gold and one more;" and the broker passed on to +Ala al-Din who bid two thousand dinars for her; and as often as the Emir's son +bid another dinar, Ala al-Din bid a thousand. The ugly youth was vexed at this +and said, "O broker! who is it that outbiddeth me for the slave-girl?" Answered +the broker, "It is the Wazir Ja'afar who is minded to buy her for Ala al-Din +Abu al-Shamat." And Ala al-Din continued till he brought her price up to ten +thousand dinars, and her owner was satisfied to sell her for that sum. Then he +took the girl and said to her, "I give thee thy freedom for the love of +Almighty Allah;" and forthwith wrote his contract of marriage with her and +carried her to his house. Now when the broker returned, after having received +his brokerage, the Emir's son summoned him and said to him, "Where is the +girl?" Quoth he, "She was bought for ten thousand dinars by Ala al-Din, who +hath set her free and married her." At this the young man was greatly vexed and +cast down and, sighing many a sigh, returned home, sick for love of the damsel; +and he threw himself on his bed and refused food, for love and longing were +sore upon him. Now when his mother saw him in this plight, she said to him, +"Heaven assain thee, O my son! What aileth thee?" And he answered, "Buy me +Jessamine, O my mother." Quoth she, "When the flower-seller passeth I will buy +thee a basketful of jessamine." Quoth he, "It is not the jessamine one smells, +but a slave-girl named Jessamine, whom my father would not buy for me." So she +said to her husband, "Why and wherefore didest thou not buy him the girl?" and +he replied, "What is fit for the lord is not fit for the liege and I have no +power to take her: no less a man bought her than Ala Al-Din, Chief of the +Sixty." Then the youth's weakness redoubled upon him, till he gave up sleeping +and eating, and his mother bound her head with the fillets of mourning. And +while in her sadness she sat at home, lamenting over her son, behold, came in +to her an old woman, known as the mother of Ahmad Kamбkim[FN#88] the +arch-thief, a knave who would bore through a middle wall and scale the tallest +of the tall and steal the very kohl off the eye-ball.[FN#89] From his earliest +years he had been given to these malpractices, till they made him Captain of +the Watch, when he stole a sum of money; and the Chief of Police, coming upon +him in the act, carried him to the Caliph, who bade put him to death on the +common execution-ground.[FN#90] But he implored protection of the Wazir whose +intercession the Caliph never rejected, so he pleaded for him with the +Commander of the Faithful who said, "How canst thou intercede for this pest of +the human race?" Ja'afar answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, do thou +imprison him; whoso built the first jail was a sage, seeing that a jail is the +grave of the living and a joy for the foe." So the Caliph bade lay him in +bilboes and write thereon, "Appointed to remain here until death and not to be +loosed but on the corpse washer's bench;" and they cast him fettered into +limbo. Now his mother was a frequent visitor to the house of the Emir Khбlid, +who was Governor and Chief of Police; and she used to go in to her son in jail +and say to him, "Did I not warn thee to turn from thy wicked ways?''[FN#91] And +he would always answer her, "Allah decreed this to me; but, O my mother, when +thou visitest the Emir's wife make her intercede for me with her husband." So +when the old woman came into the Lady Khatun, she found her bound with the +fillets of mourning and said to her, "Wherefore dost thou mourn?" She replied, +"For my son Habzalam Bazazah;" and the old woman exclaimed, "Heaven assain thy +son!; what hath befallen him?" So the mother told her the whole story, and she +said, "What thou say of him who should achieve such a feat as would save thy +son?" Asked the lady, "And what feat wilt thou do?" Quoth the old woman, "I +have a son called Ahmad Kamakim, the arch-thief, who lieth chained in jail and +on his bilboes is written, 'Appointed to remain till death'; so do thou don thy +richest clothes and trick thee out with thy finest jewels and present thyself +to thy husband with an open face and smiling mien; and when he seeketh of thee +what men seek of women, put him off and baulk him of his will and say, 'By +Allah, 'tis a strange thing! When a man desireth aught of his wife he dunneth +her till she doeth it; but if a wife desire aught of her husband, he will not +grant it to her.' Then he will say, 'What dost thou want?'; and do thou answer, +'First swear to grant my request.' If he swear to thee by his head or by Allah, +say to him, 'Swear to me the oath of divorce', and do not yield to him, except +he do this. And whenas he hath sworn to thee the oath of divorce, say to him, +'Thou keepest in prison a man called Ahmad Kamakim, and he hath a poor old +mother, who hath set upon me and who urgeth me in the matter and who saith, +'Let thy husband intercede for him with the Caliph, that my son may repent and +thou gain heavenly guerdon.'" And the Lady Khatun replied, "I hear and obey." +So when her husband came into her—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Governor came in to +his wife, who spoke to him as she had been taught and made him swear the +divorce-oath before she would yield to his wishes. He lay with her that night +and, when morning dawned, after he had made the Ghusl-ablution and prayed the +dawn- prayer, he repaired to the prison and said, "O Ahmad Kamakim, O thou +arch-thief, dost thou repent of thy works?"; whereto he replied, "I do indeed +repent and turn to Allah and say with heart and tongue, 'I ask pardon of +Allah.'" So the Governor took him out of jail and carried him to the Court (he +being still in bilboes) and, approaching the Caliph, kissed ground before him. +Quoth the King, "O Emir Khбlid, what seekest thou?"; whereupon he brought +forward Ahmad Kamakim, shuffling and tripping in his fetters, and the Caliph +said to him, "What! art thou yet alive, O Kamakim?" He replied, "O Commander of +the Faithful, the miserable are long-lived." Quoth the Caliph to the Emir, "Why +hast thou brought him hither?"; and quoth he, "O Commander of the Faithful, he +hath a poor old mother cut off from the world who hath none but this son and +she hath had recourse to thy slave, imploring him to intercede with thee to +strike off his chains, for he repenteth of his evil courses; and to make him +Captain of the Watch as before." The Caliph asked Ahmad Kamakim, "Doss thou +repent of thy sins?" "I do indeed repent me to Allah, O Commander of the +Faithful," answered he; whereupon the Caliph called for the blacksmith and made +him strike off his irons on the corpse- washer's bench.[FN#92] Moreover, he +restored him to his former office and charged him to walk in the ways of +godliness and righteousness. So he kissed the Caliph's hands and, being +invested with the uniform of Captain of the Watch, he went forth, whilst they +made proclamation of his appointment. Now for a long time he abode in the +exercise of his office, till one day his mother went in to the Governor's wife, +who said to her, "Praised be Allah who hath delivered thy son from prison and +restored him to health and safety! But why dost thou not bid him contrive some +trick to get the girl Jessamine for my son Hahzalam Bazazah?" "That will I," +answered she and, going out from her, repaired to her son. She found him drunk +with wine and said to him, "O my son, no one caused thy release from jail but +the wife of the Governor, and she would have thee find some means to slay Ala +al-Din Abu al-Shamat and get his slave-girl Jessamine for her son Habzalam +Bazazah." He answered, "That will be the easiest of things; and I must needs +set about it this very night." Now this was the first night of the new month, +and it was the custom of the Caliph to spend that night with the Lady Zubaydah, +for the setting free of a slave-girl or a Mameluke or something of the sort. +Moreover, on such occasions he used to doff his royal-habit, together with his +rosary and dagger-sword and royal-signet, and set them all upon a chair in the +sitting- saloon: and he had also a golden lanthorn, adorned with three jewels +strung on a wire of gold, by which he set great store; and he would commit all +these things to the charge of the eunuchry, whilst he went into the Lady +Zubaydah's apartment. So arch-thief Ahmad Kamakin waited till midnight, when +Canopus shone bright, and all creatures to sleep were dight whilst the Creator +veiled them with the veil of night. Then he took his drawn sword in his right +and his grappling hook in his left and, repairing to the Caliph's +sitting-saloon planted his scaling ladder and cast his grapnel on to the side +of the terrace-roof; then, raising the trap-door, let himself down into the +saloon, where he found the eunuchs asleep. He drugged them with +hemp-fumes;[FN#93] and, taking the Caliph's dress; dagger, rosary, kerchief, +signet-ring and the lanthorn whereupon were the pearls, returned whence he came +and betook himself to the house of Ala al-Din, who had that night celebrated +his wedding festivities with Jessamine and had gone in unto her and gotten her +with child. So arch-thief Ahmad Kamakim climbed over into his saloon and, +raising one of the marble slabs from the sunken part of the floor,[FN#94] dug a +hole under it and laid the stolen things therein, all save the lanthorn, which +he kept for himself. Then he plastered down the marble slab as it before was, +and returning whence he came, went back to his own house, saying, "I will now +tackle my drink and set this lanthorn before me and quaff the cup to its +light."[FN#95] Now as soon as it was dawn of day, the Caliph went out into the +sitting-chamber; and, seeing the eunuchs drugged with hemp, aroused them. Then +he put his hand to the chair and found neither dress nor signet nor rosary nor +dagger-sword nor kerchief nor lanthorn; whereat he was exceeding wroth and +donning the dress of anger, which was a scarlet suit,[FN#96] sat down in the +Divan. So the Wazir Ja'afar came forward and kissing the ground before him, +said, "Allah avert all evil from the Commander of the Faithful!" Answered the +Caliph, "O Wazir, the evil is passing great!" Ja'afar asked, "What has +happened?" so he told him what had occurred; and, behold, the Chief of Police +appeared with Ahmad Kamakim the robber at his stirrup, when he found the +Commander of the Faithful sore enraged. As soon as the Caliph saw him, he said +to him, "O Emir Khбlid, how goes Baghdad?" And he answered, "Safe and secure." +Cried he "Thou liest!" "How so, O Prince of True Believers?" asked the Emir. So +he told him the case and added, "I charge thee to bring me back all the stolen +things." Replied the Emir, "O Commander of the Faithful, the vinegar worm is of +and in the vinegar, and no stranger can get at this place."[FN#97] But the +Caliph said, "Except thou bring me these things, I will put thee to death." +Quoth he, "Ere thou slay me, slay Ahmad Kamakim, for none should know the +robber and the traitor but the Captain of the Watch." Then came forward Ahmad +Kamakim and said to the Caliph, "Accept my intercession for the Chief of +Police, and I will be responsible to thee for the thief and will track his +trail till I find him; but give me two Kazis and two Assessors for he who did +this thing feareth thee not, nor cloth he fear the Governor nor any other." +Answered the Caliph, "Thou shalt have what thou wantest; but let search be made +first in my palace and then in those of the Wazir and the Chief of the Sixty." +Rejoined Ahmad Kamakim, "Thou sayest well, O Commander of the Faith ful; belike +the man that did this ill deed be one who hath been reared in the King's +household or in that of one of his officers." Cried the Caliph, "As my head +liveth, whosoever shall have done the deed I will assuredly put him to death, +be it mine own son!" Then Ahmad Kamakim received a written warrant to enter and +perforce search the houses;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased +to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ahmad Kamakim got what he +wanted, and received a written warrant to enter and perforce search the houses; +so he fared forth, taking in his hand a rod[FN#98] made of bronze and copper, +iron and steel, of each three equal-parts. He first searched the palace of the +Caliph, then that of the Wazir Ja'afar; after which he went the round of the +houses of the Chamberlains and the Viceroys till he came to that of Ala al-Din. +Now when the Chief of the Sixty heard the clamour before his house, he left his +wife Jessamine and went down and, opening the door, found the Master of Police +without in the midst of a tumultuous crowd. So he said, "What is the matter, O +Emir Khбlid?" Thereupon the Chief told him the case and Ala al-Din said, "Enter +my house and search it." The Governor replied, "Pardon, O my lord; thou art a +man in whom trust is reposed and Allah forfend that the trusty turn traitor!" +Quoth Ala al-Din, "There is no help for it but that my house be searched." So +the Chief of Police entered, attended by the Kazi and his Assessors; whereupon +Ahmad Kamakim went straight to the depressed floor of the saloon and came to +the slab, under which he had buried the stolen goods and let the rod fall upon +it with such violence that the marble broke in sunder and behold something +glittered underneath. Then said he, "Bismillah; in the name of Allah! +Mashallah; whatso Allah willeth! By the blessing of our coming a hoard hath +been hit upon, wait while we go down into this hiding-place and see what is +therein." So the Kazi and Assessors looked into the hole and finding there the +stolen goods, drew up a statement[FN#99] of how they had discovered them in Ala +al-Din's house, to which they set their seals. Then, they bade seize upon Ala +al-Din and took his turban from his head, and officially registered all his +monies and effects which were in the mansion. Meanwhile, arch-thief Ahmad +Kamakim laid hands on Jessamine, who was with child by Ala al-Din, and +committed her to his mother, saying, "Deliver her to Khatun, the Governor's +lady:" so the old woman took her and carried her to the wife of the Master of +Police. Now as soon as Habzalam Bazazah saw her, health and heart returned to +him and he arose without stay or delay and joyed with exceeding joy and would +have drawn near her; but she plucks a dagger from her girdle and said, "Keep +off from me, or I will kill thee and kill myself after." Exclaimed his mother, +"O strumpet, let my son have his will of thee!" But Jessamine answered "O +bitch, by what law is it lawful for a woman to marry two men; and how shall the +dog be admitted to the place of the lion?" With this, the ugly youth's +love-longing redoubled and he sickened for yearning and unfulfilled desire; and +refusing food returned to his pillow. Then said his mother to her, "O harlot, +how canst thou make me thus to sorrow for my son? Needs must I punish thee with +torture, and as for Ala al-Din, he will assuredly be hanged." "And I will die +for love of him," answered Jessamine. Then the Governor's wife arose and +stripped her of her jewels and silken raiment and, clothing her in +petticoat-trousers of sack-cloth and a shift of hair-cloth, sent her down into +the kitchen and made her a scullery-wench, saying, "The reward for thy +constancy shall be to break up fire-wood and peel onions and set fire under the +cooking-pots." Quoth she, "I am willing to suffer all manner of hardships and +servitude, but I will not suffer the sight of thy son." However, Allah inclined +the hearts of the slave-girls to her and they used to do her service in the +kitchen. Such was the case with Jessamine; but as regards Ala al-Din they +carried him, together with the stolen goods, to the Divan where the Caliph +still sat upon his throne. And behold, the King looked upon his effects and +said, "Where did ye find them?" They replied, "In the very middle of the house +belonging to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat;" whereat the Caliph was filled with +wrath and took the things, but found not the lanthorn among them and said, "O +Ala al-Din, where is the lanthorn?" He answered "I stole it not, I know naught +of it; I never saw it; I can give no information about it!" Said the Caliph, "O +traitor, how cometh it that I brought thee near unto me and thou hast cast me +out afar, and I trusted in thee and thou betrayest me?" And he commanded to +hang him. So the Chief of Police took him and went down with him into the city, +whilst the crier preceded them proclaiming aloud and saying, "This is the +reward and the least of the reward he shall receive who doth treason against +the Caliphs of True Belief!" And the folk flocked to the place where the +gallows stood. Thus far concerning him; but as regards Ahmad al-Danaf, Ala +al-Din's adopted father, he was sitting making merry with his followers in a +garden, and carousing and pleasuring when lo! in came one of the water-carriers +of the Divan and, kissing the hand of Ahmad al-Danaf, said to him, "O Captain +Ahmad, O Danaf! thou sittest at thine ease with water flowing at thy +feet,[FN#100] and thou knowest not what hath happened." Asked Ahmad, "What is +it?" and the other answered, "They have gone down to the gallows with thy son +Ala al-Din, adopted by a covenant before Allah!" Quoth Ahmad, "What is the +remedy here, O Hasan Shuuman, and what sayst thou of this?" He replied, +"Assuredly Ala al-Din is innocent and this blame hath come to him from some one +enemy."[FN#101] Quoth Ahmad, "What counsellest thou?" and Hasan said, "We must +rescue him, Inshallah!" Then he went to the jail and said to the gaolor, "Give +us some one who deserveth death." So he gave him one that was likest of men to +Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat; and they covered his head and carried him to the +place of execution between Ahmad al-Danaf and Ali al-Zaybak of Cairo.[FN#102] +Now they had brought Ala al-Din to the gibbet, to hang him, but Ahmad al-Danaf +came forward and set his foot on that of the hangman, who said, "Give me room +to do my duty." He replied, "O accursed, take this man and hang him in Ala +al-Din's stead; for he is innocent and we will ransom him with this fellow, +even as Abraham ransomed Ishmael with the ram."[FN#103] So the hangman seized +the man and hanged him in lieu of Ala al-Din; whereupon Ahmad and Ali took Ala +al-Din and carried him to Ahmad's quarters and, when there, Ala al-Din turned +to him and said, "O my sire and chief, Allah requite thee with the best of +good!" Quoth he, "O Ala al-Din"— And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and +ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Calamity Ahmad cried, "O +Ala al-Din, what is this deed thou hast done? The mercy of Allah be on him who +said, 'Whoso trusteth thee betray him not, e'en if thou be a traitor.' Now the +Caliph set thee in high place about him and styled thee 'Trusty' and +'Faithful'; how then couldst thou deal thus with him and steal his goods?" "By +the Most Great Name, O my father and chief," replied Ala al-Din, "I had no hand +in this, nor did I such deed, nor know I who did it." Quoth Ahmad, "Of a surety +none did this but a manifest enemy and whoso doth aught shall be requited for +his deed; but, O Ala al-Din, thou canst sojourn no longer in Baghdad, for +Kings, O my son, may not pass from one thing to another, and when they go in +quest of a man, ah! longsome is his travail." "Whither shall I go, O my chief?" +asked Ala al-Din; and he answered, "O my son, I will bring thee to Alexandria, +for it is a blessed place; its threshold is green and its sojourn is +agreeable." And Ala al-Din rejoined, "I hear and I obey, O my chief." So Ahmad +said to Hasan Shuuman, "Be mindful and, when the Caliph asketh for me, say, 'He +is gone touring about the provinces'." Then, taking Ala al-Din, he went forth +of Baghdad and stayed not going till they came to the outlying vineyards and +gardens, where they met two Jews of the Caliph's tax-gatherers, riding on +mules. Quoth Ahmad Al-Danaf to these, "Give me the black-mail."[FN#104] and +quoth they, "Why should we pay thee black mail?" whereto he replied, "Because I +am the watchman of this valley." So they gave him each an hundred gold pieces, +after which he slew them and took their mules, one of which he mounted, whilst +Ala al-Din bestrode the other. Then they rode on till they came to the city of +Ayбs[FN#105] and put up their beasts for the night at the Khan. And when +morning dawned, Ala al-Din sold his own mule and committed that of Ahmad to the +charge of the door-keeper of the caravanserai, after which they took ship from +Ayas port and sailed to Alexandria. Here they landed and walked up to the bazar +and behold, there was a broker crying a shop and a chamber behind it for nine +hundred and fifty dinars. Upon this Ala al-Din bid a thousand which the broker +accepted, for the premises belonged to the Treasury; and the seller handed over +to him the keys and the buyer opened the shop and found the inner parlour +furnished with carpets and cushions. Moreover, he found there a store-room full +of sails and masts, cordage and seamen's chests, bags of beads and +cowrie[FN#106]- shells, stirrups, battle-axes, maces, knives, scissors and such +matters, for the last owner of the shop had been a dealer in second-hand +goods.[FN#107]ook his seat in the shop and Ahmad al-Danaf said to him, "O my +son, the shop and the room and that which is therein are become thine; so tarry +thou here and buy and sell; and repine not at thy lot for Almighty Allah +blesseth trade." After this he abode with him three days and on the fourth he +took leave of him, saying, "Abide here till I go back and bring thee the +Caliph's pardon and learn who hath played thee this trick." Then he shipped for +Ayas, where he took the mule from the inn and, returning to Baghdad met +Pestilence Hasan and his followers, to whom said he, "Hath the Caliph asked +after me?"; and he replied, "No, nor hast thou come to his thought." So he +resumed his service about the Caliph's person and set himself to sniff about +for news of Ala al-Din's case, till one day he heard the Caliph say to the +Watir, "See, O Ja'afar, how Ala al-Din dealt with me!" Replied the Minister, "O +Commander of the Faithful, thou hast requited him with hanging and hath he not +met with his reward?" Quoth he, "O Wazir, I have a mind to go down and see him +hanging;" and the Wazir answered, "Do what thou wilt, O Commander of the +Faithful." So the Caliph, accompanied by Ja'afar, went down to the place of +execution and, raising his eyes, saw the hanged man to be other than Ala al-Din +Abu al-Shamat, surnamed the Trusty, and said, "O Wazir, this is not Ala +al-Din!" "How knowest thou that it is not he?" asked the Minister, and the +Caliph answered, "Ala al-Din was short and this one is tall " Quoth Ja'afar, +"Hanging stretcheth." Quoth the Caliph, "Ala al-Din was fair and this one's +face is black." Said Ja'afar "Knowest thou not, O Commander of the Faithful, +that death is followed by blackness?" Then the Caliph bade take down the body +from the gallows tree and they found the names of the two Shaykhs, Abu Bakr and +Omar, written on its heels[FN#108] whereupon cried the Caliph, "O Wazir, Ala al +Din was a Sunnite, and this fellow is a Rejecter, a Shi'ah." He answered, +"Glory be to Allah who knoweth the hidden things, while we know not whether +this was Ala al-Din or other than he." Then the Caliph bade bury the body and +they buried it; and Ala al-Din was forgotten as though he never had been. Such +was his case; but as regards Habzalam Bazazah, the Emir Khбlid's son, he ceased +not to languish for love and longing till he died and they joined him to the +dust. And as for the young wife Jessamine, she accomplished the months of her +pregnancy and, being taken with labour-pains, gave birth to a boy-child like +unto the moon. And when her fellow slave-girls said to her, "What wilt thou +name him?" she answered, "Were his father well he had named him; but now I will +name him Aslбn."[FN#109] She gave him suck for two successive years, then +weaned him, and he crawled and walked. Now it so came to pass that one day, +whilst his mother was busied with the service of the kitchen, the boy went out +and, seeing the stairs, mounted to the guest-chamber.[FN#110] And the Emir +Khбlid who was sitting there took him upon his lap and glorified his Lord for +that which he had created and fashioned then closely eyeing his face, the +Governor saw that he was the likest of all creatures to Ala al-Din Abu +al-Shamat. Presently, his mother Jessamine sought for him and finding him not, +mounted to the guest-chamber, where she saw the Emir seated, with the child +playing in his lap, for Allah had inclined his heart to the boy. And when the +child espied his mother, he would have thrown himself upon her; but the Emir +held him tight to his bosom and said to Jessamine, "Come hither, O damsel." So +she came to him, when he said to her, "Whose son is this?"; and she replied, +"He is my son and the fruit of my vitals." "And who is his father?" asked the +Emir; and she answered, "His father was Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, but now he is +become thy son." Quoth Khбlid, "In very sooth Ala al-Din was a traitor." Quoth +she, "Allah deliver him from treason! the Heavens forfend and forbid that the +'Trusty' should be a traitor!" Then said he, "When this boy shall grow up and +reach man's estate and say to thee, 'Who is my father?' say to him, 'Thou art +the son of the Emir Khбlid, Governor and Chief of Police.'" And she answered, +"I hear and I obey." Then he circumcised the boy and reared him with the +goodliest rearing, and engaged for him a professor of law and religious +science, and an expert penman who taught him to read and write; so he read the +Koran twice and learnt it by heart and he grew up, saying to the Emir, "O my +father!" Moreover, the Governor used to go down with him to the tilting-ground +and assemble horsemen and teach the lad the fashion of fight and fray, and the +place to plant lance-thrust and sabre-stroke; so that by the time he was +fourteen years old, he became a valiant wight and accomplished knight and +gained the rank of Emir. Now it chanced one day that Aslan fell in with Ahmad +Kamakim, the arch-thief, and accompanied him as cup- companion to the +tavern[FN#111] and behold, Ahmad took out the jewelled lanthorn he had stolen +from the Caliph and, setting it before him, pledged the wine cup to its light, +till he became drunken. So Aslan said to him, "O Captain, give me this +lanthorn;" but he replied, "I cannot give it to thee." Asked Aslan, "Why not?"; +and Ahmad answered, "Because lives have been lost for it." "Whose life?" +enquired Aslan; and Ahmad rejoined, "There came hither a man who was made Chief +of the Sixty; he was named Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat and he lost his life +through this lanthorn." Quoth Aslan, "And what was that story, and what brought +about his death?" Quoth Ahmad Kamakim, "Thou hadst an elder brother by name +Hahzalam Bazazah, and when he reached the age of sixteen and was ripe for +marriage, thy father would have bought him a slave-girl named Jessamine." And +he went on to tell him the whole story from first to last of Habzalam Bazazah's +illness and what befell Ala al-Din in his innocence. When Aslan heard this, he +said in thought, "Haply this slave-girl was my mother Jessamine, and my father +was none other than Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat." So the boy went out from him +sorrowful, and met Calamity Ahmad, who at sight of him exclaimed, "Glory be to +Him unto whom none is like!" Asked Hasan the Pestilence, "Whereat dost thou +marvel, O my chief?" and Ahmad the Calamity replied, "At the make of yonder boy +Aslan, for he is the likest of human creatures to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat." +Then he called the lad and said to him, "O Aslan what is thy mother's name?"; +to which he replied, "She is called the damsel Jessamine;" and the other said, +"Harkye, Aslan, be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear; for thy +father was none other than Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat: but, O my son, go thou in +to thy mother and question her of thy father." He said, "Hearkening and +obedience," and, going in to his mother put the question; whereupon quoth she, +"Thy sire is the Emir Khбlid!" "Not so," rejoined he, "my father was none other +than Ala al-Din Abu al Shamat." At this the mother wept and said, "Who +acquainted thee with this, O my son?" And he answered "Ahmad al-Danaf, Captain +of the Guard." So she told him the whole story, saying, "O my son, the True +hath prevailed and the False hath failed:[FN#112] know that Ala al-Din Abu +al-Shamat was indeed thy sire, but it was none save the Emir Khбlid who reared +thee and adopted thee as his son. And now, O my child, when thou seest Ahmad +al-Danaf the captain, do thou say to him, 'I conjure thee, by Allah, O my +chief, take my blood-revenge on the murderer of my father Ala al-Din Abu +al-Shamat!'" So he went out from his mother,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn +of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Aslan went out from his +mother and, betaking himself to Calamity Ahmad, kissed his hand. Quoth the +captain, "What aileth thee, O Aslan?" and quoth he, "I know now for certain +that my father was Ali al-Din Abu al-Shamat and I would have thee take my +blood-revenge on his murderer." He asked, "And who was thy father's murderer?" +whereto Aslan answered, "Ahmad Kamakim the arch-thief." "Who told thee this?" +enquired he, and Aslan rejoined, "I saw in his hand the jewelled lanthorn which +was lost with the rest of the Caliph's gear, and I said to him, 'Give me this +lanthorn!' but he refused, saying, 'Lives have been lost on account of this'; +and told me it was he who had broken into the palace and stolen the articles +and deposited them in my father's house." Then said Ahmad al-Danaf, "When thou +seest the Emir Khбlid don his harness of war, say to him, 'Equip me like +thyself and take me with thee.' Then do thou go forth and perform some feat of +prowess before the Commander of the Faithful, and he will say to thee, 'Ask a +boon of me, O Aslan!' And do thou make answer, 'I ask of thee this boon, that +thou take my blood-revenge on my father's murderer.' If he say, 'Thy father is +yet alive and is the Emir Khбlid, the Chief of the Police'; answer thou, 'My +father was Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, and the Emir Khбlid hath a claim upon me +only as the foster-father who adopted me.' Then tell him all that passed +between thee and Ahmad Kamakim and say, 'O Prince of True Believers, order him +to be searched and I will bring the lanthorn forth from his bosom.'" Thereupon +said Aslan to him, "I hear and obey;" and, returning to the Emir Khбlid, found +him making ready to repair to the Caliph's court and said to him, "I would fain +have thee arm and harness me like thyself and take me with thee to the Divan." +So he equipped him and carried him thither. Then the Caliph sallied forth of +Baghdad with his troops and they pitched tents and pavilions without the city; +whereupon the host divided into two parties and forming ranks fell to playing +Polo, one striking the ball with the mall, and another striking it back to him. +Now there was among the troops a spy, who had been hired to slay the Caliph; so +he took the ball and smiting it with the bat drove it straight at the Caliph's +face, when behold, Aslan fended it off and catching it drove it back at him who +smote it, so that it struck him between the shoulders and he fell to the +ground. The Caliph exclaimed, "Allah bless thee, O Aslan!" and they all +dismounted and sat on chairs. Then the Caliph bade them bring the smiter of the +ball before him and said, "Who tempted thee to do this thing and art thou +friend or foe?" Quoth he, "I am thy foe and it was my purpose to kill thee." +Asked the Caliph "And wherefore? Art not a Moslem?" Replied the spy; "No' I am +a Rejecter.''[FN#113] So the Caliph bade them put him to death and said to +Aslan, "Ask a boon of me." Quoth he, "I ask of thee this boon, that thou take +my blood-revenge on my father's murderer." He said, "Thy father is alive and +there he stands on his two feet." "And who is he?" asked Aslan, and the Caliph +answered, "He is the Emir Khбlid, Chief of Police." Rejoined Aslan, "O +Commander of the Faithful, he is no father of mine, save by right of fosterage; +my father was none other than Ala al-Din Abu al Shamat." "Then thy father was a +traitor," cried the Caliph. "Allah forbid, O Commander of the Faithful," +rejoined Aslan, "that the 'Trusty' should be a traitor! But how did he betray +thee?" Quoth the Caliph, "He stole my habit and what was therewith." Aslan +retorted, "O Commander of the Faithful, Allah forfend that my father should be +a traitor! But, O my lord, when thy habit was lost and found didst thou +likewise recover the lanthorn which was stolen from thee?" Answered the Caliph, +"We never got it back," and Aslan said, "I saw it in the hands of Ahmad Kamakim +and begged it of him; but he refused to give it me, saying, 'Lives have been +lost on account of this.' Then he told me of the sickness of Habzalam Bazazah, +son of the Emir Khбlid, by reason of his passion for the damsel Jessamine, and +how he himself was released from bonds and that it was he who stole the habit +and the lamp: so do thou, O Commander of the Faithful, take my blood-revenge +for my father on him who murdered him." At once the Caliph cried, "Seize ye +Ahmad Kamakim!" and they seized him, whereupon he asked, "Where be the Captain, +Ahmad al-Danaf?" And when he was summoned the Caliph bade him search Kamakim; +so he put his hand into the thief's bosom and pulled out the lanthorn. Said the +Caliph, "Come hither, thou traitor: whence hadst thou this lanthorn?" and +Kamakim replied, "I bought it, O Commander of the Faithful!" The Caliph +rejoined, "Where didst thou buy it?" Then they beat him till he owned that he +had stolen the lanthorn, the habit and the rest, and the Caliph said "What +moved thee to do this thing O traitor, and ruin Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, the +Trusty and Faithful?" Then he bade them lay hands on him and on the Chief of +Police, but the Chief said, "O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I am unjustly +treated thou badest me hang him, and I had no knowledge of this trick, for the +plot was contrived between the old woman and Ahmad Kamakim and my wife. I crave +thine intercession,[FN#114] O Aslan." So Aslan interceded for him with the +Caliph, who said, "What hath Allah done with this youngster's mother?" Answered +Khбlid, "She is with me," and the Caliph continued, "I command that thou order +thy wife to dress her in her own clothes and ornaments and restore her to her +former degree, a lady of rank; and do thou remove the seals from Ala al-Din's +house and give his son possession of his estate." "I hear and obey," answered +Khбlid; and, going forth, gave the order to his wife who clad Jessamine in her +own apparel; whilst he himself removed the seals from Ala al-Din's house and +gave Aslan the keys. Then said the Caliph, "Ask a boon of me, O Aslan;" and he +replied, "I beg of thee the boon to unite me with my father." Whereat the +Caliph wept and said, "Most like thy sire was he that was hanged and is dead; +but by the life of my forefathers, whoso bringeth me the glad news that he is +yet in the bondage of this life, I will give him all he seeketh!" Then came +forward Ahmad al-Danaf and, kissing the ground between his hands, said, "Grant +me indemnity, O Commander of the Faithful!" "Thou hast it," answered the +Caliph; and Calamity Ahmad said, "I give thee the good news that Ala al-Din Abu +al-Shamat, the Trusty, the Faithful, is alive and well." Quoth the Caliph "What +is this thou sayest?" Quoth Al-Danaf, "As thy head liveth I say sooth; for I +ransomed him with another, of those who deserved death; and carried him to +Alexandria, where I opened for him a shop and set him up as a dealer in second +hand goods." Then said the Prince of True Believers,—And Shahrazad perceived +the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph ordered +Calamity Ahmad, saying, "I charge thee fetch him to me;" and the other replied, +"To hear is to obey;" whereupon the Caliph bade them give him ten thousand gold +pieces and he fared forth for Alexandria. On this wise it happed with Aslan; +but as regards his father, Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, he sold in course of time +all that was in his shop excepting a few things and amongst them a long bag of +leather. And happening to shake the bag there fell out a jewel which filled the +palm of the hand, hanging to a chain of gold and having many facets but +especially five, whereon were names and talismanic characters, as they were +ant-tracks. So he rubbed each face; but none answered him[FN#115] and he said +to himself, "Doubtless it is a piece of variegated onyx;" and then hung it up +in the shop. And behold, a Consul[FN#116] passed along the street; and, raising +his eyes, saw the jewel hanging up; so he seated himself over against the shop +and said to Ala al-Din, "O my lord, is the jewel for sale?" He answered, "All I +have is for sale." Thereupon the Frank said, "Wilt thou sell me that same for +eighty thousand dinars?" "Allah open!" replied Ala al-Din. The Frank asked, +"Wilt thou sell it for an hundred thousand dinars?", and he answered, "I sell +it to thee for a hundred thousand dinars; pay me down the monies." Quoth the +Consul, "I cannot carry about such sum as its price, for there be robbers and +sharpers in Alexandria; but come with me to my ship and I will pay thee the +price and give thee to boot a bale of Angora wool, a bale of satin, a bale of +velvet and a bale of broadcloth." So Ala al-Din rose and locked up his shop, +after giving the jewel to the Frank, and committed the keys to his neighbour, +saying, "Keep these keys in trust for me, whilst I go with this Consul to his +ship and return with the price of my jewel. If I be long absent and there come +to thee Ahmad al-Danaf, the Captain who stablished me in this shop, give him +the keys and tell him where I am." Then he went with the Consul to his ship and +no sooner had he boarded it than the Prank set him a stool and, making him sit +down, said to his men, "Bring the money." So they brought it and he paid him +the price of the jewel and gave him the four bales he had promised him and one +over; after which he said to him, "O my lord, honour me by accepting a bite or +a sup." And Ala al-Din answered, "If thou have any water, give me to drink." So +the Frank called for sherbets and they brought drink drugged with Bhang, of +which no sooner had Ala al-Din drunk, than he fell over on his back; whereupon +they stowed away the chairs and shipped the shoving-poles and made sail. Now +the wind blew fair for them till it drove them into blue water, and when they +were beyond sight of land the Kaptбn[FN#117] bade bring Ala al-Din up out of +the hold and made him smell the counter-drug of Bhang; whereupon he opened his +eyes and said, "Where am I?" He replied, "Thou art bound and in my power and if +thou hadst said, Allah open! to an hundred thousand dinars for the jewel, I +would have bidden thee more." "What art thou?" asked Ala al-Din, and the other +answered, "I am a sea-captain and mean to carry thee to my sweetheart." Now as +they were talking, behold, a strip hove in sight carrying forty Moslem +merchants; so the Frank captain attacked the vessel and made fast to it with +grappling-irons; then he boarded it with his men and took it and plundered it; +after which he sailed on with his prize, till he reached the city of Genoa. +There the Kaptan, who was carrying off Ala al-Din, landed and repaired to a +palace whose pastern gave upon the sea, and behold, there came down to him a +damsel in a chin-veil who said, "Hast thou brought the jewel and the owner?" "I +have brought them both," answered he; and she said, "Then give me the jewel." +So he gave it to her; and, returning to the port, fired his cannon to announce +his safe return; whereupon the King of the city, being notified of that +Kaptan's arrival, came down to receive him and asked him, "How hath been this +voyage?" He answered, "A right prosperous one, and while voyaging I have made +prize of a ship with one-and-forty Moslem merchants." Said the King, "Land them +at the port:" so he landed the merchants in irons and Ala al-Din among the +rest; and the King and the Kaptan mounted and made the captives walk before +them till they reached the audience-chamber, when the Franks seated themselves +and caused the prisoners to pass in parade order, one by one before the King +who said to the first, "O Moslem, whence comest thou?" He answered, "From +Alexandria;" whereupon the King said, "O headsman, put him to death." So the +sworder smote him with the sword and cut off his head: and thus it fared with +the second and the third, till forty were dead and there remained but Ala +al-Din, who drank the cup of his comrades' sighs and agony and said to himself, +"Allah have mercy on thee, O Ala al-Din Thou art a dead man." Then said the +King to him, "And thou, what countryman art thou?" He answered, "I am of +Alexandria," and the King said, "O headsman, strike off his head." So the +sworder raised arm and sword, and was about to strike when behold, an old woman +of venerable aspect presented herself before the King, who rose to do her +honour, and said to him, "O King, did I not bid thee remember, when the Captain +came back with captives, to keep one or two for the convent, to serve in the +church?" The King replied, "O my mother, would thou hadst come a while earlier! +But take this one that is left." So she turned to Ala al-Din and said to him, +"Say, wilt thou serve in the church, or shall I let the King slay thee?" Quoth +he, "I will serve in the church." So she took him and carried him forth of the +court and went to the church, where he said to her, "What service must I do?" +She replied, "Thou must rise with the dawn and take five mules and go with them +to the forest and there cut dry fire-wood and saw it short and bring it to the +convent-kitchen. Then must thou take up the carpets and sweep and wipe the +stone and marble pavements and lay the carpets down again, as they were; after +which thou must take two bushels and a half of wheat and bolt it and grind it +and knead it and make it into cracknels[FN#118] for the convent; and thou must +take also a bushel of lentils[FN#119] and sift and crush and cook them. Then +must thou fetch water in barrels and fill the four fountains; after which thou +must take three hundred and threescore and six wooden bowls and crumble the +cracknels therein and pour of the lentil-pottage over each and carry every monk +and patriarch his bowl." Said Ala al-Din,[FN#120] "Take me back to the King and +let him kill me, it were easier to me than this service." Replied the old +woman, "If thou do truly and rightly the service that is due from thee thou +shalt escape death; but, if thou do it not, I will let the King kill thee." And +with these words Ala al-Din was left sitting heavy at heart. Now there were in +the church ten blind cripples, and one of them said to him, "Bring me a pot." +So he brought it him and he cacked and eased himself therein and said, "Throw +away the ordure." He did so, and the blind man said, "The Messiah's blessing be +upon thee, O servant of the church!" Presently behold, the old woman came in +and said to him, "Why hast thou not done thy service in the church?" Answered +he, "How many hands have I, that I should suffice for all this work?" She +rejoined, 'Thou fool, I brought thee not hither except to work;" and she added, +"Take, O my son, this rod (which was of copper capped with a cross) and go +forth into the highway and, when thou meetest the governor of the city, say to +him, 'I summon thee to the service of the church, in the name of our Lord the +Messiah.' And he will not disobey thee. Then make him take the wheat, sift, +grind, bolt, knead, and bake it into cracknels; and if any gainsay thee, beat +him and fear none." "To hear is to obey," answered he and did as she said, and +never ceased pressing great and small into his service; nor did he leave to do +thus for the space of seventeen years. Now one day as he sat in church, lo! the +old woman came to him and said, "Go forth of the convent." He asked, "Whither +shall I go?" and she answered, "Thou canst pass the night in a tavern or with +one of thy comrades." Quoth he, "Why dost thou send me forth of the church?" +and quote she, "The Princess Husn Maryam, daughter of Yohannб,[FN#121] King of +this city, purposeth to visit the church and it befitteth not that any abide in +her way." So he made a show of obeying her orders and rose up and pretended +that he was leaving the church; but he said in his mind, "I wonder whether the +Princess is like our women or fairer than they! At any rate I will not go till +I have had a look at her." So he hid himself in a closet with a window looking +into the church and, as he watched, behold, in came the King's daughter. He +cast at her one glance of eyes that cost him a thousand sighs, for he found her +like the full moon when it cometh swimming out of the clouds; and he saw with +her a young lady,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ala al-Din looked at +the King's daughter, he saw with her a young lady to whom he heard her say, +"Thy company hath cheered me, O Zubaydah." So he looked straitly at the damsel +and found her to be none other than his dead wife, Zubaydah the Lutist. Then +the Princess said to Zubaydah, "Come, play us an air on the lute." But she +answered, "I will make no music for thee, till thou grant my wish and keep thy +word to me." Asked the Princess, "And what did I promise thee?"; and Zubaydah +answered, "That thou wouldst reunite me with my husband Ala al-Din Abu +al-Shamat, the Trusty, the Faithful." Rejoined the Princess, "O Zubaydah, be of +good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear; play us a piece as a +thank-offering and an ear-feast for reunion with thy husband Ala al-Din." +"Where is he?" asked Zubaydah, and Maryam answered, "He is in yonder closet +listening to our words." So Zubaydah played on the lute a melody which had made +a rock dance for glee; and when Ala al-Din heard it, his bowels yearned towards +her and he came forth from the closet and, throwing himself upon his wife +Zubaydah, strained her to his bosom. She also knew him and the twain embraced +and fell to the ground in a swoon. Then came forward the Princess Husn Maryam +and sprinkled rose water on them, till they revived when she said to them, +"Allah hath reunited you." Replied Ala al-Din, "By thy kind of offices, O +lady." Then, turning to his wife, he said to her, "O Zubaydah, thou didst +surely die and we tombed thee in the tomb: how then returnedst thou to life and +camest thou to this place?" She answered, "O my lord, I did not die; but an +Aun[FN#122] of the Jinn snatched me up and dew with me hither. She whom thou +buriedst was a Jinniyah, who shaped herself to my shape and feigned herself +dead; but when you entombed her she broke open the tomb and came forth from it +and returned to the service of this her mistress, the Princess Husn Maryam. As +for me I was possessed[FN#123] and, when I opened my eyes, I found myself with +this Princess thou seest; so I said to her, 'Why hast thou brought me hither?' +Replied she, 'I am predestined to marry thy husband, Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat: +wilt thou then, O Zubaydah, accept me to co-consort, a night for me and a night +for thee?' Rejoined I, 'To hear is to obey, O my lady, but where is my +husband?' Quoth she, 'Upon his forehead is written what Allah hath decreed to +him; as soon as the writing which is there writ is fulfilled to him, there is +no help for it but he come hither, and we will beguile the time of our +separation from him with songs and playing upon instruments of music, till it +please Allah to unite us with him.' So I abode all these days with her till +Allah brought us together in this church." Then Husn Maryam turned to him and +said, "O my lord, Ala al-Din, wilt thou be to me baron and I be to thee femme?" +Quoth he, "O my lady, I am a Moslem and thou art a Nazarene; so how can I +intermarry with thee?" Quoth she, "Allah forbid that I should be an infidel! +Nay, I am a Moslemah; for these eighteen years I have held fast the Faith of +Al-Islam and I am pure of any creed other than that of the Islamite." Then said +he, "O my lady, I desire a return to my native land;" and she replied, "Know +that I see written on thy forehead things which thou must needs accomplish, and +then thou shalt win to thy will. Moreover, be fief and fain, O Ala al-Din, that +there hath been born to thee a son named Aslan; who now being arrived at age of +discretion, sitteth in thy place with the Caliph. Know also that Truth hath +prevailed and that Falsehood naught availed; and that the Lord hath withdrawn +the curtain of secrecy from him who stole the Caliph's goods, that is, Ahmad +Kamakim the arch-thief and traitor; and he now lieth bound and in jail. And +know further 'twas I who sent thee the jewel and had it put in the bag where +thou foundest it, and 'twas I who sent the captain that brought thee and the +jewel; for thou must know that the man is enamoured of me and seeketh my +favours and would possess me; but I refused to yield to his wishes or let him +have his will of me; and I said him, 'Thou shalt never have me till thou bring +me the jewel and its owner.' So I gave him an hundred purses and despatched him +to thee, in the habit of a merchant, whereas he is a captain and a war-man; and +when they led thee to thy death after slaying the forty captives, I also sent +thee this old woman to save thee from slaughter." Said he, "Allah requite thee +for us with all good! Indeed thou hast done well." Then Husn Maryam renewed at +his hands her profession of Al-Islam; and, when he was assured of the truth of +her speech, he said to her, O my lady, tell me what are the virtues of this +jewel and whence cometh it?" She answered, "This jewel came from an enchanted +hoard, and it hath five virtues which will profit us in time of need. Now my +lady grandmother, the mother of my father, was an enchantress and skilled in +solving secrets and finding hidden treasures from one of which came the jewel +into her hands. And as I grew up and reached the age of fourteen, I read the +Evangel and other books and I found the name of Mohammed (whom Allah bless and +preserve!) in the four books, namely the Evangel, the Pentateuch, the Psalms +and the Koran;[FN#124] so I believed in Mohammed and became a Moslemah, being +certain and assured that none is worship worth save Allah Almighty, and that to +the Lord of all mankind no faith is acceptable save that of Al-Islam. Now when +my lady-grandmother fell sick, she gave me this jewel and taught me its five +virtues. Moreover, before she died, my father said to her, 'Take thy tablets of +geomancy and throw a figure, and tell us the issue of my affair and what will +befal-me.' And she foretold him that the far off one[FN#125] should die, slain +by the hand of a captive from Alexandria. So he swore to kill every prisoner +from that place and told the Kaptan of this, saying, 'There is no help for it +but thou fall on the ships of the Moslems and seize them and whomsoever thou +findest of Alexandria, kill him or bring him to me.' The Captain did his +bidding until he had slain as many in number as the hairs of his head. Then my +grandmother died and I took a geomantic tablet, being minded and determined to +know the future, and I said to myself, 'Let me see who will wed me!' Whereupon +I threw a figure and found that none should be my husband save one called Ala +al-Din Abu al-Shamat, the Trusty, the Faithful. At this I marvelled and waited +till the times were accomplished and I foregathered with thee." So Ala al-Din +took her to wife and said to her, "I desire to return to my own country." Quoth +she, "If it be so, rise up and come with me." Then she took him and, hiding him +in a closet of her palace, went in to her father, who said to her, "O my +daughter, my heart is exceeding heavy this day; sit down and let us make merry +with wine, I and thou." So she sat down with him and he called for a table of +wine; and she plied him till he lost his wits, when she drugged a cup with +Bhang and he drank it off and fell upon his back. Then she brought Ala al-Din +out of the closet and said to him, "Come; verily thine enemy lieth prostrate, +for I made him drunk and drugged him; so do thou with him as thou wilt." +Accordingly Ala al-Din went to the King and, finding him lying drugged and +helpless, pinioned him fast and manacled and fettered him with chains. Then he +gave him the counter-drug and he came to himself,—And Shahrazad perceived the +dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ala al-Din gave the +antidote of Bhang to King Yohanna, father of Husn Maryam, and he came to +himself and found Ala al-Din and his daughter sitting on his breast. So he said +to her, "O my daughter, dost thou deal thus with me?" She answered "If I be +indeed thy daughter, become a Moslem, even as I became a Moslemah, for the +truth was shown to me and I attested it; and the false, and I deserted it. I +have submitted myself unto Allah, The Lord of the Three Worlds, and am pure of +all faiths contrary to that of Al-Islam in this world and in the next world. +Wherefore, if thou wilt become a Moslem, well and good; if not, thy death were +better than thy life." Ala al-Din also exhorted him to embrace the True Faith; +but he refused and was contumacious; so Ala al-Din drew a dagger and cut his +throat from ear to ear.[FN#126] Then he wrote a scroll, setting forth what had +happened and laid it on the brow of the dead, after which they took what was +light of load and weighty of worth and turned from the palace and returned to +the church. Here the Princess drew forth the jewel and, placing her hand upon +the facet where was figured a couch, rubbed it; and behold, a couch appeared +before her and she mounted upon it with Ala al-Din and his wife Zubaydah, the +lutist, saying, "I conjure thee by the virtue of the names and talismans and +characts engraver on this jewel, rise up with us, O Couch!" And it rose with +them into the air and flew, till it came to a Wady wholly bare of growth, when +the Princess turned earthwards the facet on which the couch was figured, and it +sank with them to the ground. Then she turned up the face where on was +fashioned a pavilion and tapping it said, "Let a pavilion be pitched in this +valley;" and there appeared a pavilion, wherein they seated themselves. Now +this Wady was a desert waste, without grass or water; so she turned a third +face of the jewel towards the sky, and said, "By the virtue of the names of +Allah, let trees upgrow here and a river flow beside them!" And forthwith trees +sprang up and by their side ran a river plashing and dashing. They made the +ablution and prayed and drank of the stream; after which the Princess turned up +the three other facets till she came to the fourth, whereon was portrayed a +table of good, and said, "By the virtue of the names of Allah, let the table be +spread!" And behold, there appeared before them a table, spread with all manner +of rich meats, and they ate and drank and made merry and were full of joy. Such +was their case; but as regards Husn Maryam's father, his son went in to waken +him and found him slain; and, seeing Ala al-Din's scroll, took it and read it, +and readily understood it. Then he sought his sister and finding her not, +betook himself to the old woman in the church, of whom he enquired for her, but +she said, "Since yesterday I have not seen her." So he returned to the troops +and cried out, saying, "To horse, ye horsemen!" Then he told them what had +happened, so they mounted and rode after the fugitives, till they drew near the +pavilion. Presently Husn Maryam arose and looked up and saw a cloud of dust +which spread till it walled the view, then it lifted and flew, and lo! stood +disclosed her brother and his troops, crying aloud, "Whither will ye fly, and +we on your track!" Then said she to Ala al-Din, "Are thy feet firm in fight?" +He replied, "Even as the stake in bran, I know not war nor battle, nor swords +nor spears." So she pulled out the jewel and rubbed the fifth face, that on +which were graven a horse and his rider, and behold, straightway a cavalier +appeared out of the desert and ceased not to do battle with the pursuing host +and smite them with the sword, till he routed them and put them to flight. Then +the Princess asked Ala al-Din, "Wilt thou go to Cairo or to Alexandria?"; and +he answered, "To Alexandria." So they mounted the couch and she pronounced over +it the conjuration, whereupon it set off with them and, in the twinkling of an +eye, brought them to Alexandria. They alighted without the city and Ala al-Din +hid the women in a cavern, whilst he went into Alexandria and fetched them +outer clothing, wherewith he covered them. Then he carried them to his shop +and, leaving them in the "ben"[FN#127] walked forth to fetch them the +morning-meal, and behold he met Calamity Ahmad who chanced to be coming from +Baghdad. He saw him in the street and received him with open arms, saluting him +and welcoming him. Whereupon Ahmad al-Danaf gave him the good news of his son +Aslan and how he was now come to the age of twenty: and Ala al-Din, in his +turn, told the Captain of the Guard all that had befallen him from first to +last, whereat he marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then he brought him to his +shop and sitting room where they passed the night; and next day he sold his +place of business and laid its price with other monies. Now Ahmad al-Danaf had +told him that the Caliph sought him; but he said, "I am bound first for Cairo, +to salute my father and mother and the people of my house." So they all mounted +the couch and it carried them to Cairo the God-guarded; and here they alighted +in the street called Yellow,[FN#128] where stood the house of Shams al-Din. +Then Ala al-Din knocked at the door, and his mother said, "Who is at the door, +now that we have lost our beloved for evermore?" He replied, " 'Tis I! Ala +al-Din!" whereupon they came down and embraced him. Then he sent his wives and +baggage into the house and entering himself with Ahmad al-Danaf, rested there +three days, after which he was minded to set out for Baghdad. His father said, +"Abide with me, O my son;" but he answered; "I cannot bear to be parted from my +child Aslan." So he took his father and mother and fared forth for Baghdad. Now +when they came thither, Ahmad al-Danaf went in to the Caliph and gave him the +glad tidings of Ala al-Din's arrival—and told him his story whereupon the King +went forth to greet him taking the youth Aslan, and they met and embraced each +other. Then the Commander of the Faithful summoned the arch-thief Ahmad Kamakim +and said to Ala al-Din, "Up and at thy foe!" So he drew his sword and smote off +Ahmad Kamakim's head. Then the Caliph held festival for Ala al-Din and, +summoning the Kazis and witnesses, wrote the contract and married him to the +Princess Husn Maryam; and he went in unto her and found her an unpierced pearl. +Moreover, the Caliph made Aslan Chief of the Sixty and bestowed upon him and +his father sumptuous dresses of honour; and they abode in the enjoyment of all +joys and joyance of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and +the Sunderer of societies. But the tales of generous men are manifold and +amongst them is the story of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap05"></a>HATIM OF THE TRIBE OF TAYY.</h3> + +<p> +It is told of Hбtim of the tribe of Tayy,[FN#129] that when he died, they +buried him on the top of a mountain and set over his grave two troughs hewn out +of two rocks and stone girls with dishevelled hair. At the foot of the hill was +a stream of running water, and when wayfarers camped there, they heard loud +crying and keening in the night, from dark till daybreak; but when they arose +in the morning, they found nothing but the girls carved in stone. Now when Zъ +'l-Kurб'a,[FN#130] King of Himyar, going forth of his tribe, came to that +valley, he halted to pass the night there,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of +day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Zu 'l- Kura'a passed +by the valley he righted there, and, when he drew near the mountain, he heard +the keening and said, "What lamenting is that on yonder hill?" They answered +him, saying, "Verily this be the tomb of Hatim al-Tбyy, over which are two +troughs of stone and stone figures of girls with dishevelled hair; and all who +camp in this place by night hear this crying and keening." So he said +jestingly, "O Hatim of Tayy! we are thy guests this night, and we are lank with +hunger." Then sleep overcame him, but presently he awoke in affright and cried +out, saying, "Help, O Arabs! Look to my beast!" So they came to him, and +finding his she-camel struggling and struck down, they stabbed her in the +throat and roasted her flesh and ate. Then they asked him what had happened and +he said, "When I closed my eyes, I saw in my sleep Hatim of Tayy who came to me +sword in hand and cried, 'Thou comest to us and we have nothing by us.' Then he +smote my she- camel with his sword, and she had surely died even though ye had +not come to her and slaughtered her."[FN#131] Now when morning dawned the King +mounted the beast of one of his companions and, taking the owner up behind him, +set out and fared on till midday, when they saw a man coming towards them, +mounted on a camel and leading another, and said to him, "Who art thou?" He +answered, "I am Adi,[FN#132] son of Hatim of Tayy; where is Zu 'l-Kura'a, Emir +of Himyar?" Replied they, "This is he;" and he said to the prince, "Take this +she-camel in place of thy beast which my father slaughtered for thee." Asked Zu +'l Kura'a, "Who told thee of this?" and Adi answered, "My father appeared to me +in a dream last night and said to me, 'Harkye, Adi; Zu 'l Kura'a King of +Himyar, sought the guest-rite of me and I, having naught to give him, +slaughtered his she-camel, that he might eat: so do thou carry him a she-camel +to ride, for I have nothing.'" And Zu 'l-Kura'a took her, marvelling at the +generosity of Hatim of Tayy alive and dead. And amongst instances of generosity +is the +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap06"></a>TALE OF MA'AN THE SON OF ZAIDAH.[FN#133]</h3> + +<p> +It is told of Ma'an bin Zбidah that, being out one day a-chasing and a-hunting, +he became athirst but his men had no water with them; and while thus suffering +behold, three damsels met him bearing three skins of water;—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-first Night,[FN#134] +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that three girls met him +bearing three skins of water; so he begged drink of them, and they gave him to +drink. Then he sought of his men somewhat to give the damsels but they had no +money; so he presented to each girl ten golden piled arrows from his quiver. +Whereupon quoth one of them to her friend, "Well-a-day! These fashions pertain +to none but Ma'an bin Zaidah! so let each one of us say somewhat of verse in +his praise." Then quoth the first, +</p> + +<p> +"He heads his arrows with piles of gold, * And while shooting his<br/> + + foes is his bounty doled:<br/> + +Affording the wounded a means of cure, * And a sheet for the<br/> + + bider beneath the mould!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And quoth the second, +</p> + +<p> +"A warrior showing such open hand, * His boons all friends and<br/> + + all foes enfold:<br/> + +The piles of his arrows of or are made, * So that battle his<br/> + + bounty may not withhold!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And quoth the third, +</p> + +<p> +"From that liberal-hand on his foes he rains * Shafts aureate-<br/> + + headed and manifold:<br/> + +Wherewith the hurt shall chirurgeon pay, * And for slain the<br/> + + shrouds round their corpses roll'd."[FN#135]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And there is also told a tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap07"></a>MA'AN SON OF ZAIDAH AND THE BADAWI.</h3> + +<p> +Now Ma'an bin Zбidah went forth one day to the chase with his company, and they +came upon a herd of gazelles; so they separated in pursuit and Ma'an was left +alone to chase one of them. When he had made prize of it he alighted and +slaughtered it; and as he was thus engaged, he espied a person[FN#136] coming +forth out of the desert on an ass. So he remounted and riding up to the new- +comer, saluted him and asked him, "Whence comest thou?" Quoth he, "I come from +the land of Kuzб'ah, where we have had a two years' dearth; but this year it +was a season of plenty and I sowed early cucumbers.[FN#137] They came up before +their time, so I gathered what seemed the best of them and set out to carry +them to the Emir Ma'an bin Zaidah, because of his well-known beneficence and +notorious munificence." Asked Ma'an, "How much dost thou hope to get of him?"; +and the Badawi answered, "A thousand dinars." Quoth the Emir, "What if he say +this is too much?" Said the Badawi, "Then I will ask five hundred dinars." "And +if he say, too much?" "Then three hundred!" "And if he say yet, too much?" +"Then two hundred!" "And if he say yet, too much?" "Then one hundred!" "And if +he say yet, too much?" "Then, fifty!" "And if he say yet, too much?" "Then +thirty!" "And if he say still, too much?" asked Ma'an bin Zaidah. Answered the +Badawi, "I will make my ass set his four feet in his Honour's home[FN#138] and +return to my people, disappointed and empty- handed." So Ma'an laughed at him +and urged his steed till he came up with his suite and returned to his place, +when he said to his chamberlain, "An there come to thee a man with cucumbers +and riding on an ass admit him to me." Presently up came the Badawi and was +admitted to Ma'an's presence; but knew not the Emir for the man he had met in +the desert, by reason of the gravity and majesty of his semblance and the +multitude of his eunuchs and attendants, for he was seated on his chair of +state with his officers ranged in lines before him and on either side. So he +saluted him and Ma'an said to him "What bringeth thee, O brother of the Arabs?" +Answered the Badawi, "I hoped in the Emir, and have brought him curly cucumbers +out of season." Asked Ma'an, "And how much dost thou expect of us?" "A thousand +dinars," answered the Badawi. "This is far too much," quoth Ma'an. Quoth he, +"Five hundred." "Too much!" "Then three hundred." "Too much!" "Two hundred." +"Too much!" "One hundred." "Too much!" "Fifty." "Too much!" At last the Badawi +came down to thirty dinars; but Ma'an still replied, "Too much!" So the Badawi +cried, "By Allah, the man who met me in the desert brought me bad luck! But I +will not go lower than thirty dinars." The Emir laughed and said nothing; +whereupon the wild Arab knew that it was he whom he had met and said, "O my +lord, except thou bring the thirty dinars, see ye, there is the ass tied ready +at the door and here sits Ma'an, his honour, at home." So Ma'an laughed, till +he fell on his back; and, calling his steward, said to him, "Give him a +thousand dinars and five hundred and three hundred and two hundred and one +hundred and fifty and thirty; and leave the ass tied up where he is." So the +Arab to his amazement, received two thousand one hundred and eighty dinars, and +Allah have mercy on them both and on all generous men! And I have also heard, O +auspicious King, a tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap08"></a>THE CITY OF LABTAYT.[FN#139]</h3> + +<p> +There was once a royal-city in the land of Roum, called the City of Labtayt +wherein stood a tower which was always shut. And whenever a King died and +another King of the Greeks took the Kingship after him, he set on the tower a +new and strong lock, till there were four-and-twenty locks upon the gate, +according to the number of the Kings. After this time, there came to the throne +a man who was not of the old royal-house, and he had a mind to open these +locks, that he might see what was within the tower. The grandees of his kingdom +forbade him this and pressed him to desist and reproved him and blamed him; but +he persisted saying, "Needs must this place be opened." Then they offered him +all that their hands possessed of monies and treasures and things of price, if +he would but refrain; still he would not be baulked,—And Shahrazad perceived +the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the grandees offered that +King all their hands possessed of monies and treasures if he would but refrain; +still he would not be baulked and said "There is no help for it but I open this +tower." So he pulled off the locks and entering, found within the tower figures +of Arabs on their horses and camels, habited in turbands[FN#140] hanging down +at the ends, with swords in baldrick-belts thrown over their shoulders and +bearing long lances in their hands. He found there also a scroll which he +greedily took and read, and these words were written therein, "Whenas this door +is opened will conquer this country a raid of the Arabs, after the likeness of +the figures here depicted; wherefore beware, and again beware of opening it." +Now this city was in Andalusia; and that very year Tбrik ibn Ziyбd conquered +it, during the Caliphate of Al-Walнd son of Abd al-Malik[FN#141] of the sons of +Umayyah; and slew this King after the sorriest fashion and sacked the city and +made prisoners of the women and boys therein and got great loot. Moreover, he +found there immense treasures; amongst the rest more than an hundred and +seventy crowns of pearls and jacinths and other gems of price; and he found a +saloon, wherein horsemen might throw the spears, full of vessels of gold and +silver, such as no description can comprise. Moreover, he found there the table +of food for the Prophet of Allah, Solomon, son of David (peace with both of +them!), which is extant even now in a city of the Greeks, it is told that it +was of grass-green emerald with vessels of gold and platters of jasper. +Likewise he found the Psalms written in the old Ionian[FN#142] characters on +leaves of gold bezel'd with jewels; together with a book setting forth the +properties of stones and herbs and minerals, as well as the use of characts and +talismans and the canons of the art of alchymy; and he found a third volume +which treated of the art of cutting and setting rubies and other precious +stones and of the preparation of poisons and theriacks. There found he also a +mappa mundi figuring the earth and the seas and the different cities and +countries and villages of the world; and he found a vast saloon full of +hermetic powder, one drachm of which elixir would turn a thousand drachms of +silver into fine gold; likewise a marvellous mirror, great and round, of mixed +metals, which had been made for Solomon, son of David (on the twain be peace!) +wherein whoso looked might see the counterfeit presentment of the seven +climates of the world; and he beheld a chamber full of Brahmini[FN#143] +jacinths for which no words can suffice. So he despatched all these things to +Walid bin Abd al-Malik, and the Arabs spread all over the cities of Andalusia +which is one of the finest of lands. This is the end of the story of the City +of Labtayt. And a tale is also told of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap09"></a>THE CALIPH HISHAM AND THE ARAB YOUTH.</h3> + +<p> +The Caliph Hishбm bin Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, was hunting one day, when he +sighted an antelope and pursued it with his dogs. As he was following the +quarry, he saw an Arab youth pasturing sheep and said to him, "Ho boy, up and +after yonder antelope, for it escapeth me!" The youth raised his head to him +and replied, "O ignorant of what to the deserving is due, thou lookest on me +with disdain and speakest to me with contempt; thy speaking is that of a tyrant +true and thy doing what an ass would do." Quoth Hisham, "Woe to thee, dost thou +not know me?" Rejoined the youth, "Verily thine unmannerliness hath made thee +known to me, in that thou spakest to me, without beginning by the +salutation."[FN#144] Repeated the Caliph, "Fie upon thee! I am Hisham bin Abd +al-Malik." "May Allah not favour thy dwelling-place," replied the Arab, "nor +guard thine abiding place! How many are thy words and how few thy generous +deeds!" Hardly had he ended speaking, when up came the troop from all sides and +surrounded him as the white encircleth the black of the eye, all and each +saying, "Peace be with thee, O Commander of the Faithful!" Quoth Hisham, "Cut +short this talk and seize me yonder boy." So they laid hands on him; and when +he saw the multitude of Chamberlains and Wazirs and Lords of State, he was in +nowise concerned and questioned not of them, but let his chin drop on his +breast and looked where his feet fell, till they brought him to the +Caliph[FN#145] when he stood before him, with head bowed groundwards and +saluted him not and spoke him not. So one of the eunuchs said to him, "O dog of +the Arabs, what hindereth thy saluting the Commander of the Faithful?" The +youth turned to him angrily and replied, "O packsaddle of an ass, it was the +length of the way that hindered me from this and the steepness of the steps and +the profuseness of my sweat." Then said Hisham (and indeed he was exceeding +wroth), "O boy, verily thy days are come to their latest hour; thy hope is gone +from thee and thy life is past out of thee." He answered, "By Allah, O Hisham, +verily an my life-term be prolonged and Fate ordain not its cutting short, thy +words irk me not, be they long or short." Then said the Chief Chamberlain to +him, "Doth it befit thy degree, O vilest of the Arabs, to bandy words with the +Commander of the Faithful?" He answered promptly, "Mayest thou meet with +adversity and may woe and wailing never leave thee! Hast thou not heard the +saying of Almighty Allah?, 'One day, every soul shall come to defend +itself.'"[FN#146] Hereupon Hisham rose, in great wrath, and said, "O headsman, +bring me the head of this lad; for indeed he exceedeth in talk, such as passeth +conception." So the sworder took him and, making him kneel on the carpet of +blood, drew his sword above him and said to the Caliph, "O Commander of the +Faithful, this thy slave is misguided and is on the way to his grave; shall I +smite off his head and be quit of his blood?" "Yes," replied Hisham. He +repeated his question and the Caliph again answered in the affirmative. Then he +asked leave a third time; and the youth, knowing that, if the Caliph assented +yet once more, it would be the signal of his death, laughed till his +wisdom-teeth showed; whereupon Hisham's wrath redoubled and he said to him, "O +boy, meseems thou art mad; seest thou not that thou art about to depart the +world? Why then dost thou laugh in mockery of thyself?" He replied, "O +Commander of the Faithful, if a larger life-term befell me, none can hurt me, +great or small; but I have bethought me of some couplets, which do thou hear, +for my death cannot escape thee." Quoth Hisham, "Say on and be brief;" so the +Arab repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"It happed one day a hawk pounced on a bird, * A wildling sparrow<br/> + + driven by destiny;<br/> + +And held in pounces spake the sparrow thus, * E'en as the hawk<br/> + + rose ready home to hie:—<br/> + +'Scant flesh have I to fill the maw of thee * And for thy lordly<br/> + + food poor morsel I.<br/> + +Then smiled the hawk in flattered vanity * And pride, so set the<br/> + + sparrow free to fly.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +At this Hisham smiled and said, "By the truth of my kinship to the Apostle of +Allah (whom Allah bless and keep!), had he spoken this speech at first and +asked for aught except the Caliphase, verily I would have given it to him. +Stuff his mouth with jewels,[FN#147] O eunuch and entreat him courteously;" so +they did as he bade them and the Arab went his way. And amongst pleasant tales +is that of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap10"></a>IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI AND THE BARBER-SURGEON.</h3> + +<p> +They relate that Ibrahнm, son of al-Mahdн,[FN#148] brother of Harun al-Rashid, +when the Caliphate devolved to Al-Maamun, the son of his brother Harun, refused +to acknowledge his nephew and betook himself to Rayy[FN#149]; where he claimed +the throne and abode thus a year and eleven months and twelve days. Meanwhile +his nephew, Al-Maamun, awaited his return to allegiance and his accepting a +dependent position till, at last, despairing of this, he mounted with his +horsemen and footmen and repaired to Rayy in quest of him. Now when the news +came to Ibrahim, he found nothing for it but to flee to Baghdad and hide there, +fearing for his life; and Maamun set a price of a hundred thousand gold pieces +upon his head, to be paid to whoso might betray him. (Quoth Ibrahim) "When I +heard of this price I feared for my head"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of +day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim continued, "Now +when I heard of this price I feared for my head and knew not what to do: so I +went forth of my house in disguise at mid-day, knowing not whither I should go. +Presently I entered a broad street which was no thoroughfare and said in my +mind, 'Verily, we are Allah's and unto Him we are returning! I have exposed my +life to destruction. If I retrace my steps, I shall arouse suspicion.' Then, +being still in disguise I espied, at the upper end of the street, a negro-slave +standing at his door; so I went up to him and said to him, 'Hast thou a place +where I may abide for an hour of the day?' 'Yes,' answered he, and opening the +door admitted me into a decent house, furnished with carpets and mats and +cushions of leather. Then he shut the door on me and went away; and I +misdoubted me he had heard of the reward offered for me, and said to myself, +'He hath gone to inform against me.' But, as I sat pondering my case and +boiling like cauldron over fire, behold, my host came back, accompanied by a +porter loaded with bread and meat and new cooking-pots and gear and a new jar +and new gugglets and other needfuls. He made the porter set them down and, +dismissing him, said to me, 'I offer my life for thy ransom! I am a +barber-surgeon, and I know it would disgust thee to eat with me' because of the +way in which I get my livelihood;[FN#150] so do thou shift for thyself and do +what thou please with these things whereon no hand hath fallen.' (Quoth +Ibrahim), Now I was in sore need of food so I cooked me a pot of meat whose +like I remember not ever to have eaten; and, when I had satisfied my want, he +said to me, 'O my lord, Allah make me thy ransom! Art thou for wine?; for +indeed it gladdeneth the soul and doeth away care.' 'I have no dislike to it,' +replied I, being desirous of the barber's company; so he brought me new flagons +of glass which no hand had touched and a jar of excellent wine, and said to me, +'Strain for thyself, to thy liking;' whereupon I cleared the wine and mixed me +a most delectable draught. Then he brought me a new cup and fruits and flowers +in new vessels of earthenware; after which he said to me, 'Wilt thou give me +leave to sit apart and drink of my own wine by myself, of my joy in thee and +for thee?' 'Do so,' answered I. So I drank and he drank till the wine began to +take effect upon us, when the barber rose and, going to a closet, took out a +lute of polished wood and said to me, 'O my lord, it is not for the like of me +to ask the like of thee to sing, but it behoveth thine exceeding generosity to +render my respect its due; so, if thou see fit to honour thy slave, thine is +the high decision.' Quoth I (and indeed I thought not that he knew me), 'How +knowest thou that I excel in song?' He replied, 'Glory be to Allah, our lord is +too well renowned for that! Thou art my lord Ibrahim, son of Al-Mahdi, our +Caliph of yesterday, he on whose head Al-Maamun hath set a price of an hundred +thousand dinars to be paid to thy betrayer: but thou art in safety with me.' +(Quoth Ibrahim), When I heard him say this, he was magnified in my eyes and his +loyalty and noble nature were certified to me; so I complied with his wish and +took the lute and tuned it, and sang. Then I bethought me of my severance from +my children and my family and I began to say, +</p> + +<p> +'Belike Who Yъsuf to his kin restored * And honoured him in goal,<br/> + + a captive wight,<br/> + +May grant our prayer to reunite our lots, * For Allah, Lord of<br/> + + Worlds, hath all of might.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When the barber heard this, exceeding joy took possession of him. and he was of +great good cheer; for it is said that when Ibrahim's neighbours heard him only +sing out, 'Ho, boy, saddle the mule!' they were filled with delight. Then, +being overborne by mirth, he said to me, 'O my lord, wilt thou give me leave to +say what is come to my mind, albeit I am not of the folk of this craft?' I +answered, 'Do so; this is of thy great courtesy and kindness.' So he took the +lute and sang these verses, +</p> + +<p> +'To our beloveds we moaned our length of night; * Quoth they,<br/> + + 'How short the nights that us benight!'<br/> + +'Tis for that sleep like hood enveils their eyes * Right soon,<br/> + + but from our eyes is fair of flight:<br/> + +When night-falls, dread and drear to those who love, * We mourn;<br/> + + they joy to see departing light:<br/> + +Had they but dree'd the weird, the bitter dole * We dree, their<br/> + + beds like ours had bred them blight.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +(Quoth Ibrahim), So I said to him, 'By Allah, thou hast shown me a kindness, O +my friend, and hast done away from me the pangs of sorrow. Let me hear more +trifles of thy fashion.' So he sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'When man keeps honour bright without a stain, * Pair sits<br/> + + whatever robe to robe he's fain!<br/> + +She jeered at me because so few we are; * Quoth I:—'There's ever<br/> + + dearth of noble men!'<br/> + +Naught irks us we are few, while neighbour tribes * Count many;<br/> + + neighbours oft are base-born strain:<br/> + +We are a clan which holds not Death reproach, * Which A'mir and<br/> + + Samъl[FN#151] hold illest bane:<br/> + +Leads us our love of death to fated end; * They hate that ending<br/> + + and delay would gain:<br/> + +We to our neighbours' speech aye give the lie, * But when we<br/> + + speak none dare give lie again.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +(Quoth Ibrahim), When I heard these lines, I was filled with huge delight and +marvelled with exceeding marvel. Then I slept and awoke not till past +night-fall, when I washed my face, with a mind full of the high worth of this +barber-surgeon and his passing courtesy; after which I wakened him and, taking +out a purse I had by me containing a number of gold pieces, threw it to him, +saying, 'I commend thee to Allah, for I am about to go forth from thee, and +pray thee to expend what is in this purse on thine requirements; and thou shalt +have an abounding reward of me, when I am quit of my fear.' (Quoth Ibrahim), +But he resumed the bag to me, saying, 'O my lord, paupers like myself are of no +value in thine eyes; but how, with due respect to my own generosity, can I take +a price for the boon which fortune hath vouchsafed me of thy favour and thy +visit to my poor abode? Nay, if thou repeat thy words and throw the purse to me +again I will slay myself.' So I put in my sleeve[FN#152] the purse whose weight +was irksome to me."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying +her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim son of Al-Mahdi +continued, "So I put in my sleeve the purse whose weight was irksome to me; and +turned to depart, but when I came to the house door he said, 'O my lord, of a +truth this is a safer hiding-place for thee than any other, and thy keep is no +burden to me; so do thou abide with me, till Allah be pleased grant thee +relief.' Accordingly, I turned back, saying, 'On condition that thou spend of +the money in this purse.' He made me think that he consented to this +arrangement, and I abode with him some days in the utmost comfort; but, +perceiving that he spent none of the contents of the purse, I revolted at the +idea of abiding at his charge and thought it shame to be a burthen on him; so I +left the house disguised in women's apparel, donning short yellow walking- +boots[FN#153] and veil. Now as soon as I found myself in the street, I was +seized with excessive fear, and going to pass the bridge behold, I came to a +place sprinkled with water,[FN#154] where a trooper, who been in my service, +looked at me and knowing me, cried out, saying, 'This is he whom Al-Maamun +wanteth.' Then he laid hold of me but the love of sweet life lent me strength +and I gave him and his horse a push which threw them down in that slippery +place, so that he became an example to those who will take example; and the +folk hastened to him. Meanwhile, I hurried my pace over the bridge and entered +a main street, where I saw the door of a house open and a woman standing upon +the threshold. So I said to her, 'O my lady, have pity on me and save my life; +for I am a man in fear.' Quoth she, 'Enter and welcome;' and carried me into an +upper dining-room, where she spread me a bed and brought me food, saying 'Calm +thy fear, for not a soul shall know of thee.' As she spoke lo! there came a +loud knocking at the door; so she went and opened, and suddenly, my friend, +whom I had thrown down on the bridge, appeared with his head bound up, the +blood running down upon his clothes and without his horse. She asked, 'O so and +so, what accident hath befallen thee?'; and he answered, 'I made prize of the +young man whom the Caliph seeketh and he escaped from me;' whereupon he told +her the whole story. So she brought out tinder[FN#155] and, putting it into a +piece of rag bandaged his head; after which she spread him a bed and he lay +sick. Then she came up to me and said, 'Methinks thou art the man in question?' +'Even so,' answered I, and she said, 'Fear not: no harm shall befall thee,' and +redoubled in kindness to me. So I tarried with her three days, at the end of +which time she said to me, 'I am in fear for thee, lest yonder man happen upon +thee and betray thee to what thou dreadest; so save thyself by flight.' I +besought her to let me stay till nightfall, and she said, 'There is no harm in +that.' So, when the night came, I put on my woman's gear and betook me to the +house of a freed-woman who had once been our slave. When she saw me she wept +and made a show of affliction and praised Almighty Allah for my safety. Then +she went forth, as if she would go to market intent on hospitable thoughts, and +I fancied all was right; but, ere long, suddenly I espied Ibrahim +al-Mosili[FN#156] for the house amongst his troopers and servants, and led by a +woman on foot; and looking narrowly at her behold, she was the freed-woman, the +mistress of the house, wherein I had taken refuge. So she delivered me into +their hands, and I saw death face to face. They carried me, in my woman's +attire, to Al-Maamun who called a general-council and had me brought before +him. When I entered I saluted him by the title of Caliph, saying, 'Peace be on +thee, O Commander of the Faithful!' and he replied, 'Allah give thee neither +peace nor long life.' I rejoined, 'According to thy good pleasure, O Commander +of the Faithful!; it is for the claimant of blood- revenge[FN#157] to decree +punishment or pardon; but mercy is nigher to piety; and Allah hath set thy +pardon above all other pardon, even as He made my sin to excel all other sin. +So, if thou punish, it is of thine equity, and if thou pardon, it is of thy +bounty.' And I repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'My sin to thee is great, * But greater thy degree:<br/> + +So take revenge, or else * Remit in clemency:<br/> + +An I in deeds have not* Been generous, generous be!<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +(Quoth Ibrahim), At this Al-Maamun raised his head to me and I hastened to add +these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'I've sinned enormous sin, * But pardon in thee lies:<br/> + +If pardon thou, 'tis grace; * Justice an thou chastise!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then Al-Maamun bowed his head and repeated, +</p> + +<p> +'I am (when friend would raise a rage that mote * Make spittle<br/> + + choke me, sticking in my throat)<br/> + +His pardoner, and pardon his offense, * Fearing lest I should<br/> + + live a friend without.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +(Quoth Ibrahim), Now when I heard these words I scented mercy, knowing his +disposition to clemency.[FN#158] Then he turned to his son Al Abbas and his +brother Abu Ishak and all his chief officers there present and said to them, +'What deem ye of his case?' They all counselled him to do me dead, but they +differed as to the manner of my death. Then said he to his Wazir Ahmad bin +al-Khбlid, 'And what sayest thou, O Ahmad?' He answered, 'O Commander of the +Faithful, an thou slay him, we find the like of thee who hath slain the like of +him; but an thou pardon him, we find not the like of thee that hath pardoned +the like of him.'"— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say +her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Al Maamun, Prince of +the Faithful, heard the words of Ahmad bin al-Khбlid, he bowed his head and +began repeating, +</p> + +<p> +"My tribe have slain that brother mine, Umaym, * Yet would shoot<br/> + + back what shafts at them I aim:<br/> + +If I deal-pardon, noble pardon 'tis; * And if I shoot, my bones<br/> + + 'twill only maim."[FN#159]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And he also recited, +</p> + +<p> +"Be mild to brother mingling * What is wrong with what is right: +</p> + +<p> +Kindness to him continue * Whether good or graceless wight:<br/> + +Abstain from all reproaching, * An he joy or vex thy sprite:<br/> + +Seest not that what thou lovest * And what hatest go unite?<br/> + +That joys of longer life-tide * Ever fade with hair turned<br/> + + white?<br/> + +That thorns on branches growing * For the plucks fruit catch thy<br/> + + sight?<br/> + +Who never hath done evil,* Doing good for sole delight?<br/> + +When tried the sons of worldli-* ness they mostly work upright."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth Ibrahim, "Now when I heard these couplets, I withdrew my woman's veil +from my head and cried out, with my loudest voice, 'Allah is Most Great! By +Allah, the Commander of the Faithful pardoneth me!' Quoth he, 'No harm shall +come to thee, O uncle;' and I rejoined, 'O Commander of the Faithful, my sin is +too sore for me to excuse it and thy mercy is too much for me to speak thanks +for it.' And I chanted these couplets to a lively motive, +</p> + +<p> +'Who made all graces all collected He * In Adam's loins, our<br/> + + Seventh Imam, for thee,[FN#160]<br/> + +Thou hast the hearts of men with reverence filled, * Enguarding<br/> + + all with heart-humility<br/> + +Rebelled I never by delusion whelmed * For object other than thy<br/> + + clemency ;[FN#161]<br/> + +And thou hast pardoned me whose like was ne'er * Pardoned before,<br/> + + though no man pled my plea:<br/> + +Hast pitied little ones like Katб's[FN#162] young, * And mother's<br/> + + yearning heart a son to see.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth Maamun, 'I say, following our lord Joseph (on whom and on our Prophet be +blessing and peace!) let there be no reproach cast on you this day. Allah +forgiveth you; for He is the most merciful of those who show mercy.[FN#163] +Indeed I pardon thee, and restore to thee thy goods and lands, O uncle, and no +harm shall befall thee.' So I offered up devout prayers for him and repeated +these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Thou hast restored my wealth sans greed, and ere * So didst,<br/> + + thou deignиdest my blood to spare:<br/> + +Then if I shed my blood and wealth, to gain * Thy grace, till<br/> + + even shoon from foot I tear,<br/> + +Twere but repaying what thou lentest me, * And what unloaned no<br/> + + man to blame would care:<br/> + +Were I ungrateful for thy lavish boons, * Baser than thou'rt<br/> + + beneficent I were!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then Al-Maamun showed me honour and favour and said to me, 'O uncle, Abu Ishak +and Al-Abbas counselled me to put thee to death.' So I answered, 'And they both +counselled thee right, O Commander of the Faithful, but thou hast done after +thine own nature and hast put away what I feared with what I hoped.' Rejoined +Al Maamun, 'O uncle, thou didst extinguish my rancour with the modesty of thine +excuse, and I have pardoned thee without making thee drink the bitterness of +obligation to intercessors.' Then he prostrated himself in prayer a long while, +after which he raised his head and said to me, 'O uncle, knowest thou why I +prostrated myself?' Answered I, 'Haply thou didst this in thanksgiving to +Allah, for that He hath given thee the mastery over thine enemy.' He replied, +'Such was not my design, but rather to thank Allah for having inspired me to +pardon thee and for having cleared my mind towards thee. Now tell me thy tale.' +So I told him all that had befallen me with the barber, the trooper and his +wife and with my freed-woman who had betrayed me. So he summoned the +freed-woman, who was in her house, expecting the reward to be sent to her, and +when she came before him he said to her, 'What moved thee to deal thus with thy +lord?' Quoth she, 'Lust of money.' Asked the Caliph 'Hast thou a child or a +husband?'; and she answered 'No;' whereupon he bade them give her an hundred +stripes with a whip and imprisoned her for life. Then he sent for the trooper +and his wife and the barber-surgeon and asked the soldier what had moved him to +do thus. 'Lust of money,' quoth he; whereupon quoth the Caliph, 'It befitteth +thee to be a barber-cupper,'[FN#164] and committed him to one whom he charged +to place him in a barber-cupper's shop, where he might learn the craft. But he +showed honour to the trooper's wife and lodged her in his palace, saying, 'This +is a woman of sound sense and fit for matters of moment.' Then said he to the +barber-cupper, 'Verily, thou hast shown worth and generosity which call for +extraordinary honour.' So he commanded the trooper's house and all that was +therein to be given him and bestowed on him a dress of honour and in addition +fifteen thousand dinars to be paid annually. And men tell the following tale +concerning +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap11"></a>THE CITY OF MANY COLUMNED IRAM AND ABDULLAH SON OF ABI KILABAH.[FN#165]</h3> + +<p> +It is related that Abdullah bin Abi Kilбbah went forth in quest of a she-camel +which had strayed from him; and, as he was wandering in the deserts of Al-Yaman +and the district of Sabб,[FN#166] behold, he came upon a great city girt by a +vast castle around which were palaces and pavilions that rose high into middle +air. He made for the place thinking to find there folk of whom he might ask +concerning his she-camel; but, when he reached it, he found it desolate, +without a living soul in it. So (quoth he) "I alighted and, hobbling my +dromedary,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah bin Abi Kilabah +continued, "I dismounted and hobbling my dromedary, and composing my mind, +entered into the city. Now when I came to the castle, I found it had two vast +gates (never in the world was seen their like for size height) inlaid with all +manner of jewels and jacinths, white and red, yellow and green. Beholding this +I marvelled with great marvel and thought the case mighty wondrous; then +entering the citadel in a flutter of fear and dazed with surprise and affright, +I found it long and wide, about equalling Al-Medinah[FN#167] in point of size; +and therein were lofty palaces laid out in pavilions all built of gold and +silver and inlaid with many-coloured jewels and jacinths and chrysolites and +pearls. And the door-leaves in the pavilions were like those of the castle for +beauty; and their floors were strewn with great pearls and balls, no smaller +than hazel nuts, of musk and ambergris and saffron. Now when I came within the +heart of the city and saw therein no created beings of the Sons of Adam I was +near swooning and dying for fear. Moreover, I looked down from the great roofs +of the pavilion-chambers and their balconies and saw rivers running under them; +and in the main streets were fruit-laden trees and tall palms; and the manner +of their building was one brick of gold and one of silver. So I said in myself, +'Doubtless this is the Paradise promised for the world to come.' Then I loaded +me with the jewels of its gravel and the musk of its dust as much as I could +carry and returned to my own country, where I told the folk what I had seen. +After a time the news reached Mu'бwiyah, son of Abu Sufyбn, who was then Caliph +in Al-Hijaz; so he wrote to his lieutenant in San'б of Al-Yaman to send for the +teller of the story and question him of the truth of the case. Accordingly the +lieutenant summoned me and questioned me of my adventure and of all +appertaining to it; and I told him what I had seen, whereupon he despatched me +to Mu'awiyah, before whom I repeated the story of the strange sights; but he +would not credit it. So I brought out to him some of the pearls and balls of +musk and ambergris and saffron, in which latter there was still some sweet +savour; but the pearls were grown yellow and had lost pearly colour."—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah son of Abu +Kilabah continued, "But the pearls were grown yellow and had lost pearly +colour. Now Mu'awiyah wondered at this and, sending for Ka'ab al-Ahbar[FN#168] +said to him, 'O Ka'ab, I have sent for thee to ascertain the truth of a certain +matter and hope that thou wilt be able to certify me thereof.' Asked Ka'ab, +'What is it, O Commander of the Faithful?'; and Mu'awiyah answered, 'Wottest +thou of any city founded by man which is builded of gold and silver, the +pillars whereof are of chrysolite and rubies and its gravel pearls and balls of +musk and ambergris and saffron?' He replied, 'Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, +this is 'Iram with pillars decked and dight, the like of which was never made +in the lands,'[FN#169] and the builder was Shaddad son of Ad the Greater.' +Quoth the Caliph, 'Tell us something of its history,' and Ka'ab said, 'Ad the +Greater[FN#170] had two sons, Shadнd and Shaddбd who, when their father died, +ruled conjointly in his stead, and there was no King of the Kings of the earth +but was subject to them. After awhile Shadid died and his brother Shaddad +reigned over the earth alone. Now he was fond of reading in antique books; and, +happening upon the description of the world to come and of Paradise, with its +pavilions and galleries and trees and fruits and so forth, his soul moved him +to build the like thereof in this world, after the fashion aforesaid. Now under +his hand were an hundred thousand Kings, each ruling over an hundred thousand +chiefs, commanding each an hundred thousand warriors; so he called these all +before him and said to them, 'I find in ancient books and annals a description +of Paradise, as it is to be in the next world, and I desire to build me its +like in this world. Go ye forth therefore to the goodliest tract on earth and +the most spacious and build me there a city of gold and silver, whose gravel +shall be chrysolite and rubies and pearls; and for support of its vaults make +pillars of jasper. Fill it with palaces, whereon ye shall set galleries and +balconies and plant its lanes and thoroughfares with all manner trees bearing +yellow-ripe fruits and make rivers to run through it in channels of gold and +silver.' Whereat said one and all, 'How are we able to do this thing thou hast +commanded, and whence shall we get the chrysolites and rubies and pearls +whereof thou speakest?' Quoth he, 'What! weet ye not that the Kings of the +world are subject to me and under my hand and that none therein dare gainsay my +word?' Answered they, 'Yes, we know that.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of +day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lieges answered, +"Yes, we know that;" whereupon the King rejoined, "Fare ye then to the mines of +chrysolites and rubies and pearls and gold and silver and collect their produce +and gather together all of value that is in the world and spare no pains and +leave naught; and take also for me such of these things as be in men's hands +and let nothing escape you: be diligent and beware of disobedience." And +thereupon he wrote letters to all the Kings of the world and bade them gather +together whatso of these things was in their subjects' hands, and get them to +the mines of precious stones and metals, and bring forth all that was therein, +even from the abysses of the seas. This they accomplished in the space of 20 +years, for the number of rulers then reigning over the earth was three hundred +and sixty Kings, and Shaddad presently assembled from all lands and countries +architects and engineers and men of art and labourers and handicraftsmen, who +dispersed over the world and explored all the wastes and words and tracts and +holds. At last they came to an uninhabited spot, a vast and fair open plain +clear of sand-hills and mountains, with founts flushing and rivers rushing, and +they said, "This is the manner of place the King commanded us to seek and +ordered us to find." So they busied themselves in building the city even as +bade them Shaddad, King of the whole earth in its length and breadth; leading +the fountains in channels and laying the foundations after the prescribed +fashion. Moreover, all the Kings of earth's several-reigns sent thither jewels +and precious stones and pearls large and small and carnelian and refined gold +and virgin silver upon camels by land, and in great ships over the waters, and +there came to the builders' hands of all these materials so great a quantity as +may neither be told nor counted nor conceived. So they laboured at the work +three hundred years; and, when they had brought it to end, they went to King +Shaddad and acquainted him therewith. Then said he, "Depart and make thereon an +impregnable castle, rising and towering high in air, and build around it a +thousand pavilions, each upon a thousand columns of chrysolite and ruby and +vaulted with gold, that in each pavilion a Wazir may dwell." So they returned +forthwith and did this in other twenty years; after which they again presented +themselves before King Shaddad and informed him of the accomplishment of his +will. Then he commanded his Wazirs, who were a thousand in number, and his +Chief Officers and such of his troops and others as he put trust in, to prepare +for departure and removal to Many-columned Iram, in the suite and at the +stirrup of Shaddad, son of Ad, King of the World; and he bade also such as he +would of his women and his Harim and of his handmaids and eunuchs make them +ready for the journey. They spent twenty years in preparing for departure, at +the end of which time Shaddad set out with his host.—And Shahrazad perceived +the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shaddad bin Ad fared +forth, he and his host, rejoicing in the attainment of his desire till there +remained but one day's journey between him and Iram of the Pillars. Then Allah +sent down on him and on the stubborn unbelievers with him a mighty rushing +sound from the Heavens of His power, which destroyed them all with its vehement +clamour, and neither Shaddad nor any of his company set eyes on the +city.[FN#171] Moreover, Allah blotted out the road which led to the city, and +it stands in its stead unchanged until the Resurrection Day and the Hour of +Judgement." So Mu'awiyah wondered greatly at Ka'ab al-Ahbar's story and said to +him, "Hath any mortal ever made his way to that city?" He replied, "Yes; one of +the companions of Mohammed (on whom be blessing and peace!) reached it, +doubtless and forsure after the same fashion as this man here seated." "And +(quoth Al-Sha'abi[FN#172]) it is related, on the authority of learned men of +Himyar in Al-Yaman that Shaddad, when destroyed with all his host by the sound, +was succeeded in his Kingship by his son Shaddad the Less, whom he left +vice-regent in Hazramaut[FN#173] and Saba, when he and his marched upon +Many-columned Iram. Now as soon as he heard of his father's death on the road, +he caused his body to be brought back from the desert to Hazramaut and bade +them hew him out a tomb in a cave, where he laid the body on a throne of gold +and threw over the corpse threescore and ten robes of cloth of gold, purfled +with precious stones. Lastly at his sire's head he set up a tablet of gold +whereon were graven these verses, +</p> + +<p> + 'Take warning O proud, * And in length o' life vain!<br/> + + I'm Shaddбd son of Ad, * Of the forts castellain;<br/> + + Lord of pillars and power,* Lord of tried might and main,<br/> + + Whom all earth-sons obeyed* For my mischief and bane<br/> + + And who held East and West* In mine awfullest reign.<br/> + + He preached me salvation * Whom God did assain,[FN#174]<br/> + + But we crossed him and asked * 'Can no refuge be ta'en?'<br/> + + When a Cry on us cried * From th' horizon plain,<br/> + + And we fell on the field * Like the harvested grain,<br/> + + And the Fixt Day await * We, in earth's bosom lain!'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Al-Sa'alibi also relateth, "It chanced that two men once entered this cave and +found steps at its upper end; so they descended and came to an underground +chamber, an hundred cubits long by forty wide and an hundred high. In the midst +stood a throne of gold, whereon lay a man of huge bulk, filling the whole +length and breadth of the throne. He was covered with jewels and raiment +gold-and-silver wrought, and at his head was a tablet of gold bearing an +inscription. So they took the tablet and carried it off, together with as many +bars of gold and silver and so forth as they could bear away." And men also +relate the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap12"></a>ISAAC OF MOSUL.</h3> + +<p> +Quoth Isaac of Mosul,[FN#175] "I went out one night from Al Maamun's presence, +on my way to my house; and, being taken with a pressing need to make water, I +turned aside into a by-street and stood in the middle fearing lest something +might hurt me, if I squatted against a wall.[FN#176] Presently, I espied +something hanging down from one of the houses; so I felt it to find out what it +might be and found that it was a great four-handled basket,[FN#177] covered +with brocade. Said I to myself, 'There must be some reason for this,' and knew +not what to think; then drunkenness led me to seat myself in the basket, and +behold, the people of the house pulled me up, thinking me to be the person they +expected. Now when I came to the top of the wall; lo! four damsels were there, +who said to me, 'Descend and welcome and joy to thee!' Then one of them went +before me with a wax candle and brought me down into a mansion, wherein were +furnished sitting- chambers, whose like I had never seen save in the palace of +the Caliphate. So I sat down and, after a while, the curtains were suddenly +drawn from one side of the room and, behold, in came damsels walking in +procession and hending hand lighted flambeaux of wax and censers full of +Sumatran aloes-wood, and amongst them a young lady as she were the rising full +moon. So I stood up to her and she said, 'Welcome to thee for a visitor!' and +then she made me sit down again and asked me how I came thither. Quoth I, 'I +was returning home from the house of an intimate friend and went astray in the +dark; then, being taken in the street with an urgent call to make water, I +turned aside into this lane, where I found a basket let down. The strong wine +which I had drunk led me to seat myself in it and it was drawn up with me into +this house, and this is my story.' She rejoined, 'No harm shall befall thee, +and I hope thou wilt have cause to praise the issue of thine adventure.' Then +she added, 'But what is thy condition?' I said, 'A merchant in the Baghdad +bazar' and she, 'Canst thou repeat any verses?' 'Some small matter,' quoth I. +Quoth she 'Then call a few to mind and let us hear some of them.' But I said, +'A visitor is bashful and timid; do thou begin.' 'True,' replied she and +recited some verses of the poets, past and present, choosing their choicest +pieces; and I listened not knowing whether more to marvel at her beauty and +loveliness or at the charm of her style of declamation. Then said she, 'Is that +bashfulness of thine gone?' and I said, 'Yes, by Allah!' so she rejoined, +'Then, if thou wilt, recite us somewhat.' So I repeated to her a number of +poems by old writers, and she applauded, saying, 'By Allah, I did not think to +find such culture among the trade folk, the sons of the bazar!' Then she called +for food" Whereupon quoth Shahrazad's sister Dunyazad, "How pleasant is this +tale and enjoyable and sweet to the ear and sound to the sense!" But she +answered, "And what is this story compared with that which thou shalt hear on +the morrow's night, if I be alive and the King deign spare me!" Then Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eightieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul continued, +"Then the damsel called for food and, when it was served to her, she fell to +eating it and setting it before me; and the sitting room was full of all manner +sweet-scented flowers and rare fruits, such as are never found save in Kings' +houses. Presently, she called for wine and drank a cup, after which she filled +another and gave it to me, saying, 'Now is the time for converse and +story-telling.' So I bethought myself and began to say, 'It hath reached me +that such and such things happened and there was a man who said so and so,' +till I had told her a number of pleasing tales and adventures with which she +was delighted and cried, ''Tis marvellous that a merchant should bear in memory +such store of stories like these, for they are fit for Kings.' Quoth I, 'I had +a neighbour who used to consort with Kings and carouse with them; so, when he +was at leisure, I visited his house and he hath often told me what thou hast +heard.' Thereupon she exclaimed 'By my life, but thou hast a good memory!' So +we continued to converse thus, and as often as I was silent, she would begin, +till in this way we passed the most part of the night, whilst the burning +aloes-wood diffused its fragrance and I was in such case that if Al-Maamun had +suspected it, he would have flown like a bird with longing for it. Then said +she to me, 'Verily, thou art one of the most pleasant of men, polished, passing +well-bred and polite; but there lacketh one thing.' 'What is that?' asked I, +and she answered, If thou only knew how to sing verses to the lute!' I +answered, 'I was passionately fond of this art aforetime, but finding I had no +taste for it, I abandoned it, though at times my heart yearneth after it. +Indeed, I should love to sing somewhat well at this moment and fulfil my +night's enjoyment.' Then said she, 'Meseemeth thou hintest a wish for the lute +to be brought?' and I, 'It is thine to decide, if thou wilt so far favour me, +and to thee be the thanks.' So she called for a lute and sang a song in a voice +whose like I never heard, both for sweetness of tone and skill in playing, and +perfection of art. Then said she, Knowest thou who composed this air and whose +are the words of this song?'"No," answered I; and she said, The words are so +and so's and the air is Isaac's.' I asked 'And hath Isaac then (may I be thy +sacrifice!) such a talent?' She replied, 'Bravo![FN#178] Bravo, Isaac! indeed, +he excelleth in this art.' I rejoined, 'Glory be to Allah who hath given this +man what he hath vouchsafed unto none other!' Then she said 'And how would it +be, an thou heard this song from himself?' This wise we went on till break of +day dawn, when there came to her an old woman, as she were her nurse, and said +to her, 'Verily, the time is come.' So she rose in haste and said to me, 'Keep +what hath passed between us to thyself; for such meetings are in +confidence;'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-first Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel whispered, +"'Keep what hath passed between us to thyself, for such meetings are in +confidence;' and I replied, 'May I be thy ransom! I needed no charge to this.' +Then I took leave of her and she sent a handmaid to show me the way and open +the house door; so I went forth and returned to my own place, where I prayed +the morning prayer and slept. Now after a time there came to me a messenger +from Al-Maamun, so I went to him and passed the day in his company. And when +the night fell I called to mind my yesternight's pleasure, a thing from which +none but an ignoramus would abstain, and betook myself to the street, where I +found the basket, and seating myself therein, was drawn up to the place in +which I had passed the previous night. When the lady saw me, she said, 'Indeed, +thou hast been assiduous;' and I answered, 'Meseemeth rather that I am +neglectful.' Then we fell to discoursing and passed the night as before in +general-conversation and reciting verses and telling rare tales, each in turn, +till daybreak, when I wended me home; and I prayed the dawn prayer and slept. +Presently there came to me a messenger from Al-Maamun; so I went to him and +spent my day with him till nightfall, when the Commander of the Faithful said +to me, 'I conjure thee to sit here, whilst I go out for a want and come back.' +As soon as the Caliph was gone, and quite gone, my thoughts began to tempt and +try me and, calling to mind my late delight, I recked little what might befal +me from the Prince of True Believers. So I sprang up and turning my back upon +the sitting-room, ran to the street aforesaid, where I sat down in the basket +and was drawn up as before. When the lady saw me, she said, 'I begin to think +thou art a sincere friend to us.' Quoth I, 'Yea, by Allah!' and quoth she, +'Hast thou made our house thine abiding-place?' I replied, 'May I be thy +ransom! A guest claimeth guest right for three days and if I return after this, +ye are free to spill my blood.' Then we passed the night as before; and when +the time of departure drew near, I bethought me that Al Maamun would assuredly +question me nor would ever be content save with a full explanation: so I said +to her, 'I see thee to be of those who delight in singing. Now I have a cousin, +the son of my father's brother, who is fairer than I in face and higher of rank +and better of breeding; and he is the most intimate of Allah's creatures with +Isaac.' Quoth she, 'Art thou a parasite[FN#179] and an importunate one?' Quoth +I, 'It is for thee to decide in this matter;' and she, 'If thy cousin be as +thou hast described him, it would not mislike us to make acquaintance with +him.' Then, as the time was come, I left her and returned to my house, but +hardly had I reached it, ere the Caliph's runners came down on me and carried +me before him by main force and roughly enough."—And Shahrazad perceived the +dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Isaac of Mosul continued, +"And hardly had I reached my house ere the Caliph's runners came down upon me +and carried me before him by main force and roughly enough. I found him seated +on a chair, wroth with me, and he said to me, 'O Isaac, art thou a traitor to +thine allegiance?' replied I, 'No, by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful!' and +he rejoined, 'What hast thou then to say? tell me the whole truth;' and I, +'Yes, I will, but in private.' So he signed to his attendants, who withdrew to +a distance, and I told him the case, adding, 'I promised her to bring thee,' +and he said, 'Thou didst well.' Then we spent the day in our usual-pleasures, +but Al-Maamun's heart was taken up with her, and hardly was the appointed time +come, when we set out. As we went along, I cautioned him, saying, 'Look that +thou call me not by my name before her; and I will demean myself like thine +attendant.' And having agreed upon this, we fared forth till we came to the +place, where we found two baskets hanging ready. So we sat down in them and +were drawn up to the usual-place, where the damsel came forward and saluted us. +Now when Al Maamun saw her, he was amazed at her beauty and loveliness; and she +began to entertain him with stories and verses. Presently, she called for wine +and we fell to drinking she paying him special attention and he repaying her in +kind. Then she took the lute and sang these verses, +</p> + +<p> +'My lover came in at the close of night, * I rose till he sat and<br/> + + remained upright;<br/> + +And said 'Sweet heart, hast thou come this hour? * Nor feared on<br/> + + the watch and ward to 'light:'<br/> + +Quoth he 'The lover had cause to fear, * But Love deprived him of<br/> + + wits and fright.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when she ended her song she said to me, 'And is thy cousin also a +merchant?' I answered, 'Yes,' and she said, 'Indeed, ye resemble each other +nearly.' But when Al-Maamun had drunk three pints,[FN#180] he grew merry with +wine and called out, saying, 'Ho, Isaac!' And I replied, 'Labbayk, Adsum, O +Commander of the Faithful,' whereupon quoth he, 'Sing me this air.' Now when +the young lady learned that he was the Caliph, she withdrew to another place +and disappeared; and, as I had made an end of my song, Al-Maamun said to me, +'See who is the master of this house', whereupon an old woman hastened to make +answer, saying, 'It belongs to Hasan bin Sahl.'[FN#181] 'Fetch him to me,' said +the Caliph. So she went away and after a while behold, in came Hasan, to whom +said Al-Maamun 'Hast thou a daughter?' He said, 'Yes, and her name is +Khadijah.' Asked the Caliph, 'Is she married?' Answered Hasan, 'No, by Allah!' +Said Al-Maamun, Then I ask her of thee in marriage.' Replied her father, 'O +Commander of the Faithful, she is thy handmaid and at thy commandment.' Quoth +Al-Maamun, 'I take her to wife at a present settlement of thirty thousand +dinars, which thou shalt receive this very morning, and, when the money has +been paid thee, do thou bring her to us this night.' And Hasan answered, 'I +hear and I obey.' Thereupon we went forth and the Caliph said to me, 'O Isaac, +tell this story to no one.' So I kept it secret till Al-Maamun's death. Surely +never did man's life gather such pleasures as were mine these four days' time, +whenas I companied with Al-Maamun by day and Khadijah by night; and, by Allah, +never saw I among men the like of Al-Maamun nor among women have I ever set +eyes on the like of Khadijah; no, nor on any that came near her in lively wit +and pleasant speech! And Allah is All knowing. But amongst stories is that of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap13"></a>THE SWEEP AND THE NOBLE LADY.</h3> + +<p> +During the season of the Meccan pilgrimage, whilst the people were making +circuit about the Holy House and the place of compassing was crowded, behold, a +man laid hold of the covering of the Ka'abah[FN#182] and cried out, from the +bottom of his heart, saying, 'I beseech thee, O Allah, that she may once again +be wroth with her husband and that I may know her!' A company of the pilgrims +heard him and seized him and carried him to the Emir of the pilgrims, after a +sufficiency of blows; and, said they, 'O Emir, we found this fellow in the Holy +Places, saying thus and thus.' So the Emir commanded to hang him; but he cried, +'O Emir, I conjure thee, by the virtue of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and +preserve!), hear my story and then do with me as thou wilt.' Quoth the Emir, +'Tell thy tale forthright.' 'Know then, O Emir,' quoth the man, 'that I am a +sweep who works in the sheep- slaughterhouses and carries off the blood and the +offal to the rubbish-heaps outside the gates. And it came to pass as I went +along one day with my ass loaded, I saw the people running away and one of them +said to me, 'Enter this alley, lest haply they slay thee.' Quoth I, 'What +aileth the folk running away?' and one of the eunuchs, who were passing, said +to me, 'This is the Harim[FN#183] of one of the notables and her eunuchs drive +the people out of her way and beat them all, without respect to persons.' So I +turned aside with the donkey'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the man, "So I +turned aside with the donkey and stood still awaiting the dispersal of the +crowd; and I saw a number of eunuchs with staves in their hands, followed by +nigh thirty women slaves, and amongst them a lady as she were a willow-wand or +a thirsty gazelle, perfect in beauty and grace and amorous languor, and all +were attending upon her. Now when she came to the mouth of the passage where I +stood, she turned right and left and, calling one of the Castratos, whispered +in his ear; and behold, he came up to me and laid hold of me, whilst another +eunuch took my ass and made off with it. And when the spectators fled, the +first eunuch bound me with a rope and dragged me after him till I knew not what +to do; and the people followed us and cried out, saying, 'This is not allowed +of Allah! What hath this poor scavenger done that he should be bound with +ropes?' and praying the eunuchs, 'Have pity on him and let him go, so Allah +have pity on you!' And I the while said in my mind, 'Doubtless the eunuchry +seized me, because their mistress smelt the stink of the offal and it sickened +her. Belike she is with child or ailing; but there is no Majesty and there is +no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!' So I continued walking on +behind them, till they stopped at the door of a great house; and, entering +before me, brought me into a big hall—I know not how I shall describe its +magnificence—furnished with the finest furniture. And the women also entered +the hall; and I bound and held by the eunuch and saying to myself, 'Doubtless +they will torture me here till I die and none know of my death.' However, after +a while, they carried me into a neat bath-room leading out of the hall; and as +I sat there, behold, in came three slave-girls who seated themselves round me +and said to me, 'Strip off thy rags and tatters.' So I pulled off my threadbare +clothes and one of them fell a-rubbing my legs and feet whilst another scrubbed +my head and a third shampooed my body. When they had made an end of washing me, +they brought me a parcel of clothes and said to me, 'Put these on'; and I +answered, 'By Allah, I know not how!' So they came up to me and dressed me, +laughing together at me the while; after which they brought casting-bottles +full of rose-water, and sprinkled me therewith. Then I went out with them into +another saloon; by Allah, I know not how to praise its splendour for the wealth +of paintings and furniture therein; and entering it, I saw a person seated on a +couch of Indian rattan"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to +say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the sweep continued, +"When I entered that saloon I saw a person seated on a couch of Indian rattan, +with ivory feet and before her a number of damsels. When she saw me she rose to +me and called me; so I went up to her and she seated me by her side. Then she +bade her slave-girls bring food, and they brought all manner of rich meats, +such as I never saw in all my life; I do not even know the names of the dishes, +much less their nature. So I ate my fill and when the dishes had been taken +away and we had washed our hands, she called for fruits which came without stay +or delay and ordered me eat of them; and when we had ended eating she bade one +of the waiting-women bring the wine furniture. So they set on flagons of divers +kinds of wine and burned perfumes in all the censers, what while a damsel like +the moon rose and served us with wine to the sound of the smitten strings; and +I drank, and the lady drank, till we were seized with wine and the whole time I +doubted not but that all this was an illusion of sleep. Presently, she signed +to one of the damsels to spread us a bed in such a place, which being done, she +rose and took me by the hand and led me thither, and lay down and I lay with +her till the morning, and as often as I pressed her to my breast I smelt the +delicious fragrance of musk and other perfumes that exhaled from her and could +not think otherwise but that I was in Paradise or in the vain phantasies of a +dream. Now when it was day, she asked me where I lodged and I told her, 'In +such a place;' whereupon she gave me leave to depart, handing to me a kerchief +worked with gold and silver and containing somewhat tied in it, and took leave +of me, saying, 'Go to the bath with this.' I rejoiced and said to myself, 'If +there be but five coppers here, it will buy me this day my morning meal.' Then +I left her, as though I were leaving Paradise, and returned to my poor crib +where I opened the kerchief and found in it fifty miskals of gold. So I buried +them in the ground and, buying two farthings' worth of bread and +'kitchen,'[FN#184] seated me at the door and broke my fast; after which I sat +pondering my case and continued so doing till the time of afternoon, prayer, +when lo! a slave-girl accosted me saying, 'My mistress calleth for thee.' I +followed her to the house aforesaid and, after asking permission, she carried +me into the lady, before whom I kissed the ground, and she commanded me to sit +and called for meat and wine as on the previous day; after which I again lay +with her all night. On the morrow, she gave me a second kerchief, with other +fifty dinars therein, and I took it and going home, buried this also. In such +pleasant condition I continued eight days running, going in to her at the hour +of afternoon prayer and leaving her at daybreak; but, on the eighth night, as I +lay with her, behold, one of her slave-girls came running in and said to me, +'Arise, go up into yonder closet.' So I rose and went into the closet, which +was over the gate, and presently I heard a great clamour and tramp of horse; +and, looking out of the window which gave on the street in front of the house, +I saw a young man as he were the rising moon on the night of fulness come +riding up attended by a number of servants and soldiers who were about him on +foot. He alighted at the door and entering the saloon found the lady seated on +the couch; so he kissed the ground between her hands then came up to her and +kissed her hands; but she would not speak to him. However, he continued +patiently to humble himself, and soothe her and speak her fair, till he made +his peace with her, and they lay together that night."—And Shahrazed perceived +the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the scavenger continued, +"Now when her husband had made his peace with the young lady, he lay with her +that night; and next morning, the soldiers came for him and he mounted and rode +away; whereupon she drew near to me and said, 'Sawst thou yonder man?' I +answered, 'Yes;' and she said, 'He is my husband, and I will tell thee what +befell me with him. It came to pass one day that we were sitting, he and I, in +the garden within the house, and behold, he rose from my side and was absent a +long while, till I grew tired of waiting and said to myself: Most like, he is +in the privy. So I arose and went to the water-closet, but not finding him +there, went down to the kitchen, where I saw a slave-girl; and when I enquired +for him, she showed him to me lying with one of the cookmaids. Hereupon, I +swore a great oath that I assuredly would do adultery with the foulest and +filthiest man in Baghdad; and the day the eunuch laid hands on thee, I had been +four days going round about the city in quest of one who should answer to this +description, but found none fouler nor filthier than thy good self. So I took +thee and there passed between us that which Allah fore ordained to us; and now +I am quit of my oath.' Then she added, 'If, however, my husband return yet +again to the cookmaid and lie with her, I will restore thee to thy lost place +in my favours.' Now when I heard these words from her lips, what while she +pierced my heart with the shafts of her glances, my tears streamed forth, till +my eyelids were chafed sore with weeping, and I repeated the saying of the +poet, +</p> + +<p> +'Grant me the kiss of that left hand ten times; * And learn it<br/> + +hath than right hand higher grade;[FN#185]<br/> + +For 'tis but little since that same left hand * Washed off Sir<br/> + +Reverence when ablution made.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then she made them give me other fifty dinars (making in all four hundred gold +pieces I had of her) and bade me depart. So I went out from her and came +hither, that I might pray Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) to make her +husband return to the cookmaid, that haply I might be again admitted to her +favours.' When the Emir of the pilgrims heard the man's story, he set him free +and said to the bystanders, 'Allah upon you, pray for him, for indeed he is +excusable.'" And men also tell the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap14"></a>THE MOCK CALIPH.</h3> + +<p> +It is related that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was one night restless with +extreme restlessness, so he summoned his Wazir Ja'afar the Barmecide, and said +to him, "My breast is straitened and I have a desire to divert myself to-night +by walking about the streets of Baghdad and looking into folks' affairs; but +with this precaution that we disguise ourselves in merchants' gear, so none +shall know us." He answered, "Hearkening and obedience." They rose at once and +doffing the rich raiment they wore, donned merchants' habits and sallied forth +three in number, the Caliph, Ja'afar and Masrur the sworder. Then they walked +from place to place, till they came to the Tigris and saw an old man sitting in +a boat; so they went up to him and saluting him, said, "O Shaykh, we desire +thee of thy kindness and favour to carry us a- pleasuring down the river, in +this thy boat, and take this dinar to thy hire."—And Shahrazad perceived the +dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when they said to the old +man, "We desire thee to carry us a-pleasuring in this thy boat and take this +dinar;" he answered, "Who may go a- pleasuring on the Tigris? The Caliph Harun +al-Rashid every night cometh down Tigris stream in his state-barge[FN#186] and +with him one crying aloud: 'Ho, ye people all, great and small, gentle and +simple, men and boys, whoso is found in a boat on the Tigris by night, I will +strike off his head or hang him to the mast of his craft!' And ye had well nigh +met him; for here cometh his carrack." But the Caliph and Ja'afar said, "O +Shaykh, take these two dinars, and run us under one of yonder arches, that we +may hide there till the Caliph's barge have passed." The old man replied, "Hand +over your gold and rely we on Allah, the Almighty!" So he took the two dinars +and embarked them in the boat; and he put off and rowed about with them awhile, +when behold, the barge came down the river in mid-stream, with lighted +flambeaux and cressets flaming therein. Quoth the old man, "Did not I tell you +that the Caliph passed along the river every night?"; and ceased not muttering, +"O Protector, remove not the veils of Thy protection!" Then he ran the boat +under an arch and threw a piece of black cloth over the Caliph and his +companions, who looked out from under the covering and saw, in the bows of the +barge, a man holding in hand a cresset of red gold which he fed with Sumatran +lign-aloes and the figure was clad in a robe of red satin, with a narrow +turband of Mosul shape round on his head, and over one of his shoulders hung a +sleeved cloak[FN#187] of cramoisy satin, and on the other was a green silk bag +full of the aloes-wood, with which he fed the cresset by way of firewood. And +they sighted in the stern another man, clad like the first and bearing a like +cresset, and in the barge were two hundred white slaves, standing ranged to the +right and left; and in the middle a throne of red gold, whereon sat a handsome +young man, like the moon, clad in a dress of black, embroidered with yellow +gold. Before him they beheld a man, as he were the Wazir Ja'afar, and at his +head stood an eunuch, as he were Masrur, with a drawn sword in his hand; +besides a score of cup-companions. Now when the Caliph saw this, he turned and +said, "O Ja'afar," and the Minister replied, "At thy service, O Prince of True +Believers." Then quoth the Caliph, "Belike this is one of my sons, Al Amin or +Al-Maamun." Then he examined the young man who sat on the throne and finding +him perfect in beauty and loveliness and stature and symmetric grace, said to +Ja'afar, "Verily, this young man abateth nor jot nor tittle of the state of the +Caliphate! See, there standeth before him one as he were thyself, O Ja'afar; +yonder eunuch who standeth at his head is as he were Masrur and those courtiers +as they were my own. By Allah, O Ja'afar, my reason is confounded and I am +filled with amazement this matter!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Caliph saw this +spectacle his reason was confounded and he cried, "By Allah, I am filled with +amazement at this matter!" and Ja'afar replied, "And I also, by Allah, O +Commander of the Faithful." Then the barge passed on and disappeared from sight +whereupon the boatman pushed out again into the stream, saying, "Praised be +Allah for safety, since none hath fallen in with us!" Quoth the Caliph, "O old +man, doth the Caliph come down the Tigris-river every night?" The boatman +answered, "Yes, O my lord; and on such wise hath he done every night this year +past." "O Shaykh," rejoined Al-Rashid, "we wish thee of thy favour to await us +here to-morrow night and we will give thee five golden dinars, for we are +stranger folk, lodging in the quarter Al-Khandak, and we have a mind to divert +ourselves." Said the oldster, "With joy and good will!" Then the Caliph and +Ja'afar and Masrur left the boatman and returned to the palace; where they +doffed their merchants' habits and, donning their apparel of state, sat down +each in his several-stead; and came the Emirs and Wazirs and Chamberlains and +Officers, and the Divan assembled and was crowded as of custom. But when day +ended and all the folk had dispersed and wended each his own way, the Caliph +said to his Wazir, "Rise, O Ja'afar, let us go and amuse ourselves by looking +on the second Caliph." At this, Ja'afar and Masrur laughed, and the three, +donning merchants' habits, went forth by a secret pastern and made their way +through the city, in great glee, till they came to the Tigris, where they found +the graybeard sitting and awaiting them. They embarked with him in the boat and +hardly had they sat down before up came the mock Caliph's barge; and, when they +looked at it attentively, they saw therein two hundred Mamelukes other than +those of the previous night, while the link- bearers cried aloud as of wont. +Quoth the Caliph, "O Wazir, had I heard tell of this, I had not believed it; +but I have seen it with my own sight." Then said he to the boatman, "Take, O +Shaykh' these ten dinars and row us along abreast of them, for they are in the +light and we in the shade, and we can see them and amuse ourselves by looking +on them, but they cannot see us." So the man took the money and pushing off ran +abreast of them in the shadow of the barge,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of +day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph Harun +al-Rashid said to the old man, "Take these ten dinars and row us abreast of +them;" to which he replied, "I hear and I obey." And he fared with them and +ceased not going in the blackness of the barge, till they came amongst the +gardens that lay alongside of them and sighted a large walled enclosure; and +presently, the barge cast anchor before a postern door, where they saw servants +standing with a she mule saddled and bridled. Here the mock Caliph landed and, +mounting the mule, rode away with his courtiers and his cup-companions preceded +by the cresset-bearers crying aloud, and followed by his household which busied +itself in his service. Then Harun al-Rashid, Ja'afar and Masrur landed also +and, making their way through the press of servants, walked on before them. +Presently, the cresset-bearers espied them and seeing three persons in +merchants' habits, and strangers to the country, took offense at them; so they +pointed them out and brought them before the other Caliph, who looked at them +and asked, "How came ye to this place and who brought you at this tide?" They +answered, "O our lord, we are foreign merchants and far from our homes, who +arrived here this day and were out a- walking to-night, and behold, ye came up +and these men laid hands on us and brought us to thy presence; and this is all +our story." Quoth the mock Caliph, "Since ye be stranger folk no harm shall +befall you; but had ye been of Baghdad, I had struck off your heads." Then he +turned to his Wazir and said to him, "Take these men with thee; for they are +our guests to-night." "To hear is to obey, O our lord," answered he; and they +companied him till they came to a lofty and splendid palace set upon the +firmest base; no Sultan possesseth such a place; rising from the dusty mould +and upon the merges of the clouds laying hold. Its door was of Indian teak-wood +inlaid with gold that glowed; and through it one passed into a royal-hall in +whose midst was a jetting fount girt by a raised estrade. It was provided with +carpets and cushions of brocade and small pillows and long settees and hanging +curtains; it was furnished with a splendour that dazed the mind and dumbed the +tongue, and upon the door were written these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"A Palace whereon be blessings and praise! * Which with all their<br/> + + beauty have robed the Days:<br/> + +Where marvels and miracle-sights abound, * And to write its<br/> + + honours the pen affrays."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The false Caliph entered with his company, and sat down on a throne of gold set +with jewels and covered with a prayer carpet of yellow silk; whilst the +boon-companions took their seats and the sword bearer of high works stood +before him. Then the tables were laid and they ate; after which the dishes were +removed and they washed their hands and the wine-service was set on with +flagons and bowls in due order. The cup went round till it came to the Caliph, +Harun al-Rashid, who refused the draught, and the mock Caliph said to Ja'afar, +"What mattereth thy friend that he drinketh not?" He replied, "O my lord, +indeed 'tis a long while he hath drunk naught of this." Quoth the sham Caliph, +"I have drink other than this, a kind of apple-wine,[FN#188] that will suit thy +companion." So he bade them bring the cider which they did forthright; when the +false Caliph, coming up to Harun al-Rashid, said to him, "As often as it cometh +to thy turn drink thou of this." Then they continued to drink and make merry +and pass the cup till the wine rose to their brains and mastered their +wits;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted +say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the false Caliph and his +co sitters sat at their cups and gave not over drinking till the wine rose to +their brains and mastered their wits; and Harun al-Rashid said to the Minister, +"O Ja'afar, by Allah, we have no such vessels as these. Would to Heaven I knew +what manner of man this youth is!" But while they were talking privily the +young man cast a glance upon them and seeing the Wazir whisper the Caliph said, +"'Tis rude to whisper." He replied, "No rudeness was meant: this my friend did +but say to me, 'Verily I have travelled in most countries and have caroused +with the greatest of Kings and I have companied with noble captains; yet never +saw I a goodlier ordering than this entertainment nor passed a more delightful +night; save that the people of Baghdad are wont to say, Wine without music +often leaves you sick.'"When the second Caliph heard this, he smiled pleasantly +and struck with a rod he had in his hand a round gong;[FN#189] and behold, a +door opened and out came a eunuch, bearing a chair of ivory, inlaid with gold +glittering fiery red and followed by a damsel of passing beauty and loveliness, +symmetry and grace. He set down the chair and the damsel seated herself on it, +as she were the sun shining sheen in a sky serene. In her hand she had a lute +of Hindu make, which she laid in her lap and bent down over it as a mother +bendeth over her little one, and sang to it, after a prelude in four-and-twenty +modes, amazing all wits. Then she returned to the first mode and to a lively +measure chanted these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Love's tongue within my heart speaks plain to thee, * Telling<br/> + + thee clearly I am fain of thee<br/> + +Witness the fevers of a tortured heart, * And ulcered eyelid<br/> + + tear-flood rains for thee<br/> + +God's fate o'ertaketh all created things! * I knew not love till<br/> + + learnt Love's pain of thee."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the mock Caliph heard these lines sung by the damsel, he cried with a +great cry and rent his raiment to the very skirt, whereupon they let down a +curtain over him and brought him a fresh robe, handsomer than the first. He put +it on and sat as before, till the cup came round to him, when he struck the +gong a second time and lo! a door opened and out of it came a eunuch with a +chair of gold, followed by a damsel fairer than the first, bearing a lute, such +as would strike the envious mute. She sat down on the chair and sang to her +instrument these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"How patient bide, with love in sprite of me, * And tears in<br/> + + tempest[FN#190] blinding sight of me?<br/> + +By Allah, life has no delight of me! * How gladden heart whose<br/> + + core is blight of me?"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had the youth heard this poetry than he cried out with a loud cry and +rent his raiment to the skirt: whereupon they let down the curtain over him and +brought him another suit of clothes. He put it on and, sitting up as before, +fell again to cheerful talk, till the cup came round to him, when he smote once +more upon the gong and out came a eunuch with a chair, followed by a damsel +fairer than she who forewent her. So she sat down on the chair, with a lute in +her hand, and sang thereto these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Cease ye this farness; 'bate this pride of you, * To whom my<br/> + + heart clings, by life-tide of you!<br/> + +Have ruth on hapless, mourning, lover-wretch, * Desire-full,<br/> + + pining, passion-tried of you:<br/> + +Sickness hath wasted him, whose ecstasy * Prays Heaven it may be<br/> + + satisfied of you:<br/> + +Oh fullest moons[FN#191] that dwell in deepest heart! * How can I<br/> + + think of aught by side of you?"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the young man heard these couplets, he cried out with a great cry and +rent his raiment, whereupon they let fall the curtain over him and brought him +other robes. Then he returned to his former case with his boon-companions and +the bowl went round as before, till the cup came to him, when he struck the +gong a fourth time and the door opening, out came a page-boy bearing a chair +followed by a damsel. He set the chair for her and she sat down thereon and +taking the lute, tuned it and sang to it these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"When shall disunion and estrangement end? * When shall my bygone<br/> + + joys again be kenned?<br/> + +Yesterday we were joined in same abode; * Conversing heedless of<br/> + + each envious friend:[FN#192]<br/> + +Trickt us that traitor Time, disjoined our lot * And our waste<br/> + + home to desert fate condemned:<br/> + +Wouldst have me, Grumbler! from my dearling fly? * I find my<br/> + + vitals blame will not perpend:<br/> + +Cease thou to censure; leave me to repine; * My mind e'er findeth<br/> + + thoughts that pleasure lend.<br/> + +O Lords[FN#193] of me who brake our troth and plight, * Deem not<br/> + + to lose your hold of heart and sprite!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When the false Caliph heard the girl's song, he cried out with a loud outcry +and rent his raiment,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying +her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninetieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, When the false Caliph heard the girl's song, he cried with a loud +outcry and rent his raiment and fell to the ground fainting; whereupon they +would have let down the curtain over him, as of custom; but its cords stuck +fast and Harun al-Rashid, after considering him carefully, saw on his body the +marks of beating with palm-rods and said to Ja'afar, "By Allah, he is a +handsome youth, but a foul thief!" "Whence knowest thou that, O Commander of +the Faithful?" asked Ja'afar, and the Caliph answered, "Sawest thou not the +whip-scars on his ribs?" Then they let fall the curtain over him and brought +him a fresh dress, which he put on and sat up as before with his courtiers and +cup- companions. Presently he saw the Caliph and Ja'afar whispering together +and said to them, "What is the matter, fair sirs?" Quoth Ja'afar, "O my lord, +all is well,[FN#194] save that this my comrade, who (as is not unknown to thee) +is of the merchant company and hath visited all the great cities and countries +of the world and hath consorted with kings and men of highest consideration, +saith to me: 'Verily, that which our lord the Caliph hath done this night is +beyond measure extravagant, never saw I any do the like doings in any country; +for he hath rent such and such dresses, each worth a thousand dinars and this +is surely excessive unthriftiness.'" Replied the second Caliph, "Ho thou, the +money is my money and the stuff my stuff, and this is by way of largesse to my +suite and servants; for each suit that is rent belongeth to one of my +cup-companions here present, and I assign to them with each suit of clothes the +sum of five hundred dinars." The Wazir Ja'afar replied, "Well is whatso thou +doest, O our lord," and recited these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Virtue in hand of thee hath built a house, * And to mankind thou<br/> + + dost thy wealth expose:<br/> + +If an the virtues ever close their doors, * That hand would be a<br/> + + key the lock to unclose."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the young man heard these verses recited by the Minister Ja'afar, he +ordered him to be gifted with a thousand dinars and a dress of honour. Then the +cup went round among them and the wine was sweet to them; but, after a while +quoth the Caliph to Ja'afar, "Ask him of the marks on his sides, that we may +see what he will say by way of reply." Answered Ja'afar, "Softly, O my lord, be +not hasty and soothe thy mind, for patience is more becoming." Rejoined the +Caliph, "By the life of my head and by the revered tomb of Al Abbas,[FN#195] +except thou ask him, I will assuredly stop thy breath!" With this the young man +turned towards the Minister and said to him, "What aileth thee and thy friend +to be whispering together? Tell me what is the matter with you." "It is nothing +save good," replied Ja'afar; but the mock Caliph rejoined, "I conjure thee, by +Allah, tell me what aileth you and hide from me nothing of your case." Answered +the Wazir "O my lord, verily this one here saw on thy sides the marks of +beating with whips and palm-fronds and marvelled thereat with exceeding marvel, +saying, 'How came the Caliph to be beaten?'; and he would fain know the cause +of this." Now when the youth heard this, he smiled and said, "Know ye that my +story is wondrous and my case marvellous; were it graven with needles on the +eye corners, it would serve as a warner to whoso would be warned." And he +sighed and repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Strange is my story, passing prodigy; * By Love I swear, my ways<br/> + + wax strait on me!<br/> + +An ye desire to hear me, listen, and * Let all in this assembly<br/> + + silent be.<br/> + +Heed ye my words which are of meaning deep, * Nor lies my speech;<br/> + + 'tis truest verity.<br/> + +I'm slain[FN#196] by longing and by ardent love; * My slayer's<br/> + + the pearl of fair virginity.<br/> + +She hath a jet black eye like Hindi blade, * And bowиd eyebrows<br/> + + shoot her archery<br/> + +My heart assures me our Imam is here, * This age's Caliph, old<br/> + + nobility:<br/> + +Your second, Ja'afar highs, is his Wazir; * A Sahib,[FN#197]<br/> + + Sahib-son of high degree:<br/> + +The third is called Masrur who wields the sword: * Now, if in<br/> + + words of mine some truth you see<br/> + +I have won every wish by this event * Which fills my heart with<br/> + + joy and gladdest greet"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When they heard these words Ja'afar swore to him an ambiguous oath that they +were not those he named, whereupon he laughed and said: "Know, O my lords, that +I am not the Commander of the Faithful and that I do but style myself thus, to +win my will of the sons of the city. My true name is Mohammed Ali, son of Ali +the Jeweller, and my father was one of the notables of Baghdad, who left me +great store of gold and silver and pearls and coral and rubies and chrysolites +and other jewels, besides messuages and lands, Hammam-baths and brickeries, +orchards and flower- gardens. Now as I sat in my shop one day surrounded by my +eunuchs and dependents, behold, there came up a young lady, mounted on a +she-mule and attended by three damsels like moons. Riding up to my shop she +alighted and seated herself by my side and said 'Art thou Mohammed the +Jeweller?' Replied I, 'Even so! I am he, thy Mameluke, thy chattel.' She asked, +'Hast thou a necklace of jewels fit for me?' and I answered, 'O my lady, I will +show thee what I have; and lay all before thee and, if any please thee, it will +be of thy slave's good luck; if they please thee not, of his ill fortune.' Now +I had by me an hundred necklaces and showed them all to her; but none of them +pleased her and she said, 'I want a better than those I have seen.' I had a +small necklace which my father had bought at an hundred thousand dinars and +whose like was not to be found with any of the great kings; so I said to her, +'O my lady, I have yet one necklace of fine stones fit for bezels, the like of +which none possesseth, great or small. Said she, Show it to me,' so I showed it +to her, and she said, 'This is what I wanted and what I have wished for all my +life;' adding, 'What is its price?' Quoth I, 'It cost my father an hundred +thousand dinars;' and she said, 'I will give thee five thousand dinars to thy +profit.' I answered, 'O my lady, the necklace and its owner are at thy service +and I cannot gainsay thee.' But she rejoined, 'Needs must thou have the profit, +and I am still most grateful to thee.' Then she rose without stay or delay; +and, mounting the mule in haste, said to me, 'O my lord, in Allah's name, +favour us with thy company to receive the money; for this thy day with us is +white as milk.'[FN#198] So I shut the shop and accompanied her, in all +security, till we came to a house, on which were manifest the signs of wealth +and rank; for its door was wrought with gold and silver and ultramarine, and +thereon were written these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Hole, thou mansion! woe ne'er enter thee; * Nor be thine owner<br/> + + e'er misused of Fate<br/> + +Excellent mansion to all guests art thou, * When other mansions<br/> + + to the guest are strait.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The young lady dismounted and entered the house, bidding me sit down on the +bench at the gate, till the money-changer should arrive. So I sat awhile, when +behold, a damsel came out to me and said, 'O my lord, enter the vestibule; for +it is a dishonour that thou shouldst sit at the gate.' Thereupon I arose and +entered the vestibule and sat down on the settle there, and, as I sat, lo! +another damsel came out and said to me, 'O my lord my mistress biddeth thee +enter and sit down at the door of the saloon, to receive thy money.' I entered +and sat down, nor had I sat a moment when behold, a curtain of silk which +concealed a throne of gold was drawn aside, and I saw seated thereon the lady +who had made the purchase, and round her neck she wore the necklace which +looked pale and wan by the side of a face as it were the rounded moon; At her +sight, my wit was troubled and my mind confounded, by reason of her exceeding +beauty and loveliness, but when she saw me she rose from her throne and coming +close up to me, said, 'O light of mine eyes, is every handsome one like thee +pitiless to his mistress?' I answered, 'O my lady, beauty, all of it, is in +thee and is but one of thy hidden charms.' And she rejoined, 'O Jeweller, know +that I love thee and can hardly credit that I have brought thee hither.' Then +she bent towards me and I kissed her and she kissed me and, as she caressed me, +drew me towards her and to her breast she pressed me."—And Shahrazad perceived +the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-first Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Jeweller continued: +"Then she bent towards me and kissed and caressed me; and, as she caressed me, +drew me towards her and to her breast she pressed me. Now she knew by my +condition that I had a mind to enjoy her; so she said to me, 'O my lord, +wouldst thou foregather with me unlawfully? By Allah, may he not live who would +do the like of this sin and who takes pleasure in talk unclean! I am a maid, a +virgin whom no man hath approached, nor am I unknown in the city. Knowest thou +who I am?' Quoth I, 'No, by Allah, O my lady!'; and quoth she, 'I am the Lady +Dunyб, daughter of Yбhyб bin Khбlid the Barmecide and sister of Ja'afar, Wazir +to the Caliph.' Now as I heard this, I drew back from her, saying, 'O my lady, +it is no fault of mine if I have been over- bold with thee; it was thou didst +encourage me to aspire to thy love, by giving me access to thee.' She answered, +'No harm shall befal-thee, and needs must thou attain thy desire in the only +way pleasing to Allah. I am my own mistress and the Kazi shall act as my +guardian in consenting to the marriage contract; for it is my will that I be to +thee wife and thou be to me man.' Then she sent for the Kazi and the witnesses +and busied herself with making ready; and, when they came, she said to them, +'Mohammed Ali, bin Ali the Jeweller, seeketh me in wedlock and hath given me +the necklace to my marriage-settlement; and I accept and consent.' So they +wrote out the contract of marriage between us; and ere I went in to her the +servants brought the wine-furniture and the cups passed round after the fairest +fashion and the goodliest ordering; and, when the wine mounted to our heads, +she ordered a damsel, a lute-player,[FN#199] to sing. So she took the lute and +sang to a pleasing and stirring motive these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'He comes; and fawn and branch and moon delight these eyne *<br/> + + Fie[FN#200] on his heart who sleeps o' nights without repine<br/> + +Pair youth, for whom Heaven willed to quench in cheek one light,<br/> + + * And left another light on other cheek bright li'en:<br/> + +I fain finesse my chiders when they mention him, * As though the<br/> + + hearing of his name I would decline;<br/> + +And willing ear I lend when they of other speak; * Yet would my<br/> + + soul within outflow in foods of brine:<br/> + +Beauty's own prophet, he is all a miracle * Of heavenly grace,<br/> + + and greatest shows his face for sign.[FN#201]<br/> + +To prayer Bilбl-like cries that Mole upon his cheek * To ward<br/> + + from pearly brow all eyes of ill design:[FN#202]<br/> + +The censors of their ignorance would my love dispel * But after<br/> + + Faith I can't at once turn Infidel.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +We were ravished by the sweet music she made striking the strings, and the +beauty of the verses she sang; and the other damsels went on to sing and to +recite one after another, till ten had so done; when the Lady Dunya took the +lute and playing a lively measure, chanted these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'I swear by swayings of that form so fair, * Aye from thy parting<br/> + + fiery<br/> + +Pity a heart which burneth in thy love, * O bright as fullest<br/> + + moon in blackest air!<br/> + +Vouchsafe thy boons to him who ne'er will cease * In light of<br/> + + wine-cup all thy charms declare,<br/> + +Amid the roses which with varied hues * Are to the myrtle-<br/> + + bush[FN#203] a mere despair.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When she had finished her verse I took the lute from her hands and, playing a +quaint and not vulgar prelude sang the following verses, +</p> + +<p> +'Laud to my Lord who gave thee all of loveliness; * Myself amid<br/> + + thy thralls I willingly confess:<br/> + +O thou, whose eyes and glances captivate mankind, * Pray that I<br/> + + 'scape those arrows shot with all thy stress!<br/> + +Two hostile rivals water and enflaming fire * Thy cheek hath<br/> + + married, which for marvel I profess:<br/> + +Thou art Sa'нr in heart of me and eke Na'нm;[FN#204] * Thou agro-<br/> + + dolce, eke heart's sweetest bitterness.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When she heard this my song she rejoiced with exceeding joy; then, dismissing +her slave women, she brought me to a most goodly place, where they had spread +us a bed of various colours. She did off her clothes and I had a lover's +privacy of her and found her a pearl unpierced and a filly unridden. So I +rejoiced in her and never in my born days spent I a more delicious night."—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed bin Ali the +Jeweller continued: "So I went in unto the Lady Dunya, daughter of Yahya bin +Khбlid the Barmecide, and I found her a pearl unthridden and a filly unridden. +So I rejoiced in her and repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'O Night here stay! I want no morning light; * My lover's face to<br/> + + me is lamp and light:[FN#205]<br/> + +As ring of ring-dove round his necks my arm; * And made my palm<br/> + + his mouth-veil, and, twas right.<br/> + +This be the crown of bliss, and ne'er we'll cease * To clip, nor<br/> + + care to be in other plight.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And I abode with her a whole month, forsaking shop and family and home, till +one day she said to me, 'O light of my eyes, O my lord Mohammed, I have +determined to go to the Hammam to day; so sit thou on this couch and rise not +from thy place, till I return to thee.' 'I hear and I obey,' answered I, and +she made me swear to this; after which she took her women and went off to the +bath. But by Allah, O my brothers, she had not reached the head of the street +ere the door opened and in came an old woman, who said to me, 'O my lord +Mohammed, the Lady Zubaydah biddeth thee to her, for she hath heard of thy fine +manners and accomplishments and skill in singing.' I answered, 'By Allah, I +will not rise from my place till the Lady Dunya come back.' Rejoined the old +woman, 'O my lord, do not anger the Lady Zubaydah with thee and vex her so as +to make her thy foe: nay, rise up and speak with her and return to thy place.' +So I rose at once and followed her into the presence of the Lady Zubaydah and, +when I entered her presence she said to me, 'O light of the eye, art thou the +Lady Dunya's beloved?' 'I am thy Mameluke, thy chattel,' replied I. Quoth she, +'Sooth spake he who reported thee possessed of beauty and grace and good +breeding and every fine quality; indeed, thou surpassest all praise and all +report. But now sing to me, that I may hear thee.' Quoth I, 'Hearkening and +obedience;' so she brought me a lute, and I sang to it these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'The hapless lover's heart is of his wooing weary grown, * And<br/> + + hand of sickness wasted him till naught but skin and bone<br/> + +Who should be amid the riders which the haltered camels urge, *<br/> + + But that same lover whose beloved cloth in the litters wone:<br/> + +To Allah's charge I leave that moon-like Beauty in your tents *<br/> + + Whom my heart loves, albe my glance on her may ne'er be<br/> + + thrown.<br/> + +Now she is fain; then she is fierce: how sweet her coyness shows;<br/> + + * Yea sweet whatever cloth or saith to lover loved one!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When I had finished my song she said to me, 'Allah assain thy body and thy +voice! Verily, thou art perfect in beauty and good breeding and singing. But +now rise and return to thy place, ere the Lady Dunya come back, lest she find +thee not and be wroth with thee.' Then I kissed the ground before her and the +old woman forewent me till I reached the door whence I came. So I entered and, +going up to the couch, found that my wife had come back from the bath and was +lying asleep there. Seeing this I sat down at her feet and rubbed them; +whereupon she opened her eyes and seeing me, drew up both her feet and gave me +a kick that threw me off the couch,[FN#206] saying, 'O traitor, thou hast been +false to thine oath and hast perjured thyself. Thou swarest to me that thou +wouldst not rise from thy place; yet didst thou break thy promise and go to the +Lady Zubaydah. By Allah, but that I fear public scandal, I would pull down her +palace over her head!' Then said she to her black slave, 'O Sawбb, arise and +strike off this lying traitor's head, for we have no further need of him.' So +the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip from his skirt, bandaged with it +my eyes[FN#207] and would have struck off my head;"—And Shahrazad perceived the +dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Mohammed the Jeweller +continued: "So the slave came up to me and, tearing a strip from his skirt, +bandaged with it my eyes and would have struck off my head, but all her women, +great and small, rose and came up to her and said to her, 'O our lady, this is +not the first who hath erred: indeed, he knew not thy humour and hath done thee +no offence deserving death.' Replied she, 'By Allah, I must needs set my mark +on him.' And she bade them bash me; so they beat me on my ribs and the marks ye +saw are the scars of that fustigation. Then she ordered them to cast me out, +and they carried me to a distance from the house and threw me down like a log. +After a time I rose and dragged myself little by little to my own place, where +I sent for a surgeon and showed him my hurts; and he comforted me and did his +best to cure me. As soon as I was recovered I went to the Hammam and, as my +pains and sickness had left me, I repaired to my shop and took and sold all +that was therein. With the proceeds, I bought me four hundred white slaves, +such as no King ever got together, and caused two hundred of them to ride out +with me every day. Then I made me yonder barge whereon I spent five thousand +gold pieces; and styled myself Caliph and appointed each of my servants to the +charge of some one of the Caliph's officers and clad him in official habit. +Moreover, I made proclamation, 'Whoso goeth a-pleasuring on the Tigris by +night, I will strike off his head, without ruth or delay;' and on such wise +have I done this whole year past, during which time I have heard no news of the +lady neither happened upon any trace of her." Then wept he copiously and +repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"By Allah! while the days endure ne'er shall forget her I, * Nor<br/> + + draw to any nigh save those who draw her to me nigh<br/> + +Like to the fullest moon her form and favour show to me, * Laud<br/> + + to her All-creating Lord, laud to the Lord on high,<br/> + +She left me full of mourning, sleepless, sick with pine and pain<br/> + + * And ceaseth not my heart to yearn her mystery[FN#208] to<br/> + + espy."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when Harun al-Rashid heard the young man's story and knew the passion and +transport and love lowe that afflicted him, he was moved to compassion and +wonder and said, "Glory be to Allah, who hath appointed to every effect a +cause!" Then they craved the young man's permission to depart; which being +granted, they took leave of him, the Caliph purposing to do him justice meet, +and him with the utmost munificence entreat; and they returned to the palace of +the Caliphate, where they changed clothes for others befitting their state and +sat down, whilst Masrur the Sworder of High Justice stood before them. After +awhile, quoth the Caliph to Ja'afar, "O Wazir, bring me the young man'—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two hundred and Ninety-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the Caliph to his +Minister, "Bring me the young man with whom we were last night." "I hear and +obey," answered Ja'afar and, going to the youth, saluted him, saying, "Obey the +summons of the Commander of the Faithful, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid." So he +returned with him to the palace, in great anxiety by reason of the summons; +and, going in to the King, kissed ground before him; and offered up a prayer +for the endurance of his glory and prosperity, for the accomplishment of his +desires, for the continuance of his beneficence and for the cessation of evil +and punishment; ordering his speech as best he might and ending by saying, +"Peace be on thee, O Prince of True Believers and Protector of the folk of the +Faith!" Then he repeated these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Kiss thou his fingers which no fingers are; * Keys of our daily<br/> + + bread those fingers ken:<br/> + +And praise his actions which no actions are, * But precious<br/> + + necklaces round necks of men."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +So the Caliph smiled in his face and returned his salute, looking on him with +the eye of favour; then he bade him draw near and sit down before him and said +to him, "O Mohammed Ali, I wish thee to tell me what befel thee last night, for +it was strange and passing strange." Quoth the youth, "Pardon, O Commander of +the Faithful, give me the kerchief of immunity, that my dread may be appeased +and my heart eased." Replied the Caliph, "I promise thee safety from fear and +woes." So the young man told him his story from first to last, whereby the +Caliph knew him to be a lover and severed from his beloved and said to him, +"Desirest thou that I restore her to thee?" "This were of the bounty of the +Commander of the Faithful," answered the youth and repeated these two couplets. +</p> + +<p> +"Ne'er cease thy gate be Ka'abah to mankind; * Long may its<br/> + + threshold dust man's brow beseem!<br/> + +That o'er all countries it may be proclaimed, * This is the Place<br/> + + and thou art Ibrahim."[FN#209]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon the Caliph turned to his Minister and said to him, "O Ja'afar, bring +me thy sister, the Lady Dunya, daughter of the Wazir Yahya bin Khбlid!" "I hear +and I obey," answered he and fetched her without let or delay. Now when she +stood before the Caliph he said to her, "Doss thou know who this is?"; and she +replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, how should women have knowledge of +men?"[FN#210] So the Caliph smiled and said, "O Dunya this is thy beloved, +Mohammed bin Ali the Jeweller. We are acquainted with his case, for we have +heard the whole story from beginning to end, and have apprehended its inward +and its outward; and it is no more hidden from me, for all it was kept in +secrecy." Replied she, "O Commander of the Faithful, this was written in the +Book of Destiny; I crave the forgiveness of Almighty Allah for the wrong I have +wrought, and pray thee to pardon me of thy favour." At this the Caliph laughed +and, summoning the Kazi and witnesses, renewed the marriage-contract between +the Lady Dunya and her husband, Mohammed Ali son of the Jeweller, whereby there +betided them, both her and him the utmost felicity, and to their enviers +mortification and misery. Moreover, he made Mohammed Ali one of his +boon-companions, and they abode in joy and cheer and gladness, till there came +to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies. And men also +relate the pleasant tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap15"></a>ALI THE PERSIAN.</h3> + +<p> +It is said that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, being restless one night, sent for +his Wazir and said to him, "O Ja'afar, I am sore wakeful and heavy-hearted this +night, and I desire of thee what may solace my spirit and cause my breast to +broaden with amuse meet." Quoth Ja'afar, "O Commander of the Faithful, I have a +friend, by name Ali the Persian, who hath store of tales and plea sent stories, +such as lighten the heart and make care depart." Quoth the Caliph, "Fetch him +to me," and quoth Ja'afar, "Hearkening and obedience;" and, going out from +before him, sent to seek Ali the Persian and when he came said to him, "Answer +the summons of the Commander of the Faithful." "To hear is to obey," answered +Ali;—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted +say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian replied, "To +hear is to obey;" and at once followed the Wazir into the presence of the +Caliph who bade him be seated and said to him, "O Ali, my heart is heavy within +me this night and it hath come to my ear that thou hast great store of tales +and anecdotes; so I desire of thee that thou let me hear what will relieve my +despondency and brighten my melancholy." Said he, "O Commander of the Faithful, +shall I tell thee what I have seen with my eyes or what I have heard with my +ears?" He replied, "An thou have seen aught worth the telling, let me hear +that." Replied Ali: "Hearkening and obedience. Know thou, O Commander of the +Faithful, that some years ago I left this my native city of Baghdad on a +journey, having with me a lad who carried a light leathern bag. Presently we +came to a certain city, where, as I was buying and selling, behold, a rascally +Kurd fell on me and seized my wallet perforce, saying, 'This is my bag, and all +which is in it is my property.' Thereupon, I cried aloud 'Ho Moslems,[FN#211] +one and all, deliver me from the hand of the vilest of oppressors!' But the +folk said, 'Come, both of you, to the Kazi and abide ye by his judgment with +joint consent.' So I agreed to submit myself to such decision and we both +presented ourselves before the Kazi, who said, 'What bringeth you hither and +what is your case and your quarrel?' Quoth I, 'We are men at difference, who +appeal to thee and make complaint and submit ourselves to thy judgment.' Asked +the Kazi, 'Which of you is the complainant?'; so the Kurd came forward[FN#212] +and said, 'Allah preserve our lord the Kazi! Verily, this bag is my bag and all +that is in it is my swag. It was lost from me and I found it with this man mine +enemy.' The Kazi asked, 'When didst thou lose it?'; and the Kurd answered, 'But +yesterday, and I passed a sleepless night by reason of its loss.' 'An it be thy +bag,' quoth the Kazi, 'tell me what is in it.' Quoth the Kurd, 'There were in +my bag two silver styles for eye-powder and antimony for the eyes and a +kerchief for the hands, wherein I had laid two gilt cups and two candlesticks. +Moreover it contained two tents and two platters and two spoons and a cushion +and two leather rugs and two ewers and a brass tray and two basins and a +cooking-pot and two water- jars and a ladle and a sacking-needle and a she-cat +and two bitches and a wooden trencher and two sacks and two saddles and a gown +and two fur pelisses and a cow and two calves and a she-goat and two sheep and +an ewe and two lambs and two green pavilions and a camel and two she-camels and +a lioness and two lions and a she-bear and two jackals and a mattress and two +sofas and an upper chamber and two saloons and a portico and two sitting-rooms +and a kitchen with two doors and a company of Kurds who will bear witness that +the bag is my bag.' Then said the Kazi to me, 'And thou, sirrah, what sayest +thou?' So I came forward, O Commander of the Faithful (and indeed the Kurd's +speech had bewildered me) and said, 'Allah advance our lord the Kazi! Verily, +there was naught in this my wallet, save a little ruined tenement and another +without a door and a dog house and a boys' school and youths playing dice and +tents and tent-ropes and the cities of Bassorah and Baghdad and the palace of +Shaddad bin Ad and an ironsmith's forge and a fishing-net and cudgels and +pickets and girls and boys and a thousand pimps who will testify that the bag +is my bag.' Now when the Kurd heard my words, he wept and wailed and said, 'O +my lord the Kazi, this my bag is known and what is in it is a matter of renown; +for in this bag there be castles and citadels and cranes and beasts of prey and +men playing chess and draughts. Furthermore, in this my bag is a brood-mare and +two colts and a stallion and two blood-steeds and two long lances; and it +containeth eke a lion and two hares and a city and two villages and a whore and +two sharking panders and an hermaphrodite and two gallows birds and a blind man +and two wights with good sight and a limping cripple and two lameters and a +Christian ecclesiastic and two deacons and a patriarch and two monks and a Kazi +and two assessors, who will be evidence that the bag is my bag.' Quoth the Kazi +to me, 'And what sayst thou, O Ali?' So, O Commander of the Faithful, being +filled with rage, I came forward and said, 'Allah keep our lord the Kazi!'"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian continued: +"So being filled with rage, O Commander of the Faithful, I came forward and +said, 'Allah keep our lord the Kazi I had in this my wallet a coat of mail and +a broadsword and armouries and a thousand fighting rams and a sheep-fold with +its pasturage and a thousand barking dogs and gardens and vines and flowers and +sweet smelling herbs and figs and apples and statues and pictures and flagons +and goblets and fair-faced slave-girls and singing-women and marriage-feasts +and tumult and clamour and great tracts of land and brothers of success, which +were robbers, and a company of daybreak-raiders with swords and spears and bows +and arrows and true friends and dear ones and Intimates and comrades and men +imprisoned for punishment and cup-companions and a drum and flutes and flags +and banners and boys and girls and brides (in all their wedding bravery), and +singing-girls and five Abyssinian women and three Hindi maidens and four +damsels of Al-Medinah and a score of Greek girls and eighty Kurdish dames and +seventy Georgian ladies and Tigris and Euphrates and a fowling net and a flint +and steel and Many-columned Iram and a thousand rogues and pimps and +horse-courses and stables and mosques and baths and a builder and a carpenter +and a plank and a nail and a black slave with his flageolet and a captain and a +caravan leader and towns and cities and an hundred thousand dinars and Cufa and +Anbбr[FN#213] and twenty chests full of stuffs and twenty storehouses for +victuals and Gaza and Askalon and from Damietta to Al-Sawбn[FN#214]; and the +palace of Kisra Anushirwan and the kingdom of Solomon and from Wadi Nu'umбn to +the land of Khorasбn and Balkh and Ispahбn and from India to the Sudбn. Therein +also (may Allah prolong the life of our lord the Kazi!) are doublets and cloths +and a thousand sharp razors to shave off the Kazi's beard, except he fear my +resentment and adjudge the bag to be my bag.' Now when the Kazi heard what I +and the Kurd avouched, he was confounded and said, 'I see ye twain be none +other than two pestilent fellows, atheistical-villains who make sport of Kazis +and magistrates and stand not in fear of reproach. Never did tongue tell nor +ear hear aught more extraordinary than that which ye pretend. By Allah, from +China to Shajarat Umm Ghaylбn, nor from Fars to Sudan nor from Wadi Nu'uman to +Khorasan, was ever heard the like of what ye avouch or credited the like of +what ye affirm. Say, fellows, be this bag a bottomless sea or the Day of +Resurrection that shall gather together the just and unjust?' Then the Kazi +bade them open the bag; so I opened it and behold, there was in it bread and a +lemon and cheese and olives. So I threw the bag down before the Kurd and ganged +my gait." Now when the Caliph heard this tale from Ali the Persian, he laughed +till he fell on his back and made him a handsome present.[FN#215] And men also +relate a +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap16"></a>TALE OF HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE SLAVE-GIRL AND THE IMAM ABU YUSUF.</h3> + +<p> +It is said that Ja'afar the Barmecide was one night carousing with Al Rashid, +who said, "O Ja'afar, it hath reached me that thou hast bought such and such a +slave-girl. Now I have long sought her for she is passing fair; and my heart is +taken up with love of her, so do thou sell her to me." He replied, "I will not +sell her, O Commander of the Faithful." Quoth he, "Then give her to me." Quoth +the other, "Nor will I give her." Then Al-Rashid exclaimed, "Be Zubaydah triply +divorced an thou shall not either sell or give her to me!" Then Ja'afar +exclaimed, "Be my wife triply divorced an I either sell or give her to thee!" +After awhile they recovered from their tipsiness and were aware of having +fallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not by what device to extricate +themselves. Then said Al-Rashid, "None can help us in this strait but Abъ +Yъsuf."[FN#216] So they sent for him, and this was in the middle of the night; +and when the messenger reached him, he arose in alarm, saying to himself, "I +should not be sent for at this tide and time, save by reason of some question +of moment to Al-Islam." So he went out in haste and mounted his she-mule, +saying to his servant, "Take the mule's nose-bag with thee; it may be she hath +not finished her feed; and when we come to the Caliph's palace, put the bag on +her, that she may eat what is left of her fodder, during the last of the +night." And the man replied, "I hear and obey." Now when the Imam was admitted +to the presence, Al-Rashid rose to receive him and seated him on the couch +beside himself (where he was wont to seat none save the Kazi), and said to him, +"We have not sent for thee at this untimely time and tide save to advise us +upon a grave matter, which is such and such and wherewith we know not how to +deal." And he expounded to him the case. Abu Yusuf answered, "O Commander of +the Faithful, this is the easiest of things." Then he turned to Ja'afar and +said, "O Ja'afar, sell half of her to the Commander of the Faithful and give +him the other half; so shall ye both be quit of your oaths." The Caliph was +delighted with this and both did as he prescribed. Then said Al-Rashid, "Bring +me the girl at once,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say +her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph Harun +al-Rashid commanded, "Bring me the girl at once, for I long for her +exceedingly." So they brought her and the Caliph said to Abu Yusuf, I have a +mind to have her forthright, for I cannot bear to abstain from her during the +prescribed period of purification; now how is this to be done?" Abu Yusuf +replied, "Bring me one of thine own male slaves who hath never been +manumitted." So they brought one and Abu Yusuf said, "Give me leave to marry +her to him; then let him divorce her before consummation; and thus shall it be +lawful for thee to lie with her before purification." This second expedient +pleased the Caliph yet more than the first; he sent for the Mameluke and, +whenas he came, said to the Kazi "I authorise thee to marry her to him." So the +Imam proposed the marriage to the slave, who accepted it, and performed the +ceremony; after which he said to the slave, "Divorce her, and thou shalt have +an hundred dinars." But he replied, "I won't do this;" and the Imam went on to +increase his offer, and the slave to refuse till he bid him a thousand dinars. +Then the man asked him, "Doth it rest with me to divorce her, or with thee or +with the Commander of the Faithful?" He answered, "It is in thy hand." "Then by +Allah," quoth the slave, "I will never do it; no, never!" Hearing these words +the Caliph was exceeding wroth and said to the Imam, "What is to be done, O Abu +Yusuf?" Replied he, "Be not concerned, O Commander of the Faithful; the thing +is easy. Make this slave the damsel's chattel." Quoth Al-Rashid, "I give him to +her;" and the Imam said to the girl, "Say: I accept." So she said, I accept;" +whereon quoth Abu Yusuf, "I pronounce separation from bed and board and divorce +between them, for that he hath become her property, and so the marriage is +annulled." With this, Al-Rashid rose to his feet and exclaimed, "It is the like +of thee that shall be Kazi in my time." Then he called for sundry trays of gold +and emptied them before Abu Yusuf, to whom he said, "Hast thou wherein to put +this?" The Imam bethought him of the mule's nose-bag; so he sent for it and, +filling it with gold, took it and went home. And on the morrow, he said to his +friends, "There is no easier nor shorter road to the goods of this world and +the next, than that of religious learning; for, see, I have gotten all this +money by answering two or three questions." So consider thou, O polite +reader,[FN#217] the pleasantness of this anecdote, for it compriseth divers +goodly features, amongst which are the complaisance of Ja'afar to Al Rashid, +and the wisdom of the Caliph who chose such a Kazi and the excellent learning +of Abu Yusuf, may Almighty Allah have mercy on their souls one and all! And +they also tell the +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap17"></a>TALE OF THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF.</h3> + +<p> +When Khбlid bin Abdallah al-Kasri[FN#218] was Emir of Bassorah, there came to +him one day a company of men dragging a youth of exceeding beauty and lofty +bearing and perfumed attire; whose aspect expressed good breeding, abundant wit +and dignity of the gravest. They brought him before the Governor, who asked +what it was and they replied, "This fellow is a thief, whom we caught last +night in our dwelling-house." Whereupon Khбlid looked at him and was pleased +with his well-favouredness and elegant aspect; so he said to the others, "Loose +him," and going up to the young man, asked what he had to say for himself. He +replied, "Verily the folk have spoken truly and the case is as they have said." +Quoth Khбlid, "And what moved thee to this and thou so noble of port and comely +of mien?" Quoth the other "The lust after worldly goods, and the ordinance of +Allah (extolled exalted be He!)." Rejoined Khбlid, "Be thy mother bereaved of +thee![FN#219] Hadst thou not, in thy fair face and sound sense and good +breeding, what should restrain thee from thieving?" Answered the young man, "O +Emir, leave this talk and proceed to what Almighty Allah hath ordained; this is +what my hands have earned, and, 'God is not unjust towards mankind.'"[FN#220] +So Khбlid was silent awhile considering the matter then he bade the young man +draw near him and said, "Verily, thy confession before witnesses perplexeth me, +for I cannot believe thee to be a thief: haply thou hast some story that is +other than one of theft; and if so tell it me." Replied the youth "O Emir, +imagine naught other than what I have confessed to in thy presence; for I have +no tale to tell save that verily I entered these folks' house and stole what I +could lay hands on and they caught me and took the stuff from me and carried me +before thee." Then Khalid bade clap him in gaol and commended a crier to cry +throughout Bassorah, "O yes! O yes! Whoso be minded to look upon the punishment +of such an one, the thief, and the cutting-off of his hand, let him be present +to- morrow morning at such a place!" Now when the young man found himself in +prison, with irons on his feet, he sighed heavily and with tears streaming from +his eyes extemporized these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"When Khбlid menaced off to strike my hand * If I refuse to tell<br/> + + him of her case;<br/> + +Quoth I, 'Far, far fro' me that I should tell * A love, which<br/> + + ever shall my heart engrace;<br/> + +Loss of my hand for sin I have confessed * To me were easier than<br/> + + to shame her face.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The warders heard him and went and told Khбlid who, when it was dark night, +sent for the youth and conversed with him. He found him clever and well-bred, +intelligent, lively and a pleasant companion; so he ordered him food and he +ate. Then after an hour's talk said Khбlid, "I know indeed thou hast a story to +tell that is no thief's; so when the Kazi shall come to-morrow morning and +shall question thee about this robbery, do thou deny the charge of theft and +avouch what may avert the pain and penalty of cutting off thy hand; for the +Apostle (whom Allah bless and keep!) saith, 'In cases of doubt, eschew +punishment.'" Then he sent him back to prison,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn +of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khбlid, after conversing +with the youth, sent him back to prison, where he passed the night. And when +morning dawned the folk assembled to see his hand cut off, nor was there a soul +in Bassorah, man or woman, but was present to look upon the punishment of that +handsome youth. Then Khбlid mounted in company of the notables of the city and +others; and, summoning all four Kazis, sent for the young man, who came +hobbling and stumbling in his fetters. There was none saw him but wept over him +and the women all lifted up their voices in lamentation as for the dead. Then +the Kazi bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, "These folk avouch +that thou didst enter their dwelling-house and steal their goods: belike thou +stolest less than a quarter dinar[FN#221]?" Replied he, "Nay, I stole that and +more." "Peradventure," rejoined the Kazi "thou art partner with the folk in +some of the goods?" Quoth the young man; "Not so: it was all theirs, and I had +no right in it." At this the Khбlid was wroth and rose and smote him on the +face with his whip, applying to his own case this couplet, +</p> + +<p> +"Man wills his wish to him accorded be; * But Allah naught accords save what He +wills." +</p> + +<p> +Then he called for the butcher to do the work, who came and drew forth his +knife and taking the prisoner's hand set the blade to it, when, behold, a +damsel pressed through the crowd of women, clad in tattered clothes,[FN#222] +and cried out and threw herself on the young man. Then she unveiled and showed +a face like the moon whereupon the people raised a mighty clamour and there was +like to have been a riot amongst them and a violent scene. But she cried out +her loudest, saying, "I conjure thee, by Allah, O Emir, hasten not to cut off +this man's hand, till thou have read what is in this scroll!" So saying, she +gave him a scroll, and Khбlid took it and opened it and read therein these +couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Ah Khбlid! this one is a slave of love distraught, * And these<br/> + + bowed eye-lashes sent shaft that caused his grief:<br/> + +Shot him an arrow sped by eyes of mine, for he, * Wedded to<br/> + + burning love of ills hath no relief:<br/> + +He hath avowed a deed he never did, the while * Deeming this<br/> + + better than disgrace of lover fief:<br/> + +Bear then, I pray, with this distracted lover mine * Whose noble<br/> + + nature falsely calls himself a thief!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When Khбlid had read these lines he withdrew himself from the people and +summoned the girl and questioned her; and she told him that the young man was +her lover and she his mistress; and that thinking to visit her he came to the +dwelling of her people and threw a stone into the house, to warn her of his +coming. Her father and brothers heard the noise of the stone and sallied out on +him; but he, hearing them coming, caught up all the household stuff and made +himself appear a robber to cover his mistress's honour. "Now when they saw him +they seized him (continued she), crying:—A thief! and brought him before thee, +whereupon he confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he +might spare me disgrace; and this he did, making himself a thief, of the +exceeding nobility and generosity of his nature." Khбlid answered, "He is +indeed worthy to have his desire;" and, calling the young man to him, kissed +him between the eyes. Then he sent for the girl's father and bespoke him, +saying, "O Shaykh, we thought to carry out the law of mutilation in the case of +this young man; but Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!) hath preserved us from +this, and I now adjudge him the sum of ten thousand dirhams, for that he would +have given his hand for the preservation of thine honour and that of thy +daughter and for the sparing of shame to you both. Moreover, I adjudge other +ten thousand dirhams to thy daughter, for that she made known to me the truth +of the case; and I ask thy leave to marry her to him." Rejoined the old man, "O +Emir, thou hast my consent." So Khбlid praised Allah and thanked Him and +improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful;—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khбlid praised Allah and +thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a +prayerful; after which he said to the young man, "I give thee to wife the +damsel, such an one here present, with her own permission and her father's +consent; and her wedding settlement shall be this money, to wit, ten thousand +dirhams." "I accept this marriage at thy hands," replied the youth; and Khбlid +bade them carry the money on brass trays in procession to the young man's +house, whilst the people dispersed, fully satisfied. "And surely (quoth he who +tells the tale[FN#223]) never saw I a rarer day than this, for that it began +with tears and annoy; and it ended with smiles and joy." And in contrast of +this story is this piteous tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap18"></a>JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEAN SELLER.</h3> + +<p> +When Harun al-Rashid crucified Ja'afar the Barmecide[FN#224] he commended that +all who wept or made moan for him should also be crucified; so the folk +abstained from that. Now it chanced that a wild Arab, who dwelt in a distant +word, used every year to bring to the aforesaid Ja'afar an ode[FN#225] in his +honour, for which he rewarded him with a thousand dinars; and the Badawi took +them and, returning to his own country, lived upon them, he and his family, for +the rest of the year. Accordingly, he came with his ode at the wonted time and, +finding that Ja'afar had been crucified, betook himself to the place where his +body was hanging, and there made his camel kneel down and wept with sore +weeping and mourned with grievous mourning; and he recited his ode and fell +asleep. Presently Ja'afar the Barmecide appeared to him in a vision and said, +"Verily thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and findest us as thou seest; +but go to Bassorah and ask for a man there whose name is such and such, one of +the merchants of the town, and say to him, 'Ja'afar, the Barmecide, saluteth +thee and biddeth thee give me a thousand dinars, by the token of the bean.'" +Now when the wild Arab awoke, he repaired to Bassorah, where he sought out the +merchant and found him and repeated to him what Ja'afar had said in the dream; +whereupon he wept with weeping so sore that he was like to depart the world. +Then he welcomed the Badawi and seated him by his side and made his stay +pleasant and entertained him three days as an honoured guest; and when he was +minded to depart he gave him a thousand and five hundred dinars, saying, "The +thousand are what is commanded to thee, and the five hundred are a gift from me +to thee; and every year thou shalt have of me a thousand gold pieces." Now when +the Arab was about to take leave, he said to the merchant, "Allah upon thee, +tell me the story of the bean, that I may know the origin of all this." He +answered: "In the early part of my life I was poor and hawked hot beans[FN#226] +about the streets of Baghdad to keep me alive. So I went out one raw and rainy +day, without clothes enough on my body to protect me from the weather; now +shivering for excess of cold and now stumbling into the pools of rain-water, +and altogether in so piteous a plight as would make one shudder with goose-skin +to look upon. But it chanced that Ja'afar that day was seated with his officers +and his concubines, in an upper chamber overlooking the street when his eyes +fell on me; so he took pity on my case and, sending one of his dependents to +fetch me to him, said as soon as he saw me, 'Sell thy beans to my people.' So I +began to mete out the beans with a measure I had by me; and each who took a +measure of beans filled the measure with gold pieces till all my store was gone +and my basket was clean empty. Then I gathered together the gold I had gotten, +and Ja'afar said to me, 'Hast thou any beans left?' 'I know not,' answered I, +and then sought in the basket, but found only one bean. So Ja'afar took from me +the single bean and, splitting it in twain, kept one half himself and gave the +other to one of his concubines, saying, 'For how much wilt thou buy this half +bean?' She replied, 'For the tale of all this gold twice-told;' whereat I was +confounded and said to myself, 'This is impossible.' But, as I stood wondering, +behold, she gave an order to one of her hand-maids and the girl brought me the +sum of the collected monies twice-told. Then said Ja'afar, 'And I will buy the +half I have by me for double the sum of the whole,' presently adding, 'Now take +the price of thy bean.' And he gave an order to one of his servants, who +gathered together the whole of the money and laid it in my basket; and I took +it and went my ways. Then I betook myself to Bassorah, where I traded with the +monies and Allah prospered me amply, to Him be the praise and the thanks! So, +if I give thee every year a thousand dinars of the bounty of Ja'afar, it will +in no wise injure me. Consider then the munificence of Ja'afar's nature and how +he was praised both alive and dead, the mercy of Allah Almighty be upon him! +And men also recount the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap19"></a>ABU MOHAMMED HIGHT LAZYBONES.</h3> + +<p> +It is told that Harun al-Rashid was sitting one day on the throne of the +Caliphate, when there came in to him a youth of his eunuchry, bearing a crown +of red gold, set with pearls and rubies and all manner of other gems and +jewels, such as money might not buy; and, bussing the ground between his hands, +said, "O Commander of the Faithful, the Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before +thee"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted +say. Whereupon quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How pleasant is thy tale and +profitable; and how sweet is thy speech and how delectable!" "And where is +this," replied Shahrazad, "compared with what I shall tell you next night an I +live and the King grant me leave!" Thereupon quoth the King to himself, "By +Allah, I will not slay her until I hear the end of her tale." +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundredth Night, +</p> + +<p> +Quoth Dunyazad, "favour us, O my sister, with thy tale," and she replied, 'With +joy and good will, if the King accord me leave;" whereupon the King said, "Tell +thy tale, O Shahrazad." So she pursued: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, +that the youth said to the Caliph, "The Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before +thee and saith to thee, Thou knowest she hath bidden make this crown, which +lacketh a great jewel for its dome-top; and she hath made search among her +treasures, but cannot find a jewel of size to suit her mind." Quoth the Caliph +to his Chamberlains and Viceregents, Make search for a great jewel, such as +Zubaydah desireth." So they sought, but found nothing befitting her and told +the Caliph who, vexed and annoyed thereat, exclaimed, "How am I Caliph and King +of the Kings of the earth and cannot find so small a matter as a jewel? Woe to +you! Ask of the merchants." So they enquired of the traders, who replied, "Our +lord the Caliph will not find a jewel such as he requireth save with a man of +Bassorah, by name Abъ Mohammed highs Lazybones." Thereupon they acquainted the +Caliph with this and he bade his Wazir Ja'afar send a note to the Emir Mohammed +al-Zubaydн, Governor of Bassorah, commanding him to equip Abu Mohammed +Lazybones and bring him into the presence of the Commander of the Faithful. The +Minister accordingly wrote a note to that effect and despatched it by Masrur, +who set out forthright for the city of Bassorah, and went in to the Emir +Mohammed al-Zubaydi, who rejoiced in him and treated him with the high-most +honour. Then Masrur read him the mandate of the Prince of True Believers, Harun +al-Rashid, to which he replied, "I hear and I obey," and forthwith despatched +him, with a company of his followers, to Abu Mohammed's house. When they +reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a page came out and Masrur said +to him, "Tell thy lord, The Commander of the Faithful summoneth thee." The +servant went in and told his master, who came out and found Masrur, the +Caliph's Chamberlain, and a company of the Governor's men at the door. So he +kissed ground before Masrur and said, "I hear and obey the summons of the +Commander of the Faithful; but first enter ye my house." They replied, "We +cannot do that, save in haste; even as the Prince of True Believers commanded +us, for he awaiteth thy coming." But he said, "Have patience with me a little, +till I set my affairs in order." So after much pressure and abundant +persuasion, they entered the house with him and found the vestibule hung with +curtains of azure brocade, purfled with red gold, and Abu Mohammed Lazybones +bade one of his servants carry Masrur to the private Hammam. Now this bath was +in the house and Masrur found its walls and floors of rare and precious +marbles, wrought with gold and silver, and its waters mingled with rose-water. +Then the servants served Masrur and his company with the perfection of service; +and, on their going forth of the Hammam, clad them in robes of honour, +brocade-work interwoven with gold. And after leaving the bath Masrur and his +men went in to Abu Mohammed Lazybones and found him seated in his upper +chamber; and over his head hung curtains of gold-brocade, wrought with pearls +and jewels, and the pavilion was spread with cushions, embroidered in red gold. +Now the owner was sitting softly upon a quilted cloth covering a settee inlaid +with stones of price; and, when he saw Masrur, he went forward to meet him and +bidding him welcome, seated him by his side. Then he called for the food-trays; +so they brought them, and when Masrur saw the tables, he exclaimed, "By Allah, +never did I behold the like of these appointments in the palace of the +Commander of the Faithful!" For indeed the trays contained every manner of meat +all served in dishes of gilded porcelain.[FN#227] "So we ate and drank and made +merry till the end of the day (quoth Masrur) when the host gave to each and +every of us five thousand dinars, and on the morrow he clad us in dresses of +honour of green and gold and entreated us with the utmost worship." Then said +Masrur to him, "We can tarry no longer for fear of the Caliph's displeasure." +Answered Abu Mohammed Lazybones, "O my lord, have patience with us till the +morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will then depart with you." So they +tarried with him that day and slept the night; and next morning Abu Mohammed's +servants saddled him a she mule with selle and trappings of gold, set with all +manner of pearls and stones of price; whereupon quoth Masrur to himself, "I +wonder, when Abu Mohammed shall present himself in such equipage, if the Caliph +will ask him how he came by all this wealth." Thereupon they took leave of +Al-Zubaydi and, setting out from Bassorah, fared on, without ceasing to fare +till they reached Baghdad-city and presented themselves before the Caliph, who +bade Abu Mohammed be seated. He sat down and addressed the Caliph in courtly +phrase, saying, "O Commander of the Faithful, I have brought with me an humble +offering by way of homage: have I thy gracious permission to produce it?" +Al-Rashid replied, "There is no harm in that,"[FN#228] whereupon Abu Mohammed +bade his men bring in a chest, from which he took a number of rarities, and +amongst the rest, trees of gold with leaves of white emeraid,[FN#229] and +fruits of pigeon blood rubies and topazes and new pearls and bright. And as the +Caliph was struck with admiration he fetched a second chest and brought out of +it a tent of brocade, crowned with pearls and jacinths and emeralds and jaspers +and other precious stones; its poles were of freshly cut Hindi aloes-wood, and +its skirts were set with the greenest smaragds. Thereon were depicted all +manner of animals such as beasts and birds, spangled with precious stones, +rubies, emeralds, chrysolites and balasses and every kind of precious metal. +Now when Al-Rashid saw these things, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and Abu +Mohammed Lazybones said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, deem not that I +have brought these to thee, fearing aught or coveting anything; but I knew +myself to be but a man of the people and that such things befitted none save +the Commander of the Faithful. And now, with thy leave, I will show thee, for +thy diversion, something of what I can do." Al-Rashid replied, "Do what thou +wilt, that we may see." "To hear is to obey," said Abu Mohammed and, moving his +lips, beckoned the palace battlements,[FN#230] whereupon they inclined to him; +then he made another sign to them, and they returned to their place. Presently +he made a sign with his eye, and there appeared before him closets with closed +doors, to which he spoke, and lo! the voices of birds answered him from within. +The Caliph marvelled with passing marvel at this and said to him, "How camest +thou by all this, seeing that thou art known only as Abu Mohammed Lazybones, +and they tell me that thy father was a cupper serving in a public Hammam, who +left thee nothing?" Whereupon he answered, "Listen to my story" And Shahrazed +perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and First Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Mohammed Lazybones +thus spake to the Caliph: "O Prince of True Believers, listen to my story, for +it is a marvellous and its particulars are wondrous; were it graven with +graver-needles upon the eye-corners it were a warner to whose would be warned." +Quoth Al-Rashid, "Let us hear all thou hast to say, O Abu Mohammed!" So he +began "Know then, O Commander of the Faithful (Allah prolong to thee glory and +dominion!), the report of the folk; that I am known as the Lazybones and that +my father left me nothing, is true; for he was, as thou hast said, nothing but +a barber-cupper in a Hammam. And I throughout my youth was the idlest wight on +the face of the earth; indeed, so great was my sluggishness that, if I lay at +full length in the sultry season and the sun came round upon me, I was too lazy +to rise and remove from the sun to the shade. And thus I abode till I reached +my fifteenth year, when my father deceased in the mercy of Allah Almighty and +left me nothing. However, my mother used to go out a-charing and feed me and +give me to drink, whilst I lay on my side. Now it came to pass that one day she +came in to me with five silver dirhams, and said to me, 'O my son, I hear that +Shaykh Abъ al-Muzaffar[FN#231] is about to go a voyage to China.' (Now this +Shaykh was a good and charitable man who loved the poor.) 'So come, my son, +take these five silver bits; and let us both carry them to him and beg him to +buy thee therewith somewhat from the land of China; so haply thou mayst make a +profit of it by the bounty of Allah, whose name be exalted!' I was too idle to +move for her; but she swore by the Almighty that, except I rose and went with +her, she would bring me neither meat nor drink nor come in to me, but would +leave me to die of hunger and thirst. Now when I heard her words, O Commander +of the Faithful, I knew she would do as she threatened for her knowledge of my +sluggishness; so I said to her, 'Help me to sit up.' She did so, and I wept the +while and said to her, 'Bring me my shoes.' Accordingly, she brought them and I +said, 'Put them on my feet.' She put them on my feet and I said, 'Lift me up +off the ground.' So she lifted me up and I said, 'Support me, that I may walk.' +So she supported me and I continued to fare a foot, at times stumbling over my +skirts, till we came to the river bank, where we saluted the Shaykh and I said +to him, 'O my uncle, art thou Abu al-Muzaffar?' 'At thy service,' answered he, +and I, 'Take these dirhams and with them buy me somewhat from the land of +China: haply Allah may vouchsafe me a profit of it.' Quoth the Shaykh to his +companions, 'Do ye know this youth?' They answered, 'Yes, he is known as Abu +Mohammed Lazybones, and we never saw him stir from his house till this moment.' +Then said he to me, 'O my son, give me the silver with the blessing of Almighty +Allah!' So he took the money, saying, 'Bismillah in the name of Allah!' and I +returned home with my mother. Presently Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar set sail, with a +company of merchants, and stayed not till they reached the land of China, where +he and his bought and sold; and, having won what they wished, set out on their +homeward voyage. When they had been three days at sea, the Shaykh said to his +company, 'Stay the vessel!' They asked, 'What dost thou want?' and he answered, +'Know that I have forgotten the commission wherewith Abu Mohammed Lazybones +charged me; so let us turn back that we may lay out his money on somewhat +whereby he may profit.' They cried, 'We conjure thee, by Allah Almighty turn +not back with us; for we have traversed a long distance and a sore, and while +so doing we have endured sad hardship and many terrors.' Quoth he, 'There is no +help for it but we return;' and they said, 'Take from us double the profit of +the five dirhams, and turn us not back.' He agreed to this and they collected +for him an ample sum of money. Thereupon they sailed on, till they came to an +island wherein was much people; when they moored thereto and the merchants went +ashore, to buy thence a stock of precious metals and pearls and jewels and so +forth. Presently Abu al-Muzaffar saw a man seated, with many apes before him, +and amongst them one whose hair had been plucked off; and as often as their +owner's attention was diverted from them, the other apes fell upon the plucked +one and beat him and threw him on their master; whereupon the man rose and +bashed them and bound them and punished them for this; and all the apes were +wroth with the plucked ape on this account and funded him the more. When Shaykh +Abu al-Muzaffar saw this, he felt for and took compassion upon the plucked ape +and said to his master, 'Wilt thou sell me yonder monkey?' Replied the man, +'Buy,' and Abu al-Muzaffar rejoined, 'I have with me five dirhams, belonging to +an orphan lad. Wilt thou sell it me for that sum?' Answered the +monkey-merchant, 'It is a bargain; and Allah give thee a blessing of him!' So +he made over the beast and received his money; and the Shaykh's slaves took the +ape and tied him up in the ship. Then they loosed sail and made for another +island, where they cast anchor; and there came down divers, who plunged for +precious stones, pearls and other gems; so the merchants hired them to dive for +money and they dived. Now when the ape saw them doing this, he loosed himself +from his bonds and, jumping off the ship's side, plunged with them, whereupon +quoth Abu al-Muzaffar, 'There is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in +Allah, the Glorious, the Great! The monkey is lost to us with the luck of the +poor fellow for whom we bought him.' And they despaired of him; but, after a +while, the company of divers rose to the surface, and behold, among them was +the ape, with his hands full of jewels of price, which he threw down before Abu +al-Muzaffar. The Shaykh marvelled at this and said, 'There is much mystery in +this monkey!' Then they cast off and sailed till they came to a third island, +called the Isle of the Zunъj,[FN#232] who are a people of the blacks, which eat +the flesh of the sons of Adam. When the blacks saw them, they boarded them in +dug-outs[FN#233] and, taking all in the vessel, pinioned them and carried them +to their King, who bade slaughter certain of the merchants. So they slaughtered +them by cutting their throats and ate their flesh; and the rest of the traders +passed the night in bonds and were in sore concern. But when it was midnight, +the ape arose and going up to Abu al-Muzaffar, loosed his bonds; and, as the +others saw him free, they said, 'Allah grant our deliverance may be at thy +hands, O Abu al-Muzaffar!' But he replied, 'Know that he who delivered me, by +leave of Allah Almighty, was none other than this monkey'"—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu al-Muzaffar declared, +"None loosed me, by leave of Allah Al-mighty, save this monkey and I buy my +release of him at a thousand dinars!" whereupon the merchants rejoined, 'And we +likewise, each and every, will pay him a thousand dinars if he release us.' +With this the ape arose and went up to them and loosed their bonds one by one, +till he had freed them all, when they made for the vessel and boarding her, +found all safe and nothing missing from her. So they cast off and set sail; and +presently Abu al-Muzaffar said to them, 'O merchants, fulfil your promise to +the monkey.' 'We hear and we obey,' answered they; and each one paid him one +thousand dinars, whilst Abu al-Muzaffar brought out to him the like sum of his +own monies, so that a great heap of coin was collected for the ape. Then they +fared on till they reached Bassorah-city where their friends came out to meet +them; and when they had landed, the Shaykh said, 'Where is Abu Mohammed +Lazybones?' The news reached my mother, who came to me as I lay asleep and said +to me, 'O my son, verily the Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar hath come back and is now +in the city; so rise and go thou to him and salute him and enquire what he hath +brought thee; it may be Allah Almighty have opened to thee the door of fortune +with somewhat.' Quoth I, 'Lift me from the ground and prop me up, whilst I go +forth and walk to the river bank.' After which I went out and walked on, +stumbling over my skirts, till I met the Shaykh, who exclaimed at sight of me, +'Welcome to him whose money hath been the means of my release and that of these +merchants, by the will of Almighty Allah.' Then he continued, 'Take this monkey +I bought for thee and carry him home and wait till I come to thee.' So I took +the ape and went off, saying in my mind, 'By Allah, this is naught but rare +merchandise!' and led it home, where I said to my mother, 'Whenever I lie down +to sleep, thou biddest me rise and trade; see now this merchandise with thine +own eyes.' Then I sat me down and as I sat, up came the slaves of Abu +al-Muzaffar and said to me, 'Art thou Abu Mohammed Lazybones?' 'Yes' answered +I; and behold, Abu al-Muzaffar appeared behind them. So I rose up to him and +kissed his hands: and he said, 'Come with me to my home.' 'Hearkening and +obedience,' answered I and accompanied him to his house, where he bade his +servants bring me what money the monkey had earned for me. So they brought it +and he said to me, 'O my son, Allah hath blessed thee with this wealth, by way +of profit on thy five dirhams.' Then the slaves set down the treasure in +chests, which they had carried on their heads, and Abu al-Muzaffar gave me the +keys saying, 'Go before the slaves to thy house; for in sooth all this wealth +is thine.' So I returned to my mother, who rejoiced in this and said to me, 'O +my son, Allah hath blessed thee with all these riches; so put off thy laziness +and go down to the bazar and sell and buy.' At once I shook off my dull sloth, +and opened a shop in the bazar, where the ape used to sit on the same divan +with me eating with me when I ate and drinking when I drank. But, every day, he +was absent from dawn till noon, when he came back bringing with him a purse of +a thousand dinars, which he laid by my side, and sat down; and he ceased not so +doing for a great while, till I amassed much wealth, wherewith, O Commander of +the Faithful, I purchased houses and lands, and I planted gardens and I bought +me white slaves and negroes and concubines. Now it came to pass one day, as I +sat in my shop, with the ape sitting at my side on the same carpet, behold, he +began to turn right and left, and I said to myself, 'What aileth the beast?' +Then Allah made the ape speak with a ready tongue, and he said to me, 'O Abu +Mohammed!' Now when I heard him speak, I was sore afraid; but he said to me, +'Fear not; I will tell thee my case. I am a Marid of the Jinn and came to thee +because of thy poor estate; but today thou knowest not the amount of thy +wealth; and now I have need of thee and if thou do my will, it shall be well +for thee.' I asked, 'What is it?' and he answered, 'I have a mind to marry thee +to a girl like the full moon.' Quoth I, 'How so?'; and quoth he, 'Tomorrow don +thou thy richest dress and mount thy mule, with the saddle of gold and ride to +the Haymarket. There enquire for the shop of the Sharif[FN#234] and sit down +beside him and say to him, 'I come to thee as a suitor craving thy daughter's +hand.' 'If he say to thee, 'Thou hast neither cash nor rank nor family'; pull +out a thousand dinars and give them to him, and if he ask more, give him more +and tempt him with money.' Whereto I replied, 'To hear is to obey; I will do +thy bidding, Inshallah!' So on the next morning I donned my richest clothes, +mounted my she mule with trappings of gold and rode to the Haymarket where I +asked for the Sharif's shop, and finding him there seated, alighted and saluted +him and seated myself beside him"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Mohammed Lazybones +continued: "So I alighted and, saluting him, seated myself beside him, and my +Mamelukes and negro-slaves stood before me. Said the Sharif, 'Haply, thou hast +some business with us which we may have pleasure of transacting?' Replied I, +'Yes, I have business with thee.' Asked he, 'And what is it?'; and I answered, +'I come to thee as a suitor for thy daughter's hand.' So he said, 'Thou hast +neither cash nor rank nor family;' whereupon I pulled him out a purse of a +thousand dinars, red gold, and said to him, 'This is my rank[FN#235] and my +family; and he (whom Allah bless and keep!) hath said, The best of ranks is +wealth. And how well quoth the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'Whoso two dithams hath, his lips have learnt * Speech of all<br/> + + kinds with eloquence bedight:<br/> + +Draw near[FN#236] his brethren and crave ear of him, * And him<br/> + + thou seest haught in pride-full height:<br/> + +Were 't not for dirhams wherein glories he, * Hadst found him<br/> + + 'mid man kind in sorry plight.<br/> + +When richard errs in words they all reply, * "Sooth thou hast<br/> + + spoken and hast said aright!"<br/> + +When pauper speaketh truly all reply * 'Thou liest;' and they<br/> + + hold his sayings light.[FN#237]<br/> + +Verily dirhams in earth's every stead * Clothe men with rank and<br/> + + make them fair to sight<br/> + +Gold is the very tongue of eloquence; * Gold is the best of arms<br/> + + for might who'd fight!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the Sharif heard these my words and understood my verse, he bowed his +head awhile groundwards then raising it, said, 'If it must be so, I will have +of thee other three thousand gold pieces.' 'I hear and I obey,' answered I, and +sent one of my Mamelukes home for the money. As soon as he came back with it, I +handed it to the Sharif who, when he saw it in his hands, rose, and bidding his +servants shut his shop, invited his brother merchants of the bazar the wedding; +after which he carried me to his house and wrote out my contract of marriage +with his daughter saying to me, 'After ten days, I will bring thee to pay her +the first visit.' So I went home rejoicing and, shutting myself up with the +ape, told him what had passed; and he said 'Thou hast done well.' Now when the +time appointed by the Sharif drew near, the ape said to me, 'There is a thing I +would have thee do for me; and thou shalt have of me (when it is done) whatso +thou wilt.' I asked, 'What is that?' and he answered, 'At the upper end of the +chamber wherein thou shalt meet thy bride, the Sharif's daughter, stands a +cabinet, on whose door is a ring-padlock of copper and the keys under it. Take +the keys and open the cabinet in which thou shalt find a coffer of iron with +four flags, which are talismans, at its corners; and in its midst stands a +brazen basin full of money, wherein is tied a white cock with a cleft comb; +while on one side of the coffer are eleven serpents and on the other a knife. +Take the knife and slaughter the cock; cut away the flags and upset the chest, +then go back to the bride and do away her maidenhead. This is what I have to +ask of thee.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' answered I, and betook myself to the +house of the Sharif. So as soon as I entered the bride-chamber, I looked for +the cabinet and found it even as the ape had described it. Then I went in unto +the bride and marvelled at her beauty and loveliness and stature and +symmetrical-grace, for indeed they were such as no tongue can set forth. I +rejoiced in her with exceeding joy; and in the middle of the night, when my +bride slept, I rose and, taking the keys, opened the cabinet. Then I seized the +knife and slew the cock and threw down the flags and upset the coffer, +whereupon the girl awoke and, seeing the closet open and the cock with cut +throat, exclaimed, 'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, +the Glorious, the Great! The Marid hath got hold of me!' Hardly had she made an +end of speaking, when the Marid swooped down upon the house and, snatching up +the bride, flew away with her; whereupon there arose a mighty clamour and +behold, in came the Sharif, buffetting his face and crying, 'O Abu Mohammed, +what is this deed thou hast done? Is it thus thou requiitest us? I made this +talisman in the cabinet fearing for my daughter from this accursed one who, for +these six years, hath sought to steal-away the girl, but could not. But now +there is no more abiding for thee with us, so wend thy ways.' Thereupon I went +forth and returned to my own house, where I made search for the ape but could +not find him nor any trace of him; whereby I knew that it was he who was the +Marid, and that he had carried off my wife and had tricked me into destroying +the talisman and the cock, the two things which hindered him from taking her, +and I repented, rending my raiment and cuffing my face. And there was no land +but was straitened upon me; so I made for the desert forthright and ceased not +wandering on till night overtook me, for I knew not whither I was going. And +whilst I was deep in sad thought behold, I met two serpents, one tawny and the +other white, and they were fighting to kill each other. So I took up a stone +and with one cast slew the tawny serpent, which was the aggressor; whereupon +the white serpent glided away and was absent for a while, but presently she +returned accompanied by ten other white serpents which glided up to the dead +serpent and tore her in pieces, so that only the head was left. Then they went +their ways and I fell prostrate for weariness on the ground where I stood; but +as I lay, pondering my case lo! I heard a Voice though I saw no one and the +Voice versified with these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Let Fate with slackened bridle fare her pace, * Nor pass the<br/> + + night with mind which cares an ace<br/> + +Between eye-closing and its opening, * Allah can foulest change<br/> + + to fairest case.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when I heard this, O Commander of the Faithful, great concern get hold of +me and I was beyond measure troubled, and behold, I heard a Voice from behind +me extemporise these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'O Moslem! thou whose guide is Alcorбn, * Joy in what brought<br/> + + safe peace to thee, O man.<br/> + +Fear not what Satan haply whispered thee, * And in us see a<br/> + + Truth-believing<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then said I, 'I conjure thee, by the truth of Him thou wore shippest, let me +know who thou art!' Thereupon the Invisible Speaker assumed the form of a man +and said, 'Fear not; for the report of thy good deed hath reached us, and we +are a people of the true-believing Jinn. So, if thou lack aught, let us know it +that we may have the pleasure of fulfilling thy want.' Quoth I, 'Indeed I am in +sore need, for I am afflicted with a grievous affliction and no one was ever +afflicted as I am!' Quoth he, 'Perchance thou art Abu Mohammed Lazybones?' and +I replied, 'Yes.' He rejoined, 'I, O Abu Mohammed, am the brother of the white +serpent, whose foe thou slewest, we are four brothers by one father and mother, +and we are all indebted to thee for thy kindness. And know thou that he who +played this trick on thee in the likeness of an ape, is a Marid of the Marids +of the Jinn; and had he not used this artifice, he had never been able to get +the girl; for he hath loved her and had a mind to take her this long while, but +he was hindered of that talisman; and had it remained as it was, he could never +have found access to her. However, fret not thyself for that; we will bring +thee to her and kill the Marid; for thy kindness is not lost upon us.' Then he +cried out with a terrible outcry"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Ifrit continued, +"'Verily thy kindness is not lost upon us.' Then he cried out with a terrible +outcry in a horrible voice, and behold, there appeared a troop of the Jinn, of +whom he enquired concerning the ape; and one of them said, 'I know his abiding- +place;' and the other asked 'Where abideth he?' Said the speaker 'He is in the +City of Brass whereon sun riseth not.' Then said the first Jinni to me, 'O Abu +Mohammed, take one of these our slaves, and he will carry thee on his back and +teach thee how thou shalt get back the girl; but know that this slave is a +Marid of the Marids and beware, whilst he is carrying thee, lest thou utter the +name of Allah, or he will flee from thee and thou wilt fall and be destroyed.' +'I hear and obey,' answered I and chose out one of the slaves, who bent down +and said to me, 'Mount.' So I mounted on his back, and he flew up with me into +the firmament, till I lost sight of the earth and saw the stars as they were +the mountains of earth fixed and firm[FN#238] and heard the angels crying, +'Praise be to Allah,' in heaven while the Marid held me in converse, diverting +me and hindering me from pronouncing the name of Almighty Allah.[FN#239] But, +as we flew, behold, One clad in green raiment,[FN#240] with streaming tresses +and radiant face, holding in his hand a javelin whence flew sparks of fire, +accosted me, saying, 'O Abu Mohammed, say:—There is no god but the God and +Mohammed is the Apostle of God; or I will smite thee with this javelin.' Now +already I felt heart-broken by my forced silence as regards calling on the name +of Allah; so I said, 'There is no god but the God, and Mohammed is the Apostle +of God. Whereupon the shining One smote the Marid with his javelin and he +melted away and became ashes; whilst I was thrown from his back and fell +headlong towards the earth, till I dropped into the midst of a dashing sea, +swollen with clashing surge. And behold I fell hard by a ship with five sailors +therein, who seeing me, made for me and took me up into the vessel; and they +began to speak to me in some speech I knew not; but I signed to them that I +understood not their speech. So they fared on till the last of the day, when +they cast out a net and caught a great fish and they broiled it and gave me to +eat; after which they ceased not sailing on till they reached their city and +carried me to their King and set me in his presence. So I kissed ground before +him, and he bestowed on me a dress of honour and said to me in Arabic (which he +knew well), 'I appoint thee one of my officers.' Thereupon I asked him the name +of the city, and he replied, 'It is called Hanбd[FN#241] and is in the land of +China.' Then he committed me to his Wazir, bidding him show me the city, which +was formerly peopled by Infidels, till Almighty Allah turned them into stones; +and there I abode a month's space, diverting myself with viewing the place, nor +saw I ever greater plenty of trees and fruits than there. And when this time +had past, one day, as I sat on the bank of a river, behold, there accosted me a +horseman, who said to me, 'Art thou not Abu Mohammed Lazybones?' 'Yes,' +answered I; whereupon, he said, 'Fear not, for the report of thy good deed hath +reached us.' Asked I, 'Who art thou?' and he answered, 'I am a brother of the +white serpent, and thou art hard by the place where is the damsel whom thou +seekest.' So saying, he took off his clothes and clad me therein, saying, 'Fear +not, for the slave who perished under thee was one of our slaves.' Then the +horseman took me up behind him and rode on with me to a desert place, when he +said, 'Dismount now and walk on between these two mountains, till thou seest +the City of Brass;[FN#242] then halt afar off and enter it not, ere I return to +thee and tell thee how thou shalt do.' 'To hear is to obey,' replied I and, +dismounting from behind him, walked on till I came to the city, the walls +whereof I found of brass. Then I began to pace round about it, hoping to find a +gate, but found none; and presently as I persevered, behold, the serpent's +brother rejoined me and gave me a charmed sword which should hinder any from +seeing me,[FN#243] then went his way. Now he had been gone but a little while, +when lo! I heard a noise of cries and found myself in the midst of a multitude +of folk whose eyes were in their breasts; and seeing me quoth they, 'Who art +thou and what cast thee into this place?' So I told them my story, and they +said, 'The girl thou seekest is in this city with the Marid; but we know not +what he hath done with her. Now we are brethren of the white serpent,' adding, +'Go thou to yonder spring and note where the water entereth, and enter thou +with it; for it will bring thee into the city.' I did as they bade me, and +followed the water-course, till it brought me to a Sardab, a vaulted room under +the earth, from which I ascended and found myself in the midst of the city. +Here I saw the damsel seated upon a throne of gold, under a canopy of brocade, +girt round by a garden full of trees of gold, whose fruits were jewels of +price, such as rubies and chrysolites, pearls and coral. And the moment she saw +me, she knew me and accosted me with the Moslem salutation, saying, 'O my lord, +who guided thee hither?' So I told her all that had passed, and she said, +'Know, that the accursed Marid, of the greatness of his love for me, hath told +me what bringeth him bane and what bringeth him gain; and that there is here a +talisman by means whereof he could, an he would, destroy the city and all that +are therein; and whoso possesseth it, the Ifrits will do his commandment in +everything. It standeth upon a pillar'—Whereat I asked her, 'And where is the +pillar?' and she answered, 'It is in such a place.' 'And what manner of thing +may the talisman be?' said I: said she, 'It is in the semblance of a +vulture[FN#244] and upon it is a writing which I cannot read. So go thou +thither and seize it, and set it before thee and, taking a chafing dish, throw +into it a little musk, whereupon there will arise a smoke which will draw the +Ifrits to thee, and they will all present themselves before thee, nor shall one +be absent; also they shall be subject to thy word and, whatsoever thou biddest +them, that will they do. Arise therefore and fall to this thing, with the +blessing of Almighty Allah.' I answered, 'Hearkening and obedience' and, going +to the column, did as she bade me, where- upon the Ifrits all presented +themselves before me saying, 'Here are we, O our lord! Whatsoever thou biddest +us, that will we do.' Quoth I, 'Bind the Marid who brought the damsel hither +from her home.' Quoth they, 'We hear and obey,' and off they flew and bound +that Marid in straitest bonds and returned after a while, saying, 'We have done +thy bidding.' Then I dismissed them and, repairing to my wife, told her what +had happened and said to her, 'O my bride, wilt thou go with me?' 'Yes,' +answered she. So I carried her forth of the vaulted chamber whereby I had +entered the city and we fared on, till we fell in with the folk who had shown +me the way to find her." And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased +saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that he continued on this +wise: "And we fared on till we fell in with the folk who had shown me the way +to her. So I said to them, 'Point me out a path which shall lead me to my +home,' and they did accordingly, and brought us a-foot to the sea-shore and set +us aboard a vessel which sailed on before us with a fair wind, till we reached +Bassorah-city. And when we entered the house of my father-in-law and her people +saw my wife, they rejoiced with exceeding joy. Then I fumigated the vulture +with musk and lo! the Ifrits flocked to me from all sides, saying, 'At thy +service what wilt thou have us do?' So I bade them transport all that was in +the City of Brass of monies and noble metals and stones of price to my house in +Bassorah, which they did; and I then ordered them to bring me the ape. They +brought him before me, abject and contemptible, and I said to him, 'O accursed, +why hast thou dealt thus perfidiously with me?' Then I com mended the Ifrits to +shut him in a brazen vessel[FN#245] so they put him in a brazen cucurbite and +sealed it with lead. But I abode with my wife in joy and delight; and now, O +Commander of the Faithful, I have under my hand precious things in such measure +and rare jewels and other treasure and monies on such wise as neither reckoning +may express nor may limits comprise; and, if thou lust after wealth or aught +else, I will command the Jinn at once to do thy desire. But all this is of the +bounty of Almighty Allah." Thereupon the Commander of the Faithful wondered +greatly and bestowed on him imperial gifts, in exchange for his presents, and +entreated him with the favour he deserved. And men also tell the tale of the +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap20"></a>GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE WITH MANSUR.</h3> + +<p> +It is told that Harun al-Rashid, in the days before he became jealous of the +Barmecides, sent once for one of his guards, Salih by name, and said to him, "O +Sбlih, go to Mansъr[FN#246] and say to him: 'Thou owest us a thousand thousand +dirhams and we require of thee immediate payment of this amount.' And I command +thee, O Salih, unless he pay it between this hour and sundown, sever his head +from his body and bring it to me." "To hear is to obey," answered Salih and, +going to Mansur, acquainted him with what the Caliph had said, whereupon quoth +he, "I am a lost man, by Allah; for all my estate and all my hand owneth, if +sold for their utmost value, would not fetch a price of more than an hundred +thousand dirhams. Whence then, O Salih, shall I get the other nine hundred +thousand?" Salih replied, "Contrive how thou mayst speedily acquit thyself, +else thou art a dead man; for I cannot grant thee an eye-twinkling of delay +after the time appointed me by the Caliph; nor can I fail of aught which the +Prince of True Believers hath enjoined on me. Hasten, therefore, to devise some +means of saving thyself ere the time expire." Quoth Mansur, "O Salih, I beg +thee of thy favour to bring me to my house, that I may take leave of my +children and family and give my kinsfolk my last injunctions." Now Salih +relateth: "So I went with him to his house where he fell to bidding his family +farewell, and the house was filled with a clamour of weeping and lamentations +and calling for help on Almighty Allah. Thereupon I said to him, 'I have +bethought me that Allah may haply vouchsafe thee relief at the hands of the +Barmecides. Come, let us go to the house of Yбhyб bin Khбlid.' So we went to +Yahya's house, and Mansur told him his case, whereat he was sore concerned and +bowed him groundwards for a while, then raising his head, he called his +treasurer and said to him, 'How much have we in our treasury?' 'A matter of +five thousand dirhams,' answered the treasurer, and Yahya bade him bring them +and sent a messenger to his son, Al-Fazl, saying, 'I am offered for sale a +splendid estate which may never be laid waste; so send me somewhat of money.' +Al-Fazl sent him a thousand thousand dirhams, and he despatched a mes senger +with a like message to his son Ja'afar, saying, 'We have a matter of much +moment and for it we want money;' whereupon Ja'afar at once sent him a thousand +thousand dirhams; nor did Yahya leave sending to his kinsmen of the Barmecides, +till he had collected from them a great sum of money for Mansur. But Salih and +the debtor knew not of this; and Mansur said to Yahya, 'O my lord, I have laid +hold upon thy skirt, for I know not whither to look for the money but to thee, +in accordance with thy wonted generosity; so discharge thou the rest of my debt +for me and make me thy freed slave.' Thereupon Yahya hung down his head and +wept; then he said to a page, 'Harkye, boy, the Commander of the Faithful gave +our slave- girl Danбnнr a jewel of great price: go thou to her and bid her send +it to us.' The page went out and presently returned with the jewel, whereupon +quoth Yahya, 'O Mansur, I bought this jewel of the merchant for the Commander +of the Faithful, at a price of two hundred thousand dinars,[FN#247] and he gave +it to our slave-girl Dananir, the lute-player; and when he sees it with thee, +he will know it and spare thy blood and do thee honour for our sake; and now, O +Mansur, verily thy money is complete.' (Salih continued) So I took the money +and the jewel and carried them to al-Rashid together with Mansur, but on the +way I heard him repeat this couplet, applying it to his own case, +</p> + +<p> +‘'Twas not of love that fared my feet to them; * 'Twas that I feared me lest +they shoot their shafts!' +</p> + +<p> +Now when I heard this, I marvelled at his evil nature and his depravity and +mischief-making and his ignoble birth and provenance and, turning upon him, I +said, 'There is none on the face of the earth better or more righteous than the +Barmecides, nor any baser nor more wrongous than thou; for they bought thee off +from death and delivered thee from destruction, giving thee what should save +thee; yet thou thankest them not nor praises" them, neither acquittest thee +after the manner of the noble; nay, thou meetest their benevolence with this +speech.' Then I went to Al-Rashid and acquainted him with all that had passed" +And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Salih con tinued: "So I +acquainted the Commander of the Faithful with all that passed and Al-Rashid +marvelled at the generosity and benevolence of Yahya and the vileness and +ingratitude of Mansur, and bade restore the jewel to Yahya, saying, 'Whatso we +have given it befitteth us not to take again.' After that Salih returned to +Yahya and acquainted him with the tale of Mansur and his ill-conduct; whereupon +replied he, 'O Salih, when a man is in want, sick at heart and sad of thought, +he is not to be blamed for aught that falleth from him; for it cometh not from +the heart;' and on this wise he took to seeking excuse for Mansur. But Salih +wept and exclaimed, 'Never shall the revolving heavens bring forth into being +the like of thee, O Yahya! Alas, and well- away, that one of such noble nature +and generosity should be laid in the dust!' And he repeated these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Haste to do kindness thou cost intend; * Thou canst not always<br/> + + on boons expend:<br/> + +How many from bounty themselves withheld, * Till means of bounty<br/> + + had come to end!'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And men tell another tale of the +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap21"></a>GENEROUS DEALING OF YAHYA SON OF KHБLID WITH A MAN WHO FORGED A LETTER IN HIS NAME.</h3> + +<p> +There was between Yбhyб bin Khбlid and Abdullah bin Mбlik al- Khuzб'i,[FN#248] +an enmity which they kept secret; the reason of the hatred being that Harun +al-Rashid loved Abdullah with exceeding love, so that Yahya and his sons were +wont to say that he had bewitched the Commander of the Faithful. And thus they +abode a long while, with rancour in their hearts, till it fell out that the +Caliph invested Abdullah with the government of Armenia[FN#249] and despatched +him thither. Now soon after he had settled himself in his seat of government, +there came to him one of the people of Irak, a man of good breeding and +excellent parts and abundant cleverness; but he had lost his money and wasted +his wealth and his estate was come to ill case; so he forged a letter to +Abdullah bin Malik in the name of Yahya bin Khбlid and set out therewith for +Armenia. Now when he came to the Governor's gate, he gave the letter to one of +the Chamberlains, who took it and carried it to his master. Abdullah opened it +and read it and, considering it attentively, knew it to be forged; so he sent +for the man, who presented himself before him and called down blessings upon +him and praised him and those of his court. Quoth Abdullah to him, "What moved +thee to weary thyself on this wise and bring me a forged letter? But be of good +heart; for we will not disappoint thy travail." Replied the other, "Allah +prolong the life of our lord the Wazir! If my coming annoy thee, cast not about +for a pretext to repel me, for Allah's earth is wide and He who giveth daily +bread still liveth. Indeed, the letter I bring thee from Yahya bin Khalid is +true and no forgery." Quoth Abdullah, "I will write a letter to my +agent[FN#250] at Baghdad and command him enquire concerning this same letter. +If it be true, as thou sayest, and genuine and not forged by thee, I will +bestow on thee the Emirship of one of my cities; or, if thou prefer a present, +I will give thee two hundred thousand dirhams, besides horses and camels of +price and a robe of honour. But, if the letter prove a forgery, I will order +thou be beaten with two hundred blows of a stick and thy beard be shaven." So +Abdullah bade confine him in a chamber and furnish him therein with all he +needed, till his case should be made manifest. Then he despatched a letter to +his agent at Baghdad, to the following effect: "There is come to me a man with +a letter purporting to be from Yahya bin Khбlid. Now I have my suspicions of +this letter: therefore delay thou not in the matter, but go thyself and look +carefully into the case and let me have an answer with all speed, in order that +we may know what is true and what is untrue." When the letter reached Baghdad, +the agent mounted at once,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased +to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the agent of Abdullah, +son of Malik al-Khuza'i, on receipt of the letter at Baghdad, mounted at once +and repaired to the house of Yahya bin Khбlid, whom he found sitting with his +officers and boon- companions. After the usual salute he gave him the letter +and Yahya read it and said to the agent, "Come back to me tomorrow for my +written answer." Now when the agent had gone away, Yahya turned to his +companions and said, "What doth he deserve who forgeth a letter in my name and +carrieth it to my foe?" They answered all and each, saying this and that, and +every one proposing some kind of punishment; but Yahya said, "Ye err in that ye +say and this your counsel is of the baseness of your spirits and the meanness +of your minds. Ye all know the close favour of Abdullah with the Caliph and ye +weet of what is between him and us of anger and enmity; and now Almighty Allah +hath made this man the means of reconciliation between us; and hath fitted him +for such purpose and hath appointed him to quench the fire of ire in our +hearts, which hath been growing these twenty years; and by his means our +differences shall be adjusted. Wherefore it behoveth me to requite such man by +verifying his assertion and amending his estate; so I will write him a letter +to Abdullah son of Malik, praying that he may use him with increase of honour +and continue to him his liberality." Now when his companions heard what he +said, they called down blessings on him and marvelled at his generosity and the +greatness of his magnanimity. Then he called for paper and ink and wrote +Abdullah a letter in his own hand, to the following effect: "In the name of +Allah, the Compassionating' the Compassionate! Of a truth thy letter hath +reached me (Allah give thee long life!) and I am glad to hear of thy safety and +am pleased to be assured of thine immunity and prosperity. It was thy thought +that a certain worthy man had forged a letter in my name and that he was not +the bearer of any message from the same; but the case is not so, for the letter +I myself wrote, and it was no forgery; and I hope, of thy courtesy and +consideration and the nobility of thy nature, that thou wilt gratify this +generous and excellent man of his hope and wish, and honour him with the honour +he deserveth and bring him to his desire and make him the special-object of thy +favour and munificence. Whatso thou dost with him, it is to me that thou dost +the kindness, and I am thankful to thee accordingly." Then he superscribed the +letter and after sealing it, delivered it to the agent, who despatched it to +Abdullah. Now when the Governor read it, he was charmed with its contents, and +sending for the man, said to him, "Whichever of the two promised boons is the +more acceptable to thee that will I give thee." The man replied, "The money +gift were more acceptable to me than aught else," whereupon Abdullah ordered +him two hundred thousand dirhams and ten Arab horses, five with housings of +silk and other five with richly ornamented saddles, used in state processions; +besides twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a +proportionate quantity of jewels of price. Moreover, he bestowed on him a dress +of honour and sent him to Baghdad in great splendour. So when he came thither, +he repaired to the door of Yahya's house, before he went to his own folk, and +craved permission to enter and have audience. The Chamberlain went in to Yahya +and said to him, "O my lord, there is one at the door who craveth speech of +thee; and he is a man of apparent wealth, courteous in manner, comely of aspect +and attended by many servants." Then Yahya bade admit him; and, when he entered +and kissed the ground before him, Yahya asked him, "Who art thou?" He answered, +"Hear me, O my lord, I am he who was done dead by the tyranny of fortune, but +thou didst raise me to life again from the grave of calamities and exalt me to +the paradise of my desires. I am the man who forged a letter in thy name and +carried it to Abdullah bin Malik al-Khuza'i." Yahya asked, "How hath he dealt +with thee and what did he give thee?"; and the man answered, "He hath given me, +thanks to thy hand and thy great liberality and benevolence and to thy +comprehensive kindness and lofty magnanimity and thine all-embracing +generosity, that which hath made me a wealthy man and he hath distinguished me +with his gifts and favours. And now I have brought all that he gave me and here +it is at thy door; for it is thine to decide and the command is in thy hand." +Rejoined Yahya, "Thou hast done me better service than I did thee and I owe +thee a heavy debt of gratitude and every gift the white hand[FN#251] can give, +for that thou hast changed into love and amity the hate and enmity that were +between me and a man whom I respect and esteem. Wherefore I will give thee the +like of what Abdullah bin Malik gave thee." Then he ordered him money and +horses and chests of apparel, such as Abdullah had given him; and thus that +man's fortune was restored to him by the munificence of these two generous +ones. And folk also relate the tale of the +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap22"></a>CALIPH AL-MAAMUN AND THE STRANGE SCHOLAR.</h3> + +<p> +It is said of Al-Maamun that, among the Caliphs of the house of Abbas, there +was none more accomplished in all branches of knowledge than he. Now on two +days in each week, he was wont to preside at conferences of the learned, when +the lawyers and theologians disputed in his presence, each sitting in his +several-rank and room. One day as he sat thus, there came into the assembly a +stranger, clad in ragged white clothes, who took seat in an obscure place +behind the doctors of the law. Then the assembly began to speak and debate +difficult questions, it being the custom that the various propositions should +be submitted to each in turn, and that whoso bethought him of some subtle +addition or rare conceit, should make mention of it. So the question went round +till it came to the strange man, who spake in his turn and made a goodlier +answer than any of the doctors' replies; and the Caliph approved his +speech.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph Al-Maamun +approved his speech and ordered him to come up from his low place to a high +stead. Now when the second question came to him, he made a still more notable +answer, and Al-Maamun ordered him to be preferred to a yet higher seat; and +when the third question reached him, he made answer more justly and +appropriately than on the two previous occasions, and Al-Maamun bade him come +up and sit near himself. Presently the discussion ended when water was brought +and they washed their hands after which food was set on and they ate; and the +doctors arose and withdrew; but Al-Maamun forbade the stranger to depart with +them and, calling him to himself, treated him with especial-favour and promised +him honour and profit. Thereupon they made ready the sйance of wassail; the +fair-faced cup-companions came and the pure wine[FN#252] went round amongst +them, till the cup came to the stranger, who rose to his feet and spake thus, +"If the Commander of the Faithful permit me, I will say one word." Answered the +Caliph, "Say what thou wilt." Quoth the man "Verily the Exalted Intelligence +(whose eminence Allah increase!) knoweth that his slave was this day, in the +august assembly, one of the unknown folk and of the meanest of the company; and +the Commander of the Faithful raised his rank and brought him near to himself, +little as were the wit and wisdom he displayed, preferring him above the rest +and advancing him to a station and a degree where to his thought aspired not. +But now he is minded to part him from that small portion of intellect which +raised him high from his lowness and made him great after his littleness. +Heaven forfend and forbid that the Commander of the Faithful should envy his +slave what little he hath of understanding and worth and renown! Now, if his +slave should drink wine, his reason would depart far from him and ignorance +draw near to him and steal-away his good breeding, so would he revert to that +low and contemptible degree, whence he sprang, and become ridiculous and +despicable in the eyes of the folk. I hope, therefore, that the August +Intelligence, of his power and bounty and royal-generosity and magnanimity, +will not despoil his slave of this jewel." When the Caliph Al-Maamun heard his +speech, he praised him and thanked him and making him sit down again in his +place, showed him high honour and ordered him a present of an hundred thousand +silver pieces. Moreover he mounted him upon a horse and gave him rich apparel; +and in every assembly he was wont to exalt him and show him favour over all the +other doctors of law and religion till he became the highest of them all in +rank. And Allah is All knowing.[FN#253] Men also tell a tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap23"></a>ALI SHAR[FN#254] AND ZUMURRUD.</h3> + +<p> +There lived once in the days of yore and the good old times long gone before, +in the land of Khorasan, a merchant called Majd al-Dнn, who had great wealth +and many slaves and servants, white and black, young and old; but he had not +been blessed with a child until he reached the age of threescore, when Almighty +Allah vouchsafed him a son, whom he named Alн Shбr. The boy grew up like the +moon on the night of fulness; and when he came to man's estate and was endowed +with all kinds of perfections, his father fell sick of a death-malady and, +calling his son to him, said, "O my son, the fated hour of my decease is at +hand, and I desire to give thee my last injunctions." He asked, "And what are +they, O my father?"; and he answered, "O my son, I charge thee, be not +over-familiar with any[FN#255] and eschew what leadeth to evil and mischief. +Beware lest thou sit in company with the wicked; for he is like the blacksmith; +if his fire burn thee not, his smoke shall bother thee: and how excellent is +the saying of the poet,[FN#256] +</p> + +<p> +'In thy whole world there is not one,<br/> + +Whose friendship thou may'st count upon,<br/> + +Nor plighted faith that will stand true,<br/> + +When times go hard, and hopes are few.<br/> + +Then live apart and dwell alone,<br/> + +Nor make a prop of any one,<br/> + +I've given a gift in that I've said,<br/> + +Will stand thy friend in every stead:'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And what another saith, +</p> + +<p> +'Men are a hidden malady; * Rely not on the sham in them:<br/> + +For perfidy and treachery * Thou'lt find, if thou examine them.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And yet a third saith, +</p> + +<p> +'Converse with men hath scanty weal, except * To while away the<br/> + + time in chat and prate:<br/> + +Then shun their intimacy, save it be * To win thee lore, or<br/> + + better thine estate.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And a fourth saith, +</p> + +<p> +'If a sharp-witted wight e'er tried mankind, * I've eaten that<br/> + + which only tasted he:[FN#257]<br/> + +Their amity proved naught but wile and guile, * Their faith I<br/> + + found was but hypocrisy.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth Ali, "O my father, I have heard thee and I will obey thee what more shall +I do?" Quoth he, "Do good whereas thou art able; be ever kind and courteous to +men and regard as riches every occasion of doing a good turn; for a design is +not always easily carried out; and how well saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +"Tis not at every time and tide unstable, * We can do kindly acts<br/> + + and charitable:<br/> + +When thou art able hasten thee to act, * Lest thine endeavour<br/> + + prove anon unable!'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Said Ali, "I have heard thee and I will obey thee."—And Shahrazad perceived the +dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth replied, "I +have heard thee and I will obey thee; what more?" And his sire continued, "Be +thou, O my son, mindful of Allah, so shall He be mindful of thee. Ward thy +wealth and waste it not; for an thou do, thou wilt come to want the least of +mankind. Know that the measure of a man's worth is according to that which his +right hand hendeth: and how well saith the poet,[FN#258] +</p> + +<p> +'When fails my wealth no friend will deign befriend, * And when<br/> + + it waxeth all men friendship show:<br/> + +How many a foe for wealth became my friend, * Wealth lost, how<br/> + + many a friend became a foe!'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Asked Ali, "What more?" And Majd al-Din answered, "O my son, take counsel of +those who are older than thou and hasten not to do thy heart's desire. Have +compassion on those who are below thee, so shall those who are above thee have +compassion on thee; and oppress none, lest Allah empower one who shall oppress +thee. How well saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'Add other wit to thy wit, counsel craving, * For man's true<br/> + + course hides not from minds of two<br/> + +Man is a mirror which but shows his face, * And by two mirrors he<br/> + + his back shall view.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And as saith another,[FN#259] +</p> + +<p> +'Act on sure grounds, nor hurry fast,<br/> + +To gain the purpose that thou hast<br/> + +And be thou kindly to all men<br/> + +So kindly thou'lt be called again;<br/> + +For not a deed the hand can try,<br/> + +Save 'neath the hand of God on high,<br/> + +Nor tyrant harsh work tyranny,<br/> + +Uncrushed by tyrant harsh as he.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And as saith yet another,[FN#260] +</p> + +<p> +'Tyrannize not, if thou hast the power to do so; for the<br/> + + tyrannical-is in danger of revenges.<br/> + +Thine eye will sleep while the oppressed, wakeful, will call down<br/> + + curses on thee, and God's eye sleepeth not.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Beware of wine-bibbing, for drink is the root of all evil: it doeth away the +reason and bringeth to contempt whoso useth it; and how well saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'By Allah, wine shall not disturb me, while my soul * Join body,<br/> + + nor while speech the words of me explain:<br/> + +No day will I be thralled to wine-skin cooled by breeze[FN#261] *<br/> + + Nor choose a friend save those who are of cups unfair.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +This, then, is my charge to thee; bear it before thine eyes, and Allah stand to +thee in my stead." Then he swooned away and kept silent awhile; and, when he +came to himself, he besought pardon of Allah and pronounced the profession of +the Faith, and was admitted to the mercy of the Almighty. So his son wept and +lamented for him and presently made proper preparation for his burial; great +and small walked in his funeral-procession and Koran readers recited Holy Writ +about his bier; nor did Ali Shar omit aught of what was due to the dead. Then +they prayed over him and committed him to the dust and wrote these two couplets +upon his tomb, +</p> + +<p> +'Thou west create of dust and cam'st to life, * And learned'st in<br/> + + eloquence to place thy trust;<br/> + +Anon, to dust returning, thou becamest * A corpse, as though<br/> + + ne'er taken from the dust."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now his son Ali Shar grieved for him with sore grief and mourned him with the +ceremonies usual among men of note; nor did he cease to weep the loss of his +father till his mother died also, not long afterwards, when he did with her as +he had done with his sire. Then he sat in the shop, selling and buying and +consorting with none of Almighty Allah's creatures, in accordance with his +father's injunction. This wise he continued to do for a year, at the end of +which time there came in to him by craft certain whoreson fellows and consorted +with him, till he turned after their example to lewdness and swerved from the +way of righteousness, drinking wine in flowing bowls and frequenting fair women +night and day; for he said to himself, "Of a truth my father amassed this +wealth for me, and if I spend it not, to whom shall I leave it? By Allah, I +will not do save as saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'An through the whole of life * Thou gett'st and gain'st for<br/> + + self;<br/> + +Say, when shalt thou enjoy * Thy gains and gotten pelf?'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And Ali Shar ceased not to waste his wealth all whiles of the day and all +watches of the night, till he had made away with the whole of his riches and +abode in pauper case and troubled at heart. So he sold his shop and lands and +so forth, and after this he sold the clothes off his body, leaving himself but +one suit; and, as drunkenness quitted him and thoughtfulness came to him, he +fell into grief and sore care. One day, when he had sat from day-break to +mid-afternoon without breaking his fast, he said in his mind, "I will go round +to those on whom I spent my monies: perchance one of them will feed me this +day." So he went the round of them all; but, as often as he knocked at any +one's door of them, the man denied himself and hid from him, till his stomach +ached with hunger. Then he betook himself to the bazar of the merchants,—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Tenth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali Shar feeling his +stomach ache with hunger, betook himself to the merchants' bazar where he found +a crowd of people assembled in ring, and said to himself, "I wonder what +causeth these folk to crowd together thus? By Allah, I will not budge hence +till I see what is within yonder ring!" So he made his way into the ring and +found therein a damsel exposed for sale who was five feet tall,[FN#262] +beautifully proportioned, rosy of cheek and high of breast; and who surpassed +all the people of her time in beauty and loveliness and elegance and grace; +even as saith one, describing her, +</p> + +<p> +"As she willиd she was made, and in such a way that when * She<br/> + + was cast in Nature's mould neither short nor long was she:<br/> + +Beauty woke to fall in love with the beauties of her form, *<br/> + + Where combine with all her coyness her pride and pudency:<br/> + +The full moon is her face[FN#263]and the branchlet is her shape,<br/> + + * And the musk-pod is her scent—what like her can there be?<br/> + +'Tis as though she were moulded from water of the pearl, * And in<br/> + + every lovely limblet another moon we see!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And her name was Zumurrud—the Smaragdine. So when Ali Shar saw her, he +marvelled at her beauty and grace and said, "By Allah, I will not stir hence +till I see how much this girl fetcheth, and know who buyeth her!" So he took +standing-place amongst the merchants, and they thought he had a mind to buy +her, knowing the wealth he had inherited from his parents. Then the broker +stood at the damsel's head and said, "Ho, merchants! Ho, ye men of money! Who +will open the gate of biddings for this damsel, the mistress of moons, the +union pearl, Zumurrud the curtain-maker, the sought of the seeker and the +delight of the desirous? Open the biddings' door and on the opener be nor blame +nor reproach for evermore." Thereupon quoth one merchant, "Mine for five +hundred dinars;" "And ten," quoth another. "Six hundred," cried an old man +named Rashнd al-Din, blue of eye[FN#264] and foul of face. "And ten," cried +another. "I bid a thousand," rejoined Rashid al-Din; whereupon the rival +merchants were tongue-tied, and held their peace and the broker took counsel +with the girl's owner, who said, "I have sworn not to sell her save to whom she +shall choose: so consult her." Thereupon the broker went up to Zumurrud and +said to her, "O mistress of moons this merchant hath a mind to buy thee." She +looked at Rashid al-Din and finding him as we have said, replied, "I will not +be sold to a gray-beard, whom decrepitude hath brought to such evil plight. +Allah inspired his saying who saith, +</p> + +<p> +'I craved of her a kiss one day; but soon as she beheld * My<br/> + + hoary hairs, though I my luxuries and wealth display'd;<br/> + +She proudly turned away from me, showed shoulders, cried aloud:—<br/> + + * 'No! no! by Him, whose hest mankind from nothingness hath<br/> + + made<br/> + +For hoary head and grizzled chin I've no especial-love: * What!<br/> + + stuff my mouth with cotton[FN#265] ere in sepulchre I'm<br/> + + laid?'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the broker heard her words he said, "By Allah, thou art excusable, and +thy price is ten thousand gold pieces!" So he told her owner that she would not +accept of old man Rashid al-Din, and he said, "Consult her concerning another." +Thereupon a second man came forward and said, "Be she mine for what price was +offered by the oldster she would have none of;" but she looked at him and +seeing that his beard was dyed, said "What be this fashion lewd and base and +the blackening of the hoary face?" And she made a great show of wonderment and +repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Showed me Sir Such-an-one a sight and what a frightful sight! *<br/> + + A neck by Allah, only made for slipper-sole to smite[FN#266]<br/> + +A beard the meetest racing ground where gnats and lice contend, *<br/> + + A brow fit only for the ropes thy temples chafe and<br/> + + bite.[FN#267]<br/> + +O thou enravish" by my cheek and beauties of my form, * Why so<br/> + + translate thyself to youth and think I deem it right?<br/> + +Dyeing disgracefully that white of reverend aged hairs, * And<br/> + + hiding for foul purposes their venerable white!<br/> + +Thou goest with one beard and comest back with quite another, *<br/> + + Like Punch-and-Judy man who works the Chinese shades by<br/> + + night.[FN#268]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And how well saith another' +</p> + +<p> +Quoth she, 'I see thee dye thy hoariness:'[FN#269] * 'To hide, O<br/> + + ears and eyes! from thee,' quoth I:<br/> + +She roared with laugh and said, 'Right funny this; * Thou art so<br/> + + lying e'en<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the broker heard her verse he exclaimed, "By Allah thou hast spoken +sooth!" The merchant asked what she said: so the broker repeated the verses to +him; and he knew that she was in the right while he was wrong and desisted from +buying her. Then another came forward and said, "Ask her if she will be mine at +the same price;" but, when he did so, she looked at him and seeing that he had +but one eye, said, "This man is one-eyed; and it is of such as he that the poet +saith,[FN#270] +</p> + +<p> +'Consort not with the Cyclops e'en a day; * Beware his falsehood<br/> + + and his mischief fly:<br/> + +Had this monocular a jot of good, * Allah had ne'er brought<br/> + + blindness to his eye!'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then said the broker, pointing to another bidder, "Wilt thou be sold to this +man?" She looked at him and seeing that he was short of stature[FN#271] and had +a beard that reached to his navel, cried, "This is he of whom the poet +speaketh, +</p> + +<p> +'I have a friend who hath a beard * Allah to useless length<br/> + + unroll'd:<br/> + +'Tis like a certain[FN#272] winter night, * Longsome and<br/> + + darksome, drear and cold.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Said the broker, "O my lady, look who pleaseth thee of these that are present, +and point him out, that I may sell thee to him." So she looked round the ring +of merchants, examining one by one their physiognomies, till her glance fell on +Ali Shar,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Eleventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the girl's glance +fell on Ali Shar, she cast at him a look with longing eyes, which cost her a +thousand sighs, and her heart was taken with him; for that he was of favour +passing fair and pleasanter than zephyr or northern air; and she said, "O +broker, I will be sold to none but to this my lord, owner of the handsome face +and slender form whom the poet thus describeth, +</p> + +<p> +'Displaying that fair face * The tempted they assailed<br/> + +Who, had they wished me safe * That lovely face had veiled!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +For none shall own me but he, because his cheek is smooth and the water of his +mouth sweet as Salsabil;[FN#273] his spittle is a cure for the sick and his +charms daze and dazzle poet and proser, even as saith one of him, +</p> + +<p> +'His honey dew of lips is wine; his breath * Musk and those<br/> + + teeth, smile shown, are camphor's hue:<br/> + +Rizwбn[FN#274] hath turned him out o' doors, for fear * The<br/> + + Houris lapse from virtue at the view<br/> + +Men blame his bearing for its pride, but when * In pride the full<br/> + + moon sails, excuse is due.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Lord of the curling locks and rose red cheeks and ravishing look of whom saith +the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'The fawn-like one a meeting promised me * And eye expectant<br/> + + waxed and heart unstirred:<br/> + +His eyelids bade me hold his word as true; * But, in their<br/> + + languish,[FN#275] can he keep his word?'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And as saith another, +</p> + +<p> +'Quoth they, 'Black letters on his cheek are writ! * How canst<br/> + + thou love him and a side-beard see?'<br/> + +Quoth I, 'Cease blame and cut your chiding short; * If those be<br/> + + letters 'tis a forgery:'<br/> + +Gather his charms all growths of Eden garth * Whereto those<br/> + + Kausar[FN#276]-lips bear testimony.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When the broker heard the verses she repeated on the charms of Ali Shar, he +marvelled at her eloquence, no less than at the brightness of her beauty; but +her owner said to him, "Marvel not at her splendour which shameth the noonday +sun, nor that her memory is stored with the choicest verses of the poets; for +besides this, she can repeat the glorious Koran, according to the seven +readings,[FN#277] and the august Traditions, after ascription and authentic +transmission; and she writeth the seven modes of handwriting[FN#278] and she +knoweth more learning and knowledge than the most learned. Moreover, her hands +are better than gold and silver; for she maketh silken curtains and selleth +them for fifty gold pieces each; and it taketh her but eight days to make a +curtain." Exclaimed the broker, "O happy the man who hath her in his house and +maketh her of his choicest treasures!"; and her owner said to him, "Sell her to +whom she will." So the broker went up to Ali Shar and, kissing his hands, said +to him, "O my lord, buy thou this damsel, for she hath made choice of +thee."[FN#279] Then he set forth to him all her charms and accomplishments, and +added, "I give thee joy if thou buy her, for this be a gift from Him who is no +niggard of His giving." Whereupon Ali bowed his head groundwards awhile, +laughing at himself and secretly saying, "Up to this hour I have not broken my +fast; yet I am ashamed before the merchants to own that I have no money +wherewith to buy her." The damsel, seeing him hang down his head, said to the +broker, "Take my hand and lead me to him, that I may show my beauty to him and +tempt him to buy me; for I will not be sold to any but to him." So the broker +took her hand and stationed her before Ali Shar, saying, "What is thy good +pleasure, O my lord?" But he made him no answer, and the girl said to him, "O +my lord and darling of my heart, what aileth thee that thou wilt not bid for +me? Buy me for what thou wilt and I will bring thee good fortune." So he raised +his eyes to her and said, "Is buying perforce? Thou art dear at a thousand +dinars." Said she, "Then buy me, O my lord, for nine hundred." He cried, "No," +and she rejoined, "Then for eight hundred;" and though he again said, "Nay," +she ceased not to abate the price, till she came to an hundred dinars. Quoth +he, "I have not by me a full hundred." So she laughed and asked, "How much dost +thou lack of an hundred?" He answered, "By Allah, I have neither an hundred +dinars, nor any other sum; for I own neither white coin nor red cash, neither +dinar nor dirham. So look out thou for another and a better customer." And when +she knew that he had nothing, she said to him, "Take me by the hand and carry +me aside into a by- lane, as if thou wouldst examine me privily." He did so and +she drew from her bosom a purse containing a thousand dinars, which she gave +him, saying, "Pay down nine hundred to my price and let the hundred remain with +thee by way of provision." He did as she bid him and, buying her for nine +hundred dinars, paid down the price from her own purse and carried her to his +house. When she entered it, she found a dreary desolate saloon without carpets +or vessels; so she gave him other thousand dinars, saying, "Go to the bazar and +buy three hundred dinars' worth of furniture and vessels for the house and +three dinars' worth of meat and drink."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day +and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twelfth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that quoth the slave-girl, +"Bring us meat and drink for three dinars, furthermore a piece of silk, the +size of a curtain, and bring golden and silvern thread and sewing silk of seven +colours." Thus he did, and she furnished the house and they sat down to eat and +drink; after which they went to bed and took their pleasure one of the other. +And they lay the night embraced behind the curtain and were even as saith the +poet,[FN#280] +</p> + +<p> +"Cleave fast to her thou lovestand let the envious rail amain,<br/> + + For calumny and envy ne'er to favour love were fain.<br/> + +Lo, whilst I slept, in dreams I saw thee lying by my side And,<br/> + + from thy lips the sweetest, sure, of limpid springs did<br/> + + drain.<br/> + +Yea, true and certain all I saw is, as I will avouch, And 'spite<br/> + + the envier, thereto I surely will attain.<br/> + +There is no goodlier sight, indeed, for eyes to look upon, Than<br/> + + when one couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain.<br/> + +Each to the other's bosom clasped, clad in their twinned delight,<br/> + + Whilst hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks<br/> + + enchain<br/> + +Lo, when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, But<br/> + + on cold iron smite the folk who chide at them in vain.<br/> + +Thou, that for loving censurest the votaries of love, Canst thou<br/> + + assain a heart diseased or heal-a cankered brain?<br/> + +If in thy time thou kind but one to love thee and be true, I rede<br/> + + thee cast the world away and with that one remain."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +So they lay together till the morning and love for the other waxed firmly fixed +in the heart of each. And on rising, Zumurrud took the curtain and embroidered +it with coloured silks and purpled it with silver and gold thread and she added +thereto a border depicting round about it all manner of birds and beasts; nor +is there in the world a feral but she wrought his semblance. This she worked in +eight days, till she had made an end of it, when she trimmed it and glazed and +ironed it and gave it to her lord, saying, "Carry it to the bazar and sell it +to one of the merchants at fifty dinars; but beware lest thou sell it to a +passer-by, as this would cause a separation between me and thee, for we have +foes who are not unthoughtful of us." "I hear and I obey," answered he and, +repairing to the bazar, sold the curtain to a merchant, as she bade him; after +which he bought a piece of silk for another curtain and gold and silver and +silken thread as before and what they needed of food, and brought all this to +her, giving her the rest of the money. Now every eight days she made a curtain, +which he sold for fifty dinars, and on this wise passed a whole year. At the +end of that time, he went as usual to the bazar with a curtain, which he gave +to the broker; and there came up to him a Nazarene who bid him sixty dinars for +it; but he refused, and the Christian continued bidding higher and higher, till +he came to an hundred dinars and bribed the broker with ten ducats. So the man +returned to Ali Shar and told him of the proffered price and urged him to +accept the offer and sell the article at the Nazarene's valuation, saying, "O +my lord, be not afraid of this Christian for that he can do thee no hurt." The +merchants also were urgent with him; so he sold the curtain to the Christian, +albeit his heart misgave him; and, taking the money, set off to return home. +Presently, as he walked, he found the Christian walking behind him; so he said +to him, "O Nazarene,[FN#281] why dost thou follow in my footsteps?" Answered +the other "O my lord, I want a something at the end of the street, Allah never +bring thee to want!"; but Ali Shar had barely reached his place before the +Christian overtook him; so he said to him, "O accursed, what aileth thee to +follow me wherever I go?" Replied the other, "O my lord, give me a draught of +water, for I am athirst; and with Allah be thy reward!"[FN#282] Quoth Ali Shar +to himself, "Verily, this man is an Infidel who payeth tribute and claimeth our +protection[FN#283] and he asketh me for a draught of water; by Allah, I will +not baulk him!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirteenth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Ali Shar to +himself, "This man is a tributary Unbeliever and he asked me for a draught of +water; by Allah, I will not baulk him!" So he entered the house and took a +gugglet of water; but the slave-girl Zumurrud saw him and said to him, "O my +love, hast thou sold the curtain?" He replied, "Yes;" and she asked, "To a +merchant or to a passer-by? for my heart presageth a parting." And he answered, +"To whom but to a merchant?" Thereupon she rejoined, "Tell me the truth of the +case, that I may order my affair; and why take the gugglet of water?" And he, +To give the broker to drink," upon which she exclaimed, There is no Majesty and +there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!"; and she repeated +these two couplets,[FN#284] +</p> + +<p> +"O thou who seekest separation, act leisurely, and let not the<br/> + + embrace of the beloved deceive thee!<br/> + +Act leisurely; for the nature of fortune is treacherous, and the<br/> + + end of every union is disjunction.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then he took the gugglet and, going out, found the Christian within the +vestibule and said to him, "How comest thou here and how darest thou, O dog, +enter my house without my leave?" Answered he, "O my lord, there is no +difference between the door and the vestibule, and I never intended to stir +hence, save to go out; and my thanks are due to thee for thy kindness and +favour, thy bounty and generosity." Then he took the mug and emptying it, +returned it to Ali Shar, who received it and waited for him to rise up and to +go; but he did not move. So Ali said to him, "Why dost thou not rise and wend +thy way?"; and he answered, "O my lord, be not of those who do a kindness and +then make it a reproach, nor of those of whom saith the poet,[FN#285] +</p> + +<p> +'They're gone who when thou stoodest at their door * Would for<br/> + + thy wants so generously cater:<br/> + +But stand at door of churls who followed them, * They'd make high<br/> + + favour of a draught of water!'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And he continued, "O my lord, I have drunk, and now I would have thee give me +to eat of whatever is in the house, though it be but a bit of bread or a +biscuit with an onion." Replied Ali Shar, "Begone, without more chaffer and +chatter; there is nothing in the house." He persisted, "O my lord, if there be +nothing in the house, take these hundred dinars and bring us something from the +market, if but a single scone, that bread and salt may pass between +us."[FN#286] With this, quoth Ali Shar to himself, "This Christian is surely +mad; I will take his hundred dinars and bring him somewhat worth a couple of +dirhams and laugh at him." And the Nazarene added, "O my lord, I want but a +small matter to stay my hunger, were it but a dry scone and an onion; for the +best food is that which doeth away appetite, not rich viands; and how well +saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'Hunger is sated with a bone-dry scone, * How is it then[FN#287]<br/> + + in woes of want I wone?<br/> + +Death is all-justest, lacking aught regard * For Caliph-king and<br/> + + beggar woe-begone.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then quoth Ali Shar, "Wait here, while I lock the saloon and fetch thee +somewhat from the market;" and quoth the Christian, "To hear is to obey." So +Ali Shar shut up the saloon and, locking the door with a padlock, put the key +in his pocket: after which he went to market and bought fried cheese and virgin +honey and bananas[FN#288] and bread, with which he returned to the house. Now +when the Christian saw the provision, he said, "O my lord, this is overmuch; +'tis enough for half a score of men and I am alone; but belike thou wilt eat +with me." Replied Ali, "Eat by thyself, I am full;" and the Christian rejoined, +"O my lord, the wise say, Whoso eateth not with his guest is a son of a whore." +Now when Ali Shar heard these words from the Nazarene, he sat down and ate a +little with him, after which he would have held his hand;—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fourteenth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali Shar sat down and ate +a little with him, after which he would have held his hand; but the Nazarene +privily took a banana and peeled it; then, splitting it in twain, put into one +half concentrated Bhang, mixed with opium, a drachm whereof would over throw an +elephant; and he dipped it in the honey and gave it to Ali Shar, saying, "O my +lord, by the truth of thy religion, I adjure thee to take this." So Ali Shar, +being ashamed to make him forsworn, took it and swallowed it; but hardly had it +settled well in his stomach, when his head forwent both his feet and he was as +though he had been a year asleep. As soon as the Nazarene saw this, rose to his +feet as he had been a scald wolf or a cat-o'-mount[FN#289] at bay and, taking +the saloon key, left Ali Shar prostrate and ran off to rejoin his brother. And +the cause of his so doing was that the Nazarene's brother was the same decrepit +old man who purposed to buy Zumurrud for a thousand dinars, but she would none +of him and jeered him in verse. He was an Unbeliever inwardly, though a Moslem +outwardly, and had called himself Rashid al-Din;[FN#290] and when Zumurrud +mocked him and would not accept of him, he complained to his brother the +aforesaid Christian who played this sleight to take her from her master Ali +Shar; whereupon his brother, Barsum by name said to him, "Fret not thyself +about the business, for I will make shift to seize her for thee, without +expending either diner or dirham. Now he was a skilful wizard, crafty and +wicked; so he watched his time and ceased not his practices till he played Ali +Shar the trick before related; then, taking the key, he went to his brother and +acquainted him with what had passed. Thereupon Rashid al-Din mounted his she +mule and repaired with his brother and his servants to the house of Ali Shar, +taking with him a purse of a thousand dinars, wherewith to bribe the Chief of +Police, should he meet him. He opened the saloon door and the men who were with +him rushed in upon Zumurrud and forcibly seized her, threatening her with +death, if she spoke, but they left the place as it was and took nothing +therefrom. Lastly they left Ali Shar lying in the vestibule after they had shut +the door on him and laid the saloon key by his side. Then the Christian carried +the girl to his own house and setting her amongst his handmaids and concubines, +said to her, "O strumpet, I am the old man whom thou didst reject and lampoon; +but now I have thee, without paying diner or dirham." Replied she (and her eyes +streamed with tears), "Allah requite thee, O wicked old man, for sundering me +and my lord!" He rejoined, "Wanton minx and whore that thou art, thou shalt see +how I will punish thee! By the truth of the Messiah and the Virgin, except thou +obey me and embrace my faith, I will torture thee with all manner of torture!" +She replied, "By Allah, though thou cut my flesh to bits I will not forswear +the faith of Al-Islam! It may be Almighty Allah will bring me speedy relief, +for He cloth even as He is fief, and the wise say: 'Better body to scathe than +a flaw in faith.'" Thereupon the old man called his eunuchs and women, saying, +"Throw her down!" So they threw her down and he ceased not to beat her with +grievous beating, whilst she cried for help and no help came; then she no +longer implored aid but fell to saying, "Allah is my sufficiency, and He is +indeed all-sufficient!" till her groans ceased and her breath failed her and +she fell into a fainting-fit. Now when his heart was soothed by bashing her, he +said to the eunuchs, "Drag her forth by the feet and cast her down in the +kitchen, and give her nothing to eat." And after quietly sleeping that night, +on the morrow the accursed old man sent for her and beat her again, after which +he bade the Castrato return her to her place. When the burning of the blows had +cooled, she said, "There is no god but the God and Mohammed is the Apostle of +God! Allah is my sufficiency and excellent is my Guardian!" And she called for +succour upon our Lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!)—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fifteenth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Zumurrud called for +succour upon our Lord Mohammed (whom Allah bless and keep!). Such was her case; +but as regards Ali Shar, he ceased not sleeping till next day, when the Bhang +quitted his brain and he opened his eyes and cried out, "O Zumurrud"; but no +one answered him. So he entered the saloon and found the empty air and the fane +afar;[FN#291] whereby he knew that it was the Nazarene who had played him this +trick. And he groaned and wept and lamented and again shed tears, repeating +these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"O Love thou'rt instant in thy cruellest guise; * Here is my<br/> + + heart 'twixt fears and miseries:<br/> + +Pity, O lords, a thrall who, felled on way * Of Love, erst<br/> + + wealthy now a beggar lies:<br/> + +What profits archer's art if, when the foe * Draw near, his<br/> + + bowstring snap ere arrow {lies:<br/> + +And when griefs multiply on generous man * And urge, what fort<br/> + + can fend from destinies?<br/> + +How much and much I warded parting, but * 'When Destiny descends<br/> + + she blinds our eyes?'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when he had ended his verse, he sobbed with loud sobs and repeated also +these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Enrobes with honour sands of camp her foot step wandering lone,<br/> + + * Pines the poor mourner as she wins the stead where wont to<br/> + + wane<br/> + +She turns to resting-place of tribe, and yearns thereon to view *<br/> + + The spring-camp lying desolate with ruins overstrown<br/> + +She stands and questions of the site, but with the tongue of case<br/> + + * The mount replies, 'There is no path that leads to union,<br/> + + none!<br/> + +'Tis as the lightning flash erewhile bright glittered o'er the<br/> + + camp * And died in darkling air no more to be for ever<br/> + + shown.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And he repented when repentance availed him naught, and wept and rent his +raiment. Then he hent in hand two stones and went round about the city, beating +his breast with the stones and crying "O Zumurrud!" whilst the small boys +flocked round him, calling out, "A madman! A madman!" and all who knew him wept +for him, saying, "This is such an one: what evil hath befallen him?" Thus he +continued doing all that day and, when night darkened on him, he lay down in +one of the city lanes and sleet till morning On the morrow, he went round about +town with the stones till eventide, when he returned to his saloon to pass +therein the night. Presently, one of his neighbours saw him, and this worthy +old woman said to him, "O my son, Heaven give thee healing! How long hast thou +been mad?" And he answered her with these two couplets,[FN#292] +</p> + +<p> +"They said, Thou revest upon the person thou lovest. * And I<br/> + + replied, The sweets of life are only for the mad.<br/> + +Drop the subject of my madness, and bring her upon whom I rave *<br/> + + If she cure my madness do not blame me."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +So his old neighbour knew him for a lover who had lost his beloved and said, +"There is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the +Great! O my son, I wish thou wouldest acquaint me with the tale of thine +affliction. Peradventure Allah may enable me to help thee against it, if it so +please Him." So he told her all that had befallen him with Barsum the Nazarene +and his brother the wizard who had named himself Rashid al-Din and, when she +understood the whole case, she said, "O my son, indeed thou hast excuse." And +her eyes railed tears and she repeated these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Enough for lovers in this world their ban and bane: * By Allah,<br/> + + lover ne'er in fire of Sakar fries:<br/> + +For, sure, they died of love-desire they never told * Chastely,<br/> + + and to this truth tradition testifies."[FN#293]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And after she had finished her verse, she said, "O my son, rise at once and buy +me a crate, such as the jewel-pedlars carry; buy also bangles and seal-rings +and bracelets and ear-rings and other gewgaws wherein women delight and grudge +not the cash. Put all the stock into the crate and bring it to me and I will +set it on my head and go round about, in the guise of a huckstress and make +search for her in all the houses, till I happen on news of her— Inshallah!" So +Ali Shar rejoiced in her words and kissed her hands, then, going out, speedily +brought her all she required; whereupon she rose and donned a patched gown and +threw over her head a honey-yellow veil, and took staff in hand and, with the +basket on her head, began wandering about the passages and the houses. She +ceased not to go from house to house and street to street and quarter to +quarter, till Allah Almighty led her to the house of the accursed Rashid al-Din +the Nazarene where, hearing groans within, she knocked at the door,—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Sixteenth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the old woman heard +groans within the house, she knocked at the door, whereupon a slave-girl came +down and opening to her, saluted her. Quoth the old woman, "I have these +trifles for sale: is there any one with you who will buy aught of them?" "Yes," +answered the damsel and, carrying her indoors, made her sit down; whereupon all +the slave-girls came round her and each bought something of her. And as the old +woman spoke them fair and was easy with them as to price, all rejoiced in her, +because of her kind ways and pleasant speech. Meanwhile, she looked narrowly at +the ins and outs of the place to see who it was she had heard groaning, till +her glance fell on Zumurrud, when she knew her and she began to show her +customers yet more kindness. At last she made sure that Zumurrud was laid +prostrate; so she wept and said to the girls, "O my children, how cometh yonder +young lady in this plight?" Then the slave-girls told her all what had passed, +adding, "Indeed this matter is not of our choice; but our master commanded us +to do thus, and he is now on a journey." She said, "O my children, I have a +favour to ask of you, and it is that you loose this unhappy damsel of her +bonds, till you know of your lord's return, when do ye bind her again as she +was; and you shall earn a reward from the Lord of all creatures." "We hear and +obey," answered they and at once loosing Zumurrud, gave her to eat and drink. +Thereupon quoth the old woman, "Would my leg had been broken, ere I entered +your house!" And she went up to Zumurrud and said to her, "O my daughter, +Heaven keep thee safe; soon shall Allah bring thee relief." Then she privily +told her that she came from her lord, Ali Shar, and agreed with her to be on +the watch for sounds that night, saying, "Thy lord will come and stand by the +pavilion-bench and whistle[FN#294] to thee; and when thou hearest him, do thou +whistle back to him and let thyself down to him by a rope from the window, and +he will take thee and go away with thee." So Zumurrud thanked the old woman, +who went forth and returned to Ali Shar and told him what she had done, saying, +"Go this night, at midnight, to such a quarter, for the accursed carle's house +is there and its fashion is thus and thus. Stand under the window of the upper +chamber and whistle; whereupon she will let herself down to thee; then do thou +take her and carry her whither thou wilt." He thanked her for her good offices +and with flowing tears repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Now with their says and saids[FN#295] no more vex me the chiding<br/> + + race; * My heart is weary and I'm worn to bone by their<br/> + + disgrace:<br/> + +And tears a truthful legend[FN#296] with a long ascription-chain<br/> + + * Of my desertion and distress the lineage can trace.<br/> + +O thou heart-whole and free from dole and dolours I endure, * Cut<br/> + + short thy long persistency nor question of my case:<br/> + +A sweet-lipped one and soft of sides and cast in shapeliest mould<br/> + + * Hath stormed my heart with honied lure and honied words of<br/> + + grace.<br/> + +No rest my heart hath known since thou art gone, nor ever close *<br/> + + These eyes, nor patience aloe scape the hopes I dare to<br/> + + trace:<br/> + +Ye have abandoned me to be the pawn of vain desire, * In squalid<br/> + + state 'twixt enviers and they who blame to face:<br/> + +As for forgetting you or love 'tis thing I never knew; * Nor in<br/> + + my thought shall ever pass a living thing but you."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when he ended his verses, he sighed and shed tears and repeated also these +couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Divinely were inspired his words who brought me news of you; *<br/> + + For brought he unto me a gift was music in mine ear:<br/> + +Take he for gift, if him content, this worn-out threadbare robe,<br/> + + * My heart, which was in pieces torn when parting from my<br/> + + fete."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +He waited till night darkened and, when came the appointed time, he went to the +quarter she had described to him and saw and recognised the Christian's house; +so he sat down on the bench under the gallery. Presently drowsiness overcame +him and he slept (Glory be to Him who sleepeth not!?, for it was long since he +had tasted sleep, by reason of the violence of his passion, and he became as +one drunken with slumber. And while he was on this wise,—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Seventeenth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that while he lay asleep, +behold, a certain thief, who had come out that night and prowled about the +skirts of the city to steal-somewhat, happened by the decree of Destiny, on the +Nazarene's house. He went round about it, but found no way of climbing up into +it, and presently on his circuit he came to the bench, where he saw Ali Shar +asleep and stole his turband; and, as he was taking it suddenly Zumurrud looked +out and seeing the thief standing in the darkness, took him for her lord; +whereupon she let herself down to him by the rope with a pair of saddle-bags +full of gold. Now when the robber saw that, he said to himself, "This is a +wondrous thing, and there must needs be some marvellous cause to it." Then he +snatched up the saddle-bags, and threw Zumurrud over his shoulders and made off +with both like the blinding lightening. Quoth she, "Verily, the old woman told +me that thou west weak with illness on my account; and here thou art, stronger +than a horse." He made her no reply; so she put her hand to his face and felt a +beard like the broom of palm-frond used for the Hammam,[FN#297] as if he were a +hog which had swallowed feathers and they had come out of his gullet; whereat +she took fright and said to him, "What art thou?" "O strumpet," answered he, "I +am the sharper Jawбn[FN#298] the Kurd, of the band of Ahmad al-Danaf; we are +forty sharpers, who will all piss our tallow into thy womb this night, from +dusk to dawn." When she heard his words, she wept and beat her face, knowing +that Fate had gotten the better of her and that she had no resource but +resignation and to put her trust in Allah Almighty. So she took patience and +submitted herself to the ordinance of the Lord, saying, "There is no god but +the God! As often as we escape from one woe, we fall into a worse." Now the +cause of Jawan's coming thither was this: he had said to Calamity-Ahmad, "O +Sharper-captain,[FN#299] I have been in this city before and know a cavern +without the walls which will hold forty souls; so I will go before you thither +and set my mother therein. Then will I return to the city and steal-somewhat +for the luck of all of you and keep it till you come; so shall you be my guests +and I will show you hospitality this day." Replied Ahmad al-Danaf, "Do what +thou wilt." So Jawan went forth to the place before them and set his mother in +the cave; but, as he came out he found a trooper lying asleep, with his horse +picketed beside him; so he cut his throat and, taking his clothes and his +charger and his arms, hid them with his mother in the cave, where also he +tethered the horse. Then he betook himself to the city and prowled about, till +he happened on the Christian's house and did with Ali Shar's turband and +Zumurrud and her saddle-bags as we have said. He ceased not to run, with +Zumurrud on his back, till he came to the cavern, where he gave her in charge +of his mother, saying, "Keep thou watch over her till I return to thee at first +dawn of day," and went his ways.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Eighteenth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Kurdish Jawan to +his mother, "Keep thou watch over her till I come back to thee at first dawn of +day," and went his ways. Now Zumurrud said to herself, "Why am I so heedless +about saving my life and wherefore await till these forty men come?: they will +take their turns to board me, till they make me like a water- logged ship at +sea." Then she turned to the old woman, Jawan's mother, and said to her, "O my +aunt, wilt thou not rise up and come without the cave, that I may louse thee in +the sun?"[FN#300] Replied the old woman, "Ay, by Allah, O my daughter: this +long time have I been out of reach of the bath; for these hogs cease not to +carry me from place to place." So they went without the cavern, and Zumurrud +combed out her head hair and killed the lice on her locks, till the tickling +soothed her and she fell asleep; whereupon Zumurrud arose and, donning the +clothes of the murdered trooper, girt her waist with his sword and covered her +head with his turband, so that she became as she were a man. Then, mounting the +horse after she had taken the saddle-bags full of gold, she breathed a prayer, +"O good Protector, protect me I adjure thee by the glory of Mohammed (whom +Allah bless and preserve!)," adding these words in thought, "If I return to the +city belike one of the trooper's folk will see me, and no good will befal me." +So she turned her back on the town and rode forth into the wild and the waste. +And she ceased not faring forth with her saddle-bags and the steed, eating of +the growth of the earth and drinking of its waters, she and her horse, for ten +days and, on the eleventh, she came in sight of a city pleasant and secure from +dread, and established in happy stead. Winter had gone from it with his cold +showers, and Prime had come to it with his roses and orange- blossoms and +varied flowers; and its blooms were brightly blowing; its streams were merrily +flowing and its birds warbled coming and going. And she drew near the dwellings +and would have entered the gate when she saw the troops and Emirs and Grandees +of the place drawn up, whereat she marvelled seeing them in such unusual-case +and said to herself, "The people of the city are all gathered at its gate: +needs must there be a reason for this." Then she made towards them; but, as she +drew near, the soldiery dashed forward to meet her and, dismounting all, kissed +the ground between her hands and said, "Aid thee Allah, O our lord the Sultan!" +Then the notables and dignitaries ranged themselves before her in double line, +whilst the troops ordered the people in, saying, "Allah aid thee and make thy +coming a blessing to the Moslems, O Sultan of all creatures! Allah establish +thee, O King of the time and union-pearl of the day and the tide!" Asked +Zumurrud, "What aileth you, O people of this city?" And the Head Chamberlain +answered, "Verily, He hath given to thee who is no niggard in His giving; and +He hath been bountiful to thee and hath made thee Sultan of this city and ruler +over the necks of all who are therein; for know thou it is the custom of the +citizens, when their King deceaseth leaving no son, that the troops should +sally forth to the suburbs and sojourn there three days: and whoever cometh +from the quarter whence thou hast come, him they make King over them. So +praised be Allah who hath sent us of the sons of the Turks a well-favoured man; +for had a lesser than thou presented himself, he had been Sultan." Now Zumurrud +was clever and well-advised in all she did: so she said, "Think not that I am +of the common folk of the Turks! nay, I am of the sons of the great, a man of +condition; but I was wroth with my family, so I went forth and left them. See +these saddle-bags full of gold which I have brought under me that, by the way, +I might give alms thereof to the poor and the needy." So they called down +blessings upon her and rejoiced in her with exceeding joy and she also joyed in +them and said in herself, "Now that I have attained to this"—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Nineteenth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Zumurrud to +herself, "Now that I have attained to this case, haply Allah will reunite me +with my lord in this place, for He can do whatso He willeth." Then the troops +escorted her to the city and, all dismounting, walked before her to the palace. +Here she alighted and the Emirs and Grandees, taking her under both +armpits,[FN#301] carried her into the palace and seated her on the throne; +after which they all kissed ground before her. And when duly enthroned she bade +them open the treasuries and gave largesse to all the troops, who offered up +prayers for the continuance of her reign, and all the townsfolk accepted her +rule and all the lieges of the realm. Thus she abode awhile bidding and +forbidding, and all the people came to hold her in exceeding reverence and +heartily to love her, by reason of her continence and generosity; for taxes she +remitted and prisoners she released and grievances she redressed; but, as often +as she bethought her of her lord, she wept and besought Allah to reunite her +and him; and one night, as she chanced to be thinking of him and calling to +mind the days she had passed with him, her eyes ran over with tears and she +versified in these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"My yearning for thee though long is fresh, * And the tears which<br/> + + chafe these eyelids increase<br/> + +When I weep, I weep from the burn of love, * For to lover<br/> + + severance is decease."[FN#302]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when she had ended her verse, she wiped away her tears and repairing to the +palace, betook herself to the Harim, where she appointed to the slave-girls and +concubines separate lodgings and assigned them pensions and allowances, giving +out that she was minded to live apart and devote herself to works of piety. So +she applied herself to fasting and praying, till the Emirs said, "Verily this +Sultan is eminently devout;" nor would she suffer any male attendants about +her, save two little eunuchs to serve her. And on this wise she held the throne +a whole year, during which time she heard no news of her lord, and failed to +hit upon his traces, which was exceeding grievous to her; so, when her distress +became excessive, she summoned her Wazirs and Chamberlains and bid them fetch +architects and builders and make her in front of the palace a horse-course, one +parasang long and the like broad. They hastened to do her bidding, and lay out +the place to her liking; and, when it was completed, she went down into it and +they pitched her there a great pavilion, wherein the chairs of the Emirs were +ranged in due order. Moreover, she bade them spread on the racing-plain tables +with all manners of rich meats and when this was done she ordered the Grandees +to eat. So they ate and she said to them, "It is my will that, on seeing the +new moon of each month, ye do on this wise and proclaim in the city that no man +shall open his shop, but that all our lieges shall come and eat of the King's +banquet, and that whoso disobeyeth shall be hanged over his own door."[FN#303] +So they did as she bade them, and ceased not so to do till the first new moon +of the second year appeared; when Zumurrud went down into the horse-course and +the crier proclaimed aloud, saying, "Ho, ye lieges and people one and all, +whoso openeth store or shop or house shall straight way be hanged over his own +door; for it behoveth you to come in a body and eat of the King's banquet." And +when the proclamation became known, they laid the tables and the subjects came +in hosts; so she bade them sit down at the trays and eat their fill of all the +dishes. Accordingly they sat down and she took place on her chair of state, +watching them, whilst each who was at meat said to himself, "Verily the King +looketh at none save me." Then they fell to eating and the Emirs said to them, +"Eat and be not ashamed; for this pleaseth the King." So they ate their fill +and went away, blessing the Sovereign and saying, one to the other, "Never in +our days saw we a Sultan who loved the poor as doth this Sultan." And they +wished him length of life. Upon this Zumurrud returned to her palace,— And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twentieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Queen Zumurrud returned +to her palace, rejoicing in her device and saying to herself, "Inshallah, I +shall surely by this means happen on news of my lord Ali Shar." When the first +day of the second month came round, she did as before and when they had spread +the tables she came down from her palace and took place on her throne and +commanded the lieges to sit down and fall to. Now as she sat on her throne, at +the head of the tables, watching the people take their places company by +company and one by one, behold her eye fell on Barsum, the Nazarene who had +bought the curtain of her lord; and she knew him and said in her mind, "This is +the first of my joy and the winning of my wish." Then Barsum came up to the +table and, sitting down with the rest to eat, espied a dish of sweet rice, +sprinkled with sugar; but it was far from him, so he pushed up to it through +the crowd and, putting out his hand to it, seized it and set it before himself. +His next neighbour said to him, "Why dost thou not eat of what is before thee? +Is not this a disgrace to thee? How canst thou reach over for a dish which is +distant from thee? Art thou not ashamed?" Quoth Barsum, "I will eat of none +save this same." Rejoined the other, "Eat then, and Allah give thee no good of +it!" But another man, a Hashish-eater, said, "Let him eat of it, that I may eat +with him." Replied his neighbour, "O unluckiest of Hashish- eaters, this is no +meat for thee; it is eating for Emirs. Let it be, that it may return to those +for whom it is meant and they eat it." But Barsum heeded him not and took a +mouthful of the rice and put it in his mouth; and was about to take a second +mouthful when the Queen, who was watching him, cried out to certain of her +guards, saying, "Bring me yonder man with the dish of Sweet rice before him and +let him not eat the mouthful he hath read but throw it from his hand."[FN#304] +So four of the guards went up to Barsum and haled him along on his face, after +throwing the mouthful of rice from his hand, and set him standing before +Zumurrud, whilst all the people left eating and said to one another, By Allah, +he did wrong in not eating of the food meant for the likes of him." Quoth one, +"For me I was content with this porridge[FN#305] which is before me." And the +Hashish-eater said, "Praised be Allah who hindered me from eating of the dish +of sugared rice for I expected it to stand before him and was waiting only for +him to have his enjoyment of it, to eat with him, when there befel him what we +see." And the general said, one to other, "Wait till we see what shall befal +him." Now as they brought him before Queen Zumurrud she cried, "Woe to thee, O +blue eyes! What is thy name and why comest thou to our country?" But the +accursed called himself out of his name having a white turband[FN#306] on, and +answered, "O King, my name is Ali; I work as a weaver and I came hither to +trade." Quoth Zumurrud, "Bring me a table of sand and a pen of brass," and when +they brought her what she sought, she took the sand and the pen, and struck a +geomantic figure in the likeness of a baboon; then, raising her head, she +looked hard at Barsum for an hour or so and said to him, "O dog, how darest +thou lie to Kings? Art thou not a Nazarene, Barsum by name, and comest thou not +hither in quest of somewhat? Speak the truth, or by the glory of the Godhead, I +will strike off thy head!" At this Barsum was confounded and the Emirs and +bystanders said, "Verily, this King understandeth geomancy: blessed be He who +hath gifted him!" Then she cried out upon the Christian and said, 'Tell me the +truth, or I will make an end of thee!" Barsum replied, "Pardon, O King of the +age; thou art right as regards the table, for the far one[FN#307] is indeed a +Nazarene,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-first Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Barsum replied, "Pardon, +O King of the age; thou art right as regards the table, for thy slave is indeed +a Nazarene." Whereupon all present, gentle and simple, wondered at the King's +skill in hitting upon the truth by geomancy, and said, "Verily this King is a +diviner, whose like there is not in the world." Thereupon Queen Zumurrud bade +flay the Nazarene and stuff his skin with straw and hang it over the gate of +the race-course. Moreover, she commended to dig a pit without the city and burn +therein his flesh and bones and throw over his ashes offal and ordure. "We hear +and obey," answered they, and did with him all she bade; and, when the folk saw +what had befallen the Christian, they said, "Serve him right; but what an +unlucky mouthful was that for him!" And another said, "Be the far one's wife +divorced if this vow be broken: never again to the end of my days will I eat of +sugared rice!"; and the Hashish-eater cried "Praised be Allah, who spared me +this fellow's fate by saving me from eating of that same rice!" Then they all +went out, holding it thenceforth unlawful to sit over against the dish of sweet +rice as the Nazarene had sat. Now when the first day of the third month came, +they laid the tables according to custom, and covered them with dishes and +chargers, and Queen Zumurrud came down and sat on her throne, with her guards +in attendance, as of wont, in awe of her dignity and majesty. Then the +townsfolk entered as before and went round about the tables, looking for the +place of the dish of sweet rice, and quoth one to another, "Hark ye, O +Hбjн[FN#308] Khalaf!"; and the other answered, "At thy service, O Hбjн Khбlid." +Said Khбlid, "Avoid the dish of sweet rice and look thou eat not thereof; for, +if thou do, by early morning thou will be hanged."[FN#309] Then they sat down +to meat around the table; and, as they were eating, Queen Zumurrud chanced to +look from her throne and saw a man come running in through the gate of the +horse-course; and having considered him attentively, she knew him for Jawan the +Kurdish thief who murdered the trooper. Now the cause of his coming was this: +when he left his mother, he went to his comrades and said to them, "I did good +business yesterday; for I slew a trooper and took his horse. Moreover there +fell to me last night a pair of saddle-bags, full of gold, and a young lady +worth more than the money in pouch; and I have left all that with my mother in +the cave." At this they rejoiced and repaired to the cavern at night-fall, +whilst Jawan the Kurd walked in front and the rest behind; he wishing to bring +them the booty of which he had boasted. But he found the place clean empty and +questioned his mother, who told him all that had befallen her; whereupon he bit +his hands for regret and exclaimed, "By Allah, I will assuredly make search for +the harlot and take her, wherever she is, though it be in the shell of a +pistachio-nut,[FN#310] and quench my malice on her!" So he went forth in quest +of her and ceased not journeying from place to place, till he came to Queen +Zumurrud's city. On entering he found the town deserted and, enquiring of some +women whom he saw looking from the windows, they told him that it was the +Sultan's custom to make a banquet for the people on the first of each month and +that all the lieges were bound to go and eat of it. Furthermore the women +directed him to the racing-ground, where the feast was spread. So he entered at +a shuffling trot; and, finding no place empty, save that before the dish of +sweet rice already noticed, took his seat right opposite it and stretched out +his hand towards the dish; whereupon the folk cried out to him, saying, "O our +brother, what wouldst thou do?" Quoth he, "I would eat my fill of this dish." +Rejoined one of the people, "If thou eat of it thou wilt assuredly find thyself +hanged to-morrow morning." But Jawan said, "Hold thy tongue and talk not so +unpleasantly." Then he stretched out his hand to the dish and drew it to him; +but it so chanced that the Hashish-eater of whom we have spoken, was sitting by +him; and when he saw him take the dish, the fumes of the Hashish left his head +and he fled from his place and sat down afar off, saying, "I will have nothing +to do with yonder dish." Then Jawan the Kurd put out his hand (which was very +like a raven's claws,[FN#311] scooped up therewith half the dishful and drew +out his neave as it were a camel's hoof,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of +day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Jawan the Kurd drew his +neave from the dish as it were a camel's hoof and rolled the lump of rice in +the palm of his hand, till it was like a big orange, and threw it ravenously +into his mouth; and it rolled down his gullet, with a rumble like thunder and +the bottom of the deep dish appeared where said mouthful had been. Thereupon +quoth to him one sitting by his side, "Praised be Allah for not making me meat +between thy hands; for thou hast cleared the dish at a single mouthful;" and +quoth the Hashish-eater, "Let him eat; methinks he hath a hanging face." Then, +turning to Jawan he added, "Eat and Allah give thee small good of it." So Jawan +put out his hand again and taking another mouthful, was rolling it in his palm +like the first, when behold, the Queen cried out to the guards saying, "Bring +me yonder man in haste and let him not eat the mouthful in his hand." So they +ran and seizing him as he hung over the dish, brought him to her, and set him +in her presence, whilst the people exulted over his mishap and said one to the +other, "Serve him right, for we warned him, but he would not take warning. +Verily, this place is bound to be the death of whoso sitteth therein, and +yonder rice bringeth doom to all who eat of it." Then said Queen Zumurrud to +Jawan, "What is thy name and trade and wherefore comest thou to our city?" +Answered he, "O our lord the Sultan, my name is Othman; I work as a gardener +and am come hither in quest of somewhat I have lost." Quoth Zumurrud, "Here +with a table of sand!" So they brought it, and she took the pen and drawing a +geomantic scheme, considered it awhile, then raising her head, exclaimed, "Woe +to thee, thou loser! How darest thou lie to Kings? This sand telleth me that of +a truth thy name is Jawan the Kurd and that thou art by trade a robber, taking +men's goods in the way of unright and slaying those whom Allah hath forbidden +to slay save for just cause." And she cried out upon him, saying, "O hog, tell +me the truth of thy case or I will cut off thy head on the spot." Now when he +heard these words, he turned yellow and his teeth chattered; then, deeming that +he might save himself by truth-telling, he replied, "O King, thou sayest sooth; +but I repent at thy hands henceforth and turn to Allah Almighty!" She answered, +"It were not lawful for me to leave a pest in the way of Moslems;" and cried to +her guards, "Take him and skin him and do with him as last month ye did by his +like." They obeyed her commandment; and, when the Hashish- eater saw the +soldiers seize the man, he turned his back upon the dish of rice, saying, "'Tis +a sin to present my face to thee!" And after they had made an end of eating, +they dispersed to their several homes and Zumurrud returned to her palace and +dismissed her attendants. Now when the fourth month came round, they went to +the race-course and made the banquet, according to custom, and the folk sat +awaiting leave to begin. Presently Queen Zumurrud entered and, sitting down on +her throne, looked at the tables and saw that room for four people was left +void before the dish of rice, at which she wondered. Now as she was looking +around, behold, she saw a man come trotting in at the gate of the horse- +course; and he stayed not till he stood over the food-trays; and, finding no +room save before the dish of rice, took his seat there. She looked at him and +knowing him for the accursed Christian who called himself Rashid al-Din, said +in her mind, "How blessed is this device of the food,[FN#312] into whose toils +this infidel hath fallen" Now the cause of his coming was extraordinary, and it +was on this wise. When he returned from his travels,—And Shahrazad perceived +the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the accursed, who +had called himself Rashid al-Din, returned from travel, his household informed +him that Zumurrud was missing and with her a pair of saddle-bags full of money; +on hearing which ill tidings he rent his raiment and buffeted his face and +plucked out his beard. Then he despatched his brother Barsum in quest of her to +lands adjoining and, when he was weary of awaiting news of him, he went forth +himself, to seek for him and for the girl, whenas fate led him to the city of +Zumurrud. He entered it on the first day of the month and finding the streets +deserted and the shops shut and women idling at the windows, he asked them the +reason why, and they told him that the King made a banquet on the first of each +month for the people, all of whom were bound to attend it, nor might any abide +in his house or shop that day; and they directed him to the racing-plain. So he +betook himself thither and found the people crowding about the food, and there +was never a place for him save in front of the rice-dish now well-known. Here +then he sat and put forth his hand to eat thereof, whereupon Zumurrud cried out +to her guards, saying, "Bring me him who sitteth over against the dish of +rice." So they knew him by what had before happened and laid hands on him and +brought him before Queen Zumurrud, who said to him, "Out on thee! What is thy +name and trade, and what bringeth thee to our city?" Answered he, "O King of +the age, my name is Rustam[FN#313] and I have no occupation, for I am a poor +dervish." Then said she to her attendants, "Bring me table of sand and pen of +brass." So they brought her what she sought, as of wont; and she took the pen +and made the dots which formed the figure and considered it awhile, then +raising her head to Rashid al-Din, she said, "O dog, how darest thou lie to +Kings? Thy name is Rashid al-Din the Nazarene, thou art outwardly a Moslem, but +a Christian at heart, and thine occupation is to lay snares for the slave-girls +of the Moslems and make them captives. Speak the truth, or I will smite off thy +head." He hesitated and stammered, then replied, "Thou sayest sooth, O King of +the age!" Whereupon she commanded to throw him down and give him an hundred +blows with a stick on each sole and a thousand stripes with a whip on his body; +after which she bade flay him and stuff his skin with herds of flax and dig a +pit without the city, wherein they should burn his corpse and cast on his ashes +offal-and ordure. They did as she bade them and she gave the people leave to +eat. So they ate and when they had eaten their fill they went their ways, while +Queen Zumurrud returned to her palace, saying, "I thank Allah for solacing my +heart of those who wronged me." Then she praised the Creator of the earth and +the heavens and repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"They ruled awhile and theirs was harsh tyrannic rule, * But soon<br/> + + that rule went by as though it never were:<br/> + +If just they had won justice; but they sinned, and so * The world<br/> + + collected all its bane for them to bear:<br/> + +So died they and their case's tongue declares aloud * This is for<br/> + + that so of the world your blaming spare."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when her verse was ended she called to mind her lord Ali Shar and wept +flowing tears; but presently recovered herself and said, "Haply Allah, who hath +given mine enemies into my hand, will vouchsafe me the speedy return of my +beloved;" and she begged forgiveness of Allah (be He extolled and exalted')—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Queen begged +forgiveness of Allah (be He extolled and exalted!), and said, "Haply He will +vouchsafe me speedy reunion with my beloved Ali Shar for He can do what He +willeth and to His servants showeth grace, ever mindful of their case!" Then +she praised Allah and again besought forgiveness of Him, submitting herself to +the decrees of destiny, assured that each beginning hath his end, and repeating +the saying of the poet, +</p> + +<p> +"Take all things easy; for all worldly things * In Allah's hand<br/> + + are ruled by Destiny:<br/> + +Ne'er shall befal thee aught of things forbidden, * Nor what is<br/> + + bidden e'er shall fail to thee!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And what another saith. +</p> + +<p> +"Roll up thy days[FN#314] and easy shall they roll * Through<br/> + + life, nor haunt the house of grief and dole:<br/> + +Full many a thing, which is o'er hard to find,* Next hour shall<br/> + + bring thee to delight thy soul."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And what a third saith,[FN#315] +</p> + +<p> +"Be mild what time thou'rt ta'en with anger and despite * And<br/> + + patient, if there fall misfortune on thy head.<br/> + +Indeed, the nights are quick and great with child by Time * And<br/> + + of all wondrous things are hourly brought to bed."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And what a fourth saith, +</p> + +<p> +"Take patience which breeds good if patience thou can learn; * Be<br/> + + calm soured, scaping anguish-draughts that gripe and bren:<br/> + +Know, that if patience with good grace thou dare refuse, * With<br/> + + ill-graced patience thou shalt bear what wrote the Pen."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +After which she abode thus another whole month's space, judging the folk and +bidding and forbidding by day, and by night weeping and bewailing her +separation from her lord Ali Shar. On the first day of the fifth month, she +bade them spread the banquet on the race-plain, according to custom, and sat +down at the head of the tables, whilst the lieges awaited the signal to fall +to, leaving the place before the dish of rice vacant. She sat with eyes fixed +upon the gate of the horse-course, noting all who entered and saying in her +soul, "O Thou who restoredest Joseph to Jacob and diddest away the sorrows of +Job,[FN#316] vouchsafe of Thy might and Thy majesty to restore me my lord Ali +Shar; for Thou over all things art Omnipotent, O Lord of the Worlds! O Guide of +those who go astray! O Hearer of those that cry! O Answerer of those who pray, +answer Thou my prayer, O Lord of all creatures." Now hardly had she made an end +of her prayer and supplication when behold, she saw entering the gate of the +horse-plain a young man, in shape like a willow branch, the comeliest of youths +and the most accomplished, save that his face was wan and his form wasted by +weariness. Now as he entered and came up to the tables, he found no seat vacant +save that over against the dish of sweet rice so he sat down there; and, when +Zumurrud looked upon him, her heart fluttered and, observing him narrowly, she +knew him for her lord Ali Shar, and was like to have cried out for joy, but +restrained herself, fearing disgrace before the folk and, albeit her bowels +yearned over him and her heart beat wildly, she hid what she felt. Now the +cause of his coming thither was on this wise. After he fell asleep upon the +bench and Zumurrud let herself down to him and Jawan the Kurd seized her, he +presently awoke and found himself lying with his head bare, so he knew that +some one had come upon him and had robbed him of his turband whilst he slept. +So he spoke the saying which shall never shame its sayer and, which is, +"Verily, we are Allah's and to Him are we returning!" and, going back to the +old woman's house, knocked at the door. She came out and he wept before her, +till he fell down in a fainting fit. Now when he came to himself, he told her +all that had passed, and she blamed him and chid him for his foolish doings +saying, "Verily thine affliction and calamity come from thyself." And she gave +not over reproaching him, till the blood streamed from his nostrils and he +again fainted away. When he recovered from his swoon,—And Shahrazad perceived +the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Ali Shar recovered +from his swoon he saw the old woman bewailing his griefs and weeping over him; +so he complained of his hard lot and repeated these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"How bitter to friends is a parting, * And a meeting how sweet to<br/> + + the lover!<br/> + +Allah join all the lovers He parteth, * And save me who of love<br/> + + ne'er recover."[FN#317]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The old woman mourned over him and said to him, "Sit here, whilst I go in quest +of news for thee and return to thee in haste." "To hear is to obey," answered +he. So she left him on her good errand and was absent till midday, when she +returned and said to him, "O Ali, I fear me thou must die in thy grief; thou +wilt never see thy beloved again save on the bridge Al-Sirбt;[FN#318] for the +people of the Christian's house, when they arose in the morning, found the +window giving on the garden torn from its hinges and Zumurrud missing, and with +her a pair of saddle-bags full of the Christian's money. And when I came +thither, I saw the Chief of Police standing at the door, he and his many, and +there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the +Great!" Now, as Ali Shar heard these words, the light in his sight was changed +to the darkness of night and he despaired of life and made sure of death; nor +did he leave weeping, till he lost his senses. When he revived, love and +longing were sore upon him; there befel him a grievous sickness and he kept his +house a whole year; during which the old woman ceased not to bring him doctors +and ply him with ptisanes and diet-drinks and make him savoury broths till, +after the twelve-month ended, his life returned to him. Then he recalled what +had passed and repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Severance-grief nighmost, Union done to death, * Down-railing<br/> + + tear-drops, heart fire tortureth!<br/> + +Redoubleth pine in one that hath no peace * For love and wake and<br/> + + woe he suffereth:<br/> + +O Lord, if there be thing to joy my soul * Deign Thou bestow it<br/> + + while I breathe my breath."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When the second year began, the old woman said to him, "O my son, all this thy +weeping and wailing will not bring thee back thy mistress. Rise, therefore, +gird the loins of resolution and seek for her in the lands: peradventure thou +shalt light on some news of her." And she ceased not to exhort and hearten him, +till he took courage and she carried him to the Hammam. Then she made him drink +strong wine and eat white meats, and thus she did with him for a whole month, +till he regained strength; and setting out journeyed without ceasing till he +arrived at Zumurrud's city where he went to the horse-course, and sat down +before the dish of sweet rice and put out his hand to eat of it. Now when the +folk saw this, they were concerned for him and said to him, "O young man, eat +not of that dish, for whoso eateth thereof, misfortune befalleth him." Answered +he, "Leave me to eat of it, and let them do with me what they will, so haply +shall I be at rest from this wearying life." Accordingly he ate a first +mouthful, and Zumurrud was minded to have him brought before her, but then she +bethought her that belike he was an hungered and said to herself, "It were +properer to let him eat his fill." So he went on eating, whilst the folk looked +at him in astonishment, waiting to see what would betide him; and, when he had +satisfied himself, Zumurrud said to certain of her eunuchry, "Go to yonder +youth who eateth of the rice and bring him to me in courteous guise, saying: +'Answer the summons of the King who would have a word with thee on some slight +matter.'" They replied, "We hear and obey," and going straightways up to Ali +Shar, said to him, "O my lord, be pleased to answer the summons of the King and +let thy heart be at ease." Quoth he, "Hearkening and obedience;" and followed +the eunuchs,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali Shar rejoined, +"Hearkening and obedience;" and followed the eunuchs, whilst the people said to +one another, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the +Glorious, the Great! I wonder what the King will do with him!" And others said, +"He will do him naught but good: for had he intended to harm him, he had not +suffered him to eat his fill." Now when the Castratos set him in presence of +Zumurrud he saluted and kissed the earth before her, whilst she returned his +salutation and received him with honour. Then she asked him, "What may be thy +name and trade, and what brought thee to our city?"; and he answered, "O King +my name is Ali Shar; I am of the sons of the merchants of Khorasan; and the +cause of my coming hither is to seek for a slave-girl whom I have lost for she +was dearer to me than my hearing and my seeing, and indeed my soul cleaveth to +her, since I lost her; and such is my tale." So saying he wept, till he swooned +away; whereupon she bade them sprinkle rose-water on his face, which they did +till he revived, when she said, "Here with the table of sand and the brass +pen." So they brought them and she took the pen and struck a geomantic scheme +which she considered awhile; and then cried, "Thou hast spoken sooth, Allah +will grant thee speedy reunion with her; so be not troubled." Upon this she +commanded her head- chamberlain to carry him to the bath and afterwards to +clothe him in a handsome suit of royal-apparel, and mount him on one of the +best of the King's horses and finally bring him to the palace at the last of +the day. So the Chamberlain, after saying "I hear and I obey," took him away, +whilst the folk began to say to one another, "What maketh the King deal thus +courteously with yonder youth?" And quoth one, "Did I not tell you that he +would do him no hurt?; for he is fair of aspect; and this I knew, ever since +the King suffered him to eat his fill." And each said his say; after which they +all dispersed and went their ways. As for Zumurrud, she thought the night would +never come, that she might be alone with the beloved of her heart. As soon as +it was dark, she withdrew to her sleeping-chamber and made her attendants think +her overcome with sleep; and it was her wont to suffer none to pass the night +with her save those two little eunuchs who waited upon her. After a while when +she had composed herself, she sent for her dear Ali Shar and sat down upon the +bed, with candles burning over her head and feet, and hanging lamps of gold +lighting up the place like the rising sun. When the people heard of her sending +for Ali Shar, they marvelled thereat and each man thought his thought and said +his say; but one of them declared, "At all events the King is in love with this +young man, and to- morrow he will make him generalissimo of the army."[FN#319] +Now when they brought him into her, he kissed the ground between her hands and +called down blessings her, and she said in her mind, "There is no help for it +but that I jest with him awhile, before I make myself known to him.''[FN#320] +Then she asked him, "O Ali, say me, hast thou been to the Hammam?"[FN#321] and +he answered, "Yes, O my lord." Quoth she, "Come, eat of this chicken and meat, +and drink of this wine and sherbet of sugar; for thou art weary; and after that +come thou hither." "I hear and I obey," replied he and did as she commanded him +do. Now when he had made an end of eating and drinking, she said to him, "Come +up with me on the couch and shampoo[FN#322] my feet." So he fell to rubbing +feet and kneading calves, and found them softer than silk. Then said she, "Go +higher with the massage;" and he, "Pardon me, O my lord, to the knee but no +farther!" Whereupon quoth she, "Durst thou disobey me?: it shall be an +ill-omened night for thee!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased +to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Zumurrud cried to her +lord, Ali Shar, "Durst thou disobey me?: it shall be an ill-omened night for +thee! Nay, but it behoveth thee to do my bidding and I will make thee my minion +and appoint thee one of my Emirs." Asked Ali Shar, "And in what must I do thy +bidding, O King of the age?" and she answered, "Doff thy trousers and lie down +on thy face." Quoth he, "That is a thing in my life I never did; and if thou +force me thereto, verily I will accuse thee thereof before Allah on +Resurrection-day. Take everything thou hast given me and let me go from thy +city." And he wept and lamented; but she said, "Doff thy trousers and lie down +on thy face, or I will strike off thy head." So he did as she bade him and she +mounted upon his back; and he felt what was softer than silk and smoother than +cream and said in himself, "Of a truth, this King is nicer than all the women!" +Now for a time she abode on his back, then she turned over on the bed, and he +said to himself, "Praised be Allah! It seemeth his yard is not standing." Then +said she, "O Ali, it is of the wont of my prickle that it standeth not, except +they rub it with their hands; so, come, rub it with thy hand, till it be at +stand, else will I slay thee." So saying, she lay down on her back and taking +his hand, set it to her parts, and he found these same parts softer than silk; +white, plumply-rounded, protuberant, resembling for heat the hot room of the +bath or the heart of a lover whom love-longing hath wasted. Quoth Ali in +himself, "Verily, our King hath a coynte; this is indeed a wonder of wonders!" +And lust get hold on him and his yard rose and stood upright to the utmost of +its height; which when Zumurrud saw, she burst out laughing and said to him, "O +my lord, all this happeneth and yet thou knowest me not!" He asked "And who art +thou, O King?"; and she answered, "I am thy slave- girl Zumurrud." Now whenas +he knew this and was certified that she was indeed his very slave-girl, +Zumurrud, he kissed her and embraced her and threw himself upon her as the lion +upon the lamb. Then he sheathed his steel rod in her scabbard and ceased not to +play the porter at her door and the preacher in her pulpit and the +priest[FN#323] at her prayer niche, whilst she with him ceased not from +inclination and prostration and rising up and sitting down, accompanying her +ejaculations of praise and of "Glory to Allah!" with passionate movements and +wrigglings and claspings of his member[FN#324] and other amorous gestures, till +the two little eunuchs heard the noise. So they came and peeping from behind +the curtains saw the King lying on his back and upon him Ali Shar, thrusting +and slashing whilst she puffed and blew and wriggled. Quoth they, "Verily, this +be no man's wriggle: belike this King is a woman.''[FN#325] But they concealed +their affair and discovered it to none. And when the morrow came, Zumurrud +summoned all the troops and the lords of the realm and said to them, "I am +minded to journey to this man's country; so choose you a viceroy, who shall +rule over you till I return to you." And they answered, "We hear and we obey." +Then she applied herself to making ready the wants of the way, to wit provaunt +and provender, monies and rarities for presents, camels and mules and so forth; +after which she set out from her city with Ali Shar, and they ceased not faring +on, till they arrived at his native place, where he entered his house and gave +many gifts to his friends and alms and largesse to the poor. And Allah +vouchsafed him children by her, and they both lived the gladdest and happiest +of lives, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of +societies and the Garnerer of graves. And glorified be He the Eternal without +cease, and praised be He in every case! And amongst other tales they tell one +of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap24"></a>THE LOVES OF JUBAYR BIN UMAYR AND THE LADY BUDUR.</h3> + +<p> +It is related that the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid was +uneasy[FN#326] one night and could not sleep; so that he ceased not to toss +from side to side for very restlessness, till, growing weary of this, he called +Masrur and said to him, "Ho, Masrur, find me some one who may solace me in this +my wakefulness." He answered, "O Prince of True Believers, wilt thou walk in +the palace-garden and divert thyself with the sight of its blooms and gaze upon +the stars and constellations and note the beauty of their ordinance and the +moon among them rising in sheen over the water?" Quoth the Caliph, "O Masrur, +my heart inclineth not to aught of this." Quoth he, "O my lord, there are in +thy palace three hundred concubines, each of whom hath her separate chamber. Do +thou bid all and every retire into her own apartment and then do thou go thy +rounds and amuse thyself with gazing on them without their knowledge." The +Caliph replied, "O Masrur, the palace is my palace and the girls are my +property: furthermore my soul inclineth not to aught of this." Then Masrur +rejoined, "O my lord, summon the doctors of law and religion and the sages of +science and poets, and bid them contend before thee in argument and disputation +and recite to thee songs and verses and tell thee tales and anecdotes." Replied +the Caliph, "My soul inclineth not to aught of this;" and Masrur rejoined, "O +my lord, bid pretty boys and the wits and the cup-companions attend thee and +solace thee with witty sallies." "O Masrur," ejaculated the Caliph, "indeed my +soul inclineth not to aught of this." "Then, O my lord," cried Masrur, "strike +off my head;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Masrur cried out to the +Caliph, "O my lord, strike off my head; haply that will dispel thine unease and +do away the restlessness that is upon thee." So Al-Rashid laughed at his saying +and said, "See which of the boon-companions is at the door." Thereupon he went +out and returning, said, "O my lord, he who sits without is Ali bin Mansur of +Damascus, the Wag."[FN#327] "Bring him to me," quoth Harun: and Masrur went out +and returned with Ibn Mansur, who said, on entering, "Peace be with thee, O +Commander of the Faithful!" The Caliph returned his salutation and said to him, +"O Ibn Mansur, tell us some of thy stories." Said the other, "O Commander of +the Faithful, shall I tell thee what I have seen with my eyes or what I have +only heard tell?" Replied the Caliph, "If thou have seen aught worth telling, +let us hear it; for hearing is not like seeing." Said Ibn Mansur, "O Commander +of the Faithful, lend me thine ear and thy heart;" and he answered, "O Ibn +Mansur, behold, I am listening to thee with mine ears and looking at thee with +mine eyes and attending to thee with my heart." So Ibn Mansur began: "Know +then, O Commander of the Faithful, that I receive a yearly allowance from +Mohammed bin Sulaymбn al-Hбshimi, Sultan of Bassorah; so I went to him once +upon a time, as usual, and found him ready to ride out hunting and birding. I +saluted him and he returned my salute, and said, 'O son of Mansur, mount and +come with us to the chase:' but I said, 'O my lord, I can no longer ride; so do +thou station me in the guest-house and give thy chamberlains and lieutenants +charge over me.' And he did so and departed for his sport. His people entreated +me with the utmost honour and entertained me with the greatest hospitality; but +said I to myself, 'By Allah, it is a strange thing that for so long I have been +in the habit of coming from Baghdad to Bassorah, yet know no more of this town +than from palace to garden and from garden to palace. When shall I find an +occasion like this to view the different parts and quarters of Bassorah? I will +rise forthwith and walk forth alone and divert myself and digest what I have +eaten.' Accordingly I donned my richest dress and went out a walking about +Bassorah. Now it is known to thee, O Commander of the Faithful, that it hath +seventy streets, each seventy leagues[FN#328] long, the measure of Irak; and I +lost myself in its by-streets and thirst overcame me. Presently, as I went +along, O Prince of True Believers, behold, I came to a great door, whereon were +two rings of brass,[FN#329] with curtains of red brocade drawn before it. And +on either side of the door was a stone bench and over it was a trellis, covered +with a creeping vine that hung down and shaded the door way. I stood still to +gaze upon the place, and presently heard a sorrowful voice, proceeding from a +heart which did not rejoice, singing melodiously and chanting these cinquains, +</p> + +<p> +'My body bides the sad abode of grief and malady, * Caused by a<br/> + + fawn whose land and home are in a far countrie:<br/> + +O ye two Zephyrs of the wold which caused such pain in me * By<br/> + + Allah, Lord of you! to him my heart's desire, go ye<br/> + + And chide him so perchance ye soften him I pray.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And tell us all his words if he to hear your speech shall deign,<br/> + + * And unto him the tidings bear of lovers 'twixt you twain:<br/> + +And both vouchsafe to render me a service free and fain, * And<br/> + + lay my case before him showing how I e'er complain:<br/> + + And say, 'What ails thy bounder thrall this wise to<br/> + + drive away,<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Without a fault committed and without a sin to show; * Or heart<br/> + + that leans to other wight or would thy love forego:<br/> + +Or treason to our plighted troth or causing thee a throe?' * And<br/> + + if he smile then say ye twain in accents soft and slow,<br/> + + 'An thou to him a meeting grant 'twould be the kindest<br/> + + way!<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +For he is gone distraught for thee, as well indeed, he might *<br/> + + His eyes are wakeful and he weeps and wails the livelong<br/> + + night :'<br/> + +If seem he satisfied by this why then 'tis well and right, * But<br/> + + if he show an angry face and treat ye with despite,<br/> + + Trick him and 'Naught we know of him!' I beg you both<br/> + + to say.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth I to myself, 'Verily, if the owner of this voice be fair, she conjoineth +beauty of person and eloquence and sweetness of voice.' Then I drew near the +door, and began raising the curtain little by little, when lo! I beheld a +damsel, white as a full moon when it mooneth on its fourteenth night, with +joined eyebrows twain and languorous lids of eyne, breasts like pomegranates +twin and dainty, lips like double carnelian, a mouth as it were the seal-of +Solomon, and teeth ranged in a line that played with the reason of proser and +rhymer, even as saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'O pearly mouth of friend, who set those pretty pearls in line, *<br/> + + And filled thee full of whitest chamomile and reddest wine?<br/> + +Who lent the morning-glory in thy smile to shimmer and shine *<br/> + + Who with that ruby-padlock dared thy lips to seal-and sign!<br/> + +Who looks on thee at early morn with stress of joy and bliss *<br/> + + Goes mad for aye, what then of him who wins a kiss of<br/> + + thine?'[FN#330]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And as saith another, +</p> + +<p> + 'O pearl-set mouth of friend * Pity poor Ruby's cheek<br/> + + Boast not o'er one who owns * Thee, union and unique.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +In brief she comprised all varieties of loveliness and was a seduction to men +and women, nor could the gazer satisfy himself with the sight of her charms; +for she was as the poet hath said of her, +</p> + +<p> +'When comes she, slays she; and when back he turns, * She makes<br/> + + all men regard with loving eyes:<br/> + +A very sun! a very moon! but still * Prom hurt and harmful ills<br/> + + her nature flies.<br/> + +Opes Eden's garden when she shows herself, * And full moon see we<br/> + + o'er her necklace rise.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +How as I was looking at her through an opening of the curtain, behold, she +turned; and, seeing me standing at the door, said to her handmaid, 'See who is +at the door.' So the slave-girl came up to me and said, 'O Shaykh, hast thou no +shame, or do impudent airs suit hoary hairs?' Quoth I, 'O my mistress, I +confess to the hoary hairs, but as for impudent airs, I think not to be guilty +of unmannerliness.' Then the mistress broke in, 'And what can be more +unmannerly than to intrude thyself upon a house other than thy house and gaze +on a Harim other than thy Harim?' I pleaded, 'O my lady, I have an excuse;' and +when she asked, 'And what is thine excuse?' I answered, 'I am a stranger and so +thirsty that I am well nigh dead of thirst.' She rejoined, 'We accept thine +excuse,' —And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When It was the Three Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young lady rejoined, +'We accept thine excuse,' and calling one of her slave maids, said to her, 'O +Lutf,[FN#331] give him to drink in the golden tankard.' So she brought me a +tankard of red gold, set with pearls and gems of price, full of water mingled +with virgin musk and covered with a napkin of green silk, and I addressed +myself to drink and was long about my drinking, for I stole glances at her the +while, till I could prolong my stay no longer. Then I returned the tankard to +the girl, but did not offer to go; and she said to me, 'O Shaykh, wend thy +way.' But I said, 'O my lady, I am troubled in mind.' She asked me 'for what?' +and I answered, 'For the turns of Time and the change of things.' Replied she, +'Well mayst thou be troubled thereat for Time breedeth wonders. But what hast +thou seen of such surprises that thou shouldst muse upon them?' Quoth I, 'I was +thinking of the whilom owner of this house, for he was my intimate in his +lifetime.' Asked she, 'What was his name?'; and I answered, 'Mohammed bin Ali +the Jeweller and he was a man of great wealth. Tell me did he leave any +children?' Said she, 'Yes, he left a daughter, Budur by name, who inherited all +his wealth?' Quoth I, 'Meseemeth thou art his daughter?' 'Yes,' answered she, +laughing; then added, 'O Shaykh, thou best talked long enough; now wend thy +ways.' Replied I, 'Needst must I go, but I see thy charms are changed by being +out of health; so tell me thy case; it may be Allah will give thee comfort at +my hands.' Rejoined she, 'O Shayth, if thou be a man of discretion, I will +discover to thee my secret; but first tell me who thou art, that I may know +whether thou art worthy of confidence or not; for the poet saith,[FN#332] +</p> + +<p> +'None keepeth a secret but a faithful person: with the best of<br/> + + mankind remaineth concealed.<br/> + +I have kept my secret in a house with a lock, whose key is lost<br/> + + and whose door is sealed.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Thereto I replied, 'O my lady, an thou wouldest know who I am, I am Ali bin +Mansъr of Damascus, the Wag, cup-companion to the Commander of the Faithful, +Harun al-Rashid.' Now when she heard my name, she came down from her seat and +saluting me, said, 'Welcome, O Ibn Mansur! Now will I tell thee my case and +entrust thee with my secret. I am a lover separated from her beloved.' I +answered, 'O my lady, thou art fair and shouldest be on love terms with none +but the fair. Whom then dost thou love?' Quoth she, 'I love Jubayr bin Umayr +al-Shaybбni, Emir of the Banъ Shaybбn;[FN#333]' and she described to me a young +man than whom there was no prettier fellow in Bassorah. I asked, 'O my lady, +have interviews or letters passed between you?' and she answered 'Yes, but our +love was tongue-love souls, not heart and souls- love; for he kept not his +trust nor was he faithful to his troth.' Said I, 'O my lady, and what was the +cause of your separation?', and she replied, 'I was sitting one day whilst my +handmaid here combed my hair. When she had made an end of combing it, she +plaited my tresses, and my beauty and loveliness charmed her; so she bent over +me and kissed my cheek.[FN#334] At that moment he came in unawares, and, seeing +the girl kiss my cheek, straightways turned away in anger, vowing +eternal-separation and repeating these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'If another share in the thing I love, * I abandon my love and<br/> + + live lorn of love.<br/> + +My beloved is worthless if aught she will, * Save that which her<br/> + + lover doth most approve.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And from the time he left me to this present hour, O Ibn Mansur, he hath +neither written to me nor answered my letters.' Quoth I, 'And what purposes" +thou to do?' Quoth she, 'I have a mind to send him a letter by thee. If thou +bring me back an answer, thou shalt have of me five hundred gold pieces; and if +not, then an hundred for thy trouble in going and coming.' I answered, 'Do what +seemeth good to thee; I hear and I obey thee.' Whereupon she called to one of +her slave-girls, 'Bring me ink case and paper,' and she wrote thereon these +couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Beloved, why this strangeness, why this hate? * When shall thy<br/> + + pardon reunite us two?<br/> + +Why dost thou turn from me in severance? * Thy face is not the<br/> + + face I am wont to know.<br/> + +Yes, slanderers falsed my words, and thou to them * Inclining,<br/> + + madest spite and envy grow.<br/> + +An hast believed their tale, the Heavens forbid * Now thou<br/> + + believe it when dost better bow!<br/> + +By thy life tell what hath reached thine ear, * Thou know'st what<br/> + + said they and so justice show.<br/> + +An it be true I spoke the words, my words * Admit interpreting<br/> + + and change allow:<br/> + +Given that the words of Allah were revealed, * Folk changed the<br/> + + Torah[FN#335] and still changing go:<br/> + +What slanders told they of mankind before! * Jacob heard Joseph<br/> + + blamed by tongue of foe.<br/> + +Yea, for myself and slanderer and thee * An awful day of<br/> + + reckoning there shall be.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then she sealed the letter and gave it to me; and I took it and carried it to +the house of Jubayr bin Umayr, whom I found absent a hunting. So I sat down to +wait for him; and behold, he returned from the chase; and when I saw him, O +Prince of True Believers, come riding up, my wit was confounded by his beauty +and grace. As soon as he sighted me sitting at the house-door, he dismounted +and coming up to me embraced me and saluted me; and meseemed I embraced the +world and all therein. Then he carried me into his house and, seating me on his +own couch, called for food. They brought a table of Khalanj-wood of Khorasan +with feet of gold, whereon were all manners of meats, fried and roasted and the +like. So I seated myself at the table and examining it with care found these +couplets engraved upon it:"[FN#336]—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased saying her permitted say, +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirtieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ali son of<br/> + +Mansur continued: "So I seated myself at the table of Jubayr bin<br/> + +Umayr al-Shaybani and, examining it with care, found these<br/> + +couplets engraved upon it,<br/> + +</p> + +<p> + 'On these which once were-chicks,<br/> + + Your mourning glances fix,<br/> + +Late dwellers in the mansion of the cup,<br/> + + Now nearly eaten up!<br/> + + Let tears bedew<br/> + + The memory of that stew,<br/> + + Those partridges, once roast,<br/> + + Now lost!<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The daughters of the grouse in plaintive strain<br/> + +Bemourn, and still bemourn, and mourn again!<br/> + + The children of the fry,<br/> + + We lately saw<br/> + + Half smothered in pilau<br/> + +With buttery mutton fritters smoking by!<br/> + + Alas! my heart, the fish!<br/> + + Who filled his dish,<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +With flaky form in varying colours spread<br/> + +On the round pastry cake of household bread!<br/> + + Heaven sent us that kabob!<br/> + + For no one could<br/> + + (Save heaven he should rob)<br/> + +Produce a thing so excellently good,<br/> + + Or give us roasted meat<br/> + +With basting oil so savourily replete!<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +But, oh! mine appetite, alas! for thee!<br/> + + Who on that furmeaty<br/> + +So sharpset west a little while ago—<br/> + +That furmeaty, which mashed by hands of snow,<br/> + + A light reflection bore,<br/> + +Of the bright bracelets that those fair hands wore;<br/> + + Again remembrance glads my sense<br/> + + With visions of its excellence!<br/> + +</p> + +<p> + Again I see the cloth unrolled<br/> + + Rich worked in many a varied fold!<br/> + + Be patient, oh! my soul, they say<br/> + + Fortune rules all that's new and strange,<br/> + + And though she pinches us to day,<br/> + +To-morrow brings full rations, and a change!'[FN#337]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then said Jubayr, 'Put forth thy hand to our food and ease our heart by eating +of our victual.' Answered I, 'By Allah, I will not eat a mouthful, till thou +grant me my desire.' He asked, 'What is thy desire?'; so I brought out the +letter and gave it to him; but, when he had read it and mastered its contents, +he tore it in pieces and throwing it on the floor, said to me, 'O Ibn Mansur, I +will grant thee whatever thou askest save thy desire which concerneth the +writer of this letter, for I have no answer to her.' At this I rose in anger; +but he caught hold of my skirts, saying, 'O Ibn Mansur, I will tell thee what +she said to thee, albeit I was not present with you.' I asked, 'And what did +she say to me?'; and he answered, 'Did not the writer of this letter say to +thee, If thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt have of me five hundred +ducats; and if not, an hundred for thy pains?' 'Yes,' replied I; and he +rejoined, 'Abide with me this day and eat and drink and enjoy thyself and make +merry, and thou shalt have thy five hundred ducats.' So I sat with him and ate +and drank and made merry and enjoyed myself and entertained him with talk deep +in to the night;[FN#338] after which I said to him, 'O my master, is there no +music in thy house.' He answered, 'Verily for many a day we have drunk without +music.' Then he called out, saying, 'Ho, Shajarat al-Durr?' Whereupon a slave- +girl answered him from her chamber and came in to us, with a lute of Hindu +make, wrapped in a silken bag. And she sat down and, laying the lute in her +lap, preluded in one and twenty modes; then, returning to the first, she sang +to a lively measure these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'We have ne'er tasted of Love's sweets and bitter draught, * No<br/> + + difference kens 'twixt presence-bliss and absence-stress;<br/> + +And so, who hath declined from Love's true road, * No diference<br/> + + kens 'twixt smooth and ruggedness:<br/> + +I ceased not to oppose the votaries of love, * Till I had tried<br/> + + its sweets and bitters not the less:<br/> + +How many a night my pretty friend conversed with me * And sipped<br/> + + I from his lips honey of love liesse:<br/> + +Now have I drunk its cup of bitterness, until * To bondman and to<br/> + + freedman I have proved me base.<br/> + +How short-aged was the night together we enjoyed, * When seemed<br/> + + it daybreak came on nightfall's heel to press!<br/> + +But Fate had vowed to disunite us lovers twain, * And she too<br/> + + well hath kept her vow, that votaress.<br/> + +Fate so decreed it! None her sentence can withstand: * Where is<br/> + + the wight who dares oppose his Lord's command?'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Hardly had she finished her verses, when her lord cried out with a great cry +and fell down in a fit; whereupon exclaimed the damsel, 'May Allah not punish +thee, O old man! This long time have we drunk without music, for fear the like +of this falling sickness befal our lord. But now go thou to yonder chamber and +there sleep.' So I went to the chamber which she showed me and slept till the +morning, when behold, a page brought me a purse of five hundred dinars and said +to me, 'This is what my master promised thee; but return thou not to the damsel +who sent thee, god let it be as though neither thou nor we had ever heard of +this matter.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' answered I and taking the purse, went +my way. Still I said to myself, 'The lady must have expected me since +yesterday; and by Allah there is no help but I return to her and tell her what +passed between me and him: otherwise she will revile me and revile all who come +from my country.' So I went to her and found her standing behind the door; and +when she saw me she said, 'O Ibn Mansur, thou hast done nothing for me?' I +asked, 'Who told thee of this?'; and she answered, 'O Ibn Mansur, yet another +thing hath been revealed to me;[FN#339] and it is that, when thou handedst him +the letter, he tore it in pieces. and throwing it on the floor, said to thee: +'O Ibn Mansur, I will grant thee whatever thou askest save thy desire which +concerneth the writer of this letter; for I have no answer to her missive.' +Then didst thou rise from beside him in anger; but he laid hold of thy skirts, +saying: 'O son of Mansur, abide with me to day, for thou art my guest, and eat +and drink and make merry; and thou shalt have thy five hundred ducats.' So thou +didst sit with him, eating and drinking and making merry, and entertainedst him +with talk deep into the night and a slave- girl sang such an air and such +verses, whereupon he fell down in a fit.' So, O Commander of the Faithful, I +asked her 'West thou then with us?'; and she answered, 'O Ibn Mansur, hast thou +not heard the saying of the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'The hearts of lovers have eyes I ken, * Which see the unseen by vulgar men.' +</p> + +<p> +However, O Ibn Mansur, the night and day shift not upon anything but they bring +to it change.'—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-first Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lady exclaimed, 'O +Ibn Mansur, the night and the day shift not upon anything but they bring to it +change!' Then she raised her glance to heaven and said, 'O my God and my Leader +and my Lord, like as Thou hast afflicted me with love of Jubayr bin Umayr, even +so do Thou afflict him with love of me, and transfer the passion from my heart +to his heart!'[FN#340] Then she gave me an hundred sequins for my trouble in +going and coming and I took it and returned to the palace, where I found the +Sultan come home from the chase; so I got my pension of him and fared back to +Baghdad. And when next year came, I repaired to Bassorah, as usual, to seek my +pension, and the Sultan paid it to me; but, as I was about to return to +Baghdad, I bethought me of the Lady Budur and said to myself, 'By Allah, I must +needs go to her and see what hath befallen between her and her lover!' So I +went to her house and finding the street before her door swept and sprinkled +and eunuchs and servants and pages standing before the entrance, said to +myself, 'Most like grief hath broken the lady's heart and she is dead, and some +Emir or other hath taken up his abode in her house.' So I left it and went on +to the house of Jubayr, son of Umayr the Shaybani, where I found the benches of +the porch broken down and ne'er a page at the door, as of wont and said to +myself, 'Haply he too is dead.' Then I stood still before the door of his house +and with my eyes running over with tears, bemoaned it in these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'O Lords of me, who fared but whom my heart e'er followeth, *<br/> + + Return and so my festal-days with you shall be renewed!<br/> + +I stand before the home of you, bewailing your abode; * Quiver<br/> + + mine eyelids and my eyes with tears are ever dewed:<br/> + +I ask the house and its remains that seem to weep and wail, *<br/> + + 'Where is the man who whilom wont to lavish goods and<br/> + +good?''<br/> + +It saith, 'Go, wend thy way; those friends like travellers have<br/> + + fared * From Springtide-camp, and buried lie of earth and<br/> + + worms the food!'<br/> + +Allah ne'er desolate us so we lose their virtues' light * In<br/> + + length and breadth, but ever be the light in spirit viewed!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +As I, O Prince of True Believers, was thus keening over the folk of the +house,[FN#341] behold, out came a black slave therefrom and said to me, 'Hold +thy peace, O Shaykh! May thy mother be reft of thee! Why do I see thee +bemoaning the house in this wise?' Quoth I, 'I frequented it of yore, when it +belonged to a good friend of mine.' Asked the slave, 'What was his name?'; and +I answered, 'Jubayr bin Umayr the Shaybani.' Rejoined he, And what hath +befallen him? Praised be Allah, he is yet here with us in the enjoyment of +property and rank and prosperity, except that Allah hath stricken him with love +of a damsel called the Lady Budur;, and he is so whelmed by his love of her and +his longing for her, that he is like a great rock cumbering the ground. If he +hunger, he saith not, 'Give me meat;' nor, if he thirst, doth he say, 'Give me +drink.' Quoth I, 'Ask leave for me to go in to him.' Said the slave, 'O my +lord, wilt thou go in to one who understandeth or to one who understandeth +not?'; and I said 'There is no help for it but I see him whatever be the case.' +Accordingly he went in to ask and presently returned with permission for me to +enter, whereupon I went in to Jubayr and found him like a rock that cumbereth +the ground, understanding neither sign nor speech; and when I spoke to him he +answered me not. Then said one of his servants, 'O my lord, if thou remember +aught of verse, repeat it and raise thy voice; and he will be aroused by this +and speak with thee.' So I versified in these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Hast quit the love of Moons[FN#342] or dost persist? * Dost wake<br/> + + o' nights or close in sleep thine eyes?<br/> + +If aye thy tears in torrents flow, then learn * Eternal-thou<br/> + + shalt dwell in Paradise.'[FN#343]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When he heard these verses he opened his eyes and said; 'Welcome, O son of +Mansur! Verily, the jest is become earnest.' Quoth I, 'O my lord, is there +aught thou wouldst have me do for thee?' Answered he, 'Yes, I would fain write +her a letter and send it to her by thee. If thou bring me back her answer, thou +shalt have of me a thousand dinars; and if not, two hundred for thy pains.' So +I said, 'Do what seemeth good to thee;'—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day +and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibn Mansur continued: "So +I said, 'Do what seemeth good to thee;' whereupon he called to one of his +slave-girls, 'Bring me ink case and paper;' and wrote these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'I pray in Allah's name, O Princess mine, be light * On me, for<br/> + + Love hath robbed me of my reason's sight'<br/> + +'Slaved me this longing and enthralled me love of you; * And clad<br/> + + in sickness garb, a poor and abject wight.<br/> + +I wont ere this to think small things of Love and hold, * O<br/> + + Princess mine, 'twas silly thing and over-slight.<br/> + +But when it showed me swelling surges of its sea, * To Allah's<br/> + + hest I bowed and pitied lover's plight.<br/> + +An will you, pity show and deign a meeting grant, * An will you<br/> + + kill me still forget not good requite.'[FN#344]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Then he sealed the letter and gave it to me. So I took it and, repairing to +Budur's house, raised the door-curtain little by little, as before, and looking +in behold, I saw ten damsels, high-bosomed virgins, like moons, and the Lady +Budur as she were the full moon among the stars, sitting in their midst, or the +sun, when it is clear of clouds and mist; nor was there on her any trace of +pain or care. And as I looked and marvelled at her case, she turned her glance +upon me and, seeing me standing at the door, said to me, 'Well come, and +welcome and all hail to thee, O Ibn Mansur! Come in.' So I entered and saluting +her gave her the letter; and she read it and when she understood it, she said +laughingly to me, 'O Ibn Mansur, the poet lied not when he sang, +</p> + +<p> +'Indeed I'll bear my love for thee with firmest soul, * Until from thee to me +shall come a messenger. +</p> + +<p> +'Look'ye, O Ibn Mansur, I will write thee an answer, that he may give thee what +he promised thee.' And I answered, 'Allah requite thee with good!' So she +called out to a handmaid, 'Bring inkcase and paper,' and wrote these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'How comes it I fulfilled my vow the while that vow broke you? *<br/> + + And, seen me lean to equity, iniquity wrought you?<br/> + +'Twas you initiated wrongous dealing and despite: * You were the<br/> + + treachetour and treason came from only you!<br/> + +I never ceased to cherish mid the sons of men my troth, * And<br/> + + keep your honour brightest bright and swear by name of you<br/> + +Until I saw with eyes of me what evil you had done; * Until I<br/> + + heard with ears of me what foul report spread you.<br/> + +Shall I bring low my proper worth while raising yours so high? *<br/> + + By Allah had you me eke I had honoured you!<br/> + +But now uprooting severance I will fain console my heart, * And<br/> + + wring my fingers clean of you for evermore to part!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth I, 'By Allah, O my lady, between him and death there is but the reading +of this letter!' So I tore it in pieces and said to her, 'Write him other than +these lines.' 'I hear and obey answered she and wrote the following couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Indeed I am consolиd now and sleep without a tear, * And all<br/> + + that happened slandering tongues have whispered in mine ear:<br/> + +My heart obeyed my hest and soon forgot thy memory, * And learnt<br/> + + mine eyelids 'twas the best to live in severance sheer:<br/> + +He lied who said that severance is a bitterer thing than gall: *<br/> + + It never disappointed me, like wine I find it cheer:<br/> + +I learnt to hate all news of thee, e'en mention of thy name, *<br/> + + And turn away and look thereon with loathing pure and mere:<br/> + +Lookye! I cast thee out of heart and far from vitals mine; * Then<br/> + + let the slanderer wot this truth and see I am sincere.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth I, 'By Allah, O my lady, when he shall read these verses, his soul will +depart his body!' Quoth she, 'O Ibn Mansur, is passion indeed come to such a +pass with him that thou sayest this saying?' Quoth I, 'Had I said more than +this verily it were but the truth: but mercy is of the nature of the noble.' +Now when she heard this her eyes brimmed over with tears and she wrote him a +note, I swear by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, there is none in thy +Chancery could write the like of it; and therein were these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'How long shall I thy coyness and thy great aversion see? * Thou<br/> + + hast satisfied my censurers and pleased their enmity:<br/> + +I did amiss and wot it not; so deign to tell me now * Whatso they<br/> + + told thee, haply 'twas the merest calumny.<br/> + +I wish to welcome thee, dear love, even as welcome I * Sleep to<br/> + + these eyes and eyelids in the place of sleep to be.<br/> + +And since 'tis thou hast made me drain th' unmixиd cup of love, *<br/> + + If me thou see with wine bemused heap not thy blame on me!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when she had written the missive,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day +and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Budur had written +the missive, she sealed it and gave it to me; and I said, 'O my lady, in good +sooth this thy letter will make the sick man whole and ease the thirsting +soul.' Then I took it and went from her, when she called me back and said to +me, 'O son of Mansur, say to him: 'She will be thy guest this night.' At this I +joyed with exceeding great joy and carried the letter to Jubayr, whom I found +with his eyes fixed intently on the door, expecting the reply and as soon as I +gave him the letter and he opened and read it and understood it, he uttered a +great cry and fell down in a fainting fit. When he came to himself, he said to +me, 'O Ibn Mansur, did she indeed write this note with her hand and feel it +with her fingers?' Answered I, 'O my lord, do folk write with their feet?' And +by Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, I had not done speaking these words, +when we heard the tinkle-tinkle of her anklets in the vestibule and she +entered. And seeing her he sprang to his feet as though nothing pained or ailed +him and embraced her like the letter L embraceth the letter A;[FN#345] and the +infirmity, that erst would not depart at once left him.[FN#346] Then he sat +down, but she abode standing and I said to her, 'O my lady, why dost thou not +sit?' Said she, 'O Ibn Mansur, save on a condition that is between us, I will +not sit.' I asked, 'And what is that?'; and she answered, 'None may know +lovers' secrets,' and putting her mouth to Jubayr's ear whispered to him; where +upon he replied, 'I hear and I obey.' Then he rose and said somewhat in a +whisper to one of his slaves, who went out and returned in a little while with +a Kazi and two witnesses. Thereupon Jubayr stood up and taking a bag containing +an hundred thousand dinars, said, O Kazi, marry me to this young lady and write +this sum to her marriage-settlement.' Quoth the Kazi to her, 'Say thou, I +consent to this.' 'I consent to this,' quoth she, whereupon he drew up the +contract of marriage and she opened the bag; and, taking out a handful of gold, +gave it to the Kazi and the witnesses and handed the rest to Jubayr. Thereupon +the Kazi and the witnesses withdrew, and I sat with them, in mirth and +merriment, till the most part of the night was past, when I said in my mind, +'These are lovers and they have been this long while separated. I will now +arise and go sleep in some place afar from them and leave them to their +privacy, one with other.' So I rose, but she caught hold of my skirts, saying, +'What thinkest thou to do?' 'Nothing but so and so,' answered I; upon which she +rejoined, 'Sit thee down; and when we would be rid of thee, we will send thee +away.' So I sat down with them till near daybreak, when she said to me, 'O Ibn +Mansur, go to yonder chamber; for we have furnished it for thee and it is thy +sleeping-place.' Thereupon I arose and went thither and slept till morning, +when a page brought me basin and ewer, and I made the ablution and prayed the +dawn-prayer. Then I sat down and presently, behold, Jubayr and his beloved came +out of the bath in the house, and I saw them both wringing their locks.[FN#347] +So I wished them good morning and gave them joy of their safety and reunion, +saying to Jubayr, 'That which began with constraint and conditions hath ended +in cordial-contentment.' He answered, 'Thou sayest well, and indeed thou +deservest thy honorarium;' and he called his treasurer, and said, 'Bring hither +three thousand dinars.' So he brought a purse containing the gold pieces and +Jubayr gave it to me, saying, 'Favour us by accepting this.' But I replied, 'I +will not accept it till thou tell me the manner of the transfer of love from +her to thee, after so huge an aversion.' Quoth he, 'Hearkening and obedience! +Know that we have a festival-called New Year's day,[FN#348] when all the people +fare forth and take boat and go a-pleasuring on the river. So I went out with +my comrades, and saw a skiff, wherein were ten damsels like moons and amongst +them, the Lady Budur lute in hand. She preluded in eleven modes, then, +returning to the first, sang these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Fire is cooler than fires in my breast, * Rock is softer than<br/> + + heart of my lord<br/> + +Marvel I that he's formиd to hold * In water soft frame heart<br/> + + rock-hard!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Said I to her, 'Repeat the couplets and the air!' But she would not:'"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "Jubayr continued, 'So +cried I to her, Repeat the couplets and the air!' But she would not; whereupon +I bade the boatmen pelt her with oranges, and they pelted her till we feared +her boat would founder Then she went her way, and this is how the love was +transferred from her heart to mine.' So I wished them joy of their union and, +taking the purse with its contents, I returned to Baghdad." Now when the Caliph +heard Ibn Mansur's story his heart was lightened and the restlessness and +oppression from which he suffered forsook him. And they also tell the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap25"></a>THE MAN OF AI-YAMAN AND HIS SIX SlAVE-GIRLS.</h3> + +<p> +The Caliph Al-Maamun was sitting one day in his palace, surrounded by his Lords +of the realm and Officers of state, and there were present also before him all +his poets and cup- companions amongst the rest one named Mohammed of Bassorah. +Presently the Caliph turned and said to him, "O Mohammed, I wish thee forthwith +to tell me something that I have never before heard." He replied, "O Commander +of the Faithful, dost thou wish me to tell thee a thing I have heard with my +ears or a thing I have seen with my eyes?" Quoth Al-Maamun, "Tell me whichever +is the rarer; so Mohammed al-Basri began: "Know, then, O Commander of the +Faithful that there lived once upon a time wealthy man, who was a native of +Al-Yaman;but he emigrated from his native land and came to this city of +Baghdad, whose sojourn so pleased him that he transported hither his family and +possessions. Now he had six slave-girls, like moons one and all; the first +white, the second brown, the third fat, the fourth lean, the fifth yellow and +the sixth lamp-black; and all six were comely of countenance and perfect in +accomplishments and skilled in the arts of singing and playing upon +musical-instruments. Now it so chanced that, one day, he sent for the girls and +called for meat and wine; and they ate and drank and were mirthful and made +merry Then he filled the cup and, taking it in his hand, said to the blonde +girl, 'O new moon face, let us hear somewhat of thy pleasant songs.' So she +took the lute and tuning it, made music thereon with such sweet melody that the +place danced with glee; after which she played a lively measure and sang these +couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'I have a friend, whose form is fixed within mine eyes,[FN#349] *<br/> + + Whose name deep buried in my very vitals lies:<br/> + +Whenas remembers him my mind all heart am I, * And when on him my<br/> + + gaze is turned I am all eyes.<br/> + +My censor saith, 'Forswear, forget, the love of him,' * 'Whatso<br/> + + is not to be, how shall's be?' My reply is.<br/> + +Quoth I, 'O Censor mine, go forth from me, avaunt! * And make not<br/> + + light of that on humans heavy lies.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Hereat their master rejoiced and, drinking off his cup, gave the damsels to +drink, after which he said to the berry-brown girl, 'O brasier-light[FN#350] +and joy of the sprite, let us hear thy lovely voice, whereby all that hearken +are ravished with delight.' So she took the lute and thereon made harmony till +the place was moved to glee; then, captivating all hearts with her graceful +swaying, she sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'I swear by that fair face's life, I'll love but thee * Till<br/> + + death us part, nor other love but thine I'll see:<br/> + +O full moon, with thy loveliness mantilla'd o'er, * The loveliest<br/> + + of our earth beneath thy banner be:<br/> + +Thou, who surpassest all the fair in pleasantness * May Allah,<br/> + + Lord of worlds, be everywhere with thee!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The master rejoiced and drank off his cup and gave the girls to drink; after +which he filled again; and, taking the goblet in his hand, signed to the fat +girl and bade her sing and play a different motive. So she took the lute and +striking a grief- dispelling measure, sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'An thou but deign consent, O wish to heart affied! * I care not<br/> + + wrath and rage to all mankind betide.<br/> + +And if thou show that fairest face which gives me life, * I reck<br/> + + not an dimimshed heads the Kings go hide.<br/> + +I seek thy favours only from this 'versal-world: * O thou in whom<br/> + + all beauty cloth firm-fixt abide!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The man rejoiced and, emptying his cup, gave the girls to drink. Then he signed +to the thin girl and said to her, 'O Houri of Paradise, feed thou our ears with +sweet words and sounds.' So she took the lute; and, tuning it, preluded and +sang these two couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Say me, on Allah's path[FN#351] hast death not dealt to me, *<br/> + + Turning from me while I to thee turn patiently:<br/> + +Say me, is there no judge of Love to judge us twain, * And do me<br/> + + justice wronged, mine enemy, by thee?'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Their lord rejoiced and, emptying the cup, gave the girls to drink. Then +filling another he signed to the yellow girl and said to her, O sun of the day, +let us hear some nice verses.' So she took the lute and, preluding after the +goodliest fashion, sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'I have a lover and when drawing him, * He draws on me a sword-<br/> + + blade glancing grim:<br/> + +Allah avenge some little of his wrongs, * Who holds my heart yet<br/> + + wreaks o erbearing whim<br/> + +Oft though I say, 'Renounce him, heart!' yet heart * Will to none<br/> + + other turn excepting him.<br/> + +He is my wish and will of all men, but * Fate's envious hand to<br/> + + me's aye grudging him.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The master rejoiced and drank and gave the girls to drink; then he filled the +cup and taking it in hand, signed to the black girl, saying, 'O pupil of the +eye, let us have a taste of thy quality, though it be but two words.' So she +took the lute and tuning it and tightening the strings, preluded in various +modes, then returned to the first and sang to a lively air these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Ho ye, mine eyes, let prodigal-tears go free; * This ecstasy<br/> + + would see my being unbe:[FN#352]<br/> + +All ecstasies I dreefor sake of friend * I fondle, maugre<br/> + + enviers' jealousy:<br/> + +Censors forbid me from his rosy cheek, * Yet e'er inclines my<br/> + + heart to rosery:<br/> + +Cups of pure wine, time was, went circuiting * In joy, what time<br/> + + the lute sang melody,<br/> + +While kept his troth the friend who madded me, * Yet made me<br/> + + rising star of bliss to see:<br/> + +But—with Time, turned he not by sin of mine; * Than such a turn<br/> + + can aught more bitter be?<br/> + +Upon his cheek there grows and glows a rose, * Nay two, whereof<br/> + + grant Allah one to me!<br/> + +An were prostration[FN#353] by our law allowed * To aught but<br/> + + Allah, at his feet I had bowed.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon rose the six girls and, kissing the ground before their lord, said to +him, 'Do thou justice between us, O our lord!' So he looked at their beauty and +loveliness and the contrast of their colours and praised Almighty Allah and +glorified Him. Then said he, 'There is none of you but hath learnt the Koran by +heart, and mastered the musical-art and is versed in the chronicles' of yore +and the doings of peoples which have gone before; so it is my desire that each +one of you rise and, pointing finger at her opposite, praise herself and +dispraise her co-concubine; that is to: say, let the blonde point to the +brunette, the plump to the slenderer and the yellow to the black girl; after +which the rivals, each in her turn, shall do the like with the former; and be +this illustrated with citations from Holy Writ and somewhat of anecdotes and,; +verse, so as to show forth your fine breeding and elegance of your pleading.' +And they answered him, 'We hear and we obey!;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn +of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the handmaids answered +the man of Al-Yaman, "'We hear and we obey!' Accordingly the blonde rose first +and, pointing at the black girl, said to her: 'Out on thee, blackamoor! It is +told by tradition that whiteness saith, 'I am the shining light, I am the +rising moon of the fourteenth night. My hue is patent and my brow is +resplendent and of my beauty quoth the poet,' +</p> + +<p> +'White girl with softly rounded polished cheeks * As if a pearl<br/> + + concealed by Beauty's boon:<br/> + +Her stature Alif-like;[FN#354] her smile like Mнm[FN#355] * And<br/> + + o'er her eyes two brows that bend like Nъn.[FN#356]<br/> + +'Tis as her glance were arrow, and her brows * Bows ever bent to<br/> + + shoot Death-dart eftsoon:<br/> + +If cheek and shape thou view, there shalt thou find * Rose,<br/> + + myrtle, basil and Narcissus wone.<br/> + +Men wont in gardens plant and set the branch, * How many garths<br/> + + thy stature-branch cloth own!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +'So my colour is like the hale and healthy day and the newly culled orange +spray and the star of sparkling ray;[FN#357] and indeed quoth Almighty Allah, +in His precious Book, to his prophet Moses (on whom be peace!), Put thy hand +into thy bosom; it shall come forth white, without hurt.'[FN#358] And again He +saith, But they whose faces shall become white, shall be in the mercy of Allah; +therein shall they remain forever.'[FN#359] My colour is a sign, a miracle, and +my loveliness supreme and my beauty a term extreme. It is on the like of me +that raiment showeth fair and fine and to the like of me that hearts incline. +Moreover, in whiteness are many excellences; for instance, the snow falleth +white from heaven, and it is traditional-that the beautifullest of a colours +white. The Moslems also glory in white turbands, but I should be tedious, were +I to tell all that may be told in praise of white; little and enough is better +than too much of unfilling stuff. So now I will begin with thy dispraise, O +black, O colour of ink and blacksmith's dust, thou whose face is like the raven +which bringeth about the parting of lovers. Verily, the poet saith in praise of +white and blame of black, +</p> + +<p> +'Seest not that pearls are prized for milky hue, * But with a<br/> + + dirham buy we coals in load?<br/> + +And while white faces enter Paradise, * Black faces crowd<br/> + + Gehenna's black abode.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And indeed it is told in certain histories, related on the authority of devout +men, that Noah (on whom be peace!) was sleeping one day, with his sons Cham and +Shem seated at his head, when a wind sprang up and, lifting his clothes, +uncovered his nakedness; whereat Cham looked and laughed and did not cover him: +but Shem arose and covered him. Presently, their sire awoke and learning, what +had been done by his sons, blessed Shem and cursed Cham. So Shem's face was +whitened and from him sprang the prophets and the orthodox Caliphs and Kings; +whilst Cham's face was blackened and he fled forth to the land of Abyssinia, +and of his lineage came the blacks.[FN#360] All people are of one mind in +affirming the lack of understanding of the blacks, even as saith the adage, +'How shall one find a black with a mind?' Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down, +thou hast given us sufficient and even excess.' Thereupon he signed to the +negress, who rose and, pointing her finger at the blonde, said: Dost thou not +know that in the Koran sent down to His prophet and apostle, is transmitted the +saying of God the Most High, 'By the night when it covereth all things with +darkness; by the day when it shineth forth!'[FN#361] If the night were not the +more illustrious, verily Allah had not sworn by it nor had given it precedence +of the day. And indeed all men of wit and wisdom accept this. Knowest thou not +that black is the ornament of youth and that, when hoariness descendeth upon +the head, delights pass away and the hour of death draweth in sight? Were not +black the most illustrious of things, Allah had not set it in the core of the +heart[FN#362] and the pupil of the eye; and how excellent is the saying of the +poet, +</p> + +<p> +'I love not black girls but because they show * Youth's colour,<br/> + + tinct of eye and heartcore's hue;<br/> + +Nor are in error who unlove the white, * And hoary hairs and<br/> + + winding-sheet eschew.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And that said of another, +</p> + +<p> +'Black[FN#363] girls, not white, are they * All worthy love I<br/> + + see:<br/> + +Black girls wear dark-brown lips;[FN#364] * Whites, blotch of<br/> + + leprosy.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And of a third, +</p> + +<p> +'Black girls in acts are white, and 'tis as though * Like eyes,<br/> + + with purest shine and sheen they show;<br/> + +If I go daft for her, be not amazed; * Black bile[FN#365] drives<br/> + + melancholic-mad we know<br/> + +'Tis as my colour were the noon of night; * For all no moon it<br/> + + be, its splendours glow.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, is the foregathering of lovers good but in the night? Let this +quality and profit suffice thee. What protecteth lovers from spies and censors +like the blackness of night's darkness; and what causeth them to fear discovery +like the whiteness of the dawn's brightness? So, how many claims to honour are +there not in blackness and how excellent is the saying of the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'I visit them, and night-black lendeth aid to me * Seconding love, but +dawn-white is mine enemy.' +</p> + +<p> +And that of another, +</p> + +<p> +'How many a night I've passed with the beloved of me, * While<br/> + + gloom with dusky tresses veilиd our desires:<br/> + +But when the morn-light showed it caused me sad affright; * And I<br/> + + to Morning said, 'Who worship light are liars!'[FN#366]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And saith a third, +</p> + +<p> +'He came to see me, hiding neath the skirt of night, * Hasting<br/> + + his steps as wended he in cautious plight.<br/> + +I rose and spread my cheek upon his path like rug, * Abject, and<br/> + + trailed my skirt to hide it from his sight;<br/> + +But rose the crescent moon and strave its best to show * The<br/> + + world our loves like nail-slice raying radiant<br/> + + light:[FN#367]<br/> + +Then what befel befel: I need not aught describe; * But think thy<br/> + + best, and ask me naught of wrong or right.<br/> + +Meet not thy lover save at night for fear of slander * The Sun's<br/> + + a tittle-tattler and the Moon's a pander.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And a fifth, +</p> + +<p> +'I love not white girls blown with fat who puff and pant; * The<br/> + + maid for me is young brunette embonpoint-scant.<br/> + +I'd rather ride a colt that's darn upon the day * Of race, and<br/> + + set my friends upon the elephant.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And a sixth, +</p> + +<p> +My lover came to me one night, * And clips we both with fond<br/> + + embrace;<br/> + +And lay together till we saw * The morning come with swiftest<br/> + + pace.<br/> + +Now I pray Allah and my Lord * To reunite us of His grace<br/> + +And make night last me long as he * Lies in the arms that tightly<br/> + + lace.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Were I to set forth all the praises of blackness, my tale would be tedious; but +little and enough is better than too much of unfilling stuff. As for thee, O +blonde, thy colour is that of leprosy and thine embrace is suffocation;[FN#368] +and it is of report that hoar-frost and icy cold[FN#369] are in Gehenna for the +torment of the wicked. Again, of things black and excellent is ink, wherewith +is written Allah's word; and were it not for black ambergris and black musk, +there would be no perfumes to carry to Kings. How many glories I may not +mention dwell in blackness, and how well saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'Seest not that musk, the nut brown musk, e'er claims the highest<br/> + + price * Whilst for a load of whitest lime none more than<br/> + + dirham bids?<br/> + +And while white speck upon the eye deforms the loveliest youth, *<br/> + + Black eyes discharge the sharpest shafts in lashes from<br/> + + their lids.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down: this much sufficeth.' So she sat down and he +signed to the fat girl, who rose"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the man of Al-Yaman, the +master of the handmaids, signed to the fat girl who rose and, pointing her +finger at the slim girl, bared her calves and wrists and uncovered her stomach, +showing its dimples and the plump rondure of her navel. Then she donned a shift +of fine stuff, that exposed her whole body, and said: 'Praised be Allah who +created me, for that He beautified my face and made me fat and fair of the +fattest and fairest; and likened me to branches laden with fruit, and bestowed +upon me abounding beauty and brightness: and praised be He no less, for that He +hath given me the precedence and honoured me, when He mentioneth me in His holy +Book! Quoth the Most High, 'And he brought a fatted calf.'[FN#370] And He hath +made me like unto a vergier full of peaches and pomegranates. In very sooth +even as the townsfolk long for fat birds and eat of them and love not lean +birds, so do the sons of Adam desire fat meat and eat of it. How many vauntful +attributes are there not in fatness, and how well saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'Farewell thy love, for see, the Cafilah's[FN#371] on the move: *<br/> + + O man, canst bear to say adieu and leave thy love?<br/> + +'Tis as her going were to seek her neighbour's tent, * The gait<br/> + + of fat fair maid, whom hearts shall all approve.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Sawest thou ever one stand before a flesher's stall but sought of him fat +flesh? The wise say, 'Joyance is in three things, eating meat and riding meat +and putting meat into meat.'[FN#372] As for thee, O thin one, thy calves are +like the shanks of sparrows or the pokers of furnaces; and thou art a cruciform +plank of a piece of flesh poor and rank; there is naught in thee to gladden the +heart; even as saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'With Allah take I refuge from whatever driveth me * To bed with<br/> + + one like footrasp[FN#373] or the roughest ropery:<br/> + +In every limb she hath a horn that butteth me whene'er * I fain<br/> + + would rest, so morn and eve I wend me wearily.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down: this much sufficeth.' So she sat down and he +signed to the slender girl, who rose, as she were a willow-wand, or a +rattan-frond or a stalk of sweet basil, and said: 'Praised be Allah who created +me and beautified me and made my embraces the end of all desire and likened me +to the branch, whereto all hearts incline. If I rise, I rise lightly; if I sit, +I sit prettily; I am nimble-witted at a jest and merrier-souled than mirth +itself. Never heard I one describe his mistress, saying, 'My beloved is the +bigness of an elephant or like a mountain long and broad;' but rather, 'My lady +hath a slender waist and a slim shape.'[FN#374] Furthermore a little food +filleth me and a little water quencheth my thirst; my sport is agile and my +habit active; for I am sprightlier than the sparrow and lighter-skipping than +the starling. My favours are the longing of the lover and the delight of the +desirer; for I am goodly of shape, sweet of smile and graceful as the bending +willow-wand or the rattan-cane[FN#375] or the stalk of the basil- plant; nor is +there any can compare with me in loveliness, even as saith one of me, +</p> + +<p> +'Thy shape with willow branch I dare compare, * And hold thy<br/> + + figure as my fortunes fair:<br/> + +I wake each morn distraught, and follow thee, * And from the<br/> + + rival's eye in fear I fare.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +It is for the like of me that amourists run mad and that those who desire me +wax distracted. If my lover would draw me to him, I am drawn to him; and if he +would have me incline to him, I incline to him and not against him. But now, as +for thee, O fat of body, thine eating is the feeding of an elephant, and +neither much nor little filleth thee. When thou liest with a man who is lean, +he hath no ease of thee; nor can he anyways take his pleasure of thee; for the +bigness of thy belly holdeth him off from going in unto thee and the fatness of +thy thighs hindereth him from coming at thy slit. What goodness is there in thy +grossness, and what courtesy or pleasantness in thy coarseness? Fat flesh is +fit for naught but the flasher, nor is there one point therein that pleadeth +for praise. If one joke with thee, thou art angry; if one sport with thee, thou +art sulky; if thou sleep, thou snorest if thou walk, thou lollest out thy +tongue! if thou eat, thou art never filled. Thou art heavier than mountains and +fouler than corruption and crime. Thou hast in thee nor agility nor benedicite +nor thinkest thou of aught save meat and sleep. When thou pissest thou +swishes"; if thou turd thou gruntest like a bursten wine skin or an elephant +transmogrified. If thou go to the water closet, thou needest one to wash thy +gap and pluck out the hairs which overgrow it; and this is the extreme of +sluggish ness and the sign, outward and visible, of stupidity[FN#376] In short, +there is no good thing about thee, and indeed the poet Title of thee, +</p> + +<p> +'Heavy and swollen like an urine-bladder blown, * With hips and<br/> + + thighs like mountain propping piles of stone;<br/> + +Whene'er she walks in Western hemisphere, her tread * Makes the<br/> + + far Eastern world with weight to moan and groan.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down, this sufficeth;' so she sat down and he +signed to the yellow girl, who rose to her feet and praised Allah Almighty and +magnified His name, calling down peace and blessing on Mohammed the best of His +creatures; after which she pointed her finger at the brunette and said to her," +And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the yellow girl +stood up and praised Almighty Allah and magnified His name; after which she +pointed her finger at the brown girl and said to her: 'I am the one praised in +the Koran, and the Compassionate hath described my complexion and its +excellence over all other hues in His manifest Book, where Allah saith, 'A +yellow, pure yellow, whose colour gladdeneth the beholders.'[FN#377] Wherefore +my colour is a sign and portent and my grace is supreme and my beauty a term +extreme; for that my tint is the tint of a ducat and the colour of the planets +and moons and the hue of ripe apples. My fashion is the fashion of the fair, +and the dye of saffron outvieth all other dyes; so my semblance is wondrous and +my colour marvellous. I am soft of body and of high price, comprising all +qualities of beauty. My colour is essentially precious as virgin gold, and how +many boasts and glories cloth it not unfold! Of the like of me quoth the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'Her golden yellow is the sheeny sun's; * And like gold sequins<br/> + + she delights the sight:<br/> + +Saffron small portion of her glance can show; * Nay,[FN#378] she<br/> + + outvies the moon when brightest bright.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And I shall at once begin in thy dispraise, O berry-brown girl! Thy tincture is +that of the buffalo, and all souls shudder at thy sight. If thy colour be in +any created thing, it is blamed; if it be in food, it is poisoned; for thy hue +is the hue of the dung- fly; it is a mark of ugliness even in dogs; and among +the colours it is one which strikes with amazement and is of the signs of +mourning. Never heard I of brown gold or brown pearls or brown gems. If thou +enter the privy, thy colour changeth, and when thou comest out, thou addest +ugliness to ugliness. Thou art a non- descript; neither black, that thou mayst +be recognised, nor white, that thou mayst be described; and in thee there is no +good quality, even as saith the poet, +</p> + +<p> +'The hue of dusty motes is hers; that dull brown hue of hers * Is<br/> + + mouldy like the dust and mud by Cossid's foot<br/> + + upthrown:[FN#379]<br/> + + I never look upon her brow, e'en for eye-twinkling's space, *<br/> + + But in brown study fall I and my thoughts take browner<br/> + + tone.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down; this much sufficeth;' so she sat down and he +signed to the brunette. Now she was a model of beauty and loveliness and +symmetry and perfect grace; soft of skin, slim of shape, of stature rare, and +coal-black hair; with cheeks rosy-pink, eyes black rimmed by nature's hand, +face fair, and eloquent tongue; moreover slender-waisted and heavy-hipped. So +she rose and said: 'Praise be to Allah who hath created me neither leper-white +nor bile-yellow nor charcoal-black, but hath made my colour to be beloved of +men of wit and wisdom, for all the poets extol berry-brown maids in every +tongue and exalt their colour over all other colours. To 'brown of hue (they +say) praise is due;' and Allah bless him who singeth, +</p> + +<p> +'And in brunettes is mystery, could'st" thou but read it right, *<br/> + + Thy sight would never dwell on others, be they red or white:<br/> + +Free-flowing conversation, amorous coquettishness * Would teach<br/> + + Hбrut himself a mightier spell of magic might.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And saith another, +</p> + +<p> +'Give me brunettes, so limber, lissom, lithe of sway, * Brunettes<br/> + + tall, slender straight like Samhar's nut-brown<br/> + + lance;[FN#380]<br/> + +Languid of eyelids and with silky down on either cheek, * Who<br/> + + fixed in lover's heart work to his life mischance.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And yet another, +</p> + +<p> +'Now, by my life, brown hue hath point of comeliness * Leaves<br/> + + whiteness nowhere and high o'er the Moon takes place;<br/> + +But an of whiteness aught it borrowed self to deck, * 'Twould<br/> + + change its graces and would pale for its disgrace:<br/> + +Not with his must[FN#381] I'm drunken, but his locks of musk *<br/> + + Are wine inebriating all of human race.<br/> + +His charms are jealous each of each, and all desire * To be the<br/> + + down that creepeth up his lovely face.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And again another, +</p> + +<p> +'Why not incline me to that show of silky down, * On cheeks of<br/> + + dark brunette, like bamboo spiring brown?<br/> + +Whenas high rank in beauty poets sing, they say * Brown ant-like<br/> + + specklet worn by nenuphar in crown.<br/> + +And see I sundry lovers tear out others' eyne * For the brown<br/> + + mole beneath that jetty pupil shown,<br/> + +Then why do censors blame me for one all a mole? * Allah I pray<br/> + + demolish each molesting clown!'[FN#382]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +My form is all grace and my shape is built on heavy base; Kings desire my +colour which all adore, rich and poor. I am pleasant, active, handsome, +elegant, soft of skin and prized for price: eke I am perfect in seemlibead and +breeding and eloquence; my aspect is comely and my tongue witty; my temper is +bright and my play a pretty sight. As for thee, thou art like unto a mallow +growing about the Lъk Gate;[FN#383] in hue sallow and streaked-yellow and made +all of sulphur. Aroynt thee, O copper-worth of jaundiced sorrel, O rust of +brass-pot, O face of owl in gloom, and fruit of the Hell-tree Zakkъm;[FN#384] +whose bedfellow, for heart-break, is buried in the tomb. And there is no good +thing in thee, even as saith the poet of the like of thee, +</p> + +<p> +'Yellowness, tincturing her tho' nowise sick or sorry, *<br/> + + Straitens my hapless heart and makes my head sore ache;<br/> + +An thou repent not, Soul! I'll punish thee with kissing[FN#385] *<br/> + + Her lower face that shall mine every grinder break!'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when she ended her lines, quoth her master, 'Sit thee down, this much +sufficeth!'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the yellow girl +ended her recitation, quoth her master, 'Sit thee down; this much sufficeth!' +Then he made peace between them and clad them all in sumptuous robes of honour +and hanselled them with precious jewels of land and sea. And never have I seen, +O Commander of the Faithful, any when or any where, aught fairer than these six +damsels fair." Now when Al-Maamun heard this story from Mohammed of Bassorah, +he turned to him and said, "O Mohammed, knowest thou the abiding-place of these +damsels and their master, and canst thou contrive to buy them of him for us?" +He answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I have heard that their lord +is wrapped up in them and cannot bear to be parted from them." Rejoined the +Caliph, "Take thee ten thousand gold pieces for each girl, that is sixty +thousand for the whole purchase; and carry the coin to his house and buy them +of him." So Mohammed of Bassorah took the money and, betaking himself to the +Man of Al-Yaman, acquainted him with the wish of the Prince of True Believers. +He consented to part with them at that price to pleasure the Caliph; and +despatched them to Al-Maamun, who assigned them an elegant abode and therein +used to sit with them as cup-companions; marvelling at their beauty and +loveliness, at their varied colours and at the excellence of their +conversation. Thus matters stood for many a day; but, after awhile, when their +former owner could no longer bear to be parted from them, he sent a letter to +the Commander of the Faithful complaining to him of his own ardent love-longing +for them and containing, amongst other contents, these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Captured me six, all bright with youthful blee; * Then on all<br/> + + six be best salams from me!<br/> + +They are my hearing, seeing, very life; * My meat, my drink, my<br/> + + joy, my jollity:<br/> + +I'll ne'er forget the favours erst so charmed * Whose loss hath<br/> + + turned my sleep to insomny:<br/> + +Alack, O longsome pining and O tears! * Would I had farewelled<br/> + + all humanity:<br/> + +Those eyes, with bowed and well arched eyebrows[FN#386] dight, *<br/> + + Like bows have struck me with their archery."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the letter came to the hands of Al-Maamun, he robed the six damsels in +rich raiment; and, giving them threescore thousand dinars, sent them back to +their lord who joyed in them with exceeding joy[FN#387] (more especially for +the monies they brought him), and abode with them in all the comfort and +pleasance of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the +Severer of societies. And men also recount the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap26"></a>HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE DAMSEL AND ABU NOWAS.</h3> + +<p> +The Caliph, Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, being one night +exceedingly restless and thoughtful with sad thought, rose from his couch and +walked about the by-ways of his palace, till he came to a chamber, over whose +doorway hung a curtain. He raised that curtain and saw, at the upper end of the +room, a bedstead whereon lay something black, as it were a man asleep, with a +wax taper on his right hand and another on his left; and as the Caliph stood +wondering at the sight, behold, he remarked a flagon full of old wine whose +mouth was covered by the cup. The Caliph wondered even more at this, saying, +"How came this black by such wine-service?" Then, drawing near the bedstead, he +found that it was a girl lying asleep there, curtained by her hair; so he +uncovered her face and saw that it was like the moon, on the night of his +fulness.[FN#388] So the Caliph filled himself a cup of wine and drank it to the +roses of her cheeks; and, feeling inclined to enjoy her, kissed a mole on her +face, whereupon she started up from sleep, and cried out, "O Trusted of +Allah,[FN#389] what may this be?" Replied he, "A guest who knocketh at thy +door, hoping that thou wilt give him hospitality till the dawn;" and she +answered; "Even so! I will serve him with my hearing and my sight." So she +brought forward the wine and they drank together, after which she took the lute +and tuning the strings, preluded in one-and-twenty modes, then returning to the +first, played a lively measure and sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"The tongue of love from heart bespeaks my sprite, * Telling I<br/> + + love thee with love infinite:<br/> + +I have an eye bears witness to my pain, * And fluttering heart<br/> + + sore hurt by parting-plight.<br/> + +I cannot hide the love that harms my life; * Tears ever roll and<br/> + + growth of pine I sight:<br/> + +I knew not what love was ere loving thee; * But Allah's destiny<br/> + + to all is dight."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when her verses were ended she said, "O Commander of the Faithful, I have +been wronged!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel cried, "O +Commander of the Faithful, I have been wronged!" Quoth he, "How so, and who +hath wronged thee?" Quoth she "Thy son bought me awhile ago, for ten thousand +dirhams, meaning to give me to thee; but thy wife, the daughter of thine uncle, +sent him the said price and bade him shut me up from thee in this chamber." +Whereupon said the Caliph, "Ask a boon of me," and she, "I ask thee to lie with +me to-morrow night." Replied the Caliph, "Inshallah!" and leaving her, went +away. Now as soon as it was morning, he repaired to his sitting-room and called +for Abu Nowas, but found him not and sent his chamberlain to ask after him. The +chamberlain found him in a tavern, pawned and pledged for a score of a thousand +dirhams, which he had spent on a certain beardless youth, and questioned him of +his case. So he told him what had betided him with the comely boy and how he +had spent upon him a thousand silver pieces; whereupon quoth the chamberlain, +"Show him to me; and if he be worth this, thou art excused." He answered, +"Patience, and thou shalt see him presently.' As they were talking together, up +came the lad, clad in a white tunic, under which was another of red and under +this yet another black. Now when Abu Nowas saw him, he sighed a loud sigh and +improvised these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"He showed himself in shirt of white, * With eyes and eyelids<br/> + + languor-digit.<br/> + +Quoth I, 'Doss pass and greet me not? * Though were thy greeting<br/> + + a delight?<br/> + +Blest He who clothed in rose thy cheeks, * Creates what wills He<br/> + + by His might!'<br/> + +Quoth he, 'Leave prate, forsure my Lord * Of works is wondrous<br/> + + infinite:<br/> + +My garment's like my face and luck; * All three are white on<br/> + + white on white.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When the beardless one heard these words, he doffed the white tunic and +appeared in the red; and when Abu Nowas saw him he redoubled in expressions of +admiration and repeated these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"He showed in garb anemone-red, * A foeman 'friend' entitulиd:<br/> + +Quoth I in marvel, 'Thou'rt full moon * Whose weed shames rose<br/> + + however red:<br/> + +Hath thy cheek stained it red, or hast * Dyed it in blood by<br/> + + lovers bled?'<br/> + +Quoth he, 'Sol gave me this for shirt * When hasting down the<br/> + + West to bed<br/> + +So garb and wine and hue of cheek * All three are red on red on<br/> + + red.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And when the verses came to an end, the beardless one doffed the red tunic and +stood in the black; and, when Abu Nowas saw him, he redoubled in attention to +him and versified in these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"He came in sable-huиd sacque * And shone in dark men's heart to<br/> + + rack:<br/> + +Quoth I, 'Doss pass and greet me not? * Joying the hateful<br/> + + envious pack?<br/> + +Thy garment's like thy locks and like * My lot, three blacks on<br/> + + black on black.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Seeing this state of things and understanding the case of Abu Nowas and his +love-longing, the Chamberlain returned to the Caliph and acquainted him +therewith; so he bade him pouch a thousand dirhams and go and take him out of +pawn. Thereupon the Chamberlain returned to Abu Nowas and, paying his score, +carried him to the Caliph, who said, "Make me some verses containing the words, +O Trusted of Allah, what may this be?" Answered he, "I hear and I obey, O +Commander of the Faithful."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased +saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fortieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Nowas answered, "I +hear and I obey, O Commander of the Faithful!" and forthwith he improvised +these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Long was my night for sleepless misery; * Weary of body and of<br/> + + thought ne'er free:<br/> + +I rose and in my palace walked awhile, * Then wandered thro' the<br/> + + halls of Haremry:<br/> + +Till chanced I on a blackness, which I found * A white girl hid<br/> + + in hair for napery:<br/> + +Here to her for a moon of brightest sheen! * Like willow-wand and<br/> + + veiled in pudency:<br/> + +I quaffed a cup to her; then drew I near, * And kissed the<br/> + + beauty-spot on cheek had she:<br/> + +She woke astart, and in her sleep's amaze, * Swayed as the<br/> + + swaying branch in rain we see;<br/> + +Then rose and said to me, 'O Trusted One * Of Allah, O Amin, what<br/> + + may this be?<br/> + +Quoth I, 'A guest that cometh to thy tents * And craves till morn<br/> + + thy hospitality.'<br/> + +She answered, 'Gladly I, my lord, will grace * And honour such a<br/> + + guest with ear and eye.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Cried the Caliph, "Allah strike thee dead! it is as if thou hadst been present +with us.''[FN#390] Then he took him by the hand and carried him to the damsel +and, when Abu Nowas saw her clad in a dress and veil of blue, he expressed +abundant admiration and improvised these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Say to the pretty one in veil of blue, * 'By Allah, O my life,<br/> + + have ruth on dole!<br/> + +For, when the fair entreats her lover foul, * Sighs rend his<br/> + + bosom and bespeak his soul<br/> + +By charms of thee and whitest cheek I swear thee, * Pity a heart<br/> + + for love lost all control<br/> + +Bend to him, be his stay 'gainst stress of love, * Nor aught<br/> + + accept what saith the ribald fool.'"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when he ended his verse, the damsel set wine before the Caliph; and, taking +the lute, played a lively measure and sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Wilt thou be just to others in thy love, and do * Unright, and<br/> + + put me off, and take new friend in lieu?<br/> + +Had lovers Kazi unto whom I might complain * Of thee, he'd<br/> + + peradventure grant the due I sue:<br/> + +If thou forbid me pass your door, yet I afar * Will stand, and<br/> + + viewing you waft my salams to you!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The Caliph bade her ply Abu Nowas with wine, till he lost his right senses, +thereupon he gave him a full cup, and he drank a draught of it and held the cup +in his hand till he slept. Then the Commander of the Faithful bade the girl +take the cup from his grasp and hide it; so she took it and set it between her +thighs, moreover he drew his scymitar and, standing at the head of Abu Nowas, +pricked him with the point; whereupon he awoke and saw the drawn sword and the +Caliph standing over him. At this sight the fumes of the wine fled from his +head and the Caliph said to him, "Make me some verses and tell me therein what +is become of thy cup; or I will cut off thy head." So he improvised these +couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"My tale, indeed, is tale unlief; * 'Twas yonder fawn who play'd<br/> + + the thief!<br/> + +She stole my cup of wine, before * The sips and sups had dealt<br/> + + relief,<br/> + +And hid it in a certain place, * My heart's desire and longing<br/> + + grief.<br/> + +I name it not, for dread of him * Who hath of it command-in-<br/> + + chief."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Quoth the Caliph, "Allah strike thee dead![FN#391] How knewest thou that? But +we accept what thou sayst." Then he ordered him a dress of honour and a +thousand dinars, and he went away rejoicing. And among tales they tell is one +of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap27"></a>THE MAN WHO STOLE THE DISH OF GOLD WHEREIN THE DOG ATE.</h3> + +<p> +Sometime erst there was a man, who had accumulated debts, and his case was +straitened upon him, so that he left his people and family and went forth in +distraction; and he ceased not wandering on at random till he came after a time +to a city tall of walls and firm of foundations. He entered it in a state of +despondency and despair, harried by hunger and worn with the weariness of his +way. As he passed through one of the main streets, he saw a company of the +great going along; so he followed them till they reached a house like to a +royal-palace. He entered with them, and they stayed not faring forwards till +they came in presence of a person seated at the upper end of a saloon, a man of +the most dignified and majestic aspect, surrounded by pages and eunuchs, as he +were of the sons of the Wazirs.When he saw the visitors, he rose to greet them +and received them with honour; but the poor man aforesaid was confounded at his +own boldness, when beholding——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-first Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the poor man aforesaid +was confounded at his own boldness, when beholding the goodliness of the place +and the crowd of servants and attendants; so drawing back, in perplexity and +fear for his life sat down apart in a place afar off. where none should see +him. Now it chanced that whilst he was sitting, behold, in came a man with four +sporting-dogs, whereon were various kinds of raw silk and brocade[FN#392] and +wearing round their necks collars of gold with chains of silver, and tied up +each dog in a place set privy for him; after which he went out and presently +returned with four dishes of gold, full of rich meats, which he set severally +before the dogs, one for each. Then he went away and left them, whilst the poor +man began to eye the food, for stress of hunger, and longed to go up to one of +the dogs and eat with him, but fear of them withheld him. Presently, one of the +dogs looked at him and Allah Almighty inspired the dog with a knowledge of his +case; so he drew back from the platter and signed to the man, who came and ate +till he was filled. Then he would have withdrawn, but the dog again signed to +him to take for himself the dish and what food was left in it, and pushed it +towards him with his fore-paw. So the man took the dish and leaving the house, +went his way, and none followed him. Then he journeyed to another city where he +sold the dish and buying with the price a stock-in-trade, returned to his own +town. There he sold his goods and paid his debts; and he throve and became +affluent and rose to perfect prosperity. He abode in his own land; but after +some years had passed he said to himself, "Needs must I repair to the city of +the owner of the dish, and, carry him a fit and handsome present and pay him +the money-value of that which his dog bestowed upon me." So he took the price +of the dish and a suitable gift; and, setting out, journeyed day and night, +till he came to that city; he entered it and sought the place where the man +lived; but he found there naught save ruins mouldering in row and croak of +crow, and house and home desolate and all conditions in changed state. At this, +his heart and soul were troubled, and he repeated the saying of him who saith, +</p> + +<p> +"Void are the private rooms of treasury: * As void were hearts of<br/> + + fear and piety:<br/> + +Changed is the Wady nor are its gazelles * Those fawns, nor sand-<br/> + + hills those I wont to see."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And that of another, +</p> + +<p> +"In sleep came Su'adб's[FN#393] shade and wakened me * Near dawn,<br/> + + when comrades all a-sleeping lay:<br/> + +But waking found I that the shade was fled, * And saw air empty<br/> + + and shrine far away."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the man saw these mouldering ruins and witnessed what the hand of time +had manifestly done with the place, leaving but traces of the +substantial-things that erewhiles had been, a little reflection made it +needless for him to enquire of the case; so he turned away. Presently, seeing a +wretched man, in a plight which made him shudder and feel goose-skin, and which +would have moved the very rock to rush, he said to him, "Ho thou! What have +time and fortune done with the lord of this place? Where are his lovely faces, +his shining full moons and splendid stars; and what is the cause of the ruin +that is come upon his abode, so that nothing save the walls thereof remain?" +Quoth the other, "He is the miserable thou seest mourning that which hath left +him naked. But knowest thou not the words of the Apostle (whom Allah bless and +keep!), wherein is a lesson to him who will learn by it and a warning to whoso +will be warned thereby and guided in the right way, 'Verily it is the way of +Allah Almighty to raise up nothing of this world, except He cast it down +again?'[FN#394] If thou question of the cause of this accident, indeed it is no +wonder, considering the chances and changes of Fortune. I was the lord of this +place and I builded it and founded it and owned it; and I was the proud +possessor of its full moons lucent and its circumstance resplendent and its +damsels radiant and its garniture magnificent, but Time turned and did away +from me wealth and servants and took from me what it had lent (not given); and +brought upon me calamities which it held in store hidden. But there must needs +be some reason for this thy question: so tell it me and leave wondering." +Thereupon, the man who had waxed wealthy being sore concerned, told him the +whole story, and added, "I have brought thee a present, such as souls desire, +and the price of thy dish of gold which I took; for it was the cause of my +affluence after poverty, and of the replenishment of my dwelling-place, after +desolation, and of the dispersion of my trouble and straitness." But the man +shook his head, and weeping and groaning and complaining of his lot answered, +"Ho thou! methinks thou art mad; for this is not the way of a man of sense. How +should a dog of mine make generous gift to thee of a dish of gold and I meanly +take back the price of what a dog gave? This were indeed a strange thing! Were +I in extremest unease and misery, by Allah, I would not accept of thee aught; +no, not the worth of a nail-paring! So return whence thou camest in health and +safety."[FN#395] Whereupon the merchant kissed his feet and taking leave of +him, returned whence he came, praising him and reciting this couplet, +</p> + +<p> +"Men and dogs together are all gone by, * So peace be with all of them! dogs +and men!' +</p> + +<p> +And Allah is All knowing! Again men tell the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap28"></a>THE SHARPER OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE.</h3> + +<p> +There was once in the coast-fortress of Alexandria, a Chief of Police, Husбm +al-Din highs, the sharp Scymitar of the Faith. Now one night as he sat in his +seat of office, behold, there came in to him a trooper-wight who said, "Know, O +my lord the Chief, that I entered your city this night and alighted at such a +khan and slept there till a third part of the night was past when I awoke and +found my saddle-bags sliced open and a purse of a thousand gold pieces stolen +from them." No sooner had he done speaking than the Chief summoned his chief +officials and bade them lay hands on all in the khan and clap them in limbo +till the morning; and on the morrow, he caused bring the rods and whips used in +punishment, and, sending for the prisoners, was about to flog them till they +confessed in the presence of the owner of the stolen money when, lo! a man +broke through the crowd till he came up to the Chief of Police,—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Chief was about to +flog them when lo! a man broke through the crowd till he came up to the Chief +of Police and the trooper and said; "Ho! Emir, let these folk go, for they are +wrongously accused. It was I who robbed this trooper, and see, here is the +purse I stole from his saddle-bags." So saying, he pulled out the purse from +his sleeve and laid it before Husam al-Din, who said to the soldier, "Take thy +money and pouch it; thou now hast no ground of complaint against the people of +the khan." Thereupon these folk and all who were present fell to praising the +thief and blessing him; but he said, "Ho! Emir, the skill is not in that I came +to thee in person and brought thee the purse; the cleverness was in taking it a +second time from this trooper." Asked the Chief, "And how didst thou do to take +it, O sharper?"; and the robber replied, "O Emir, I was standing in the +Shroff's[FN#396] bazar at Cairo, when I saw this soldier receive the gold in +change and put it in yonder purse; so I followed him from by-street to by- +street, but found no occasion of stealing it. Then he travelled from Cairo and +I followed him from town to town, plotting and planning by the way to rob him, +but without avail, till he entered this city and I dogged him to the khan. I +took up my lodging beside him and watched him till he fell asleep and I heard +him sleeping; when I went up to him softly, softly; and I slit open his +saddle-bags with this knife, and took the purse in the way I am now taking it." +So saying, he put out his hand and took the purse from before the Chief of +Police and the trooper, both of whom, together with the folk, drew back +watching him and thinking he would show them how he took the purse from the +saddle-bags. But, behold! he suddenly broke into a run and threw himself into a +pool of standing water[FN#397] hard by. So the Chief of the Police shouted to +his officers, "Stop thief!" and many made after him; but before they could doff +their clothes and descend the steps, he had made off; and they sought for him, +but found him not; for that the by-streets and lanes of Alexandria all +communicate. So they came back without bringing the purse; and the Chief of +Police said to the trooper, "Thou hast no demand upon the folk; for thou +fondest him who robbed thee and receivedst back thy money, but didst not keep +it." So the trooper went away, having lost his money, whilst the folk were +delivered from his hands and those of the Chief of Police, and all this was of +the favour of Almighty Allah.[FN#398] And they also tell the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap29"></a>AL-MALIK AL-NASIR AND THE THREE CHIEFS OF POLICE.</h3> + +<p> +Once upon a time Al-Malik al-Nбsir[FN#399] sent for the Wбlis or Chiefs of +Police of Cairo, Bulak, and Fostat[FN#400] and said to them, "I desire each of +you to recount me the marvellousest thing that hath befallen him during his +term of office."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Al-Malik al-Nasir +to the three Walis, "I desire each of you to recount me the marvellousest thing +which hath befallen him during his term of office." So they answered, "We hear +and we obey." Then said the Chief of the Police of Cairo, "Know thou, O our +lord the Sultan, the most wonderful thing that befel me, during my term of +office, was on this wise:" and he began +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap30"></a>The Story of the Chief of Police of Cairo.</h3> + +<p> +"There were in this city two men of good repute fit to bear witness[FN#401] in +matters of murder and wounds; but they were both secretly addicted to intrigues +with low women and to wine- bibbing and to dissolute doings, nor could I +succeed (do what I would) in bringing them to book, and I began to despair of +success. So I charged the taverners and confectioners and fruiterers and +candle-chandlers and the keepers of brothels and bawdy houses to acquaint me of +these two good men whenever they should anywhere be engaged in drinking or +other debauchery, or together or apart; and ordered that, if they both or if +either of them bought at their shops aught for the purpose of wassail and +carousel, the vendors should not conceal-it from me. And they replied, 'We hear +and obey.' Presently it chanced that one night, a man came to me and said, 'O +my master, know that the two just men, the two witnesses, are in such a street +in such a house, engaged in abominable wickedness.' So I disguised myself, I +and my body-servant, and ceased not trudging till I came to the house and +knocked at the door, whereupon a slave-girl came out and opened to me, saying, +'Who art thou?' I entered without answering her and saw the two legal-witnesses +and the house-master sitting, and lewd women by their side and before them +great plenty of wine. When they saw me, they rose to receive me, and made much +of me, seating me in the place of honour and saying to me, 'Welcome for an +illustrious guest and well come for a pleasant cup- companion!' And on this +wise they met me without showing a sign of alarm or trouble. Presently, the +master of the house arose from amongst us and went out and returned after a +while with three hundred dinars, when the men said to me, without the least +fear, 'Know, O our lord the Wali, it is in thy power to do even more than +disgrace and punish us; but this will bring thee in return nothing but +weariness: so we reck thou wouldest do better to take this much money and +protect us; for Almighty Allah is named the Protector and loveth those of His +servants who protect their Moslem neighbours; and thou shalt have thy reward in +this world and due recompense in the world to come.' So I said to myself, 'I +will take the money and protect them this once, but, if ever again I have them +in my power, I will take my wreak of them;' for, you see, the money had tempted +me. Thereupon I took it and went away thinking that no one would know it; but, +next day, on a sudden one of the Kazi's messengers came to me and said to me, +'O Wali, be good enough to answer the summons of the Kazi who wanteth thee.' So +I arose and accompanied him, knowing not the meaning of all this; and when I +came into the judge's presence, I saw the two witnesses and the master of the +house, who had given me the money, sitting by his side. Thereupon this man rose +and sued me for three hundred dinars, nor was it in my power to deny the debt; +for he produced a written obligation and his two companions, the legal +witnesses, testified against me that I owed the amount. Their evidence +satisfied the Kazi and he ordered me to pay the sum, nor did I leave the Court +till they had of me the three hundred gold pieces. So I went away, in the +utmost wrath and shame, vowing mischief and vengeance against them and +repenting that I had not punished them. Such, then is the most remarkable event +which befel me during my term of office." Thereupon rose the Chief of the Bulak +Police and said, "As for me, O our lord the Sultan, the most marvellous thing +that happened to me, since I became Wali, was as follows:" and he began +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap31"></a>The Story of the Chief of the Bulak Police.</h3> + +<p> +"I was once in debt to the full amount of three hundred thousand gold +pieces;[FN#402] and, being distressed thereby, I sold all that was behind me +and what was before me and all I hent in hand, but I could collect no more than +an hundred thousand dinars"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased +saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wali of Bulak +continued: "So I sold all that was behind and before me, but could collect no +more than an hundred thousand dinars and remained in great perplexity. Now one +night, as I sat at home in this state, behold, there came a knocking; so I said +to one of my servants, 'See who is at the door.' He went out and returned, wan +of face, changed in countenance and with his side-muscles a- quivering; so I +asked him, 'What aileth thee?'; and he answered, 'There is a man at the door; +he is half naked, clad in skins, with sword in hand and knife in girdle, and +with him are a company of the same fashion and he asketh for thee.' So I took +my sword and going out to see who these were, behold, I found them as the boy +had reported and said to them, 'What is your business?' They replied, 'Of a +truth we be thieves and have done fine work this night; so we appointed the +swag to thy use, that thou mayst pay therewith the debts which sadden thee and +deliver thee from thy distress.' Quoth I, 'Where is the plunder?'; and they +brought me a great chest, full of vessels of gold and silver; which when I saw, +I rejoiced and said to myself, 'Herewith I will settle all claims upon me and +there will remain as much again.' So I took the money and going inside said in +my mind, 'It were ignoble to let them fare away empty-handed.' Whereupon I +brought out the hundred thousand dinars I had by me and gave it to them, +thanking them for their kindness; and they pouched the monies and went their +way, under cover of the night so that none might know of them. But when morning +dawned I examined the contents of the chest, and found them copper and +tin[FN#403] washed with gold worth five hundred dirhams at the most; and this +was grievous to me, for I had lost what monies I had and trouble was added to +my trouble. Such, then, is the most remarkable event which befel me during my +term of office." Then rose the Chief of the Police of Old Cairo and said, "O +our lord the Sultan, the most marvellous thing that happened to me, since I +became Wali, was on this wise;" and he began +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap32"></a>The Story of the Chief of the Old Cairo Police.</h3> + +<p> +"I once hanged ten thieves each on his own gibbet, and especially charged the +guards to watch them and hinder the folk from taking any one of them down. Next +morning when I came to look at them, I found two bodies hanging from one +gallows and said to the guards, 'Who did this, and where is the tenth gibbet?' +But they denied all knowledge of it, and I was about to beat them till they +owned the truth, when they said, 'Know, O Emir, that we fell asleep last night, +and when we awoke, we found that some one had stolen one of the bodies, gibbet +and all; so we were alarmed and feared thy wrath. But, behold, up came a +peasant-fellow driving his ass; whereupon we laid hands on him and killed him +and hanged his body upon this gallows, in the stead of the thief who had been +stolen.'[FN#404] Now when I heard this, I marvelled and asked them, 'What had +he with him?'; and they answered, 'He had a pair of saddle-bags on the ass.' +Quoth I, 'What was in them?'; quoth they, 'We know not.' So I said, 'Bring them +hither;' and when they brought them to me I bade open them, behold, therein was +the body of a murdered man, cut in pieces. Now as soon as I saw this, I +marvelled at the case and said in myself, 'Glory to God! The cause of the +hanging of this peasant was none other but his crime against this murdered man; +and thy Lord is not unjust towards His servants.'"[FN#405] And men also tell +the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap33"></a>THE THIEF AND THE SHROFF.</h3> + +<p> +A certain Shroff, bearing a bag of gold pieces, once passed by a company of +thieves, and one of these sharpers said to the others, "I, and I only, have the +power to steal yonder purse." So they asked, "How wilt thou do it?"; and he +answered, "Look ye all!"; and followed the money-changer, till he entered his +house, when he threw the bag on a shelf[FN#406] and, being affected with +diabetes, went into the chapel of ease to do his want, calling to the +slave-girl, "Bring me an ewer of water." She took the ewer and followed him to +the privy, leaving the door open, whereupon the thief entered and, seizing the +money-bag, made off with it to his companions, to whom he told what had +passed.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted +say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the thief took the +money-bag and made off with it to his companions to whom he told what had +passed. Said they, "By Allah, thou hast played a clever trick! ''tis not every +one could do it; but, presently the money-changer will come out of the privy; +and missing the bag of money, he will beat the slave-girl and torture her with +grievous torture. 'Tis as though thou hast at present done nothing worthy of +praise; so, if thou be indeed a sharper, return and save the girl from being +beaten and questioned." Quoth he, ' Inshallah! I will save both girl and +purse." Then the prig went back to the Shroff's house and found him punishing +the girl because of the purse; so he knocked at the door and the man said, "Who +is there?" Cried the thief, "I am the servant of thy neighbour in the +Exchange;" whereupon he came out to him and said, "What is thy business?" The +thief replied, "My master saluteth thee and saith to thee: 'Surely thou art +deranged and thoroughly so, to cast the like of this bag of money down at the +door of thy shop and go away and leave it.' Had a stranger hit upon it he had +made off with it and, except my master had seen it and taken care of it, it had +assuredly been lost to thee." So saying, he pulled out the purse and showed it +to the Shroff who on seeing it said, "That is my very purse," and put out his +hand to take it; but the thief said, "By Allah, I will not give thee this same, +till thou write me a receipt declaring that thou hast received it! for indeed I +fear my master will not believe that thou hast recovered the purse, unless I +bring him thy writing to that effect, and sealed with thy signet-seal." The +money changer went in to write the paper required; and in the meantime the +thief made off with the bag of money and thus was the slave-girl saved her +beating. And men also tell a tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap34"></a>THE CHIEF OF THE KUS POLICE AND THE SHARPER.</h3> + +<p> +It is related that Alб al-Dнn, Chief of Police at Kъs,[FN#407] was sitting one +night in his house, when behold, a personage of handsome appearance and +dignified aspect came to the door, accompanied by a servant bearing a chest +upon his head and, standing there said to one of the Wali's young men, "Go in +and tell the Emir that I would have audience of him on some privy business." So +the servant went in and told his master, who bade admit the visitor. When he +entered, the Emir saw him to be a man of handsome semblance and portly +presence; so he received him with honour and high distinction, seating him +beside himself, and said to him, "What is thy wish?" Replied the stranger, "I +am a highwayman and am minded to repent at thy hands and turn to Almighty +Allah; but I would have thee help me to this, for that I am in thy district and +under thine inspection. Now I have here a chest, wherein are matters worth some +forty thousand dinars; and none hath so good a right to it as thou; so do thou +take it and give me in exchange a thousand dinars, of thine own monies lawfully +gotten, that I may have a little capital, to aid me in my repentance,[FN#408] +and save me from resorting to sin for my subsistence; and with Allah Almighty +be thy reward!" Speaking thus he opened the chest and showed the Wali that it +was full of trinkets and jewels and bullion and ring-gems and pearls, whereat +he was amazed and rejoiced with great joy. So he cried out to his treasurer, +saying, "Bring hither a certain purse containing a thousand dinars,"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wali cried out to his +treasurer, saying "Bring hither a certain purse containing a thousand dinars; +and gave it to the highwayman, who took it and thanking him, went his way under +cover of the night. Now when it was the morrow, the Emir sent for the chief of +the goldsmiths and showed him the chest and what was therein; but the goldsmith +found it nothing but tin and brass, and the jewels and bezel stones and pearls +all of glass; whereat the Wali was sore chagrined and sent in quest of the +highwayman; but none could come at him. And men also tell the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap35"></a>IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI AND THE MERCHANT'S SISTER.</h3> + +<p> +The Caliph Al-Maamъn once said to his uncle Ibrahim bin Al-Mahdн, "Tell us the +most remarkable thing that thou hast ever seen." Answered he: "I hear and obey, +O Commander of the Faithful. Know that I rode out one day, a-pleasuring, and my +ride brought me to a place where I smelt the reek of food. So my soul longed +for it and I halted, O Prince of True Believers, perplexed and unable either to +go on or to go in. Presently, I raised my eyes and lo! I espied a +lattice-window and behind it a wrist, than which I never beheld aught lovelier. +The sight turned my brain and I forgot the smell of the food and began to plan +and plot how I should get access to the house. After awhile, I observed a +tailor hard by and going up to him, saluted him. He returned my salam and I +asked him, 'Whose house is that?' And he answered, 'It belongeth to a merchant +called such an one, son of such an one, who consorteth with none save +merchants.' As we were talking, behold, up came two men, of comely aspect with +intelligent countenances, riding on horseback; and the tailor told me that they +were the merchant's most intimate friends and acquainted me with their names. +So I urged my beast towards them and said to them, 'Be I your ransom! Abu +Fulбn[FN#409] awaiteth you!'; and I rode with them both to the gate, where I +entered and they also. Now when the master of the house saw me with them he +doubted not but I was their friend; so he welcomed me and seated me in the +highest stead. Then they brought the table of food and I said in myself, 'Allah +hath granted me my desire of the food; and now there remain the hand and the +wrist.' After awhile, we removed for carousel to another room, which I found +tricked out with all manner of rarities; and the host paid me particular +attention, addressing his talk to me, for that he took me to be a guest of his +guests; whilst in like manner these two made much of me, taking me for a friend +of their friend the house-master. Thus I was the object of politest attentions +till we had drunk several cups of wine and there came into us a damsel as she +were a willow wand of the utmost beauty and elegance, who took a lute and +playing a lively measure, sang these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +'Is it not strange one house us two contain * And still thou<br/> + + draw'st not near, or talk we twain?<br/> + +Only our eyes tell secrets of our souls, * And broken hearts by<br/> + + lovers' fiery pain;<br/> + +Winks with the eyelids, signs the eyebrow knows; * Languishing<br/> + + looks and hand saluting fain.'<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When I heard these words my vitals were stirred, O Commander of the Faithful, +and I was moved to delight, for her excessive loveliness and the beauty of the +verses she sang; and I envied her her skill and said, 'There lacketh somewhat +to thee, O damsel!' Whereupon she threw the lute from her hand in anger, and +cried, 'Since when are ye wont to bring ill-mannered louts into your +assemblies?' Then I repented of what I had done, seeing the company vexed with +me, and I said in my mind, 'My hopes are lost by me'; and I weeted no way of +escaping blame but to call for a lute, saying, 'I will show you what escaped +her in the air she played.' Quoth the folk, 'We hear and obey'; so they brought +me a lute and I tuned the strings and sang these verses, +</p> + +<p> +'This is thy friend perplexed for pain and pine, * Th' enamoured,<br/> + + down whose breast course drops of brine:<br/> + +He hath this hand to the Compassionate raised * For winning wish,<br/> + + and that on hearts is lien:<br/> + +O thou who seest one love-perishing, * His death is caused by<br/> + + those hands and eyne!'[FN#410]<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Whereupon the damsel sprang up and throwing herself at my feet, kissed them and +said, 'It is thine to excuse, O my Master! By Allah, I knew not thy quality nor +heard I ever the like of this performance!' And all began extolling me and +making much of me, being beyond measure delighted' and at last they besought me +to sing again. So I sang a merry air, whereupon they all became drunken with +music and wine, their wits left them and they were carried off to their homes, +while I abode alone with the host and the girl. He drank some cups with me and +then said, 'O my lord, my life hath been lived in vain for that I have not +known the like of thee till the present. Now, by Allah, tell me who thou art, +that I may ken who is the cup-companion whom Allah hath bestowed on me this +night.' At first I returned him evasive answers and would not tell him my name; +but he conjured me till I told him who I was, whereupon he sprang to his +feet"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted +say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim son of Al-Mahdi +continued: "Now when the housemaster heard my name he sprang to his feet and +said, 'Indeed I wondered that such gifts should belong to any but the like of +thee; and Fortune hath done me a good turn for which I cannot thank her too +much. But, haply, this is a dream; for how could I hope that one of the +Caliphate house should visit my humble home and carouse with me this night?' I +conjured him to be seated; so he sat down and began to question me as to the +cause of my visit in the most courteous terms. So I told him the whole affair, +first and last, hiding naught, and said to him, 'Now as to the food I have had +my will, but of the hand and wrist I have still to win my wish.' Quoth he, +'Thou shalt have thy desire of the hand and wrist also, Inshallah!' Then said +he to the slave-girl, 'Ho, such an one, bid such an one come down.' And he +called his slave-girls down, one by one and showed them to me; but I saw not my +mistress among them, and he said, 'O my lord, there is none left save my mother +and sister; but, by Allah, I must needs have them also down and show them to +thee.' So I marvelled at his courtesy and large heartedness and said, 'May I be +thy sacrifice! Begin with the sister;' and he answered, 'With joy and +goodwill.' So she came down and he showed me her hand and behold, she was the +owner of the hand and wrist. Quoth I, 'Allah make me thy ransom! this is the +damsel whose hand and wrist I saw at the lattice.' Then he sent his servants +without stay or delay for witnesses and bringing out two myriads[FN#411] of +gold pieces, said to the witnesses, 'This our lord and master, Ibrahim son of +Al-Mahdi, paternal-uncle of the Commander of the Faithful, seeketh in marriage +my sister such an one; and I call you to witness that I give her in wedlock to +him and that he hath settled upon her ten thousand dinars.' And he said to me, +'I give thee my sister in marriage, at the portion aforesaid.' 'I consent,' +answered I, 'and am herewith content.' Whereupon he gave one of the bags to her +and the other to the witnesses, and said to me, 'O our lord, I desire to adorn +a chamber for thee, where thou mayst sleep with thy wife.' But I was abashed at +his generosity and was ashamed to lie with her in his house; so I said, 'Equip +her and send her to my place.' And by thy being, O Commander of the Faithful, +he sent me with her such an equipage that my house, for all its greatness, was +too strait to hold it! And I begot on her this boy that standeth in thy +presence." Then Al-Maamun marvelled at the man's generosity and said, "Gifted +of Allah is he! Never heard I of his like." And he bade Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi +bring him to court, that he might see him. He brought him and the Caliph +conversed with him; and his wit and good breeding so pleased him that he made +him one of his chief officers. And Allah is the Giver, the Bestower! Men also +relate the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap36"></a>THE WOMAN WHOSE HANDS WERE CUT OFF FOR GIVING ALMS TO THE POOR.</h3> + +<p> +A certain King once made proclamation to the people of his realm saying, "If +any of you give alms of aught, I will verily and assuredly cut off his hand;" +wherefore all the people abstained from alms-deed, and none could give anything +to any one. Now it chanced that one day a beggar accosted a certain woman (and +indeed hunger was sore upon him), and said to her, "Give me an alms"—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was Three Hundred and Forty-eighth Night +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that, quoth the beggar to the +woman, "Give me an alms however small." But she answered him, "How can I give +thee aught, when the King cutteth off the hands of all who give alms?" Then he +said, "I conjure thee by Allah Almighty, give me an alms;" so when he adjured +her by the Holy Name of Allah, she had ruth on him and gave him two scones. The +King heard of this; whereupon he called her before him and cut off her hands, +after which she returned to her house. Now it chanced after a while that the +King said to his mother, "I have a mind to take a wife; so do thou marry me to +a fair woman." Quoth she, "There is among our female slaves one who is +unsurpassed in beauty; but she hath a grievous blemish." The King asked, "What +is that?" and his mother answered, "She hath had both her hands cut off." Said +he, "Let me see her." So she brought her to him, and he was ravished by her and +married her and went in unto her; and begat upon her a son. Now this was the +woman who had given two scones as an alms to the asker, and whose hands had +been cut off therefor; and when the King married her, her fellow-wives envied +her and wrote to the common husband that she was an unchaste, having just given +birth to the boy; so he wrote to his mother, bidding her carry the woman into +the desert and leave her there. The old Queen obeyed his commandment and +abandoned the woman and her son in the desert; whereupon she fell to weeping +for that which had befallen her and wailing with exceeding sore wail. As she +went along, she came to a river and knelt down to drink, being overcome with +excess of thirst, for fatigue of walking and for grief; but, as she bent her +head, the child which was at her neck fell into the water. Then she sat weeping +bitter tears for her child, and as she wept, behold came up two men, who said +to her, "What maketh thee weep?" Quoth she, "I had a child at my neck, and he +hath fallen into the water." They asked, "Wilt thou that we bring him out to +thee?" and she answered, "Yes." So they prayed to Almighty Allah, and the child +came forth of the water to her, safe and sound. Then said they, "Wilt thou that +Allah restore thee thy hands as they were?" "Yes," replied she: whereupon they +prayed to Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) and her hands were restored to +her, goodlier than before. Then said they, "Knowest thou who we are?"; and she +replied, "Allah is all knowing;"[FN#412] and they said, "We are thy two Scones +of Bread, which thou gayest in alms to the asker and which were the cause of +the cutting off of thy hands.[FN#413] So praise thou Allah Almighty for that He +hath restored to thee thy hands and thy child." Then she praised Almighty Allah +and glorified Him. And men relate a tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap37"></a>THE DEVOUT ISRAELITE.</h3> + +<p> +There was once a devout man of the Children of Israel,[FN#414] whose family +span cotton-thread; and he used every day to sell the yarn and buy fresh +cotton, and with the profit he laid in daily bread for his household. One +morning he went out and sold the day's yarn as wont, when there met him one of +his brethren, who complained to him of need; so he gave him the price of the +thread and returned, empty-handed, to his family, who said to him, "Where is +the cotton and the food?" Quoth he, "Such an one met me and complained to me of +want; whereupon I gave him the price of the yarn." And they said, "How shall we +do? We have nothing to sell." Now they had a cracked trencher[FN#415] and a +jar; so he took them to the bazar but none would buy them of him. However +presently, as he stood in the market, there passed by a man with a fish,—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-ninth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man took the trencher +and jar to the bazar, but none would buy them of him. However there presently +passed by a man with a fish which was so stinking and so swollen that no one +would buy it of him, and he said to the Jew, "Wilt thou sell me thine +unsaleable ware for mine?" "Yes," answered the Jew; and, giving him the wooden +trencher and jar, took the fish and carried it home to his family, who said, +"What shall we do with this fish?" Quoth he, "We will broil it and eat it, till +it please Allah to provide bread for us." So they took it and ripping open its +belly, found therein a great pearl and told the head of the household who said, +"See ye if it be pierced: if so, it belongeth to some one of the folk; if not, +'tis a provision of Allah for us." So they examined it and found it unpierced. +Now when it was the morrow, the Jew carried it to one of his brethren which was +an expert in jewels, and the man asked, "O such an one! whence haddest thou +this pearl?"; whereto the Jew answered, "It was a gift of Almighty Allah to +us," and the other said, "It is worth a thousand dirhams and I will give thee +that; but take it to such an one, for he hath more money and skill than I." So +the Jew took it to the jeweller, who said, "It is worth seventy thousand +dirhams and no more." Then he paid him that sum and the Jew hired two porters +to carry the money to his house. As he came to his door, a beggar accosted him, +saying, "Give me of that which Allah hath given thee." Quoth the Jew to the +asker, "But yesterday we were even as thou; take thee half this money:" so he +made two parts of it, and each took his half. Then said the beggar, "Take back +thy money and Allah bless and prosper thee in it; I am a Messenger,[FN#416] +whom thy Lord hath sent to try thee." Quoth the Jew, "To Allah be the praise +and the thanks!" and abode in all delight of life he and his household till +death. And men recount this story of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap38"></a>ABU HASSAN AL-ZIYADI AND THE KHORASAN.</h3> + +<p> +Quoth Abъ Hassбn al-Ziyбdi[FN#417]: "I was once in straitened case and so needy +that the grocer, the baker and other tradesmen dunned and importuned me; and my +misery became extreme, for I knew of no resource nor what to do. Things being +on this wise there came to me one day certain of my servants and said to me, +'At the door is a pilgrim wight, who seeketh admission to thee.' Quoth I, +'Admit him.' So he came in and behold, he was a Khorasбnн. We exchanged +salutations and he said to me, 'Tell me, art thou Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi?'; and I +replied, 'Yes, what is thy wish?' Quoth he, 'I am a stranger and am minded to +make the pilgrimage; but I have with me a great sum of money, which is +burdensome to bear: so I wish to deposit these ten thousand dirhams with thee +whilst I make my pilgrimage and return. If the caravan march back and thou see +me not, then know that I am dead, in which case the money is a gift from me to +thee; but if I come back, it shall be mine.' I answered, 'Be it as thou wilt, +an thus please Allah Almighty.' So he brought out a leather bag and I said to +the servant, 'Fetch the scales;' and when he brought them the man weighed out +the money and handed it to me, after which he went his way. Then I called the +purveyors and paid them my liabilities"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day +and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fiftieth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth Abu Hassan +al-Ziyadi: "I called the purveyors and paid them my liabilities and spent +freely and amply, saying to myself, 'By the time he returns, Allah will have +relieved me with one or other of the bounties He hath by Him.' However, on the +very next day, the servant came in to me and said, 'Thy friend the Khorasan man +is at the door.' 'Admit him,' answered I. So he came in and said to me, 'I had +purposed to make the pilgrimage; but news hath reached me of the decease of my +father, and I have resolved to return; so give me the monies I deposited with +thee yesterday.' When I heard this, I was troubled and perplexed beyond measure +of perplexity known to man and wotted not what reply to make him; for, if I +denied it, he would put me on my oath, and I should be disgraced in the world +to come; whilst, if I told him that I had spent the money, he would make an +outcry and dishonour me before men. So I said to him, 'Allah give thee health! +This my house is no stronghold nor site of safe custody for this money. When I +received thy leather bag, I sent it to one with whom it now is; so do thou +return to us to-morrow and take thy money, Inshallah!'[FN#418] So he went away +and I passed the night in great concern, because of his return to me; sleep +visited me not nor could I close my eyes; so I rose and bade the boy saddle me +the she-mule. Answered he, 'O my lord, it is yet but the first third of the +night and indeed we have hardly had time to rest.' I returned to my bed, but +sleep was forbidden to me and I ceased not to awaken the boy, and he to put me +off, till break of day, when he saddled me the mule, and I mounted and rode +out, not knowing whither to go. I threw the reins on the mule's shoulders and +gave myself up to regrets and melancholy thoughts, whilst she fared on with me +to the eastward of Baghdad. Presently, as I went along, behold, I saw a number +of people approaching me and turned aside into another path to avoid them; but +seeing that I wore a turband in preacher-fashion,[FN#419] they followed me and +hastening up to me, said, 'Knowest thou the lodging of Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi?' +'I am he,' answered I; and they rejoined, 'Obey the summons of the Commander of +the Faithful.' Then they carried me before Al-Maamun, who said to me, 'Who art +thou?' Quoth I, 'An associate of the Kazi Abu Yъsuf and a doctor of the law and +traditions.' Asked the Caliph, 'By what surname art thou known?'[FN#420] and I +answered, 'Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi;' whereupon quoth he, 'Expound to me thy case.' +So I recounted to him my case and he wept sore and said to me, 'Out on thee! +The Apostle of Allah (whom Allah bless and assain!) would not let me sleep this +night, because of thee; for in early darkness[FN#421] he appeared to me and +said, 'Succour Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi.' Whereupon I awoke and, knowing thee not, +went to sleep again; but he came to me a second time and said to me, 'Woe to +thee! Succour Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi.' I awoke a second time, but knowing thee +not I went to sleep again; and he came to me a third time and still I knew thee +not and went to sleep again. Then he came to me once more and said, 'Out on +thee! Succour Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi!' After that I dared not sleep any more, but +watched the rest of the night and aroused my people and sent them on all sides +in quest of thee.' Then he gave me one myriad of dirhams, saying, 'This is for +the Khorasani,' and other ten thousand, saying, 'Spend freely of this and amend +thy case therewith, and set thine affairs in order.' Moreover, he presented me +with thirty thousand dirhams, saying, 'Furnish thyself with this, and when the +Procession-day[FN#422] is being kept, come thou to me, that I may invest thee +with some office.' So I went forth from him with the money and returned home, +where I prayed the dawn-prayer; and behold, presently came the Khorasani, so I +carried him into the house and brought out to him one myriad of dirhams, +saying, 'Here is thy money.' Quoth he, 'It is not my very money; how cometh +this?' So I told him the whole story, and he wept and said, 'By Allah, haddest +thou told me the fact at first, I had not pressed thee!; and now, by Allah, I +will not accept aught of this money'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day +and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-first Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the Khorasani to +Al-Ziyadi, "'By Allah, haddest thou told me the fact at first, I had not +pressed thee!; and now, by Allah, I will not accept aught of this money and +thou art lawfully quit of it.' So saying, he went away and I set my affairs in +order and repaired on the Procession-day to Al-Maamun's Gate, where I found him +seated. When he saw me present myself he called me to him and, bringing forth +to me a paper from under his prayer-carpet, said to me, 'This is a patent, +conferring on thee the office of Kazi of the western division of Al-Medinah, +the Holy City, from the Bab al-Salбm[FN#423] to the furthest limit of the +township; and I appoint thee such and such monthly allowances. So fear Allah +(to whom be honour and glory!) end be mindful of the solicitude of His Apostle +(whom may He bless and keep!) on thine account.' Then the folk marvelled at the +Caliph's words and asked me their meaning; whereupon I told them the story from +beginning to end and it spread abroad amongst the people." "And" (quoth he who +telleth the tale) "Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi ceased not to be Kazi of Al-Medinah, +the Holy City, till he died in the days of Al-Maamun the mercy of Allah be on +him!" And among the tales men tell is one of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap39"></a>THE POOR MAN AND HIS FRIEND IN NEED.</h3> + +<p> +There was once a rich man who lost all he had and became destitute, whereupon +his wife advised him to ask aid and assistance of one of his intimates. So he +betook himself to a certain friend of his and acquainted him with his +necessities; and he lent him five hundred dinars to trade withal. Now in early +life he had been a jeweller; so he took the gold and went to the jewel-bazar, +where he opened a shop to buy and sell. Presently, as he sat in his shop three +men accosted him and asked for his father, and when he told them that he was +deceased, they said, "Say, did he leave issue?" Quoth the jeweller, "He left +the slave who is before you." They asked, "And who knoweth thee for his son?"; +and he answered, "The people of the bazar whereupon they said, "Call them +together, that they may testify to us that thou art his very son." So he called +them and they bore witness of this; whereupon the three men delivered to him a +pair of saddle- bags, containing thirty thousand dinars, besides jewels and +bullion of high value, saying, "This was deposited with us in trust by thy +father." Then they went away; and presently there came to him a woman, who +sought of him certain of the jewels, worth five hundred dinars which she bought +and paid him three thousand for them. Upon this he arose and took five hundred +dinars and carrying them to his friend who had lent him the money, said to him, +"Take the five hundred dinars I borrowed of thee; for Allah hath opened to me +the gate of prosperity." Quoth the other, "Nay; I gave them to thee outright, +for the love of Allah; so do thou keep them. And take this paper, but read it +not till thou be at home, and do according to that which is therein." So he +took the money and the paper and returned home, where he opened the scroll and +found therein inscribed these couplets, +</p> + +<p> +"Kinsmen of mine were those three men who came to thee; * My sire<br/> + + and uncles twain and Sбlih bin Ali.<br/> + +So what for cash thou coldest, to my mother 'twas * Thou soldest<br/> + + it, and coin and gems were sent by me.<br/> + +Thus doing I desired not any harm to thee * But in my presence<br/> + + spare thee and thy modesty."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +And they also recount the story of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap40"></a>THE RUINED MAN WHO BECAME RICH AGAIN THROUGH A DREAM.[FN#424]</h3> + +<p> +There lived once in Baghdad a wealthy man and made of money, who lost all his +substance and became so destitute that he could earn his living only by hard +labour. One night, he lay down to sleep, dejected and heavy hearted, and saw in +a dream a Speaker[FN#425] who said to him, "Verily thy fortune is in Cairo; go +thither and seek it." So he set out for Cairo; but when he arrived there +evening overtook him and he lay down to sleep in a mosque Presently, by decree +of Allah Almighty, a band of bandits entered the mosque and made their way +thence into an adjoining house; but the owners, being aroused by the noise of +the thieves, awoke and cried out; whereupon the Chief of Police came to their +aid with his officers. The robbers made off; but the Wali entered the mosque +and, finding the man from Baghdad asleep there, laid hold of him and beat him +with palm-rods so grievous a beating that he was well-nigh dead. Then they cast +him into jail, where he abode three days; after which the Chief of Police sent +for him and asked him, "Whence art thou?"; and he answered, "From Baghdad." +Quoth the Wali, "And what brought thee to Cairo?"; and quoth the Baghdadi, "I +saw in a dream One who said to me, Thy fortune is in Cairo; go thither to it. +But when I came to Cairo the fortune which he promised me proved to be the +palm-rods thou so generously gavest to me." The Wali laughed till he showed his +wisdom-teeth and said, "O man of little wit, thrice have I seen in a dream one +who said to me: 'There is in Baghdad a house in such a district and of such a +fashion and its courtyard is laid out garden-wise, at the lower end whereof is +a jetting-fountain and under the same a great sum of money lieth buried. Go +thither and take it.' Yet I went not; but thou, of the briefness of thy wit, +hast journeyed from place to place, on the faith of a dream, which was but an +idle galimatias of sleep." Then he gave him money saying, "Help thee back +herewith to thine own country;"— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and +ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When It was the Three Hundred and Fifty-second Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wali gave the Baghdad +man some silver, saying, "Help thee back herewith to thine own country;" and he +took the money and set out upon his homewards march. Now the house the Wali had +described was the man's own house in Baghdad; so the wayfarer returned thither +and, digging underneath the fountain in his garden, discovered a great +treasure. And thus Allah gave him abundant fortune; and a marvellous +coincidence occurred. And a story is also current of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap41"></a>CALIPH AL-MUTAWAKKIL AND HIS CONCUBINE MAHBUBAH.</h3> + +<p> +There were in the palace of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil ala'llah[FN#426] four +thousand concubines, whereof two thousand were Greeks and other two thousand +slave born Arabians[FN#427] and Abyssinians; and 'Obayd ibn Tбhir[FN#428] had +given him two hundred white girls and a like number of Abyssinian and native +girls. Among these slave-borns was a girl of Bassorah, hight Mahbъbah, the +Beloved, who was of surpassing beauty and loveliness, elegance and voluptuous +grace. Moreover, she played upon the lute and was skilled in singing and making +verses and wrote a beautiful hand; so that Al-Mutawakkil fell passionately in +love with her and could not endure from her a single hour. But when she saw +this affection, she presumed upon his favour to use him arrogantly, wherefore +he waxed exceeding wroth with her and forsook her, forbidding the people of the +palace to speak with her. She abode on this wise some days, but the Caliph +still inclined to her; and he arose one morning and said to his courtiers, "I +dreamt, last night, that I was reconciled to Mahhubah." They answered, "Would +Allah this might be on wake!"; and as they were talking, behold, in came one of +the Caliph's maidservants and whispered him; so he rose from his throne and +entered the Serraglio; for the whisper had said, "Of a truth we heard singing +and lute-playing in Mahbubah's chamber and we knew not what this meant." So he +went straight to her apartment, where he heard her playing upon the lute and +singing the following verses, +</p> + +<p> +"I wander through the palace, but I sight there not a soul * To<br/> + + whom I may complain or will 'change a word with me.<br/> + +It is as though I'd done so grievous rebel-deed * Wherefrom can<br/> + + no contrition e'er avail to set me free.<br/> + +Have we no intercessor here to plead with King, who came * In<br/> + + sleep to me and took me back to grace and amity;<br/> + +But when the break of day arose and showed itself again, * Then<br/> + + he departing sent me back to dree my privacy?"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +Now when the Caliph heard her voice, he marvelled at the verse and yet more at +the strange coincidence of their dreams and entered the chamber. As soon as she +perceived him, she hastened to rise and throw herself at his feet, and kissing +them, said, "By Allah, O my lord, this hap is what I dreamt last night; and, +when I awoke, I made the couplets thou hast heard." Replied Al- Mutawakkil, "By +Allah, I also dreamt the like!" Then they embraced and made friends and he +abode with her seven days with their nights. Now Mahbubah had written upon her +cheek, in musk, the Caliph's name, which was Ja'afar: and when he saw this, he +improvised the following, +</p> + +<p> +"One wrote upon her cheek with musk, his name was Ja'afar highs;<br/> + + * My soul for hers who wrote upon her cheek the name I<br/> + + sight!<br/> + +If an her fingers have inscribed one line upon her cheek, * Full<br/> + + many a line in heart of mine those fingers did indite:<br/> + +O thou, whom Ja'afar sole of men possesseth for himself, * Allah<br/> + + fill Ja'afar[FN#429] stream full draught, the wine of thy<br/> + + delight!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +When Al-Mutawakkil died, his host of women forgot him, all save Mahhubah,—And +Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-third Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Al-Mutawakkil died, +his host of women forgot him all save Mahbubah who ceased not to mourn for him, +till she deceased and was buried by his side, the mercy of Allah be on them +both! And men also tell the tale of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap42"></a>WARDAN[FN#430] THE BUTCHER; HIS ADVENTURE WITH THE LADY AND THE BEAR.</h3> + + +<p> +There lived once in Cairo, in the days of the Caliph Al-Hбkim bi' Amri'llah, a +butcher named Wardбn, who dealt in sheep's flesh; and there came to him every +day a lady and gave him a dinar, whose weight was nigh two and a half Egyptian +dinars, saying, "Give me a lamb." So he took the money and gave her the lamb, +which she delivered to a porter she had with her; and he put it in his crate +and she went away with him to her own place. Next day she came in the forenoon +and this went on for a long time, the butcher gaining a dinar by her every day, +till at last he began to be curious about her case and said to himself, "This +woman buyeth of me a ducat-worth of meat every morning, paying ready money, and +never misseth a single day. Verily, this is a strange thing!" So he took an +occasion of questioning the porter, in her absence, and asked him, "Whither +goest thou every day with yonder woman?"; and he answered, "I know not what to +make of her for surprise; inasmuch as every day, after she hath taken the lamb +of thee, she buyeth necessaries of the table, fresh and dried fruits and +wax-candles a dinar's worth, and taketh of a certain person, which is a +Nazarene, two flagons of wine, worth another dinar; and then she leadeth me +with the whole and I go with her to the Wazir's Gardens, where she blindfoldeth +me, so that I cannot see on what part of earth I set my feet; and, taking me by +the hand, she leadeth me I know not whither. Presently, she sayeth, 'Set down +here;' and when I have done so, she giveth me an empty crate she hath ready +and, taking my hand, leadeth me back to the Wazir's Gardens, the place where +she bound my eyes, and there removeth the bandage and giveth me ten silver +bits." "Allah be her helper!" quoth Wardan; but he redoubled in curiosity about +her case; disquietude increased upon him and he passed the night in exceeding +restlessness. And quoth the butcher, "Next morning she came to me as of custom +and taking the lamb, for which she paid the dinar, delivered it to the porter +and went away. So I gave my shop in charge to a lad and followed her without +her seeing me;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-fourth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Wardan the butcher +continued: "So I gave my shop in charge to a lad and followed her without her +seeing me; nor did I cease to keep her in sight, hiding behind her, till she +left Cairo and came to the Wazir's Gardens. Then I hid myself whilst she +bandaged the porter's eyes and followed her again from place to place till she +came to the mountain[FN#431] and stopped at a spot where there was a great +stone. Here she made the porter set down his crate, and I waited whilst she +conducted him back to the Wazir's Gardens, after which she returned and, taking +out the contents of the basket, instantly disappeared. Then I went up to that +stone and wrenching it up entered the hole and found behind the stone an open +trap-door of brass and a flight of steps leading downwards. So I descended, +little by little, till I came to a long corridor, brilliantly lighted and +followed it, till I made a closed door, as it were the door of a saloon. I +looked about the wall sides near the doorway till I discovered a recess, with +steps therein; then climbed up and found a little niche with a bulls-eye giving +upon a saloon. Thence I looked inside and saw the lady cut off the choicest +parts of the lamb and laying them in a saucepan, throw the rest to a great big +bear, who ate it all to the last bite. Now when she had made an end of cooking, +she ate her fill, after which she set on the fruits and confections and brought +out the wine and fell to drinking a cup herself and giving the bear to drink in +a basin of gold. And as soon as she was heated with wine, she put off her +petticoat-trousers and lay down on her back; whereupon the bear arose and came +up to her and stroked her, whilst she gave him the best of what belongeth to +the sons of Adam till he had made an end, when he sat down and rested. +Presently, he sprang upon her and rogered her again; and when he ended he again +sat down to rest, and he ceased not so doing till he had futtered her ten times +and they both fell to the ground in a fainting-fit and lay without motion. Then +quoth I to myself, 'Now is my opportunity,' and taking a knife I had with me, +that would cut bones before flesh,[FN#432] went down to them and found them +motionless, not a muscle of them moving for their hard swinking and swiving. So +I put my knife to the bear's gullet and pressed upon it, till I finished him by +severing his head from his body, and he gave a great snort like thunder, +whereat the lady started up in alarm; and, seeing the bear slain and me +standing whittle in hand, she shrieked so loud a shriek that I thought the soul +had left her body. Then she asked, 'O Wardan, is this how thou requites me my +favours?' And I answered, 'O enemy of thine own soul, is there a famine of +men[FN#433] that thou must do this damnable thing?' She made no answer but bent +down over the bear, and looked fondly upon him; then finding his head divided +from his body, said to me, 'O Wardan, which of the two courses wouldst thou +take; either obey me in what I shall say and be the means of thine own +safety'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-fifth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the lady, " 'O +Wardan, which of the two courses wouldst thou take; either obey me in what I +shall say and be the means of thine own safety and competency to the end of thy +days, or gainsay me and so cause thine own destruction?'[FN#434] Answered I, 'I +choose rather to hearken unto thee: say what thou wilt.' Quoth she, 'Then slay +me, as thou hast slain this bear, and take thy need of this hoard and wend thy +ways.' Quoth I, 'I am better than this bear: so return thou to Allah Almighty +and repent, and I will marry thee, and we will live on this treasure the rest +of our lives.' She rejoined, 'O Wardan, far be it from me! How shall I live +after him? By Allah, an thou slay me not I will assuredly do away thy life! So +leave bandying words with me, or thou art a lost man: this is all I have to say +to thee and peace be with thee!' Then said I, 'I will kill thee, and thou shalt +go to the curse of Allah.' So saying, I caught her by the hair and cut her +throat; and she went to the curse of Allah and of the angels and of all +mankind. And after so doing I examined the place and found there gold and +bezel-stones and pearls, such as no one king could bring together. So I filled +the porter's crate with as much as I could carry and covered it with the +clothes I had on me. Then I shouldered it and, going up out of the underground +treasure- chamber, fared homewards and ceased not faring on, till I came to the +gate of Cairo, where behold, I fell in with ten of the bodyguard of Al-Hakim +bi' Amri'llah[FN#435] followed by the Prince himself who said to me, 'Ho, +Wardan!' 'At thy service, O King,' replied I; when he asked, 'Hast thou killed +the bear and the lady?' and I answered, 'Yes.' Quoth he, 'Set down the basket +from thy head and fear naught, for all the treasure thou hast with thee is +thine, and none shall dispute it with thee.' So I set down the crate before +him, and he uncovered it and looked at it; then said to me, 'Tell me their +case, albe I know it, as if I had been present with you.' So I told him all +that had passed and he said, 'Thou hast spoken the truth,' adding, 'O Wardan, +come now with me to the treasure.' So I returned with him to the cavern, where +he found the trap-door closed and said to me, 'O Wardan, lift it; none but thou +can open the treasure, for it is enchanted in thy name and nature.'[FN#436] +Said I, 'By Allah, I cannot open it,' but he said, 'Go up to it, trusting in +the blessing of Allah.' So I called upon the name of Almighty Allah and, +advancing to the trap-door, put my hand to it; whereupon it came up as it had +been of the lightest. Then said the Caliph, 'Go down and bring hither what is +there; for none but one of thy name and semblance and nature hath gone down +thither since the place was made, and the slaying of the bear and the woman was +appointed to be at thy hand. This was chronicled with me and I was awaiting its +fulfilment.'[FN#437] Accordingly (quoth Wardan) I went down and brought up all +the treasure, whereupon the Caliph sent for beasts of burden and carried it +away, after giving me my crate, with what was therein. So I bore it home and +opened me a shop in the market." And (saith he who telleth the tale) "this +market is still extant and is known as Wardan's Market." And I have heard +recount another story of +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h3><a name="chap43"></a>THE KING'S DAUGHTER AND THE APE.</h3> + +<p> +There was once a Sultan's daughter, whose heart was taken with love of a black +slave: he abated her maidenhead and she became passionately addicted to +futtering, so that she could not do without it a single hour and complained of +her case to one of her body women, who told her that no thing poketh and +stroketh more abundantly than the baboon.[FN$438] Now it so chanced one day, +that an ape-leader passed under her lattice, with a great ape; so she unveiled +her face and looking upon the ape, signed to him with her eyes, whereupon he +broke his bonds and chain and climbed up to the Princess, who hid him in a +place with her, and night and day he abode there, eating and drinking and +copulating. Her father heard of this and would have killed her;—And Shahrazad +perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Sultan heard of +this work he would have slain his daughter; but she smoked his design; and, +disguising herself in Mameluke's dress, mounted horse after loading a mule with +gold and bullion, and precious stuffs past all account; then carrying with her +the ape, she fled to Cairo, where she took up her abode in one of the houses +without the city and upon the verge of the Suez-desert. Now, every day, she +used to buy meat of a young man, a butcher, but she came not to him till after +noonday; and then she was so yellow and disordered in face that he said in his +mind, "There must indeed hang some mystery by this slave." "Accordingly (quoth +the butcher) one day when she came to me as usual, I went out after her +secretly, and ceased not to follow her from place to place, so as she saw me +not, till she came to her lodging on the edge of her waste and entered; and I +looked in upon her through a cranny, and saw her as soon as she was at home, +kindle a fire and cook the meat, of which she ate enough and served up the rest +to a baboon she had by her and he did the same. Then she put off the slave's +habit and donned the richest of women's apparel; and so I knew that she was a +lady. After this she set on wine and drank and gave the ape to drink; and he +stroked her nigh half a score times without drawing till she swooned away, when +he spread over her a silken coverlet and returned to his place. Then I went +down in the midst of the place and the ape, becoming aware of me, would have +torn me in pieces; but I made haste to pull out my knife and slit his paunch +and his bowels fell out. The noise aroused the young lady, who awoke terrified +and trembling; and, when she saw the ape in this case, she shrieked such a +shriek that her soul well nigh fled her body. Then she fell down in a +fainting-fit and when she came to herself, she said to me, 'What moved thee to +do thus? Now Allah upon thee, send me after him!' But I spoke her fair for a +while and pledged myself to stand in the ape's stead in the matter of much +poking, till her trouble subsided and I took her to wife. But when I came to +perform my promise I proved a failure and I fell short in this matter and could +not endure such hard labour: so I complained of my case and mentioned her +exorbitant requirements to a certain old woman who engaged to manage the affair +and said to me, 'Needs must thou bring me a cooking-pot full of virgin vinegar +and a pound of the herb pellitory called wound-wort.'[FN#439] So I brought her +what she sought, and she laid the pellitory in the pot with the vinegar and set +it on the fire, till it was thoroughly boiled. Then she bade me futter the +girl, and I futtered her till she fainted away, when the old woman took her up +(and she unconscious), and set her parts to the mouth of the cooking-pot. The +steam of the pot entered her slit and there fell from it somewhat which I +examined; and behold, it was two small worms, one black and the other yellow. +Quoth the old, woman, ''The black was bred of the strokings of the negro and +the yellow of stroking with the baboon.' Now when she recovered from her swoon +she abode with me, in all delight and solace of life, and sought not swiving as +before, for Allah had done away from her this appetite; whereat I +marvelled"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her +permitted say. +</p> + +<p> +When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-seventh Night, +</p> + +<p> +She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young man continued: +"In truth Allah had done away from her this appetite; whereat I marvelled and +acquainted her with the case. Thereupon I lived with her and she took the old +woman to be to her in the stead of her mother." "And" (said he who told me the +tale) "the old woman and the young man and his wife abode in joy and cheer till +there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies; and +glory be to the Ever-living One, who dieth not and in whose hand is Dominion of +the world visible and invisible!''[FN#440] And another tale they tell is that +of +</p> + +<p> +End of Arabian Nights Volume 4. +</p> + +<p> + Arabian Nights, Volume 4<br/> + + Footnotes<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#1] The name is indifferently derived from the red sand about the town or +the reeds and mud with which it was originally built. It was founded by the +Caliph Omar, when the old Capital-Madбin (Ctesiphon) opposite was held +unwholesome, on the West bank of the Euphrates, four days' march from Baghdad +and has now disappeared. Al-Saffбh, the first Abbaside, made it his Capital—and +it became a famous seat of Moslem learning; the Kufi school of Arab Grammarians +being as renowned as their opponents, the Basri (of Bassorah). It gave a name +to the "Cufic" characters which are, however, of much older date. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#2] "Ni'amat" = a blessing, and the word is perpetually occurring in Moslem +conversation, "Ni'amatu'llбh" (as pronounced) is also a favourite P.N. and few +Anglo-Indians of the Mutiny date will forget the scandalous disclosures of +Munshi Ni'amatu 'llah, who had been sent to England by Nana Sahib. Nu'm = +prosperity, good fortune, and a P. N. like the Heb. "Naomi." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#3] i.e. "causing to be prosperous", the name, corrupted by the Turks to +"Tevfik," is given to either sex, e.g. Taufik Pasha of Egypt, to whose +unprosperous rule and miserable career the signification certainly does not +apply. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#4] Lane (ii. 187) alters the two to four years. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#5] i.e. "to Tom, Dick or Harry:" the names like John Doe and Richard Roe +are used indefinitely in Arab. Grammar and Syntax. I have noted that Amru is +written and pronounced Amr: hence Amru, the Conqueror of Egypt, when told by an +astrologer that Jerusalem would be taken only by a trium literarum homo, with +three letters in his name sent for the Caliph Omar (Omr), to whom the so-called +Holy City at once capitulated. Hence also most probably, the tale of Bhurtpore +and the Lord Alligator (Kumbhir), who however did not change from Cotton to +Combermore for some time after the successful siege. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#6] BinYъsuf al-Sakafi, a statesman and soldier of the seventh and eighth +centuries (A.D.). He was Governor of Al-Hij az and Al-Irak under the fifth and +sixth Ommiades, and I have noticed his vigorous rule of the Moslems' Holy Land +in my Pilgrimage (iii. 194, etc.). He pulled down the Ka'abah and restored it +to the condition in which it now is. Al-Siyuti (p. 219) accuses him of having +suborned a man to murder Ibn Omar with a poisoned javelin, and of humiliating +the Prophet's companions by "sealing them in the necks and hands," that is he +tied a thong upon the neck of each and sealed the knot with lead. In Irak he +showed himself equally masterful, but an iron hand was required by the +revolutionists of Kufah and Basrah. He behaved like a good Knight in rescuing +the Moslem women who called upon his name when taken prisoners by Dahir of +Debal (Tathб in Sind). Al-Hajjaj was not the kind of man the Caliph would have +chosen for a pander; but the Shi'ahs hates him and have given him a lasting bad +name. In the East men respect manly measures, not the hysterical, philanthropic +pseudo-humanitarianism of our modern government which is really the cruellest +of all. When Ziyбd bin Abihi was sent by Caliph Mu'awiyah to reform Bassorah, a +den of thieves, he informed the lieges that he intended to rule by the sword +and advised all evil-doers to quit the city. The people were forbidden, under +pain of teeth, to walk the streets after prayers, on the first night two +hundred suffered; on the second five and none afterwards. Compare this with our +civilised rule in Egypt where even bands of brigands, a phenomenon perfectly +new and unknown to this century, have started up, where crime has doubled in +quantity and quality, and where "Christian rule" has thoroughly scandalised a +Moslem land. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#7] The old bawd's portrait is admirably drawn: all we dwellers in the East +have known her well: she is so and so. Her dress and manners are the same +amongst the Hindus (see the hypocritical-female ascetic in the Katha, p. 287) +as amongst the Moslems; men of the world at once recognise her and the prudent +keep out of her way. She is found in the cities of Southern Europe, ever pious, +ever prayerful; and she seems to do her work not so much for profit as for pure +or impure enjoyment. In the text her task was easy, as she had to do with a +pair of innocents. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#8] Koran, xxv. 70. I give Sale's version. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#9] Easterns, I have observed, have no way of saying "Thank you;" they +express it by a blessing or a short prayer. They have a right to your surplus: +daily bread is divided, they say and, eating yours, they consider it their own. +I have discussed this matter in Pilgrimage i. 75-77, in opposition to those who +declare that "gratitude" is unknown to Moslems. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#10] Cufa (Kufah) being a modern place never had a "King,"<br/> + +but as the Hindu says, " Delhi is far" it is a far cry to Loch<br/> + +Awe. Here we can hardly understand "Malik" as Governor or<br/> + +Viceroy: can it be syn. with Zъ-mбl-(moneyed)?<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#11] Abd al-Malik has been before mentioned as the "Sweat of a Stone," etc. +He died recommending Al-Hajjaj to his son, Al-Walid, and one of his sayings is +still remembered. "He who desireth to take a female slave for carnal-enjoyment, +let him take a native of Barbary; if he need one for the sake of children, let +him have a Persian; and whoso desireth one for service, let him take a Greek." +Moderns say, "If you want a brother (in arms) try a Nubian; one to get you +wealth an Abyssinian and if you want an ass (for labour) a Sбwahнli, or +Zanzibar negroid." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#12] Probably suggested by the history of Antiochus and<br/> + +Stratonice, with an addition of Eastern mystery such as geomancy.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#13] Arab, "Kбrъrah": the "water-doctor" has always been an institution in +the east and he has lately revived in Europe especially at the German baths and +in London. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#14] Lane makes this phrase "O brother of the Persians!" synonymous with "O +Persian!" I think it means more, a Persian being generally considered "too +clever by half." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#15] The verses deal in untranslatable word-plays upon women's names, Naomi +(the blessing) Su'adб or Su'бd (the happy, which Mr. Redhouse, in Ka'ab's +Mantle-poem, happily renders Beatrice); and Juml (a sum or total) the two +latter, moreover, being here fictitious. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#16] "And he (Jacob) turned from them, and said, 'O how I am grieved for +Joseph' And his eyes became white with mourning. … (Quoth Joseph to his +brethren), 'Take this my inner garment and throw it on my father's face and he +shall recover his sight.' . . . So, when the messenger of good tidings came (to +Jacob) he threw it (the shirt) over his face and he recovered his eye-sight." +Koran, xii. 84, 93, 96. The commentators, by way of improvement, assure us that +the shirt was that worn by Abraham when thrown into the fire (Koran, chaps. +xvi.) by Nimrod (!). We know little concerning "Jacob's daughters" who named +the only bridge spanning the upper Jordan, and who have a curious shrine tomb +near Jewish "Safe" (North of Tiberias), one of the four "Holy Cities." The Jews +ignore these "daughters of Jacob" and travellers neglect them. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#17] Easterns, I have remarked, mostly recognise the artistic truth that the +animal-man is handsomer than woman and that "fair sex" is truly only of +skin-colour. The same is the general-rule throughout creation, for instance the +stallion compared with the mare, the cock with the hen; while there are sundry +exceptions such as the Falconidae. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#18] The Badawi (who is nothing if not horsey) compares the gait of a woman +who walks well (in Europe rarely seen out of Spain) with the slightly swinging +walk of a thoroughbred mare, bending her graceful neck and looking from side to +side at objects as she passes. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#19] Li'llбhi (darr') al-kбil, a characteristic idiom. "Darr"=giving (rich) +milk copiously and the phrase expresses admiration, "To Allah be ascribed (or +Allah be praised for) his rich eloquence who said etc. Some Hebraists would +render it, "Divinely (well) did he speak who said," etc., holding "Allah" to +express a superlative like "Yah" Jah) in Gen. iv. 1; x. 9. Nimrod was a hunter +to the person (or presence) of Yah, i.e. mighty hunter. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#20] Hamzah and Abbбs were the famous uncles of Mohammed often noticed: +Ukayl is not known; possibly it may be Akнl, a son of the fourth Caliph, Ali. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#21] The Eastern ring is rarely plain; and, its use being that of a signet, +it is always in intaglio: the Egyptians invented engraving hieroglyphics on +wooden stamps for marking bricks and applied the process to the ring. Moses B. +C. 1491 (Exod. xxviii. 9) took two onyx-stones, and graved on them the names of +the children of Israel. From this the signet ring was but a step. Herodotus +mentions an emerald seal-set in gold, that of Polycrates, the work of +Theodorus, son of Telecles the Samian (iii. 141). The Egyptians also were +perfectly acquainted with working in cameo (anaglyph) and rilievo, as may be +seen in the cavo rilievo of the finest of their hieroglyphs. The Greeks +borrowed from them the cameo and applied it to gems (e.g. Tryphon's in the +Marlborough collection), and they bequeathed the art to the Romans. We read in +a modern book "Cameo means an onyx, and the most famous cameo in the world is +the onyx containing the Apotheosis of Augustus." The ring is given in marriage +because it was a seal—by which orders were signed (Gen. xxxviii. 18 and Esther +iii. 10-12). I may note that the seal-ring of Cheops (Khufu), found in the +Greatest Pyramid, was in the possession of my old friend, Doctor Abbott, of +Auburn (U.S.), and was sold with his collection. It is the oldest ring in the +world, and settles the Cheops-question. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#22] This habit of weeping when friends meet after long parting is +customary, I have noted, amongst the American "Indians," the Badawin of the New +World; they shed tears thinking of the friends they have lost. Like most +primitive people they are ever ready to weep as was Жneas or Shakespeare's +saline personage, +</p> + +<p> + "This would make a man, a man of salt<br/> + + To use his eyes for garden waterpots."<br/> + + (King Lear, iv. 6.)<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#23] Here poetical-justice is not done; in most Arab tales the two +adulterous Queens would have been put to death. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#24] Pronounce Aladdin Abush-Shбmбt. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#25] Arab. "Misr," vulg. Masr: a close connection of Misraim the "two +Misrs," Egypt, upper and lower. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#26] The Persians still call their Consuls "Shah-bander," lit. king of the +Bandar or port. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#27] Arab. "Dukhъl," the night of going in, of seeing the bride unveiled for +the first time, etcaetera. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#28] Arab. "Barsh" or "Bars," the commonest kind. In India it is called +Ma'jъn (=electuary, generally): it is made of Ganja or young leaves, buds, +capsules and florets of hemp (C. saliva), poppy-seed and flowers of the +thorn-apple (daiura) with milk and auger-candy, nutmegs, cloves, mace and +saffron, all boiled to the consistency of treacle which hardens when cold. +Several-recipes are given by Herklots (Glossary s.v. Majoon). These electuaries +are usually prepared with "Charas," or gum of hemp, collected by hand or by +passing a blanket over the plant in early morning, and it is highly +intoxicating. Another intoxicant is "Sabzi," dried hemp-leaves, poppy-seed, +cucumber heed, black pepper and cardamoms rubbed down in a mortar with a wooden +pestle, and made drinkable by adding milk, ice-cream, etc. The Hashish of +Arabia is the Hindustani Bhang, usually drunk and made as follows. Take of +hemp-leaves, well washed, 3 drams black pepper 45 grains and of cloves, nutmeg +and mace (which add to the intoxication) each 12 grains. Triturate in 8 ounces +of water or the juice of watermelon or cucumber, strain and drink. The Egyptian +Zabнbah is a preparation of hemp florets, opium and honey, much affected by the +lower orders, whence the proverb: "Temper thy sorrow with Zabibah. In Al-Hijaz +it is mixed with raisins (Zabнb) and smoked in the water-pipe. (Burck hardt No. +73.) Besides these there is (1) "Post" poppy-seed prepared in various ways but +especially in sugared sherbets; (2) Datura (stramonium) seed, the produce of +the thorn-apple breached and put into sweetmeats by dishonest confectioners; it +is a dangerous intoxicant, producing spectral-visions, delirium tremens, etc., +and (3) various preparations of opium especially the "Madad," pills made up +with toasted betel-leaf and smoked. Opium, however, is usually drunk in the +shape of "Kusumba," a pill placed in wet cotton and squeezed in order to strain +and clean it of the cowdung and other filth with which it is adulterated. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#29] Arab. "Sikankъr" (Gr. {Greek letters}, Lat. Scincus) a lizard (S. +officinalis) which, held in the hand, still acts as an aphrodisiac in the East, +and which in the Middle Ages was considered a universal-medicine. In the +"Adja'ib al-Hind" (Les Merveilles de l'Inde) we find a notice of a bald-headed +old man who was compelled to know his wife twice a day and twice a night in +consequence of having eaten a certain fish. (Chaps. Ixxviii. of the translation +by M. L. Marcel Devic, from a manuscript of the tenth century, Paris Lemaire, +1878.) Europeans deride these prescriptions, but Easterns know better: they +affect the fancy, that is the brain, and often succeed in temporarily relieving +impotence. The recipes for this evil, which is incurable only when it comes +from heart-affections, are innumerable in the East; and about half of every +medical-work is devoted to them. Many a quack has made his fortune with a few +bottles of tincture of cantharides, and a man who could discover a specific +would become a millionaire in India only. The curious reader will consult for +specimens the Ananga-Ranga Shastra by Koka Pandit; or the "Rujъ 'al-Shaykh ila +'l-Sabбh fi Kuwwati 'l-Bбh" (the Return of the Old Man to Youth in power of +Procreation) by Ahmad bin Sulaymбn known as Ibn Kamбl-Bбshб, in 139 chapters +lithographed at Cairo. Of these aphrodisiacs I shall have more to say. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#30] Alб al-Din (our old friend Aladdin) = Glory of the Faith, a name of +which Mohammed who preferred the simplest, like his own, would have highly +disapproved. The most grateful names to Allah are Abdallah (Allah's Slave) and +Abd al-Rahman (Slave of the Compassionate); the truest are Al-Hбrith (the +gainer, "bread winner") and Al-Hammбm (the griever); and the hatefullest are +Al-Harb (witch) and Al-Murrah (bitterness, Abu Murrah being a kunyat or by-name +of the Devil). Abu al-Shбmбt (pronounced Abushshбmбt)=Father of Moles, +concerning which I have already given details. These names ending in -Din +(faith) began with the Caliph Al-Muktadi bi-Amri 'llah (regn. A.H. 467= 1075), +who entitled his Wazir "Zahнr al-Din (Backer or Defender of the Faith) and this +gave rise to the practice. It may be observed that the superstition of naming +by omens is in no way obsolete. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#31] Meaning that he appeared intoxicated by the pride of his beauty as +though it had been strong wine. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#32] i.e. against the evil eye. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#33] Meaning that he had been delicately reared. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#34] A traditional-saying of Mohammed. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#35] So Boccaccio's "Capo bianco" and "Coda verde." (Day iv.,<br/> + +Introduct.)<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#36] The opening chapter is known as the "Mother of the Book" (as opposed to +Yб Sнn, the "heart of the Koran"), the "Surat (chapter) of Praise," and the +"Surat of repetition" (because twice revealed?) or thanksgiving, or laudation +(Ai-Masбni) and by a host of other names for which see Mr. Rodwell who, +however, should not write "Fatthah" (p. xxv.) nor "Fathah" (xxvii.). The +Fбtihah, which is to Al-Islam much what the "Paternoster" is to Christendom, +consists of seven verses, in the usual-Saj'a or rhymed prose, and I have +rendered it as follows: +</p> + +<p> +In the name of the Compassionating, the Compassionate! * Praise be to Allah who +all the Worlds made * The Compassionating, the Compassionate * King of the Day +of Faith! * Thee only do we adore and of Thee only do we crave aid * Guide us +to the path which is straight * The path of those for whom Thy love is great, +not those on whom is hate, nor they that deviate * Amen! O Lord of the World's +trine. +</p> + +<p> +My Pilgrimage (i. 285; ii. 78 and passim) will supply instances of its +application; how it is recited with open hands to catch the blessing from +Heaven and the palms are drawn down the face (Ibid. i. 286), and other details, +</p> + +<p> +[FN#37] i.e. when the evil eye has less effect than upon children. Strangers in +Cairo often wonder to see a woman richly dressed leading by the hand a filthy +little boy (rarely a girl) in rags, which at home will be changed to cloth of +gold. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#38] Arab. "Asнdah" flour made consistent by boiling in water with the +addition of "Same" clarified butter) and honey: more like pap than custard. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#39] Arab. "Ghбbah" = I have explained as a low-lying place where the growth +is thickest and consequently animals haunt it during the noon-heats +</p> + +<p> +[FN#40] Arab. "Akkбm," one who loads camels and has charge of the luggage. He +also corresponds with the modern Mukharrij or camel-hirer (Pilgrimage i. 339), +and hence the word Moucre (Moucres) which, first used by La Brocquiиre (A.D. +1432), is still the only term known to the French. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#41] i.e. I am old and can no longer travel. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#42] Taken from Al-Asma'i, the "Romance of Antar," and the episode of the +Asafir Camels. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#43] A Mystic of the twelfth century A.D. who founded the Kбdirн order (the +oldest and chiefest of the four universally recognised), to which I have the +honour to belong, teste my diploma (Pilgrimage, Appendix i.). Visitation is +still made to his tomb at Baghdad. The Arabs (who have no hard g-letter) alter +to "Jнlбn" the name of his birth-place "Gilan," a tract between the Caspian and +the Black Seas. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#44] The well-known Anglo-Indian "Mucuddum;" lit. "one placed before (or +over) others" +</p> + +<p> +[FN#45] Koran xiii. 14. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#46] i.e.. his chastity: this fashion of objecting to infamous proposals is +very characteristic: ruder races would use their fists. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#47] Arab. "Rбfizн"=the Shi'ah (tribe, sect) or Persian schismatics who +curse the first three Caliphs: the name is taken from their own saying "Innб +rafiznб-hum"=verily we have rejected them. The feeling between Sunni (the +so-called orthodox) and Shi'ah is much like the Christian love between a +Catholic of Cork and a Protestant from the Black North. As Al-Siyuti or any +historian will show, this sect became exceedingly powerful under the later +Abbaside Caliphs, many of whom conformed to it and adopted its tractices and +innovations (as in the Azan or prayer-call), greatly to the scandal-of their +co-religionists. Even in the present day the hatred between these +representatives of Arab monotheism and Persian Guebrism continues unabated. I +have given sundry instances m my Pilgrimage, e.g. how the Persians attempt to +pollute the tombs of the Caliphs they abhor. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#48] Arab. "Sakkб," the Indian "Bihishtн" (man from Heaven):<br/> + +Each party in a caravan has one or more.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#49] These "Kirбmбt" or Saints' miracles, which Spiritualists will readily +accept, are recorded in vast numbers. Most men have half a dozen to tell, each +of his "Pнr" or patron, including the Istidrбj or prodigy of chastisement. +(Dabistan, iii. 274.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#50] Great granddaughter of the Imam Hasan buried in Cairo and famed for +"Kirбmбt." Her father, governor of Al-Medinah, was imprisoned by Al-Mansur and +restored to power by Al-Mahdi. She was married to a son of the Imam Ja'afar +al-Sadik and lived a life of devotion in Cairo, dying in A.H. 218=824. The +corpse of the Imam al-Shafi'i was carried to her house, now her mosque and +mausoleum: it stood in the Darb al-Sabъa which formerly divided Old from New +Cairo and is now one of the latter's suburbs. Lane (M. E. chaps. x.) gives her +name but little more. The mention of her shows that the writer of the tale or +the copyist was a Cairene : Abd al-Kadir is world-known : not so the "Sitt." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#51] Arab. "Farkh akrab" for Ukayrib, a vulgarism. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#52] The usual Egyptian irreverence: he relates his abomination as if it +were a Hadis or Tradition of the Prophet with due ascription. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#53] A popular name, dim. of Zubdah cream, fresh butter, "creamkin." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#54] Arab. "Mustahall," "Mustahill' and vulg. "Muhallil" (=one who renders +lawful). It means a man hired for the purpose who marries pro forma and after +wedding, and bedding with actual-consummation, at once divorces the woman. He +is held the reverse of respectable and no wonder. Hence, probably, Mandeville's +story of the Islanders who, on the marriage-night, "make another man to lie by +their wives, to have their maidenhead, for which they give great hire and much +thanks. And there are certain men in every town that serve for no other thing; +and they call them cadeberiz, that is to say, the fools of despair, because +they believe their occupation is a dangerous one." Burckhardt gives the proverb +(No. 79), "A thousand lovers rather than one Mustahall," the latter being +generally some ugly fellow picked up in the streets and disgusting to the wife +who must permit his embraces. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#55] This is a woman's oath. not used by men. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#56] Pronounced "Yб Sнn" (chaps. xxxvi.) the "heart of the<br/> + +Koran" much used for edifying recitation. Some pious Moslems in<br/> + +Egypt repeat it as a Wazifah, or religious task, or as masses for<br/> + +the dead, and all educated men know its 83 versets by rote.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#57] Arab. "Бl-Dбъd"=the family of David, i.e. David himself, a popular +idiom. The prophet's recitation of the "Mazбmir" (Psalter) worked miracles. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#58] There is a peculiar thickening of the voice in leprosy which at once +betrays the hideous disease. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#59] These lines have occurred in Night clxxxiii. I quote<br/> + +Mr. Payne (in loco) by way of variety.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#60] Where the "Juzбm" (leprosy, elephantiasis, morbus sacrum, etc. etc.) is +supposed first to show: the swelling would alter the shape. Lane (ii. 267) +translates "her wrist which was bipartite." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#61] Arab. "Zakariyб" (Zacharias): a play upon the term "Zakar"=the sign of +"masculinity." Zacharias, mentioned in the Koran as the educator of the Virgin +Mary (chaps. iii.) and repeatedly referred to (chaps. xix. etc.), is a +well-known personage amongst Moslems and his church is now the great +Cathedral-Mosque of Aleppo. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#62] Arab. " Ark al-Halбwat " = vein of sweetness. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#63] Arab. "Futъh," which may also mean openings, has before occurred. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#64] i.e. four times without withdrawing. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#65] i.e. a correspondence of size, concerning which many rules are given in +the Ananga-Rangha Shastra which justly declares that discrepancy breeds +matrimonial-troubles. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#66] Arab. "Ghurбb al-Bayn"= raven of the waste or the parting: hence the +bird of Odin symbolises separation (which is also called Al-bayn). The Raven +(Ghurab = Heb. Oreb and Lat. Corvus, one of the prehistoric words) is supposed +to be seen abroad earlier than any other bird; and it is entitled "Abu Zajir," +father of omens, because lucky when flying towards the right and v.v. It is +opposed in poetry to the (white) pigeon, the emblem of union, peace and +happiness. The vulgar declare that when Mohammed hid in the cave the crow kept +calling to his pursuers, "Ghбr! Ghбr!" (cavern, cavern): hence the Prophet +condemned him to wear eternal-mourning and ever to repeat the traitorous words. +This is the old tale of Coronis and Apollo (Ovid, lib. ii.). +</p> + +<p> +—————" who blacked the raven o'er And bid him prate in his white plumes no +more." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#67] This use of a Turkish title "Efendi" being=our esquire, and inferior to +a Bey, is a rank anachronism, probably of the copyist. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#68] Arab. "Samn"=Hind. "Ghi" butter melted, skimmed and allowed to cool. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#69] Arab. "Ya Wadъd," a title of the Almighty: the Mac.<br/> + +Edit. has "O David!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#70] Arab. "Muwashshahah;" a complicated stanza of which specimens have +occurred. Mr. Payne calls it a "ballad," which would be a "Kunyat al-Zidd." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#71] Arab. "Bahбim" (plur. of Bahнmah=Heb. Behemoth), applied in Egypt +especially to cattle. A friend of the "Oppenheim" house, a name the Arabs +cannot pronounce was known throughout Cairo as "Jack al-bahбim" (of the cows). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#72] Lit. "The father of side-locks," a nickname of one of the Tobba Kings. +This "Hasan of: the ringlets" who wore two long pig-tails hanging to his +shoulders was the Rochester or Piron of his age: his name is still famous for +brilliant wit, extempore verse and the wildest debauchery. D'Herbelot's sketch +of his life is very meagre. His poetry has survived to the present day and +(unhappily) we shall] hear more of "Abu Nowбs." On the subject of these +patronymics Lane (Mod. Egypt, chaps. iv.) has a strange remark that "Abu Dбъd +i' not the Father of Dбъd or Abu Ali the Father of Ali, but whose Father is (or +was) Dбъd or Ali." Here, however, he simply confounds Abu = father of (followed +by a genitive), with Abu-h (for Abu-hu) = he, whose father. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#73] Arab. "Samъr," applied in slang language to cats and dogs, hence the +witty Egyptians converted Admiral-Seymour (Lord Alcester) into "Samъr." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#74] The home-student of Arabic may take this letter as a model even in the +present day; somewhat stiff and old-fashioned, but gentlemanly and courteous. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#75] Arab. "Salнm" (not Sй-lim) meaning the "Safe and sound." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#76] Arab. "Halбwah"=sweetmeat, meaning an entertainment such as men give to +their friends after sickness or a journey. it is technically called as above, +"The Sweetmeat of Safety." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#77] Arab. "Salбt" which from Allah means mercy, from the<br/> + +Angels intercession and pardon; and from mankind blessing.<br/> + +Concerning the specific effects of blessing the Prophet, see<br/> + +Pilgrimage (ii. 70). The formula is often slurred over when a man<br/> + +is in a hurry to speak: an interrupting friend will say " Bless the<br/> + +Prophet!" and he does so by ejaculating "Sa'am."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#78] Persian, meaning originally a command: it is now applied to a +Wazirial-order as opposed to the " Irбdah," the Sultan's order. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#79] Arab. " Mashб'ilн" lit. the cresses-bearer who has before appeared as +hangman. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#80] Another polite formula for announcing a death. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#81] As he died heirless the property lapsed to the Treasury. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#82]This shaking the kerchief is a signal to disperse and the action +suggests its meaning. Thus it is used in an opposite sense to "throwing the +kerchief," a pseudo-Oriental practice whose significance is generally +understood in Europe. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#83] The body-guard being of two divisions. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#84] Arab. "Hadbб," lit. "hump-backed;" alluding to the Badawi bier; a pole +to which the corpse is slung (Lane). It seems to denote the protuberance of the +corpse when placed upon the bier which before was flat. The quotation is from +Ka'ab's Mantle-Poem (Burdah v . 37), "Every son of a female, long though his +safety may be, is a day borne upon a ridged implement," says Mr. Redhouse, +explaining the latter as a "bier with a ridged lid." Here we differ: the +Janбzah with a lid is not a Badawi article: the wildlings use the simplest +stretcher; and I would translate the lines, +</p> + +<p> + "The son of woman, whatso his career<br/> + + One day is borne upon the gibbous bier."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#85] This is a high honour to any courtier. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#86] "Khatun" in Turk. means any lady: mistress, etc., and follows the name, +e.g. Fбtimah Khatun. Habzalam Bazazah is supposed to be a fanciful compound, +uncouth as the named; the first word consisting of "Habb" seed, grain; and +"Zalam" of Zulm=seed of tyranny. Can it be a travesty of "Absalom" (Ab Salбm, +father of peace)? Lane (ii. 284) and Payne (iii. 286) prefer Habazlam and +Hebezlem. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#87] Or night. A metaphor for rushing into peril. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#88] Plur. of kumkum, cucurbite, gourd-shaped vessel, jar. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#89] A popular exaggeration for a very expert thief. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#90] Arab. "Buka'at Ad-bum": lit. the "low place of blood" (where it +stagnates): so Al-Bukб'ah = Cњlesyria. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#91] That common and very unpleasant phrase, full of egotism and +self-esteem, "I told you so," is even more common in the naпve East than in the +West. In this case the son's answer is far superior to the mother's question. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#92] In order to keep his oath to the letter. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#93] "Tabannuj; " literally "hemping" (drugging with hemp or henbane) is the +equivalent in Arab medicine of our "anжsthetics." These have been used in +surgery throughout the East for centuries before ether and chloroform became +the fashion in the civilised West. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#94] Arab. "Durkб'ah," the lower part of the floor, opposed to the "liwбn" +or daпs. Liwбn =Al-Aywбn (Arab. and Pers.) the hall (including the daпs and the +sunken parts) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#95] i.e. he would toast it as he would a mistress. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#96] This till very late years was the custom in Persia, and Fath Ali Shah +never appeared in scarlet without ordering some horrible cruelties. In Dar-For +wearing a red cashmere turban was a sign of wrath and sending a blood red dress +to a subject meant that he would be slain. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#97] That is, this robbery was committed in the palace by some one belonging +to it. References to vinegar are frequent; that of Egypt being famous in those +days. "Optimum et laudatissimum acetum a Romanis habebatur Жgyptum" +(Facciolati); and possibly it was sweetened: the Gesta (Tale xvii.) mentions +"must and vinegar." In Arab Proverbs, One mind by vinegar and another by +wine"=each mind goes its own way, (Arab. Prov. . 628); or, "with good and bad," +vinegar being spoilt wine. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#98] We have not heard the last of this old "dowsing rod": the latest form +of rhabdomancy is an electrical-rod invented in the United States. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#99] This is the procиs verbal always drawn up on such occasions. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#100] The sight of running water makes a Persian long for strong drink as +the sight of a fine view makes the Turk feel hungry. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#101] Arab. "Min wahid aduww " a peculiarly Egyptian or rather<br/> + +Cairene phrase.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#102] Al-Danaf=the Distressing Sickness: the title would be Ahmad the +Calamity. Al-Zaybak (the Quicksilver)=Mercury Ali Hasan "Shuuman"=a pestilent +fellow. We shall meet all these worthies again and again: see the Adventures of +Mercury Ali of Cairo, Night dccviii., a sequel to The Rogueries of Dalilah, +Night dcxcviii. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#103] For the "Sacrifice-place of Ishmael" (not Isaac) see my Pilgrimage +(iii. 306). According to all Arab ideas Ishmael, being the eldest son, was the +chief of the family after his father. I have noted that this is the old old +quarrel between the Arabs and their cousins the Hebrews. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#104] This black-mail was still paid to the Badawin of Ramlah<br/> + +(Alexandria) till the bombardment in 1881.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#105] The famous Issus of Cilicia, now a port-village on the<br/> + +Gulf of Scanderoon.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#106] Arab. " Wada'б" = the concha veneris, then used as small change. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#107] Arab. "Sakati"=a dealer in "castaway" articles, such es old +metal,damaged goods, the pluck and feet of animals, etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#108] The popular tale of Burckhardt's death in Cairo was that the names of +the three first Caliphs were found written upon his slipper-soles and that he +was put to death by decree of the Olema. It is the merest nonsense, as the +great traveller died of dysentery in the house of my old friend John Thurburn +and was buried outside the Bab al-Nasr of Cairo where his tomb was restored by +the late Rogers Bey (Pilgrimage i. 123). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#109] Prob. a mis-spelling for Arslбn, in Turk. a lion, and in slang a +piastre. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#110] Arab. "Maka'ad;" lit. = sitting-room. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#111] Arab. "Khammбrah"; still the popular term throughout Egypt for a +European Hotel. It is not always intended to be insulting but it is, meaning +the place where Franks meet to drink forbidden drinks. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#112] A reminiscence of Mohammed who cleansed the Ka'abah of its 360 idols +(of which 73 names are given by Freytag, Einleitung, etc. pp. 270, 342-57) by +touching them with his staff, whereupon all fell to the ground; and the Prophet +cried (Koran xvii. 84), "Truth is come, and falsehood is vanished: verily, +falsehood is a thing that vanisheth" (magna est veritas, etc.). Amongst the +"idols" are said to have been a statue of Abraham and the horns of the ram +sacrificed in lieu of Ishmael, which (if true) would prove conclusively that +the Abrahamic legend at Meccah is of ancient date and not a fiction of +Al-Islam. Hence, possibly, the respect of the Judaising Tobbas of Hiwyarland +for the Ka'abah. (Pilgrimage, iii. 295.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#113] This was evidently written by a Sunni as the Shн'ahs claim to be the +only true Moslems. Lane tells an opposite story (ii. 329). It suggests the +common question in the South of Europe, "Are you a Christian or a Protestant?" +</p> + +<p> +[FN#114] Arab. "Ana fн jнrat-ak!" a phrase to be remembered as useful in time +of danger. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#115] i.e. No Jinni, or Slave of the Jewel, was there to answer. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#116] Arab. "Kunsъl" (pron. "Gunsul") which here means a well-to-do Frank, +and shows the modern date of the tale as it stands. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#117] From the Ital. "Capitano." The mention of cannon and other terms in +this tale shows that either it was written during the last century or it has +been mishandled by copyists. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#118] Arab. "Minнnah"; a biscuit of flour and clarified butter. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#119] Arab. "Waybah"; the sixth part of the Ardabb=6 to 7<br/> + +English gallons.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#120] He speaks in half-jest а la fellah; and reminds us of<br/> + +"Hangman, drive on the cart!"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#121] Yochanan (whom Jehovah has blessed) Jewish for John, is probably a +copy of the Chaldean Euahanes, the Oannes of Berosus=Ea Khan, Hea the fish. The +Greeks made it Joannes; the Arabs "Yohannб" (contracted to "Hannб," Christian) +and "Yбbyб" (Moslem). Prester (Priest) John is probably Ung Khan, the historian +prince conquered and slain by Janghiz Khan in A.D. 1202. The modern history of +"John" is very extensive: there may be a full hundred varieties and derivation' +of the name. "Husn Maryam" the beauty (spiritual. etc.) of the B.V. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#122] Primarily being middle-aged; then aid, a patron, servant, etc. Also a +tribe of the Jinn usually made synonymous with "Mбrid," evil controuls, hostile +to men: modern spiritualists would regard them as polluted souls not yet purged +of their malignity. The text insinuates that they were at home amongst +Christians and in Genoa. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#123] Arab. "Sar'a" = epilepsy, falling sickness, of old always confounded +with "possession" (by evil spirits) or "obsession." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#124] Again the true old charge of falsifying the so-called "Sacred books." +Here the Koran is called "Furkбn." Sale (sect. iii.) would assimilate this to +the Hebr. "Perek" or "Pirka," denoting a section or portion of Scripture; but +Moslems understand it to be the "Book which distinguisheth (faraka, divided) +the true from the false." Thus Caliph Omar was entitled "Fбrъk" = the +Distinguisher (between right and wrong). Lastly, "Furkбn," meanings as in Syr. +and Ethiop. deliverance, revelation, is applied alike to the Pentateuch and +Koran. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#125] Euphemistic for "thou shalt die." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#126] Lit. "From (jugular) vein to vein" (Arab. "Warнd"). Our old friend +Lucretius again: "Tantane relligio," etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#127] As opposed to the "but" or outer room. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#128] Arab. "Darb al-Asfar" in the old Jamalнyah or Northern part of Cairo. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#129] A noble tribe of Badawin that migrated from Al-Yaman and settled in +Al-Najd Their Chief, who died a few years before Mohammed's birth, was Al-Hatim +(the "black crow"), a model of Arab manliness and munificence; and although +born in the Ignorance he will enter Heaven with the Moslems. Hatim was buried +on the hill called Owбrid: I have already noted this favourite practice of the +wilder Arabs and the affecting idea that the Dead may still look upon his kith +and kin. There is not an Arab book nor, indeed, a book upon Arabia which does +not contain the name of Hatim: he is mentioned as unpleasantly often as +Aristides. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#130] Lord of "Cattle-feet," this King's name is unknown; but the Kбmъs +mentions two Kings called Zu 'l Kalб'a, the Greater and the Less. Lane's Shaykh +(ii. 333) opined that the man who demanded Hatim's hospitality was one +Abu'l-Khaybari. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#131] The camel's throat, I repeat, is not cut as in the case of other +animals, the muscles being too strong: it is slaughtered by the "nahr," i.e. +thrusting a knife into the hollow at the commissure of the chest. (Pilgrimage +iii. 303.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#132] Adi became a Moslem and was one of the companions of the<br/> + +Prophet.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#133] A rival-in generosity to Hatim: a Persian poet praising his patron's +generosity says that it buried that of Hatim and dimmed that of Ma'an +(D'Herbelot). He was a high official-under the last Ommiade, Marwбn al-Himбr +(the "Ass," or the "Century," the duration of Ommiade rule) who was routed and +slain in A.H. 132=750. Ma'an continued to serve under the Abbasides and was a +favourite with Al-Mansъr. "More generous or bountiful than Ka'ab" is another +saying (A. P., i. 325); Ka'ab ibn Mбmah was a man who, somewhat like Sir Philip +Sidney at Zutphen, gave his own portion of drink while he was dying of thirst +to a man who looked wistfully at him, whence the saying "Give drink to thy +brother the Nбmiri" (A. P., i. 608). Ka'ab could not mount, so they put +garments over him to scare away the wild beasts and left him in the desert to +die. "Scatterer of blessings" (Nбshir al-Ni'am) was a title of King Malik of +Al-Yaman, son of Sharhabнl, eminent for his liberality. He set up the statue in +the Western Desert, inscribed "Nothing behind me," as a warner to others. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#134] Lane (ii. 352) here introduces, between Nights cclxxi. and ccxc., a +tale entitled in the Bresl. Edit. (iv. 134) "The Sleeper and the Waker," i.e. +the sleeper awakened; and he calls it: The Story of Abu-l-Hasan the Wag. It is +interesting and founded upon historical-fact; but it can hardly be introduced +here without breaking the sequence of The Nights. I regret this the more as Mr. +Alexander J. Cotheal-of New York has most obligingly sent me an addition to the +Breslau text (iv. 137) from his MS. But I hope eventually to make use of it. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#135] The first girl calls gold "Titer" (pure, unalloyed metal); the second +"Asjad" (gold generally) and the third "Ibrнz" (virgin ore, the Greek {Greek +letters}. This is a law of Arab rhetoric never to repeat the word except for a +purpose and, as the language can produce 1,200,000 (to 100,000 in English) the +copiousness is somewhat painful to readers. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#136] Arab. "Shakes" before noticed. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#137] Arab. "Kussб'б"=the curling cucumber: the vegetable is of the cheapest +and the poorer classes eat it as "kitchen" with bread. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#138] Arab. "Haram-hu," a double entendre. Here the Barlawi means his Harem +the inviolate part of the house; but afterwards he makes it mean the presence +of His Honour. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#139] Toledo? this tale was probably known to Washington Irving. The "Land +of Roum " here means simply Frank-land as we are afterwards told that its name +was Andalusia the old Vandal-land, a term still applied by Arabs to the whole +of the Iberian Peninsula. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#140] Arab. "Amбim" (plur. of Imбmah) the common word for turband which I +prefer to write in the old unclipt fashion. We got it through the Port. +Turbante and the old French Tolliban from the (now obsolete) Persian term +Dolband=a turband or a sash. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#141] Sixth Ommiade Caliph, A.D. 705-716, from "Tбrik" we have<br/> + +"Gibraltar"=Jabal-al-Tбrik.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#142] Arab. "Yunбn" = Ionia, applied to ancient Greece as<br/> + +"Roum" is to the Grжco-Roman Empire.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#143] Arab. "Bahramбni ;" prob. alluding to the well-known<br/> + +legend of the capture of Somanath (Somnauth) from the Hindus by<br/> + +Mahmud of Ghazni. In the Ajб'ib al-Hind (before quoted) the<br/> + +Brahmins are called Abrahamah.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#144] i.e. "Peace be with thee!" +</p> + +<p> +[FN#145] i.e. in the palace when the hunt was over. The bluntness and +plain-speaking of the Badawi, which caused the revelation of the Koranic +chapter "Inner Apartments" (No. xlix.) have always been favourite themes with +Arab tale-tellers as a contrast with citizen suavity and servility. Moreover +the Badawi, besides saying what he thinks, always tells the truth (unless +corrupted by commerce with foreigners); and this is a startling contrast with +the townsfolk. To ride out of Damascus and have a chat with the Ruwalб is much +like being suddenly transferred from amongst the trickiest of Mediterranean +people to the bluff society of the Scandinavian North. And the reason why the +Turk will never govern the Arab in peace is that the former is always trying to +finesse and to succeed by falsehood, when the truth, the whole truth and +nothing but the truth is wanted. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#146] Koran. xvi. 112. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#147] A common and expressive way of rewarding the tongue which "spoke +poetry." The Jewels are often pearls. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#148] Ibrahim Abu Ishбk bin al-Mahdi, a pretender to the Caliphate of well +known wit and a famed musician surnamed from his corpulence "Al-Tannнn"=the +Dragon or, according to others (Lane ii. 336), "Al-Tin"= the fig. His +adventurous history will be found in Ibn Khallikan D'Herbelot and Al-Siyuti. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#149] The Ragha of the Zendavesta, and Rages of the Apocrypha (Tobit, +Judith, etc.), the old capital-of Media Proper, and seat of government of +Daylam, now a ruin some miles south of Teheran which was built out of its +remains. Rayy was founded by Hoshang the primeval-king who first sawed wood, +made doors and dug metal. It is called Rayy al-Mahdiyyah because Al-Mahdi held +his court there. Harun al-Rashid was also born in it (A.H. 145). It is +mentioned by a host of authors and names one of the Makamat of Al-Hariri. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#150] Human blood being especially impure. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#151] Jones, Brown and Robinson. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#152] Arab. "Kumm ," the Moslem sleeve is mostly (like his trousers) of +ample dimensions and easily converted into a kind of carpet-bag by depositing +small articles in the middle and gathering up the edge in the hand. In this way +carried the weight would be less irksome than hanging to the waist. The English +of Queen Anne's day had regular sleeve-pockets for memoranda, etc., hence the +saying, to have in one's sleeve. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#153] Arab. "Khuff" worn under the "Bбbъg" (a corruption of the Persian +pб-push=feet-covers, papooshes, slippers). [Lane M. E. chaps. i.] +</p> + +<p> +[FN#154] Done in hot weather throughout the city, a dry line for camels being +left in mid-street to prevent the awkward beasts slipping. The watering of the +Cairo streets of late years has been excessive; they are now lines of mud in +summer as well as in winter and the effluvia from the droppings of animals +have, combined with other causes, seriously deteriorated the once charming +climate. The only place in Lower Egypt, which has preserved the atmosphere of +1850, is Suez. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#155] Arab. "Hurбk:" burnt rag, serving as tinder for flint and steel, is a +common styptic. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#156] Of this worthy, something has been said and there will be more in a +future page. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#157] i.e. the person entitled to exact the blood-wite. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#158] Al-Maamum was a man of sense with all his fanaticism One of his +sayings is preserved "Odious is contentiousness in Kings, more odious vexation +in judges uncomprehending a case; yet more odious is shallowness of doctors in +religions and most odious are avarice in the rich, idleness in youth, jesting +in age and cowardice in the soldier." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#159] The second couplet is not in the Mac. Edit. but Lane's<br/> + +Shaykh has supplied it (ii. 339)<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#160] Adam's loins, the "Day of Alast," and the Imam (who stands before the +people in prayer) have been explained. The "Seventh Imam" here is Al-Maamun, +the seventh Abbaside the Ommiades being, as usual, ignored. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#161] He sinned only for the pleasure of being pardoned, which is +poetical-and hardly practical-or probable. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#162] The Katб (sand-grouse) always enters into Arab poetry because it is +essentially a desert bird, and here the comparison is good because it lays its +eggs in the waste far from water which it must drink morning and evening. Its +cry is interpreted "man sakat, salam" (silent and safe), but it does not +practice that precept, for it is usually betrayed by its piping " Kata! Kata!" +Hence the proverb, "More veracious than the sand-grouse," and "speak not +falsely, for the Kata sayeth sooth," is Komayt's saying. It is an emblem of +swiftness: when the brigand poet Shanfara boasts, "The ash-coloured Katas can +drink only my leavings, after hastening all night to slake their thirst in the +morning," it is a hyperbole boasting of his speed. In Sind it is called the +"rock pigeon" and it is not unlike a grey partridge when on the wing. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#163] Joseph to his brethren, Koran, xii. 92, when he gives them his "inner +garment" to throw over his father's face. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#164] Arab. "Hajjбm"=a cupper who scarifies forehead and legs, a bleeder, a +(blood-) sucker. The slang use of the term is to thrash, lick, wallop. +(Burckhardt. Prov. 34.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#165] The Bresl. Edit. (vii. 171-174) entitles this tale, "Story of Shaddбd +bin Ad and the City of Iram the Columned ;" but it relates chiefly to the +building by the King of the First Adites who, being promised a future Paradise +by Prophet Hъd, impiously said that he would lay out one in this world. It also +quotes Ka'ab al-Ahbбr as an authority for declaring that the tale is in the +"Pentateuch of Moses." Iram was in al-Yaman near Adan (our Aden) a square of +ten parasangs (or leagues each= 18,000 feet) every way, the walls were of red +(baked) brick 500 cubits high and 20 broad, with four gates of corresponding +grandeur. It contained 300,000 Kasr (palaces) each with a thousand pillars of +gold-bound jasper, etc. (whence its title). The whole was finished in five +hundred years, and, when Shaddad prepared to enter it, the "Cry of Wrath" from +the Angel of Death slew him and all his many. It is mentioned in the Koran +(chaps. Ixxxix. 6-7) as "Irem adorned with lofty buildings (or pillars)." But +Ibn Khaldun declares that commentators have embroidered the passage; Iram being +the name of a powerful clan of the ancient Adites and "imбd" being a tent-pole: +hence "Iram with the numerous tents or tent-poles." Al-Bayzawi tells the story +of Abdullah ibn Kilabah (D'Herbelot's Colabah). At Aden I met an Arab who had +seen the mysterious city on the borders of Al-Ahkбf, the waste of deep sands, +west of Hadramaut; and probably he had, the mirage or sun-reek taking its +place. Compare with this tale "The City of Brass" (Night dlxv.). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#166] The biblical-"Sheba," named from the great-grandson of Joctan, whence +the Queen (Bilkis) visited Solomon It was destroyed by the Flood of Mбrib. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#167] The full title of the Holy City is "Madinat al-Nab)" = the City of the +Prophet, of old Yasrib (Yathrib) the Iatrippa of the Greeks (Pilgrimage, ii. +119). The reader will remember that there are two "Yasribs:" that of lesser +note being near Hujr in the Yamбmah province. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#168] "Ka'ab of the Scribes," a well-known traditionist and religious poet +who died (A.H. 32) in the Caliphate of Osman. He was a Jew who islamised; hence +his name (Ahbбr, plur. of Hibr, a Jewish scribe, doctor of science, etc. +Jarrett's El-Siyuti, p. 123). He must not be confounded with another Ka'ab +al-Ahbбr the Poet of the (first) Cloak-poem or "Burdah," a noble Arab who was a +distant cousin of Mohammed, and whose tomb at Hums (Emesa) is a place of pious +visitation. According to the best authorities (no Christian being allowed to +see them) the cloak given to the bard by Mohammed is still preserved together +with the Khirkah or Sanjak Sherif ("Holy Coat" or Banner, the national +oriflamme) at Stambul in the Upper Seraglio. (Pilgrimage, i. 213.) Many authors +repeat this story of Mu'awiyah, the Caliph, and Ka'ab of the Burdah, but it is +an evident anachronism, the poet having been dead nine years before the ruler's +accession (A.H. 41). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#169] Koran, lxxxix. 6-7. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#170] Arab. "Kahramбn" from Pers., braves, heroes. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#171] The Deity in the East is as whimsical-a despot as any of his "shadows" +or "vice regents." In the text Shaddбd is killed for mere jealousy a base +passion utterly unworthy of a godhead; but one to which Allah was greatly +addicted. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#172] Some traditionist, but whether Sha'abi, Shi'abi or<br/> + +Shu'abi we cannot decide.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#173] The Hazarmaveth of Genesis (x. 26) in South Eastern Arabia. Its people +are the Adramitae (mod. Hazrami) of Ptolemy who places in their land the Arabiж +Emporium, as Pliny does his Massola. They border upon the Homeritж or men of +Himyar, often mentioned in The Nights. Hazramaut is still practically unknown +to us, despite the excursions of many travellers; and the hard nature of the +people, the Swiss of Arabia, offers peculiar obstacles to exploration. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#174] i.e. the prophet Hud generally identified (?) with Heber. He was +commissioned (Koran, chaps. vii.) to preach Al-Islam to his tribe the Adites +who worshipped four goddesses, Sбkiyah (the rain-giver), Rбzikah (food-giver), +Hбfizah (the saviouress) and Sбlimah (who healed sickness). As has been seen he +failed, so it was useless to send him. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#175] Son of Ibraham al-Mosili, a musician poet and favourite with the +Caliphs Harun al-Rashid and Al-Maamun. He made his name immortal-by being the +first who reduced Arab harmony to systematic rules, and he wrote a biography of +musicians referred to by Al-Hariri in the Sйance of Singar. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#176] This must not be confounded with the "pissing against the wall" of I +Kings, xiv. 10, where watering against a wall denotes a man as opposed to a +woman. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#177] Arab. "Zambнl" or "Zimbнl," a limp basket made of plaited palm-leaves +and generally two handled. It is used for many purposes, from carrying poultry +to carrying earth. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#178] Here we have again the Syriac ''Bakhkh -un-Bakhkh-un-''=well done! It +is the Pers Бferнn and means "all praise be to him." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#179] Arab. "A Tufayli?" So the Arab. Prov. (ii. 838) "More intrusive than +Tufayl" (prob. the P.N. of a notorious sponger). The Badawin call "Wбrish" a +man who sits down to meat unbidden and to drink Wбghil; but townsfolk apply the +latter to the "Wбrish." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#180] Arab. "Artбl"=rotoli, pounds; and +</p> + +<p> + "A pint is a pound<br/> + + All the world round;"<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +except in highly civilised lands where the pint has a curious power of +shrinking. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#181] One of Al-Maamun's Wazirs. The Caliph married his daughter whose true +name was Bъrбn; but this tale of girl's freak and courtship was invented (?) by +Ishak. For the splendour of the wedding and the munificence of the Minister see +Lane, ii. 350-352. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#182] I have described this scene, the wretch clinging to the curtain and +sighing and crying as if his heart would break (Pilgrimage iii. 216 and 220). +The same is done at the place Al-Multazam'"the attached to;" (ibid. 156) and +various spots called Al-Mustajбb, "where prayer is granted" (ibid. 162). At +Jerusalem the Wailing place of the Jews" shows queer scenes; the worshippers +embrace the wall with a peculiar wriggle crying out in Hebrew, "O build Thy +House, soon, without delay," etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#183] i.e. The wife. The scene in the text was common at Cairo twenty years +ago; and no one complained of the stick. See Pilgrimage i., 120. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#184] Arab. "Udm, Udum" (plur. of Idбm) = "relish," olives, cheese, pickled +cucumbers, etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#185] I have noticed how the left hand is used in the East. In the second +couplet we have "Istinjб"=washing the fundament after stool. The lines are +highly appropriate for a nightman. Easterns have many foul but most emphatic +expressions like those in the text I have heard a mother say to her brat, "I +would eat thy merde!" (i.e. how I love thee!). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#186] Arab. "Harrбk," whence probably our "Carack" and<br/> + +"Carrack" (large ship), in dictionaries derived from Carrus<br/> + +Marinus.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#187] Arab. "Ghбshiyah"=lit. an йtui, a cover; and often a saddle-cover +carried by the groom. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#188] Arab. "Sharбb al-tuffбh" = melapio or cider. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#189] Arab. "Mudawwarah," which generally means a small round cushion, of +the Marocco-work well known in England. But one does not strike a cushion for a +signal, so we must revert to the original-sense of the word "something round," +as a circular plate of wood or metal, a gong, a "bell" like that of the Eastern +Christians. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#190] Arab. "Tъfбn" (from the root tauf, going round) a storm, a circular +gale, a cyclone the term universally applied in Al-lslam to the "Deluge," the +"Flood" of Noah. The word is purely Arabic; with a quaint likeness to the Gr. +{Greek letters}, in Pliny typhon, whirlwind, a giant (Typhњus) whence "Typhon" +applied to the great Egyptian god "Set." The Arab word extended to China and +was given to the hurricanes which the people call "Tee foong," great winds, a +second whimsical-resemblance. But Sir John Davis (ii. 383) is hardly correct +when he says, "the name typhoon, in itself a corruption of the Chinese term, +bears a singular (though we must suppose an accidental) resemblance to the +Greek {Greek letters}. " +</p> + +<p> +[FN#191] Plurale majestatis acting superlative; not as Lane supposes (ii. 224) +"a number of full moons, not only one." Eastern tongues abound in instances +beginning with Genesis (i. 1), "Gods (he) created the heaven," etc. It is still +preserved in Badawi language and a wildling greatly to the astonishment of the +citizens will address his friend "Yб Rijбl"= O men! +</p> + +<p> +[FN#192] Arab. "Hбsid" = an envier: in the fourth couplet "Azъl" (Azzбl, etc.) += a chider, blamer; elsewhere "Lawwбm" = accuser, censor, slanderer; +"Wбshн,"=whisperer, informer; "Rakib"=spying, envious rival; "Ghбbit"=one +emulous without envy; and "Shбmit"= a "blue" (fierce) enemy who rejoices over +another's calamities. Arabic literature abounds in allusions to this unpleasant +category of "damned ill-natured friends;" and Spanish and Portuguese letters, +including Brazilian, have thoroughly caught the trick. In the Eastern mind the +"blamer" would be aided by the "evil eye." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#193] Another plural for a singular, "O my beloved!" +</p> + +<p> +[FN#194] Arab. "Khayr"=good news, a euphemistic reply even if the tidings be of +the worst. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#195] Abbбs (from 'Abs, being austere; and meaning the "grim faced") son of +Abd al-Muttalib; uncle to Mohammed and eponym of the Abbaside Khalifahs. A.D. +749=1258. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#196] Katнl = the Irish "kilt." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#197] This hat been explained as a wazirial title of the time. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#198] The phrase is intelligible in all tongues: in Arabic it is opposed to +"dark as night," "black as mud" and a host of unsavoury antitheses. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#199] Arab. "Awwбdah," the popular word; not Udнyyah as in Night cclvi. "Ud" +liter.= rood and "Al-Ud"=the wood is, I have noted, the origin of our 'lute." +The Span. 'laud" is larger and deeper than the guitar, and its seven strings +are played upon with a plectrum of buffalo-horn. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#200] Arab. "Tabban lahu!"=loss (or ruin) to him. So "bu'dan lahu"=away with +him, abeat in malam rem; and "Suhkan lahu"=Allah and mercy be far from him, no +hope for him I +</p> + +<p> +[FN#201] Arab. "Бyah"=Koranic verses, sign, miracle. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#202] The mole on cheek calls to prayers for his preservation; and it is +black as Bilal the Abyssinian. Fajran may here mean either "A.-morning" or +"departing from grace." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#203] i.e. the young beard (myrtle) can never hope to excel tile beauties of +his cheeks (roses). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#204] i.e. Hell and Heaven. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#205] The first couplet is not in the Mac. Edit. (ii. 171)<br/> + +which gives only a single couplet but it is found in the Bres.<br/> + +Edit. which entitles this tale "Story of the lying (or false kбzib)<br/> + +Khalнfah." Lane (ii. 392) of course does not translate it.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#206] In the East cloth of frieze that mates with cloth of gold must expect +this treatment. Fath Ali Shah's daughters always made their husbands enter the +nuptial-bed by the foot end. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#207] This is always done and for two reasons; the first humanity, that the +blow may fall unawares; and, secondly, to prevent the sufferer wincing, which +would throw out the headsman. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#208] Arab. "Ma'бni-hб," lit. her meanings, i.e. her inner woman opposed to +the formal-seen by every one. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#209] Described in my Pilgrimage (iii. 168, 174 and 175): it is the stone +upon which the Patriarch stood when he built the Ka'abah and is said to show +the impress of the feet but unfortunately I could not afford five dollars +entrance-fee. Caliph Omar placed the station where it now is; before his time +it adjoined the Ka'abah. The meaning of the text is, Be thy court a place of +pious visitation, etc. At the "Station of Abraham" prayer is especially blessed +and expects to be granted. "This is the place where Abraham stood; and whoever +entereth therein shall be safe" (Koran ii. 119). For the other fifteen places +where petitions are favourably heard by Heaven see ibid. iii. 211-12. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#210] As in the West, so in the East, women answer an unpleasant question by +a counter question. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#211] This "Cry of Haro" often occurs throughout The Nights. In real-life it +is sure to colece a crowd. especially if an Infidel (non Moslem) be its cause. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#212] In the East a cunning fellow always makes himself the claimant or +complainant. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#213] On the Euphrates some 40 miles west of Baghdad The word is written +"Anbбr" and pronounced "Ambбr" as usual with the "n" before "b"; the case of +the Greek double Gamma. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#214] Syene on the Nile. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#215] The tale is in the richest Rabelaisian humour; and the requisitions of +the "Saj'a" (rhymed prose) in places explain the grotesque combinations. It is +difficult to divine why Lane omits it: probably he held a hearty laugh not +respectable. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#216] A lawyer of the eighth century, one of the chief pupils of the Imam +Abu Hanifah, and Kazi of Baghdad under the third, fourth and fifth Abbasides. +The tale is told in the quasi- historical-Persian work "Nigбristбn" (The +Picture gallery), and is repeated by Richardson, Diss. 7, xiii. None seem to +have remarked that the distinguished legist, Abu Yusuf, was on this occasion a +law-breaker; the Kazi's duty being to carry out the code not to break it by the +tricks of a cunning attorney. In Harun's day, however, some regard was paid to +justice, not under his successors, one of whom, Al-Muktadir bi 'llбh (A.H. +295=907), made the damsel Yamika President of the Diwбn al-Mazбlim (Court of +the Wronged), a tribunal which took cognizance of tyranny and oppression in +high places. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#217] Here the writer evidently forgets that Shahrazad is telling the story +to the king, as Boccaccio (ii. 7) forgets that Pamfilo is speaking. Such +inconsequences are common in Eastern story-books and a goody-goody sentiment is +always heartily received as in an English theatre. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#218] In the Mac. Edit. (ii. 182) "Al-Kushayri." Al-Kasri was<br/> + +Governor of the two Iraks (I.e. Bassorah and Cufa) in the reign of<br/> + +Al-Hisham, tenth Ommiade (A.D. 723-741)<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#219] Arab. "Thakalata k Ummak!" This is not so much a curse as a playful +phrase, like "Confound the fellow." So "Kбtala k Allah" (Allah slay thee) and +"Lб abб lak" (thou hast no father or mother). These words are even +complimentary on occasions, as a good shot or a fine recitation, meaning that +the praised far excels the rest of his tribe. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#220] Koran, iii. 178. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#221] Arab. "Al-Nisбb"=the minimum sum (about half-a crown) for which +mutilation of the hand is prescribed by religious law. The punishment was truly +barbarous, it chastised a rogue by means which prevented hard honest labour for +the rest of his life. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#222] To show her grief. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#223] Abъ Sa'нd Abd al-Malik bin Kurayb, surnamed Al-Asma'i from his +grandfather, flor. A.H. 122-306 (=739-830) and wrote amongst a host of +compositions the well-known Romance of Antar. See in D'Herbelot the right +royal-directions given to him by Harun al-Rashid. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#224] There are many accounts of his death, but it is generally held that he +was first beheaded. The story in the text is also variously told and the +Persian "Nigбristбn" adds some unpleasant comments upon the House of Abbas. The +Persians, for reasons which will be explained in the terminal-Essay, show the +greatest sympathy with the Barmecides; and abominate the Abbasides even more +than the latter detested the Ommiades. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#225] Not written, as the European reader would suppose. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#226] Arab. "Fъl al-hбrr" = beans like horsebeans soaked and boiled as +opposed to the "Fъl Mudammas" (esp. of Egypt)=unshelled beans steamed and +boiled all night and eaten with linseed oil as "kitchen" or relish. Lane (M.E., +chaps. v.) calls them after the debased Cairene pronunciation, Mudemmes. A +legend says that, before the days of Pharaoh (always he of Moses), the +Egyptians lived on pistachios which made them a witty, lively race. But the +tyrant remarking that the domestic ass, which eats beans, is degenerate from +the wild ass, uprooted the pistachio-trees and compelled the lieges to feed on +beans which made them a heavy, gross, cowardly people fit only for burdens. +Badawis deride "beaneaters" although they do not loathe the pulse like onions. +The principal-result of a bean diet is an extraordinary development of +flatulence both in stomach and intestines: hence possibly, Pythagoras who had +studied ceremonial-purity in Egypt, forbade the use, unless he referred to +venery or political-business. I was once sitting in the Greek quarter of Cairo +dressed as a Moslem when arose a prodigious hubbub of lads and boys, +surrounding, a couple of Fellahs. These men had been working in the fields +about a mile east of Cairo and, when returning home, one had said to the other, +"If thou wilt carry the hoes I will break wind once for every step we take." He +was as good as his word and when they were to part he cried, "And now for thy +bakhshish!" which consisted of a volley of fifty, greatly to the delight of the +boys. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#227] No porcelain was ever, as far as we can discover, made in Egypt or +Syria of the olden day; but, as has been said, there was a regular +caravan-intercourse with China At Damascus I dug into the huge rubbish-heaps +and found quantities of pottery, but no China. The same has lately been done at +Clysma, the artificial-mound near Suez, and the glass and pottery prove it to +have been a Roman work which defended the mouth of the old +classical-sweet-water canal. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#228] Arab. "Lб baas ba-zбlik," conversational-for "Lб jaram"= there is no +harm in it, no objection to it, and, sometimes, "it is a matter of course." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#229] A white emerald is yet unknown; but this adds only to the +Oriental-extravagance of the picture. I do not think with Lane (ii. 426) that +"abyaz" here can mean "bright." Dr. Steingass suggests a clerical-error for +"khazar" (green). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#230] Arab. "Sharбrif" plur. of Shurrбfah=crenelles or battlements; mostly +trefoil-shaped; remparts coquets which a six-pounder would crumble. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#231] Pronounce Abul-Muzaffar=Father of the Conqueror. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#232] I have explained the word in my "Zanzibar, City, Island and Coast," +vol. i. chaps. v There is still a tribe, the Wadoe, reputed cannibal-on the +opposite low East African shore These blacks would hardly be held " sons of +Adam." "Zanj " corrupted to "Zinj " (plur Zunъj) is the Persian "Zany" or +"Zangi," a black, altered by the Arabs, who ignore the hard g; and, with the +suffixion of the Persian -bбr (region, as in Malabar) we have Zang- bar which +the Arabs have converted to "Zanjibar," in poetry "Murk al-Zunъj"=Land of the +Zang. The term is old; it is the Zingis or Zingisa of Ptolemy and the Zingium +of Cosmas Indicopleustes; and it shows the influence of Persian navigation in +pre-Islamitic ages. For further details readers will consult "The Lake Regions +of Central-Africa" vol. i. chaps. ii +</p> + +<p> +[FN#233] Arab. "Kawбrib" plur. of "Kбrib" prop. a dinghy, a small boat +belonging to a ship Here it refers to the canoe (a Carib word) pop. "dug-out" +and classically "monoxyle," a boat made of a single tree-trunk hollowed by fire +and trimmed with axe and adze. Some of these rude craft which, when manned, +remind one of saturnine Caliph Omar's "worms floating on a log of wood," +measure 60 feet long and more. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#234] i.e. A descendant of Mohammed in general-and especially through Husayn +Ali-son. Here the text notes that the chief of the bazar was of this now +innumerable stock, who inherit the title through the mother as well as through +the father. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#235] Arab. "Hasab" (=quaneity), the honour a man acquires for himself; +opposed to "Nasab" (genealogy) honours inherited from ancestry: the Arabic well +expresses my old motto (adopted by Chinese Gordon), "Honour, not Honours." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#236] Note the difference between "Takaddum" ( = standing in presence of, +also superiority in excellence) and "Takбdum" (priority in time). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#237] Lane (ii. 427) gives a pleasant Eastern illustration of this saying. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#238] A Koranic fancy; the mountains being the pegs which keep the earth in +place. "And he hath thrown before the earth, mountains firmly rooted, lest it +should move with you." (Koran, chaps. xvi.) The earth when first created was +smooth and thereby liable to a circular motion, like the celestial-orbs; and, +when the Angels asked who could stand on so tottering a frame, Allah fixed it +the next morning by throwing the mountains in it and pegging them down. A fair +prolepsis of the Neptunian theory. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#239] Easy enough for an Englishman to avoid saying "by God," but this +common incident in Moslem folk-lore appeals to the peoples who are constantly +using the word Allah Wallah, Billah, etc. The Koran expressly says, "Make not +Allah the scope (object, lit. arrow-butt) of your oaths" (chaps. ii. 224), yet +the command is broken every minute. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#240] This must be the ubiquitous Khizr, the Green Prophet; when Ali +appears, as a rule he is on horseback. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#241] The name is apparently imaginary; and a little below we find that it +was close to Jinn land. China was very convenient for this purpose: the +medieval-Moslems, who settled in considerable numbers at Canton and elsewhere, +knew just enough of it to know their own ignorance of the vast empire. Hence +the Druzes of the Libanus still hold that part of their nation is in the depths +of the Celestial-Empire. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#242] I am unwilling to alter the old title to "City of Copper" as it should +be; the pure metal having been technologically used long before the alloy of +copper and zinc. But the Maroccan City (Night dlxvi. et seq.) was of brass (not +copper). The Hindus of Upper India have an Iram which they call Hari Chand's +city (Colonel Tod); and I need hardly mention the Fata Morgana, Island of Saint +Borondon; Cape Fly-away; the Flying Dutchman, etc. etc., all the effect of +"looming." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#243] This sword which makes men invisible and which takes place of +Siegfried's Tarnkappe (invisible cloak) and of "Fortunatus' cap" is common in +Moslem folk-lore. The idea probably arose from the venerable practice of +inscribing the blades with sentences, verses and magic figures. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#244] Arab. "'Ukбb," in books an eagle (especially black) and P. N. of +constellation but in Pop. usage= a vulture. In Egypt it is the Neophron +Percnopterus (Jerdon) or N. Gingianus (Latham), the Dijбjat Far'aun or +Pharaoh's hen. This bird has been known to kill the Bбshah sparrow-hawk (Jerdon +i. 60); yet, curious to say, the reviewers of my "Falconry in the Valley of the +Indus" questioned the fact, known to so many travellers, that the falcon is +also killed by this "tiger of the air," despite the latter's feeble bill (pp. +35-38). I was faring badly at their hands when the late Mr. Burckhardt Barker +came to the rescue. Falconicide is popularly attributed, not only to the +vulture, but also to the crestless hawk-eagle (Nisжtus Bonelli) which the +Hindus call Morбngб=peacock slayer. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#245] Here I translate "Nahбs"=brass, as the "kumkum" (cucurbite) is made of +mixed metal, not of copper. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#246] Mansur al-Nimrн, a poet of the time and a protйgй of<br/> + +Yahya's son, Al-Fazl.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#247] This was at least four times Mansur's debt. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#248] Intendant of the Palace to Harun al-Rashid. The Bres. Edit. (vii. 254) +begins They tell that there arose full enmity between Ja'afar Barmecide and a +Sahib of Misr" (Wazir or Governor of Egypt). Lane (ii. 429) quotes to this +purpose amongst Arab; historians Fakhr al-Din. (De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe +i., p. 26, edit. ii.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#249] Arab. "Armanнyah" which Egyptians call after their mincing fashion +"Irminiyeh" hence "Ermine" (Mus Ponticus). Armaniyah was much more extensive +than our Armenia, now degraded to a mere province of Turkey, and the term is +understood to include the whole of the old Parthian Empire. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#250] Even now each Pasha-governor must keep a "Wakнl" in<br/> + +Constantinople to intrigue and bribe for him at head-quarters.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#251] The symbol of generosity, of unasked liberality, the "black hand" +being that of niggardness. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#252] Arab. Rбh =pure (and old) wine. Arabs, like our classics, usually +drank their wine tempered. So Imr al-Keys in his Mu'allakah says, "Bring the +well tempered wine that seems to be saffron-tinctured; and, when water-mixed, +o'erbrims the cup." (v. 2.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#253] There is nothing that Orientals relish more than these "goody-goody" +preachments; but they read and forget them as readily as Westerns. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#254] Lane (ii. 435) ill-advisedly writes "Sher," as "the word is evidently +Persian signifying a Lion." But this is only in the debased Indian dialect, a +Persian, especially a Shirazi, pronounces "Shнr." And this is how it is written +in the Bresl. Edit., vii. 262. "Shбr" is evidently a fancy name, possibly +suggested by the dynastic name of the Ghurjistan or Georgian Princes. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#255] Again old experience, which has learned at a heavy cost how many a +goodly apple is rotten at the core. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#256] This couplet has occurred in Night xxi. I give Torrens (p. 206) by way +of specimen. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#257] Arab. "Zбka" = merely tasting a thing which may be sweet with a bitter +after-flavour +</p> + +<p> +[FN#258] This tetraseich was in Night xxx. with a difference. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#259] The lines have occurred in Night xxx. I quote Torrens, p. 311. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#260] This tetrastich is in Night clxix. I borrow from Lane (ii. 62). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#261] The rude but effective refrigerator of the desert Arab who hangs his +water-skin to the branch of a tree and allows it to swing in the wind. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#262] Arab "Khumбsiyah" which Lane (ii. 438) renders "of quinary stature." +Usually it means five spans, but here five feet, showing that the girl was +young and still growing. The invoice with a slave always notes her height in +spans measured from ankle-bone to ear and above seven she loses value as being +full grown. Hence Sudбsi (fem. Sudбsiyah) is a slave six spans high, the Shibr +or full span (9 inches) not the Fitr or short span from thumb to index. Faut is +the interval-between every finger, Ratab between index and medius, and Atab +between medius and annularis. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#263] "Moon faced" now sounds sufficiently absurd to us, but it was not +always so. Solomon (Cant. vi. 10) does not disdain the image "fair as the moon, +clear as the sun," and those who have seen a moon in the sky of Arabia will +thoroughly appreciate it. We find it amongst the Hindus, the Persians, the +Afghans, the Turks and all the nations of Europe. We have, finally, the grand +example of Spenser, +</p> + +<p> +"Her spacious forehead, like the clearest moon, etc." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#264] Blue eyes have a bad name in Arabia as in India: the witch Zarkб of +Al-Yamamah was noted for them; and "blue eyed" often means "fierce-eyed," +alluding to the Greeks and Daylamites, mortal-enemies to Ishmael. The Arabs say +"ruddy of mustachio, blue of eye and black of heart." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#265] Before explained as used with camphor to fill the dead man's mouth. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#266] As has been seen, slapping on the neck is equivalent to our "boxing +ears," but much less barbarous and likely to injure the child. The most +insulting blow is that with shoe sandal-or slipper because it brings foot in +contact with head. Of this I have spoken before. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#267] Arab. "Hibбl" (= ropes) alluding to the A'akбl-fillet which binds the +Kъfiyah-kerchief on the Badawi's head. (Pilgrimage, i. 346.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#268] Arab. "Khiyбl"; afterwards called Kara Gyuz (= "black eyes," from the +celebrated Turkish Wazir). The mise-en-scиne was like that of Punch, but of +transparent cloth, lamp lit inside and showing silhouettes worked by hand. +Nothing could be more Fescenntne than Kara Gyuz, who appeared with a phallus +longer than himself and made all the Consuls-General-periodically complain of +its abuse, while the dialogue, mostly in Turkish, as even more obscene. Most +ingenious were Kara Gyuz's little ways of driving on an Obstinate donkey and of +tackling a huge Anatolian pilgrim. He mounted the Neddy's back face to tail, +and inserting his left thumb like a clyster, hammered it with his right when +the donkey started at speed. For the huge pilgrim he used a ladder. These shows +now obsolete, used to enliven the Ezbekiyah Gardens every evening and explain +Ovid's Words, +</p> + +<p> +"Delicias videam, Nile jocose, tuas!" +</p> + +<p> +[FN#269] Mohammed (Mishkбt al-Masбbih ii. 360-62) says, "Change the whiteness +of your hair but not with anything black." Abu Bakr, who was two years and some +months older than the Prophet, used tincture of Henna and Katam. Old Turkish +officers justify black dyes because these make them look younger and fiercer. +Henna stains white hair orange red; and the Persians apply after it a paste of +indigo leaves, the result is successively leek-green, emerald-green, +bottle-green and lastly lamp-black. There is a stage in life (the youth of old +age) when man uses dyes: presently he finds that the whole face wants dye; that +the contrast between juvenile coloured hair and ancient skin is ridiculous and +that it is time to wear white. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#270] This prejudice extends all over the East: the Sanskrit saying is +"Kvachit kбnб bhaveta sбdhus" now and then a monocular is honest. The left eye +is the worst and the popular idea is, I have said, that the damage will come by +the injured member +</p> + +<p> +[FN#271] The Arabs say like us, "Short and thick is never quick" and "Long and +thin has little in." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#272] Arab. "Ba'azu layбli," some night when his mistress failed him. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#273] The fountain in Paradise before noticed. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#274] Before noticed as the Moslem St. Peter (as far as the keys go). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#275] Arab. "Munkasir" = broken, frail, languishing the only form of the +maladive allowed. Here again we have masculine for feminine: the eyelids show +love-desire, but, etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#276] The river of Paradise. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#277] See Night xii. "The Second Kalandar's Tale " vol. i. 113. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#278] Lane (ii. 472) refers for specimens of calligraphy to Herbin's +"Dйveloppements, etc." There are many more than seven styles of writing as I +have shown in Night xiii.; vol. i. 129. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#279] Amongst good Moslems this would be a claim upon a man. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#280] These lines have occurred twice already: and first appear in Night +xxii. I have borrowed from Mr. Payne (iv. 46). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#281] Arab. "Ya Nasrбni", the address is not intrinsically slighting but it +may easily be made so. I have elsewhere noted that when Julian (is said to +have) exclaimed "Vicisti Nazarene!" he was probably thinking in Eastern phrase +"Nasarta, yб Nasrбni!" +</p> + +<p> +[FN#282] Thirst is the strongest of all pleas to an Eastern, especially to a +Persian who never forgets the sufferings of his Imam, Husayn, at Kerbela: he +would hardly withhold it from the murderer of his father. There is also a +Hadis, "Thou shalt not refuse water to him who thirsteth in the desert." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#283] Arab. "Zimmi" which Lane (ii. 474) aptly translates a "tributary." The +Koran (chaps. ix.) orders Unbelievers to Islamize or to "pay tribute by right +of subjection" (lit. an yadin=out of hand, an expression much debated). The +least tribute is one dinar per annum which goes to the poor-rate. and for this +the Kafir enjoys protection and almost all the civil rights of Moslems. As it +is a question of "loaves and fishes" there is much to say on the subject; +"loaves and fishes" being the main base and foundation of all religious +establishments. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#284] This tetrastich has before occurred, so I quote Lane (ii. 444). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#285] In Night xxxv. the same occurs with a difference. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#286] The old rite, I repeat, has lost amongst all but the noblest of Arab +tribes the whole of its significance; and the traveller must be careful how he +trusts to the phrase "Nahnu mбlihin" we are bound together by the salt. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#287] Arab. "Alбma" = Alб-mб = upon what ? wherefore ? +</p> + +<p> +[FN#288] Arab. "Mauz"; hence the Linnean name Musa (paradisiaca, etc.). The +word is explained by Sale (Koran, chaps. xxxvii. 146) as "a small tree or +shrub;" and he would identify it with Jonah's gourd. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#289] Lane (ii. 446) "bald wolf or empowered fate," reading (with Mac.) Kazб +for Kattan (cat). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#290] i.e. "the Orthodox in the Faith." Rбshid is a proper name, witness +that scourge of Syria, Rбshid Pasha. Born in 1830, of the Haji Nazir Agha +family, Darrah-Beys of Macedonian Draina, he was educated in Paris where he +learned the usual-hatred of Europeans: he entered the Egyptian service in 1851, +and, presently exchanging it for the Turkish, became in due time Wali +(Governor-General) of Syria which he plundered most shamelessly. Recalled in +1872, he eventually entered the Ministry and on June 15 1876, he was shot down, +with other villains like himself, by gallant Captain Hasan, the Circassian +(Yarham-hu 'llбh !). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#291] Quoted from a piece of verse, of which more presently. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#292] This tetrastich has occurred before (Night cxciii.). I quote Lane (ii. +449), who quotes Dryden's Spanish Friar, +</p> + +<p> + "There is a pleasure sure in being mad<br/> + + Which none but madmen know."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#293] Lane (ii. 449) gives a tradition of the Prophet, "Whoso is in love, +and acteth chastely, and concealeth (his passion) and dieth, dieth a martyr." +Sakar is No. 5 Hell for Magi Guebres, Parsis, etc., it is used in the comic +Persian curse, "Fi'n-nбri wa Sakar al-jadd w'al-pidar"=ln Hell and Sakar his +grandfather and his father. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#294] Arab. "Sifr": I have warned readers that whistling is considered a +kind of devilish speech by the Arabs, especially the Badawin, and that the +traveller must avoid it. It savours of idolatry: in the Koran we find (chaps. +viii. 35), "Their prayer at the House of God (Ka'abah) is none other than +whistling and hand-clapping;" and tradition says that they whistled through +their fingers. Besides many of the Jinn have only round holes by way of mouths +and their speech is whistling a kind of bird language like sibilant English. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#295] Arab. 'Kнl wa kбl"=lit. "it was said and he said;" a popular phrase +for chit chat, tittle-tattle, prattle and prate, etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#296] Arab. "Hadis." comparing it with a tradition of the<br/> + +Prophet.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#297] Arab. "Mikashshah," the thick part of a midrib of a palm-frond soaked +for some days in water and beaten out till the fibres separate. It makes an +exceedingly hard, although not a lasting broom. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#298] Persian, "the youth, the brave;" Sansk. Yuvбn: and Lat. Juvenis. The +Kurd, in tales, is generally a sturdy thief; and in real-life is little better. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#299] Arab. "Yб Shatir ;" lit. O clever one (in a bad sense). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#300] Lane (ii. 453) has it. "that I may dress thy hair'" etc.<br/> + +This is Bowdlerising with a witness.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#301] The sign of respect when a personage dismounts.<br/> + +(Pilgrimage i. 77.)<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#302] So the Hindus speak of "the defilement of separation" as if it were an +impurity. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#303] Lane (i. 605) gives a long and instructive note on these public +royal-banquets which were expected from the lieges by Moslem subjects. The +hanging-penalty is, perhaps, a tattle exaggerated; but we find the same excess +in the priestly Gesta Romanorum. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#304] Had he eaten it he would have become her guest. Amongst the older +Badawin it was sufficient to spit upon a man (in entreaty) to claim his +protection: so the horse-thieves when caught were placed in a hole in the +ground covered over with matting to prevent this happening. Similarly Saladin +(Salбh al-Din) the chivalrous would not order a cup of water for the robber, +Reynald de Chвtillon, before putting him to death +</p> + +<p> +[FN#305] Arab. "Kishk" properly "Kashk"=wheat-meal-coarsely ground and eaten +with milk or broth. It is de rigueur with the Egyptian Copts on the "Friday of +Sorrow" (Good Friday): and Lane gives the recipe for making it (M. E. chaps. +xxvi.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#306] In those days distinctive of Moslems. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#307] The euphemism has before been noticed: the Moslem reader would not +like to pronounce the words "I am a Nazarene." The same formula occurs a little +lower down to save the reciter or reader from saying "Be my wife divorced," +etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#308] Arab, "Hбjj," a favourite Egyptianism. We are wrong to write Hajji +which an Eastern would pronounce Hбj-jн. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#309] This is Cairene "chaff." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#310] Whose shell fits very tight. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#311] His hand was like a raven's because he ate with thumb and two fingers +and it came up with the rice about it like a camel's hoof in dirty ground. This +refers to the proverb (Burckhardt, 756), "He comes down a crow-claw (small) and +comes up a camel-hoof (huge and round)." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#312] Easterns have a superstitious belief in the powers of food: I knew a +learned man who never sat down to eat without a ceremonious salam to his meat. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#313] Lane (ii. 464), uses the vile Turkish corruption "Rustum," which, like +its fellow "Rustem," would make a Persian shudder. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#314] Arab. "Darrij" i.e. let them slide (Americanicи). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#315] This tetrastich has occurred before: so I quote Mr. Payne (in loco). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#316] Shaykh of Al-Butnah and Jбbiyah, therefore a Syrian of the Hauran near +Damascus and grandson to Isъ (Esau). Arab mystics (unlike the vulgar who see +only his patience) recognise that inflexible integrity which refuses to utter +"words of wind" and which would not, against his conscience, confess to +wrong-doing merely to pacify the Lord who was stronger than himself. The +Classics taught this noble lesson in the case of Prometheus versus Zeus. Many +articles are called after Job e.g. Ra'arб' Ayyub or Ghubayrб (inula Arabica and +undulata), a creeper with which he rubbed himself and got well: the Copts do +the same on "Job's Wednesday," i.e. that before Whit Sunday O.S. Job's father +is a nickname of the camel, etc. etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#317] Lane (in loco) renders "I am of their number." But "fн al-siyбk" means +popularly "(driven) to the point of death." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#318] Lit. = "pathway, road"; hence the bridge well known as "finer than a +hair and sharper than a sword," over which all (except Khadijah and a chosen +few) must pass on the Day of Doom; a Persian apparatus bodily annexed by +Al-Islam. The old Guebres called it Puli Chinбvar or Chinбvad and the Jews +borrowed it from them as they did all their fancies of a future life against +which Moses had so gallantly fought. It is said that a bridge over the grisly +"brook Kedron" was called Sirбt (the road) and hence the idea, as that of +hell-fire from Ge-Hinnom (Gehenna) where children were passed through the fire +to Moloch. A doubtful Hadis says, "The Prophet declared Al-Sirбt to be the name +of a bridge over hell- fire, dividing Hell from Paradise" (pp. 17, 122, +Reynold's trans. of Al-Siyuti's Traditions, etc.). In Koran i. 5, "Sirat" is +simply a path, from sarata, he swallowed, even as the way devours (makes a +lakam or mouthful of) those who travel it. The word was orig. written with Sнn +but changed for easier articulation to Sбd, one of the four Hurъf +al-Mutabbakбt, "the flattened," formed by the broadened tongue in contact with +the palate. This Sad also by the figure Ishmбm (=conversion) turns slightly to +a Zб, the intermediate between Sin and Sad. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#319] The rule in Turkey where catamites rise to the highest rank: C'est un +homme de bonne famille (said a Turkish officer in Egypt) il a йtй achetй. Hence +"Alfi" (one who costs a thousand) is a well-known cognomen. The Pasha of the +Syrian caravan, with which I travelled' had been the slave of a slave and he +was not a solitary instance. (Pilgrimage i. 90.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#320] The device of the banquet is dainty enough for any old Italian +novella; all that now comes is pure Egyptian polissonnerie speaking to the +gallery and being answered by roars of laughter. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#321] i.e. "art thou ceremonially pure and therefore fit for handling by a +great man like myself?" +</p> + +<p> +[FN#322] In past days before Egypt was "frankified" many overlanders used to +wash away the traces of travel by a Turkish bath which mostly ended in the +appearance of a rump wriggling little lad who offered to shampoo them. Many +accepted his offices without dreaming of his usual-use or misuse. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#323] Arab. "Imбm." This is (to a Moslem) a most offensive comparison +between prayer and car. cop. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#324] Arab. "Fi zaman-hi," alluding to a peculiarity highly prized by +Egyptians; the use of the constrictor vaginж muscles, the sphincter for which +Abyssinian women are famous. The "Kabbбzah" ( = holder), as she is called, can +sit astraddle upon a man and can provoke the venereal-orgasm, not by wriggling +and moving but by tightening and loosing the male member with the muscles of +her privities, milking it as it were. Consequently the cassenoisette costs +treble the money of other concubines. (Arranga-Ranga, p. 127.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#325] The little eunuchs had evidently studied the Harem. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#326] Lane (ii. 494) relates from Al-Makrizi, that when Khamбrawayh, +Governor of Egypt (ninth century), suffered from insomnia, his physician +ordered a pool of quicksilver 50 by 50 cubits, to be laid out in front of his +palace, now the Rumaylah square. "At the corners of the pool were silver pegs, +to which were attached by silver rings strong bands of silk, and a bed of +skins, inflated with air, being thrown upon the pool and secured by the bands +remained in a continual-state of agreeable vacillation." We are not told that +the Prince was thereby salivated like the late Colonel Sykes when boiling his +mercury for thermometric experiments, +</p> + +<p> +[FN#327] The name seems now unknown. "Al-Khahн'a" is somewhat stronger than +"Wag," meaning at least a "wicked wit." Properly it is the Span. "perdido," a +youth cast off (Khala') by his friends; though not so strong a term as +"Harfъsh"=a blackguard. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#328] Arab. "Farsakh"=parasang. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#329] Arab. "Nahбs asfar"=yellow copper, brass as opposed to Nahбs +ahmar=copper The reader who cares to study the subject will find much about it +in my "Book of The Sword," chaps. iv. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#330] Lane (ii. 479) translates one stanza of this mukhammas (pentastich) +and speaks of "five more," which would make six. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#331] A servile name. Delicacy, Elegance. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#332] These verses have occurred twice (Night ix. etc.): so I give Lane's +version (ii. 482). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#333] A Badawi tribe to which belonged the generous Ma'an bin<br/> + +Za'idab, often mentioned The Nights.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#334] Wealthy harems, I have said, are hot-beds of Sapphism and Tribadism. +Every woman past her first youth has a girl whom she calls her "Myrtle" (in +Damascus). At Agbome, capital-of Dahome, I found that a troop of women was kept +for the use of the "Amazons" (Mission to Gelele, ii. 73). Amongst the wild +Arabs, who ignore Socratic and Sapphic perversions, the lover is always more +jealous of his beloved's girl-friends than of men rivals. In England we content +ourselves with saying that women corrupt women more than men do. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#335] The Hebrew Pentateuch; Roll of the Law. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#336] I need hardly notice the brass trays, platters and table-covers with +inscriptions which are familiar to every reader: those made in the East for +foreign markets mostly carry imitation inscriptions lest infidel eyes fall upon +Holy Writ. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#337] These six distichs are in Night xiii. I borrow Torrens (p. 125) to +show his peculiar treatment of spinning out 12 lines to 38. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#338] Arab. "Musбmirah"=chatting at night. Easterns are inordinately fond of +the practice and the wild Arabs often sit up till dawn, talking over the +affairs of the tribe, indeed a Shaykh is expected to do so. "Early to bed and +early to rise" is a civilised, not a savage or a barbarous saying. Samнr is a +companion in night talk; Rafнk of the road; Rahнb in riding horse or camel, +Kб'id in sitting, Sharнb and Rafнs at drink, and Nadнm at table: Ahнd is an +ally. and Sharнk a partner all on the model of "Fa'нl." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#339] In both lover and beloved the excess of love gave them this +clairvoyance. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#340] The prayer will be granted for the excess (not the purity) of her +love. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#341] This wailing over the Past is one of the common-places of Badawi +poetry. The traveller cannot fail, I repeat, to notice the chronic melancholy +of peoples dwelling under the brightest skies. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#342] Moons=Budъr +</p> + +<p> +[FN#343] in Paradise as a martyr. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#344] i.e. to intercede for me in Heaven; as if the young woman were the +prophet. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#345] The comparison is admirable as the two letters are written. It occurs +in Al-Hariri (Ass. of Ramlah). +</p> + +<p> +"So I embraced him close as Lбm cleaves to Alif:" +</p> + +<p> +And again; +</p> + +<p> + "She laid aside reluctance and I embraced her close<br/> + + As if I were Lam and my love Alif."<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +The Lomad Olaph in Syriac is similarly colligated. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#346] Here is a double entendre "and the infirm letters (viz. a, w and y) +not subject to accidence, left him." The three make up the root "Awi"=pitying, +condoling. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#347] Showing that consummation had taken place. It was a sign of good +breeding to avoid all "indecent hurry" when going to bed. In some Moslem +countries the bridegroom does not consummate the marriage for seven nights; out +of respect for (1) father (2) mother (3) brother and so forth. If he hurry +matters he will be hooted as an "impatient man" and the wise will quote, "Man +is created of precipitation" (Koran chaps. xxi. 38), meaning hasty and +inconsiderate. I remark with pleasure that the whole of this tale is told with +commendable delicacy. O si sic omnia! +</p> + +<p> +[FN#348] Pers. "Nauroz"(=nau roz, new day):here used in the Arab. +plur.'Nawбriz, as it lasted six days. There are only four: universal-festivals; +the solstices and the equinoxes; and every successive religion takes them from +the sun and perverts them to its own private purposes. Lane (ii. 496) derives +the venerable Nauroz whose birth is hid in the outer glooms of antiquity from +the "Jewish Passover"(!) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#349] Again the "babes" of the eyes. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#350] i.e. whose glance is as the light of the glowing braise or (embers). +The Arab. "Mikbбs"=pan or pot full of small charcoal, is an article well known +in Italy and Southern Europe. The word is apparently used here because it +rhymes with "Anfбs" (souls, spirits). +</p> + +<p> +[FN#351] i.e. martyrdom; a Koranic term "fi sabнli 'llahi" = on the way of +Allah +</p> + +<p> +[FN#352] These rhymes in -y, -ee and -ie are purposely affected, to imitate the +cadence of the Arabic. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#353] Arab. "Sujъd," the ceremonial-prostration, touching the ground with +the forehead So in the Old Testament "he bowed (or fell down) and worshipped" +(Gen. xxiv., 26 Mat. ii., 11), of which our translation gives a wrong idea. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#354] A girl is called "Alfiyyah " = A-shaped. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#355] i.e. the medial-form of m. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#356] i.e. the inverted n. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#357] It may also mean a "Sevignй of pearls." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#358] Koran xxvii. 12. This was one of the nine "signs" to wicked "Pharaoh." +The "hand of Moses" is a symbol of power and ability (Koran vii. 105). The +whiteness was supernatural-beauty, not leprosy of the Jews (Exod. iv. 6); but +brilliancy, after being born red or black: according to some commentators, +Moses was a negro. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#359] Koran iii. 103; the other faces become black. This explains I have +noticed the use of the phrases in blessing and cursing. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#360] Here we have the naked legend of the negro's origin, one of those +nursery tales in which the ignorant of Christendom still believe But the +deduction from the fable and the testimony to the negro's lack of intelligence, +though unpleasant to our ignorant negrophils, are factual-and satisfactory. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#361] Koran, xcii. 1, 2: an oath of Allah to reward and punish with Heaven +and Hell. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#362] Alluding to the "black drop" in the heart: it was taken from +Mohammed's by the Archangel Gabriel. The fable seems to have arisen from the +verse ' Have we not opened thy breast?" (Koran, chaps. xciv. 1). The popular +tale is that Halнmah, the Badawi nurse of Mohammed, of the Banu Sa'ad tribe, +once saw her son, also a child, running towards her and asked him what was the +matter. He answered, 'My little brother was seized by two men in white who +stretched him on the ground and opened his bellyl" For a full account and +deductions see the Rev. Mr. Badger's article, "Muhammed" (p. 959) in vol. in. +"Dictionary of Christian Biography." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#363] Arab. "Sumr," lit. brown (as it is afterwards used), but politely +applied to a negro: "Yб Abu Sumrah!" O father of brownness. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#364] Arab. 'Lumб"=dark hue of the inner lips admired by the Arabs and to us +suggesting most umpleasant ideas. Mr. Chenery renders it "dark red,' and +"ruddy" altogether missing the idea. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#365] Arab. "Saudб," feminine of aswad (black), and meaning black bile +(melancholia) as opposed to leucocholia, +</p> + +<p> +[FN#366] i.e. the Magians, Sabians, Zoroastrians. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#367] The "Unguinum fulgor" of the Latins who did not forget to celebrate +the shining of the nails although they did not Henna them like Easterns. Some, +however, have suggested that alludes to colouring matter. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#368] Women with white skins are supposed to be heating and unwholesome: +hence the Hindu Rajahs slept with dark girls in the hot season. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#369] Moslems sensibly have a cold as well as a hot Hell, the former called +Zamharir (lit. "intense cold")or AI-Barahъt, after a well in Hazramaut; as +Gehenna (Arab. "Jahannam") from the furnace-like ravine East of Jerusalem +(Night cccxxv.). The icy Hell is necessary in terrorem for peoples who inhabit +cold regions and who in a hot Hell only look forward to an eternity of "coals +and candles" gratis. The sensible missionaries preached it in Iceland till +foolishly forbidden by Papal-Bull. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#370] Koran ii. 26; speaking of Abraham when he entertained the angels +unawares. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#371] Arab. "Rakb," usually applied to a fast-going caravan of dromedary +riders (Pilgrimage ii. 329). The "Cafilah" is Arab.: "Caravan" is a corruption +of the Pers. "Karwбn." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#372] A popular saying. It is interesting to contrast this dispute between +fat and thin with the Shakespearean humour of Falstaff and Prince Henry. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#373] Arab. "Dalak" vulg. Hajar al-Hammam (Hammam-stone). The comparison is +very apt: the rasps are of baked clay artificially roughened (see illustrations +in Lane M. E. chaps. xvi.). The rope is called "Masad," a bristling line of +palm-fibre like the coir now familiarly known in England. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#374] Although the Arab's ideal-of beauty, as has been seen and said, +corresponds with ours the Egyptians (Modern) the Maroccans and other negrofied +races like "walking tun-butts" as Clapperton called his amorous widow. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#375] Arab. "Khayzar" or "Khayzarбn" the rattan-palm. Those who have seen +this most graceful "palmijuncus" in its native forest will recognize the +neatness of the simile. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#376] This is the popular idea of a bushy "veil of nature" in women: it is +always removed by depilatories and vellication. When Bilkis Queen of Sheba +discovered her legs by lifting her robe (Koran xxvii.), Solomon was minded to +marry her, but would not do so till the devils had by a depilatory removed the +hair. The popular preparation (called Nъrah) consists of quicklime 7 parts, and +Zirnнk or orpiment, 3 parts: it is applied in the Hammam to a perspiring skin, +and it must be washed off immediately the hair is loosened or it burns and +discolours. The rest of the body-pile (Sha'arat opp. to Sha'ar=hair) is +eradicated by applying a mixture of boiled honey with turpentine or other gum, +and rolling it with the hand till the hair comes off. Men I have said remove +the pubes by shaving, and pluck the hair of the arm-pits, one of the vestiges +of pre-Adamite man. A good depilatory is still a desideratum, the best +perfumers of London and Paris have none which they can recommend. The reason is +plain: the hair bulb can be eradicated only by destroying the skin. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#377] Koran, ii. 64: referring to the heifer which the Jews were ordered to +sacrifice, +</p> + +<p> +[FN#378] Arab. "kallб," a Koranic term possibly from Kull (all) and lб (not) +=prorsus non-altogether not! +</p> + +<p> +[FN#379] "Habбb" or "Habб," the fine particles of dust, which we call motes. +The Cossid (Arab. "Kбsid") is the Anglo-Indian term for a running courier +(mostly under Government), the Persian "Shбtir" and the Guebre Rбvand. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#380] Arab. "Sambari" a very long thin lance so called after Samhar, the +maker, or the place of making. See vol. ii. p. 1. It is supposed to cast, when +planted in the ground, a longer shadow in proportion to its height, than any +other thing of the kind. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#381] Arab. "Sulбfah ;" properly prisane which flows from the grapes before +pressure. The plur. "Sawбlif" also means tresses of hair and past events: thus +there is a "triple entendre." And again "he" is used for "she." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#382] There is a pun in the last line, "Khбlun (a mole) khallauni" (rid me), +etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#383] Of old Fustбt, afterwards part of Southern Cairo, a proverbially +miserable quarter hence the saying, "They quoted Misr to Kбhirah (Cairo), +whereon Bab al-Luk rose with its grass," in derision of nobodies who push +themselves forward. Burckhardt, Prov. 276. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#384] Its fruits are the heads of devils; a true Dantesque fancy. Koran, +chaps. xvii. 62, "the tree cursed in the Koran" and in chaps. xxxvii., 60, "is +this better entertainment, or the tree of Al-Zakkъm?" Commentators say that it +is a thorn bearing a bitter almond which grows in the Tehamah and was therefore +promoted to Hell. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#385] Arab. "Lasm" (lathm) as opposed to Bausah or boseh (a buss) and Kublah +(a kiss, +</p> + +<p> +[FN#386] Arab. "Jufъn" (plur. of Jafn) which may mean eyebrows or eyelashes and +only the context can determine which. [FN#387] Very characteristic of Egyptian +manners is the man who loves six girls equally well, who lends them, as it +were, to the Caliph; and who takes back the goods as if in no wise damaged by +the loan. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#388] The moon is masculine possibly by connection with the<br/> + +Assyrian Lune-god "Sin"; but I can find no cause for the Sun<br/> + +(Shams) being feminine.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#389] Arab. "Al-Amin," a title of the Prophet. It is usually held that this +proud name "The honest man," was applied by his fellow-citizens to Mohammed in +early life; and that in his twenty-fifth year, when the Eighth Ka'abah was +being built, it induced the tribes to make him their umpire concerning the +distinction of placing in position the "Black Stone" which Gabriel had brought +from Heaven to be set up as the starting-post for the seven circuitings. He +distributed the honour amongst the clans and thus gave universal satisfaction. +His Christian biographers mostly omit to record an anecdote which speaks so +highly in Mohammed's favour. (Pilgrimage iii. 192.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#390] The idea is that Abu Nowas was a thought-reader such being the +prerogative of inspired poets in the East. His drunkenness and debauchery only +added to his power. I have already noticed that "Allah strike thee dead" +(Kбtala-k Allah) is like our phrase "Confound the fellow, how clever he is." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#391] Again said facetiously, "Devil take you!" +</p> + +<p> +[FN#392] In all hot-damp countries it is necessary to clothe dogs, morning and +evening especially: otherwise they soon die of rheumatism and loin disease. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#393] =Beatrice. A fragment of these lines is in Night cccxv.<br/> + +See also Night dcclxxxi.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#394] The Moslems borrowed the horrible idea of a "jealous God" from their +kinsmen, the Jews. Every race creates its own Deity after the fashion of +itself: Jehovah is distinctly a Hebrew, the Christian Theos is originally a +Judжo-Greek and Allah a half-Badawi Arab. In this tale Allah, despotic and +unjust, brings a generous and noble-minded man to beggary, simply because he +fed his dogs off gold plate. Wisdom and morality have their infancy and youth: +the great value of such tales as these is to show and enable us to measure +man's development. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#395] In Trйbutien (Lane ii. 501) the merchant says to ex-Dives, "Thou art +wrong in charging Destiny with injustice. If thou art ignorant of the cause of +thy ruin I will acquaint thee with it. Thou feddest the dogs in dishes of gold +and leftest the poor to die of hunger." A superstition, but intelligible. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#396] Arab. "Sarrбf" = a money changer. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#397] Arab. "Birkah," a common feature in the landscapes of Lower Egypt: it +is either a natural-pool left by the overflow of the Nile; or, as in the text, +a built-up tank, like the "Tбlбb" for which India is famous. Sundry of these +Birkahs are or were in Cairo itself; and some are mentioned in The Nights. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#398] This sneer at the "military" and the "police" might come from an +English convict's lips. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#399] Lit. "The conquering King;" a dynastic title assumed by Salбh al-Dнn +(Saladin) and sundry of the Ayyъbi (Eyoubite) sovereigns of Egypt, whom I would +call the "Soldans." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#400] "Kбhirah" (i.e. City of Mars the Planet) is our Cairo: Bulak is the +port suburb on the Nile, till 1858 wholly disjoined from the City; and Fostat +is the outlier popularly called Old Cairo. The latter term is generally +translated "town of leathern tents;" but in Arabic "fustбt" is an abode of +Sha'ar=hair, such as horse-hair, in fact any hair but "Wabar"=soft hair, as the +camel's. See Lane, Lex. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#401] Arab. "Adl"=just: a legal-witness to whose character there is no +tangible objection a prime consideration in Moslem law. Here "Adl" is evidently +used ironically for a hypocritical-rascal +</p> + +<p> +[FN#402] Lane (ii. 503) considers three thousand dinars (the figure in the +Bres. Edit.) "a more probable sum." Possibly: but, I repeat, exaggeration is +one of the many characteristics of The Nights. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#403] Calc. Edit. "Kazir:" the word is generally written<br/> + +"Kazdнr," Sansk. Kastira, born probably from the Greek .<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#404] This would have passed for a peccadillo in the "good old days." As +late as 1840 the Arnaut soldiers used to "pot" any peasant who dared to ride +(instead of walking) past their barracks. Life is cheap in hot countries. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#405] Koran, xii. 46 — a passage expounding the doctrine of free will: "He +who doth right doth it to the advantage of his own soul; and he who doth evil, +doth it against the same; for thy Lord," etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#406] Arab. "Suffah"; whence our Sofa. In Egypt it is a raised shelf +generally of stone, about four feet high and headed with one or more arches. It +is an elaborate variety of the simple "Tбk" or niche, a mere hollow in the +thickness of the wall. Both are used for such articles as basin. ewer and soap; +coffee cups, water bottles etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#407] In Upper Egypt (Apollinopolis Parva) pronounced "Goos," the Coptic +Kos-Birbir, once an emporium of the Arabian trade. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#408] This would appeal strongly to a pious Moslem. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#409] i.e. "the father of a certain person"; here the merchant whose name +may have been Abu'l Hasan, etc. The useful word (thingumbob, what d'ye call +him, donchah, etc.) has been bodily transferred into Spanish and Portuguese +Fulano. It is of old genealogy, found in the Heb. Fulunн which applies to a +person only in Ruth iv. I, but is constantly so employed by Rabbinic writers. +The Greek use {Greek letters}. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#410] Lit. "by his (i.e. her) hand," etc. Hence Lane (ii. 507) makes +nonsense of the line. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#411] Arab. "Badrah," as has been said, is properly a weight of 10,000 +dirhams or drachmas; but popularly used for largesse thrown to the people at +festivals. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#412] Arab. "Allaho A'alam"; (God knows!) here the popular phrase for our, +"I know not;" when it would be rude to say bluntly "M'adri"= "don't know." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#413] There is a picturesque Moslem idea that good deeds become incarnate +and assume human shapes to cheer the doer in his grave, to greet him when he +enters Paradise and so forth. It was borrowed from the highly imaginative faith +of the Guebre, the Zoroastrian. On Chinavad or Chanyud-pul (Sirбt), the +Judgement bridge, 37 rods (rasan) long, straight and 37 fathoms broad for the +good, and crooked and narrow as sword-edge for the bad, a nymph-like form will +appear to the virtuous and say, "I am the personification of thy good deeds!" +In Hell there will issue from a fetid gale a gloomy figure with head like a +minaret, red eyeballs, hooked nose, teeth like pillars, spear-like fangs, snaky +locks etc. and when asked who he is he will reply, "I am the personification of +thine evil acts!" (Dabistan i. 285.) The Hindus also personify everything. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#414] Arab. "Banъ Israнl;" applied to the Jews when theirs was the True +Faith i.e. before the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, whose mission completed +that of Moses and made it obsolete (Matrъk) even as the mission of Jesus was +completed and abrogated by that of Mohammed. The term "Yahъd"=Jew is applied +scornfully to the Chosen People after they rejected the Messiah, but as I have +said "Israelite" is used on certain occasions, Jew on others. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#415] Arab. "Kasa'ah," a wooden bowl, a porringer; also applied to a saucer. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#416] Arab. "Rasъl"=one sent, an angel, an "apostle;" not to be translated, +as by the vulgar, "prophet." Moreover Rasul is higher than Nabн (prophet), such +as Abraham, Isaac, etc., depositaries of Al-Islam, but with a succession +restricted to their own families. Nabi-mursil (Prophet-apostle) is the highest +of all, one sent with a book: of these are now only four, Moses, David, Jesus +and Mohammed, the writings of the rest having perished. In Al-Islam also angels +rank below men, being only intermediaries (= , nuncii, messengers) between the +Creator and the Created. This knowledge once did me a good turn at Harar, not a +safe place in those days. (First Footsteps in East Africa, p. 349.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#417] A doctor of law in the reign of Al-Maamun. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#418] Here the exclamation is= D.V.; and it may be assumed generally to have +that sense. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#419] Arab. "Taylasбn," a turban worn hood-fashion by the "Khatнb" or +preacher. I have sketched it in my Pilgrimage and described it (iii. 315). Some +Orientalists derive Taylasan from Atlas=satin, which is peculiarly +inappropriate. The word is apparently barbarous and possibly Persian like +Kalansuwah, the Dervish cap. "Thou son of a Taylasбn"=a barbarian. (De Sacy, +Chrest. Arab. ii. 269.) +</p> + +<p> +[FN#420] Arab. " Kinyah" vulg. "Kunyat" = patronymic or matronymic; a name +beginning with "Abu" (father) or with "Umm" (mother). There are so few proper +names in Al-Islam that such surnames, which, as will be seen, are of infinite +variety, become necessary to distinguish individuals. Of these sobriquets I +shall give specimens further on. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#421] "Whoso seeth me in his sleep, seeth me truly; for Satan cannot assume +my semblance," said (or is said to have said) Mohammed. Hence the vision is +true although it comes in early night and not before dawn. See Lane M. E., +chaps. ix. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#422] Arab. "Al-Maukab ;" the day when the pilgrims march out of the city; +it is a holiday for all, high and low. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#423] "The Gate of Salutation ;" at the South-Western corner of the Mosque +where Mohammed is buried. (Pilgrimage ii. 60 and plan.) Here "Visitation" +(Ziyбrah) begins. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#424] The tale is told by Al-Ishбki in the reign of Al-Maamun. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#425] The speaker in dreams is the Heb. "Waggid," which the learned and +angry Graetz (Geschichte, etc. vol. ix.) absurdly translates "Traum souffleur." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#426] Tenth Abbaside. A.D. 849-861 +</p> + +<p> +[FN#427] Arab. "Muwallad" (fem. "Muwalladah"); a rearling, a slave born in a +Moslem land. The numbers may appear exaggerated, but even the petty King of +Ashanti had, till the last war, 3333 "wives." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#428] The Under-prefect of Baghdad. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#429] "Ja'afar," our old Giaffar (which is painfully like "Gaffer," i.e. +good father) means either a rushing river or a rivulet. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#430] A regular Fellah's name also that of a village<br/> + +(Pilgrimage i. 43) where a pleasant story is told about one Haykal.<br/> + +</p> + +<p> +[FN#431] The "Mountain" means the rocky and uncultivated ground South of Cairo, +such as Jabal-al-Ahmar and the geological-sea-coast flanked by the old +Cairo-Suez highway. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#432] A popular phrase=our "sharp as a razor." +</p> + +<p> +[FN#433] i.e. are men so few; a favourite Persian phrase. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#434] She is a woman of rank who would cause him to be assassinated. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#435] This is not Al-Hakimbi' Amri'llah the famous or infamous founder of +the Druze ((Durъz)) faith and held by them to be, not an incarnation of the +Godhead, but the Godhead itself in propriв personв, who reigned A.D. 926-1021: +our Hakim is the orthodox Abbaside Caliph of Egypt who dated from two centuries +after him (A.D. 1261). Had the former been meant, it would have thrown back +this part of The Nights to an earlier date than is generally accepted. But in a +place still to come I shall again treat of the subject. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#436] For an account of a similar kind which was told to me during the last +few years see "Midian Revisited," i. 15. These hiding-places are innumerable in +lands of venerable antiquity like Egypt; and, if there were any contrivance for +detecting hidden treasure, it would make the discoverer many times a +millionaire. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#437] i.e. it had been given to him or his in writing, like the book left to +the old woman before quoted in "Midian," etc. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#438] Arab. "Kird" (pron. in Egypt "Gird"). It is usually the hideous +Abyssinian cynocephalus which is tamed by the ape-leader popularly called +Kuraydati (Lane, M.E., chaps. xx.). The beast has a natural-penchant for women +; I heard of one which attempted to rape a girl in the public street and was +prevented only by a sentinel's bayonet. They are powerful animals and bite like +greyhounds. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#439] Easterns attribute many complaints (such as toothache) to worms, +visible as well as microscopic, which may be held a fair prolepsis of the +"germ-theory" the bacterium. the bacillus, the microbe. Nymphomania, the +disease alluded to in these two tales is always attributed to worms in the +vagina. +</p> + +<p> +[FN#440] Bestiality, very rare in Arabia is fatally common amongst those most +debauched of debauched races, the Egyptian proper and the Sindis. Hence the +Pentateuch, whose object was to breed a larger population of fighting men, made +death the penalty for lying with a beast (Deut. xxvii. 21). C. S. Sonnini +(Travels, English translation, p. 663) gives a curious account of Fellah +lewdness. "The female crocodile during congress is turned upon her back ( ?) +and cannot rise without difficulty. Will it be believed that there are men who +take advantage of the helpless situation of the female, drive off the male, and +supplant him in this frightful intercourse ? Horrible embraces, the knowledge +of which was wanting to complete the disgusting history of human perversity!" +The French traveller forgets to add the superstitious explanation of this +congress which is the sovereignest charm for rising to rank and riches. The +Ajбib al-Hind tells a tale (chaps. xxxix.) of a certain Mohammed bin Bullishad +who had issue by a she-ape: the young ones were hairless of body and wore +quasi-human faces; and the father's sight had become dim by his +bestial-practice. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4, by Richard F. 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